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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 26, 2010 11:55:29 GMT 12.75
Matthew 13: 1-9 (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; 4. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6. And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8. But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Today we are beginning a new phase in our study of the Gospel of Matthew. We have reached the portion of Matthew where the parables are recorded. We will learn a lot from these parables, and hopefully it will make us better servants for Jesus. Please bear with me during this portion of our study. It will seem like I am getting long-winded, but it is necessary because of the nature of our study. Ready to get started? I am, so let’s go.
In the first part of verse 1, Matthew records The same day went Jesus out of the house. This tells me that what we are about to study happened immediately following Jesus’ reply that His mother and brothers were waiting to speak with Him. If you will recall, Jesus was in a house and Mary and His brothers came and wanted to talk with Him about something of great importance. Now we don’t know what Mary wanted to speak to Jesus about, but it had to be important because Jesus’ earthly brothers came with her. In other words, Jesus’ brothers had to take off work and take their mother to see Jesus. Since people in those days had to work to survive, just like they do today, this tells me that what they had to speak to Jesus about was of great importance. So this happened immediately afterwards. The house that Matthew records Jesus coming out of was most likely Peter’s. We have studied before that Peter had a house in Capernaum, and it was from Peter’s house that Jesus had His base of operations, if you will. In other words, Jesus stayed at Peter’s house quite often, and came and went as He pleased. In the latter part of verse 1, Matthew records that Jesus sat by the sea side. This is why I think that the house that Jesus came out of was Peter’s. Peter’s house was in Capernaum, and Capernaum was about 2 ½ miles from the Sea of Galilee. Therefore it is only logical to reason that Jesus came out of Peter’s house, and walked down to the Sea of Galilee, and sat down in the sand, or on the rocks, on the beach.
In verse 2 we see that great multitudes were gathered together unto Him. The crowds following Jesus were very large, some as large as 4,000 men, not counting women and children. I know you have all heard the story of Jesus feeding the 4,000 with a few fish and 7 loaves of bread, so I won’t go into that today. But often times we tend to think that it was just Jesus and His disciples roaming around the countryside of Israel, but that is not the case. There were a lot of people following Jesus! I can’t stress this enough. Times were hard in those days, and they didn’t have all the modern conveniences that we have today. They didn’t have a car to drive to where Jesus was. They either walked or rode on a donkey! There was no air conditioned church building and padded pews to sit in. They followed Him in the heat and either sat on the ground or stood up. These people followed Jesus no matter what the conditions and hardships were. Can we say the same thing? In the next part of verse 2, Matthew records that He went into a ship. The word He here signifies Jesus. The ship that Jesus went into was most likely a fishing vessel of some sort. We don’t know who owned this ship, but it is possible that it was Zebedee. If you will recall, when we studied the call of James and John, that they were on a boat with their father Zebedee, repairing nets. When Jesus called them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men, they left the ship and their father, and followed Him. This all happened close to Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And since Jesus is now on the Sea of Galilee, it is possible that this was Zebedee’s ship. You might find the next part of verse 2 insignificant, but I don’t. Matthew records that when Jesus entered into this ship, He sat and the people following Him stood on the shore. In other words, Jesus sat down upon something on this fishing vessel. It could have been a crate, or wooden box of some sort, we just don’t know. But it is important to note that Jesus sat down. Why is this important? Because of the customs of those days! When Jesus sat down, and the people stood, it signified that Jesus was the teacher and the people were the students. The custom of those days was that the teacher sat down when he was ready to teach and the students, or followers, stood. Folks, Jesus is the Master Teacher! He knows everything, and it would do us well to heed everything He says. Do we? Another thing that I found significant is where Jesus went. He went on a ship on the coastline! Why is this important? Think a moment if you will on the way sound travels. Sound travels best on a place where there is nothing to block it. The acoustics were such that the sound of Jesus’ voice, and the words that He was speaking, would travel best to the people from the beach. Jesus did this so that ALL the people could hear Him, not just those that were up close, but ALL. And the people heard Him! When Jesus speaks today, through His Word, are you hearing Him?
