Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13 as we continue our study through the Word of God. And in our study this evening we are going to see a major turning point in the ministry of Jesus and the way He taught the people. Matthew chapter 13 contains 8 parables which cover a period of time between the first and second coming of Jesus Christ or the church age, including the judgment of those who have rejected Christ. And we will see that develop as we go through this portion of Scripture. With that said, let’s dig into Matthew chapter 13 beginning in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
VERSES 1-2
1. "On the same day" seems to be speaking of the same day Jesus’ mother and brothers came to try and stop Him from doing these things, thinking He had lost His mind. They thought He would be killed for doing what He was doing and they were trying to protect Him, not believing at this point who Jesus is.
2. The other point we need to keep in mind is that back in Matthew chapter 12 Jesus is condemning the Pharisees for committing blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is the rejection of what the Holy Spirit is doing, bringing people to Jesus. You see, the only sin that will keep you from heaven is rejecting Jesus Christ, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And now we are told that Jesus "went out of the house and sat by the Sea."
By the religious leaders rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, they were representing the nation of Israel and what they would do. Thus, leaving the house, we see Jesus leaving Israel and going to the Sea, the sea of humanity you might say, the gentiles. It is not that Jesus completely withdrew from the Jews, but He is moving in that direction as they are rejecting Him and the work He was doing. And as we have seen in previous chapters, Jesus says that the gentiles will rise up in judgment of this generation for rejecting the Messiah who is before them.
3. As Jesus sat by the Sea of Galilee, multitudes gathered to hear from Him, so He got into a boat, a little off-shore, and taught them. And the Sea of Galilee makes a great amphitheater, sound travels well, which was needed since they had no microphones or artificial sound systems. So back in those days, Jesus used the natural sound system!
VERSE 3a
1. The word "parable" comes from the Greek work PARABOLE, which comes from two words, BALLO which means "To throw, lay or place." And the prefix PARA, which means "alongside of." Thus, a parable is nothing more than a physical example that could be easily understood and it is laid alongside of a spiritual truth. It is a earthly story with a heavenly meaning! And we will deal with why Jesus taught this way as we move farther on in this chapter. Just keep in mind that a parable is a real-life story from which we can draw some spiritual truths from, and we will be seeing that as we continue on.
VERSES 3b-8
1. Some call this the parable of the sower but in reality it is the parable of the soils. You see, the sower goes out sowing seed and the seed here falls on four different types of soil. First the hard soil or the hard paths where people walked and as the seed fell on this soil, it could not penetrate the ground and was devoured by the birds. Some seed feel on the stony or shallow soil that had a growth spurt but no roots. Thus, when the sun came up, they withered away. Other seed fell on ground where weeds chocked the life out of them. And lastly, some seed feel on the good soil and brought forth abundant fruit. What does this parable mean? We don’t have to guess for as we get down to verse 18 Jesus will explain it. So we will expound on this parable more in a few minutes.
VERSE 9
1. Please understand that Jesus is not just speaking of physical ears, but spiritual ears to hear the things of God. He is speaking of those who receive Him will understand what He is saying. To the rest, it is meaningless riddles!
VERSES 10-12
1. The reason Jesus is speaking in parables is simple, for He tells us. First of all, to those who have received Him, they will understand. And for those who don’t, the message will be concealed, they won’t understand it.
2. Now the word "mystery" does not speak of something that is unexplainable or you can’t understand. The Scriptures use this word to speak of something that was hidden that will now be revealed. And specifically here, the kingdom of heaven! And what we see here in this chapter is the kingdom of heaven being drawn out from Jews and Gentiles, but it will not be completed until the end of the age. But in between now and then we will see a picture of what is taking place.
3. Jesus goes on to say that as you receive Christ, more and more light will be given to you. It is as John 1:9 says, "That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world." As you grow and mature in the Lord, more light will be given to you. But, if you reject Jesus, even the truth you have heard will be taken away from you.
VERSES 13-16
1. The religious leaders rejected the truth, like many do today. And even though they may hear with their ears, they don’t understand what it is all about. And Jesus quotes out of Isaiah, which was a warning to God’s people that did come to pass in their Babylonian captivity. And once again judgment was coming as now they are turning their back on the Messiah, and by 70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed, judgment did come. But for those that do hear and see, there is great blessings in seeing the things of God and growing in Him. You see, we have God’s Word that is illuminated to us by the Holy Spirit. Paul said in I Corinthians 2:9-10, "But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God."
VERSE 17
1. We have great insights in the things of God, something that the Old Testament prophets did not have. In fact, in I Peter 1:10-12 we are told, "Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-- things which angels desire to look into."
They wrote about these things, but they did not fully understand them. We now have the completed Word of God, and as I have said, the illumination of God’s Word by the Holy Spirit that helps us to understand and apply God’s truths to our lives so that we may grow and mature in the Lord.
