A Messiah's Teaching Method: Parables
Text: Matt. 13:1-17
Introduction
1. Illustration: Robin Meyers, in his book Morning Sun on a White Piano, quotes theologian Ernest Campbell who summarizes the ministry of Jesus with these words: “His ministry was one of constant and unbridled compassion, and his parables made the point again and again: our thoughts are not God s thoughts, even on our best days.”
2. In today's text we see that Jesus is:
a. A masterful storyteller...
b. Telling a masterful story...
c. About a masterful mystery
3. Read Matt. 13:1-17
Proposition: Jesus uses great story telling to get us to think about how receptive we are to his message of the Kingdom.
Transition: It all begins with the fact that Jesus is...
I. A Masterful Storyteller (1-3).
A. He Told Many Stories
1. Church, sometimes the house just isn't big enough, not even for Jesus!
2. Matthew tells us, "Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake."
a. Later that day refers to the day on which Jesus' mother and brothers came looking for Him, probably to persuade Him to stop the preaching and teaching they knew could cost Him His life.
b. Now there are probably several reasons that Jesus' family wanted him to come outside. One was they didn't want to make a scene, and two they couldn't get in the house.
c. You will notice that the word house is followed by the definite article, "the house," this suggests that it was Jesus place of residence in Capernaum.
d. Because of the restrictions of a small house Jesus got our where he could minister to more people (Horton, 259).
e. It is also interesting to note that, during His earlier ministry, Jesus seemed to spend more time inside, in houses and synagogues.
f. As His ministry progressed, however, and He was more and more rejected by the Jews, He spent more time ministering outdoors—on the seashore and mountainside and in the countryside, highways, and streets (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
3. It didn't take long for "A large crowd [to] soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore."
a. The vividness of the description suggests that Matthew may have been an eyewitness.
b. The immense size of the crowd forced Jesus to enter a small boat to address the people (Horton, 259).
c. Perhaps pushed by the crowd to the water's edge and seeking to put some distance between the people and Himself in order to address the crowd better, Jesus got into a boat and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the beach.
d. The fact that He sat down in typical rabbinic fashion was necessary because of the moving of the boat in the water; and because the beach sloped sharply upward from the water, the people were enabled to see and hear Him best while He was seated in the boat (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
e. Local tradition locates this discourse at a distinctive cove or inlet called the "Cove of the Parables."
f. The land surrounding the cove slopes down like a natural horseshoe-shaped amphitheater, providing environmental acoustics for Jesus’ voice to carry over one hundred meters from the boat to a crowd of hundreds gathered on the shore.
g. Israeli scientists have tested the acoustics in modern times and found them realistic for Jesus’ parables to have been heard(Wilkins, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Matthew, 472).
4. Matthew goes on to tell us that Jesus "told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one..."
a. Parabolē (parable) is a compound word made up of a form of the verb ballō (to throw lay, or place) and the prefix para (meaning alongside of).
b. The idea is that of placing, or laying, something alongside of something else for the purpose of comparison.
c. Underlying this term is the Hebrew maĊĦal, which refers to a wide spectrum of ideas based on comparison or analogy (Wilkins, 473).
d. The idea is that of placing, or laying, something alongside of something else for the purpose of comparison.
e. A spiritual or moral truth would often be expressed by laying it alongside, so to speak, a physical example that could he more easily understood.
f. Teaching through parables and other figurative means is effective because it helps make abstract truth more concrete, more interesting, easier to remember, and easier to apply to life.
g. When a truth is externalized in the figures of a parable, the internalizing of moral and spiritual meaning is much easier. (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
h. Some have described the parables of Jesus as earthly stories with heavenly meanings.
i. They take something our of common life and use it to illustrate gospel truth (Horton, 259).
j. A parable also requires something from us.
k. A parable is a teaching which does not carry its meaning on the surface, and requires thought and perception if the hearer is to benefit from it.
l. The hearer has to contribute if true understanding is to result (France, 502).