In the first part of verse 3 Matthew records And He spake many things unto them in parables. The first thing I want us to look at is the word parables. This word literally denotes a placing beside. It signifies a placing of one thing beside another with a view of comparison. It is generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson. It is the lesson that is of value; the hearer must catch the analogy if he is to be instructed. Such a narrative or saying, dealing with earthly things with a spiritual meaning, is distinct from a fable, which attributes to things what does not belong to them in nature. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words). In other words, Jesus is using things in everyday life to explain spiritual things. Notice also that Jesus spoke more than one parable to the people while He was on the ship. This is shown by the word many. While we are going to look just at the first parable today, Jesus spoke to the people in more than one parable. In the latter part of verse 3 Jesus begins this parable which Jesus titled “The Parable of the Sower”. He said Behold, a sower went forth to sow. A sower is someone who sows seed, a farmer if you will. This person would take a handful of seed and walk along the ground that was to be planted, casting the seed out in a way so that the seed would fall on fertile ground. When I was growing up we lived close to my grandparents. My parents and grandparents would plant a large garden every year. In this garden would be several different varieties of peas. They would plow several large rows and after it was fertilized I would come along and plant the peas. I would take a handful of peas, walk along the row, letting them slip between my fingers into the rows thus planting peas. They would follow me, covering the peas with dirt thus planting the peas. I was considered “the sower”. This is sort of like the way they planted in ancient days too. The job of the sower is to plant the seeds, or sowing.
In verse 4 Jesus tells us where some of the seeds fell. Some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up. The way side would be the ground that is not prepared for the seed. It is ground that is not plowed and made ready to receive seed. The seed that falls on this type of ground is not covered up and the birds will come and pick it off the ground and eat it.
In verse 5 and 6 Jesus said 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. Stony earth is what we would call rocky ground. There is not a lot of good dirt in rocky ground and when the seeds germinate and produce plants, these plants don’t have the root system needed to support growth and production therefore when it gets hot these plants wither away and die.
In verse 7 Jesus said And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up and choked them. This is ground that has been prepared but for some reason or the other the weeds that were there previously had not be killed off. When the plants that were planted to produce food sprung up, these thorns also sprung up, thus robbing the food producing plants of the nourishment they needed by taking much needed nutrients from the soil. In other words, the thorns choked them out.
In verse 8 Jesus said But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. This is the seed that fell upon the ground that was prepared for it, producing the product that it was intended to produce. Some produced more than others, but all produced that fell upon this type of ground.
We have before us 4 different types of ground. We have the way side, rocky ground, thorny ground, and good ground. The seed that fell upon each of these grounds reacted differently. Some never sprang up, some did but didn’t produce product and some were choked out and some produce a lot of product. But what does it all mean? In verse 18 through 23 of this chapter Jesus explains this parable to His disciples. We need to look at the meaning now to better understand this parable, but we will look at it again when we get to those verses. Before I go any further, I need to point out one thing. The seed that Jesus is speaking of is defined as the Gospel. The Gospel is actually defined as “good news”. What is the good news? That Jesus loves you and came to give His life for you! He came and lived the perfect life, died a sacrificial death, and rose again on the third day so that you might live forever with Him. That is good news! The different types of ground are different types of people who hear the Gospel. Now let’s look at each individual type of ground and see what effect the Gospel had on it. (1.) The way side ground. This is the ground that was not prepared for the Gospel, or someone who doesn’t understand the preaching of the Word of God. If a person doesn’t understand, then the Gospel doesn’t have any effect upon them, thus Satan, represented by birds in this passage, comes and devours the Gospel before they have a chance to think on it and become convicted by it. This would probably be a person who is too busy to listen to the Gospel thereby not taking the time to understand it. (2.) Rocky ground. This is the person who receives the Gospel, is saved, but doesn’t take the time or put forth the effort to grow in the Lord. They are saved, but when trials or persecution comes along, they quit serving the Lord. (3.) Thorny ground. This is a person who is saved when they hear the Gospel, but allows the cares of this world to overcome them and never produce fruit. This person is one who is always worrying about the things of this world and not of the next. (4.) Good ground. This is the person who is saved and produces fruit. They have accepted Jesus as their Saviour and are doing the things He wants them to do, like witnessing to others, and so forth. They are the ones who are presenting the Gospel to others, thus becoming the ones who sow the seed.
In verse 9 Jesus said Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Jesus is essentially saying that whoever has ears let him hear, or understand, the parable of the sower. Do you have ears? Do you understand what Jesus is teaching?
