Jesus Wants to Help Us Understand the Kingdom of Heaven - Part 1
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared May 10, 2022)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 13 to focus on another of the Lord's parables. Jesus used these simple, earthly stories to help us understand eternal truth. And we have already seen 11 in Matthew's Gospel, but some scholars don't start counting until they get to this chapter. That's because this is the first time the word "parable" is seen, and it's the first time Jesus told parables not only to reveal truth to His followers, but also to conceal spiritual truth from people who hatefully rejected the Lord. Back in Matthew 12 some of the Pharisees began plotting how to kill Jesus, and some even committed the unpardonable sin by blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
*That's why Jesus began to speak parables in a new way, and there are 8 parables in this chapter. All of them can help us understand the Kingdom of Heaven. But what is the Kingdom of Heaven? I've seen some very different answers to this question, but basically, the Kingdom of Heaven is the rule of Almighty God over all of the universe.
*Many Scriptures proclaim that the God of the Bible is the ultimate King of all creation. Psalm 22:28 declares that "the kingdom is the LORD'S, and He rules over the nations." Psalm 103:19 says, "The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all." And speaking of earthly rulers, Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes."
*But in Isaiah 14:12-17, the angel Lucifer became so lifted up with pride that he rebelled against God and became Satan. Revelation 12:3-4 tells us that he also persuaded one third of the angels to follow him. Since that time there has been a terrible civil war in the universe as the forces of evil defy God. (1)
*Jesus Christ already won this war when He died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead! His final victory is absolutely sure, and it always has been! The devil has already been cast out of Heaven. We know this because in Luke 10:18 Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. And Revelation 20:10 tells us that one day the devil will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
*But battles will rage on as God patiently waits for more people to be saved. So, for now Ephesians 2:2 tells us that the devil is the "prince of the power of the air," and Ephesians 6:12 tells Christians that we wrestle "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
*Because this spiritual civil war is still going on, the Kingdom of Heaven is now physically invisible to us. But the Kingdom is spiritually visible to everyone who has been born again by receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This is why in Luke 17:20-21 Jesus said, ''The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.'' This is also why Hebrews 2:9 tells Christians that "we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone."
*Praise the Lord for the Kingdom of Heaven! And know that it's important for us to understand. That's why Matthew mentioned it 32 times in his Gospel, and Jesus gave us these Kingdom Parables.
*Last time in vs. 1-23 we studied the parable of the seed and four soils. Verse 19 tells us that the seed is the "word of the Kingdom," and there is nothing wrong with the seed! But three of the four soils were bad and produced no fruit.
*Only one soil was good, and in vs. 23 Jesus explained that "he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.'' In Luke 8:15, Jesus said the seeds "that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."
*A good heart: That was the issue. And that is the problem. The ground of our heart may be hard or stony or thorny, but there is nothing we can do about this on our own. Charles Spurgeon explained, "Nothing can be done with it by man. The only thing that can be done is for God to come in. There must be a work of the Holy Spirit through the cross of Jesus Christ to change our hearts into the good soil of grace. Then the wheat will grow, but not until then." (2)
*Today's parable is another farming story. This one is about wheat and some weeds called "tares." Now, if you are like me, you've never been within a hundred miles of a wheat field. But this parable can help us understand the Kingdom of Heaven, so let's begin by reading Matthew 13:24-30. Then we'll skip down to vs. 36-43 to hear the Lord's explanation.
MESSAGE:
*Church: If we want to learn something about dentistry, we could talk to Mike. If we want to learn something about driving an 18-wheeler, we'd talk to Jerry. And if we want to learn about teaching school, we could talk to my wife.
*But if we want to learn something about the Kingdom of Heaven, the best person we could ever talk to is the King! That's our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And everybody needs to know about God's Kingdom, because it's the only place where we can live forever. Thank God the King of Kings wants us to know about His Kingdom!
1. FIRST TODAY, JESUS WANTS US TO LEARN ABOUT HIS LORDSHIP.
*As we study the Bible, one of the things that stands out the most about Jesus Christ is His Lordship, His command, His authority. There is no doubt that Jesus is in control.
*For example, when Jesus got to the end of His great Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:28-29 says, "And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
*Even when it came to the cross, Jesus was always in control. In John 10:17-18 Jesus said, "My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
*The Lordship of Jesus Christ also comes through in this parable. It was the Lord who told the parable in vs. 24-30. It was the Lord who had to explain the parable in vs. 36-43, and based on Jesus' explanation, we understand that the Lord is the main character in this parable.
