LESSON 5
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
CHPTRS.12-15
Chapter 13
Matthew 13:1-58
Matt. 13:1-15
Matt. 13: 1-15 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.4 “And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.5 “Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.6 “But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.7 “And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.8 “But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.9 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.12 “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.14 “And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 1 ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ (taken from Is. 6:10)
13:1-15 THE PARABLES OF THE SOVEREIGNDOM And in that day Yah Shua goes from the house and sits upon the hand of the sea: and vast congregations congregate toward him: and as he ascends a sailer, and sits: and all the congregation is standing upon on the shore of the sea. THE PARABLE OF THE SEEDER And he is wording much with parables, wording, Behold, a seeder goes to seed: and when seeding some has fallen upon the hand of the way and the flyers come and eat: others fall upon rock, there not having been much soil and straightway they sprout because of there not having been depth of soil: and when the sun rises they scorch and because of there not having been root, they wither: and others fall among thorns and the thorns ascend and choke them: and others fall on graced earth and give fruit — having one hundred and having sixty and having thirty. To him having ears to hear, Hear. WHY PARABLES? And the disciples approach and word to him, Why you word you to them with parables? And he answers them, wording, To you is given to know the mystery of the sovereigndom of the heavens: and to them they are not given: for he who has, is given to him: and abounds to him: and to him not having, what he has is taken from him. Because to these I word with parables: because seeing, they see not: and hearing, they hear not: and they understand not: and in them is shelemed the prophecy of Yesha Yah that words, Hearing, you hear, and understand not: and seeing you see, and know not: for the heart of this people callouses and their ears hear difficultly: and their eyes shut lest they see with their eyes . Aramaic NC
He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
“Who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 13:9This exhortation refers to our spiritual hearing. As we respond to His anointed Word, knowing that He made us to be spiritually sensitive, we can begin to receive and understand the things of His Kingdom. Therefore, a principle can be established.
“For the ministered Word to become spiritual food, it must proceed from the presence of the Lord through an anointed ministry, in an atmosphere of the anointing.” As His anointed word is quickened within us, and we receive an impartation of “spirit and life,” we will grow into the “fullness of His image and stature.” If we stay in a Church where there is no anointed ministry for reasons such as, “our friends or family are there,” we will not receive spiritual food and we will remain spiritual babies. The Word of God is never fully understood through study, but rather by revelation. We will be amazed at how much we know about the Lord and spiritual things, as we respond to the anointed Word. As our spirits are open to receive, the Lord has much to impart to us. For this to become a reality in our lives, we must listen to the “Anointed Word,” and spend time “Waiting upon the Lord” in His presence. Wade Taylor
Matt. 13: 16-17 “But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;17 “for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
13:16-17 And graced — your own eyes that see: and your ears that hear. For Amen! I word to you, That many prophets and just panted to see what you see and saw not: and to hear what you hear and heard not: Aramaic NC
THE PARABLES OF JESUS Introduction to The Parables (Matt. 13:1-3,10-17)
INTRODUCTION
1. During His earthly ministry, as Jesus went about preaching and teaching, He frequently used parables – cf. Mt 13:1-3, 13:34-35.
a. It has been estimated that at least one-third of Jesus’ recorded teaching is found in the parables.
b. Certainly many of the most often remembered sayings of Jesus are His parables.
2. It is therefore proper for disciples today to ask such questions as:
a. What is a parable?
b. Why did Jesus teach in parables?
c. What are they about?
d. How should we interpret them?
3. With this lesson, we begin a study on The Parables of Jesus.
a. This first lesson will serve as an introduction to the parables in general.
b. Succeeding lessons will examine the parables in particular. Let’s begin this “Introduction to The Parables by noticing:
I. THE DEFINITION OF PARABLE
A. THE WORD PARABLE….
1. Is a transliteration of the Greek parabole(para-bow-LAY).
2. Means to place beside, to cast alongside.
3. As defined by Vine’s Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words, it signifies a placing of one thing beside another with a view to comparison.
4. Description of a parable.
a. As a story that places one thing beside another for the purpose of teaching.
b. It puts the known next to the unknown so that we may learn.
5. A parable can usually be identified by the use of the word like or as – cf. Mt 13:31,33 (modern English a simile).
B. AS USED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, A PARABLE.
1. Is usually a story or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances.
2. From which spiritual lessons can be made by comparison — A common definition of a parable is “.an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The next question often raised is: Why did Jesus teach in parables? In other words, why did he not simply speak straightforward when He was teaching? To understand why, consider………
II. THE PURPOSE OF THE PARABLES OF JESUS
A. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE WAS TO CONCEAL
1. Jesus began speaking in parables because of the hardness of many people’s hearts – cf. Matt. 13:10-17.
a. The disciples’ attitude was such that they were blessed to learn the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven – Matt. 13: 10-12,16-17.
b. But because of the hard hearts of many in the multitude, Jesus began speaking to them in parables – Matt. 13:13-15; cf. Mark 4:10-12.
c. He would then explain the parables in private to His disciples – Mark 4:33-34 2. By resorting to parables, Jesus effectively separated the truth-seekers from the curiosity-seekers!
d. Those seeking the truth would say: Explain to us the parable… – Matt. 13:36 b. Whereas the simply curious could easily be sent away.
