The value of something is a hard lesson to learn. And the more you have the less things are of value. When you can go down to the store, or go online and get almost anything you want, and have the means to pay for it, the value of commodities isn’t that important. But when access to to certain needed commodities is scarce, the value goes up. For about the last 30 years our society here in the US hasn’t really wanted for anything. We haven’t been in a state where we couldn’t get needs met. We have food banks, for when you need food. We have clothes closets for when you need close. We have government subsidized housing when you need help with a place to live. It might not be the best option, but it’s there where in most countries it isn’t.
But now we’re going into a period of inflation, where the dollar gets less valuable, and price increase. Things like food shortages are being predicted, and access to what used to be whatever we wanted, will start to diminish. And the value of certain things will start to go up. One of the things preppers, those who look to prepare for social upheaval, say have on hand is alcohol. Why? Because it can be used for a variety of situations, one of which is as barter. We can see this type of reorganization of value if we look at the aftermath of the Great Depression from the 30s. People that lived through that held on to things that their kids and grandkids could comprehend why. Things like used tinfoil. Why hold on to that? Because it was scarce and was valuable in the depression. Or things like burlap potato bags. Why? Because they could be used to make clothes.
When luxury is taken away and necessity remains, things that didn’t seem valuable to us before, become like gold in our hands. And so, we should learn the value of things before we need to. That way we can use our money wisely, and if things get bad, we are better prepared than others who cannot understand the value of the things around them.
And it’s this idea of understanding the value of something that brings us back into our summer series on the book of Matthew, where we’ll be picking it back up in Matthew chapter 13, verse 1. So if you have your Bibles, you can open up to Matthew 13:1, and as you do, let’s catch ourselves up to where we are so far in the book.
It’s been about six months since we were in the book of Matthew from last October, and if you’re anything like me, you forgot where we were. In fact I thought we had finished chapter 12, and were starting into chapter 13, but when I returned to my notes I was so confused, until I realized that we had looked at chapter 12 from the a bookend approach, moving our way to the center of the chapter. I almost re-taught the last twelve verses of chapter 12 this week. Thank God, he saved me from speaking on what he had already done.
So, let’s recap where we are. Matthew has been divided up in a number of ways and one of these is by the five dominate sermons that are found in it. By looking at Matthew through the five sermons, we see a parallel with the book of Deuteronomy and its division by sermons. This will be a common theme throughout Matthew, where he continually points us back to the Old Testament so that we can understand that Jesus fulfills what was prophesied in it. So, in Matthew’s first section, we saw how Jesus was revealed as being a prophet like Moses, a King like David, and God himself. This lead into the first sermon in which Jesus speaks, not just as one speaking on behalf of God, but God himself. Whereas in the Old Testament when someone spoke for God, they would say things like, “Thus says the Lord,” Jesus speaks as God himself, when he says things like, “You have heard it said, but I say.” So the first section of Matthew is to not only help us see that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies, but also to help us realize that he himself is God come down.
This section ends with Jesus’ words about building our lives on his word. This then leads into the second section where those who choose to follow Jesus are now to be his disciples. People who are not just learning from him, but trained to do what he does and who are sent out to accomplish the work of the Gospel. In the second section, we see the twelve apostles trained and commissioned on a short term trip to begin to put Jesus’ words into practice. This sermon is sometimes referred to as the little commission.
This then led us into the disciples returning to Jesus and being trained deeper. But this time, the training focused on the state of the world. Jesus taught that one must have a repentant heart, take on Jesus’ life, and realize that demonic forces are always at war with the people of God. This leads Jesus into his third sermon on what the kingdom of God is like.
Now we’re going to read the entire sermon together, because when Jesus spoke it, it was meant to be heard with a repetition, as you’ll see in a moment. Too often when we read the Scriptures, we read them by heading, chopping them up, when in reality, they’re supposed to be understood together. So, we’ll first read all the parables and then see what they all mean together. Let’s read staring in chapter 13, verse 1 of the Gospel of Matthew.
13:1 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 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 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.
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people 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 their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 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. 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. 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.”
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 uproot 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.’”
“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 seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds 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 about sixty pounds 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.”
“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 people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people 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 blazing 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. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
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.
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 blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Each of these parables are meant to build on the others, in order that we would have a better understanding of what the Kingdom of God is like.
Now there are a few things that we will revisit next week to flush out what is being said, but for now, we’re going to look at the bigger picture here. This is what we usually do in our summer series, where we are trying to see the overarching themes of the books of the Bible.
And here, in Jesus’ third sermon, we see the overarching theme of the Kingdom. The first of the parables deals with the Gospel being spread. Jesus gives us several types of people that receive the Gospel message. Those that reject it, those that like it at first but don’t go deeper, those who allow the world to choke the message from them, and those who fully accept and follow Jesus. The implication here is to be the last, fully embracing Jesus’ message. How does one do that? It’s the repentant heart, the taking on of Jesus’ life, and standing against the demonic forces of this world. It’s what is covered in chapter 12, carrying out the will of God in our lives.
