Parables in Matthew 13:24-52

Parables in Matthew 13:24-52 I. The parable of the tares shows that evil men spring up with the good in the kingdom of heaven. MAT 13:24-30, 36-43. A. The good seed are the children of the kingdom or the righteous. B. Jesus Christ, the Son of man, sows the good seed in the world. C. The devil, the enemy of Christ, sows the tares AMONG the wheat. D. The tares are the children of the devil, the wicked one. 1. They are the things that offend and they which do iniquity. 2. Satan's children are his by nature and imitation, not generation. EPH 2:1-3; JOH 8:44. 3. The devil's children manifest themselves by their behavior. 1JO 3:10; ACT 13:10. E. The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels. F. There will be a commingling of the righteous and the wicked in the God's kingdom until the end of the world. 1. This commingling is true whether the kingdom be viewed as the local church or as the world at large. 2. Paul spoke of "false brethren UNAWARES brought in, who came in "PRIVILY..." (GAL 2:4). 3. Jude speaks of "certain men crept in UNAWARES,...ungodly men..." (JUDE 1:4). 4. Like the tares, these false brethren and ungodly men were sown "while men slept," when men were "unawares." G. Tares are almost indistinguishable from wheat while the two are in the blade, but they can be separated easily when they come to ear. 1. To try to gather up tares while in the blade would risk gathering up the wheat also. 2. The righteous and the wicked are not always easily distinguishable. H. The separation of the wicked from the righteous will occur at the end of the world. I. At the end of the world, Jesus Christ will appear with His angels, the reapers. 2TH 1:7-9. 1. The angels shall gather the wicked and cast them into a furnace of fire. MAT 3:12; 25:41; REV 14:9-11; 20:10, 15. 2. The angels shall gather the righteous into glory. MAT 24:31. J. The righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. PHIL 3:21 c/w REV 1:16. K. This parable does not lead us to believe that this world will become Christianized. II. The parable of the mustard seed portrays the vast growth of Christendom from a very small beginning. MAT 13:31-32; MAR 4:30-32; LUK 13:18-19. A. Consider the small beginnings of the church. ACT 1:15. B. Once endowed with the power of the Holy Ghost, this small band of disciples multiplied greatly. ACT 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 9:31; 14:1; 16:5; 17:4, 12; 18:8-10; 19:20; 21:20. C. The disciples eventually "turned the world upside down" (ACT 17:6). D. Jesus said His disciples would be His witnesses "unto the uttermost part of the earth" (ACT 1:8). E. DAN 2:35, 44 prophesied that God's kingdom would fill the earth. F. The whole earth has felt the influence of Christianity. G. Mark that the kingdom of heaven AND the kingdom of God are likened to a mustard seed. They are the same! III. The parable of the leaven shows the permeation of the kingdom of God, the church, with corruption. MAT 13:33; LUK 13:20-21. A. Leaven is a substance which produces fermentation in dough and makes it rise. B. In Scripture, leaven symbolizes corruption in doctrine and practice. Matthew 13:24-52 Page 1 MAT 16:6-12; MAR 8:15; LUK 12:1; 1CO 5:6-8; GAL 5:7-9. C. The apostles prophesied of the corruption of the churches. ACT 20:29-30; 1TI 4:1; 2PE 2:1-2; 1JO 2:18; JUDE 1:17-19. D. Five of the seven churches of Asia were corrupted. REV 2-3. E. Jesus asked if he would even find faith on the earth when He came. LUK 18:8. F. Mark that the leaven is hidden in the meal. Corruption is often introduced "privily" (2PE 2:1). IV. The parable of the hid treasure depicts the value of the kingdom of heaven and the need to forego all to have it. MAT 13:44. A. The treasure is hid in a field. B. God's kingdom is hidden and must be found. 1. God's kingdom cannot be truly seen nor can it be truly entered without the new birth. JOH 3:3-5. 2. God's kingdom is in the Holy Ghost and can only be discerned by the Holy Ghost. ROM 14:17; JOH 14:17; 1CO 2:9-11. 3. The mysteries of the kingdom were being presented in parables in order to conceal them MAT 13:10-17; LUK 10:21-24. C. The man who found the treasure took great care to secure it for himself by hiding it and selling all that he had for it. D. It is by the key of knowledge that we enter the kingdom. LUK 11:52 c/w MAT 23:13. E. We are taught to hide the truth. PRO 2:1. F. We are taught to buy the truth and to esteem it above all riches. PRO 23:23; 3:13-15. G. We must be willing to forsake all for God's kingdom. LUK 14:33. H. It is with joy, not regret, that this man forsakes all for the kingdom of heaven. 1TH 1:6. V. The parable of the pearl of great price also portrays the value of the kingdom of heaven and the need to spend all to have it. MAT 13:45-46. A. The pearl of great price is found by a merchant who is seeking goodly pearls. B. God's kingdom must be sought. MAT 6:33. C. This man sold everything for one thing. D. The kingdom of heaven must be the ONE thing we value above everything else. VI. The parable of the net shows the commingling of the just and the wicked in the kingdom until the end of the world. MAT 13:47-50. A. It teaches the same lesson as the parable of the tares. B. Note again that the angels sever the wicked from among the just. vs. 41-42 c/w vs. 49-50. VII. The parable of the householder describes a scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven. MAT 13:51-52. A. The occasion of the parable was the understanding the disciples had gained of Jesus' parables. B. scribe: One whose business is writing. (See JER 8:8; 36:32). C. After the Jews returned from captivity, a scribe was a member of the class of professional interpreters of the Law who also taught the law. EZR 7:6, 10; MAT 7:29; 23:1-2. D. This scribe is instructed UNTO the kingdom of heaven: the kingdom of heaven is attained through instruction. ACT 28:23, 31. E. This scribe has a treasure of things to bring out. PRO 2:1; 7:1. F. This scribe has a treasure of things new and old. 1. In the parables, Jesus used familiar things, the old, to illustrate new things. 2. A well instructed scribe uses the known to more easily convey the unknown. 3. The apostles used the Old Testament to present the New Testament. Matthew 13:24-52 Page 2