Sermon Tone Analysis

I’m a sucker for a good story.

I can be taken from the most efficient levels of productivity and focus to pure distraction in a matter of moments if I hear the start of an interesting story.

As a child, like many children, one of my most cherished memories is having the privilege of growing up very near my grandparents.

Children of the 30’s and 40’s, which seemed to me worlds apart from my time, there was no shortage of stories to be told.

My Grandfather, to make things better, has a fantastic memory, so the details of his childhood adventures come across to this day crystal clear.

Throughout Matthew so far, we have seen Jesus put on display as the Master Teacher that he is.

Now, if you remember way back when we did the introduction to Matthew, you might remember me mentioning something about the major teaching discourses in Matthew - that is, large sections of the book which are just Jesus’ teaching.

The book is sort of organized around these sections.

We have already seen two of them.

The sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5-7, and Jesus’ instructions as he sends out his disciples in Matthew 10.

These are the first two major Discourses of Matthew.

We get a clue that Matthew is organizing his writing this way, because after all these occurences, Matthew uses the phrase “When Jesus had finished these sayings....”

Well, in Matthew 13, we start into the third major teaching discourse of Jesus, and that is the section on the Kingdom Parables.

We have all heard the word parable, we are probably mostly familiar with many of Jesus’ parables.

In fact, one of the most gripping and vivid pictures and stories that Jesus gives, I believe, is the parable of the Prodigal Son.

What is a parable?

Well, to start, the word “parable” means to “cast alongside.”

That is, it is a truth or message that is cast alongside a story from life in order to deliver that message in a unique way.

A parable is different from other kinds of teaching stories.

For instance, in our own culture we have the famous Aesop’s Fables.

But while a fable is a teaching story, a parable is different in that it is not fantastic and imaginary - a parable is a very real-life possibility.

An everyday occurrence, or at least something someone could easily imagine taking place.

Parables are also different than Allegory.

An allegory is a story in which nearly every detail of the story has a parallel meaning or hidden truth.

While some of Jesus’ parables have a bit of allegory to them, we should be careful not to view them as strict allegory.

Most of Jesus’ parables have one major element or theme that they are communicating, and the exceptions to that are the cases in which he tells us exactly what the details do mean.

Otherwise, they are meant to be rather oblique.

And that is one of the interesting things about Jesus’ parables for sure - and we will see it in the text - is that they are not really illustrations, in which a story is told to make a truth clearer.

They are actually teaching tools of revelation to those with ears to hear and eyes to see.

The meaning of Jesus’ parables was concealed from many in his day, much like the true depth of God’s Word is concealed from many even today.

One thing more.

In the Old Testament, A parallel teaching device to parables would be the proverbs.

In fact, in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word for Proverbs is the word Parable - so in the Hebrew mind, the idea of a parable included the proverbs.

The proverbs are parables in their own right.

Not that they are given in full story-form, but in that they deliver truth in picturesque and comparative ways.

Sayings, aphorisms, and even riddles at times are used all throughout the Old Testament, so Jesus is not reinventing the wheel here - he is carrying on a tradition of God’s message going forth in ways that are not simply “on the surface.”

That fact, that the meaning of parables is not “on the surface” is an important element for this time in Jesus’ ministry.

For this is a time of transition and declaration.

He has, at this point, faced severe opposition and outright rejection by the Jewish leadership and ruling class, and one of the judgment factors of that is the use of parables to further conceal the truth of His Kingdom from them.

So then, in Matthew 13, it is interesting that all these parables have to do with the Kingdom - and they have to do with somewhat of a progression.

The first, which we will see today, tells about the beginnings and the seed form of the Kingdom.

The Next parables show how the Enemy seeks to thwart the spread of the Kingdom.

Two after that show that, despite the enemies greatest attacks, there are many who still consider the Kingdom of God their greatest treasure and seek it diligently even with the opposition.

The final parable, then, is a parable of the consummation of the Kingdom, when all is called into account and judgment, and the righteous and unrighteous are separated.

All these parables, then, show us about God’s Kingdom - which is no surprise because that is the message that Jesus came on the scene with, it is the message that John gave as the forerunner.

It was the main message of Jesus ministry, and the main theme of Matthew’s Gospel.

To Miss the Kingdom of God was to miss Jesus, and vise-versa.

And what this first parable teaches us is that the Kingdom starts in the hearts of men and women.

Like a seed that is planted, sprouts, takes root, and grows fruit - that is how the Kingdom of this Majestic King is established and spread.

Not by force, not by political might, not by false claims of authority or power, but in the hearts of people.

The Parable of the Sower shows us that the seeds of the Kingdom root and grow in the hearts of men.

Has the seed of God’s word taken root in your heart?

1.

Why Parables?

Vs. 10-17

To this point, Jesus had given many illustrations, many stories and comparisons that are parable-like.

I have even referred to some, like the story about the demon that went out and came back in, as parables because they are in the broad sense of the term.

But this section really starts a new and specific kind of parable-teaching by Jesus.

These parables have not only very specific subject matter, the Kingdom, but also very specific recipients.

We will get into the parable in a moment, but this first one is important and unique because between the telling and the explanation, Jesus gives a general teaching about why he speaks in parables at all.

The disciples ask, in verse 10, “why do you speak to them in parables?”

Now, keep in mind that Hebrew understanding of parables included proverbs, aphorisms, mysteries, and parables - so we can really hear that question as “why do you speak to them in such cryptic language?”

And that is a great question - because as we have already seen and will see, some of Jesus’ teaching is very cryptic and not immediately clear.

So why does he do that?

Well, we find that the answer has to do with God’s grace of revelation, with his purpose to reveal and conceal, just as we saw in the end of Matthew 11.

Matthew 11:25–26 (ESV)

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

And if you’re thinking that I’m being obtuse and misleading you, we have to look at the rest of Jesus’ words here, and also the words from Isaiah that he quotes to explain himself.

In Isaiah 6:9-10, Isaiah was given some of the hardest instruction that any prophet every recieved.

He was told that he was going to preach to people that would not hear, would not believe, would not change, would not grow.

Their understanding would be closed, their eyes would be shut, their ears would be clogged, and their minds would be set against the truth he would proclaim.

We see, again, that while there was an element of people’s eyes being shut and ears blocked, one of the instructions to Isaiah was to “make the hearts dull, the ears heavy, and the eyes blind.”

That is why Jesus says in verses 11-13

Matthew 13:11–13 (ESV)

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.

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.

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.

Much like in Matthew 11, where God actively, purposely conceals truth from the wise and prudent, here Jesus, by his parables, is actively and purposely concealing it from those who have their eyes closed and ears blocked to the message of the Kingdom.

This is important, because this comes right after the rejection and blasphemy of the Pharisees has reached its crescendo, and now will spiral down all the way to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion.

So Parables, in part, are a concealing tool of Jesus as much as a revealing tool.

God’s gracious will includes both revealing and concealing - that is a truth we simply cannot get around in scripture.

Now, we can talk until we’re blue in the face about different causes reasons and purposes, but ultimately it is a truth we have to accept and reckon with, even if it is difficult.

Jesus does not make this entirely bleak, though, because as always there is an element of blessing here.

Matthew 13:16–17 (ESV)

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

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.

That is, just as much as it is God’s will to conceal at times, it is a gracious blessing and miraculous revelation when someone does hear, see, and understand God’s truth.

There were mysteries, secrets, and parables all throughout God’s revelatory history.

Daniel was blessed with “mysteries” revealed to Him that were not revealed to any before.

In both Colossians and Ephesians, Paul speaks of the Mystery of the Gospel - the fact that Christ is within us, and the Gospel is available to all who believe.

These are mysteries, not because they are misunderstood, but because they were once hidden but now revealed.

The blessing of having God’s truth revealed to you, to know it, understand it, accept it, and bear fruit from it, is a blessing beyond imagine.

So parables to conceal from some, but for those with ears to hear, they enrich the goodness of God’s Word to the hearer.

2. The Parable Told - Vs. 1-9

Now, lets go back to the beginning of the chapter and start again.

“That same day” is specific.

Sometimes matthew will say something happened “then” or “after that,” which could mean any point after the previous events.

But here, we know that what Jesus says comes directly on the heals of what had just happened - which was the height of the controversy with the Pharisees, their accusation of Him working by the power of Satan, and Jesus multiple declarations that they were in fact “evil” and “adulterous” in heart.

Where we left Jesus last week, was in his teaching on how we can become his very family by doing the will of the Father.

He was teaching inside a house, and if you remember, his mother and brothers were outside the house seeking to speak to Him when he gave that lesson.

Well, he had piqued the interest of many again, so much so that we are told he had to go out on a boat, probably on the shore of Capernaum, to give himself some space to speak.