Matthew 13:1-23
“He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear.”
Vs. 1-3a, 10-17 Teaching in Parables
Vs. 3b-9, 18-23 Sower, Seed Soils
Intro
We last saw Jesus as he dealt with the hardened hearts of the Pharisees. His family, though they loved him, did not receive him as well. Thus He spoke of the spiritual relationship being greater than the physical relationship. Things had radically changed in His ministry as far as concerned reaching people with the gospel.
Now we move to chapter 13, in which we see, based upon the response at that time, Jesus changing His teaching style. In preparation for this study, I wanted to look at keys to what Jesus did and why He did it. So I got on my computer to see how many times Jesus used the word “hear, hears, or hearing.” What I found blew my mind. 16 times in 20 verses, Jesus uses these words, which in the Greek are the same. This then gives us great insight both in the condition of the heats to which Jesus started teaching in parables as well as giving us the context for the parable of the sower.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was known for his great wit, got tired of smiling that big smile and saying the usual things at all those White House receptions. So, one evening, he decided to find out whether anybody was paying attention to what he was saying. As each person came up to him with an extended hand, he flashed that big smile and said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.”
People would automatically respond with comments such as “How lovely!” or “Just continue with your great work!” Nobody listened to what he was saying, except one foreign diplomat. When the president said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning,” the diplomat responded softly, “I’m sure she had it coming to her.” People are all the time making up reasons as to why they don’t give their lives over to Jesus, but it appears from this passage that the main reason they don’t understand Jesus is that they don’t listen!
Vs. 1-3a, 10-17 Teaching in Parables
Vs. 1-2 These verses speak to the timing to which Jesus began speaking in parables.
A.) “On the same day”: Jesus changes location; as the opposition mounted, Jesus went out to the seashore. Hey, I don’t want to make too much out of this, but I love the fact that Jesus took time to relax to get away from pressure.
B.)Vs. 3a Jesus changed His method: We notice in verse two it was in response to the multitudes gathering around Him that He moved to a boat began to teach in parables. Now if you have ever been near a lake, then you know how
What Are Parables What Are Their Value?
Before we go too far, we need to answer two questions:
1.) What Are Parables?
2.) What Is Their Value?
Vs. 3a “He spoke many things to them in parables.”
Note: To begin with, let’s look at this chapter for just a moment in its entirety. Jesus gives 8 parables, two of which He interprets for His disciples (sower and tares). All, but the first one, are descriptions about the “kingdom of heaven” (the words “the kingdom of heaven is like” appear in them). Simply put, all of the parables in this chapter except the first one are from the king’s perspective of His kingdom. The first parable, “The Sower,” is about the mission of the King. Jesus calls the things that he is sharing “the mysteries of the kingdom,” verse 11.
We also note based on verse 53 that these were all spoken on the same day. The reason that this is important is in the interpretation of these parables. Jesus uses some of the same illustrations in all of the 8 parables; thus, we need to be consistent in using the interpretation from one parable to another. Jesus further explains in verse 11 that the use of parables makes a distinction between two groups of people: “those that have those that have not.”. What is it that they don’t have? Verse 13 and the parable of the sower will reveal that which they do not have.
What Are Parables?
Now the word “parable” comes from two words: “para,” which means alongside of, and “ballo,” from which we get our English word “ball,” which, as you can guess, means to throw or cast. So the word means to throw alongside of. This simple definition helps clarify the reason for using parables in the first place.
A great many people believe that Jesus used parables to just people of the kingdom. Nothing could be further from the truth. Literally, a parable is the telling of an earthly story next to a spiritual truth in order to help explain the truth. Jesus used things that everyone could see, and He placed those things next to spiritual truth so that they might grasp the truth. If you will remember, Jesus spoke the truth plainly and the Pharisees rejected the truth, so now He throws stories alongside the truth so that some may grasp the truth, others would just hear the story and walk away.
What Is Their Value?
To answer this question, we need to understand why they were employed.
Vs. 10-12 It is here that we need to skip ahead and see what Jesus has to say as the disciples asked the same question.
A.) First, it is important to recognize that the disciples noticed not only the change in teaching but that the change was not directed towards them but to those outside of the relationship they enjoyed (“Why do you speak to them in parables?”).
B.) Vs. 11 In this verse we have what many have concluded as a great difficulty. If we take this verse out of the rest of His explanation, it would appear that He is saying that He speaks this way to keep those that don’t understand the mysteries of the kingdom from knowing them. This, of course, is not consistent with Jesus’ charter or mission.
