The priest, in chap. The distant-future fulfillment concerns what will happened now that the first generation of Jews alive during Christs coming rejected Jesus as the Messiah instead of accepting Him. It is the time and place we inhabit and the circumstances we encounter in this life. The idea of that liberation came to him when he read an exposure of the slave trade by Thomas Clarkson. This gives an opportunity to teach what truly defiles not things that go into the man, but those things which, proceeding out of the mouth, come forth from the heart. Thomson goes on to tell how there are even people who make it their life's business to search for hidden treasure, and that they get into such a state of excitement that they have been known to faint at the discovery of one single coin. He was horrified. The father would be mounted on an ass; the mother would be walking, and probably bent beneath a burden. StudyLght.org. Heaven is the barn into which all God's wheat shall be gathered in that harvest-day. 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. But here pardon dispensed on earth arouses the pride of the religious leaders to the quick, and implacably. I will frankly confess to you, that I do not consider my understanding of the parables complete. Matthew 13:36 in all English translations. 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. 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 said, oh, I'll take it. He was a close friend of Pitt, then Prime Minister, and one day he was sitting with him and George Grenville in Pitt's garden at Holwood. The first is, that the kingdom of heaven being like leaven, leaven having this unique capacity of permeating a whole loaf. What Jesus is in effect saying is this: "You are able to understand, because you came to me with a fine heritage. There is only one way to bring peace to the heart, joy to the mind, beauty to the life, and that is to accept and to do the will of God. Throughout His ministry, Jesus never seemed to challenge or correct these assumptions. It is always thus. Here is the parable of the grain of mustard-seed,Matthew 13:31; Matthew 13:32. This change is such as makes the soul to partake of the nature of the word, as the dough does of the leaven. The funeral reached the cemetery; and at the gate there was a soldier waiting. In the next scene, then, we have the disciples as a whole tried by a sudden danger to which their sleeping Master paid no heed. 2. A parable is not an allegory; an allegory is a story in which every possible detail has an inner meaning; but an allegory has to be read and studied; a parable is heard. Away goes the net, expanding as it flies, and its leaded circumference strikes the bottom ere the silly fish is aware that its meshes have closed around him. This parable teaches both that the Kingdom is for ever working unseen, and that there are times in every individual life and in history when the work of the Kingdom is so obvious, and so manifestly powerful, that all can see it. And soon when trials come, persecution begins to come, they fall away, because they have lacked depth. Make the heart of, this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest, they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand. see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven. Matthew 13:36-43) the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32) the leaven (Matthew 13:33) the treasure in the field (Matthew 13:44) the pearl . For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. The Jew clung fast to the belief that everything had its place in the purpose of God and that somehow God was weaving together success and failure, good and evil in a web of his designing. He maintains His sovereign title to do good, to do as He will with His own. 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. In Greek civilization the woman lived a life of utter seclusion, with nothing to do beyond the household tasks. Next, we find Him confessed by the centurion, no longer as the Messiah, when actually with them, confessed according to a faith which saw the deeper glory of His person as supreme, competent to heal, no matter where, or whom, or what, by a word; and this the Lord Himself hails as the foreshadowing of a rich incoming of many multitudes to the praise of His name, when the Jews should be cast out. This made it to be plainly and only a difficulty for God to solve. THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: and some fell upon stony places, where they did not have much earth: and immediately they sprung up, but because they had no deepness of earth: when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had not root, they withered away. If these verses be taken at their superficial value with no attempt to understand their real meaning, they make the extraordinary statement that Jesus spoke to men in parables in order that they might not understand, and in order to prevent them turning to God and finding forgiveness. 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. This, then, I apprehend to be the reason why we End two demoniacs mentioned; whereas, in Mark or Luke for other purposes, the Spirit of God only draws attention to one of the two. seated side by side in back-to-back pews facing forward, The first thing to be remarked is, that the leper was an early incident in the manifestation of the healing power of our Lord. Matthew gives no such details, but call and mission are together here. He is the one, who gave everything, in order that He might redeem you. The Catch And The Separation ( Matthew 13:47-50), 13:47-50 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net which was cast into the sea, and which gathered all kinds of things. But what he has will be taken away from him who has not. The good seed was the children of the kingdom; that is, of the kingdom of God, or Christians. 