Matthew chapter 13:1-17 (continued)

“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Great crowds assembled around Him, so that He went into a boat and sat there. And the whole assembly stood on the shore.  Then He told them many things in parables, saying, “Listen! A sower went out to sow. While he sowed, some seeds fell beside the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

But other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up because they did not have deep soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched. And because they did not take root, they withered away. Some seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. But other seeds fell into good ground and produced grain: a hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.

The disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’He answered them, ‘It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For to him who has, will more be given, and he will have abundance. But from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away Therefore        I speak to them in parables: Because they look, but do not see. And they listen, but they do not hear, neither do they understand.’

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: ‘By hearing, you will hear and shall not understand,  and seeing, you will see and shall not perceive; for this people’s heart has grown dull. Their ears have become hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I should heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.”

Last time we ended by discussing the power of the Church family. Over the past week I have seem more information about the Church family, more than I have seen in some time.  It would appear that God has the same message for all of us. The New Testament church is the “pillar and ground of the truth.”  We showed that as we enter the last days of this age we are going to need the New Testament church more and more.

It is especially important as we are reminded of that in Hebrews 10:25, we are to make sure that we assemble more and more as we see the end approaching. We are not blind, Jesus told us the signs of the end and we are in a front row seat for beginning of the end.  If you are blessed, like I am, to be a part of a Bible teaching, Jesus returning soon, loving and serving church—then thank the Lord and don’t take it for granted.

A lot of Christendom is in “churches” who water down the truth are building earthly kingdoms and have very little personal relationships with those with whom they attend church. This is sad, really, if you think about what Jesus built before He left us.  His church was built on Him—the Truth, His return and His love for all mankind.

The twelve men and the women who served and traveled with them had each other and often no one else. They had abandoned earthly kingdoms and treasures for the promised kingdom that they could not see. They, like we, look for a city whose Builder and Maker is God.

Here, we will begin to look at Jesus’ use of parables to teach the truth of the kingdom of God. we will take a look at verses 10-17 first, and then next time we will begin to look at the parables themselves.

We Know More Than the Jews of Today, Verses 10-12

What is a parable?  A parable, simply put, is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.  So each parable revealed something about the kingdom of heaven.  The Jews are still temporarily blinded to the truths of the New Testament and Old Testament Scriptures because of their rejection of Jesus. Paul tells us this in Romans 11:25-26:

“For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ‘THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.’”

The eyes of the Jews have been blocked for our benefit. We, the Gentile church, are being granted a period of grace to expand and grow until Jesus decided to begin to deal with Israel again as He fulfills all the promises made the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  If we spend time in God’s Word, faithfully examine it and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us; we will see more about the nation of Israel than they know.

There are things that we know that they cannot know without the Holy Spirit living in them. In particular, the Gospel of Matthew is about the Jews and the Jewish Messiah. All of the parables have to be weighed and interpreted in the light of Israel and Jesus as her rightful king.

One of things we learn in Jesus’ explanation of why He uses parables is that He rewards those who seek Him and honor Him with knowledge. Notice in verse 11 that it is “given to us to know”—it is a gift from God. There is a level of human wisdom that we get from “life experience.” But there is another level of knowledge and wisdom that ONLY comes from God and it is a gift; He gives it when we ask and seek Him.

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)

God not only gives wisdom but He gives generously. God is not stingy with His wisdom He wants you to overflow with it.  It is important for us to study parables since Jesus tells us that contained in these parables are things that God wants the New Testament church to know; things that are important for the proper understanding of the times we live in and a filter through which to sift all the information that we get when we study the scripture and read the media we are so bombarded with.

In this chapter that we are looking at there are seven parables. That is, seven pieces of information about the kingdom of heaven that God wants the New Testament church to know but that are hidden from Israel as a whole.  It would seem to me that if this is information that Jesus’ wants us to know and that God wants us to know then we should take some time to dissect and understand what it is exactly that we are supposed to know.

Keep this promise in mind from verse 12—that he who has will be given and he will have abundance. The more you learn about the kingdom of heaven, the more God will reveal to you about the kingdom of heaven. The more you learn about the kingdom of heaven, then the more knowledge in general God will bless you with, and godly knowledge is followed with godly wisdom; the two go hand in hand.

Then when you read the Scriptures they will come alive to you, it will make sense and  the pages will overflow with information that helps you to frame your life, your thoughts  and your goals. Let us approach parables as secret codes from God that allow us to understand heavenly things with our finite minds—but at the same time they make our finite minds less finite.

