Sermon Tone Analysis

Matthew 13:

Introduction:

The Battle of the Bulge

For those of you who haven’t heard of it, it is not an eating contest or a reality show..:)

Image of the Battle of the Bulge Here..

This is a famous battle in World War 2.

In late 1944, during the wake of the Allied forces' successful D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, it seemed as if the Second World War was all but over.

On Dec. 16, with the onset of winter, the German army launched a counteroffensive that was intended to cut through the Allied forces in a manner that would turn the tide of the war in Hitler's favor.

The battle that ensued is known historically as the Battle of the Bulge.

The courage and fortitude of the American Soldier was tested against great adversity.

Nevertheless, the quality of his response ultimately meant the victory of freedom over tyranny.

Although American forces prevailed, this was the largest and bloodiest single battle fought by the United States in World War 2. The battle of the bulge took place from Dec 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945 in Eastern Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.

One key element that made the battle tougher for Americans, were the infiltration of English-speaking German soldiers capturing critical bridges, cutting communications lines, and spreading rumors.

To identify these “infiltrators”, American troops asked soldiers for a password and questions that only true Americans can answer.

When identified, these infiltrators were executed.

Adolf Hitler sent infiltrators among the ranks of the American forces as a desperate move to turn the tide of defeat.

Big Idea: Satan sent infiltrators in the ranks of the church and Jesus warned us against them.

For the past Sundays I preached on Jesus’ teachings from the sermon on the mount, which the Lord intended to be direct lessons for his disciples.

At some point in His public ministry however, Jesus started teaching in parables.

What is a parable?

Parable - An Earthly Story with a Divine Meaning.

Parables required an explanation and Jesus’ gave the explanation in private to those who were eager to hear it.

Why did Jesus speak in parables?

Jesus Himself offered an explanation in

At a certain point of His public ministry, there developed a clear distinction between those who will accept His message and those who will reject it, His enemies who at this time were already plotting to kill Him.

So by His sovereign divine knowledge and choice, Jesus started hiding the truth from some people.

The Bible says in that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”.

But there are people who have decided not to hear but rather follow their own agenda of destroying the gospel.

This is why Jesus ended these parables with the words: “He who has ears, let him ear”.

The truth of the parables are exclusively for those who have ears to hear and come to faith in Jesus.

The parable of the wheat and the tares.

Because Israel in Jesus’ time was an agricultural country, so in His parables Jesus used pictures related to farming.

The first part of Chapter 13 Jesus told the all familiar parable of the soils or the parable of the sower from verses 1-9.

I encourage you to read it.

Today we will study Jesus’ parable of the wheats and the tares.

I.

The Theme of the Parable.

What is the theme of this parable?

“The Kingdom of Heaven”

“The Kingdom of Heaven versus The Kingdom of God”

Why Matthew uses the phrase Kingdom of Heaven rather than Kingdom of God.

It said that Matthew used the phrase the kingdom of heaven because of his Jewish audience, he out of reverence tried not to write the name of God.

Another explanation is that he is distinguishing between the kingdom of heaven, which refers to the church.

The Kingdom of God is the coming Kingdom that Jesus will establish in the future starting from His millennial reign.

So “Kingdom of Heaven” - church

“Kingdom of God” - Christ’s future total rule.

Jesus is teaching us here that there are “infiltrators” or fake Christians in the church.

So we begin the parable:

Matthew

II.

The Elements of the Parable

A. The Wheat and Weeds

a. Characteristics of wheat and tares (darnel)

Wheat is a plant cultivated for its seed, which is milled into flour that is used for bread.

So wheat is staple food.

The planting of the wheat and tares

Darnel however, is a weed.

It is called “mimic weed”.

Image of Darnel Here

b.

Characteristics of wheat and tares (darnel)

Shown side by side wheat.

Image of side-by-side wheat and tares.

First lesson: Fake Christians look similar to the real ones.

These people who infiltrate the church, sound like they are Christians.

They join worship services, they know scripture but their motives are just not right.

These people look for their own interests and personal gains rather than the interests of God and the advancement of the Kingdom.

Jesus is warning us beware of the weeds.

b.

The damage caused by the weeds

First they are harmful and poisonous.

It has been seen through the centuries that if not separated from wheat, darnel can be mixed with grain and can have toxic effects to the one who eats it.

When people eat its seeds, they get dizzy, off-balance and nauseous, and its official name, from a Latin word for “drunk.”

It has been seen through the centuries that if not separated from wheat, darnel can be mixed with grain and can have toxic effects to the one who eats it.

When people eat its seeds, they get dizzy, off-balance and nauseous, and its official name, from a Latin word for “drunk.”

Fake Christians are the real toxic people.

The mission of fake Christians in the church is to distract them from their true mission.

They may come with attractive personalities and incentivize others towards things that mean nothing for spiritual growth.

Second thing is that they can mislead by false teaching.

People who teach us to go back to a doctrine of works or legalism.

Or they may not necessarily stand at the pulpit, but they can influence by their behavior.

Jesus in the Book of Revelation talked about the Jezebel of the church who caused God’s people to commit sexual immorality.

Who is this Jezebel?

Not necessarily a person but a spirit.

Men and women, let us be aware of the Jezebelian spirit that Satan had sent to the church at large.

This spirit is already at work in our culture and it has penetrated the church.

How?

When men delve in pornography you are being overtaken by the jezebelian spirit that has infiltrated the church.

It is destroying you slowly and eating you up, eventually it will lead you to do evil things.

If you are a CHristian and look at pornography do you think God does not see?

If you are still looking or watching at pornography, throw it away.

Throw it out of your homes, your computers and smart phones!

Make that decision now before it permanently damages your life.

Second damage caused by the weeds is it steals the nutrients from the true plants.

These people just sap the energy out of you.

They complain all the time.

They want attention to themselves.

They gossip against the brethren, against the leadership.

Be careful when someone comes to you and complains about the leadership and about how things are at the church.

One rule of thumb: If the person is really sincerely concerned about the church, he would go directly to its leadership who can do something about it.