55. If we turn toMark 1:1-45; Mark 1:1-45, the proof of what I have said will appear as to the leper. In the evening multitudes are brought, taking advantage of the power that had so shown itself, publicly in the synagogue, and privately in the house of Peter; and the Lord accomplished the words ofIsaiah 53:4; Isaiah 53:4: "Himself," it is said, "took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses," an oracle we might do well to consider in the limit of its application here. Legalism has an appearance of righteousness, but it leads to ruin. As elsewhere in Matthew, references to the kingdom indicate the future messianic (millennial) kingdom. We need not dwell upon it. It is to him that the research, the advanced courses, the deeper things are given; and that is so because by his diligence and fidelity he has made himself fit to receive them. But after you have been instructed by me, you have the knowledge, not only of the things you used to know, but of things you never knew before, and even the knowledge which you had before is illuminated by what I have told to you.". Surely, had he seen this, everything was there; but he saw it not, and so the Lord spread out His actual portion, as it literally was, without one word about the unseen and eternal. IV. It was necessary to complete the picture. No Despair ( Matthew 13:1-9; Matthew 13:18-23 Continued). This, then, would be a message of encouragement. Once again Isis set out on her weary and sorrowful quest. Stumbling blocks hinder or harm those walking the path. No doubt the tempest was great; but what harm could it do to Jesus? The old people and work then closed in principle, and a new work of God in the kingdom of heaven was disclosed. The lesson is that we must be for ever on our guard. It is only the man who is prepared to become a disciple who can enter into the most precious things of the Christian faith. There are no failures and there are no loose ends in the ultimate plan of God. These are Gods angels. "You know that it is a means of attracting attention, and you also know that it is a means of illustrating a truth in a very subtle way, because now they see it. We could for long enough try to put into words what beauty is, and at the end of it no one would be very much the wiser; but if we can point at someone and say, "That is a beautiful person," no more description is needed. from whence then hath it tares? In the parable the good seed eventually grew into wheat, which was the crop that the sower wished to produce. The man who has a real message to deliver, and a real desire to deliver it, will always find a way of giving it to men. To understand clearly the purport of the Divine message, a man must come to God by frequent, fervent, secret prayer. There are some things which a man cannot be told; he must discover them for himself. An idea must find a man willing to be possessed by it; but when it finds such a man an unstoppable tide begins to flow. Those that were priests in the house of God would not they at least receive their own Messiah? Some people are at the mercy of every new craze. Jesus said unto them, Have you understood all those things? As A. H. Clough had it: For while the tired waves, vainly breaking. Particular epochs in Luke are noted with great care; but, speaking now of the general course of the Lord's life, a little attention will discover, from the immensely greater preponderance paid to the consideration of time in the second gospel, that there we have events from first to last given to us in their consecutive order. (24-30; 36-43) The parables of the mustard-seed and the leaven. On the other hand, Peter wept bitterly, and was exceedingly remorseful, but repented (Matthew 26:75; Luke 22:62). It has nothing to do with spookiness. (iv) There is the man who is like the good ground. Let none suppose that, in giving my own convictions, I have the presumptuous thought of putting these forward as if they were the sole motives in God's mind. For his part, Paul marveled that the blindness of the Jews during that first generation (which caused them to reject Jesus) has resulted in an enormous benefit for the Gentiles (Romans 11:11-12, 32). In New Testament times this, word mystery was used in a special and a technical way. For those of us living in the current age, it is like we are in the fourth quarter of a sports contest. In each section one parable stands out from the others. We are all born with a purpose and we were created in the image of God. And of course mustard plants can get as high as the pulpit here. They tithed their income, they cleaned the church for free, and, when the congregation decided to sponsor a Cuban refugee, they invited him to be a guest in their home. In Palestine there were two ways of sowing seed. It is one of the supreme tragedies that Jesus was banished from the Church of his day; but that could not stop him from bringing his invitation to men; for when the doors of the synagogue were closed against him, he took to the temple of the open air, and taught men in the village streets, and on the roads, and by the lake-side, and in their own homes. Instead of being in the kingdom, they will be thrown in a furnace of fire. I look at a sick world; a world that seems to me is getting sicker every day. Paul describes this judgement also being as with fire. When He reaches the house, minstrels were there, and people, making a noise: the expression, if of woe, certainly of impotent despair. Everything was done to work him up to a state of emotion and of, expectation. 