What is clear from this verse is that the disciples possessed something (the mysteries of the kingdom) that others did not have. Why the multitudes don’t have this understanding is what Jesus goes on to explain.
C.) Vs. 12 According to Jesus, here the disciples already had something that the multitudes and Pharisees did not have, and because of this they were able to receive more. And the opposite was also true: those that did not possess what the disciples had would have what little they had taken from them.
So what was the difference between the disciples and the multitudes? There was something that the disciples possessed that gave them the capacity to hear and comprehend spiritual truths. Further, it was not possible to grasp spiritual truth apart from this; more than this, whatever little spiritual truth they possessed, they were going to lose it.
Folks, there is only one difference between these two groups. Might I say there are still the same two groups? The difference is found in the fact that the disciples had made a relational commitment to the King. May I say that though this relationship was immature and faltered many times, it still remained?
D.) Vs. 13-15 Jesus further confirms this in His statement in verse 13 and His quote of Isaiah. The key word of verse 13 is the word “because.” In Mark’s account in chapter 4:12, the words “so that” appear, and again it gives a rendering that seems to imply that Jesus taught in parables “so that” people would remain in the state of blindness, thus in a place where they would not come to repentance. But in Matthew we see that the multitudes did see, but they did not see with perception. They heard, but not with understanding.
E.) Vs. 15 The reason for deafness and blindness? “The heart of the people has grown dull.” Simply put, when it came to seeing the truth, they had shut their eyes. When it came to hearing the truth, they stopped their ears. They had rejected the Lord, and in so doing, they could not know the mysteries of His kingdom.
F.) Vs. 16-17 Here Jesus again alludes to the fact that through their relationship to Him they had a fuller revelation of spiritual truths than did even the O.T. saints.
So why the parables? It was not to keep people in the dark because of their rejection of Jesus; it was the opposite. Since they rejected Him, which caused them further blindness, He chose to teach earthly stories and throw them along with spiritual truths so that they might see the truth and discover the reason for their blindness (their own hard heart).
Parables are always love letters. They were given in infinite love to people who rejected Jesus so that those who have rejected Him might hear the grace that is available to them even in their state of blindness.
Vs. 3b-9, 18-23 Sower, Seed and Soils
In Mark’s account, we are told that the understanding of this parable is the key to understanding all the other parables. We have a great benefit as Jesus gives us the interpretation of this parable. So let’s take care of the details first:
1.) There are three points of interest in this story:
A.) The sower: Who we are told in verse 37 is the Son of Man. Though truly there is a since that all who are His disciples are sowers.
B.) The seed: Clearly in Jesus’ explanation of the parable, the seed is the word of God. Also in Mark 4:14, we are told that the sower sows the word.”
C.) The soils represent the responses of the heart upon hearing the word of God.
As we read this parable along with Jesus’ explanation clearly, this parable is about “fruitfulness.” A farmer sows seed to bear fruit; that is why he does so. Typically a farmer would take his bag full of about 30 pounds of seed and throw it out over about half an acre, and in about 4 months they hoped to see fruit from his labor. These fields were not cultivated fields; they were plowed crudely, only breaking the soil up to 4 inches. As they were plowed, the seed was scattered; sometimes they were plowed to cover the seeds, but always.
So what we are looking at is the seed in relation to the soil and whether or not it would produce fruit. In this story, 3/4 of the work does not produce any lasting fruit. Only 25% of the seed sown produced any fruit, and out of that 25%, it had faring results (100, 60, 30). I find this truth quite comforting. A lot of times we are out sowing the word of God, and we just don’t see the results that we would like. Well, the problem is not the seed; folks, the problem is not even the field; the problem is what is in the field, which does not allow germination.
Eternity magazine did a study on a large crusade. 178 churches came together, and in one week, 4,106 decisions were made for Christ. Within three months, only 3% were still going to church. So what is in the soil? Well, according to this parable and Jesus’ interpretation, there are three enemies to the fruitfulness of the word of God in the human heart:
1.) Vs. 4-19 Birds = the wicked one: Now it is important to realize that the fields here had paths through them. So the farmer would take his wooden plow and would go through an area that had a path in it, scattering the seeds. Simply put, the ground would be hard, and so the birds would come and eat the seed. So if a person is hard and not receptive to the seed of the word of God, the Devil will come and snatch the word away. Notice that they heard the word but did not consider it (understand). It is not that they could not understand it; rather, it was that they did not want to think about it wisely in their lives.
