After long and weary search, Isis, the faithful wife of Osiris, found the coffin and brought it home in mourning. At first he was bewildered and in despair; then the light came and in effect he said "I cannot understand the conduct of this people; but I know that all this failure is somehow in the ultimate purpose of God, and he will use it for his own ultimate glory and for the ultimate good of men." It may be that, humanly speaking, goodness never seems to enter into its reward, but there is a new world to redress the balance of the old. Thus it was in the world. Anyone who asks the question: "What has Christianity done for the world?" When we were studying the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:10), we found that we could say that the Kingdom of God is a state of society upon earth where God's will is as perfectly done as it is in heaven. Matt. The parable puts truth in the form of a story; the simplest definition of a parable is in fact that it is "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning." What does it mean for you? (iv) Christianity transformed life for the aged. identification with the god whose story was told on the stage. He went. In the synagogue there was no definite person to give the address. 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? The picture of a man deliberately sowing darnel in someone else's field is by no means only imagination. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. The thorny ground was deceptive. Matthew 13:45-46. The world is a vast sea, and men, in their natural state, are like the fishes. Matthew 13:15. Josephus speaks of "the gold and the silver and the rest of that most precious furniture which the Jews had, and which the owners treasured up underground against the uncertain fortunes of war.". They say unto him, Yea, Lord. The net was then drawn to land, and the catch was separated. Osiris was a wise and good king. Old Gifts Used In A New Way (Matthew 13:51-52), 13:51-52 Jesus said, "Have you understood an these things?" In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly! 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Matthew 13:13-17 of this passage are among the most difficult verses in the whole gospel narrative. The Barrier Of Unbelief (Matthew 13:53-58). It is easy to see how moving a story that could be made to one who had undergone a tong instruction, to one who saw it in the most carefully calculated setting. Matthew 1-13. There are people into whose minds the word has no more chance of gaining entry than the seed has of settling into the ground that has been beaten hard by many feet. The funeral reached the cemetery; and at the gate there was a soldier waiting. Matthew 7:13 is the thirteenth verse of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 13:24 - 13:43. But often a word dropped into a man's heart in his boyhood lies dormant until some day it awakens and saves him from some great temptation or even preserves his soul from death. Jesus first describes these to a large crowd along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 7:14 → Der breite und der schmale Weg ("the broad and the narrow road"), from 1866. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. H. L. Gee tells this story. Levison describes the process: "Women have to be hired to pick the darnel grain out of the seed which is to be milled.... As a rule the separation of the darnel from the wheat is done after the threshing. When the mason is working on the stone, when the carpenter is working with the wood, Jesus Christ is there. God speaks to us through His Word:- His living Word: (the Lord Jesus Christ) and His written Word (the Holy Scriptures) and God has called us to 'hear Him', because faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God. At the beginning of his ministry we find him teaching in the synagogues; but now we find him teaching on the seashore. Jesus Christ is a Pearl of great price; in having him, we have enough to make us happy here and for ever. And though good and bad are together in this world, yet at the great day they shall be parted; then the righteous and the wicked shall be plainly known; here sometimes it is hard to distinguish between them. Notes for Matthew -- Chapter 13 (Page 3 of 6) Verses 13-15 (cont. Telemachus found his way to the games. As A. H. Clough had it: For while the tired waves, vainly breaking. The drama was then played out; and it, was intended to produce in the worshipper a complete. The transformation of Christianity begins in the individual life, for through Christ the victim of temptation can become the victor over it. To this day in India one of the direst threats which a man can make to his enemy is "I will sow bad seed in your field." He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. Matthew chapter 13 KJV (King James Version) 1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;. If seed fell there, and some was bound to fall there in whatever way it was sown, there was no more chance of its penetrating into the earth than if it had fallen on the road. For example, the Jews talked of a drop of blood as small as a mustard seed; or, if they were talking of some tiny breach of the ceremonial law, they would speak of a defilement as small as a mustard seed; and Jesus himself used the phrase in this way when he spoke of faith as a grain of mustard seed (Matthew 17:20). One of the most startling teachings of Jesus is his teaching about the two gates. They talked of propaganda, of literature, of all the ways of disseminating the gospel in the twentieth century. 