*Please listen to it again in vs. 24-30:
24. . . "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25. but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
27. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28. He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'
29. But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
30. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'''''
*Jesus Christ is the main character in this parable. In vs. 24, He is the man who owned the field and planted good seed in his field. In vs. 27, He was the one His servants could trust when they ran into a problem. And in vs. 28, He was the one who knew that an enemy had planted those weeds.
*Bill Bouknight gave this explanation of those weeds called "tares": "At first no one noticed. There was a common weed in Palestine called 'bearded darnel,' which was a common curse of farmers. In its early stages it looked just like the wheat. But when both had produced seeds up top, the two could be distinguished by color. Then the darnel had to be separated from the good grain because its seeds were slightly poisonous." (3)
*The Lord of the farm knew that those weeds had been planted before anyone else knew. He also knew who had planted the weeds. Then in vs. 28-29 He made the decision about when to remove the weeds. And in vs. 30 He was the one in charge of their final destiny.
*We need to recognize the Lordship of Jesus Christ in this parable. And this is vital for us because the devil really is our enemy. He is the enemy of all that is true and good.
*The devil is as real as we are, but most people today don't even believe the devil exists. That makes sense, because the devil is the ultimate deceiver. In John 8:44 Jesus was speaking to hard-hearted, Christ-rejecting Jews. And there the Lord said, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
*The devil is as real as we are, but most people are deceived about that today. Bill Bouknight pointed out that "some modern Christians think they're too sophisticated to believe the devil is real. But the Bible declares that there is an intelligent, active spiritual presence in this world opposing God. This Satan and his followers were angels who rebelled against the rule of God and were cast out of heaven. Satan tries to connect with the original sin in all of us. . ." His goal is to steal, kill and destroy all of the good that God desires for our lives. (3)
*But Church: Our Lord has more than enough power to defeat our enemy! And at just the right time He will call for the harvest. Listen to the Lord speak of His harvest in vs. 40-43:
40. "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
*Listening to those words there should be no question: Jesus is Lord of all! And the King wants us to learn about His Lordship.
2. JESUS ALSO WANTS US TO LEARN ABOUT HIS LOVE.
*In this parable, the owner of the farm did not clean out the weeds right away. In vs. 28-30, "The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.'"
*I am so glad that Jesus didn't pull up the weeds in 1974, because I didn't get saved until 1975! Christians, aren't you glad God didn't call for the harvest the week before you got saved? -- Yes, of course!
*God has been amazingly kind and patient with us sinners. Listen to His Word in 2 Peter 3:9: "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
*In 1 Timothy 2:3-6 Paul tells us to pray for our leaders, "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
*In Matthew 18:14, Jesus said this about little children: "It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." And John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
*God the Father so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins! And Jesus willingly took all of the suffering and shame that belonged to us. He willingly took all of the punishment for our sins when He died on the cross for us. Jesus was the only person who could make that sacrifice for us because He had no sin of His own. And Jesus did make that sacrifice for us. Why? -- Because He loves us!
*Brian Chapell gave one of the best pictures of this sacrificial love I have ever heard. It's the story of Northwest Airlines Flight 225. On Sunday, August 16, 1987, Flight 225 crashed just after take-off from Detroit. 155 people were killed, and only one survived. It was a 4-year-old girl from Tempe Arizona. Her name was Cecelia.
*When rescuers first found Cecelia, they didn't think she had been on the plane because it hit several cars when it crashed onto the highway. But Cecelia's name was on the flight register. And the investigators found out that Cecelia survived for one reason. When the plane was about to go down, Cecelia's mother, Paula Chican, unbuckled her own seat belt, got down on her knees in front of her daughter. Then that mother wrapped her arms and body around Cecelia, and she would not let her daughter go. (4)
*Out of her great love, that mom gave her life, so her daughter might live in this world. But Jesus Christ gave His blood on the cross, so that we might live forever! That's how much He loves us! So, we must learn about His love, trust in His love, and live by His love. The King wants us to learn about His love.
