Have you ever considered that our Messiah Yeshua lived in an agrarian society. Yes he was a carpenter (actually the Greek word probably translates better as “stonemason”), but, whereas today less than 2% of Americans make a living by farming or ranching, in the First Century the vast majority of the population would have been living off the land. It’s because so many people could relate to agrarian life that Messiah Yeshua used the illustration of the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:3-8 (TLV):
“Behold, a sower went out to
spread some seed. As he was scattering the seed, some
seeds fell by the road; and the birds came and ate them up. Other
seeds fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil. They sprang up
immediately, because the soil wasn’t deep. But when the
sun came up, they were scorched; and because they had no roots, they withered
away. Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew and choked
them out. But others fell on good soil and were producing fruit. They
yielded a crop—some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Farming is both an art and a science, and requires real faith. Preparing the soil, buying and sowing the seed, fertilizing, watering and weeding requires tremendous investment of time, effort, resources … and patience. And it doesn’t always payoff: farm bankruptcy is a serious concern in America, as drought, fluctuating commodity prices, insects and disease can lead to serious financial loss despite all the investment.
Some people seem to think that spiritual seed sowing is easy. They believe sharing one’s faith means “shotgun evangelism”, or “just give them the Gospel”, or “better to offend them with the Gospel than not to tell them at all” as effective spiritual seed sowing. How sad. I do not think that many of the people who think and act like this actually share their faith much or see much long term spiritual fruit from their efforts. Remember, the sower isn’t done with his work until after the harvest!
I have found that those who don’t yet believe in Messiah Yeshua, especially Jewish people, need to be actively, authentically and sensitively engaged with regarding the Besora (Good News) over time. People in the First World (USA, Europe, Israel) are not dying to get saved, they're just dying. They need spiritual farmers who will take the time to help prepare their hearts through the work of G-d’s Spirit, including encouraging their continued heart development after they have come to believe. This is not the responsibility of select “religious professionals”, but instead the responsibility of all who profess faith in Messiah Yeshua. If we really love G-d and Messiah Yeshua, we each must make the investment to be spiritual farmers for the spiritual benefit of the people around us who need G-d’s Good News sown into their hearts with love.
Forward for Messiah!
Kirk Gliebe
Rabbi &
Director