2.) Vs. 5-220-21 Stony ground: Here the enemy is the flesh. They say that sounds great; they raise their hands at any altar call and come forward all excited, but when they see that the flesh has to die they cannot continue to live a lifestyle of sin, then they don’t want anything to do with their profession. People don’t know anything any more about commitment and cost. Once they find out there is a cost involved, they walk away.
3.) Vs. 7- 22 Thrones = deceitfulness of riches: Here the enemy is the world system. Pleasure and the pursuit of it cause those to say the cost is too great. Now the problem with this soil is that it is too receptive to any kind of seed. It simply grows all sorts of things that choke out the seed of the word of God.
So what is the difference?
8– 23 The difference is found in Jesus’ words, “he who hears the word understands.” It is found in the person who considers the truth; the person who receives the King will bear fruit. Now with that said, the key is in hearing. How are you hearing? Do you want the truth? Folks, fruitfulness has everything to do with how you hear.
Matthew 13:24-43
“Three Tactics of the Enemy to Destroy Fruitfulness”
Vs. 24-30, 36-43 False Christians
Vs. 31-32 False Growth
Vs. 33-35 False Teaching
Intro
You will remember that last week we looked at Jesus’ change in teaching. In response to the hardness of hearts, He began to throw earthly stories along with spiritual truth. We looked at the first of eight parables all spoken the same day. Seven of them deal with what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.
Now the parable of the sower had to do with hearing, and we saw that only 1/4
of the time will the word of God produce fruit. It is wonderful to see that our Lord desires to produce fruitful lives. We also saw that there are three great enemies from within that are against the word of God, producing fruit in the soil of human hearts:
1.) The devil
2.) The flesh
3.) The world
Having said that, we now move on to the next three parables, and we shall see that out of the “seed that fell on good ground that yielded a crop,” Satan does three things to lesson the fruit they shall have in the world. Satan does all that he can to try to keep the seed of the word of God from ever producing fruit, and having lost the battle there, he does all he can to keep the fruitful ground from having an impact.
Vs. 24-30, 36-43 False Christians
Before we look at this second parable and the only other parable in which Jesus gives us an interpretation, let’s just make some general observations.
1.) You will notice that Jesus does not give the interpretation of this parable until after He sent the multitudes away, verse 36.
2.) This parable is about a field in which there were two sowings, one of good seed and the other of counterfeit seed, and what the owner of the field did in light of this.
3.) The field was the property of the man who sowed the good seed, and he sowed it with the purpose of a harvest, verse 30. He sowed good seed and expected to see fruit from his labor.
4.) The owner of the field has an enemy who tries to thwart the purpose of the owner by sowing tares into the field to destroy the harvest. Now the tares would cause destruction not at the harvest but rather during growth as an attempt was made to move them.
Vs. 24: “The kingdom of heaven is like…” First, I want us to again look at the fact that all these parables, though given to the multitudes, are about the kingdom from the perspective of the King. This is important because what Jesus is going to reveal to us will go against our common perception of Christianity, but we must understand that it does not go against what Jesus knew was going to happen.
Vs. 24, 37-38: “a man who sowed good seed in his field.” Here we shall put Jesus’ interpretation alongside the parable in order to get the meaning.
A.) “a man who sowed good seed.” = Vs. 37, “the Son of Man.” What this reveals to us is that Jesus has a purpose, a plan if you will. This relates to what He said in the parable of the sower, verse 23, namely that Jesus wants to produce fruitful lives.
- Lives that work as He intended them to work prior to the fall, in fellowship with their creator.
- Lives that are characteristic of fullness of joy.
- Lives that are set free from the burden and failure of the bondage to sin.
B.) Vs. 24 “In his field.” = Vs. 38, “The field is the world.” The field is not human hearts; it is the world. Note this carefully, for this is a radical statement when you look at the interpretation next to the parable. This reveals two things:
1.) From the perspective of Jesus: The whole world belongs to Him; it is His world, His property; He is the owner, not Satan. Is that not great? In the N.L.T. translation, Ps. 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” Man, if you are not a believer this morning and you have never met the Lord, I want you to realize this: Right now, even though you have never given God much of a thought, even though you may have wasted your life, Jesus has purchased the field with you in it.
2.) From man’s perspective: The devil is a squatter! A squatter is a person who settles land that they have no legal right to, and then they work it for their own advantage.
C.) Vs. 24 “good seed.” = Vs. 38, “The sons of the kingdom.” The good seed here is the word of God that has produced fruit (verse 23). So the Lord is sowing believers into the world for the purpose of bearing fruit; that is the picture.