36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, There is nothing in history so unanswerably demonstrable as the transforming power of Christianity and of Christ on the individual life and on the life of society. The brightest light would be at the center of the banquet. 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. 2. But he that received the seed into the good ground is he that hears the word, understands it, and bears fruit, and brings forth some hundred, some sixty, some thirty ( Matthew 13:18-23 ). (i) An idea which may well change civilization begins with one man. Number one, the kingdom of heaven is glorious, it's like a treasure. "Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom? . This would not be a legal claim on man, but the scattering of good seed, life and fruit from God, and this in the unlimited field of the world, not in the land of Israel merely. The truth of this is apparent, if we compare the gospel of Mark. (ii) A witness must begin with one man. This explanation is straightforward. Then the pitiable condition of the disciples at the foot of the hill, where Satan reigned in fallen ruined man, is tested by the fact, that notwithstanding all the glory of Jesus, Son of God and Son of man, the disciples rendered it evident that they knew not how to bring His grace into action for others; yet was it precisely their place and proper function here below. It is our Father's house, nay, it is our Father's palace, his throne, Revelation 3:21. Unless we discover truth for ourselves, it remains a second-hand and external thing; and further, unless we discover truth for ourselves, we will almost certainly forget it quickly. The supreme beauty lies in the acceptance of the will of God. But at the end, when His disciples are in the extremity of trouble, in the midst of the sea, the Lord walks on the sea toward them, and bids them not fear; for they were troubled and afraid. (1.) Yet is He the Son of man who hath power on earth to forgive sins; and He uses His authority. Whether it has a near or far-fulfillment, the most apparent application is that it will not necessarily be obvious to humans who is righteous and who is evil during our time on this earth. Fire generally represents Gods judgement in scripture. Now there are those expositors who say that this is a parable that is illustrating how that the kingdom of heaven will have a small beginning. We know better than to stand in judgment of others, yet we do it anyway, particularly when it comes to the church. Then the girl from Africa spoke. Those sons of the kingdom who are excluded from honor will be angry (gnashing of teeth), most likely at themselves, for missing the great opportunity to serve God during their life on earth. God could not be limited by a question of place; His word was enough. Home / Commentary / Matthew / Matthew Chapter 13 / Matthew 13:36-43. The dispensational aim here leads to a more manifest disregard of the bare circumstance of time than in any other specimen of these gospels. Many a message has been killed stone dead, not because there was anything wrong with it; but because the minds of the hearers were so prejudiced against the messenger that it never had a chance. The Act Of An Enemy ( Matthew 13:24-30; Matthew 13:36-43) 13:24-30,36-43 Jesus put forward another parable. (Ephesians 3:4-6). [5.] None the less does the Lord uphold it, purged of what accretions had come in to obscure its original and proper character. While a fiery judgment awaits the tares who are removed, a good reward awaits those who remain in the kingdom. Note, The over-hasty and inconsiderate zeal of Christ's servants, before they have consulted with their Master, is sometimes ready, with the hazard of the church, to root out all that they presume to be tares: Lord, wilt thou that we call for fire from heaven? We cannot see the leaven working in the dough, any more than we can see a flower growing, but the work of the leaven is always going on. All seven pertain to the kingdom of heaven. One of the great stories of the Christian Church is the story of Telemachus. Now Jesus isn't the pearl of great price, that you have to sell everything and buy Him. Revelation 20 describes an extended period of time when Satan will be bound up for a thousand years, before being released again (Revelation 20:1-6). The scope of this parable is to show, that the beginnings of the gospel would be small, but that its latter end would greatly increase. ", It was the most natural thing in the world that Jesus should use illustrations from fishing when he was speaking to fishermen. The church is like a great tree, in which the fowls of the air do lodge; God's people have recourse to it for food and rest, shade and shelter. And they were offended at him. "Look!" This he did personally, and does now by his ministers, his providence, and his Spirit, by all the means of conveying truth to the mind. Matthew 13:36-43 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. If youve been away, this is the second in our summer series on The Parables of Jesus. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father." how is it that ye have no faith? (but) a milling crowd, pushing, shoving, loving, laughing How that our lives are not as fruitful for the Lord as they should be, because we've allowed the cares of this world, that desire for riches or for other things to choke out the fruitfulness from our own lives. He said, Boaz why don't you buy it? In the Revised Standard Version, which is a literal translation of the Hebrew, it runs: Go, and say to this people: "Hear and hear, but do not, understand; see and see, but do not perceive." 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. (1-23) The parable of the tares. It is the harvest of the earth,Revelation 14:15. Nor was the unbelief confined to these religionists of letter and form; for next (verse 14) the question comes from John's disciples: "Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?" That is the experience of every teacher and preacher and evangelist. The one man or woman set on fire for Christ is the person who kindles others. The point in the beginning of the next chapter (Matthew 20:1-34) is not reward, but the right and title of God Himself to act according to His goodness. 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. ", Here is a picture which anyone in Palestine would understand. There is a sense in which the Kingdom, the power of Christ, the Spirit of God, is always working, whether or not we see that work; and there is a sense in which it is plain to see. said the Lord; and then stretched forth His hand toward His disciples with the words, "Behold my mother and my brethren! [2.] Some of us lost out to the enemy and become his surrogates. Power and love were come for any one to draw on. Let us remember what the Kingdom is. That the words have this meaning in other places there can be no doubt; and this may be their primary meaning here; but there are other matters in the parable which agree far better with the consummation of all things than with the end of the Jewish dispensation and polity. The desire of the disciples for an explanation of that parable is understandable. The Spirit of God has been pleased to cull and class facts otherwise unconnected; for here follow conversations that took place a long time after any of the events we have been occupied with. Of course, if the wind was blowing, in that case some of the seed would be caught by the wind and blown into all kinds of places, and sometimes out of the field altogether. And whoever has ears to hear, let him hear ( Matthew 13:42-43 ). There will be two categories of inhabitants on the earth in this parable, represented by the good seed and the bad seed. There is a great deal of secret wickedness in the hearts of men, which is long hid under the cloak of a plausible profession, but breaks out at last. Subsequently to that, the scribe offered to follow Jesus whithersoever He went. The useless material was flung away; the good was put into containers. The bad figs will remain in Judah and face utter destruction as they abandon God (Jeremiah 24:8-10). Did he appear as himself, few would receive solicitations to sin but he is seldom discovered in evil thoughts, unholy desires, flattering discourses, bad books, c. II. (ii) It is suggestive to find that there are other pearls but only one pearl of great price. The harvest could commence at any moment. In this chapter Matthew shares seven parables Jesus told. [2.] The motives of the natural heart are laid bare. And what a great story it is: A farmer sowed wheat in his field, but while he slept an enemy sowed weeds so that when the wheat began to sprout and grow so did the weeds. Though they do not own his name, yet they bear his image, do his lusts, and from him they have their education; he rules over them, he works in them, Ephesians 2:2; John 8:44. Take notice of the care with which the Spirit of God here omits all reference to this: "And a certain scribe came." [Note: See Mark L. Bailey, "The Parable of the Tares," Bibliotheca Sacra 155:619 (July-September 1998):266-79.] Nor was it only a difference in the forms the truth took; but the vital principle which Christ was diffusing could not be so maintained. And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, let us pass over unto the other side. 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. It is more particularly sin, viewed as guilt, and consequently as that which absolutely breaks and destroys all power in the soul towards both God and man. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind., Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves., All Rights Reserved | 1997-2023 Richard Niell Donovan. And the righteous, however much wickedness they may see, and however many hypocrites there may be in the church, should be cheered with the prospect that soon the just will be separated from the unjust, and that they shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. If he has spoken of hell, then there is a hell. A farmer sowed a field of wheat but, while he slept, an enemy came and sowed darnel, so that, when the wheat began to sprout, so did the darnel. The ultimate place of judgement for unbelievers will be the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15), where also death and Hades are cast. The people might have failed, but, surely, there were some differences surely those that were honoured and valued were not so depraved! The other was good: Joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. The picture of a man deliberately sowing darnel in someone else's field is by no means only imagination. Jesus points out that