B. Everyone Love A Good Story
1. Illustration: A few years back, a Galveston church had a Tithing Demonstration Sunday for its members. On a designated Sunday everyone was asked to give a tithe of one week’s salary. They urged everyone … whether or not they usually tithed … to give a tithe that one time. As you could imagine, the offering that Sunday was the largest ever given. In fact, it was 6 times the usual offering. The aftermath was even more exciting. Many who had never tithed before changed their attitude and decided if they could do it once, they could do again. By the end of that year giving was up almost 3 times what it had been before the demonstration. The enthusiasm was up more than that. Over and over, people gave testimonies of the many changes in their lives as God fulfilled his promise in Malachi 3:10. All of this came from a simple obedience to the God who provides.
2. Jesus uses stories to teach us spiritual principles.
a. Mark 4:33-34 (NLT)
33 Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand.
34 In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.
b. He teaches us about faith.
c. He teaches us about forgiveness.
d. He teaches us about compassion
e. He teaches us about heaven
f. He teaches us about hell.
3. Jesus teaches us in parables so that we can relate to the concepts of the Kingdom.
a. Concepts we are familiar with
b. Concepts we can touch
c. Concepts we can see
d. Concepts that make sense
4. Jesus teaches us in parables so that we engage our minds as well as our hearts.
a. Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
b. Notice that it says the renewing of your minds and not the removing of your minds.
c. We are to love the Lord with all of our hearts, souls, and minds.
d. God gave you a mind, so use it!
Transition: Jesus is a masterful teacher who tells...
II. A Masterful Story (4-9).
A. A Farmer
1. As Jesus begins his story he uses an illustration that his audience was accustomed to seeing.
2. He said, “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them."
a. As Jesus told the story of the sower, His hearers perhaps could have looked around and seen a man actually sowing seed.
b. In any case, the scene was familiar to them, whether they were farmers or not.
c. A man with his seed bag slung over his shoulder as he went out to sow was a common and vivid image.
d. As he walked up and down the furrows of his field, he sowed as he went, repeatedly reaching into his bag for a handful of seed to cast on either side.
e. Seed was sown "broadcast" style by scattering it in all directions while walking up and down the field.
f. Fields were apparently plowed both before the seed was sown and then again after, plowing across the original furrows to cover the seeds with soil.
g. The desired depth of plowing under wheat seed was usually one to three inches, though it could be less where the topsoil was shallow.
h. It was common for seeds to be scattered accidentally on the hard paths that surrounded the fields. Birds would swoop down and eat those seeds (Wilkins, 475).
i. The focus of the parable is not the sower but the soils. The farmer scatters the seed, which falls in various places (Carson, Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM).
3. Jesus continues the story saying, "Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died."
a. Conditions for farming in many areas of Israel were not favorable.
b. In many places the terrain was uneven and rocky, with only thin layers of soil covering the rock (Wilkins, 475).
c. "Rocky places" are those in which the limestone bedrock lies close to the surface: there is little depth of soil.
d. As the rainy season ends and the sun's heat increases, the shallow soil heats up quickly.
e. The seeds sprout and promise to be the best of the crop. But the unrelenting summer heat demands that plants send deep roots down for water, and the bedrock prevents this.
f. Like grass on rooftops, the young plants wither before they can grow (Carson, Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM).
4. The third type of soil that Jesus talked about was the soil infested with thorns. Jesus said, "Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants."
a. After this ground had been cultivated, it looked perfectly good, but when the grain began to sprout, so did the thorns.
b. These tough, thistle-bearing weeds came up and choked... out the good plants by taking most of the space, moisture, nourishment, and sunlight for themselves (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
c. The plants battled for nutrients from the soil, and the wild thorny plants were well adapted to rob whatever they needed from the soil.
d. As the thorny plants grew up with other plants, they choked out the less hardy agricultural plants (Wilkins, 475).
