What topic did Jesus teach most often? The Kingdom. What method did He use to teach? Parables.
Matthew 13:34-35 “34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
When I was growing up I thought of the parables of Jesus as just stories He told because there were easy to understand and would make it possible for the people who followed Him to get what He was talking about. That turned out to be completely wrong.
Parables are stories about something physical on earth that gives us insight and knowledge about how the spiritual kingdom of heaven operates. I want you to try and put yourself in the shoes of the people that Jesus was talking to as He told the parables to the crowds.
You’ve heard about a guy who is doing miracles of healing and so you and your friends decide to go see what all the fuss is about. When you and your friends arrive there are already thousands of people there, so you find a place to sit and start listening to this guy as He is telling stories. You stay for a while and listen as He tells stories about a farmer, seeds, weeds, leaven, pearls, treasure and fishing nets.
When the show is over you think, well that was super cool. That was an interesting guy to listen to, and of course, I like hanging out with my friends and going to a big event. Maybe I’ll come back again.
Now did any of that scenario sound familiar? Does that look like anything you’ve done yourself on a Sunday morning? It does to me. I went to the church of thousands because it looked like a good time, but when the show was over, my life had not been changed. I just went because I was curious. As long as there was something fun in it for me, I kept going back.
I want you to keep that in the back of your mind as we begin with the parable of the Sower as it is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is a foundational piece of information to the kingdom of God.
Matthew 13:3-8 “3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Well, that was a nice story. But what does it have to do with anything? I’m sure, that’s what the people were probably thinking. Let’s break it down.
The first thing I want us to notice is how much seed was successful long term. If 25% of the seed was eaten by the birds, and another 25% of the seed didn’t have deep enough soil and
and another 25% of the seed got choked out by thorns...that’s 75% of the seed that didn’t do what it was supposed to do. Only the last 25% of the seed grew and produced a harvest.
It wasn’t the fault of the seed. All of the seed had the same potential, but only 25% was successful. It wasn’t the seed or the sower that was the issue. It was the soil.
The first seed landed on top of the path that was hardened from being walked over. The seed couldn’t penetrate that soil. The next seed fell on soil that was too rocky and had no depth. The third seed fell on soil that was already producing a crop of thorns and there was no room for anything else to grow. The last seed fell onto good soil and produced a harvest. All of the seed had the same potential, but the soil was different.
After Jesus finishes the story, He says a very strange thing.
Matthew 13:9 “9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
If you have read the book of Revelation that phrase will sound familiar to you. It is the way Jesus ends each of the seven letters to the churches. He says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” To hear what the Spirit is saying you have to have a spiritual hearing aid.
Your hearing has to be opened by the Holy Spirit, through the word of God and faith, so the kingdom message can be planted into your heart.
Romans 10:17 “17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
You have to be seeking the word of God to get your spiritual hearing aids from the Holy Spirit. Your spiritual hearing aid is faith. This is vital to truly understanding the parables.
When you are listening to the word of God through faith, you can have “ears to hear.” Otherwise you will be listening through fleshly ears and understanding only the surface level.
Mark 4:10-12 “10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
In verse 12 Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah when He says they hear but don’t understand. This is where He clarifies His statement about “whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Jesus spoke in parables because He was hiding the secrets of the Kingdom from those who weren’t seeking Him in faith as the Messiah.
The mysteries of the kingdom are revealed to the disciples who
seek the kingdom in faith. They are rewarded with true hearing. Those who were in the crowd that just came for the show, heard what Jesus said, but they did not get the true meaning.
Mark 4:13 “13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”
The parable of the Sower is a key to unlock the other parables.
So we must be seeking by faith to hear and understand it...this will allow us to correctly interpret the other parables Jesus told. When He is alone with His disciples He continues and tells them to listen so they can hear the true meaning.
Matthew 13:18-19 “18 Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.”
Jesus says the seed is the message about the kingdom and the soil is a heart. How many times have you heard me say that we have to have the word of God planted in our heart? This is where that concept comes from.
We have all walked along a well worn path. What is the ground like? It’s hard and so compacted from people walking on it that it becomes smooth. Is that the kind of soil you choose when you plant seeds? No.
Our heart has to be a place where the seed can take root. It has to be plowed up and not compacted to the point where seed just lays on top of it. Has your heart been walked on or trampled on to the point it is almost smooth and hard as stone?
People will walk on you, with a complete disregard to what it is doing to you. That is why we have to be constantly aware of our heart condition. How is yours doing? Is it becoming hardened from the interaction with other people. Or are you allowing forgiveness to keep your heart soft?
Ezekiel 36:26 “26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
God wants to change your heart from hard stone to soft flesh, so His word can take root. If our heart remains hard the seed of the word of God’s kingdom will just lay on the surface where it is easily stolen by the enemy. Jesus describes the enemy as birds.
That’s what it looks like when I teach about the kingdom and someone with a hard heart allows the enemy to come immediately and snatch it away. The enemy tells them, you’ve never heard this kingdom thing before, it can’t possibly be true.
I know what church is supposed to be and this ain’t it. Score one for the enemy. 25% of the seed is now ineffective. Moving on.
Matthew 13:20-21 “20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it withjoy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.”
Have you ever been around someone who comes to church, gets excited about the message of the kingdom and then two months later you notice that you haven’t seen them in a while. They didn’t have any roots themselves. Maybe they came to church because of their parents or grandparents or even just a friend invited them. They have no root of faith themselves, they rely on their family faith to get them through.
They thought the kingdom life would be awesome all the time and all of their problems would be over if they walked the isle and prayed a prayer. When that did not turn out to be true they quickly lose faith and turn back to their old ways. They reject the kingdom because they didn’t count the cost of losing friends or family because they are now a holy roller and a church guy.
Following Jesus will cost you something...your old life. You can’t have Jesus and continue to live your old life with your old friends. You have to separate yourself and make new friends who will push you to be conformed to the image of Christ.
Does your life look like that? If you give up because things get difficult the kingdom seed cannot grow in you. Score two for the enemy. 50% of the seed is now ineffective. Moving on.
Matthew 13:22 “22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
Is money the motivation of your life? Is that what you worry about? I mean, come on, you have a mortgage, probably some kids, which means a college fund and a 401K don’t you? Isn’t that what motivates you to keep working? What priority have you given money in your life? Does it control every decision? Do you have financial obligations that prevent you from being generous in the kingdom?
Matthew 6:24 “24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Do you have enough financial margin to do what needs to be done to take care of widows and orphans in the kingdom? Is there any room left for “others” in your financial life, or are you using up every bit of the resources God has entrusted to you?
Do you claim to be fully surrendered to the King and yet you don’t use His resources for His purposes?
If you’ve allowed the deception of money to choke out the message of the kingdom in your life, score three for the enemy. 75% of the seed is now ineffective. Moving on.
Matthew 13:23 “23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
This is a person with a soft heart, who hears the message of the kingdom in faith and has been given spiritual hearing to receive and understand it. This is the soil that can produce many times what was sown into it...up to 100%.
Mark 4:33 “33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own discipleshe explained everything.”
If you are seeking the kingdom in faith and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the meaning of a parable, He will give you revelation of the Word. Let’s look at a few other parables.
Matthew 13:31-32 “31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
On the surface this seems pretty straight forward. The kingdom is like a mustard seed. It grows to a tree and birds nest in it...but here’s the problem. A mustard plant does not grow into a tree. It is only a bush. (Image of mustard plant) Is it possible that the One who created the mustard seed does not know what it grows into? No. What is Jesus saying?
Jesus is prophesying that the gospel of the kingdom will be taken by men and turned into something it’s not supposed to be...that is a large organization run by men for their own kingdom, a monstrosity where birds of the air find shelter. So what are the birds of the air? Do you recall what Jesus said in the first parable of the sower? Remember the Sower is the key to understanding the other parables.
The birds of the air are the ministers of satan that come in a steal the seed of the kingdom that was planted.
The Leaven, the woman and the flour.
Matthew 13:33 “33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
Once again, on the surface this looks like a very straight forward principal. The woman (you) puts the Kingdom (leaven) in the environment (flour) and it expands until it takes over. Sounds good, until we dig a little deeper and find out that’s not what this is means.
If we only look at it with our modern American filter, we won’t understand what the ancient audience understood. This is how they would believe the parable should be understood.
Jesus was bringing up the Old Testament. In Leviticus 14 we learn what the three measures of flour represent. It is part of the holy offering given by a Lepper who has been cleansed.
Leaven represents sin.
Mark 8:15 “15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watchout; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
The leaven or sin of the Pharisees and Herod is the sin of unbelief.
So, the flour has been completely defiled with leaven that was hidden in it by a woman....and that woman was Jezebel. She is one who introduced foreign gods to Israel and completely defiled the worship of Yahweh. Jezebel is unimpressed with God and what He has done. She stands in opposition to God...just like the one she worships...Baal. And who is Baal? He is a little g god, known as Dagon or Moloch in times past.
And today he is know as allah... who worships allah, muslims. And where did the islam religion come from? Ishamel, as we discussed last week.
In this parable, the kingdom is not the leaven...it’s the flour. The woman has not done a good thing...she has ruined the offering.
The parables that Jesus told were much deeper than we understand today, because we don’t look at the original context.
Through faith we get hearing from the Holy Spirit to understand what Jesus was teaching us about the kingdom. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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