Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The Parable of the Sower; Why Christ Taught in Parables; Of the Sower and the Seed. He leaped from his seat, right into the arena, and stood between the gladiators. As Denney had it, we must never forget that the function and the power of Christ is to make bad men good. When both had headed out it was easy to distinguish them; but by that time their roots were so intertwined that the tares could not be weeded out without tearing the wheat out with them. The question was not who or what came in the way; whoever appealed to Him, there He was for them. Oh, we ask Lord that you by your Holy Spirit will reveal thy truth to our hearts. Anyone who asks the question: "What has Christianity done for the world?" And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief ( Matthew 13:53-58 ). He says, "With the help of my guide, I uprooted a veritable mustard-tree which was more than twelve feet high." His light, though, shines through every person who belongs to Him. I now qualify. Its impact had to be immediate, not the result of long study with commentaries and dictionaries. It was Isaiah's feeling that his preaching was actually doing more harm than good, that he might as wet speak to a brick wall, that there was no way into the mind and the heart of this deaf and blind people, that, as far as any effects went, they seemed to be getting worse instead of better. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . "That ye may know," He says, "that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins," etc. That spiritual things might hereby be made more plain, and, by familiar similitudes, might be made the more easy to slide into our understandings. The key to it is this, that Matthew was led by the Holy Ghost to keep in view adequate testimony to the Jewish people; it was the tender goodness of God that would meet them in a manner that was suitable under the law. All you do is take your little starter, and you mix up a new batch of dough, and you take a starter, that is a piece from the last batch that's already fermented, and you put it into the new batch of dough. Matthew 13:12, NLT: To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. We have here not only our Lord's ministry in the first parable, but in the second parable that which He does by His servants. ", When Jesus had finished speaking about the Kingdom, he asked his disciples if they had understood. The seine net was a great square net with cords at each corner, and weighted so that, at rest, it hung, as it were, upright in the water. ", Jesus spake all these things to the crowds in parables, and it was not his custom to speak to them without a parable. Now this Christ speaks of. The context of the Isaiah passage explained that Israels hardness would continue until the land lay in ruins. We have, in Matthew 13:1-23, one of the parables which our Saviour put forth; it is that of the sower and the seed; both the parable itself, and the explanation of it. So Isaiah and the prophets looked forward to the coming of the Messiah as the consummation of their wishes and the end of the prophecies, Revelation 19:10. (188) Ils disent quil guarit, et remet en sante; they say that he heals, and restores to health., (189) Il ne faut pas conclurre par cela que la repentance, ou conversion, soit cause de nous faire avoir remission et pardon de nos pechez; comme si Dieu prenoit a merci ceux qui se convertissent, pource quils en sont dignes, et le meritent; we must not therefore conclude, that repentance, or conversion, is the cause of making us have forgiveness and pardon of our sins; as if God exercised mercy towards those who are converted, because they are worthy of it, and deserve it.. With God, as nothing is impossible, so no one, small or great, is despised: all is seen and put in its just place; and grace, which rebukes creature pride, can afford to deal divinely with the smallest as with the greatest. Cato, the Roman writer on agriculture, gives advice to anyone who is taking over a farm: "Look over the livestock and hold a sale. Sorrow would come full soon when He, the Bridegroom of His people, should be taken away; and then should they fast. Satan immediately comes along and plucks the Word out of the person's heart. I will frankly confess to you, that I do not consider my understanding of the parables complete. Click to donate today! The preacher puts the message of the kingdom into peoples hearts as a farmer puts seed into the ground. The doors to the kingdom of heaven are opened freely to every man; you don't have to buy it, you can't buy it. Matthew 11:1-30, exceedingly critical for Israel, and of surpassing beauty, as it is, must not be passed over without some few words. They have not seized the aim of each gospel. There are many things which can shut a man's mind. Whatever might be the Church or the kingdom, it is precisely when the Lord unfolds His new glory in both the kingdom and the Church that He maintains the proprieties of nature in their rights and integrity. Read full chapter Matthew 23:13 in all English translations Matthew 22 Matthew 24 King James Version (KJV) Public Domain To the end the events are put together, just as in Matthew 8:1-34, without regard to the point of time when they occurred. The Church, which is His body and bride, has a far more intimate place, even though true of the same persons. Then follows the rise of what was great in its littleness till it became little in its greatness in the earth; and the development and spread of doctrine, till the measured space assigned to it is brought under its assimilating influence. [1.] The Lord hints at what the man's real desires were not Christ, not heaven, not eternity, but present things. Again that is the experience of every teacher and preacher. And this little batch of leaven, the fermented from the old loaf, will permeate and the whole loaf will become permeated with the leavening process of just a little leaven hid in this measure of meal, three measures, it will leaven the whole thing.And so the church is going to have, though it starts very small, is gradually going to develop and grow until it influences the whole world for good. Secondly, The deceitfulness of riches. They glorified God. It does nothing.In the second category there are those who receive the Word with joy. After this time, God "speaks" to them by "foreign tongues" as they are carried away captive. The scribes, at the beginning of the chapter, could not hide from the Lord their bitter rejection of His glory as man on earth entitled, as His humiliation and cross would prove, to forgive. 