In conclusion today we have seen the parable of the sower. We have seen different types of ground and the effect seed has upon it. Note, the seed is the same for each type of ground, meaning the Gospel is the same for each individual, it is just that the ground has changed. Which type of ground are you? Are you the one who has heard the preaching of the Gospel, yet don’t understand, and have never given your life to Jesus? If so, I urge you to turn to Him before it is too late, repenting of your sins and trusting Him to save you for all eternity. Or are you the type that has been saved (stony ground) yet when trials and persecution came along you turned away from Him? If so, I urge you to turn back to Jesus, availing yourself of the promises that He will never leave you nor forsake you no matter what the circumstances. Or are you the person who has been saved, but has never done what Jesus asked you to do (thorny ground)? If so, why not tell others about Him? Someone had to tell you, so why not pass it on? I pray that we are all the good ground, producing fruit like Jesus wants us to. Which type of ground are you?
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Post by Paws on May 4, 2010 22:23:52 GMT 12.75
Reminds me of Facebook's Farmville! The farmer never quits sowing even though the rains come and wash away the seed or the rains are withheld and the soil bakes. Don't quit! Our tasking was given to go into all nations preaching the gospel..... Don't look back; just foward. ;D Keep on sowing.
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 10, 2010 11:12:36 GMT 12.75
Matthew 13:10-13 (King James Version)
10. And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11. He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing hear not, neither do they understand.
As usual, a short review before we get into our passage for today. Last time we begin a new area in our study of Matthew; the study of the parables of Christ. We will be looking at these parables for quite some time, and I am looking forward to it. Last time we looked at the parable of the sower and what it meant. We saw that Jesus compared every one to a different type of soil. Those who hear, but don’t understand the Gospel and are never saved was compared to unprepared, or untilled, soil. Those who hear the Gospel and are saved, but fall by the wayside because of persecution are compared to rocky soil. Those who are saved but let the cares of the world over come them are compared to soil with weeds in it. And those who are saved when they hear the Gospel and do the things that Jesus desires of them are compared to soil that is good and prepared for the seed. Today we are going to continue our study of the parables of Christ and see what we can learn. I pray that each one who reads this is learns to be better servants for the Lord because of what we learn.
In verse 10 the first thing we need to notice is that Matthew wrote And the disciples came, and said unto Him. The word disciples in this instance indicates the 12 Apostles. The word came is the verb and is the action of this phrase. But does this mean that the disciples were not present when Jesus spoke the parables? NO! The disciples were there but the way this verse reads tells me that they asked Jesus a question privately afterwards. The question they asked was Why speakest thou to them in parables? If we were to put this in modern English we would say that the disciples wanted to know why Jesus spoke to the people in parables. And it was a valid question. I believe the disciples asked in such a manner that indicated to Jesus that they really wanted to know the answer. Since Jesus had never spoke to the people in this manner before, the disciples desired to know why He did so now. We find Jesus’ answer in the next verses, and I will get into that in a moment. But what I want us to key on now is that the disciples came to Jesus and asked a question. Folks, we can ask Jesus any question just like the disciples did and He will answer it. We can go to Him in prayer and through the conviction of the Holy Spirit we will receive an answer. Now it won’t be in an audible voice, yet we will receive an answer. Another thing I want us to look at in this verse is the word parables. This is the plural form of the word and it means more than one. So in other words, the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to the people in more than one parable. Folks, this happened after Jesus talked to the people in multiple parables, not just one. We have looked at just one parable so far in our study, therefore Matthew skips other parables, but comes back to them later, and puts this now. I believe the reason Matthew wrote it this way is so that we might understand it better.
In verse 11 we see the beginning of Jesus’ answer to the disciples concerning why He spoke in parables. Jesus said Because it is given unto you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For us to better understand these verses we need to go back to the basics. Who is Jesus speaking to? His disciples! What were the disciples? The first church! Therefore the word you signifies the church. In other words the church was given the understanding of these mysteries of heaven. Who makes up the church today? Those who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour and have been scripturally baptized by a local New Testament church! So we can break it down even further and say that the saved are the ones who are given understanding of the mysteries of heaven. By this same reasoning the word them in the latter part of this verse is referring to the lost, or those who have not accepted Jesus as their Saviour. Next we need to look at the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. First we need to define what the kingdom of heaven is. It is Jesus! This is one of the official titles of Jesus and since we have gone over this before I will not go into it today. But what are these mysteries of Jesus? Are they things we can not comprehend today? NO! The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are things that only a saved person can understand, like the love of Christ, loving your brethren, and so forth. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour understand these things, or should. Can a person tell another about the love of Jesus if the first person has never experienced it? NO! You have to experience something before you can tell others about it. Do you understand the mysteries of Jesus?
