Jesus the sower

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

❖ Video

❖ Audio (Message)

(Psalm 126)

Andy Nagahara

Let’s listen to the words of Jesus Christ speaking to us through the Psalm today. Today’s text is Psalm 126. Let’s read the whole thing first.

0 A song of ascents. 1 When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.

1. What is there to be restored for us? (1-4)

The word Zion originally referred to a specific area within Jerusalem, but in the Bible it is often used symbolically to refer to Jerusalem, its people, and even Israel. The Negev is a wilderness that occupies most of the southern part of Israel, now called the Negev Desert. Let me read up to verse 4 again.

Jerusalem was once a prosperous city, where the temple was built, and was the political and spiritual center of Israel, but as powerful states such as Babylonia and Rome rose, it was taken over and its prosperity became a thing of the past.
The part of the Japan Bible Society Interconfessional Version translated “when the Lord brought again the prosperity of Zion” could also be translated “when the captives are returned,” and the NIV in English and the New Interconfessional Translation in Japanese translate it as such. The other Japanese translations are the same as the Japan Bible Society Interconfessional Version. Although the original words cannot be determined, the meaning we should receive remains the same no matter which translation. It is, in either way, “bringing back something important that was lost.” And what is important to many people now and in the past is economic prosperity and political stability. However, even though they appear to have been given, they are repeatedly lost. In this psalm as well, it is sung as if the people were longing for the prosperity they once regained, but now it is empty.
The prosperity that Jesus gives us is not such emptiness. It is an abundant life brought about by a close relationship with God that had been lost. It is such an amazingly bountiful blessing that a river flows through the desolate Negev Desert.

2. Jesus the sower (5,6)

5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.

There is no record in the Bible that Jesus, who walked the earth, actually sowed seeds. Although Jesus’ family was not a farmer, perhaps as a boy he had helped sow seeds in a small field owned by his parents. If anything, Jesus has a strong image of being a “shepherd”.

But today I would like you to imagine Jesus as a “sower”. The Israelites were originally a nomadic people, but eventually agriculture became their main industry. The story of Ruth, who appears in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, is the book of Ruth in the Old Testament. We can see that Jesus’ family was a farmer at this time. The Book of Ruth is a short story, but I think it also helps us understand this part of today’s psalm as a story of recovery from loss. It won’t take you 30 minutes to read it carefully, so please read it this week along with today’s passage. The 19th century French painter Millet painted “The Gleaners,” inspired by the Book of Ruth, and “The Sower,” from the parable of Jesus. There are variations of each, and both are in the collections of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in the United States and the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art in Kofu. Boston is too far away, but Yamanashi can be reached in about 2 hours from Machida by train or car, so I recommend that you visit it once.

Jesus used metaphors not only of sheep and shepherds, but also of sowing and harvesting when teaching others.

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves his life will lose it, while anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. （John 12:23-26)

Here, Jesus compares himself and his followers as seeds that are sown and die to produce new life.
In the Parable of the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43), Jesus himself is the sower, the good seeds are his followers, and the world is the field.
And in the most well-known parable of the sower (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8), it is Jesus who sows, or the bearer of His word, the seed is God’s word, and the land sown is the hearts of the people.　In this way, Jesus used the analogy of sowing and reaping to teach us a number of important things that he wanted to convey to us.

The core of what we need to know from today’s psalm is that Jesus himself is the one who sowed with tears and the one who reaps with songs of joy.　And that He is the One who went out weeping, carrying a sack of seed, and returned with a bundle of ears and songs of joy.　In this world, he was never truly understood by anyone, was abandoned by all his disciples, suffered alone, and died on the cross just as he had said.　However, He rose from the dead and gave us hope for true prosperity.

3. We are also sowers

Jesus who sows with tears and reaps with songs of joy. Jesus, carrying a sack of seeds, goes out weeping, carrying a bundle of ears, and returns with songs of joy. Jesus continues to spread the gospel (good news) into people’s hearts through the work of the church and through our steps.　That means that we are also “sowers.”

Although we can imagine the joy of the harvest, we feel discouraged by the difficulties, worries, and suffering we are currently facing. However, our current activities are not selfish, but part of the work of Jesus. Let’s not forget that.
Jesus does not want you to prosper economically or socially. Because it won’t last long. And our desires have no limits and we cannot be satisfied forever. Also, even if we accumulate wealth on earth, we cannot take it with us.
Jesus gives us eternal prosperity that is more valuable than that, prosperity that is fulfilled and we don’t have to worry about losing it, and the joy of being with God.
Even now, many of us are sowing with tears and are left with no prospect of the harvest. However, our Lord Jesus has sown the best seeds in our hearts, so let’s sing and worship together today, anticipating the joyful songs of the harvest.

(Prayer) Dear God, thank you that you have sown in our hearts the seeds of faith to trust in you, that you have created an environment for them to sprout, and that you have brought them up to this point.
Even though there are difficulties ahead of us, what You are doing is perfect, so we will continue this work without fear, expecting the harvest.
Please guide us.
Through our work, please sow seeds among our loved ones as well, and use us so that they may find true prosperity and a restored relationship with God.
We pray in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Summary

Being with God who fills us with good things is true prosperity, and that is what we should seek. There is no hunger and thirst in the body and mind, and there is a life of contentment. To make this happen in each of us, Jesus reveals himself to sow seeds in our hearts and restore our relationship with God, which is the key to true prosperity.

For Discussion

What kind of prosperity should we seek?
What do we need to truly prosper?