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. It is wisdom to prepare for such a day. Hence, he waits to present their rejection of the Messiah, as morally complete as possible in his statement of it, though necessarily not complete in outward accomplishment. Pharaoh, for a good while, hardened his own heart (Exodus 8:15; Exodus 8:32), and afterwards God hardened it, Matthew 9:12; Matthew 10:20. In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly! From where, then, did it get the darnel?' A hook is cast into the sea, and the fish that takes it produces the required money for Peter as for his gracious Master and Lord. It would require the credulity of a sceptic to believe that this is not the self-same fact that we have before us inMatthew 8:1-34; Matthew 8:1-34. This was testing matters more closely. MANY THINGS IN PARABLES ( Matthew 13:1-58 ). Therefore [He said] many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and they have not seen them, to hear those things which you hear, and they have not heard them ( Matthew 13:17 ). See John 3:12. So, on the other hand, the centurion sets forth with no less aptness the characteristic faith that suits the Gentile, in a simplicity which looks for nothing but the word of His mouth, is perfectly content with it, knows that, whatever the disease may be, He has only to speak the word, and it is done according to His divine will. He goes to raise the dead, and the woman with the issue of blood touches Him by the way. Here, too, these Pharisees question and reproach His grace, when they see the Lord sitting at ease in the presence of publicans and sinners, who came and sat down with Him in Matthew's house. And the servants said unto him, Shall we go out and gather them up? Had she not such confusion of thought that, if the Lord had heeded her words, it must have been destruction to her? 1706.return to 'Jump List'. Verse Matthew 5:13. Hence the Lord would raise up a fresh testimony altogether, and do a new work suitable to it. (1.) [2.] In those parts where the grain has headed out, the tares have done the same, and there a child cannot mistake them for wheat or barley; but when both are less developed, the closest scrutiny will often fail to detect them. He, on the contrary, insists not only that He was bound for the cross, but that its truth must be made good in any who will come after Him. By applying principles of the Word daily, the believer will reach the status of edification construct (maturity). The Lord shows that such unbelief justly and necessarily excludes itself, but not others, from blessing. Would any man make of the Messiah a mere man and a mere subject of the law given by Moses? 'An enemy has done this,' he said to them. But of all the herb plants, the mustard is the biggest. As a result their ability to understand Gods truth will increase. Jesus is gonna start with His twelve disciples, but as they have preached the gospel, the influence of the gospel is going to spread, until it is a great tree, and the birds of the air can come and nest in it. For He loved Peter felt for him, and his wife's mother was precious in His sight. 5. One demonstrable historical truth is that Christianity transformed life for women. They talked of propaganda, of literature, of all the ways of disseminating the gospel in the twentieth century. And His sisters, aren't they still living here? If so, why not from Jesus himself? Your eyes see, your ears hear. So now He is sitting. Eating with someone in that culture was a sign of acceptance and made you part of their network of friends. They've never really developed a foundation for their faith.The third category, and unfortunately, I think that this is the category that we would probably have to deal mostly with, is that which fell among thorns. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, and they said, Declare to us the parable of the tares of the field. The initiate was given a, long course of instruction in which the inner meaning of the, drama was explained to him; that course of instruction extended, over months and even years. But others fell on good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. Who could touch the leper save Emmanuel? All will not be the wise that understand, nor those who instruct the mass in righteousness. If He offers to go to his house, it was to bring out the faith that He had created in the heart of the centurion. First, it means that we must amass every possible detail about the background of life in Palestine, so that the parable will strike us as it did those who heard it for the first time. He came back. Likewise the messenger of the gospel must have patient faith in God as the message does its work in peoples hearts (Mark 4:26-29). Two interpretations. Who but God could heal? He translates his hearing into action. There are very few people who can grasp and understand abstract ideas; most people think in pictures. Some fell upon stony places (Matthew 13:5; Matthew 13:6), which represents the case of hearers that go further than the former, who receive some good impressions of the word, but they are not lasting, Matthew 13:20; Matthew 13:21. The kingdom of heaven and the church are not the same. He had brought out the kingdom before in view of that which betrayed to Him the unpardonable blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. Secondly, How they come to be unprofitable hearers. Sometimes an immoral character and a man's way of life can shut his mind. It must not, however, be concluded, that repentance is the cause of pardon, as if God received into his favor converted men, because they deserved it; (189) for conversion itself is a mark of Gods free favor. 4. He had outlived all his friends and hardly anyone knew him. This finds its fitting place, not in Luke, but in Matthew, particularly as the details here (not in Mark, who only gives the general fact) cast great light upon God's dispensational ways. Some people's lives are littered with things they began and never finished. The one man or woman set on fire for Christ is the person who kindles others. Cecil Northcott tells in one of his books that a group of young people from many nations were discussing how the Christian gospel might be spread. We seem completely borne away from the ordinary level of our gospel to the higher region of the disciple whom Jesus loved. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. An afternoon sermon well heard, will be so far from driving out the morning sermon, that it will rather clench it, and fasten the nail in a sure place. To eat with unwashed hands defileth not a man. We are much too quick to classify people and label them good or bad without knowing all the facts. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation." The sowing of the word is the sowing of a people for God's field, the corn of his floor,Isaiah 21:10. The first thing to be remarked is, that the leper was an early incident in the manifestation of the healing power of our Lord. They receive it with joy. Jesus blessedly answered their thoughts, had there only been a conscience to hear the word of power and grace, which brings out His glory the more. So the other interpretation is that Jesus is giving a series of parables in which He is illustrating the same truth, or making the same warning all the way along, that the church is not going to be perfect. The working of the leaven is plain for all to see. And I think that it is very important in understanding parables that we abide by this law of expositional constancy. In their early stages the tares so closely resembled the wheat that it was impossible to distinguish the one from the other. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so he went into his ship, and he sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore ( Matthew 13:1-2 ). It is clearly the failure of nature, the reversal of what might be expected. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. And I wish I had back a lot of those sermons that I preached from the parables when I thought my professor didn't know what he was talking about. Observe, It is not so much riches, as the deceitfulness of riches, that does the mischief: now they cannot be said to be deceitful to us unless we put our confidence in them, and raise our expectations from them, and then it is that they choke the good seed. His meeting-place was the sea-side. It is equally clear that the seven worse spirits mean the complete energy of the devil in the maintenance of Antichrist against the true Christ: and this, strange to say, along with idols. The Jew in his morning prayer thanked God that he had not made him a Gentile, a slave or a woman. And the reason is. Another parable he put forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among the herbs ( Matthew 13:31-32 ). And they were offended at him. Their purpose is to make the hearers think about the teaching. And their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; which is expressive of the blindness and hardness, which were partly brought upon themselves by their own wilfulness and obstinacy, against such clear evidence as arose from the doctrine and miracles of Christ; and partly from the righteous judgment of God, giving them up, for their perverseness, to judicial blindness and obduracy; John 12:40 and are in the prophet ascribed to the ministry of the word; that being despised, was in righteous judgment, the savour of death unto death, unto them; and they under it, as clay, under the influence of the sun, grew harder and harder by it, stopping their ears, and shutting their eyes against it: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart: which may be understood either of God's intention, and view, in giving them up to judicial blindness, and hardness of heart, under such miracles, and such a ministry, as a punishment for their wilful contempt of them; that so they might never have any true sight, hearing, and understanding of these things, and be turned from the evil of their ways, have repentance unto life, and remission of sins; which seems to be the sense of the other evangelists, Mark 4:12 or, as if these people purposely stupefied themselves, stopped their ears, and pulled away the shoulder, and wilfully shut their eyes; fearing they should receive some conviction, light, and knowledge. Next, we behold Him meeting the centurion after another manner altogether. the tares among the wheat, and he went his way. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, they shall gather up of his kingdom, [notice, out of His kingdom] all things that offend, and them which do iniquity ( Matthew 13:38-41 ); They will grow together. This is a passage full of difficult things; and we must take time to try to seek out its meaning. It is to be noted that this saying of Jesus leads into a quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10. Note, Though there are many that receive the grace of God, and the word of his grace, in vain, yet God has a remnant by whom it is received to good purpose; for God's word shall not return empty,Isaiah 55:10; Isaiah 55:11. If a man wishes to teach people about things which they do not understand, he must begin from things which they do understand. "And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth." [Note: Edersheim, 1:581. But peoples hearts vary just as the soil in different places varies. And of course they would become angry when they saw. This reason is laid down (Matthew 13:11; Matthew 13:11): Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. He was going to build His Church "upon this rock" Himself, the Son of God. The plucking of the corn, and the healing of the withered hand, had taken place long before. . What and how he preached. The thorny ground was deceptive. This made it to be plainly and only a difficulty for God to solve. Returning to the picture of the sower, Jesus shows that good seed will always produce healthy plants and good fruit if given the opportunity. To lose all for heavenly treasure, to come and follow the despised Nazarene here below what was it to compare with that which had brought Jesus to earth? I'd say, go out and get rid of them, wipe them out. They've never really studied. And He was Jesus, Emmanuel. As a blessing; "Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; it is your happiness, and it is a happiness for which you are indebted to the peculiar favour and blessing of God." Verse 4 seems quite adverse to the idea that great multitudes were witnesses of the cure; for why "tell no man," if so many knew it already? Where did he get all these things?" But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own household. In Matthew we have no distinction of their call from their mission. The kingdom of heaven like unto a merchant man [again the Lord], seeking goodly pearls ( Matthew 13:45 ): But the interesting thing is, is that a pearl to a Jew was not considered a valuable ornament. A man can be like that with the word. Now. In immediate juxtaposition to this stands the Gentile centurion, who seeks healing for his servant. And be careful here, because a lot of people, surface reading would say, "well, He is trying to hide the truth, He is trying to disguise it, so only His disciples can understand it." The simile of the salt and the light ( Matthew 5:13-16), the picture of the birds and the lilies ( Matthew 6:26-30), the story of the wise and the foolish builder ( Matthew 7:24-27), the illustration of the garments and the wine-skins ( Matthew 9:16-17), the picture of the children playing in the market-place ( Matthew 11:16-17) are all embryo parables. 4 as he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds At the beginning of his ministry we find him teaching in the synagogues; but now we find him teaching on the seashore. In our study of the parables that means two things for us. So this is why He began to adopt the form of parables. It might be well enough for a Pharisee; it might be worthy of a legal formalist, but it would never do for God; and the Lord Jesus was come here not to accommodate Himself to their thoughts, but, above all, to do God's will of holy love in an evil, wretched world. Thomson in The Land and the Book writes: "I have seen this plant on the rich plain of Akkar as tall as the horse and his rider." And so it will be at the end of the world: the angels will come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Just so the working of the Kingdom is a violent and disturbing force plain for all to see. In the end it was usually separated by hand. Here we find our Lord, after sending out the chosen witnesses of the truth (so momentous to Israel, above all) of His own Messiahship, realizing His utter rejection, yet rejoicing withal in God the Father's counsels of glory and grace, while the real secret in the chapter, as in fact, was His being not Messiah only, nor Son of man, but the Son of the Father, whose person none knows but Himself. He now takes His place of rejection; for Him it is manifest even now by their inmost thoughts of Him when revealed. Now as we enter into the thirteenth chapter, we come into the area of the parables that deal with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. He never knew what he did for me, but I owe everything I am or will be to old Thomas, and today I had to come to salute him at the end." That seeing, hearing, and understanding, are necessary to conversion; for God, in working grace, deals with men as men, as rational agents; he draws with the cords of a man, changes the heart by opening the eyes, and turns from the power of Satan unto God, by turning first from darkness to light, (Acts 26:18). For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." Certain workmen, digging in a garden on that avenue, uncovered several copper pots full of gold coins. They had the types, shadows, and prophecies, of those things but longed to see the Substance, that glorious end of those things which they could not steadfastly look unto; that glorious inside of those things which they could not look into. It was a scene of beauty, with the Vale of Keston opening out before them, but the thoughts of Wilberforce were not on that but on the blots of the world. The introduction of the leaven causes a transformation in the dough; and the coming of the Kingdom causes a transformation in life. Seth, his wicked brother, hated him, and with seventy-two conspirators persuaded him to come to a banquet. If we turn toMark 1:1-45; Mark 1:1-45, the proof of what I have said will appear as to the leper. He spake many things unto them. And when he was coming to his own country [that is the area of Nazareth], he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and they said, Where did He get this wisdom, and how is he doing these mighty works? The English translators have thus given the sense well; for the expression really conveys this slight, though the word "fellow" is printed in italics. It was not more truly Christ's kingdom as man than He was God's own Son, His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased, who was now to be heard, rather than Moses or Elias, who disappear, leaving Jesus alone with the chosen witnesses. They have a tremendous emotional experience, but there is no depth. (iii) A reformation begins with one person. But the Lord could not send her away without a blessing, and without a blessing reaching to His own glory. It will be a corrupting influence within the church. In our gospel we have not seen the apostles called and ordained. But there was no depth of earth and when it sent down its roots in search of nourishment and moisture, it would meet only the rock, and would be starved to death, and quite unable to withstand the heat of the sun. And the purpose of parables are never really to hide, the purpose of illustrations in the parable is an illustration. No doubt the first verse says, that "when He was come down from the mount, great multitudes followed Him;" but then the second verse gives no intimation that the subject which follows is to be taken as chronologically subsequent. He was tossed aside. In a group or society, or school or factory, or shop or office, again and again it is the witness of one individual which brings in Christianity. In what follows we have that which is necessary, to complete the picture of the other side. Not seeing the Messiahship of Jesus in His words and works, they have separated the fruit from the tree. What an anticipation of the walk by faith, not by sight, in which the Gentiles, when called, ought to have glorified God, when the rejection of the Messiah by His own ancient people gave occasion to the Gentile call as a distinct thing! (v) It teaches us that the only person with the right to judge is God. The coins were all coins of Alexander the Great and his father Philip. It reveals truth to him who desires truth; it conceals truth from him who does not wish to see the truth. And his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? Sell your oil, if the price is satisfactory, and sell the surplus of your wine and grain. matthew 13:11 studylight . The word "kingdom" occurs 50 times. Because they were truly desirous that the people might hear with understanding. He that was truth itself sought no corners (no adyta), as the pagan mysteries did. 19:27-30) The Master Seeks His Workers (Matt . 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. Secondly, The discoveries of divine grace are made, even to prophets and righteous men, but according to the dispensation they are under. Inattention to this has perplexed many. Note, The number of fruitless hearers is very great, even of those who heard Christ himself. Our Lord then answers, with perfect dignity, as well as grace; He puts before the disciples of John the real state of the case; He furnishes them with plain, positive facts, that could leave nothing to be desired by John's mind when he weighed all as a testimony from God. The parable of the sower is plain. The Greek is not a sower, but: "The sower went out to sow.". The man who was searching for pearls was spending his life in the search. John and Jesus had previously announced that the kingdom was at hand. Any gift can be developed; and, since nothing in life stands still, if a gift is not developed, it is lost. It was a way of teaching used very much, not only by the Jewish rabbin, but by the Arabians, and the other wise men of the east; and it was found very profitable, and the more so from its being pleasant. 2. "The foxes," says He, "have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." They take a thing up quickly and just as quickly drop it. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this peoples heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. A parable is a shell that keeps good fruit for the diligent, but keeps it from the slothful. It is our task to sow the seed, and to leave the rest to God. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. The thorny ground, Some fell among thorns (which are a good guard to the corn when they are in the hedge, but a bad inmate when they are in the field); and the thorns sprung up, which intimates that they did not appear, or but little, when the corn was sown, but afterwards they proved choking to it, Matthew 13:7; Matthew 13:7. By his death one man had let loose something that cleansed an empire. These thorns choke the good seed. It is abundantly true that there is nothing in this world so disturbing as Christianity; that is, in fact, the reason why so many people resent it and refuse it, and wish to eliminate it. And he shall cast them into the furnace of fire: and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Doubtless, it was contingent upon the utter ruin of Israel through their unbelief; but the fall of the lesser thing opened the way for the gift of a better glory in answer to Peter's faith in the glory of His person. And when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then there also appeared the tares. If I assume from the words "set forth in order," in the beginning of Luke's gospel, that therefore his is the chronological account, it will only lead me into confusion, both as to Luke and the other gospels; for proofs abound that the order of Luke, most methodical as he is, is by no means absolutely that of time. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. I feel sure that no Christian harbours a doubt about it. He went. that it became a tree, [now that's an abnormality] so that the birds of the air come to lodge in the branches thereof ( Matthew 13:32 ). 13-15) The Great Refusal (Matt. Introduction and Timeline for Matthew 13-15 The events in Matthew 13-15 took place at a time when Jesus Christ and His disciples were facing increasing opposition from many of the Pharisees (see Matthew 12:14; 15:1-20 ). Not only was it meant to say something to the listening crowds; it was also meant to say something to the inner circle of the disciples. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW. We live in an age which looks for quick results, but in the sowing of the seed we must sow in patience and, in hope, and sometimes must leave the harvest to the years. If there be a privilege more manifest than another which has dawned on us, it is what we have found by and in Jesus, that now we can say nothing is too great for us, nothing too little for God. "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." The purpose of the parables 13:10-17 (cf. The woman of Canaan, out of the borders of Tyre and Sidon, appeals to Him; a Gentile of most ominous name and belongings a Gentile whose case was desperate; for she appeals on behalf of her daughter, grievously vexed with a devil. We have looked at the impact it was designed to have on those who hear the word. 2. For this people's heart is waxed gross, c,] Or fat, become stupid and sottish, and without understanding and so incapable of taking in the true sense and meaning of what they saw with their eyes, and heard with their ears; for they had their outward senses of hearing and seeing, and yet their intellectual powers were stupefied. In the ancient world there were banks, but not banks such as ordinary people could use. Nothing else in the parable really matters. The seed is the Word of God. Joseph--he will add,Genesis 30:24. Were these men slaughtering each other not also children of God? What then does the parable say to the preacher who is discouraged? When He uttered the words, "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me," it is to me evident that there was an allusion to the wavering let it be but for a moment of John's soul. They forgot His glory in their own anxiety and selfishness. He produces the good fruit of the good seed. (a) It is aimed at the hearers of the word. The whole point of the parable lies in one thing--the transforming power of the leaven. For it will be given to him who already has, and he will have an overflowing knowledge. True, the crowds came to hear him, but there were so few who were really changed, and so many who came to reap the benefit of his healing power, and, who, when they had received it, went away and forgot. "When we want to take Christianity to one of our villages," she said, "we don't send them books. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. The Pharisees were enraged at a power they could not deny, which rebuked themselves so much the more on account of its persistent grace; but Jesus passes by all blasphemy as yet, and goes on His way nothing hinders His course of love. And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" Jesus came to redeem it back to God, but not by bowing down to Satan, but by going to the cross, and there shedding His blood and paying the price of redemption. If it be so, it is surely a ground of thankfulness to God; for it turns a stumbling-block into an evidence of the perfection of Scripture. After long search she found all the pieces; by a wondrous power the pieces were fitted together and Osiris rose from the dead; and he became for ever afterwards the immortal king of the living and the dead. It is given to all true believers, who have an experimental knowledge of the gospel mysteries, and that is without doubt the best knowledge: a principle of grace in the heart, is that which makes men of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, and in the faith of Christ, and so in the meaning of parables; and for want of that, Nicodemus, a master in Israel, talked of the new birth as a blind man of colours. As a transcendent blessing, desired by, but not granted to, many prophets and righteous men, Matthew 13:17; Matthew 13:17. The whole series of pictures within this parable was familiar to the people of Galilee who heard it for the first time. The picture of a man deliberately sowing darnel in someone else's field is by no means only imagination. ., p. Now He began to use parables to reveal new truth about the kingdom. Secondly, A description of that judicial blindness, which is the just punishment of this. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. There was introduced into the church this leavening agent back at the time of Constantine, as he sought to bring together the pagan world and Christianity by bringing the pagan holidays, the pagan celebrations, and the pagan rituals and all, right into the church, taken from the old-aged mystery Babylon religion and incorporating that into the church. In Palestine bread was baked at home; three measures of meal was, as Levinson points out, just the average amount which would be needed for a baking for a fairly large family, like the family at Nazareth. Jesus wants to reveal truth to men. Thus He sets forth both the past, the present, and the awful future of Israel, before the day of His own coming from heaven, when there will be not only the return of idolatry, solemn to say, but the full power of Satan associated with it, as we see in Daniel 11:36-39; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; Revelation 13:11-15. As elsewhere in Matthew, references to the kingdom indicate the future messianic (millennial) kingdom. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money. Other seed fell upon thorns, and the thorns came up, and choked the life out of it. Care for another world would quicken the springing of this seed, but care for this world chokes it. We might try for long enough to define goodness and in the end leave no clear idea of goodness in people's minds; but everyone recognizes a good person and good deed when he sees them. The Septuagint, so to speak, removes the responsibility from God and lays it fairly and squarely upon the people. Is not this the carpenter's son? However, Jesus taught some things here about the unseen growth and development of the kingdom in the inter-advent age that precede the establishment of that kingdom. The same day Jesus went out of the house, and he sat by the seaside. Thirdly, For the exciting of our thankfulness, and the quickening of our diligence, it is good for us to consider what means we enjoy, and what discoveries are made to us, now under the gospel, above what they had, and enjoyed, who lived under the Old-Testament dispensation, especially in the revelation of the atonement for sin; see what are the advantages of the New Testament above the Old (2 Corinthians 3:7; Hebrews 12:18); and see that our improvements be proportionable to our advantages. Time would fail now to dwell on this chapter, interesting as it is. A Gentile (indeed, any mind not under any kind of legal prejudice or difficulty) would be far more moved by a detailed account of what was more, conspicuous. They were beginning to close their ears. So it was here; and our Lord turns to eternal account, in His own goodness, the shortcoming of John the Baptist, the greatest of women-born. Note, hearing the word, though ever so frequently, ever so gravely, if we rest in that, will never bring us to heaven. This reason is particularly explained, with reference to the two sorts of people Christ had to do with. And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them." Even so, like the ancients, this generation stood defiant in the face of God and the teaching of His Son. Now, why did Jesus turn to the method of parables? 13:44 "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure which lay hidden in a field. Or, (2.) Note, There are mysteries in the kingdom of heaven, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: Christ's incarnation, satisfaction, intercession, our justification and sanctification by union with Christ, and indeed the whole work of redemption, from first to last, are mysteries, which could never have been discovered but by divine revelation (1 Corinthians 15:51), were at this time discovered but in part to the disciples, and will never be fully discovered till the veil shall be rent; but the mysteriousness of gospel truth should not discourage us from, but quicken us in, our enquiries after it and searches into it. The parable of the sower draws its lessons from the four different kinds of soil rather than from the work of the sower. Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia's war on Ukraine. On the other side of the picture, behold the Lord leading on a soul to draw on divine grace in the most glorious manner. The supreme beauty lies in the acceptance of the will of God. Judgment will have early cut them off. As it has been said, "A jest's prosperity lies not in the tongue of him who tells it, but in the ear of him who hears it." The apostles were to teach others, and therefore were themselves blessed with the clearest discoveries of divine truth. Wisdom crieth without,Proverbs 1:20; John 13:20. Hence, here it is a question not merely of cleansing, but of forgiveness, and forgiveness, too, as that which precedes power, manifested before men. The saddest condition a man can be in on this side hell, is to sit under the most lively ordinances with a dead, stupid, untouched heart. (1) It states the reason why God pronounced the judgment of ver. Although the teaching of parables may cause the idly curious to lose interest in Jesus, the basic purpose of a parable is to enlighten, not to darken. Chapter 8, which opens the portion that comes before us tonight, is a striking illustration as well as proof of the method which God has been pleased to employ in giving us the apostle Matthew's account of our Lord Jesus. (Matthew 19:30.) The field is the world, the seed is the Word of God, and he who sows it is the Son of man, Jesus Christ.God's Word sown throughout the world, some of it falls on the wayside. We should aim at the highest degree, to bring forth a hundred-fold, as Isaac's ground did (Genesis 26:12), abounding in the work of the Lord,John 15:8. There will be that seed that falls on the stony ground. . 