his kingdom is in the world already, but it will have its climax at the end of world history. The action of Christianity is disruptive, disturbing, violent in its effect. We are dependent, therefore, for determining this case, on the fact that Mark does habitually adhere to the chain of events. Not seeing the Messiahship of Jesus in His words and works, they have separated the fruit from the tree. In another parable, two types of seed produce two types of plants in the same field. The English translators have thus given the sense well; for the expression really conveys this slight, though the word "fellow" is printed in italics. Then the wheat is put into the farmers barn but the weeds are destroyed (Matthew 13:24-30). They were beginning to close their ears. (i) Christianity transformed life for the individual man. And it is important that we establish this expositional constancy, or else you can start reading into the parables other things, than what was intended by the parable. It brings me to the real crisis; that is, the final presentation of our lord to Jerusalem. And this is he which received seed by the way side. There is a great lesson here. They mock the calm utterance of Him who chooses things that are not; and the Lord turns out the unbelievers, and demonstrates the glorious truth that the maid was not dead, but living. ( Matthew 7:1 http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Mt+7%3A1) . On this the Lord takes another step, when one said to Him, "Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee." (Daniel 12:2-3). Considerable time, it is true, elapsed between the two facts; but this only makes it the more sure and plain, that they are grouped together with a divine purpose. In the next incident the force of the plea turns on God's goodness towards the wretchedness of man. Then, alas! The question fairly arises, Why it is that the Holy Ghost has been pleased so remarkably to leave time out of the question in this chapter, as well as in the next? And in His explanation, what the tares represent contrasts with what the good seed represents. See on Mark 4:29. The design is, I think, manifest: the Spirit of God is here giving a vivid picture of the manifestation of the Messiah, of His divine glory, of His grace and power, with the effect of this manifestation. It may well be said that in its lessons this is one of the most practical parables Jesus ever told. One of my favorite theologians, Mr. Rogers, used to say: Have you ever noticed that the very same people who are bad sometimes are the very same people who are good sometimes? It reminds me of a story called, Two Wolves. It goes like this: An old Cherokee once told his grandson about a fight that was going on inside of him. Thy Word is truth. And this kind, I don't understand. The unteachable spirit can result from one of two things. The sons of the kingdom are chastised. Jesus took his parable of the Kingdom from something that he had often seen his mother, Mary, do. Verse 36. [Note: See Mark L. Bailey, "Guidelines for Interpreting Jesus Parables," Bibliotheca Sacra 155:617 (January-March 1998):29-38.] Now here is seed that is being sown, but it is definitely declared that it's bad seed. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I have difficulty with that particular interpretation. The two categories Jesus assigned for the tares cover the full range of wickedness from legalism (stumbling block) to licentiousness (lawlessness), and everything in between. The fact is, beloved brethren, there is but one Jesus; and whoever it may be, whether John the Baptist, or the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, after all it is divinely-given faith which alone sustains: else man has to learn painfully somewhat of himself; and what is he to be accounted of? Observe that it is at this point the chapter begins with vindicating the sanctity of marriage. Now you remember that when Jesus came, Satan took him into a high mountain and showed Him all of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them? Sinners of the same sort will be bundled together in the great day: a bundle of atheists, a bundle of epicures, a bundle of persecutors, and a great bundle of hypocrites. [2.] The lion will eat straw like the ox. Instead He began to reveal new truth about the kingdom because of Israels rejection of Him and His rejection of the nation. The woman at last meets the heart and mind of Jesus in the sense of all her utter nothingness before God; and then grace, which had wrought all up to this, though pent-up, can flow like a river; and the Lord can admire her faith, albeit from Himself, God's free gift. And, to be honest, they didnt smell like the rest of us either. They are the fruit of his labors. They lose honor. 2. But none the less do we find His affections engaged for the help of the helpless. We must think and study and imagine ourselves back into the minds of those who were listening to Jesus. The wicked will face His wrath for the evil they have done (Matthew 13:41-42). The truth is that the words of Isaiah, and the use that Jesus made of them, must be read with insight and with an attempt to put ourselves in the position both of Isaiah and of Jesus. 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. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. . After teaching the people, Jesus returns to the house (13:1), possibly Simon Peters home at Capernaum (8:14). The rich young ruler was not converted: far from being so, he could not stand the test applied by Christ out of His own love, and, as we are told, "went away sorrowful." 