Matthew 13:10-17

We are Starting the 3rd of Matthew’s 5 Teaching Discourses of Jesus: The Parables

A Parable is a Story or Illustration that has a Deeper Meaning Behind it

Chapter 13 has a Total of 7 Parables that We Will Study for the Next Several Weeks

The First Parable Takes Place in the First 9 Verses of Matthew 13

But We’re Going to Skip the First 9 Verses…

And Focus On Verse 10-17

This Passage is Jesus’ Explanation of Why He Teaches in Parables

I Thought it Might Be Best to Let Jesus Explain the Purpose of the Parables

Before Studying the Parables Themselves

Matthew 13:10 (NASB95)

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

Up to this Point, Jesus had Been Very Straightforward in His Teaching

The Teaching He’d Been Doing in His Ministry was Like that of the Sermon on the Mount

He was Very Plain and Unambiguous in His Teaching About the Kingdom

But Now the Disciples are Noticing a Change in His Teaching Style…

Primarily When He’s Teaching Publicly to the Crowds

He’s Teaching in Parables that are Very Riddle-Like in Nature

They are Anything But Plain, Unambiguous, and Straightforward

Many Jewish Rabbis Would Use Parables in Their Teaching…

But They Acted as Illustrations for the Points They Were Making

Jesus is Using Parables Without Making Any Points

And So, His Parables Were More Like Riddles Without Explanation

And His Disciples Wanted to Know Why He Made this Sudden Change in Style

So He’s Going to Tell Them the Reason

And it has Everything to Do with What Chapter 12 was All About

Religious Israel has Rejected Jesus

Matthew 13:11 (NASB95)

Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

Jesus Tells His Disciples that “the Mysteries/Secrets of the Kingdom are Meant for You”…

But Not to “Them”

Who’s “Them”?

Mark Says, “Those Outside”

The Crowds of People Who are Following Jesus…

But Who Have No Yet Committed Themselves to Him

Those Who Aren’t Believers

This Word Translated “Mystery” is Only Found in this One Context in the Gospels

But Paul Uses this Word 20 Times in His Writings…

When Referring to the Gospel of the Kingdom

There’s a Lot of Things About Jesus’ Kingdom/Reign…

That Remain a Secret/Mystery Until God Chooses to Reveal Them

God Chooses to Reveal the Mysteries of the Kingdom to Those Who Have Faith in His Son

But to Those Who Don’t Have Faith in Jesus, the Mysteries are Not Revealed

Mark’s Account May Be a Little Clearer:

Mark 4:11 (NASB95)

And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,

The Disciples/Believers Get Clear Revelation From Jesus

But the Outsiders/Unbelievers Get Riddle-Like Parables

In That, Lies the Purpose of Jesus’ Parables

To Divide the Believers From the Unbelievers

To Reveal the Mysteries to Some and Conceal the Mysteries From Others

Now, Only Those Who Accept Jesus Can Learn More About His Kingdom

Matthew 13:12 (NASB95)

“For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

Those Who Have Will Be Given Much More

And Those Who Don’t Have will Lose Whatever They Do Have

That’s Some Confusing Language Isn’t it?

But Remember, Jesus is Talking About the Revealing and Concealing of the Mysteries of the Kingdom

Those with Faith in Jesus the Messianic King…

Are Those With Some Knowledge and Understanding of the Mysteries of the Kingdom

To Them, More Knowledge and Understanding Will Be Given

These Parables and Their Explanations Will Reveal More Truth to Them

But Those Without Faith in Jesus the Messianic King…

Are Those Who Have No Knowledge or Understanding of the Mysteries of the Kingdom

To Them, Even What They Think They Have (According to Luke’s Account)…

Will Be Taken From Them

The Parables are Meant to Reveal and Conceal Information About the Kingdom of Heaven

Reveal to Those Willing to Hear and Believe

Conceal to Those Who are Unwilling to Hear and Believe

Matthew 13:13 (NASB95)

“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Here’s Why Jesus Began to Teach Outsiders Using Parables

Because They’re Looking with Their Eyes But They Don’t See

Because They’re Hearing With Their Ears But They Aren’t Listening

They Don’t Understand

One Greek Dictionary Defines “Understand” As:

“To Have an Intelligent Grasp of Something that Challenges One’s Thinking or Practice”

Outsiders/Non-Believers Don’t Grasp What Jesus is Challenging Them With

They Don’t Grasp the Truths of Jesus’ Messiahship and His Kingdom

The People Who Have Seen the Signs and Heard the Teachings of Jesus…

And Still Reject Him…

Have Seen and Heard, But They Have Not Understood

Not Because They Were Incapable of Understanding…

But Because of Their Hard-Hearts and Unwillingness to Understand

Jesus Then Quotes From the Prophet Isaiah Who Went Through the Same Thing

Matthew 13:14–15 (NASB95)

“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’

Jesus Quotes a Famous Passage From the Prophet Isaiah

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah Sees a Vision of God Sitting in His Holy Temple

And After Cleansing Isaiah, God Asks, “Whom Shall I Send?”

Isaiah Volunteers with, “Here Am I. Send Me!”

