Third Discourse Intro/Parables Intro

The last two chapters, Matthew 11-12, we have seen a lot of conflict. The reason there was conflict was because Jesus was training his disciples, showing them what it was supposed to be like to be the people of God, yet the Jewish leaders didn't like what they were seeing. So these two chapters are FILLED with controversies between Jesus, the Jewish leaders, and Jesus teaching his disciples. And as we have studied throughout the book of Matthew, there are five sermons, and each sermon is the finale of a series of stories about Jesus. Here is the outline thus far for the book of Matthew:

1. Matthew 5-7--The sermon on the proclamation of a king, and the upside-down nature of his kingdom. 

1. Matthew 1-4 was all about the presentation of a king, now we see what this king has to say about his kingdom

1. Matthew 10--The sermon on the ministry of the King.

1. Matthew 8-9 is all about the King's ministry which is two fold: 1. healing the sick and 2. discipling the disciples. This is what his message is about in Matthew 10. 

1. Matthew 13--The sermon on the what Kingdom life is like (in parables)

1. Matthew 11-12 is filled with Jesus training the disciples what it means to be the people of God. 
2. The Pharisees and religious leaders of the day had a different idea of what it means to be the people of God, so there is a lot of conflict involved in this section. 
3. Jesus clarifies it all with his sermon in Matthew 13. 

So after two chapters of controversies, we see chapter 13 as the finale to the question, "What does Kingdom life look like. 

Chapter 13 is the sermon that supposedly clears all this up.

Yet it is written with these weird things called parables.

Jesus begins by talking about farmers and seeds, he'll bring up treasures hidden in fields and mustard seeds and fishing trips. Yet, this phrase continues to show up over and over again, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

So what are parables?

The word, "parable", literally means to "throw beside". They are ultimately anecdotal stories that are a comparison of some truth about reality. Yet they are upside-down stories. Because the world is messed up, these redeemed stories about how life should be seem out place, but they are actually how things should be.

There have been a number of different theories on how to even interpret these little stories called parables, specifically, three generations of thought. The First was that each parable meant one thing and that was it. So the point of the parable of the sower is that when we scatter seed (the word of God), some soil (people) will be good soil and produce fruit, others won't. But then came along a guy by the name of Craig Blomberg who pointed out that when you look at each character in the story, there is different application for each character in the parable. So the parable of the prodigal son can have three different take-aways when you look at it from the son who ran away's perspective (that God accepts you no matter how much you rebelled), or the Father's perspective (our God is a loving God, we should be too), or the son that stayed home's perspective (that we should not judge those who have crazy backgrounds, but accept them like the father). The problem with these two generations of thought is that the first says that parables ALWAYS have one meaning, and the second generation says that parables ALWAYS have multiple meanings related to the characters. These two views have become polarized, so that a nice middle view was created for the third generation of interpreting parables. This is that some parables only have one meaning, others have multiple, depending on each parable. And this is where I stand.

The key with parables is the "surprising truths". Parables are always casting light on some true-to-life principle that is against the world's values but is in line with what it means to be the people of God.

So for the next three weeks, we will be digging into these parables. As my professor, Mark Scott, always said, "Defining these things is like defining a romantic kiss, better just to do it than to define it."

So let's hop in and begin encountering these upside-down, true-to-life, stories of Jesus.

My challenge to you is to read the whole sermon below, before we begin diving into it, one passage at a time.

¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 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. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”
 ¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
 ¹¹ He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹²Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:
   “Though seeing, they do not see;
   though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
   ¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
   “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
   you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
   they hardly hear with their ears,
   and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
   hear with their ears,
   understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’^[a]
   16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
   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 his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰ The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. ²² The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The Parable of the Weeds

 ²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.   ²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
   ²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
   “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
   ²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

 ³¹ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.” ³³ He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount^[b] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
 ³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. ³⁵ So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
   “I will open my mouth in parables,
   I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”^[c]

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

 ³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
   ⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

    ⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.   ⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

    ⁴⁷ “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.   ⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
   “Yes,” they replied.
 ⁵² He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

A Prophet Without Honor

 ⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴ Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. ⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him.   But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”
 ⁵⁸ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.