Genesis 45:16-28

“[Pharaoh said], ‘Give no thought to your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them wagons according to the instruction of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. To each one of them he gave a set of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of garments. To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. Then he sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving he said to them, ‘Do not quarrel along the way’” (Genesis 45:20-24)

There are two important parts to this scene of Joseph with his brothers in Egypt.

Mark 4:1-20

“And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word.” (Mark 4:13-14)

Context matters. Context always matters.

We’re tempted to read this parable as some sort of spiritual taxonomy. We can look at different people and decide what sort of seed they were. Were they on the path and quickly scooped up? Were they in rocky ground and therefore they flourish and fail all within the same day? We are tempted to read this parable like Jesus laying out the familia, species, and genus of the spiritual life.

Yet, that’s not what it says. Not at all. The seeds are not people. The seeds are the word (of God). It is true that some people experience this word in different ways – not at all, with brief intensity and also fleeting interest, deeply and profoundly – but this has nothing to do with who the people are, merely how they receive the word. Hence, context matters.

Mark 1:29-45 “As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” (Mark 1:29-31) One of the most frequent prayer requests pastors get is for healing. My sister even recently called me to ask that I – and the church – pray for her nephew-in-law (that is,...

Luke 18:9-14 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even...

1 John 2:12-17 “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have...

Romans 12:1-8 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2) I do not know if I could ever tire of preaching (or writing about) this particular passage and verse from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. The entirety of Christian discipleship is bound up in the moral imperative to “not be conformed to this world” and to “be transformed by the renewing...

Genesis 22:1-18 “[God] said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you’” (Genesis 22:2) You can do a lot worse than to spend time meditating upon the story of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac. Christians across the ages have found within this story both opportunities for great faith – e.g. Abraham doesn’t, ultimately, have to sacrifice his son, but God the Father does...

John 5:19-29 “Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise’… The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.’” (John 5:19, 22-23) It isn’t uncommon to hear a Christian say something like, “I worship the God of the New Testament. The Old Testament God is too angry and judgmental.” It’s an...

Genesis 9:18-29 “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside” (Genesis 9:22) This is just one of those weird Old Testament stories, right? Noah survives the flood that destroys the entire earth – God’s watery reset button on His creation – and immediately after hitting dry land, he plants a vineyard, grows some grapes, makes some wine, gets drunk, and passes out. This may not seem like a holy action, but if you’ve ever taken a long car...

John 1:29-42 “The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.” (John 1:35-37) This is evangelism. Evangelism isn’t tent revivals. It isn’t bumper stickers with a cross that reads “Tougher than nails” (though we can all appreciate that pun). It isn’t awkwardly asking the person in the seat next to you on a place (when they are prohibited...