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 leper approaches the Lord with homage, but with a most inadequate belief in His love and readiness to meet his need. What is the truth in it? Three things you need to know about this parable: One, in Jesus day, sowing weeds in a neighbors field was a common way folks had of getting even with each other. In Matthew 12:1-50 we find not so much Jesus present and despised of men, as these men of Israel, the rejectors, in the presence of Jesus. It is not any man's place to say who is committed to Christ and who is not. They talked of propaganda, of literature, of all the ways of disseminating the gospel in the twentieth century. Had she not such confusion of thought that, if the Lord had heeded her words, it must have been destruction to her? Their young ones will lie down together. "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." 13:44 "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure which lay hidden in a field. 32.6: Matthew Potts to Lorcan Tucker, Length and on middle, Tucker tucks it to square leg for one. 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. The Greek word in Matthew 13:11, which I have translated, secrets (as the Revised Standard Version also does), is musteria, ( G3466) . Leach 3-35, Potts 2-36; . The inclusive view feels instinctively that the Church must be open to all, and that, like the drag-net, so long as it is a human institution it is bound to be a mixture. The wheat would be plump and golden brown. The second general thing is the saying in Matthew 13:12 that still more will be given to the man who has, and even what he has will be taken away from the man who has not. And that is a theological phrase used in Hermeneutics whereby in interpreting scripture, if a figure is used to represent something in one passage, every time that same figure is used in a figurative way, it represents the same thing. [2.] He that sows is the Son of man. But it was for a land of darkness and sin and death that Jesus came from heaven the Messiah, not according to their thoughts, but the Lord and Saviour, the God-man. It takes a long, long time before an acorn becomes an oak; and it may take a long, long time before the seed germinates in the heart of a man. In the end of the chapter is set forth parabolically the unlimited forgiveness that suits the kingdom; here, I cannot but think, looking onward in strict fulness to the future, but with distinct application to the moral need of the disciples then and always. In our study of the parables that means two things for us. The sons of the kingdom will remain in the kingdom, and the wicked ones will have been cleansed out. The glory of Christ's person strengthens us, not only to understand His cross, but to take up ours. (i) It is sometimes said that the lesson of this parable is that the Kingdom works unseen. The heart is, as the meal, soft and pliable; it is the tender heart that is likely to profit by the word: leaven among corn unground does not work, nor does the gospel in souls unhumbled and unbroken for sin: the law grinds the heart, and then the gospel leavens it. (1-3a) Jesus teaches with parables. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The angels are skilful, strong, and swift, obedient servants to Christ, holy enemies to the wicked, and faithful friends to all the saints, and therefore fit to be thus employed. But when she was absent from home, the wicked Seth came again, stole the body of Osiris, cut it into fourteen pieces, and scattered it throughout all Egypt. ], 3. ' (Anonymous). "As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 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. Let both grow together until the harvest, But, until then, they coexist the wheat and weeds grow side by side even within us so that to root out the one would be to destroy the other. Jesus teaches: "Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn" (Matthew 13:30). A woman took this leaven; it was her work. They begin some new hobby or begin to acquire some new accomplishment with enthusiasm, but the thing becomes difficult and they abandon it, or the enthusiasm wanes and they lay it aside. 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. And three, the seeds of the bearded darnel were poisonous. Other Translations of Matthew 13:36-43 King James Version Jesus Explains the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. We have no idea of more acute suffering than to be thrown into the fire, and to have our bodies made capable of bearing the burning heat, and living on m this burning heat forever and forever. Hide but the leaven in the dough, and all the world cannot hinder it from communicating its taste and relish to it, and yet none sees how it is done, but by degrees the whole is leavened. There lay the camp, all silently in the starlight, never dreaming that danger was so near. Levison describes the process: "Women have to be hired to pick the darnel grain out of the seed which is to be milled. As a rule the separation of the darnel from the wheat is done after the threshing. He healed, and bore its burden on His heart before God, as truly as He took it away from men. There will be those that will be unfruitful. "And forthwith when they were come out of the synagogue they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John; but Simon's wife's mother was sick of a fever, and anon they tell Him of her. It is God alone who can judge. From small beginnings it grows to a vast community that covers the entire earth (Matthew 13:31-32). [2.] When the mason is working on the stone, when the carpenter is working with the wood, Jesus Christ is there. 