5. The final type of soil Jesus referred to was the fertile soil. He said, "Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!"
a. It was away from the path and was loose and soft.
b. It had sufficient depth to support the good plants and it was free of weeds.
c. Because of those favorable conditions, it yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty; and some thirty.
d. In Palestine during New Testament times, the average ratio of harvested grain seeds to those that were planted is said to have been less than eight to one.
e. Even a tenfold crop would have been well above average; and the yields of which Jesus speaks were truly phenomenal (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
6. Jesus concluded the parable by saying, "Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
a. It may seem that Jesus is simply giving an agricultural seminar, until he utters the catchphrase, "He who has ears, let him hear."
b. This alerts the audience that a deeper meaning is intended; the parables have a theological purpose in the plan of God (Wilkins, 476).
c. Jesus was not mocking His hearers but was rather pointing out to them that they would need more than their own human understanding to interpret the meaning.
d. He may have been giving an invitation to those in the multitudes who were serious about following Him to come to Him and ask for an explanation, as the disciples were about to do.
B. Good Soil
1. Illustration: On December 2001, the “Leaning Tower of Pisa” was finally reopened to the public, after having been closed for almost a dozen years. During that time, engineers completed a 25 million dollar renovation project designed to stabilize the tower. They removed 110 tons of dirt, and reduced its famous lean by about sixteen inches. Why was this necessary? Because the tower has been tilting further and further away from vertical for hundreds of years, to the point that the top of the 185-foot tower was seventeen feet further south than the bottom, and Italian authorities were concerned that if nothing was done, it would soon collapse. What was the problem? Bad design? Poor workmanship? An inferior grade of marble? No. The problem was what was underneath. The sandy soil on which the city of Pisa was built was just not stable enough to support a monument of this size. The tower had no firm foundation.
2. If our hearts are too hard the seeds won't penetrate.
a. Mark 6:51-52 (NLT)
51 Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed,
52 for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.
b. If our hearts are too hard the seeds will simply bounce off.
c. The seed of the word won't take root in our hearts.
d. Birds will come and eat the seed or it will be trampled underfoot.
3. If our hearts are too rocky, the sprouts won't survive.
a. Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT)
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.
7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
b. We won't survive trials
c. We won't survive temptation
d. We won't survive hardship
e. Because our roots will be too shallow.
4. If our hearts are too crowded, we won't have room to grow.
a. Mark 4:19 (NLT)
but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.
b. Jesus must be our number one priority
c. Jesus must be first in our hearts
d. Jesus must be first in our lives
e. He will not accept second place to anyone or anything!
5. If our hearts are receptive to the Word it will produce much fruit.
a. Philippians 1:10 (NLT)
For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.
b. This is what God desires for us.
c. That we be receptive to His Word.
d. That we grow in His Word.
e. That we produce fruit from the Word.
Transition: A masterful storyteller tells a masterful story about...
III. A Masterful Mystery (10-17).
A. Why Do You Use Parables?
1. After Jesus is done speaking to the crowds, his disciples come to him and essentially say, "What you talkin' about Jesus?"
2. Matthew tells us, "His disciples came and asked him, 'Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?'”
a. When the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, "why do You speak to them [the multitudes] in parables?" it was the fact that the parables were unexplained that puzzled them.
b. They were asking, in effect, "Why do you bother saying anything to them at all, if they can't understand it?" (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
c. However, Jesus viewed parables as a unique kind of teaching.
d. Parables not only illustrate truth, but they also are a form of teaching in themselves (Horton, 263).
3. Jesus response to their question is “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not."
a. At this point Jesus gives the twofold reason for His speaking in parables: to reveal meaning to those who receive Him and to conceal meaning from those who do not.
b. Secrets does not refer to stories such as those found in modern mystery novels, whose complex plot and unexpected situations pique the curiosity of the reader.
c. "Secrets" is the Greek mysteria ("mysteries"), which draws on a Semitic background that speaks of an eschatological secret passed on in veiled speech to God’s chosen (Wilkins, 476).
d. In the ancient world a mystery was a sacred secret known only to initiates and sometimes only to upper level religionists.
e. In Scripture, however, mysteries refers to the revelation of something previously hidden and unknown.
f. New Testament mysteries are therefore revelations and explanations of divine truths that were not revealed to saints under the Old Covenant(MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
g. Jesus wanted to reveal the secrets of the Kingdom to the disciples but not to the unbelieving crowds.
h. The Kingdom of peace had not arrived yet so some of the key features needed to be concealed.
i. Divine truths are defined as secrets because no one can understand them without the help of the Holy Spirit (Horton, 263).