D.) Vs. 25-26 “..enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat.” = Vs. 38-39, “The tares are the sons of the wicked one.” “The enemy who sowed them is the devil.” So here we see the strategy of the devil sowing false Christians (tares) into the world. Notice carefully where he is sowing these false believers—yes, the world, but next to the believers.
Now I did a little background study on tares. Literally, it is darnel, a ryegrass that is common in this region of Israel. Now when they begin to sprout, they are identical in every way to wheat; the color, shape, and fragrance are the same. In fact, no expert could tell the difference between seedlings. The only way a person can tell the difference is upon maturity; as wheat grows, it develops a head that has the grain. Ryegrass has no head; it too produces seeds, but its seeds are poisonous.
Folks, simply put, tares are put into the soil next to true grain to take up the nutrients and space. In the end, all they produce is poisonous fruit. What we have is a clear picture of Satan’s plan of sowing counterfeit Christians among the world. Their fruit is poisonous. Their purpose is deception; may I be so bold as to say religious? That is Satan’s plan to sow phony Christians into the world right next to the real thing. So much of what the world rejects as Christian is not Christian at all; it is the poisonous fruit of religious people.
Vs. 27-29, 39b-43 So what are we to do? Do we go about trying to distinguish and pull out all the traits? Well, the answer is given to let them go on till harvest time. When maturity happens, it is obvious which is the “good seed” and what are the “tares.” God will sort it all out. We must oppose the lies of the tares, but primarily we need to spend our time bearing fruit, not uprooting tares. The reason is simple: we cannot always tell which is which, and we may cause damage to good seed, not to mention wasting our time. So what’s going to happen to those tares? Well, God is going to bundle them all together and have a bond-fire.
So then the first thing Satan does is send out false or counterfeit Christians to cause the world to be confused about the Word of God.
Vs. 31-32 False Growth
Now here the first thing we notice is that this parable told to the multitudes and the disciples has no interpretation, and the disciples did not ask for one. Again, this parable represents the kingdom of heaven from the perspective of the king. Now what we want to do in the interpretation of this parable is interpret it in light of the interpretations already given us, which will be in harmony with the rest of scripture. With that said, we are not concerned with the popularity of an interpretation, nor are we concerned with interpreting these scriptures with a view of history.
Vs. 31-32 So what do we see here?
A.) Well, let’s go over His last two parables:
1.) Vs. 19-23 Jesus spoke of sowing seed and how only 1/4 of it produced fruit.
2.) Vs. 24-30 He spoke, sowing good seed in the field and the devil sowing counterfeits into the same field.
So using the sowing seed analogy, we see these same things:
A.) A man = most likely Jesus
B.) Sowing seed = The Word of God
C.) The field = The world
D.) The birds of the air = the wicked one or the devil
Now the popular teaching of this parable goes like this: The gospel is going to be so successful as to grow enormously large; tell all the world will come and rest in its branches. The problem with this interpretation is that it does not use what Jesus already declared as the interpretation. The difficulty lies in two interpretations:
1.) “Mustard seed, which is indeed the least of all the seeds, but when it is grown, it is greater than the herb’s and becomes a tree.” Now clearly, the mustard seed represents something small and insignificant, which could be the church, but the problem lies in the results, not in its beginning. The other thing that is interesting is that ordinarily in scripture fruit-bearing trees are used to depict believers. The mustard was a plant that flourished in the Holy Land and produced hot-flavored seeds that were used as a condiment. When it is fully grown, they would grow larger than the other herb garden plants, sometimes reaching a height of ten to fifteen feet. It does not produce anything of real value; it is not something you can live on. All you can do with mustard is use it to flavor other foods.
2.) “The birds of the air come nest in its branches.” Throughout scripture, birds represent evil. And Jesus used them in the parable of the sower as evil. They are what snatched away the seed. Simply put, this cannot be seen as a good thing.
So what is our Lord describing here? Well, it seems that He is saying that the part of the church that the world sees, the favorable part, the part that enhances the world’s taste buds for the things of their appetites, will grow very large. The superstructure that houses this will leave its “lowliness, meekness, and service.” It will grow to the point where all it does is produce that which enhances people’s worldly appetites and be a place where the devil can make his home in it. You say, “Hey, now wait a minute there, buddy.” May I tell you what Paul had to say some 70 years later to this young pastor, Timothy? (2 Tim. 3:1-5)
“You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.”
