Movement of Evangelism: Keep Scattering Seed

Jesus was constantly on the move. He lived with intentionality and purpose. He was a man on a mission to save and seek the lost.

Jesus was teaching and ministering to the large crowds. Mark 4:35 “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Jesus arrived on the other side, delivered a demon-possessed man, and not long after in Mark 5: 21 “Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake…” And he continued healing the sick and even raised a dead girl.

He deposited a seed and continued to cross over to the other side and kept on teaching and sowing seeds.

He was unaffected by storms or rejections. The storm did not cause him to turn the boat around. Upon landing and delivering the demon-possessed man, the people in that town were afraid and asked for Jesus to leave. He deposited a seed and continued to cross over to the other side and kept on teaching and sowing seeds.

In Mark 4, Jesus was teaching His disciples about the parable of the seed. There are varying degrees of receptivity to the Word (the path, rocky places, birds, good soil). It’s interesting to note that Jesus did not say “scatter your seed on good soil only” Rather we are told that “A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell…”. To understand this, we need to understand the farming techniques in Jesus’ time are different from modern methods.

In Jesus’ time, farmers would carry a bag of seed and scatter it be hand across the field. It was a quick way to cover large areas, resulting in seeds landing on less favorable soil. The preparation of the fields were not uniformly cultivated as plowing was done with simple wooden plows pulled by oxen or donkeys, hence there were varied soil types within the same field.

Jesus demonstrated for us to scatter seed regardless of the response.

Scatter Seed Regardless of the Response

The truth is, there will be different responses to the people receiving the Good News. In the town where Jesus delivered the demon-possessed man, the people in the town were afraid of what they witnessed and asked Jesus to leave. Why would they want Jesus to leave? Didn’t Jesus help deliver a crazy man in their midst? In contrast, the man who was delivered, wanted to follow Jesus physically. But Jesus had a different mission for him – to be a light in his community. Mark 5:19-20 “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”  So, the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. 

Jesus demonstrated for us to scatter seed regardless of the response. Our role is to partner with God in scattering seed, in being a lamp upon a stand – to be His witnesses.

Scatter Seed with Faith

In Mark 4:35, after explaining to his disciples on scattering seed, they got on a boat to go over to the side. I believe they knew they were on a mission and not a cruise to nowhere. A fierce storm came, and the disciples reacted “don’t you care if we drown”. At the crux of their reaction was a lack of faith in the One who was with them. “Do you still have no faith?” reveals to us that their faith was decimated by the size of the storm. Despite all their experiences with Jesus up to this point, they couldn’t trust Jesus to bring them through the storm, to their destination.

In our mission to scatter seed with faith, it’s important to surround ourselves with people of faith.

In Mark 5:35, men came to the synagogue ruler saying not to bother Jesus anymore for his daughter has died. But Jesus responded to him “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  Believing means ignoring the voices that tell you that “it’s over”. Jesus didn’t allow the distracting voices of negativity and doubt to get into the synagogue ruler. He kept the jeering crowd away.

In our mission to scatter seed with faith, it’s important to surround ourselves with people of faith. To remind us not to give up sowing seed. To spur us in sowing in faith to see fruition. To weather the storms together, to keep us focused on the One who has commissioned us to scatter seed. To recognize that Jesus, the all-powerful with all authority, is WITH us. That no matter the storm or the challenge, the mission to scatter seed continues.

God has put seed into our hands. That seed is for planting. It is not just for our enjoyment. The movement of evangelism is a call to scatter seed. To share Jesus. To share the Word. To share the Good News.

The movement of evangelism is a call to scatter seed.

Will you be in this movement of evangelism? Will you make it your priority to scatter seed so that we can reap a mighty harvest together with our Lord Jesus?

不断撒种

杨德文牧师著

耶稣一直行动着。他的生活有目的和目标。他的使命是拯救和寻找失丧的人。

耶稣教导众人并向他们传道。马可福音4:35记载：“当那天晚上，耶稣对门徒说：我们渡到那边去罢。” 耶稣到了另一边，救了一个被鬼附的人，不久之后，马可福音5:21写道：“耶稣坐船又渡到那边去……” 他继续医治病人，甚至使一个女孩死里复活。

他不受风暴或人的拒绝所影响。风暴没有让他回转船只。在登岸并救了被鬼附的人后，镇上的人因为害怕而请耶稣离开。他播下了一颗种子，然后渡到另一边，继续教导和撒种。

在马可福音第4章里，耶稣教导门徒撒种的比喻。人们对话语的接受程度各不相同（路旁、石头地、荆棘地、好土）。值得注意的是，耶稣并没有说“只在好土上撒种”，而是告诉我们“有一个撒种的出去撒种。撒的时候，有落在……”。要明白这一点，我们就需要明白耶稣时代的耕作技术不同于现代方法。

在耶稣的时代，农夫会带着一袋种子，用手撒在田地上。这是一种快速覆盖大面积的方法，因此有种子落在不太理想的土壤上。犁田时，田地并没有翻得均匀，因为农夫使用的是由牛或驴拉动的简单木犁，因此在同一块田地里有不同类型的土壤。

无论反应如何都要撒种

实际上，人们听到福音后会有不同的反应。耶稣拯救被鬼附的人后，镇上的人因为目睹所见而害怕，请求耶稣离开。为什么他们会想让耶稣离开？难道耶稣没有拯救他们当中的一个狂人吗？相比之下，被拯救的人想要亲身跟随耶稣。但耶稣对他有不同的使命，就是要他在社区中作光。马可福音5:19-20写道：“你回家去，到你的亲属那里，将主为你所做的是何等大的事，是怎样怜悯你，都告诉他们 。” 那人就走了，在低加波利传扬耶稣为他做了何等大的事，众人就都希奇。

耶稣为我们示范了无论反应如何都要撒种。我们的角色是与神同工撒种，作灯台上的灯，作祂的见证人。

带着信心撒种

马可福音4:35记载，耶稣向门徒解释撒种的比喻后，他们上了一条船要渡到另一边。我相信他们知道他们是有使命的，而不是无目的地航行。一场风暴来了，门徒们反应道：“ 我们丧命，你不顾么？” 他们反应的关键是对与他们在一起的主缺乏信心。“你们还没有信心么？” 向我们揭示了他们的信心被巨大的风暴击溃了。尽管他们到目前为止有那么多与耶稣共度的经历，但他们仍然不信任耶稣能带他们渡过风暴，到达目的地。

在马可福音5:35中，有人去找管会堂的，说他的女儿已经死了，不要再劳动耶稣了。但耶稣对他说：“不要怕，只要信！” 信意味着忽视那些告诉你“完了”的声音。耶稣没有让消极和怀疑的声音干扰管会堂的。他把嘲笑的人都赶走了。

在我们带着信心撒种的使命中，重要的是与有信心的人在一起。他们能提醒我们不要放弃撒种。他们能激励我们带着信心撒种，直到看到成果。他们能与我们一起度过风暴，使我们专注于那位委派我们撒种的主。他们帮助我们意识到满有能力和权柄的耶稣与我们同在。无论风暴或挑战如何，撒种的使命继续进行。

神已经把种子交到我们手中。这种子是用来种植的，不只是为了我们的享受。福音运动是撒种的号召。我们要去分享耶稣、分享话语、分享好消息。

你愿意加入这个福音运动吗？你愿意将撒种作为你的优先事项，以与我们的主耶稣一起收获大丰收吗？