January
19th Matthew
13
The Parable of the Sower
1:
The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 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. 3:
And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a
sower went forth to sow; 4: And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the
way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5: Some fell upon
stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they
sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6: And when the sun
was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they
withered away. 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 an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9:
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The
purpose of Parables
10:
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto
them in parables? 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. 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. 13: Therefore speak I to them
in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not,
neither do they understand. 14: 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: 15: For
this people's 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. 16: But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your
ears, for they hear. 17: For verily I say unto you, That many
prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye
see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear,
and have not heard them.
The
Parable explained
18:
Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19: When any one heareth
the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the
wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This
is he which received seed by the way side. 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. 22: He also that
received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the
care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word,
and he becometh unfruitful. 23: But he that received seed into the
good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which
also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some
sixty, some thirty.
The
wheat and tares
24:
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven
is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25: But
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and
went his way. 26: But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27: So the servants of the
householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed
in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28: He said unto them,
An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then
that we go and gather them up? 29: But he said, Nay; lest while ye
gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30: Let
both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I
will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind
them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
The
mustard seed
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.
The
leaven hid
33:
Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like
unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal,
till the whole was leavened.
Parables
explained
34:
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and
without a parable spake he not unto them: 35: That it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my
mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret
from the foundation of the world. 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. 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 are the children of
the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39:
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the
world; and the reapers are the angels. 40: As therefore the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this
world. 41: The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do
iniquity; 42: And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall
be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43: Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to
hear, let him hear.
The
buried treasure
44:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field;
the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth
and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
The
pearl of great price
45:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking
goodly pearls: 46: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price,
went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
The
large net
47:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into
the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48: Which, when it was full,
they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels,
but cast the bad away. 49: So shall it be at the end of the world:
the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the
just, 50: And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall
be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 51: Jesus saith unto them, Have ye
understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 52: Then
said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder,
which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
Christ
rejected at Nazareth
53:
And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he
departed thence. 54: And when he was come into his own country, he
taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished,
and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55: Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary?
and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 56: And his
sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all
these things? 57: And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto
them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and
in his own house. 58: And he did not many mighty works there because
of their unbelief.
Now
the Lord takes a major change in his ministry. The Religious leaders
had rejected him. He will not teach them anymore. From now on
Christ’s teaching is almost exclusively focused on the Messianic
kingdom. And he speaks only in Parables. The First Parable is the
Sower. In this parable Christ is explaining the fourfold response to
the Gospel of the kingdom. The Ministry of John is the seed on the
wayside. The ministry of Christ is the seed on the shallow soil. It
springs up quickly but withers soon when the sun gets up. The
Ministry of the Apostles is fruitful but there are so many thorns and
weeds. In a future day after a time of deep ploughing the seed will
be abundantly fruitful. As so Christ reveals the secrets of the
kingdom of heaven. The Lord is questioned regarding his use of
parables and he says l speak in parables so that those who hear will
not understand. The teaching of Christ comes through parable after
parable. None of these parables are about church truth they all
convey some aspect of the Messianic kingdom. For example. - The
waiting of the reapers until the judgment of the living nations. The
treasure of very great price hidden in a field. In Nazareth Christ is
rejected. They cannot see beyond Christ’s childhood and family.
- Why does the Lord change from speaking directly to speaking in Parables?
- What is the significance of the Parable of the sower?
- What are all the Parables about?
No comments:
Post a Comment