So what does this parable tell us of? It speaks of false growth. Growth in the things that don’t matter. Things in which the world can feel quite at home. The church that has gotten all caught up in entertainment. That all it speaks of is liberal issues. Hey, if all we are is some flavor enhancer, then we’ve missed being fruitful! Satan’s plan, it would seem, is to emphasize the unimportant, get the church caught up in numbers, and define success the way the world does: “How many sold?” Today, people want to know how many were saved. Folks, I want to know “How many are walking with God.” “How many are growing in “lowliness, meekness, and service”?
Vs. 33-35 False Teaching
Here again is a parable that many try to interpret as a good thing. They try to say that the church is going to spread at such a rate as its influence will cover the earth. Now we need to remember what this parable would have meant to those that heard it. What was left to them?
Vs. 33 There are several key parts in this parable:
1.) Leaven: This word is mentioned 98 times in the Bible and 13 times in the N.T.; not one time is it ever used to illustrate a good thing. It is, however, used every time as an illustration of evil, in particular of false teaching. By its very nature, it corrupts quietly until it “puffs up” the doe it has infested.
2.) Women who hid it: When a woman is used in a doctrinal since in scripture she is always thought of as an instrument of evil. Now if what she was doing was good, why does she hide it? Now leaven makes bread more palatable, more light, and more desirable, but it does so by corrupting that which has value for the grain.
3.) Three measures of meal: Now I’ve traced the origin of this phrase back to when it was first used and then looked at how it was used on down through its usage. This phrase first appears in Gen. 18:6, where Sarah was instructed to prepare a mean offering for the supernatural visitor whom Abraham entertained. Over and over again, you will find this phrase being used as it relates to fellowship with God and man.
Now don’t miss this. Jesus is describing the introduction of something false into fellowship that would corrupt it, and it would do so by puffing it up. Now leaven again is most often used as a picture of false teaching, which would take away the true basis of fellowship and replace it with a man-centered basis. And as Jesus Paul would go on to say, a “little leaven leavens the whole lump.”
Wow! Here we have all that is wrong with what is generally regarded as “the church”:
1.) False Christians: hypocrisy from those who look like Christians but really aren’t. And what are we to do about it? Hey, keep bearing fruit where we are and let the Lord sort it out at the harvest.
2.) False Growth: An overemphasis on numbers and success. Majoring in the minors, being so ecumenical that we only enhance the world’s appetites. All that entertainment-based stuff that seeks to get people to church rather than making disciples.
3.) False teaching: Getting people away from the simplicity of the gospel and fellowship only through the work of His son, to teaching that puts what we do above what He has done.
In closing, may I remind you that Jesus knew the enemy’s tactics; He is not unaware of them? The question we need to ask ourselves this morning is: Where are we?
Matthew 13:44-53
“Secrets of the Kingdom to Men of Faith”
Vs. 44 Purpose of God
Vs. 45-46 Passion of God
Vs. 47-50 Program of God
Vs. 51-52 Our Responsibility
Intro
As we continue on in chapter 13 looking at the earthly stories thrown along spiritual truth (parables), you will notice that these parables come from a different perspective. In verse 36 we have a division; Jesus sent the multitudes away, then He explained the parable of the tares, and from there went on to give four more parables to just them. None of them have interpretations, yet all have to do again with the kingdom of heaven.
The view then is from the King to those men who were following Jesus, who had just heard how the enemy (Satan) was going to try to disrupt the fruitfulness of the planting of believers into the world. Try to imagine what you would be feeling about now after hearing that there would be: False Christians are sown next to true Christians to confuse people.
Then you see how the church would become enamored with its numbers and structure to the point that it would be a nesting place for Satan. Lastly, how the church would leave the simplicity of fellowship with God through the work of Christ to that of false teaching emphasizing works. Would you be a bit discouraged? Now it is heard that Jesus gives these men of faith 4 parables to show how God views His plan and, more importantly, how His plan will be accomplished and what our role is.
May I make a statement that is somewhat obvious? “The value of something is based upon the price someone is willing to pay for it.” It does not matter what the material is made out of, nor does it matter how much effort was put into something; ultimately, the value of something will be based upon what someone else is willing to pay for it. Why do I bring this up? Because in the first two of these parables we see how much we are valued.
The story is told of a husband and his wife who wanted to take an airplane ride, and all they had was $50.00. Well, the price to take them up for 30 minutes was $100.00. So the husband went over to the pilot and began to negotiate a deal so that they both could take the ride. They hailed back and forth until the pilot got tired of the argument and said, “Look, I’ll tell you what, if you can go through the whole ride without saying another word, I’ll take you both for free.” With that, the husband grabbed his wife and hopped into the plane, and off they went. The pilot did loops, roles, spins, flew upside down, and not a word out of the two. Finally, they landed, and the pilot said, “I’ve got to hand it to you both, not a word; this ride is on me.” To which the husband replied, “Yeh, it was really tough; I almost said something when my wife fell out.” What was the value this man placed upon his wife? Not much!