4. Jesus continues saying, "To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them."
a. To those who listen, refers to those who believe, those who have been sovereignly given the gift of eternal life, received by trust in Jesus Christ.
b. These are the true citizens of the kingdom who have received the King.
c. And whoever accepts salvation from God, to him shall more be given.
d. The person who accepts the true Light (John 1:9) will receive still further light as he grows in obedience and maturity in the Lord.
e. To the believer who lives up to the light he has in Christ, more and more light will continually be given until he shall have an abundance.
f. But the fate of the unbeliever is just the opposite. Because of his unbelief, he does not have salvation, and therefore even what light of God's truth he has shall be taken away from him.
g. Many thousands of people heard Jesus teach and saw Him perform miraculous signs as evidence of His divine messiahship; but most of them did not recognize Him as Lord or receive Him as Savior.
h. They were exposed to God incarnate, and yet they rejected Him—either by direct opposition or by indifferent neglect (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15.
i. It is a spiritual principle that those who are using God's gifts properly and keeping in their hearts the light and grace they have already received will receive even more from the Lord.
j. On the other hand, those rejecting those opportunities...will have what they already have taken away (Horton, 263).
5. The reason Jesus gives for this is "For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand."
a. The clause rendered "though seeing they do not see" is introduced by the subordinating conjunction for, which normally is causal; this indicates that the parables’ blinding force is a result of the crowd’s own spiritual hard-heartedness (Wilkins, 477).
b. Those verses from Isaiah 6:9-10 perfectly describe the unbelieving Jews of Jesus' day.
c. The crowd has a mixture of attitudes toward Jesus. Some are leaning toward becoming his disciples, while others are leaning toward following the Pharisees and opposing Jesus.
d. Still others are riding the commitment-fence. But Jesus has insisted there is no middle ground.
e. The crowd must make a decision, and the parables force the issue.
f. God knows those who will harden their heart against Jesus’ message, so the parables are used to harden sovereignly the person’s heart to the point where eventually he or she will be unable to respond.
g. God also knows those who will respond to the message of the gospel, so the parables elicit a positive response to come to Jesus, become his disciple, and ask for explanation.
h. Thus, both sayings balance God’s divine sovereignty with each individual human’s responsibility (Wilkins, 477).
6. However, Jesus indicates that his disciples are not like that. He says, “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear."
a. In the Greek, your eyes is in the emphatic first position which serves to extenuate the contrasts between the fate of unbelievers and believers.
b. The believers were blessed not because they were superior to the rest of the people, but rather because they were receptive to Jesus' message.
c. Seeing with the eyes implies a genuine experience more then an intellectual understanding (Horton, 267).
d. Jesus’ parables are designed to test the spiritual "ears" or life of his audience.
e. The spiritually alive disciples will seek further understanding from Jesus, causing their life and understanding to be enhanced.
f. All that the prophets and righteous people of the Old Testament had longed to see, Jesus’ disciples are privileged to take part in (Wilkins, 478).
B. Secrets of the Kingdom
1. Illustration: An old couple was sitting by the fireside. He looked over at her, had a romantic thought, and said, “After fifty years, I’ve found you tried and true.” The wife’s hearing wasn’t very good, so she said, “What?” He repeated, “After fifty years, I’ve found you tried and true.” She replied, “After fifty years, I’m tired of you too!”
2. The secrets of the Kingdom are by the grace of God.
a. Ephesians 2:8 (NLT)
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
b. We can't buy it
c. We can't earn it
d. We can only receive it
3. The secrets of the Kingdom are by the will of God.
a. 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
b. God's desire is for everyone to receive the messages of the Kingdom.
c. God's desire is for everyone to enjoy the blessings of the Kingdom.
d. However, he know that some will and some won't choose to receive it.
Conclusion
1. Jesus was a masterful storyteller, who told a masterful story, about a masterful mystery.
2. He wants people everywhere to choose to accept this masterful mystery.
3. How about you? What have you chosen?
4. If you haven't chosen it, today is your day.
5. If you have chosen it, what are you going to do with it?