53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. It is God alone who can discern the good and the bad; it is God alone who sees all of a man and all of his life. This parable tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven begins very small but that in the end many nations will be gathered within it. (ii) It is suggestive to find that there are other pearls but only one pearl of great price. Everything was done to work him up to a state of emotion and of, expectation. 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. (i) The lesson of this parable is, first, that the man found the precious thing, not so much by chance, as in his day's work. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. If we take the parable as a warning to hearers, it means that there are different ways of accepting the word of God, and the fruit which it produces depends on the heart of him who accepts it. We must be careful to see that Christ is not shouldered out of the topmost niche in life. Almost all scholars would agree that it speaks of the transforming power of Christ and of his Kingdom in the life of the individual and of the world; but there is a difference of opinion as to how that transforming power works. A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. The parable begins with material which every man understands because it is within his own experience, and from that it leads him on to things which he does not understand, and opens his eyes to things which he has faded to see. the parables, their introductions and interpretations, and support-ing Old Testament quotations. Bookmarks. There is only one way to bring peace to the heart, joy to the mind, beauty to the life, and that is to accept and to do the will of God. The good ground was deep and clean and soft; the seed could gain an entry; it could find nourishment; it could grow unchecked; and in the good ground it brought forth an abundant harvest. And yet it was a brave thing to do. Christ does not say that this good ground has no stones in it, or no thorns; but none that could hinder its fruitfulness. Where did he get all these things?" Verse 13 – This parable seems to be THE key parable in understand the rest of the kingdom parables. In the British Empire it was William Wilberforce who was responsible for the freeing of the slaves. 47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. And beyond a doubt there were times when men grasped that truth. A sower went forth to sow - The image here is taken from an employment known to all people, and therefore intelligible to all. The unteachable spirit can erect a barrier which cannot easily be broken down. There was no danger that Jesus would not be given the opportunity to speak. Matthew 13 . This argues not only for the in-clusion of the householder as the eighth parable, but also for the . The idea of that liberation came to him when he read an exposure of the slave trade by Thomas Clarkson. The word has no effect because it never penetrates and is quickly taken away. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsb/matthew-13.html. In this parable Jesus is saying to his disciples, and to his followers today, that there must be no discouragement, that they must serve and witness each in his place, that each one must be the small beginning from which the Kingdom grows until the kingdoms of the earth finally become the Kingdom of God. It was made powerful by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, who works, and none can hinder. ", "Listen then to the meaning of the parable of the sower. Christ compares him to a good householder, who brings forth fruits of last year's growth and this year's gathering, abundance and variety, to entertain his friends. (ii) But equally this parable teaches that the time of separation will come when the good and the bad are sent to their respective destinations. The seine net was a great square net with cords at each corner, and weighted so that, at rest, it hung, as it were, upright in the water. Let me paraphrase Isaiah, “The gospel message is obvious for anyone who hears it. The Greek word translated here by ‘ make disciples ’ is exactly the same word as ‘ trained’ that we have in Matthew 13, trained for the kingdom of God. Were these men slaughtering each other not also children of God? He got into a boat and sat: Jesus sometimes used a boat as His “pulpit” (Mark 4:1). There he persuaded him to enter a cunningly wrought coffin which exactly fitted him. There remains only one question in regard to this parable of the leaven. Matthew 13:9(KJV) Verse Thoughts. Certain workmen, digging in a garden on that avenue, uncovered several copper pots full of gold coins. The Sower Went Out To Sow (Matthew 13:1-9; Matthew 13:18-23), 13:1-9,18-23 On that day, when he had gone out from the house, Jesus sat on the seashore; and such great crowds gathered to hear him that he went into a boat, and sat there; and the whole crowd took their stand on the seashore; and he spoke many things in parables to them. Jesus uses this story as an object lesson to illustrate the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 13:1-58 is a very important chapter in the pattern of the gospel. The pictures in this parable would be clear and familiar to a Palestinian audience. They were a weed called bearded darnel (Lolium Temulentum). The patristic commentary tradition on Matthew begins with Origen's pioneering twenty-five-volume commentary on the First Gospel in the mid-third century. And in Matthew 13:34-35 of this present passage Jesus quotes a saying of the Psalmist: Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the, words of my mouth. Is not this the son of the carpenter? There may be truth which condemns the things he loves and which accuses the things he does; and many a man refuses to listen to or