The Next Words God Spoke to Isaiah Were the Words Jesus Quotes Here

Isaiah was Sent to Speak to a People Who Were Not Willing to Listen

They Had Rebelliously Rejected God

Their Hearts Had Become Dull/Fat

They No Longer Listened

They Closed Their Eyes

They Were Unwilling to Understand and Return to God so They Could Be Healed

Jesus is Dealing with the Same Sort of People in His Day

They Have Continuously Rejected Him and the Kingdom He is Establishing

He Brought Healing and Life, But They Were Unwilling to Submit to Him and Receive it

In Isaiah’s Day, God Told Him this Would Lead to Judah’s Destruction

But There Would Be a Faithful Remnant

Jesus Next Addresses His Faithful Remnant

Matthew 13:16 (NASB95)

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

Those Who Placed Their Faith in Jesus are Those Who:

See, Hear, and Understand

They Have Their Ears and Eyes Open to God

They Want to Return to God and Be Healed

They Heard the Message, Saw the Miracles, and Believed Jesus to Be the Messiah

Therefore, They are Blessed By God

In What Way are They Blessed?

Jesus Tells Us

Matthew 13:17 (NASB95)

“For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

They are Blessed Because They are Experiencing What the Righteous Throughout History Longed to Experience

The Prophets and the Righteous Throughout History…

Desired to See the Coming of God’s Rule Through His Messiah

The Story of God’s Redemption of Humanity and All the Prophecies…

Were Pointing to this Moment

All of the Faithful Since the Fall of Humanity Longed to See this Day

They Would Have Loved to Hear and See What the Disciples Hear and See

They are Blessed

Recap of the Purpose of Parables

Jesus Began to Teach in Parables

He Began to Do this Because His Generation had Rejected Him

So, When Speaking to the Crowds, He Would Only Speak in Parables/Stories/Illustrations

The Unbelievers of the Crowds Wouldn’t Ascertain Anything From These Parables

But to the Believers, These Parables Would Reveal Secret Information About the Kingdom

That Doesn’t Mean Jesus’ Disciples Would Always Understand His Parables

But Even When They Didn’t…

Jesus Would Often Explain the Message Behind His Parables to His Disciples Privately

Either Way, Believers Would Have the Mysteries of the Kingdom Revealed to Them…

And Unbelievers Wouldn’t

This was Not to Keep Unbelievers From Becoming Believers

This was a Reaction Against Those Who Had Already Chosen Not to Believe

The Parables Were Meant to Reveal and Conceal

Application

In Isaiah’s Day, it was God’s Special People Who Weren’t Listening to God

In Jesus’ Day, it was God’s Special People Who Weren’t Listening to God

What About Our Day?

It Would Be Easy to Preach About the Hard-Hearted and Sinful World

How They Don’t Care Anything About Jesus or His Kingdom Reign

But What Good Would that Be to a Crowd of Believers?

I’m Not Preaching to the World Up Here, I’m Preaching to Believers

The People of Isaiah And Jesus’ Day Were Not Faithful…

But They Were God’s Special Religious People

We’re God’s Special Religious People Today

So What’s the Application for Us?

It’s the Same as it was for Them

Are We Listening to Jesus?

Are We Willing to Grasp the Truth that He Reveals to Us?

Are We Willing to Open Our Minds to What He’s Done, is Doing, and Will Do?

Or Are We Willfully Blind, Deaf, and Stubborn?

We Christians can Be Some of the Most Blind, Deaf, and Stubborn People

And it’s Because We are a Lot Like the Israelites of Isaiah and Jesus’ Day

We Don’t Want to See, Hear, or Understand

We Don’t Want to Learn Anything New or Challenging

We Have Already Made Up Our Minds On What We Believe

We are So Set in Our Ways that We Shut Down and Reject Anything We’re Not Used to

There’s So Much that We Miss Out On Because We Refuse to Be Open to Anything New

We Miss Out on So Many Wonderful Mysteries of the Kingdom…

When We Refuse to Open Our Minds to What the Scriptures Actually Say

Jesus’ True Disciples are Those Who See, Listen, and Understand

They are People Who Open Their Hearts to God’s Revelation

They are People Who are Willing to Have Their Traditional Beliefs and Practices Challenged…

And Be Challenged with New Beliefs and Practices

Paul Told the Thessalonians to Examine Everything Carefully and Hold Fast What is Good

John Said to Not Believe Everything You Hear, But Test Everything to See if it’s From God

That’s What Having an Open Heart Looks Like

It’s Not Gullible, But it’s Willing to Examine All things to See if They’re True

A Hard Heart is One that is Unwilling to Consider Anything it Doesn’t Already Believe

There is No Learning or Growth with Such a Heart

And the Parables of Jesus Were Meant to Conceal the Deeper Truths From Such Hearts

All I’m Asking is for All of Us to Allow the Bible to Challenge Us

To Challenge the Way We Think

To Challenge the Way We Behave

To Challenge the Way We Practice Christianity

To Challenge the Way We Believe

This is the Only Way to Deeper Understanding of the Gospel

This is the Only Way to Become More Like Jesus

Jesus Died, was Resurrected, and Ascended to the Father…

So that We Could Turn to Him in Belief and Be Healed From Sin, Corruption, and Death

Will We, Like So Many, Close Our Hearts to Him and the Mysteries He Reveals?

Or Will We Pursue Him with Open Hearts…

Making Whatever Changes Necessary to Be More Like Him?