The 1st rule in reading the Bible is: Scripture always interprets scripture.

Example:

I read Acts 7:58 and didn’t understand the significance of their coats being at Saul’s feet.

and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul

That was it. I love little details like this in the Bible because they reek of deep cultural significance.

Through a quick search, I found Paul (formerly Saul) talking in Acts 22:20

And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.

Saul was approving of the murder and was guarding their coats for them as they ‘worked’.

Now read Acts 7 again and catch how wicked and tripped up the whole system was.

I’ll admit. Sometimes when I see someone reject the Word of God, I doubt and wonder “am I the fool, or are they?” No one wants to be arrogant, and I certainly do not.

Reading Luke 8 put things into perspective for me.

Large crowds are following Jesus. Even women are supporting him with their coin. Consider the status of women during Biblical times and that last sentence carries weight.

Jesus tells the Parable of the Four Soils. Basically, 75% of the people that hear him don’t have real faith. Yikes!

And here’s the point of the parable: God’s Word doesn’t uniformly evoke faith. Not because the Word is defective, but because humans are free to respond how they choose.

So the problem isn’t with God’s Word, it’s with us. The soil is us.

The seed that fell on the rock was quite interesting to me. In many parts of the Holy Land, as in San Antonio, you’ll find layers of rock covered by a thin layer of soil. The seed gets planted, and the chute takes off, but the roots have nowhere to go. Once the sun comes, the plant fries and withers away.

The interesting application is this: healthy plants must have the sun to grow. In the parable, the sun represents heat, or testing. If you have a healthy foundation and root system, trying times will cause you to grow deeper with God. But if you have no foundation and haven’t done the consistent work of growing deeper, the heat of life will show the shallow depth of your “faith”.

And in the end, there is no “faith” because you didn’t allow the seed to go anywhere.

The beauty of faith is that you can choose to cultivate and plow your own heart. Take ownership of your faith and consistently plow.

God’s Word falls like seed on men’s hearts. The seed falls on different kinds of ground. Some hear, but quickly are distracted and forget. Some hear with delight, but fall away. Some let the cares or delights of this world choke out the good seed.

And some respond gloriously.

When you hear Jesus’ message and hesitate, you’re borderline rejecting Him. “Not now” is just as much a “no” as “never”!

Luke 8.

It’s the Passion week. Sunday was the palm branches. Monday was the temple clearing (again). The Pharisees are pretty ticked by this point. Jesus claimed authority in the temple.

This is Tuesday. Jesus is in the temple teaching, and the chief priests and the scribes are circling Him while He’s teaching. It appears that the supreme council of the Sanhedrin has sent feet on the ground to disrupt Him and try to create cause for a trial. The Sanhedrin is made up of priests, scribes and rabbis, and Levites.

They asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you the right?”

Jesus answered their question with a question. He asked them, “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”

They talked amoungst themselves, and quickly realized that they didn’t know the answer. They prefered to say John was merely human authority, but they feared the crowds, for John was very popular. They claim ignorance.

Why didn’t they just claim that John the Baptist had divine authority? Do you remember Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, or John 1? Jesus was introduced by John the Baptist who ‘prepared the way’. If they said John’s street credit was divine, then how could they lay claims on the One who bore special witness by Him?

Brilliant!

Then Jesus tells the Parable of the Evil Farmers. It’s a very easy parable to understand. All the characters and setting are easily identifiable. Jesus clearly answers their question in the parable. But it isn’t in the direct means that they required. He also subtly lets them know that He knows their plans to kill Him.

Let us never forget how bold, courageous, and wise our Lord is.

Luke 20:1-19.

Most importantly, always approach Christ with humilty, and an eagerness to learn. Come with a spiritual hunger.

Never come with presumptions or an agenda.

Remember, you are not God, and He is. It won’t work out for you.