to recognize the truth which condemns him, for there are none so blind as those who deliberately will not see. It (Mark 4:11-12) has: To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for, those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed. In this parable, Jesus is teaching his listeners about the patience and hope that is an integral part of living in the waiting time until he returns. We must think and study and imagine ourselves back into the minds of those who were listening to Jesus. In the parable of the wheat, it also produces a crop for harvest. It is abundantly true that there is nothing in this world so disturbing as Christianity; that is, in fact, the reason why so many people resent it and refuse it, and wish to eliminate it. Scripture: Matthew 13:24-25, Matthew 13:1-9. All the children of men are busy; one would be rich, another would be honourable, another would be learned; but most are deceived, and take up with counterfeits for pearls. In his reception of the word there are four stages. I. 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Preaching the gospel is casting a net into this sea, to catch something out of it, for His glory who has the sovereignty of this sea. Unleavened bread is like a water biscuit, hard, dry, unappetizing and uninteresting; bread baked with leaven is soft and porous and spongy, tasty and good to eat. "To you," he answered them, "it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom, which only a disciple can understand, but to them it has not been so given. (iv) It teaches us that judgment does come in the end. Matthew 13 Commentary, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary is one of the most respected interdenominational commentaries ever written. Christianity can be understood only from the inside. ", When Jesus had finished speaking about the Kingdom, he asked his disciples if they had understood. One demonstrable historical truth is that Christianity transformed life for women. The diligent and hard-working person is in a position to be given more and more; the lazy person may well lose even what he has. (ii) They tell of a prophet's despair. There have always been two views of the Church--the exclusive and the inclusive. The parable teaches all would-be followers of Jesus the importance of vigilance in an uncertain … He produces the good fruit of the good seed. For discouraged preachers of the word the lesson is in the climax of the parable, in the picture of the seed which brought forth abundant fruit. Just as Matthew toned down Mark, so the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, and the version which most Jews used in the time of Jesus, toned down the original Hebrew: Go, say to this people: "Ye shall hear indeed, but ye shall not, understand; and seeing ye shall see and not perceive." 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have … (ii) The lesson of this parable is, second, that it is worth any sacrifice to enter the Kingdom. Later, in a house, He explains to the disciples the meanings of the parables of the sower, the weeds, and the fish caught in the net. Cato, the Roman writer on agriculture, gives advice to anyone who is taking over a farm: "Look over the livestock and hold a sale. The deceitfulness of riches does the mischief; they cannot be said to deceive us unless we put our trust in them, then they choke the good seed. Suddenly Pitt turned to him: "Wilberforce," he said, "why don't you give a notice of a motion on the slave-trade?" That may be so to human eyes and human minds, but at the back of it there is a God who is fitting even that failure into the divine plan of his omniscient mind and his omnipotent power. He took the parable of the sower from the farmer's field and the parable of the mustard seed from the husbandman's garden; he took the parable of the wheat and the tares from the perennial problem which confronts the farmer in his struggle with the weeds, and the parable of the drag-net from the seashore of the Sea of Galilee. Who then are the hearers described and warned in this parable? In Jewish language and thought leaven is almost always connected with an evil influence; the Jews connected fermentation with putrefaction and leaven stood for that which is evil (compare Matthew 16:6; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 5:9). Sower - One who sows or scatters seed - a farmer. The man who has a real message to deliver, and a real desire to deliver it, will always find a way of giving it to men. They shall shine by reflection, with light borrowed from the Fountain of light. He can find loveliness in knowledge and in the reaches of the human mind, in art and music and literature and all the triumphs of the human spirit; he can find loveliness in serving his fellow-men, even if that service springs from humanitarian rather than from purely Christian motives; he can find loveliness in human relationships. The man who was searching for pearls was spending his life in the search. The leaven works certainly, so does the word, yet gradually. Jesus does not ask that he should give up his gift. What then does the parable say to the preacher who is discouraged? 