Matthew 13 | The Parables Of The King

 Previously In Matthew 12:

Jesus Faced Rejection Of His Teaching And His Authority.

Jesus Demonstrated That His Authority:

Is Greater Than Demons.

Is Greater Religious Teachers,

Why: BECAUSE HE IS LORD AND KING.

MATTHEW 13: THE PARABLES OF THE KING:

THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD:

The Parable Of:

The Sower:

The Wheat and Tares:

The Mustard Seed And The Leaven In Flour:

The Hid Treasure And The Pearl:

The Dragnet:

The Householder:

The Barrier of Unbelief:

Key Takeaway:

Jesus Uses Parables To Open The Eyes Of His Followers To The Truth.

Jesus Uses Parables To Hide The Secrets Of The Kingdom From Those Who Reject Him.

WHAT DOES MATTHEW CHAPTER 13 MEAN?

MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM: (MATTHEW 13:1–3).

Parables Are:

Short Stories Designed To Emphasize A Greater Truth.

To Make Large Or Abstract Ideas Easier To Grasp.

To Make Ideas Relate Something To More Common Experiences,

To Make Those Deeper Concepts More Accessible.

How Are We To Understand The Parables Of Jesus?

There Are About 40 Of Them.

They're Only In Matthew, Mark, And Luke.

No Parable Is In John.

Parables Are:

Obscure Because They Rely On Symbolism And Metaphors.

Not Focused On Small Details Which Is Not Their Purpose.

Jesus Intentionally Avoids Explaining The Meaning To Crowds.

Jesus Would Explain The Spiritual Meaning To Disciples.

Jesus Said Parables Are Given To Know About The Kingdom.

So, Israel At Large Especially Religious Leaders:

Rejected Jesus As The Messiah.

Rejected That The Source Of His Miracles Was Proof Of Deity.

HOW DOES JESUS RESPOND TO THEIR REJECTION?

PEOPLE WHO REJECTED SOON ARE NOT ABLE TO RESPOND.

THEY WERE ABLE TO SAY YES, SAID NO, THEN NOT ABLE.

HOWEVER:

TRUE CHRIST FOLLOWERS ARE BLESSED TO UNDERSTAND.

SO, A Huge Group Of People Follow Jesus From A House.

He Moved To Teach From The Shores Of The Sea Of Galilee.

So Many People Came That They Cannot All See And Hear Him.

Jesus Gets In A Boat And Pushes Off Shore A Bit.

The Crowd Listens From Shore As He Teaches Them In Parables.

How Are We To Understand Why Jesus Teaches In Parables?

The First Two Words Are Important, "That Day."

This Is A Day Like No Other Day.

This Is A Day In Which A Dramatic Transformation Takes Place In The Teaching Of Jesus.

This Is A Day With An Epic Shift.

This Is A Day That Is Ominous In Every Sense.

It Is Abrupt.

It Is A Startling Day.

It Is A Shocking Day In And Of Itself.

The Events That Happened That Day Would Be Enough,

This Is A Turning Point In The Entire Ministry Of Jesus.

It Happens To Be A Sabbath Day.

It Is Near The End Of His Second Year Of Ministry.

That Day Jesus Went Out Of The House Sitting By The Sea.

The Lake Of Galilee.

And Large Crowds, As Always, Gathered To Him,

So He Got Into A Boat And Sat Down,

And The Whole Crowd Was Standing On The Beach.

In Verse 3: He Spoke Many Things To Them In Parables,

ON THIS DAY.

Up To This Day, He Did Not Speak In Parables.

There Are No Parables In The Sermon On The Mount,

For Example, There Is An Illustration:

The Flood And Houses Built On Sand And Rock,

But There Is No Parable.

But From Here On, He Always Speaks In Parables.

He Basically Drawn From The Old Testament,

He Gave Discourses Based On Old Testament Scripture.

He Taught Doctrine, Theological Truths.

Propositional Truth: Which Is An Absolute Statement Of Fact.

He Was A Theological Preacher,

He Was A Expositional Preacher.

All Of A Sudden: He Becomes A Story-Teller.

Mark 4:33 GIVES A LITTLE MORE DETAIL OF THIS EVENT:

With Many Such Parables,

He Was Speaking The Word To Them,

So Far As They Were Able To Hear It;

And He Did Not Speak To Them Without A Parable;

But He Was Explaining Everything Privately To His Own Disciples."

NOTE:

AGAIN, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME.

AND From This Day On:

Whenever He Taught In Public,

He Spoke In Parables,

This Is A Huge Shift !!

(Matthew 13:10–17).

THESE SPECIFIC TEACHINGS ARE IN THE CONTEXT OF ISRAEL'S RESPONSE TO THE MINISTRY OF JESUS:

They Show How The Gospel Is Received Or Rejected,

They Are Not PRIMARILY To Present A Path For Salvation.