2. Indeed, Jesus used parables to carry out Divine judgement/justice. – cf. Matt. 13:12
a. For whoever has (a good heart, listening ears), to him more will be given, and he will have abundance (by virtue of the parable being explained).
a. But whoever does not have (a good heart, listening ears), even what he has will be taken away from him (by virtue of being sent away with the multitude).
B. BUT ANOTHER PURPOSE WAS TO REVEAL…
1. Even though the primary purpose in telling parables was to conceal the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven from the Pharisees!
a. For once the disciples understood the basic meaning of the parables.
a. The comparison of the known (earthly) truths with the unknown”(heavenly) truths would shed further light on the unknown.
2. Therefore, with the help of the Lord’s explanation of His parables we can learn more about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven – cf. Matt. 13:34-35 -This leads us to the next question.
What are the parables about? Matt. 13:11 certainly gives us a clue.
III. THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PARABLES OF JESUS
A. THE GENERAL THEME IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
1. As suggested by Matt. 13:11.
2. As illustrated with several parables, which all start with: “The kingdom of heaven is like….” – Matt. 13:24,31,33,44,45,47
3. Indeed, the kingdom of heaven was the theme of.
a. Jesus’ itinerant ministry – Matt. 4:17,23
b. His sermon on the mount – Matt. 5:3,10,19-20; 6:10,33; 7:21
B. THREE SUB-THEMES ARE STRESSED IN THE PARABLES.
1. The character of the KINGDOM – for example…
a. The Parable of the Mustard Seed.
b. The Parable of the Leaven.
c. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure.
d. The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price.
2. The character of the KING – for example…
a. The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.
b. The Parable of the Lost Son.
3. The character of the KING’S SUBJECTS – for example…
a. The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
b. The Parable of the Persistent Widow [Of course, the sub-themes often overlap in some parables, but they clearly demonstrate that the overall theme of the parables was the kingdom of heaven.
What is the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven? (THEY ARE THE SAME)
The word translated as Kingdom is basileia in Greek, and its’ meanings include- God’s royal power, kingship, dominion, rule. KING_DOM, Domain of the King.
Rom. 14:17 the Kingdom is Righteousness, Peace & Joy in the Holy Ghost! In the O.T. the Prophet represented God before man producing Righteousness, the Priest represented man before God producing Peace & the King who ruled well in their measure of rule produced Joy amongst the people. In Jn. 7:38 Out of your belly is a… river, Ezek. 47 a river from the temple & Rev. 22 a river from the throne. In Col. 1:27 it’s in us!
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall BREAK in pieces and CONSUME all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44) Nothing can stop the Kingdom of God from consuming all other kingdoms. Rev. 11:15. “Of the INCREASE of His government and peace there shall be NO END…” (Isaiah 9:7)
Heb. 12: 26-28 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I [a]shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we [b]may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. God’s Kingdom is the only thing tht cannot be shaken.
Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this WORLD SYSTEM (kosmos): if My Kingdom were of this world (kosmos), then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My Kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36) The word translated as OF, ek in Greek, is a primary preposition denoting origin, the point from whence motion or action proceeds. Jesus is saying that His Kingdom does not originate in the kosmos and it is not of the kosmos. Because the Kingdom of God is not of the world, it is not subject to the laws and activities of the kosmos (world system). The Kingdom of God supersedes the kosmos.
The kingdom of God cannot be shaken. Hebrews 12:26-28 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I [e]shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we [f]may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Church/ Ecclesia is the gathering of the summoned into the inner court of the King to execute the decree of our King. The Ecclesia, Church is the governing body on the earth. Ecclesia IS Kingdom! Ecclesia is a Kingdom gathering! Ecclesia is the embodiment of Christ in the earth! True spiritual authority is born of relationship within the context of Ecclesia.
Finally, a few thoughts in answer to the question… How do we interpret the parables?
IV. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PARABLES OF JESUS
A. THERE ARE TWO EXTREMES TO AVOID.
1. Seeking to find some spiritual truth in every little detail.
2. Saying that there is only ONE spiritual truth in each parable.
B. SOME GUIDELINES FOR PROPER INTERPRETATION.
1. Learn from the explanations Jesus gave in those parables He explained.
a. Understanding the parable of the sower helps us to understand other parables – Mark 4:13.
b. Jesus therefore went on to explain that parable.
2. Look for the CENTRAL truth of the parable, making sure that any other truths gleaned from the parable are in harmony.
3. Consider carefully the CONTEXT of Jesus words.
a. Looking for an introduction or an application which may give insight.
b. As supplied by either the Lord Himself, or His inspired writers.
4. Don’t use the parables to formulate new doctrine.
a. Remember, parables were originally told to conceal, so they are not always that clear in their meaning.
b. Therefore, don’t try to build a case for a doctrine based solely on a parable.
The Parable of the Sower is the starting point on interpreting parables.
We will continue with Les.5 next week.
The blessings of the Lord are upon you whether by blood, adoption/sonship or assignment. The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Prov. 10:22
David & Mary Sue