In Chapter 13 Matthew includes 7 parables of the Kingdom to give us insights into what Jesus' kingdom is like, how it is spread and the tremendous value of the kingdom. It is so great we would sell everything we have to obtain it. We discover the importance of staying curious about new ideas that we hear that at first may seem heretical but upon further understanding and reflection may be good seed that the Spirit is sowing in our heart. Beware of the enemy that would steal away what God is planting in your life.
SHOW NOTES
Matthew 13 Seven Parables of Jesus
1. Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed
13 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on theshore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been
planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Jesus is the farmer. The seed is the gospel teaching, the healings of mercy and the sovereign forgiveness of God for sinners. Some hearts have “good soil” and produce a bountiful harvest. Selfish hearts are hard, shallow, or infested with weeds and there is minimal return. It is not the fault of the seed but the reception the seed receives. The poor soil is the result of endemic selfishness. The punchline of the parable is to be aware of our selfishness and the delusion it results in. This delusion affects the way we hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
Here are some reasons Jesus used parables. Stories are easy to remember. Stories made it difficult for his enemies to accuse him. Parables require interpretation, which means they must be thought about and discussed. Jewish culture was and is a story telling culture. The rabbis were forever telling stories to answer questions. Jesus also answers the disciple’s question in the next few verses.
11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see.They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
Stories, books, movies have messages to convey. It is possible to read the narrative and not understand the message. The movie titled “The Matrix” has many allusions to the control the Kingdom of the World has over us. The divine trinity is symbolized by Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity. Gulliver’s Travels are satirical political commentaries of their day. Moby Dick will teach those who understand that taking revenge results in one’s own downfall. Captain Ahab, in his mad thirst for revenge against the great white whale is eventually destroyed by the whale.
14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand.
When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.
15 For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’
Jesus is pointing out, using Isaiah’s words, that the problem is their attitude or their heart orientation. One’s desire for dominance or revenge an prevent one understanding the message. Many translations are clearer than the NLT. Here is the English Standard Version.
Yes, the minds of these people are now closed. They have ears, but they don’t listen. They have eyes, but they refuse to see. If their minds were not closed, they might see with their eyes; they might hear with their ears; they might understand with their minds. Then they might turn back to me and be healed.’
All English translations use “heal” in verse 15. This is, was, will always be the desire of Messiah for his people. To be healed results in being saved.
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
What follows is an explanation of the meaning of the parable. This changes the parable, a story with one main point, to an allegory, a story with many meaningful allusions. The explanation was probably added by a well-meaning scribe.
Most parables Jesus told do not have explanations. Many nursery rhymes in English originated political satire. “Three blind mice” is the story of 3 Protestant bishops who were executed by bloody Mary, the Catholic Queen. Many English speakers are not aware of the deeper meaning of the rhymes but we remember them anyway. It is this way with parables.
18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
2. Parable of the Wheat and Weeds
24 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
The point of the parable is that an enemy came and sowed the weeds. In the gospel of John (10:10) the enemy is identified as the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. We know who this is, it is the devil and this helps to explain Matthew 10:28 “fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” The destroyer (Revelation 9:11) is the enemy and the thief. Verse 39 identifies the enemy as the devil.
3. Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
No one could imagine the gospel’s germination and growth into the mighty force for good it is in the Kingdom of the World.
4. Parable of the Yeast
33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
This is a parallel parable to the mustard seed and has the same meaning.
34 Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. 35 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet:
“I will speak to you in parables.I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.”
What did Jesus reveal which was hidden since creation?
God’s love is unconditional (5:43-48)
There is a supernatural evil being who is the enemy, the thief, the liar, the destroyer.
This supernatural evil being has the power of delusion and death (Matthew 8:44).
Jesus has the power of life and resurrection (John 11:25).
God is non-violent (Matthew 5:39-42; Galatians 5:22-23).
God does not have a list of our failures (Matthew 6:14-15; 18:22; 1 Corinthians 13:5).
The mystery that the gospel is for Jew and Gentile, for men and women since all are God’s children.
Parable of the Wheat and Weeds Explained
36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”
37 Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.
40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of theworld. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
This explanation has a parallel in Revelation 6:5-17 where the Second Coming is described and the causation of the division between the two groups is revealed. Revelation 14:14-20 gives additional detail for this teaching of Jesus were the two harvests are described.
5. Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.
The treasure is Jesus and the field is the Bible. Who hid Jesus in the Bible? Our selfishness. We search for ways in the Bible so we can persuade God to benefit us. Religious leaders use the “carrot” of God’s special blessing if we return tithe and give offerings. Eternal life is viewed as a reward for a virtuous life rather than the gift of God. Judaism read the Old Testament to confirm that Messiah would deliver them from Roman oppression. Today we read the New Testament to justify the claim that Jesus will come in our life-time.
6. Parable of the Pearl
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
This is a parallel parable to the hidden treasure in the field. In both parables the agent sells all that he had in order to buy the field or the pearl. Jesus is teaching that to discover him means to give up all the myths about God that tradition has given us. It parallels Jesus teaching that one does not place new wine in old wineskins. The gospel wine bursts the skins of tradition and creates consternation unless one values the newness of Jesus.
7. Parable of the Fishing Net
47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, 50 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand all these things?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
This parable is a repeat of the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Both the righteous and the wicked are living together until the Second Coming. At this point in time the angels are involved in separating these two groups. They do this by calling God’s friends out of the grave at the Second Coming.
52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”
Those who belong to the Kingdom of Heaven have different hearts and so see and hear the marvelous characteristics of this Kingdom. They are healed from the cataracts of their blinding selfishness which afflicts those in the Kingdom of this World.
Ian Hartley, November 2024
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