44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Jesus took these words of Isaiah and used them to encourage his disciples; he said in effect, "I know that this looks disappointing; I know how you are feeling when men's minds and hearts refuse to receive the truth and when their eyes refuse to recognize it; but in this, too, there is purpose--and some day you will see it.". Nor does it make him give up hope of the harvest. No preacher or teacher ever does. Denomination: Lutheran Cecil Northcott tells in one of his books that a group of young people from many nations were discussing how the Christian gospel might be spread. The angels will come, and they will separate the evil from the righteous, and they will cast them into the furnace of fire. In the great series of parables in Matthew 13 our Lord gave us, as he said, "The secrets of the kingdom of heaven." The second way was a lazy way, but was not uncommonly used. Thus it is in the heart. Matthew is presenting Jesus as the King and part of Jesus’ mission was to proclaim the arrival or imminence of the kingdom. Any gift can be developed; and, since nothing in life stands still, if a gift is not developed, it is lost. The Working Of The Leaven (Matthew 13:33 Continued). But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth. Thomson goes on to tell how there are even people who make it their life's business to search for hidden treasure, and that they get into such a state of excitement that they have been known to faint at the discovery of one single coin. It was not that the door of the synagogue was as yet finally shut to him, but it was closing. His business can take such a grip of him that he is too tired to think of anything else. Matthew 13 English Standard Version (ESV) The Parable of the Sower. The cry of the worshipper in the end. In Palestine bread was baked at home; three measures of meal was, as Levinson points out, just the average amount which would be needed for a baking for a fairly large family, like the family at Nazareth. One of the most famous of all the mysteries was the mystery of Isis. Any distinguished stranger present might be asked by the ruler of the synagogue to speak, or anyone who had a message might venture to give it. And they were offended at him. Many a man would have been saved all kinds of heartbreak, if he had simply stopped to listen to the voice of a wise friend, or to the voice of God. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Their sanctification will be made perfect, and their justification published. They are truth in pictures. Theme. Matthew 5:13 ← 5:12. Being the earliest gospel, we would expect Mark to be the nearest to the actual words of Jesus. He was a close friend of Pitt, then Prime Minister, and one day he was sitting with him and George Grenville in Pitt's garden at Holwood. Matthew 13. "For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her." In the ancient world pearls had a very special place in men's hearts. Beyond the discipline, beyond the sacrifice, beyond the self-denial, beyond the cross, there lies the supreme loveliness which is nowhere else. The Lord then told a parable about a farmer whose field … One was with the casting-net, the amphiblestron (Greek #293). 13. 13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. The Jew clung fast to the belief that everything had its place in the purpose of God and that somehow God was weaving together success and failure, good and evil in a web of his designing. Let us, knowing the terrors of the Lord, not do iniquity. To the ancient peoples, as we have just seen, a pearl was the loveliest of all possessions; that means that the Kingdom of Heaven is the loveliest thing in the world. Matthew 13:13. Many a person in childhood and schooldays had a smattering of Latin or of French or of some other language, and in later life lost every word, because he never made any attempt to develop or use them. He is the man who fails to think things out and think them through. In such a case some of the seed might well dribble out while the animal was crossing the pathway and before it reached the field at all. (ii) The great interest of this chapter is that here we see Jesus beginning to use to the full his characteristic method of teaching in parables. But a scholar does not give up his scholarship when he becomes a Christian; rather he uses it for Christ. That separation, however, certain as it is, is not man's work but God's. "'", When he had sent the crowds away, he went into the house. The worshipper was intended literally to share in the divinity's, life and sufferings and death and resurrection, and therefore, shared in his immortality. But what he has will be taken away from him who has not. The apparent evil is gathered up in a larger good, for all is within the plan of God. Mystery Religions. Then Jesus goes on to speak about the scribe, instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven, bringing out of his treasure-house things old and new. To be strictly accurate the mustard seed is not the smallest of seeds; the seed of the cypress tree, for instance, is still smaller; but in the east it was proverbial for smallness. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 2. (ii) When a man sows the seed, he must not look for quick results. 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. That atmosphere is either a barrier through which the preacher's word cannot penetrate; or else it is such an expectancy that even the poorest sermon becomes a living flame. They would not only mistake good grain for them, but very commonly the roots of the two are so intertwined that it is impossible to separate them without plucking up both. Yes, it is true he was reputed to be so; and no disgrace to be the son of an honest tradesman; they should have respected him the more because he was one of themselves, but therefore they despised him. It is not any man's place to say who is committed to Christ and who is not. That background helps you to understand. We cannot see the leaven working in the dough, any more than we can see a flower growing, but the work of the leaven is always going on. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there. True, the crowds came to hear him, but there were so few who were really changed, and so many who came to reap the benefit of his healing power, and, who, when they had received it, went away and forgot. In New Testament times this, word mystery was used in a special and a technical way. And despite the popular teaching that is found in some Christian circles today, not a single one of these parables is about how to go to heaven when you die, or how to tell if you are truly a Christian. These religions had all a common character. Even yet in the synagogue he would find a welcome from the common people; but the official leaders of Jewish orthodoxy were now in open opposition to him. (ii) There are four great social directions in which Christianity transformed life. The leaders of orthodox religion were his bitterest critics and were obviously out to destroy him. ii. The coins were all coins of Alexander the Great and his father Philip. (ii) A witness must begin with one man. Let us remember what the Kingdom is. A man may appear to be good and may in fact be bad; and a man may appear to be bad and may yet be good. (c) The great teaching virtue of the parable is that it compels interest. What is the explanation of all this? He took the parable of the hidden treasure from the everyday task of digging in a field, and the parable of the pearl of great price from the world of commerce and trade. (a) It is aimed at the hearers of the word. It was a hand-net which was cast from the shore. The father would be mounted on an ass; the mother would be walking, and probably bent beneath a burden. This, then, would be a message of encouragement. Hypocrites and true Christians shall be parted: miserable is the condition of those that shall then be cast away. There is the story of the good king; there is the attack of sin; there is the sorrowing search of love; there is the triumphant finding of love; there is the raising to a life which has conquered death. Jesus began from something which at the moment they could actually see to open their minds to truth which as yet they had never seen. But, humanly speaking, he had very little success. But when she was absent from home, the wicked Seth came again, stole the body of Osiris, cut it into fourteen pieces, and scattered it throughout all Egypt. It is to be noted that this saying of Jesus leads into a quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10. It is the fact of history that the greatest things must always begin with the smallest beginnings. It can be the result of pride which does not know that it needs to know; and it can be the result of the fear of new truth and the refusal to adventure on the ways of thought. The Parable of the Sower . 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. What mystery? It is not the things which are obviously bad which are dangerous. No doubt he did; whatever is amiss in the church, we are sure it is not from Christ. Suddenly, as the man discovered the treasure, there may flash upon us, in some moment of illumination, the conviction of what God's will is for us. Invite the class to follow along, looking for what the Savior compared to the seed, the wayside, and the birds mentioned in Matthew 13:4. Christianity transformed life for women. The prefect's command rang out; a sword flashed in the sunlight, and Telemachus was dead. is not his mother called Mary? The lesson is that we must be for ever on our guard. Christ taught in parables. It is only the man who is prepared to become a disciple who can enter into the most precious things of the Christian faith. 13:45-46 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who was seeking goodly pearls. So Jesus says to his disciples: "Outsiders cannot understand what I say; but you know me; you are my disciples; you can understand." Let them both grow together until the harvest time; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather the darnel and bind them into bundles for burning. It is bound to draw in all kinds of things in its course through the water. Even the farmers, who in this country generally weed their fields, do not attempt to separate the one from the other. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Luke 13:20-21). The Kingdom, the power of Christ, the Spirit of God, is like a great river, which for much of its course glides on beneath the ground unseen, but which ever and again comes to the surface in all its greatness, plain for all to see. The Logical connection to the Beatitudes: i. Christians have an influence in the world: 1. (31-35) The parables of the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price, the net cast into the sea, and the householder. He says, "With the help of my guide, I uprooted a veritable mustard-tree which was more than twelve feet high." Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (i) It is suggestive to find the Kingdom of Heaven compared to a pearl. Who has ears let him hear.". 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Before we begin to study these parables in detail, let us ask why Jesus used this method and what are the great teaching advantages which it offers. Print. In these records he is called Levi, the publican or taxgatherer. But after you have been instructed by me, you have the knowledge, not only of the things you used to know, but of things you never knew before, and even the knowledge which you had before is illuminated by what I have told to you.". In the church where he worshipped there was a lonely old man, old Thomas. But some seed fell upon stony ground, where it had not much earth; and, because it had no depth of earth, it sprang up immediately; but when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered away because it had no root.