Vs. 44 Purpose of God
Vs. 44 Let us first look at what we do know about this parable based upon the interpretations already given us.
A.) The field: Now we have already been told what the field is, verse 38, “the field is the world.”
B.) A man: Here we see that this man is the one who:
1.) Found the treasure.
2.) Sells all he has to purchase the field.
Based upon the above facts and verse 37, the man is “the Son of man” or Jesus.
Now perhaps you have heard this parable taught this way:
“The treasure in the field is Jesus. The man who discovers the treasure is those believers who find Jesus and give up all they have to follow Him.” Now there is no doubt that Jesus is the greatest treasure that there is, and in a sense, when a person follows Christ, they give up on their former life to follow Him, but that is not what this parable is about. It is not from our perspective; it is not from the perspective of earth looking up, but rather from heaven looking down.
With that said, we are introduced to two new word illustrations:
A.) Treasure hid in a field: Now I am told that this was something that wealthy people did; they would take their treasure and bury it in a field they owned to keep robbers from stealing it. So what we have to ask ourselves is: What is the treasure that is hidden in relation to the world? We already know that the field is the world. The Lord cannot be the treasure, for He is not hidden in the world; He is in plain view. Now it is interesting to trace this word treasure back in scripture. If you do, you will find it in the word mentioned 37 times in the O.T. and 5 times God calls Israel His “special treasure.” Now in a prophetic sense, this treasure is Israel, who was to be a light to the Gentiles but had become nothing more than a forgotten treasure in the field of the world.
But in general, since you and I are the treasure. Perhaps you feel like this? You are not living the way you ought to in the world. You’re not living up to what God has for you. You’re some hidden treasure in a barren field, all that earth surrounding you, and you are covered by the world. So what happens? Well, the Lord comes along and finds you. You do not find the Lord; He finds you and digs you up out of the miry clay. Our Lord is a treasure hunter, you know! He is always desiring to bring us to our full potential in Him.
B.) For joy selling all he has purchased the field: Now this cannot be you and I purchasing Jesus, for we have nothing in which to purchase such a treasure as our salvation. Matt. 16:26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” So this purchase has to be Jesus purchasing the world and the treasure; well, it is you and I.
With that, several things in this parable jump out at me. It is the words:
A.) “For joy over it.” The first picture here deals with how he sees the lost. I must admit this blows my mind. Oh, how He loves us. Rom. 5:8 says, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Heb 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
What was that Joy if not in part purchasing that “hidden treasure”? We are all the time wondering if what we do, what we think, and who we are really matter. So we go out and do all sorts of things, trying to matter. Don’t you know you are valued not upon something in and of yourself; you are valued because Christ has loved you enough to die for your sins.
B.) “Sells all he has.” May I remind you of what I said already that value is determined upon what a person is willing to pay for something? It is at this point that, as I begin to ponder the value He has placed upon you and me, I start to lose it. He who, according to Phil. 2:5-8, was by His very nature God. According to Col. 1:16, God created everything and holds everything together; he sold all of that, laid all of that aside, and purchased us. Notice it cost him “all that he has.” 1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” It is none other than the pierced hand of Jesus that holds the title deed to the earth. He bought it so that He might redeem the treasure.
You may not see yourself as a treasure; the world may not see you as a treasure, and to that extent you are hidden, but you are valued enough by Jesus that He died for you.
So there you have it, the purpose of God, to purchase a treasure (you I) for Himself.
Vs. 45-46 Passion of God
Vs. 45-46 This parable moves along much like the other one. Perhaps you have heard this parable teach something like this:
“The Lord is the “pearl of great price,” and the unbeliever is to seek Him out and purchase Him so that He might possess Him.” Again, there is a touch of beauty to that interpretation, but it is not what Jesus is saying. The picture is not of the sinner seeking Jesus, but rather of Jesus seeking the sinner. There are again several parts of this parable that need further understanding in order to get the full picture of what Jesus is saying.
A.) The merchant: Like we have seen before, this can only fit Jesus. What is He doing? Seeking beautiful pearls. We are not told where he is looking for the pearls, but it is safe to say that it is in the world.