As we look now at the first part of verse 12 we see that Jesus said For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. What is Jesus speaking of? He is speaking about understanding! Let’s break this down a little more so that we may get a better grasp of this. For whosoever hath means the ones who have accepted Jesus as Saviour or, as I like to put it, the saved. To him shall be given is speaking of understanding. And he shall have more abundance is speaking of growing in the Lord. Therefore Jesus is saying that we who have accepted Him as Saviour will be given understanding of His teachings so that we can grow and mature in Him. How is this understanding given to us? By the Holy Spirit! A lost person can not sit down and study the Bible and understand it. They do not have the love of Christ in their life, nor do they have the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit to understand it. By that same logic, a saved person SHOULD be able to sit down and study the Scriptures and understand what they mean. Does this mean that we can understand everything about God when we are first saved? NO! We have to grow and mature in Him just like a child grows up in life. When you were born, were you walking and talking immediately? NO! You had to grow and learn. It is the same way in the life of a child of God. They should grow and learn more about Jesus daily. Are you growing and maturing in Him? In the latter part of verse 12 Jesus said but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Jesus didn’t switch subjects in the middle of the verse so we have to use the same reasoning we used in the first part of this verse. Whosoever hath not is speaking of those who have not accepted Jesus as Saviour, or the lost. The phrase from him shall be taken away even that he hath is speaking of a limited knowledge, but not acting upon, the love of Jesus. To put it a different way, those who don’t accept Jesus as their Saviour, what little knowledge they have of His love, will be taken away if they don’t act upon it. This is speaking of the cares of this daily life. If a person is told about Jesus, and doesn’t act upon it, meaning accept Him as Saviour, then what little knowledge they have concerning the love of Jesus will fade away due to the cares and concerns of this world. This is why it is so important for us to continue witnessing to the lost, so that they will come to a point in time when they realize that they need a Saviour and act upon it. Are we telling others about Jesus?
In verse 13 Jesus breaks it down for us a little more. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing hear not, neither do they understand. The phrase Therefore I speak to them in parables is basically saying this is why Jesus is talking to the people in parables now. The people saw, but didn’t see, and they heard but didn’t hear. The people that Jesus was witnessing to didn’t understand what He was saying therefore He started speaking in parables so that they would understand. We are to do the same thing! When we are witnessing to someone, we need to tell them about the love of Jesus in a way that they will understand, not in a way that confuses them. This is why I preach and teach the way I do, so that you might understand the Scriptures better. Are we telling others about Jesus in a way that they can understand?
Today we have seen the reason why Jesus began speaking to the people in parables. We have seen that those who have accepted Jesus as Saviour should grow in Him daily, understanding more and more about Him. We have also seen that those who have not accepted Jesus as Saviour can not understand and that what limited knowledge they do have will fade away if we don’t keep telling them about Him. We have also looked at the way we are to witness to people which is simple and to the point, not confusing them. Are you growing in the Lord daily? Are you telling others about Him? Have you accepted Jesus as YOUR Saviour?
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Post by Toby Benoit on May 10, 2010 18:04:34 GMT 12.75
I wrestled with that question myself in the past; "why is Jesus talking in parables?" I used to think it was to make it harder to understand him. Them that was true followers would figure it out, ponder it, and eventually get it. Them that wasn't true believers would get frustrated and walk away. Seemed to me after a while though, that he was trying to ensure that he covered all His bases when it came to getting His point across so that no matter how much of a doof a guy might be, there was atleast one way He could get that man to understand him. Now you give me something else to chew on. I gotta read it through anothe time or two to make sure I'm understanding you. Thanks Pastor!