3. HE ALSO WANTS US TO LEARN ABOUT THE LOST.
*Again in vs. 37-42 Jesus said:
37. . . "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
*King Duncan explained, "Every gardener knows the importance of getting rid of the weeds. -- So does God. Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of a God of Judgment. But sooner or later we have to answer the question: 'What about the weeds?' What about the evil within the hearts of men and women: The hatred, bigotry, envy, bitterness, lust, anger, and greed?" (5)
*Judgment Day is coming. God is a God of love, but He is also a God of justice. He is the only one capable of judging, and He will judge. Judgment Day is coming.
*Bill Bouknight said, "Lots of modern Christians have problems with the doctrine of a final judgment and eternal punishment. Many ask, 'How could a loving God send anyone to an eternal hell?' Let's allow the Scripture to respond to that question. In Matthew 25:41, the King said this to those who were lost: 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'
*Hell was not prepared for people. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. So, for a person to go to hell is against God's perfect plan for mankind. God does not desire that a single person be lost." But most people will be lost.
*"British preacher, Leslie Weatherhead, made this profound observation: 'Jesus Christ, the person with the gentlest lips in history, said the most terrible words about sin ever spoken. It was gentle Jesus who referred to people as lost. He described hell as the everlasting fire, the shut door, and the outer darkness where there are endless tears and gnashing of teeth.'" (3)
*Why did our kind and merciful King speak about the lost in such a harsh way? Because Jesus loves us enough to tell us the horrible truth about our sins. Jesus loves us enough to tell us about the terrible fate that faces people who have not trusted in the Lord. Jesus loves lost people enough to tell them the truth. He even loved them enough to die on the cross for their sins.
*And in Matthew 9:13 Jesus said: "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.'' God loves us so much that He calls us as sinners to come to repentance. He calls us to turn away from our sinful, selfish ways, and turn to Him.
*Our Risen Savior calls us to come to Him for salvation. He wants us to know Him in a personal way. He wants everyone to trust in Him as Lord and Savior. And everybody needs to know Jesus! So, the King wants us to learn about the lost.
4. AND HE WANTS US TO LEARN ABOUT LIVING IN HIS LIGHT.
*In vs. 43 Jesus talked about the people living in the light on the Day of Judgment. Here Jesus said: "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
*How can we be "the righteous"? -- How can we shine like the sun? King Duncan explained, and first he pointed out that "on its surface, there is not much to be said about this parable except this: Make sure you're not a weed, because one day the weeds will be thrown into the fiery furnace.
*But the weeds are all those who do evil, and that's disturbing because where does God draw the line? Murderers? Rapists? Adulterers? Thieves? Does fibbing on your tax returns count? How about gossiping?
*How about the sins of omission? What about those who ignore their neighbors in need? How about those who give only a pittance to God after He has been so generous to them? Where is the line drawn?
*Could it be that Paul was right in Romans 3:23, when he said, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God?'" Of course He was! So King Duncan said, "I don't know about you, but a fiery furnace doesn't appeal to me. And when the day comes that God begins pulling weeds, I certainly don't want to depend on my own virtue." (6)
*Neither do I! -- Amen? What is our hope then? Our only hope is that the blood of Jesus Christ washes away all of our sins! Thank God for the cross of Christ! Thank God for the saving grace of our merciful King!
*And stand on these promises from Psalm 37:3-6: "Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday."
CONCLUSION:
*That's the kind of Kingdom victory God wants everyone to have. And Christians, that's the victory God has already given to us! Now, we need to learn more about His Kingdom, and let the Lord keep shining through us.
*Let's ask for His help, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Sources:
-Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions - Published in 1906; public domain
-BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William MacDonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Nashville - Copyright 1995 - "Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath" - Isaiah 14:12-17 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(2) Adapted from "The Seed Upon Stony Ground" - Charles Haddon Spurgeon - September 14, 1873 - Scripture: Mark 4:5, 6 - From: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 19 - https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-seed-upon-stony-ground/#flipbook/
(3) Adapted from Sermons.com sermon "Judgment Day Is Coming" by Bill Bouknight - Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 - 2002
(4) IN THE GRIP OF GRACE by Bryan Chapell, Baker, 1992 - Source: Dynamic Preaching sermon "So, You Want to Know About Love? By King Duncan - John 13:31-35 - Mother's Day 2001
(5) Sermons.com sermon "Getting Rid of the Weeds" by King Duncan - Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
(6) Sermons.com sermon "Pulling Weeds" by King Duncan - Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