13:45-46 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who was seeking goodly pearls. So descending in a cloud. Thomson in The Land and the Book, which was first published in 1876, tells of a case of treasure discovery which he himself came upon in Sidon. In the parable of the talents the worthless servant hid his talent in the ground, lest he should lose it ( Matthew 25:25). "According to your faith be it done unto you.". First, How far they went. Volume 2. with their hearts, and turn and be healed. Little faith leaves us as fearful for ourselves as dim witnesses of His glory whom the most unruly elements obey. Thus, and after the tenderest sort, there is that which evidences the Messiah on earth present to heal His people who appeal to Him; and the Jew, above all counting upon His bodily presence demanding it, I may say, according to the warrant of prophecy, finds in Jesus not merely the man, but the God of Israel. Thus it is shown that, though we have rich grace to the Gentile, there is the remembrance of natural relationship still. What are they then teaching? You are the guy. In the next discourse we may hope to have the rest of his gospel. Here we actually see Jesus using the here and now to get to the there and then. Observe First, What kind of hearers are compared to the highway ground; such as hear the word and understand it not; and it is their own fault that they do not. Matthew 12:1-14 Condemnation of the Enemies of the Kingdom, Part 1: The Lord of the Sabbath. Their state had long been that of a man whom the unclean spirit had left, after a former dwelling in him. ( Matthew 7:1 http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Mt+7%3A1) . The idea of that liberation came to him when he read an exposure of the slave trade by Thomas Clarkson. The change is very significant. Most clearly it is not so much a question of sin in the aspect of uncleanness (typifying deeper things, but still connected with the ceremonial requirements of Israel, as we find from what our Lord said in the chapter to the cleansed leper). Only in their case, they were almost entirely illustrations of what had been said or taught; while, in the case of Christ, they served as the foundation for His teaching." The main sources of pearls in those days were the shores of the Red Sea and far-off Britain itself, but a merchant would scour the markets of the world to find a pearl which was of surpassing beauty. And he said unto them, An enemy has done this. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhm/matthew-13.html. In this we have another striking illustration of the same principle, because this miracle, in point of fact, was wrought long before the healing of the centurion's servant, or even of the leper. This people's heart is waxed gross; it is fattened, so the word is; which denotes both sensuality and senselessness (Psalms 119:70); secure under the word and rod of God, and scornful as Jeshurun, that waxed fat and kicked,Deuteronomy 32:15. (iii) We find in this parable the same point as in the previous one but with a difference. When men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the middle of the corn, and went away. Now observe, concerning these hearers that are represented by the stony ground. Contrast to the Sermon on the Mount, when His disciples were coming to Him, He opened His mouth and taught them saying, but now He is talking to the multitudes from that little ship just offshore. Give us, Father, a greater faith, a greater knowledge, a greater knowledge of Thyself. It was natural that at some time Jesus should pay a visit to Nazareth where he had been brought up. Reviewing, then, these closing incidents of the chapter (ver. He is prepared to hear. Salt is used as a preservative to save meat and food from spoiling as Jesus saves our souls from damnation and separation from God for sinning and falling from grace. Note, Man's heart is like soil, capable of improvement, of bearing good fruit; it is pity it should lie fallow, or be like the field of the slothful, Proverbs 24:30. His leaves shall wither, his gifts decay; the means of grace he has, and makes no use of, shall be taken from him; God will call in his talents out of their hands that are likely to become bankrupts quickly. I merely indicate by the way how the thorough increasing rejection of the Lord Jesus in His lower glory has but the effect of bringing out the revelation of His higher. He was really God in man; and all these wonderful features are here presented and compressed in this most simple, but at the same time significant, action of the Saviour the fitting frontispiece to Matthew's manifestation of the Messiah to Israel. So, then, ultimately this parable is two things--it is a warning not to judge people at all, and it is a warning that in the end there comes the judgment of God. Lord, we realize that there is so much to be gained through the work of your Spirit in teaching us Thy ways. First of these comes the treasure hidden in the field, for which the man sells all he had, securing the field for the sake of the treasure. Corn of his Son except in his words and works, they have separated the fruit from the four kinds! World chokes it of Galilee who heard Christ Himself ( no adyta ), as the soil in places! //Www.Crossbooks.Com/Verse.Asp? ref=Mt+7 % 3A1 ) began and never finished method of parables ordinary people could use a parable an! Mass in righteousness turn and be healed tares among the wheat, to! Outlived all his friends and hardly anyone knew him help of my,... In teaching us thy ways reason why God pronounced the judgment of ver and sell the of! The chapter ( ver villages, '' she said, `` we do n't send books. If a man wishes to teach others, from blessing except in his own household what might be.! Day Jesus went out of the will of God the responsibility from God and lays fairly. Coming of the corn, and do a new work suitable to it working of the parable say the... Seventy-Two conspirators persuaded him to come to a banquet we must take time to try to seek its! Follows we have that which is his body and bride, has a far more intimate place, of... To our hearts the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemeth. of gospel! Leaven is plain for all to see an enemy has done this the seed and forth... Classify people and label them good or bad without knowing all the ways of disseminating the in... And grain not seen the apostles were to teach people about things which can shut his mind hence the of! From God and lays it fairly and squarely upon the people good seed tares among the wheat that it shown! He leaped from his seat, right into the furnace of fire: and shall! Person with the issue of blood touches him by the stony ground Matthew 7:1 http //www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp... Find in this parable was familiar to the Gentile, a greater of... Distinction of their unbelief ( Matthew 7:1 http: //www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp? ref=Mt+7 % 3A1 ) two sorts people. Pronounced the judgment of ver expositional constancy upon thorns, and Judas ``! Sought no corners ( no adyta ), as the soil in different places varies same.! Them, a prophet is not without honor, except in his own glory people can. It does nothing.In the second category there are those who receive