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Post by Paws on May 11, 2010 0:53:09 GMT 12.75
There is indeed a clean division between "knowing" and "not knowing." I suppose that is how we can be sure that we are called. Thank God that He calls everyone. One of my favorites is told in the hiring of the workmen who came at different times of the day yet at the end of the day they all received the same wage. This tells me that we having accepted Jesus as Lord and having called on His name regardless of our stage or time of life will share in the same reward, that being; eternal life with Him in Heaven. ;D
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 24, 2010 10:41:12 GMT 12.75
Matthew 13:14-17 (King James Version)
14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
If you will remember, last time we looked at the beginning of Jesus’ response to the disciples question of why He was speaking to the people in parables. We saw how that people who have accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour can understand the things of God and those who do not cannot. Today we are going to look at the rest of Jesus’ response and learn more about how to be better servants for Him.
In verse 14 the first thing we need to do is define who Jesus is speaking about when He used the word them. Some have said that this word refers to the parables, but if you read in verse 15 you will find out that it doesn’t. The word them in this instance refers to those who have rejected, or have not accepted yet, Jesus as their personal Saviour. Looking at the first part of verse 14 we find that Jesus said that these people who have not yet accepted Him or have outright rejected Him have fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which is the New Testament spelling of Isaiah. This prophecy comes from Isaiah 6: 9, 10. We will look at this prophecy in detail in a moment, but first I want you to notice one thing. I want you to notice what Jesus is saying. He is saying that these people who have not accepted Him, or even outright rejected Him, are fulfilling prophecy that was written about 700 years prior to His coming. Each of these people had a choice to either accept or reject Jesus. Those who didn’t accept Him were fulfilling prophecy! God knows each persons heart, and He knows whether or not a person is going to be saved. But He still gives each person a free choice. By rejecting Him as Saviour these people were fulfilling prophecy without even knowing it. Are you fulfilling prophecy? Another thing that I need to point out is that this is an ongoing message from the Lord. This concerned the people Of Isaiah’s day, the people who heard the Lord, and the people of today.
As I stated earlier, we will look at the prophecy of Isaiah in detail. To do this, we will need to look at the last part of verse 14 and all of verse 15. To better understand this prophecy we need to have a general overview of Isaiah chapter 6. In Isaiah 6 we find what is commonly called the call of Isaiah to be a prophet. Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a throne and was afraid because he had unclean lips. In other words, Isaiah realized that he was not holy enough to be in the presence of the Lord even though he was a saved man. An angel touched a live coal to Isaiah lips, signifying the removal of unconfused sins, and then Isaiah heard the Lord asking who would go and preach the Gospel to the people. Isaiah volunteered to go, and the Lord gave him this message and prophecy. Now that we have a basic overview of Isaiah chapter 6, it is time to look at the message that the Lord gave to Isaiah. In the latter part of verse 14 Isaiah prophesied that the people would hear but not understand and see but not perceive. Let’s take these one at a time. 1. By hearing ye shall hear but not understand. This phrase brings to my mind a child. This child is told to do something, yet doesn’t understand why they need to do it. And since this child doesn’t understand what they are doing, they don’t do it. They hear with their ears, yet they don’t comprehend or understand what the other person is telling them. 2. And seeing ye shall see, but not perceive. This is the same concept as the previous. This concept brings to my mind an old saying that I’m sure all of you have heard before. It is not seeing the forest for the trees. These people see with their eyes, yet they don’t understand exactly what they are seeing.
As we continue to look at this prophecy in verse 15, the first thing we need to do is define a couple of words. There are waxed gross. As I looked at these words in my concordance and expository dictionary, I came to realize that these words represent a term and have to be taken together. This term signifies to thicken, fatten, and in the passive voice to grow fat. In other words the peoples hearts become hardened due to the repeatedly hearing of the Gospel and continued rejection of the conviction of the Holy Spirit and it didn’t affect them anymore. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. When I was pastor at Maple Springs, I had an elderly deacon. I was preaching about the coming of the Lord and after services one Sunday he made a comment that I found disturbing. He said that he had heard all his life that Jesus’ coming was imminent yet since He hadn’t come back yet he was beginning to think that Jesus never was coming back. His heart was becoming hardened to the truth! Folks, we should never become like that. We should be like a child in this aspect, having a tender heart, always following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Do we have a tender heart? In the next part of verse 15 Isaiah wrote that the peoples ears had become dull of hearing and their eyes were closed. The people had heard the preaching of many prophets, and had heard for centuries that Jesus was coming, yet they had grown tired of hearing that message and had stopped listening. They had seen with their own eyes the Son of God standing right before them, yet they didn’t see Him for who He truly was. Have you stopped listening or seeing? In the last part of verse 15 we find a great promise. Lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. When the people see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, they will be converted, and the Lord will heal them. Glory Hallelujah! This is exactly the way I was saved! I saw, by faith, with my eyes Jesus nailed to the cross for my sins. I heard someone tell me that I needed a Saviour and that that Saviour was Jesus. And I understood in my heart that I was a sinner and needed to repent of my sins. I was converted, from a child of the devil to a child of God, when I asked Jesus to save my soul, and I was healed, not of a physical ailment, but of the eternal punishment of sin, eternal separation from God. Have you availed yourself of this great promise?