B.) Pearl of Great Price: It is again interesting to look through our scripture and search for the word pearl. You will only find this word twice in all the Bible here of course and again in Revelation 21:21, where we are told that the 12 gates of heaven are made up of one pearl. Nowhere in the O.T. do you find the word pearl mentioned, yet here Jesus uses the word to describe something of great value. To the Jews, pearls were not considered precious. So to the disciples’, as Jesus said this parable and used this illustration of something of great value, they would not have placed a pearl in the blank. Now, among other kingdoms (the gentiles), pearls were thought of as being of great value. So why did Jesus use pearls as an illustration of something of great value? May I suggest two reasons?
1.) They represented the gentiles. That is to say, Jesus is revealing that part of His plan was to redeem gentiles to God.
2.) The way in which they are formed is of special significance. Out of all the gem kingdoms, pearls are the only gem that is organic in nature. All others are from the mineral kingdom. Pearls are produced from a living organism. You do not cut or polish pearls like you do to other gems; to do so would only ruin the quality.
What’s fascinating is to see how much the pearl’s beauty is tied to the work of the oyster. As a grain of sand or a rough object gets trapped inside the oyster, it begins to injure the oyster, so the oyster produces a crystalline substance called nacre, which surrounds the grain of sand and hardens and rounds out the rough spots. The pearl has long been a symbol in other cultures of purity, but it is a purity that has come upon something that was irritating to the point that it caused injury. That is what Christ has done, is it not? Our sin has caused Him injury, and what has he done based upon that injury? He has changed that irritating grain of sand into the purity and beauty of a pearl by covering it with part of Himself. We are valued because of what He has done! We are all pretty irritating at times, but when you allow the Lord into your life, He covers us with His goodness, where we become a trophy of His glory, a gem of His grace.
I spent 14 years as a goldsmith, so I know a little about pearls. You know you cannot clean a pearl. Sweat will ruin them, for they are quite porous, but the oil of your skin will enhance their beauty. Folks, you cannot clean yourself up, and self-effort will only take away the shimmer, but the oil of the Holy Spirit will enhance your beauty.
Vs. 47-50 Program of God
Vs. 47-50 Here we are given the program of God; that is how He is going to reach the world. So what is it that we see? Well, we see the method:
A dragnet was a large net that had weights on the bottom and floats on the top of the net. The weights would go to the bottom of the lake, and the floats would keep the top part of the net up. Then, about 1/2 a day later, fishermen would pull the nets towards them, gathering all the fish that had been trapped in the nets.
B.) Next we have the purpose of such was to gather, and the gathering was to be at the end of the age.
The sea is no doubt the sea of humanity. Those that cast and draw are the angels. So it is not the believers that are casting this net. Based upon this, we see an end-times picture. A time during the tribulation period where there will be a great gathering for the purpose of sorting out what is good fish from the bad fish. The words “so shall it be” indicate that this will be at a yet later date. God is going to sort it all out, tares from the wheat. He has purchased the field. He has covered that which was once irritating with the grace of His righteousness.
Vs. 51-52 Our Responsibility
Vs. 51-52 So what is our responsibility? Well, first we note that this last parable comes after Jesus questioned the disciples’s understanding of how all these parables fit together. Then He calls them to be scribes and householders. Scribes were originally kind of military historians, but during the time of Ezra they were given a new task: teaching truth to uphold the truth of the word of God.
That is what Jesus calls us to cling to the truth of the Word of God, both in our lives and in the field to which He has sent us. Then Jesus uses the term “householder.” That was a person of tremendous authority. He was the master of the house. So what are we to do? Bring out the treasure—both things new and old. The word “brings out” is part of the word that makes up the compound word for parable. It means to cast alongside. We are to take the treasures of the word of God and scatter them out there.
Matthew 13:54-58, 14:1-12
“A Kings Offense”
Vs. 54-56 The Kings Homecoming
Vs. 57-58 The People’s Offense
Vs. 1-2 Herod’s Scandal
Vs. 3-12 The Offense of Trying to Get Ahead
Intro
Folks, in 9 days we will be having an election. May I encourage you to make sure you vote? Important decisions that affect our society will be decided by whom we place in office. These choices will say a lot about the moral, ethical, and character of this nation. This morning we shall look at two scandals that rocked a nation and impeached a king. The first one was a scandal against a community for their rejection of their King. The second is a battle of a king against his nation. As I prepared for this study, it was not hard for me to see our own nation in these scriptures. Folks, we are in a crisis in this country, and it goes much deeper than the scandal in the oval office; it is our reaction to it.
