[:en]SCRIPTURE: MATTHEW 13
“But the one who received the seed that feel on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop yielding a hundred; sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23)
“The Son of Man will send out His angels and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil” (Matthew 13:41)
Only in His hometown and in His own house is a prophet without honor” (Matthew 13:57)
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER (vs. 1-23)
A parable is a story that explains something unfamiliar from something familiar. Jesus used parables in order to arouse the curiosity of hearers and encourage them to learn. Jesus told these parables to outline the mysteries of the Kingdom and explain what the “Kingdom of Heaven” is.
A sower went out to sow. Some seeds fell along the path and the birds ate them up. Some fell on the rocky place, it sprang up but withered because of lack of soil and the scorch of the sun. Other seeds fell among the thorns. It grew up but the thorns choked the plants. Still other seeds fell on good soil and it produced bountiful crops. The seed represents God’s Word. The birds represent the devil. The seeds that fell on the pathway are those that heard God’s message but the devil came and snatched it away. The one that fell on the rocky place was a man who had the Word but the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who heard the Word and understood it. He produced a crop that yielded a hundredfold.
THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS (vs. 24-30)
A man sowed good seeds in his field. While everyone was sleeping, his enemies came and sowed weeds among the wheat. Both the weeds and the wheat sprouted and grew. The servants wanted to pull the weeds out but the master told him to wait until the harvest time. During the harvest, the master separated the wheats from the weeds. He kept the wheat and burned the weeds. Jesus allows both the righteous and the wicked to live together. However, when time comes, He will separate them.
THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED AND THE YEAST (vs. 31-35)
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that was planted in a field. It grows and becomes a tree with branches to serve as shelter for the birds. The kingdom is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough (v. 33)
THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS EXPLAINED (vs. 36-43)
- The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.
- The seed is the Word of God
- The field is the world
- The good seed stands for the sons of the Kingdom.
- The weeds are the sons of the evil one
- The enemy who sows them is the devil.
- The harvest is the end of the age
- The harvesters are the angels.
As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will weed out everything that is evil and throw them into the fury furnace. And the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father.
THE PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN TRASURES AND THE PEARL (vs. 44-46)
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. The man sold all he had and bought that field. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for the fine pearls. He sold everything he had to buy it.
THE PARABLE OF THE NET (vs. 47-52)
The Kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. The fisherman pulled it up and separate them. He kept the good and threw the bad away.
The fisherman represents an angel. At the end of the age, he will come and separate the wicked form the righteous and throw the wicked into the fiery furnace.
A PROPHET WITHOUT HONOR (vs. 53-56)
It is sad to note that although Jesus had performed many miracles in his hometown yet his own people do not know how to honor Him.
SUMMARY:
Satan finds many ways to oppose the work of God. He snatches the Word of God from the hearers. He causes troubles, persecution, worries and temptations to make people fall away from God. Then he plants false Christians to teach false doctrines and deceive people. True and false Christians will grow together until the end, but God will separate them in judgment day. We have to be alert, being able to find the hidden treasures and pearl, that is found in Jesus Christ. We have to be discerning by using our spiritual senses to detect false spirits.
LESSONS:
- Parable of the Sower – Receive God’s Word by heart and produce bountiful crops.
- Parable of the Weeds – Be the wheat, not the weeds. Only wheat will be harvested while the weeds will be thrown and burned.
- Parable of the Mustard Seed – Be someone who can become a blessing to others.
- Parable of the Yeast – Be someone who can influence people and make a difference in this world.
- Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl – Select the heavenly values that are eternal and not the earthly values that are only temporary.
- Parable of the Net – Time will come when the righteous will be separated from the wicked. The wicked will be thrown in to the fiery furnace. So, live a righteous life.
- A Prophet Without Honor – Learn how to respect and appreciate God’s servant that is in your hometown.
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