In verse 16 Jesus told His disciples, But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. If you will recall, in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we learned that the word blessed means spiritually prosperous. So Jesus said that the disciples were spiritually prosperous because they had seen Him with their own eyes and had heard Him with their own ears. They saw and understood what they were seeing, they heard and had understood what they were hearing. It is still the same way today! I am blessed with eternal life in heaven because I saw, by faith, and understood what I was seeing. I heard the preaching of the Gospel and understood that I needed a Saviour. Are you spiritually prosperous today?
In verse 17 Jesus told His disciples That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. The disciples got to see things that men throughout the ages had desired to see, the Son of God. They had heard what men since Adam had desired to hear, the Son of God speaking. These prophets and righteous men had not been blessed to see Jesus in the flesh, yet they saw Him by faith, like I have. These men had not been blessed to hear Jesus speak in a literal voice, yet they heard Him by faith like I have. The disciples were blessed above all men because of what they got to see and hear, and all of them except one died a martyr’s death. Each of their lives were changed because of what they saw and heard. My life was changed because of what I saw, by faith, and heard, by faith. Has yours?
Today we have seen the second part of Jesus’ response to the disciples question concerning why He started speaking in parables. We have seen Jesus quote from the sixth chapter of Isaiah and we have looked at the in detail. We have seen how the disciples were blessed because of what they had seen and heard. Are you blessed too? Have you seen by faith what Jesus did for you on the cross at Calvary? Have you heard that He loved you so much that He died for you? Have you placed your faith in Him to save you for all eternity?
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Post by Toby Benoit on May 24, 2010 16:17:12 GMT 12.75
"My life was changed because of what I saw, by faith, and heard, by faith. Has yours?" Yes sir! And I know I'm a better man for it! ;D
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Jun 1, 2010 10:17:40 GMT 12.75
Matthew 13:18-23 (King James Version)
18. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19. When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he that received seed by the way side. 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. 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. 23. But he that receiveth the seed into good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
As usual, a short review before we get into our verses for today. We have started looking at the parables that Jesus spoke to the people. We looked at the parable of the sower, and a short description of what this parable meant. We have also looked at why Jesus started speaking to the people in parables and the fulfillment of prophecy. Today we are going to look at Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower and see what we can learn. May you be as richly blessed as I was when I studied this.
In verse 18 we find the reason the following 5 verses are placed in the Scriptures. It is the explanation of the parable of the sower to the disciples and to us. If you will recall, Jesus spoke this parable to the people while He was on a small ship just off the coast or beached on the sand in the Sea of Galilee. It is my belief that He spoke many parables to them that day, and later the disciples came to Him and asked why He started talking to the people in parables. Jesus answered their question and then He gave the explanation of the parable of the sower to the disciples. The longer I think about it the more I am convinced that Jesus gave this explanation later on, maybe a day or so, and it was only to His disciples, not the whole multitude of people that were following Him. The reason I think that is because of where this explanation falls in the Scriptures. It is after His explanation of why He started speaking in parables. Another thing we need to go over before we get into the heart of our study is why Jesus gave this explanation to the disciples. It is so that they would not misunderstand this parable! If a person just casually read this parable they could come to an understanding of the Scriptures that is totally different than the one that Jesus gives us. I could read this parable without reading Jesus explanation and teach several falsehoods, but after I read and studied this explanation there is no way I could teach these falsehoods. This is why Jesus gave us this explanation! It is so that we will teach the truth.