Vs. 54-56 The Kings Homecoming
Vs. 54 Now in verse 53, we saw that when Jesus finished teaching parables, he left Galilee and went to His “own country,” Nazareth, which is some 20 miles west. As we can see, He began to share with the people He grew up with. With that said, let me state the obvious:
1.) It is safe to say that these folks had heard of His fame, for His fame had, as we shall see, spread all the way up to Herod (14:1).
2.) It is also safe to say that they had witnessed some of the power of God as they acknowledge “these mighty works.”.
Yet with that said, we go to the end of the story and find it puzzling to read what Mark tells us in Mark 6:5 that Jesus “could do no mighty work there.” Matthew tells us that He did not do many mighty works; Mark tells us that He “could” not do so because of their unbelief. There is a critical error that these folks make that many today make. These were the neighbors who grew up with Jesus, marveled at His wisdom, were in awe of His power, and yet did not, or, may I say, would not believe in Him. John tells in 1:11, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”
People are always saying that if Jesus would just do some miracle, just say something full of wisdom, then they would believe. Well, here is the test for that opinion. What we are going to see is that their failure was not due to a lack of information but rather the refusal to respond in obedience to the information.
Let us just ponder these words in John 1:11 for a moment in light of this text: “He came to His own.”
A.) We are told in Luke 2:52 that “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Where did He do that? Why in Nazareth! These people had witnessed this in His life. There was no university, no Rabbinical school in Nazareth, yet they had witnessed His maturity. This synagogue was His synagogue; they had seen Him there before. Yet this familiarity brought about several key things that led to their rejection, again not upon lack of information but rather on the refusal to respond in obedience to that information.
A.) Vs. 54b Perplexed Look again at their response to what they heard and saw. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?” Notice that there is no denial of what they witnessed, only a question as to its origin. This perplexity led to the blinding of their eyes, or, if you will, it made them skeptical. Hey, I’m not saying that there was not a great mystery about Him, but this mystery caused them to reject Him in spite of the facts that they witnessed.
Vs. 57-58 The People’s Offense
B.) Vs. 55-57a Cynical They begin to run through their minds what they saw and heard against what was familiar, namely his origin. That was their question, “Where is the origin of what they witnessed?” They thought they knew his origin; he was the carpenter’s son. He was no scholar, but rather just a trademen’s son. His mother’s name is Mary; she is that pleasant peasant woman who was pregnant with him prior to marriage. His younger siblings are still here today, and they aren’t all that.
Look carefully at the last sentence of verse 56, “Where then did this man get all these things?” Their hearts have become cynical; in fact, verse 57 says that they were “offended” at Him. That word in the Greek is where we get the English word “scandalized.” They stumbled at him. He was the rock of offense. They wanted to be able to figure out what they saw and heard, and the only conclusion they could not entertain was that what they saw and heard could not be reconciled by a mere man; therefore, He was not a mere man; He was God the Son. So many today say, “I don’t believe in Jesus, for I have seen His brothers and sisters.” If you can’t find anything wrong with the character of Christ, attack His family.
C.) Vs. 57b-58 Spiritually sterile All that familiarity, and it was that very thing that caused them to not trust Him. And because they would not trust Him, they were not touched by Him. Wow! Because they would not account for what they heard and saw, they refused it altogether. Folks, a miracle or a mighty work is not something that is intended to create belief; instead, they are in response to belief. Unbelief was the reason for the lack of mighty works.
They had intellectual conviction; they knew His wisdom and power, but they did not have belief. That is, they refused to abandon their wills to Him. If a person says they believe in God then all week long lives if they do not they do not believe, they may have intellectual conviction, but that is all they have that will be enough to keep them from experiencing His touch. All too many of us are like these folks from Nazareth; until we can account for something, we refuse to obey and trust.
The story is told of a terrible drought in the southern states and of an old preacher who decided to do something about it. He gathered his congregation together to pray for rain. Announced the meeting in advance and had a great turnout. As he got up to the pulpit and looked out at the packed sanctuary, he said, “Now you all know why we are here, and I’m glad to see all of you coming out to pray for rain, but what I want to know is, where are your umbrellas?”
That is the scandal in our lives! We pray and seek the Lord to move and work in our lives, but unless we can figure out how He is going to do it, we don’t bring any umbrellas! Trusting Jesus is based upon the evidence of who He is, not upon how, where, or when His will is going to be accomplished. So today in our country there is a scandal going on; it is the rejection of Jesus as the healer of our land because we cannot figure out how, where, or when He is going to accomplish what His will is.