Matthew 19

Kingdom Parables

Going on looking at the parables Jesus uses in chapter thirteen we actually can see that he gives us seven more parables and all seven are regarding one singular topic. Since this is the case we will be covering all seven of the remaining parables together in order to capture the full picture of what Christ wanted to teach. The topic that Christ is discussing in these parables is the kingdom of Heaven. We have already discussed in brief what the kingdom of Heaven, or the kingdom of God, is but here Jesus begins to give greater details regarding the kingdom now as well as its eventual perfection to come.

Look down to Matthew chapter thirteen verse twenty-four so we can see His first parable regarding the kingdom.

Wheat and Tares

Matthew 13:24–30 “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ””

From the beginning we have it clearly stated that this parable is teaching us something about what the kingdom of Heaven is similar to, this is where English class gets important. If you want mark down chapter 13 verses 36-43 as this is where Jesus explains the parable Himself but for the sake of time I will break it down for you and give you my interpretation on the parable. First again we need to break down what represents what in this simile. In His explanation Christ is clear that the one who sows the good seed is Himself, the field is the world today, and the good seeds are the believers. He also points out that the enemy and the tares represent Satan and those who oppose God. The first thing we can learn from this passage is who is in total control of our lives. As believers it is God who has placed us where we are today and He has done so for a purpose. Nothing happens by mere chance nor even by the will of man but all according to the will of God. It is God who has sown the seed of the Word into our heart like we saw last time and it is now God who has sown us into the world to grow.

Two we see that God is not surprised by the state of the world. When the owner of the field was told of the tares what did He say? Was He shocked? No, He already knew exactly what had happened. God is what we call omnicient. He knows everything that has, is, or will happen. God was not surprised when Adam and Eve fell to sin and He is not surprised when people commit evil today. This raises a question that many people who oppose God will raise. If God loves us and He knows everything and He has all the power then why does He allow Evil into the world? Many will say He is either not loving, not all knowing, or not all powerful and that is the only options that they see. This parable explains to us why the evil persists in the world. When the servants (who are the angels of Heaven) come to the owner and ask if they should remove the tares, or in our case the evil, God says no don’t do that because you may kill the wheat. God does not remove evil because He loves the ones who are evil. Many of His chosen people have still not come to repentance and faith in Him and we can know that because we are still here. Some of His chosen people may not have even been born yet. And because God is gratious and loving He wills for all to come to faith in Christ.

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

He does not purge the world of evil because doing so would purge some of His people before they came to knowledge of Him. Instead the owner tells the servants to wait for the day of harvest and to gather the tares first to be burned then gather the wheat to be put into the storehouse. There will come a day when the evil doers of this world will be gathered up and thrown into the lake of fire and on that day we too will be welcomed into the perfected kingdom of Heaven.

Dragnet

When you skip down you can see in verse 47 Jesus gives us the parable of the dragnet. In this parable He again promises that the kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet cast out intro the sea that gathers the fish indescriminetly to be sorted on the beach. The good fish to be kept and the bad to be thrown away. We are again promised that yes for now there is an apparent struggle between good and evil in the world and boy does it look like evil is winning. We see so much negativity and hatred and atrocities in the world we cannot help but wonder why we have to live in a world like this. God give us this promise though that there will come a day when He seperates the justified from the reprobate and the evil will receive a just punishment and those of us who are believers will deserve an unjust reward that we could not earn on our own.

Looking at the evil in the world and seeing the tares or the bad fish thrive in this world can still make us feel helpless. We feel almost as though all we have left is to wait for that day when God sorts it out. This is wrong though.

Mustard Seeds and Leaven

Matthew 13:31–33 “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.””

The next two parable talk about the power of the kingdom. The kingdom that we are apart of here and now is like a mustard seed. It is a small portion of the population and we are definetly outnumbered and outmanned. But we have the power as a group to grow into something powerful. We can become strong and stable. We can become what the rest of the world depends on for rest. We can be a sanctuary for the weary and a defender of the weak. These are all things that we can do now. We do not have to wait for God to sort out the evil of the world. It is our job now to get started on ridding the world of evil one step at a time fighting for what is right and good in the eyes of God. An while yes we may be a small group and you may feel like you have no power in your school or in your friend group to make a change, but the kingdom of Heaven is like leaven. It only takes a little bit to change the whole dough. Just a little bit of the Heaven that lives in you can make a real impact among your friends and family. The only thing that is limiting your ability to make a change in the world around you is your own willingness to allow God to use you.

Jesus gives us two more parables regarding the kingdom itself that should motivate us.

Treasure and Pearl

Matthew 13:44–45 ““Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,”

What is the kingdom of Heaven worth? Everything. To be a member of the kingdom of Heaven is worth sacrificing all that you have. It is worth sacrificing every relationship, habit, material thing, you name it and it is worth it. Notice here that Jesus does not say that these men were willing to sell all that they had to purchase the item they wanted. He says that they did sell all that they had. Now this is a parable so we can’t take it to mean literally give up all of your posessions and cut everyone but God out of your life. What it means is that God is number one in our lives. We sacrifice everything else in our lives not by getting rid of it but by using it to honor God. We no longer play football for our own glory, but for the glory of God. And when we see that something in our life is holding us back from growing with God, whether that be a relationship or whatever, we must swiftly cut it from our lives without hesitation because if it is for the kingdom it is worth anything you have to give up.

Scribes of the Kingdom

Finally, Jesus ends by commissioning us.

Matthew 13:52 “Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.””

He first asks the crowd if they understand what He has taught them and when they say that they have He commissioned them as scribes for the kingdom. We are now in their postition. He has given us the truths of the kingdom to hold within us. We have two choices. We can either hold these truths inside of us and keep them secret, or we can do as Jesus commands us and bring out these truths like treasures. These truths that we learned here as well as the truths of the Kingdom that He has already revealed for us should be brought out from within us and told to others like a person showing off their cool stuff. We should be posting about it like we just won a brand new car because as we already established the kingdom is worth more than any of our material treasures anyway. We should be bragging to everyone we see about the kingdom. Telling people of the justice of God, the mercy and grace and love of God, and even the wrath of God towards evil all so that others can learn of the kingdom of Heaven also and hopefully, by the grace of God, come to repentance and faith in Him and take in His truths like treasures just as we have.