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. And are James and Joseph and Simon and Judas not his brothers? Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Last week's text, the parable of the sower, focused on the yield produced by the seed that fell on good soil. We practice selective evangelism. We defer to those whom we want to be a part of our fellowship, and we politely discourage the others. 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? Now, it was an established principle, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word should be established. Judgment is not hasty, but judgment comes. One of the ceremonies of preparation for the Passover Feast was that every scrap of leaven had to be sought out from the house and burned. the tares among the wheat, and he went his way. Here is the character of sinners, hypocrites, and all profane and wicked people. They were different because they persisted in asking Jesus to help them understand the parables, whereas the crowds showed less interest. (iii) We find in this parable the same point as in the previous one but with a difference. In heathen life the weak and the ill were considered a nuisance. So inasmuch as in the previous parable He pointed out, that there were gonna be tares that are going to be growing along with the wheat in the kingdom, He is only further illustrating the same thing, as the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, but somehow it has abnormal growth. That sounds inexplicable. Peter, the good confessor of chapter 16, cuts but a sorry figure in chapter 17; for when the demand was made upon him as to his Master's paying the tax, surely the Lord, he gave them to know, was much too good a Jew to omit it. God used the delayed fulfillment that was caused by the Jews rejection of Jesus to bring salvation to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16; 11:11). 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. We will begin by looking at what Jesus says about the meaning of each of the parables elements and events. "Then," said the Lord, "are the children free. Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary Matthew 13. . It does not say, that " then there came a leper," or " immediately there came a leper." Palestine was probably the most fought over country in the world; and, when the tide of war threatened to flow over them, it was common practice for people to hide their valuables in the ground, before they took to flight, in the hope that the day would come when they could return and regain them. (Matthew 13:36-43). He also gives Peter the keys of the kingdom, as we see afterwards. And Luke gives us a few more words of Christ concerning it. On this the Lord proceeds to take a step farther, and makes a deeper inroad, if possible, upon Jewish prejudice. Young converts are like lambs that must be carried in his arms,Isaiah 40:11. You couldnt tell them apart. Read full chapter. Now Luke also tells us of that parable. Whereas, on the contrary, there are other kinds of order that call for more profound thought and enlarged views, if we may speak now after the manner of men; and, indeed, I deny not that these the Holy Ghost employed in His own wisdom, though it is hardly needful to say He could, if He pleased, demonstrate His superiority to any means or qualifications whatsoever. So this is why He began to adopt the form of parables. It was natural that at some time Jesus should pay a visit to Nazareth where he had been brought up. . The disciples' request to their Master to have this parable expounded to them (Matthew 13:36; Matthew 13:36); Jesus sent the multitude away; and it is to be feared many of them went away no wiser than they came; they had heard a sound of words, and that was all. 31 Another parable put he 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: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. But first appears the new and great fact, that Christ was going to build a new building, His assembly, on the truth and confession of Himself, the Son of God. The servants said to him, 'Do you wish us to go and collect the darnel?' Last week I told you that, by definition, a parable is a simple story using concrete imagery to make a single point, in Jesus case, about the Kingdom of God. Now are we the sons of God (1 John 3:2); our Father in heaven is King there. He came back. 'An enemy has done this,' he said to them. This remnant of faithful Jews are the sons of the kingdom. And if you can think of any evil notify them, they'll be glad to do it. (3.) The unteachable spirit can erect a barrier which cannot easily be broken down. As a small amount of yeast spreads through a lump of dough, so will the apparently small kingdom of Jesus spread through the world (Matthew 13:33). Although this parable sounds strange to us, it would sound perfectly natural to people in Palestine in the days of Jesus, and even to this day it paints a picture which people in the East would know well. The field is the world. First, although Palestine in the time of Jesus was under the Romans and under Roman law, in the ordinary, small, day to day things it was traditional Jewish law which was used; and in regard to hidden treasure Jewish Rabbinic law was quite clear: "What finds belong to the finder, and what finds must one cause to be proclaimed? It would be a sad thing, if it were only in churches, in so-called holy places, and on so-called religious occasions that we found God, and felt close to him. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. He said, Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. The question is, how do you know one from the other? The birds pluck it up. Then He spoke many things to them in parables, a. 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 ). ., p. They confess their faith, and He touches their eyes. [Note: France, The Gospel . Jesus said that his Kingdom was like the mustard seed and its growth into a tree. He who has ears, let him hear. So many people think that when a man declares for Christ he must give things up and concentrate upon the so-called religious things. Here they are obscure and hidden (Colossians 3:3), their beauty is eclipsed by their poverty, and the meanness of their outward condition; their own weaknesses and infirmities, and the reproach and disgrace cast upon them, cloud them; but then they shall shine forth as the sun from behind a dark cloud; at death they shall shine forth to themselves; at the great day they will shine forth publicly before all the world, their bodies will be made like Christ's glorious body: they shall shine by reflection, with a light borrowed from the Fountain of light; their sanctification will be perfected, and their justification published; God will own them for his children, and will produce the record of all their services and sufferings for his name: they shall shine as the sun, the most glorious of all visible beings. Jesus does not ask that he should give up his gift. The sons of the kingdom will remain in the kingdom. It was a scorned Messiah who, when rejected of His own people, Israel, turned to the Gentiles by the will of God: it was One who could look upon publicans and sinners anywhere. "Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?" the drama he had to undergo a period of fasting and abstinence. It's the biggest of the herbs that you grow.But Jesus said concerning this particular mustard seed. (ii) The great interest of this chapter is that here we see Jesus beginning to use to the full his characteristic method of teaching in parables. Commentary for Matthew 13 . And the Lord is warning us here.Now. It is thus that the word of God sinks into the heart, is watered, and brings forth much fruit. 1. A man becomes too busy to pray; he becomes so preoccupied with many things that he forgets to study the word of God: he can become so involved in committees and good works and charitable services that he leaves himself no time for him from whom all love and service come. That blessed One was here whom he knew to be God, who was to him the impersonation of divine power and goodness His presence was uncalled for, His word more than enough. The same day Jesus went out of the house, and he sat by the seaside. (a) The parable always makes truth concrete. (Matthew 19:30.) Were the wicked all rooted up, society must fail - the earth be nearly desolated - noxious things greatly multiplied - and the small remnant of the godly, not being able to stand against the onsets of wild beasts, c., must soon be extirpated and then adieu to the economy of grace! What does it mean for you? Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in the field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for the joy thereof he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field ( Matthew 13:44 ). (9.) I cannot do it at all with any confidence. Theres something deep down inside us that wants to separate the sheep from the goats, the saints from the sinners, the good guys from the bad guys. Now, why did Jesus turn to the method of parables? Jesus was there to call, not righteous men, but sinners. The seed is that from which fruit is expected; what fruit of honour and service God has from this world he has from the saints, whom he has sown unto himself in the earth,Hosea 2:23. Many a man would have been saved all kinds of heartbreak, if he had simply stopped to listen to the voice of a wise friend, or to the voice of God. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather all the stumbling-blocks, and all those who act lawlessly, out of the Kingdom, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; and weeping and gnashing of teeth will be there. Tares were one of the curses against which a farmer had to labour. The manner of Christ's preaching; he preached by parables; wise sayings, but figurative, and which help to engage attention and a diligent search. The kingdom is at hand. Nor is this all. Interestingly, Jesus does not identify the landowner in the parable. So He meekly retires, healing, yet forbidding it to be blazed abroad. 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. For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mysteryso that you will not be wise in your own estimationthat a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, He went into his native place and he taught them in their synagogue. 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. 37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed . For His disciples, they believed that the time for the harvest was near, when the Son of Man would establish His kingdom on earth by sending forth His angels to gather all the unbelieving taresall the sons of the evil one now among themand throw them into the fiery furnace of Gods judgment. 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