Then the second parable speaks of good plants and weeds. So even when the seed falls into good soil, satan, those demonic forces from earlier, will put weeds into the mix. So though we might be here gathered as the Church to worship God, there are those that are here planted by satan to be weeds. Now I say that, and follow it up with this, I’m not calling anyone out, because that would’t be right in this context, nor is it appropriate at this time. This is because Jesus is allowing these weeds to be in the fold with the good seed, and he will separate the weeds from the good plants at the end. This parable has a parallel in the final parable about the fish.
The good plant and weeds parable is then followed by two that connect with each other. The mustard seed is a small seed that blooms into a large plant, just how when yeast is put into flour it helps the bread rise to a greater size. Here the idea is that even a small understanding of the Gospel message planted into good soil can produce a faith that is extraordinarily big.
Then Jesus gives two parables about the greatness of the Kingdom. Jesus uses the idea of a hidden treasure in a field, or a pearl of great value. In both cases a person sells everything to gain a greater treasure. This is to teach that the kingdom is worth more than anything we could hope to have in this world. It’s greater than all the money, prestige, and toys that we could ever attain.
Finally the fish in the net speak in a similar vein as the good plants and the weeds parable, in which the good and bad fish are separated, just like those who follow Jesus and those who do not will be separated.
Putting these parables together we see a flow of thought from Jesus and the question is implicitly asked, “Who are you?”
Are you the good soil who produces a good plant among the weeds. If you are, then you will be willing to let everything go so that you may experience God’s kingdom and on the day when the harvest arrives. When Jesus makes his final judgment, you will enter into God’s eternal kingdom where you will experience the full joy and pleasure that you were created to have.
Or are you the bad soil? Are you a person who outright rejects Jesus, or did you once say you followed him, but didn’t pursue your relationship with Jesus and now are falling away from him; or did you start following, but chasing that dollar, wanting that better place to live, wanting the world’s pleasure has choked out the God who you once said you’d follow? If that’s you, Jesus is saying that you might be a weed or a bad fish, and on the day he judges you’ll be separated. And he uses this imagery of weeping and gnashing of teeth to drive home a point. That imagery is of deep despair; that you will meet Jesus and in that moment experience pure love, joy, and peace, and then have it ripped away, never to experience it again. It’s a place of sorrow that can only be imagined by those who have watched bombs decimate their homes and families; who have watched the horrors of wars and famines beyond our comprehension as we sit in our relatively peaceful lives.
The point of these parables is to ask the question who are you? Are you to good soil, the type of person who has understood the value of the kingdom and is losing everything to gain it? Or are you the bad soil, that is trying to gain everything in this life, only to be destined to lose it all in the end?
In chapter 12 Jesus has already given the answer as to how to receive the Gospel. It’s to be repentant, realizing we’re sinners and accepting Jesus’ free gift of his life for ours. That he paid the price on the cross, so that we may experience his resurrected life.
But if you choose to follow Jesus, accepting him as your Savior, then the world needs to be left behind. God is calling you out of the world’s desires. The desire for wealth, the desire for prestige, the desire for personal gain. And when we follow that calling away from the world, satan and his demons work overtime to bring us back. They’ll surround us with weeds to take our focus off of Jesus. They’ll surround us with the fleeting satisfaction from drugs, alcohol, wealth, sex, and other things of this world. But in the end those things lead to weeping and gnashing of teeth; sorrow that is beyond our comprehension.
Jesus ends his sermon by speaking to his disciples these words in verse 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 become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
Jesus asks his followers, and us, if we understand the two sides of what he is talking about. Do we understand the decision that must be made? We’re either following him, seeking after his kingdom where we gain everything that matters in the end, or we’re seeking a kingdom of our own that leads to everything that we gained in this life being stripped away from us.
Jesus ends with this idea that if we seek his kingdom, we’re like a home owner that has treasures of all kinds. That is the kingdom we will receive. God’s kingdom of the ancient past where he walked with his creation, and his eternal kingdom with new and wonderful things on the horizon to experience.
Today, let’s make a decision to seek after Jesus’ kingdom, letting everything else slip away from us, and only embracing what he has. Let us no longer seek to build kingdoms or seek the pleasures of this world that would sway us away from God, but embrace getting rid of what holds us back from experiencing God.
My challenge for you this week is to read through the parables of chapter 13 on your own, asking God to till your soil to make you able to receive his word, and help you to give up everything for the sake of his kingdom. Let us be people who realize the worth of Jesus’ kingdom, that it far surpasses anything this world has to offer, that we may be known as his disciples,. and stand in his glory when he returns. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment