A few months ago, I took one of my grandsons on a trip for his graduation present. Each of my grandchildren gets to choose where they will go when they graduate. It is called a Nana trip. It is a bonding time just before they head off to college. This grandson chose Hawaii. We planned out a beautiful week of exploring the island of Oahu. We walked on many “off the beaten path” type trails. One thing I noticed was how hard the ground was on these pathways. The soil had been walked on until it was compacted. Even after rain, it wasn’t a muddy sink into a type of soil. It was slick mud that made you slip and slide, but you were unable to penetrate the soil. This hard dirt reminded me of the soil in Matthew 13:19 Jesus begins to speak to those around Him. He uses an easy-to-understand way of telling a story called a parable.
When Jesus was speaking the disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables and Jesus explained that those who are His can understand the things of Heaven but those who have rejected Him will not understand. They had closed their eyes to the truth and had chosen to reject His teaching. They loved their sin and refused to change. When a person digs in their heels and refuses to listen, the gospel does not have a positive effect on them. Sometimes it only makes them harder and angrier.
Matthew 13:13-15 “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
He begins His parables with the parable of the sower of the seeds, on different kinds of soil. The first kind of soil that Jesus talked about was a hard, packed-down type of soil. This soil is like the soil that has never been plowed. If you throw seeds on it, they just lay there until the birds eat them or the wind blows them away. They never produce anything. As soon as the seeds of the gospel are sown Satan is ready to snatch them away.
Matthew 13:19 “When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside.”
The hard ground represents a hard heart. This person lives according to whatever they desire. They have no intention of living a life to please God. They are rebellious, and their understanding is darkened because they have determined to go their way instead of God’s. I have sat in many services where the good news of Jesus was preached and those who did not know Jesus refused to allow the words to penetrate their hearts or minds. They were putting in the time at church because they were seeking to please someone else. They had no intention of giving a listening ear or open mind to the word of God. They have chosen to ignore and reject any teaching about God. They have a hard heart.
What are the spiritual symptoms of a hard heart? In Mark 8:17-18 Jesus gives us the four symptoms of a hard heart. First, they are unable to perceive, therefore they are unable to understand. Next, they are unable to see, then they are unable to hear, and finally, they are unable to remember.
Mark 8:17-18 “And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? Have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?”
For those who may be reading, and you have a hard heart let me caution you to soften your heart and seek Him. He loves you and longs for you to love Him and repent of your sins, but He will not force Himself on you. You have a choice to reject or receive. However, each time you hear and reject you are hardening your heart more. If this is your choice it is possible to harden your heart to the point of no return. You cannot get saved anytime you want to. He must draw you. In John 6:44 Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:” If you are reading this it wasn’t by accident. He is seeking you! Pour the tears of repentance on that hard soil and let Him soften it to respond to Him.