2. Now for the interpretation of the parable of the soils.
VERSES 18-23
1. The seed is the Word of God and the sower is Jesus and we also are to sow the Word of God, the seed. And the soils are the individual hearts that receive the Word of God. And please understand that the only variable factor is the heart. The Word of God is always the same, all we must do is sow the Word, spread it about, and as we do it will land on various soils, various hearts!
2. The hard soil or wayside speaks of a heart that is hard, it is cold, it is impenetrable. Thus, as the Word of God is spoken, it bounces off of them, it does not penetrate, and the Devil and his forces take what is on the surface away. That is the Hard heart!
3. The stony or shallow soil is also not receptive or good for growing. You see, as the Word of God is spoken, some receive it with great joy. There is emotion, service, attending all kinds of studies, putting to shame many Christians by all they are doing. There looks like tremendous growth going on, but as tough times come, the heat of trials, they dry up and fade away. There is no fruit produced. There is no real salvation. There was no deep roots, only superficial growth. This is the shallow heart!
4. Next the Word falls on a heart filled with thorns or weeds. Thus, as the person tires to grow, the weeds or the things of this world compete for the persons time and eventually the things of the world win over and the Word is chocked out. Again, the person is not saved, there is no fruit in his life. This is the worldly heart!
5. And lastly, the seed or the Word of God falls upon a heart that has been prepared to receive it and it produces a bountiful crop, much fruit! The person is saved! It is as Paul said in Colossians 1:3-6, "We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth." And as Jesus said in John 15:5-8, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." Thus, this is the good soil!
6. What is the fruit that is born in our lives? First, there is HOLINESS as Romans 6:22 says, "But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life." Next, the CHRISTIAN CHARACTER is given to us in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." Then we see GOOD WORKS, which Paul speaks of in Colossians 1:10, "that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."
SOUL WINNING is also fruit, as Paul tells us in Romans 1:13, "Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles." Also, SHARING is a fruit in believers lives, as Romans 15:25-28 tells us, "But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain." And PRAISING GOD WITH OUR LIPS is fruit, as Hebrews 13:15 tells us, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." And, again, in Colossians 1:6, we should be CONTINUALLY BRINGING FORTH FRUIT IN OUR LIVES, as Paul tells us, "which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth."
7. Thus, the only barrier to salvation is unbelief! And, if you are willing to receive Jesus Christ as He commands, on His terms and not yours, your heart is filled with the things of God, the seed takes root and begins to grow for the soil is good. Now as the sower, it is easy to get discouraged. But please understand that in this parable only 25% of the seed grew and produced fruit. Now that does not mean this is a hard and fast rule, but also understand that many more will reject the truth than will receive it.
VERSES 24-30
1. The first parable dealt with seeing people saved, their hearts, and in this parable of the wheat and the tares it deals with the church age. Now we will once again have this parable explained to us starting in verse 37, but let’s just run through it now, and we will expound on it in a few minutes.
2. Here we see the farmer who sowed his seed and before it began to grow, while the farmer slept, someone came in and sowed tares or darnel amongst the good seed. Now this darnel is a weed that closely resembles wheat and is almost impossible to distinguish from the wheat until the wheat ripens and bears grain, fruit. Now his servants were ready to go and remove the darnel but because it so closely resembled the wheat, the farmer wanted them to wait until the harvest and then the reapers would come and separate them. The grain would go into the barn and the darnel into the fire. Hang on, we will get to the explanation in a minute.
VERSES 31-32
1. The mustard seed was the smallest garden seed known at that time, and it would grow into a bush some 12 feet high. Some see this as the church growing and being a place for people to rest in its branches. I don’t believe that is what Jesus is speaking of. This is abnormal growth, it grows into a tree. Also, the birds of the air, as seen in the parable of the soils, speaks of Satan’s workers. Thus, Jesus is saying that the church will experience a false growth, filled with many unbelievers, workers of Satan. In the midst of the true church, is this false growth, this outward condition.
VERSES 33
1. Some again see this in a positive light, that the Christian influence will permeate this world. The only problem with that is leaven is a type of sin in the Bible and looked upon in a negative light. Paul, in Galatians 5:9 says, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." Yeast grows, multiplies by rotting, putrefaction, and thus, what we see here is false doctrine infiltrating the church and puffing it up! And look at the abominations that have come into the church today that go against the Scriptures. The mustard seed parable spoke of false outward growth, and the parable of the leaven shows us the inward condition of the church! And you can read the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor that Jesus wrote in Revelations chapters 2 and 3 and you will see both these things occurring in the church by the end of the first century! And it continues on today.
VERSES 34-35
1. Jesus did not start speaking in parables because things got out of control, it was not an afterthought, but God had said this would take place hundred’s of years before it took place.
VERSE 36
1. Here we see His disciples want more information on this parable. They knew it spoke about judgment, and specifically the judgment of the tares, but they needed more information to put it all together.
VERSES 37-43
1. We don’t have to guess who the players are in this parable. The sower of the good seed is Jesus and the good seeds are those who have received Him, while the bad seed are those that have rejected Him and Satan sows the seed they receive. One is born of God, the other are children of Satan. Not many like to look at it that way, but that is what Jesus is saying! And both are living in the field, or the world, together. Thus, from the beginning of the church age both Jesus and the Devil are working and the culmination of this work will be the harvest, judgment day, the end of the age!
2. Now this may be harsh, not politically correct, but it is true. For those who reject Jesus, they will face the fire of His judgment and ultimately be cast into the Lake of Fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. But for those who have received Christ, they will enter into eternity with Him! They will enter into the kingdom age! It is as Paul said of the Thessalonians, "For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." I Thessalonians 1:8-10.
3. Also, we are told in Revelation 21:8, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." It is not that you do those things, but that is your nature, that is who you are. You see, you have not received the new birth, the new nature that is in Christ, and thus you will see the fierceness of His wrath. There is coming a day when the righteous will be separated from the wicked!
VERSE 44
1. Some try to say that in this parable the treasure is Jesus and we sell all we have to receive Him, all our earthly possessions, we sacrifice everything in order to possess the treasure. I disagree. I see the field as the world, just as we saw in the parable of the wheat and tares. And I see the treasure as Israel. You see, in Exodus 19:5 we are told, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine." And again in Psalm 135:4 we are told, "For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure." And the man is Jesus who came to purchase man back to God, and specifically here, Israel. It is as Paul said in II Corinthians 5:19, "that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." And John said in I John 2:2, "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." Keep in mind we are speaking of the church age, and part of the church is made up of Jews, and part of gentiles, which we will see in the next parable.
VERSES 45-46
1. Again, some see the pearl of great price as being Jesus, and man sells all that he has to purchase Him. That, to me, is not grace, but a works theology. And Paul said in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." What I see here is Jesus being the merchant and we are that pearl of great price by which He purchased by emptying Himself of some of His Godly attributes, becoming flesh in order to pay the penalty for our sins. And keep in mind that a pearl is formed because of an irritation on the tender side of an oyster, maybe a piece of sand, and the oyster will cover that irritant with a crystalline covering which hardens and becomes precious and valuable.
2. Now how does that relate to us today? It is as Paul said in II Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." We were that irritating piece of sand, and yet, because of His great love for us, not that we were worthy, He has saved us and clothed us in His righteousness. You see, the church is made up of both Jew and Gentile coming together into one body, the body of Christ!
VERSES 47-50
1. On the Sea of Galilee there were two basic nets that were used for fishing. One was called an AMPHIBLESTRON and it was a one-man casting net, it was small. The one Jesus speaks of here in this parable was large and called a SAGENE or dragnet. This required a team of fishermen to operate and it could cover as much as a half square mile. Thus, when it was drawn in, it collected everything in its path, not only fish, but all kinds of sea life. Thus, when they brought the net into shore, the good needed to be separated from the bad.
2. This parable speaks of the judgment of the nations that will occur at the end of the tribulation period and prior to the start of the millennial kingdom. Those that are in Christ will enter the kingdom with Him. Those outside of Christ will be cast into the fire, tormented for eternity! The thing you must understand is you won’t escape His judgment unless you are sealed by God, unless you come to Jesus.
VERSE 51
1. They said yes, that they understood, and yet how little they really did understand of the cost for their redemption until after the resurrection!
VERSE 52
1. In this last parable in Matthew chapter 13 we see Jesus speak of us, the saved, and how we deal with the things God has given to us. You can read His Word and draw from it and apply it to the things you are going through today, what God is doing in the days we are living in. If you do, you will be rich, if you don’t, you will be poor in the spiritual blessings God wants to give you.
VERSE 53
1. He has finished and is now going to depart from the area around the Sea of Galilee and head towards His birthplace, Nazareth, which was some 20 plus miles away.
VERSES 54-56
1. First, Mary had other children besides Jesus, at least 4 sons and we don’t know how many daughters. She had normal sexual relations with her husband Joseph after the birth of Jesus. Prior to that she was a virgin. Be careful not to let tradition be more important to you than the Word of God! Also, since Joseph does not appear in any of these accounts, it would seem that he was no longer alive.
2. Secondly, because they were familiar with Jesus, saw Him grow up, and because they thought they knew all about Him, they failed to recognize Him. I wonder how many out there today do the same thing? They have grown up in church, feel they know all about Jesus, have a false sense of familiarity with Him, but don’t receive Him because of that. Don’t miss out because of that!
VERSES 57-58
1. Because of their unbelief, Jesus did not do many mighty works there, maybe healing a few colds or whatever. I wonder what we are restricting God from doing in our lives because of unbelief? How can we change that? Paul said in Romans 10:17, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Read His Word, Believe His Word, apply His Word to your life and see what God will do in you and through you! He wants to do mighty works, don’t let unbelief restrict His work!