God’s Special Blessing of Knowledge, Verses 16-17

Have you ever read the writings of Daniel or Jeremiah or Isaiah and they made your brain feel like it was going to explode? Well, I have some encouraging news for you; you know more about the kingdom of heaven than they did.  The parables teach us about some of the things that the great prophets really wanted to know but it was not for them to know.  It is for us to know.

Imagine that, we the Gentile Church know more about some things than the great Old Testament prophets.  We should take advantage of the privilege that God has granted us and diligently study the truth entrenched in these parables, they are for us.

Jesus tells us in verse 16, “Blessed are our eyes and ears for they see and hear.” We are  to be happy and feel favored by God that He would grant us this gift. These truths are treasures that should be treated like treasures; they need to be sought out and mined for in the words of these parables. What truths are so important to God that He would develop a coded way to teach us that would at the same time hide them from even His most revered prophets?

What if a parent told you that there was a hidden treasure for you in your home? A treasure that was made for you, designed to bless you and give you something that your older, wiser siblings longed to have—but were not allowed to have? Most kids would feel special and go looking for the treasure in the house. We should feel special that God has chosen us to receive the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven. But more than just feeling special, we should appreciate the privilege by trying to learn all we can about what God is teaching us.

So take some time this week; make a list of all the parables and read them. This is not a contest; simply take the time and effort and read as many of the parables that you can.  We will explore these seven parables and any others that we come across in the book of Matthew as we go on.

Prepare your hearts to get the message that Jesus wants you to get as a part of the New Testament church.  These truths will ground us, challenge us and more than likely, humble us. They will drive us to Jesus and to His Word and help us to be  better servants of the King. It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, verse 10.

 

issionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

www.mississaugamissionarybc.com

Matthew chapter 12:46-50 (continued)

“While He was still talking to the crowds, it happened that His mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, ‘Look! Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak to You.’ But Jesus replied to the one who told Him, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’And stretching out His hand toward His disciples [and all His other followers], He said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven [by believing in Me, and following Me] is My brother and sister and mother.’”

We ended last time looking at how religion makes you more useful for the devil.  Religion has been used to perpetrate all manner of evil throughout the world.  One only needs to pick up the newspaper or log onto to the local news headlines to see how religion around the world has been and is being used to do evil.

From murder, to rape, to stealing and all manner of evil, religion has been used as the blank check to do it all.  As long as it is a part of my religion than I should be free to do it.  This should not be the case. If one is truly saved, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, then that person’s religion should reflect the person and character of Jesus. Jesus served  man; He loved them, He spoke the truth, He befriended the outcasts, He fed them, He healed them and He ultimately died for them. This is true religion.

Today we will look at family and see what God’s family is like. One of the hardest things for Christians to do is see their new heavenly family as their family. But Jesus set an example for us that need to be lived out in the modern New Testament church world.  What is family? Who is my family?

God calls us to be separated from the world system around us, and that often means that as we mature in Jesus we have to give up hanging around with a lot of the people that we used to call our friends. The apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that “bad company corrupts good character.” So if we plan to live with good character for and before the Lord we need to surround ourselves with people who also want to serve the Lord and honor Him.

Jesus actually tells us how to choose these friends and how to know if these are the kind of people that we want to hang out with:

“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven [by believing in Me, and following Me] is My brother and sister and mother.”

We should attach ourselves to people or associate with people who want to serve and honor the Lord.  This is what the primary work of the New Testament church is about.  It is there to provide a safe and accepting family for the Lord’s people who have had to choose between Him and their earthly families. God knew from the beginning of creation that mankind did not do well on their own.

He made a helper for Adam. He had Moses take Aaron and even Jesus had a “best friend.” (John the “disciple whom Jesus loved.”) Jesus sent missionaries out in twos and yes, even the great Paul had a group of companions that helped him, served him and supported him so he could be the missionary he became in Jesus. I try to remind people that even the Lone Ranger had Tonto and Batman had Robin. So we need each other, we need family and God knows that; He has a solution for us.

Sometimes Family Is Not Always Family, Verses 46-47

Jesus was the first born of at least 7 children that Mary and Joseph had. In Matthew 13:55 we are introduced to Jesus four (4) brothers and his two (2) sisters. In the New Testament book of Jude, he introduces himself as the brother of James. In Matthew 13:55 we meet there one of the Lord’s brothers named Judas (not the one who betrayed him).

This brother, Judas shortened his name to Jude and it is he who is writing the short epistle where we are encouraged to “contend for the faith.”  But Jesus’ brothers did not always like him and they did not always believe that He was the Messiah. They actually hated him and wanted him dead, most of the time.

