February 17th
Light hidden!
21: And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? 22: For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 23: If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 24: And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. 25: For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
Parable of the Growing seed
26: And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27: And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 28: For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29: But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
Parable of the Mustard seed
30: And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31: It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 32: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Jesus’ use of Parables
33: And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. 34: But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
Jesus calms the storm
35: And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36: And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37: And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38: And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39: And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40: And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41: And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
First Christ says that everything will one day be revealed. Nobody buys a candle to put it in a bucket! No its put on the candlestick to give light to everyone in the house. Then Christ says take care how you measure out because how you measure out will be how blessing from God is measured out to you. Could there be a more meritorious system as this? This is Law not Grace. Under Law God blesses those who are righteous. But under Grace God blesses the unrighteous on the basis of the righteousness of Christ given to those who have faith in him. The Kingdom of God says Christ, is like a rewarding harvest to those who sow and patiently wait. The Kingdom of God, says Christ, is like a grain of mustard seed which though it is very small, when it is sown, becomes a huge tree big enough to support the birds of the air it its branches. Only in Parables did Christ teach the crowds but he revealed what the parables meant to his disciples in private. In the evening Christ set out with the disciples to go to the other side of Galilee. A great storm arose but Christ stilled the storm and there was a great calm. The Disciples were very afraid of the power of Christ and said to each other what sort of man is this?
Steve
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