In verse 19 we get into the first part of Jesus’ explanation of this wonderful parable. In this verse Jesus explains the seed falling by the way side in this parable. The first thing we need to look at is the phrase When one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not. What is the word of the kingdom? It is the Gospel! We have gone over this before but it never hurts to go over it again. The Kingdom of Heaven is one of Jesus’ official titles. Therefore the word of the kingdom is the preaching of Jesus or the preaching about Jesus. We call this the Gospel or good news. The pharse when one heareth is speaking of a person who hears the Gospel preached. It could be a man, woman, or child. The phrase understandeth it not is speaking of someone who does not accept Jesus as Saviour, be it man, woman, or child. If we tie all of this together we will come to the conclusion that Jesus is referring to a lost person as the way side or unprepared ground. In the next part of verse 19, Jesus said then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. There is only one being in the universe that is referred to as “the wicked one” and that being is Satan. Before time began, when Satan decided that he wanted to be God, and tried to overthrow God, he became the wicked one. He was cast out of heaven and through him sin came into this world. Catcheth away that which was sown in his heart refers to a person hearing the Gospel and before they can think on it Satan comes and removes it from their heart by causing them to think on other things. I have seen this time and again and I’m sure you have too. The Gospel is preached to a person who needs to accept Jesus as Saviour, but they let the cares of this world rule their thoughts and they don’t think about what they just heard. Therefore they don’t accept Jesus as Saviour. Are you like this? When you hear the Gospel preached does Satan cause you to think on other things?
In verse 20 and 21 Jesus changes the type of ground. This time it is stony or rocky ground. This is a saved person as noticed by the phrase the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. This person has hear the Gospel preached and has received it into his heart and with joy has accepted Jesus as Saviour. But this person doesn’t serve the Lord like a child of God should. They are a faithful servant for a while, but when trials and tribulations come they quit serving the Lord. Again, I have seen this happen just like you have. A person accepts Jesus as Saviour and is on fire for Him, but when things happen in their life because of their stand for Jesus, they roll over and quit. Oftentimes this is a young convert or someone who doesn’t take the time to study the Scriptures. They accept Jesus as Saviour, then when they try to tell others about Jesus or their salvation, they are ridiculed and put down. After a while they quit serving the Lord because of this ridicule and are like a plant that is planted in rocky ground. They have no root depth and during the heat of the day they wither away. Are you like this type of ground? Have you quit serving the Lord because of things that has happened in your life?
In verse 22 Jesus changes the type of ground He is speaking about again. This time it is thorny ground, or ground that has not had weed killer sprayed on it. Again, this is a person who has accepted Jesus as Saviour, as evidenced by the phrase becometh unfruitful. A person can not bear fruit unless they are a child of God and the word becometh refers to an action. These were fruitful, or producing fruit, yet they let the cares of this world influence them and quit producing fruit. I have seen this too. A person is saved and is working for the Lord. They allow the things of this world, such as making a living or acquiring riches, influence their way of life and they stop serving Him. It could be that this person has decided that they have to work on Sundays and stops going to church. They have decided that they need or want certain worldly goods and put these goods before their service to the Lord. Before long, they stop telling others about Jesus and stop serving Him altogether. Are you like this?
In verse 23 Jesus again changes ground. This time it is the good ground He is talking about. This person is saved and they are a good and faithful servant for the Lord. They are producing fruit and are serving Him like they should. But notice, not all produce the same amount of fruit, yet all produce some. Some produce more than others, some less, but all produce fruit. This is a person who is saved and stays the course no matter what they circumstances. They don’t let the cares of this world influence them, nor do they let their eyes get off the prize that they are hoping to attain, which is a reward in heaven. Are you like this person?
One thing I need to point out before I finish. Three of these types of ground were saved people, and one was not. No where in this parable do I find that the ones who were not producing fruit were ever tilled up. They did not lose their salvation! They were still saved although they had stopped producing fruit.
Today we have seen Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower. We have seen the 4 different types of ground and their meaning. Everyone is one of these types of ground. Are you the way side or unprepared ground? If so, then I urge you to allow Jesus into your heart today. Are you like the rocky ground and have quit serving the Lord due to trials in your life? If so, I urge you to start serving Him again. Jesus will make it worthwhile in the end. Are you like the ground that has thorns in it? Have you stopped producing fruit for Jesus? If so, I urge you to turn your eyes back to what is important, Jesus, and start serving Him again. Or are you lie the good ground, producing fruit for Him? If so, I urge you to keep on keeping on, producing fruit, and serving Him. What type of ground are you?