We find an interesting passage in John 7:1-5:

“After this, Jesus walked [from place to place] in Galilee, for He would not walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the Jewish [a]Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) was approaching. So His [b]brothers said to Him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples [there] may also see the works that You do. No one does anything in secret when he wants to be known publicly. If You [must] do these things, show Yourself openly to the world and make Yourself known!’ For not even His brothers believed in Him.”

We find in verse 5 that his own brothers did not believe in Him.  But worse than that they knew that the Jewish leaders wanted to kill their brother and they encouraged Him to go and make himself publicly known. I have two brothers who are still living; if I knew that they were walking into a crowd of people that wanted them dead I would do all I could to discourage them, NOT encourage them.

So we can conclude from this that at this time his own brothers wanted him dead as well. At this time in His life Jesus’ own family were not his biggest fans and frankly they hated him. But this is the very situation that He warns us to be ready for when we choose to follow Him.

Matthew 10: 34-36 – “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.”

Jesus experienced this first hand. In Hebrews 4:14-18 Jesus tells us that we can find help in the time of need because He has gone through all the situations in which you will find yourself. Jesus knows what it is like to be hated and misunderstood by your own family.

So God gave Jesus a new family, men and women, who would love Him, respect Him, serve Him and eventually died for Him. These outcasts and rejects became his circle of help. They went everywhere with Him, they fed Him, gave Him a place to sleep, protected Him and preserved His memory. When they failed Him they were able to go back and be forgiven and move on. Jesus never failed them and He never held that against them. In this family they had forgiveness, love, acceptance and companionship.

The Lord’s Churches Should Be This Kind of Family

We are told in Hebrews 10:25 that “assembling together” will become more important in the church age as we see the end approaching.  You and I need the local New Testament church more now that any generation of church goers since Christ. Sadly, church attendance continues to dwindle and I am not sure that we can right the ship at this point.  But for we who are still actively involved in one of the Lord’s churches we need to be vigilant about how we do church.

The church that you are a part of is your family. They will be your family forever. Let that sink in. Your earthly family that has rejected Jesus as Savior is your temporary family. As the end draws closer, these people will become more and more hostile to you and the teachings of Jesus. The Lord’s churches on the other hand should offer us a refuge from the emotional pain of our earthly families.

Our churches should be filled with forgiveness, love, kindness and acceptance. Not an acceptance of sin; a good family will tell you when you are wrong but they will love you anyway. Jesus told the apostles when they were wrong but He never stopped loving them, ever. The Lord’s churches should be filled with kindness, patience and gentleness.

They should be nurturing and provide a place for growth to happen. The Lord’s churches should rally around each other and protect the hurt and helpless, not expose them to more pain. In fact if we looked at the “fruit of the Spirit” we will find that this is how the Lord’s churches should be and in this environment we can find the family and companionship that we need. In Galatians 5:22-23 we find these challenging words:

“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

How are you and I contributing the Lord’s family? Do we bring any of these virtues to the table when we get together?  Do we offer these to our brothers and sisters in the Lord?  Sadly ,the answer for most of us is “no.”  Most often the Lord’s churches are filled with “takers” not “givers.” We come to see what the family can give us and not what we can contribute to the family.

For any family to be sustained, sooner or later the takers must become givers.  The children must grow up and contribute. Too many of the Lord’s people are still children seeing what is in it for them, rather than coming to serve their fellow Christian. We forget that these people will be our family forever.

More important, we forget that these people we fellowship with every Sunday are joint heirs of the riches of God in Jesus. We see this in Romans 8: 16-17:

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

We should treat them like we would treat Jesus if He were here. Not in the idea of worshipping them but in the idea of treasuring them. These people are precious people for whom Jesus gave His life, for that He might redeem them from hell.  Jesus calls them His family. If Jesus thinks they are precious then so should we.

Now I know that we all have different personalities and so on, but we have something in common that is more important than our personalities, we have the Holy Spirit in us and that trumps everything else. Jesus was a sinless man but he hung out with sinners. Jesus even loved Judas, his betrayer.

Today more than ever the Lord’s people need to have loving friendships and family in the Lord’s churches. As the world becomes more and more hostile to the truths of Jesus Christ, the security that one should find in the Lord’s family will become more and more important. The end is near, let us love the family we will have for eternity and let us provide a safe place for the Lord to send new people so that we can nurture them to maturity in Jesus.

Hebrews 10:23-25 – “Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]; and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching.”

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

www.mississaugamissionarybc.com