The Parable of the Sower

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Pastor Foley

Matthew 13 starts with the words “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.” But what “same day” was it?

It was a day in which the Pharisees started plotting to kill Jesus because he healed somebody on the Sabbath. And when he drove out demons, they accused him of casting out demons by “Beelzebul, the prince of demons.”

Many Christians think Jesus performed miracles to attract people to believe in him—to “prepare the soil.” But when Jesus performed miracles, people hated and persecuted him for it. For Jesus, doing good for others is not a strategy for making people Christians. It is simply the character of God. This is why Jesus often told people not to tell anyone after he healed them.

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. (Matthew 12:16)

As Christians, then, we must do good not as a means of making people Christians, but because it is our identity as Christians.

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (Luke 6:35)

When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation. (Matthew 12:45)

Jesus came, healed, spoke in parables, and did everything he did in order to testify to the truth.

“You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. (John 18:37)

Many Christians believe Jesus told parables to help people understand truth more easily. But Jesus said he told parables for the opposite reason:

He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” (Mark 4:11-12 NIV)

Jesus’ parables are not merely illustrations. They are soil detectors—diagnostic tools that reveal the heart condition of the listener. In other words, Jesus tells parables to reveal whose heart is good soil to receive his word and become his disciple.

In Matthew 13:3-9, Jesus tells a parable:

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear. (Matthew 13:3-9 NIV)

Jesus is not only telling this parable; he is enacting it—and has been enacting it since Genesis—as the one who has sown the word of God in the world from the beginning. In Genesis, Satan snatched up the word of God from Adam and Eve like birds snatching seed, telling them they could be like God and self-sufficient instead of depending on God.

God could have given Adam and Eve over to death immediately. But in his mercy, he made a way for humans to receive his care. He created temporary mediators—kings, priests, laws, tribes, families, and others—to mediate his care to humanity. These were temporary life-support gifts through which God cared for us after humans rejected him and became enslaved to sin. But humans became accustomed to relying on these mediators and pushed God even further away.

It is almost like this quote from the character Morpheus in the 1999 movie The Matrix:

The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth…that you are a slave…like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.

Jesus does not use the tools of the Matrix to make people more receptive. He does not “till the soil.” He sows the seed as it is, regardless of the condition of the ground. This is the way Jesus chooses to sow.

Those like the “rocky places” are people who cannot withstand persecution. And those like the seed that fell among the thorns are described this way:

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. (Matthew 13:22)

These are people who look to Jesus to fix their worldly problems in the way they want. When he does not, they return to relying on the mediators of the world rather than on God.

Those who are good soil are people who want to live in the real world of God’s truth, which they access through the word of God.

The disciples are confused by Jesus’ evangelism strategy. Why does he speak in parables instead of simply stating the truth? But for Jesus, the parables do tell the truth—only in a way that reveals the receptiveness of a person’s heart.

Telling the truth does not always mean explaining everything plainly. The parables are designed to plant a small, uncomfortable sense in people’s minds that the world we know is not the real world—like a splinter. Some people dig at it until they remove the splinter, the seed. But in good soil, the seed is not removed; it goes deeper.

This is why Jesus says:

Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. (Matthew 13:12)

In this way, there is a significant difference between modern evangelists and Jesus. Jesus does not say, “Whoever does not have, you must prepare their soil so that they may eventually receive the seed.” A person either desires to leave the Matrix, or they do not. You cannot make a person more inclined to leave the false world of the Matrix for the real world of the kingdom of God. What counts as good soil for the Matrix and what counts as good soil for the kingdom of God are entirely different.

Good soil for the Matrix is what Jesus describes as “the path”. Perhaps Jesus refers to it as “the path” because it is, in a sense, smooth and easy for mediators to walk on. It gives no resistance to the Matrix. It shows no openness to the seed sown by Jesus.

The stony ground and thorny ground are also good soil for the Matrix. These soils may show initial openness to the seed, but the persecution and prosperity of the Matrix prevent the seed from taking root.

When a missionary or evangelist tries to “prepare the soil,” they are only preparing people to receive the world, because they are using the tools of the world. People who are of the world have no use for the seed.

When Jesus tells the disciples to find a “person of peace,” it will probably not be the mayor. It will probably be the woman who has had five husbands and is currently living with a man who is not her husband. A “person of peace” is not someone who is at peace with the Matrix. It is someone who has realized that the things of the world can provide nothing of lasting value and who therefore has no peace in this world.

This is why the disciples of Jesus look so shabby. They have no value to the Matrix or to the mediators. They are tax collectors, prostitutes, drug addicts, divorcees, fishermen, and zealots. The Matrix calls such people losers. But Jesus calls them “good soil.” And the way he finds them is by speaking in parables. When they hear Jesus’ parables, they recognize that what he offers is completely foreign to this world. So they follow him to learn more, and they keep following him all the way out of the Matrix.

