Hidden in Plain Sight
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Text: Mt 13.1-23
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Main Point/FCF:
Application:
The Parable of the Sower Explained (13:1-9, 18-23)
The Parable of the Sower Explained (13:1-9, 18-23)
Background
Background
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.
To whom is Jesus telling this parable? To a “great crowd” gathered around him on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
Glance back at the context, especially Mt. 12:22-42. What might have motivated him to tell this parable? Jesus is explaining why some people are receptive to his teachings and others are not.
Interpreting the Parable
Interpreting the Parable
3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
In the parable (Mt 13:3-8), what is meant by:
...the seed? (13:3)
Seed = “the word of the kingdom”; the gospel (13:19a)
...the path, the birds devouring the seed? (13:4; 19)
Path = the person who does not understand the gospel message
the birds = Satan/demons confounding their understanding
Discuss: What does this look like in real life?
...the rocky ground, getting scorched by the sun? (13:5-6, 20-21)
the rocky ground = superficial/shallow acceptance of the message
scorched by the sun = lack of endurance through persecution or suffering
Discuss: What does this look like in real life?
...the thorny soil, getting choked by the thorns? (13:7, 22)
thorny soil = superficial acceptance of the message
choked by thorns = distracted by worldly pursuits, chasing wealth/prosperity, a life that lacks the fruit of the Spirit and is indistinguishable from a non-believer.
Discuss: What does this look like in real life?
...the good soil, bearing fruit, “hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (13:8, 23)
the good soil = those who understand and embrace the gospel
bearing fruit = those whose lives show evidence of the fruits of the Spirit
hundredfold/sixtyfold/thirtyfold = the varying degrees of sanctification/fruitfulness that we observe amongst genuine believers.
Discuss: What does this look like in real life?
Of the four types of soil in Jesus’ parable, how many refer to genuine, born-again believers? Only one.
8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
There is no category in Scripture for an “unfruitful believer”.
The Purpose of Parables (13:10-17)
The Purpose of Parables (13:10-17)
To whom did Jesus tell the parables in Mt. 13:1-9? To the crowds
To whom does Jesus give the explanation of the parables? (Mt. 13:10) To his disciples only
Does it surprise you that Matthew interrupts the parable and its explanation in vv. 10-17? Why do you think he did this? Because the real point of Jesus’ parable is in this explanation in the middle.
What reason does Jesus give in Mt. 13:11 for using parables when he spoke to the crowds? To conceal the secrets of the kingdom of heaven from the crowds.
The word “secrets” or “mysteries” in Mt. 13:11 refers to truths that cannot be understood without divine revelation.
What principle is Jesus communicating in vv. 11? God sovereignly chooses to whom to reveal himself.
What happens to those who understand and embrace the gospel message (Mt. 13:12) They are given more understanding
What happens to those who reject or do not understand the gospel message? Even what little they understand is confused.
CHIASM
A sequence of components repeated in
Chiasms follow the pattern A, B, B’, A’. The main focus of a chiasm is found in the center of the chiasm.
Examples:
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
“You can take the girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl.”
Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:8-10. Read this passage in its context, and label the chiasmus in vv. 9b-10:
[A] “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
[B] Make the heart of this people dull,
[C] and their ears heavy,
[D] and blind their eyes;
[D’] lest they see with their eyes,
[C’] and hear with their ears,
[B’] and understand with their hearts,
[A’] and turn and be healed.”
Read Isaiah’s question and God’s reply in Is. 6:11-13 and look at the chiasm in vv.9b-10. What was the intended outcome of Isaiah’s ministry when God commissioned him? To bring about a further hardening of those who had rejected God and bring judgement upon them.
11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.
Jesus cites this passage from Isaiah as being fulfilled during his ministry through his preaching in parables. What does this tell us about the Jesus intention when he used parables? He used parables, in part, to further harden those who were set against him and bring about their judgement.
Why does Jesus explain the parables to his disciples? Because his intention for them is different. For his disciples, he intends the parables to illuminate and deepen their faith.
Parables have a dual purpose. For those who are soft of heart, they illuminate (sometimes explanation is required). For those who are hard of heart, they further harden.
Parables are a secret message, hidden in plain sight.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 13
God sovereignly uses the parables to either harden a person’s heart so that he or she will be unable to respond (v. 15), or to elicit the positive response of coming to Jesus, asking for an explanation, and accepting his message (cf. v. 10).
Jesus’ answer cannot legitimately be softened. At least one of the functions of parables is to conceal the truth, or at least to present it in a veiled way.
It is naive to say Jesus spoke them so that everyone might more easily grasp the truth, and it is simplistic to say that the sole function of parables to outsiders was to condemn them. If Jesus simply wished to hide the truth from the outsiders, he need never have spoken to them. His concern for mission (9:35–38; 10:1–10; 28:16–20) excludes that idea. So he must preach without casting his pearls before pigs (7:6). He does so in parables: i.e., in such a way as to harden and reject those who are hard of heart and to enlighten—often with further explanation—his disciples. His disciples, it must be remembered, are not just the Twelve but those who are following him (see comments at 5:1–12) and who, it is hoped, go on to do the will of the Father (12:50) and do not end up blaspheming the Spirit (12:30–32) or being ensnared by evil more thoroughly than before (12:43–45). Thus the parables spoken to the crowds do not simply convey information or mask it but challenge the hearers.
Jesus gives two answers to the question “why don’t they understand?” in this passage, a divine reason and a human reason. What are these reasons? The divine reason for their lack of comprehension involves is God’s sovereign choice not to reveal these mysteries to them. The human reason is their own spiritual dullness and rejection of Christ.
This truth is echoed in Romans 1, where Paul says that people “supress the truth” (Rom. 1:18) and that “God gave them up” (Rom. 1:24).
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
What truth does Mt. 13:16-17 communicate? If we are able to understand and accept the gospel message, it is because God has blessed us. If not for the blessing of God, we would be bad soil like the rest.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
In Jesus’ parable, the soils represent “hearts, ears, and eyes.” Sometimes this parable is read in such a way that people pat themselves on the back for being “good soil.” But the point of Jesus words in vv. 16-17 is to show that those who receive such a divine blessing are the recipients of undeserved grace. People who were more “righteous” and deserving than you were not given access to the information that you have been given. This should prompt humility and gratitude.
When we find ourselves struggling to understand God’s Word, we should be like the disciples and go to God and ask him to reveal it to us.
When we encounter others who stubbornly refuse to understand or embrace Christ, we should not be arrogant or prideful towards them, but sympathetic and evangelistic, interceding for them to the Father to open their eyes and ears and soften their hearts.