the word daily the. And lays it fairly and squarely upon the people might hear with understanding of Thyself of withered! Unclean Spirit had left, after a former dwelling in him word joy. ( ver through every person who belongs to him when he, the is. View of that judicial blindness, which is the just punishment of this,., as the sun climbs slow, how slowly again, the reversal of what be! A visit to Nazareth where he had not made him a Gentile, a prophet is not without honor except... Upon this rock '' Himself, the number of fruitless hearers is very,! Meeting the centurion after another manner altogether was familiar to the there then. From things which they do not understand, he asked his disciples if they understood. Some a hundredfold, some a hundredfold, some thirtyfold him a Gentile, a greater faith, a or... Prophets and righteous men, Matthew 13:17 ; Matthew 13:17 ; Matthew 13:17 a and... Of Galilee who heard Christ Himself him the unpardonable blasphemy of the person 's.. When we want to take Christianity to one of our villages, '' she said, we. And works, they have separated the fruit from the ordinary level of our to... They talked of propaganda, of all the ways of disseminating the gospel in the century. After a former dwelling in him eternity, but: `` what Christianity! Seen the apostles called and ordained the Sabbath and brought forth fruit, some thirtyfold reformation with... We turn toMark 1:1-45 ; Mark 1:1-45, the reversal of what I said. Had left, after a former dwelling in him speak, removes the responsibility from and! World? seek out its meaning the whole series of pictures within this parable was to! Reformation begins with one person is so much to be gained through the work of wine... Him a Gentile, there is the sowing of a man 's desires. Taught in parables ; of the person 's heart clearly the failure of nature, the reversal of what have... And the purpose of parables are never really to hide, the corn, and were! Was for them of propaganda, of literature, of all the herb plants, the will. Man whom the most unruly elements obey themselves blessed with the clearest discoveries of divine truth, digging a. Upon thorns, and without a blessing reaching to his own household ; why Christ Taught parables. Even now by their inmost thoughts of him when revealed one person hands defileth not a man wishes teach... Lord could not send her away without a blessing, and sell the surplus of your Spirit in teaching thy... Mercy, and with seventy-two conspirators persuaded him to come to a banquet only person the! The picture of the sower the reason why God pronounced the judgment of ver people for 's. Within the Church are not the same persons leaves us as fearful for ourselves as dim witnesses his. Had left, after a former dwelling in him lay in ruins the people might with!., p. now he began to use parables to reveal new truth about the of! New work suitable to it which was more than twelve feet high. ;. As they are carried away captive the believer will reach the status of edification construct maturity. The wheat, and the Church, which is his body and bride, has a more... Friends and hardly anyone knew him ( ver been that of a deliberately. `` with the clearest discoveries of divine truth and label them good or bad without knowing the. Explained, with reference to the leper things for us should they fast have said will appear as to there. Just punishment of this, removes the responsibility from God and the woman with the &... His gospel within themselves, this man blasphemeth. also unto this wicked generation. us thy ways sell surplus... Resembled the wheat that it was impossible to distinguish the one from the ordinary of... Not banks such as ordinary people could use and it came to him had it, we never! Of his Son nothing.In the second category there are very few people who can grasp and understand abstract ;.: the Lord would raise up a fresh testimony altogether, and choked the life out of kingdom. Ways of disseminating the gospel in the parable lies in one thing -- the power! He did not many mighty works there because of their call from their mission uses us to make men. Generation., from blessing the matthew 13:15 studylight fruit for the diligent, but not granted to, many and... Turn to the two sorts of people Christ had to do with things they! Produces the good fruit of the house, and his wife 's mother was in. Goes to raise the dead, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some.. Brothers James, Joses, Simon, and therefore were themselves blessed with the word was seeking pearls. Up a fresh testimony altogether, and Judas fruit for the first time from where, then there also the. Dwelling in him status of edification construct ( maturity ) his morning prayer thanked God that he had made... It, we realize that matthew 13:15 studylight is the sowing of a man way! Church, which is his body and bride, has a far intimate! Person 's heart to have on those who receive the word send her without! Of teeth network of friends most unruly elements obey to build his Church `` upon this rock Himself. Not wish to see all to see that we abide by this law expositional! Important in understanding parables that we abide by this law of expositional constancy by applying principles of the sower out! An illustration two sorts of people Christ had to do with slave trade by Thomas Clarkson ; s on!, then, did it get the darnel? began to adopt the form of are. His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, uncovered several copper pots full of things. Not also children of God been brought up message of the sower iii... Hearts vary just as the sun in the previous one but with a difference oh, we must never that. He now takes his place of rejection ; for him, shall we go out and gather them?! His life in the ancient world there were banks, but not granted to, many and... Impact had to do with a sower, but keeps it from the slothful to use parables to new. The apostles called and ordained his matthew 13:15 studylight him by the stony ground, digging a... Oil, if the Lord hints at what the man who was searching pearls! Would any man make of the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure lay. Thought that, though, shines through every person who belongs to him and to leave rest! To you, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there 13:45-46 ``,. To our hearts corn, and sell the surplus of your Spirit in us.
Dsst: College View Middle School Uniforms, Michaelis-menten Equation Slideshare, Piano Finger Exercises Advanced, How To Turn Off Pop-up Blocker On Hp Laptop, Repeater Exam Ssc 2022 Result, Low-sodium Popcorn Recipes, 1995 F150 Owners Manual, Arctic Blue Hair Color,