The only way out of the Matrix is through the waters of baptism. After we pass through those waters, we keep following him.

As Morpheus said,

If you take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

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RUSSIA: CHILD EVANGELISM FELLOWSHIP DESIGNATED “UNDESIRABLE ORGANIZATION”

Posted on July 19, 2026 by tdillmuth

Voice of the Martyrs Korea has learned that Child Evangelism Fellowship-USA (CEF) has been added to the Russian Federation’s list of undesirable organizations. The ruling comes as CEF Korea Missionary Park Tae Yeon faces a possible 17-year sentence in a trial set to begin July 28 in Khabarovsk, according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea.

Ms. Park Tae-yeon has been living with a sincere love for the country of Russia and its people since she arrived there in 1993.

Voice of the Martyrs Korea says the potential legal risks for CEF workers and CEF-related organizations across the Russian Federation should be considered “quite high”.

“The decision to designate CEF-USA as an undesirable organization in Russia was issued by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office on July 6 and issued as Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No. 1000-r dated July 16, 2026,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley. She says the reason for CEF’s inclusion on the list were not specified in the Order.

A screenshot of Child Evangelism’s English language website.

“Basically, when an organization is designated undesirable by Russia, it means that participating in the activities of that organization or storing or distributing materials for the organization—even storing one copy of one material, like at a library—can result in criminal charges,” says Representative Foley. “The ‘undesirable organization’ itself is banned from operating its programs, distributing its materials, or creating structures to accomplish its work. Even a single activity on behalf of an undesirable organization—including transferring money to them—can result in a criminal charge.”

Representative Foley says that because the Order includes no details, it is not immediately clear whether the designation applies to other branches of CEF, including CEF Korea.

“Our experience with these cases in Russia is that designations like this are broadly applied, so CEF work and workers from any branch which are currently operating in Russia will likely be adversely affected by this ban,” says Representative Foley. She notes that the list of undesirable Christian organizations is growing rapidly in Russia.

Voice of Martyrs Korea has been advocating for CEF-Korea Missionary Park Tae-Yeon since her arrest in Khabarovsk, Russia in January. Representative Foley says the missionary is scheduled to appear in court on three immigration-related charges beginning July 28 and that the trial is expected to continue until August 10. Missionary Park faces a possible total 17 years in prison, according to Representative Foley.

A screenshot of Child Evangelism Fellowships Korean language website.

“While Child Evangelism Fellowship is not mentioned in Missionary Park’s indictment, we have been concerned that the delay in Missionary Park’s trial date may have been due to investigators using the case against Missionary Park as an opportunity to gather information which could potentially be used in other, future legal actions by authorities against CEF-related workers and ministries, including the Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals) of Russia, the denomination which has partnered with Child Evangelism Fellowship organization in Russia for some activities,” she says.

An online petition posted by Voice of the Martyrs Korea from February to April garnered more than 4,000 signatures from Korea, along with more than 1,000 signatures from Russia, Ukraine, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Africa, Finland, Zimbabwe, Poland, Hungary, Indonesia, Romania, Nigeria, Scotland, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

In April, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representatives Dr Hyun Sook Foley and CEO Pastor Eric Foley delivered the petition to the Russian Embassy in Seoul, calling for the missionary’s immediate release. Copies of the petition were also sent to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Park Tae Yeon is a Korean missionary who was arrested in Khabarovsk, Russia January 15, one week before she was scheduled to return home to Korea to retire at age 70. Authorities fined the missionary for overstaying her visa, despite the overstay being due to her detainment by Russian authorities.

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He who receives you receives me

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Pastor Foley

“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:40–42)

Léon Davent (French, active 1540–56)
Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well, ca. 1542–45
French,
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1958
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/336967

There is a union between our identity and Christ’s identity. Of course, we are sinners. But Jesus has appointed us as his legal representatives. When Jesus says, “Whoever receives you receives me,” this has precedent in Jewish law in the concept of the shaliach, or “messenger.” A shaliach differs from the modern idea of “power of attorney” because it goes beyond acting on someone’s behalf. A person’s shaliach is regarded as that person’s own presence. To mistreat the shaliach is to mistreat the sender.

This is also how Jesus describes his relationship to his Father. Jesus is the presence of his Father. He says only what the Father gives him to say and does only what he sees the Father doing. When his work is finished, he returns to the Father. In the same way, Jesus sends his disciples—not only his strongest disciples, but also his “little” disciples.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21)

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:42)

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40)

We are legally appointed by Jesus to act with his full authority.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18)

There is one more important thing to know about the shaliach concept. When a sender gave a shaliach specific instructions, the shaliach was legally bound by them. If the shaliach deviated from those instructions, the role was immediately cancelled, and the sender was no longer legally bound by the shaliach’s actions. The shaliach then became legally and financially accountable for those actions. For that reason, shaliachs were careful to follow their sender’s exact instructions.