MATTHEW 13: THE PARABLES OF THE KING:

1 THE SOWER: MATTHEW 13:3-8,18-23:

This Parable Is Not Intended To Teach About Salvation.

It Is Taught To A Crowd.

A Sower Was Planting A Field.

Some Seeds Fall On Hard-Packed Paths Not Ready For Planting.

Those Sprouts Are Eaten By Birds.

Other Seeds Fall On Thin Rocky Soil But Rocks Prevent Growth.

Those Sprouts Die In A Heatwave.

Other Seeds Fell On Thorns That Choked The Plants.

Those Sprouts Do Not Grow In Abundance.

Some Seeds Fall On Good Soil And Grew In Abundance.

(Matthew 3:3–9).

Jesus Explains:

The Seeds Represent THE WORD Of The Kingdom.

The Hard Soil Is Those Who Do Not Understand And Hardened.

Satan Snatches Away That Truth Like A Bird Grabbing A Seed.

Rocky Soil Is Those Who Seem To Accept The Truth.

But Without Any Depth, Difficulty Comes, They Wither And Fail.

Thorns Represent Competing Interests From The World: Money.

Lives Choked With Thorns Of Distraction Pushes Out Truth.

The Good Soil Is Those Who Receive The Word And Reproduce.

(Matthew 13:18–23).

MATTHEW 13: THE PARABLES OF THE KING:

2 THE WHEAT AND TARES: MATTHEW 13:24-30, 18-23:

This One Involves A Man Who Sows Grain In A Field.

His Enemy Comes By Night, Scatters Weeds With Good Seeds.

The Bad Seeds Were TARES, Inedible, Looks Like Good Seeds.

Rather Than Uproot The Good Crop,

The Farmer Wisely Waits Until The Harvest.

At That Time, All The Plants Will Be Harvested,

But The Tares Will Be Separated Out, Bundled Up, And Burned. (Matthew 13:24–30).

Jesus Explains:

He Is The Farmer, The Field Is The Entire World.

The Children Of God's Kingdom Are The Good Wheat,

The Children Of The Devil Are The Weeds.

For Now, Both Will Be Allowed To Live And Grow.

At JUDGMENT DAY: Good Crop Kept, Tares Thrown In Fire.

(Matthew 13:36–43).

MATTHEW 13: THE PARABLES OF THE KING:

3 THE MUSTARD SEED: MATTHEW 13:31,32:

THE LEAVEN IN FLOUR: MATTHEW 13:33:

A Grain Of Mustard Seed That Grows To A Large Plant.

The Kingdom Will Be Great And Glorious,

Just As The Old Testament Predicted,

But Not Immediately.

Rather, IT WILL GROW TO A LARGE KINGDOM.

(Matthew 13:31–32).

Leaven In Flour,

It Appears To Be A Small Amount Of Yeast,

It Is Hidden In A Large Batch Of Flour.

The Kingdom's Apparently Small,

Obscure Beginning,

WILL COME TO AFFECT THE ENTIRE EARTH.

(Matthew 13:33).

MATTHEW 13: THE PARABLES OF THE KING:

4 THE HIDDEN TREASURE: MATTHEW 13:44:

THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE: MATTHEW 13:45,46:

A Treasure Hidden In A Field.

A Costly Pearl.

Wise People Recognize The Value Of Earthly Items.

Wise People Give Up Everything Else To Acquire Them.

Real Value: EARTHLY THINGS VERSUS HEAVENLY THINGS.

Giving Up All We Have Only Seems Radical,

But Not To Those Wise People Who Know The Value.

(Matthew 13:44–46).

MATTHEW 13: THE PARABLES OF THE KING:

5 THE DRAGNET: MATTHEW 13:47-50:

The Use Of Nets To Catch Fish.

The Net Collects Many Different Things.

Fishermen Sort Valuable Catch From Other Catch.

God's Final Judgment Will Distinguish Elect From Other.

(Matthew 13:47–50).

MATTHEW 13: THE PARABLES OF THE KING:

6 THE HOUSEHOLDER: MATTHEW 13:51,52:

A Wealthy Person Who Shows Others His Treasures.

What Is Old And What Is New.

Jesus Explains:

Disciples Teach The Old Testament And The New Testament.

Revelations In The New Testament Completing Old Testament.

(Matthew 13:51–52; 16:21–23; 26:6–13).

END OF CHAPTER:

THE BARRIER OF UNBELIEF (MATT. 13:53-58):

The People Of NAZARETH Rejects Jesus As Messiah.

The People Agree He Has Wisdom In Explaining Scripture.

The People Agree He Performs Mighty Works.

The People Could Not Accept A Local Carpenter As Messiah.

The People Refuse To Even Consider New Information.

The People Are Insincere And Disinterested In Jesus.

As A Result, Jesus Does Little Supernatural Work There.

(Matthew 13:53–58).