Genesis 24 gives a clear example. Abraham sends his chief servant as a shaliach to find a wife for Isaac.

Abraham said to his senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” (Genesis 24:4)

From that moment on, the chief servant represents Abraham’s own presence. Throughout the story, he repeats Abraham’s instructions exactly to everyone he meets. He never changes the details or acts according to his own judgment. Like Galatians 2:20, it was no longer the chief servant who lived, but Abraham who lived through him. He acts as a faithful shaliach.

Then he said, “Send me on my way to my master.” But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.” But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.” (Genesis 24:56)

The same is true when Jesus appoints us as his shaliachs. He gave us specific instructions about what to say and what to do.

As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts—no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. (Matthew 10:14)

These are not suggestions; they are shaliach instructions. In fact, the Great Commission itself is a set of specific instructions from Jesus to his shaliachs.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus is appointed shaliach by his Father, who gives him all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus then appoints us as his shaliachs to make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to obey everything he has commanded. He expects us to obey these instructions as fully and specifically as Abraham’s servant obeyed Abraham. Jesus’ commission—including what to say and how to say it—is binding.

Today, however, many pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and ordinary Christians see themselves as spiritual entrepreneurs rather than shaliachs. They think like marketers driven by results instead of servants committed to carrying out specific instructions. Many assume that creativity in evangelism, discipleship, and preaching is good. But that idea does not come from the New Testament or from the Lord Jesus. Jesus never praises the creativity of his shaliachs. He praises their faithfulness.

When we stand before Jesus, he will not say, “Well done, you creative genius. You read the audience well and adapted your content to generate a great response.” If we have fulfilled our shaliach role well, he will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We are faithful when we preach the gospel Jesus gave us by the method he gave us—not when we use other methods or preach other gospels to produce bigger results.

Many preachers today spend more time memorizing marketing-based false gospels, such as the “four spiritual laws,” than memorizing the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached. We are not free to adjust the message or method of Jesus’ gospel. The presentation is part of the proclamation. What are the key aspects of Jesus’ method?

1. Jesus instructs the disciple to be transparent in all things. The disciple must never enter a village under another identity, such as a traveler or businessman. Disciples are to state openly their relationship to Jesus and their role as his representatives.

2. Jesus instructs the disciple to proclaim the gospel empty-handed. Jesus instructs them to bring nothing of human value. In this way, the town’s acceptance or rejection remains pure. The town is not accepting or rejecting Jesus because of the servant’s rhetorical skill or the gifts offered. If the town rejects Jesus, it is not because the servant spoke poorly or failed to offer enough. With only the gospel presented, rejection of the gospel is clearly an act of treason, answerable to Jesus at the end of the age.

3. Jesus makes sure that someone can only receive him and the gospel by taking up their cross. Because the messenger has no food or place to stay, the one who receives him must provide care. When someone provides for the messenger, they publicly identify with him and accept any consequences of that identification. We see this in Acts when Jason is implicated for hosting the apostles. In North Korea, anyone who associates with a missionary may be punished as if they were a missionary. But the one who receives the servant of Jesus receives the same reward as that servant: eternal life. We receive the Father and the Son living in us through the Holy Spirit.

The first Chinese Christians involved in the Back to Jerusalem movement used to pack only a toothbrush and a Bible. They would enter villages where Christianity was restricted and knock on doors. When someone opened the door, they identified themselves as traveling preachers of Jesus. If the household welcomed them, they used the Bible. If the household called the police, they used the toothbrush to brush their teeth in jail. They were prepared for either outcome.

This principle of “double readiness” runs throughout the New Testament. Double readiness means preparing both to actively obey Christ’s command and to serve faithfully when we are restricted from active obedience. Jesus modeled this for us. He actively taught, preached, and healed. He also served passively through imprisonment, trial, and suffering on the cross.

As disciples, we should never think of ourselves as independent actors. Our representation of Jesus extends even to our passive work.

Jesus does not give his disciples a new method or a new teaching. Instead, he entrusts to them the method and message entrusted to him by his Father. Just as Jesus shared only his Father’s words and teaching, we share only Jesus’ words and teaching. Just as Jesus came openly and transparently identifying himself with the Father, we come openly and transparently identifying ourselves with Jesus. Just as Jesus carried nothing except the gospel of the kingdom, we carry nothing except that gospel. Just as Jesus served his Father through both action and passivity, we serve Jesus through both action and passivity. Just as Jesus faithfully declared the Father’s words by the Father’s method, we do the same. And just as the Father received Jesus when he finished his work, Jesus will receive us when we finish his work. Those who receive us in Jesus’ name will also receive, and be received by, the Father.

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