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Post by Toby Benoit on Jun 2, 2010 6:37:43 GMT 12.75
"One thing I need to point out before I finish. Three of these types of ground were saved people, and one was not. No where in this parable do I find that the ones who were not producing fruit were ever tilled up. They did not lose their salvation! They were still saved although they had stopped producing fruit."
I think I understand why, but I'm not real clear on it. Seems like if a feller's really saved, he'll live for Christ and be fruitful, but if he falls out of it and is led astray to follow the devil's work...once saved ain't ALWAYS saved, right?
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Jun 2, 2010 21:05:01 GMT 12.75
I think I understand why, but I'm not real clear on it. Seems like if a feller's really saved, he'll live for Christ and be fruitful, but if he falls out of it and is led astray to follow the devil's work...once saved ain't ALWAYS saved, right? Wrong! Once saved ISalways saved!
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Post by Snake Eyes on Jun 3, 2010 0:58:41 GMT 12.75
[/quote]\Wrong! Once saved ISalways saved![/quote]
Brother, Without exception,always!! Always is like never,could never happen.....I am guessing you treat Judas as he never accepted Christ...Was a disbeliever...and was in it for the money.. Sorry,but that is BS. He fell to pressure & fear and not greed. In the end I think he showed that. Somebody had to give Christ up,if not Judas some other person close to Christ....Jesus Christ was not sent here by the Father to fail. Judas did his job,Pilot did his,Jews did theirs and the Roman soldiers did theirs. If this were not the Father's plan,then Jesus would still be with us....HMM
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Jun 3, 2010 10:54:02 GMT 12.75
Yep, Judas was never saved. He was treasurer of the first church but was just in it for the money. He was used by God to fulfill His purpose, just like Piliate was. Each of them had a chance to be saved but rejected Jesus as Saviour and was later used by God to fulfill His will.
Toby, Look at it this way. You have said before that Chicken, Fred, and ,I think you said, George were all adopted by your parents. When they became part of your family they became your family for all time, not just for a short while. They have all the rights and privileges of the Benoit's. Our family life is modeled after Giod's family. He has only one full blooded Son, Jesus, and the rest of us who are saved are His adopted children with all the rights and privileges that brings. Just like Chicken is your sister from now on, so are we chilkdren of God from now on. And nothing can change that fact! No matter what you do, like murder or rape, you will still be a child of the Benoit's. The family of God is like that too! No matter what we do we who are saved are still in the family of God. We might loss our rewards, but never our salvation. Clearer?
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Post by Snake Eyes on Jun 4, 2010 1:37:44 GMT 12.75
Yep, Judas was never saved. He was treasurer of the first church but was just in it for the money. He was used by God to fulfill His purpose, just like Pilate was. Each of them had a chance to be saved but rejected Jesus as Saviour and was later used by God to fulfill His will. Bro. Freddie, See hear is where I get confused....Jesus was not the Saviour, until He died on the cross.All else prior to that was guided by the will of God the Father.So Pilot had no choice,Judas had no choice,and the Roman soldiers were guided by Rome,and had no choice. See why some might be a little confused...Trust me I believe in God the Father,Jesus his Son,and the Holy Spirit.But most of my belief is on faith, and not words written in a book that all interpret,to fit their needs......I guess you would consider me the devils advocate... for me!!!
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Jun 4, 2010 10:56:48 GMT 12.75
Bro. Freddie, See hear is where I get confused....Jesus was not the Saviour, until He died on the cross.All else prior to that was guided by the will of God the Father.So Pilot had no choice,Judas had no choice,and the Roman soldiers were guided by Rome,and had no choice. See why some might be a little confused...Trust me I believe in God the Father,Jesus his Son,and the Holy Spirit.But most of my belief is on faith, and not words written in a book that all interpret,to fit their needs......I guess you would consider me the devils advocate... for me!!! Jesus has been the Saviour for mankind before the world was ever created. The only difference between my salvation and Adam's was that he looked forward in time to the cross and I look back to the cross. We both were saved by grace through faith. All had a choice, even Pharoah. They each made a choice, and they choose the wrong one.
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Post by Snake Eyes on Jun 5, 2010 6:59:18 GMT 12.75
;D Well I can certainly see why you are Bro Freddie. Can't believe what you preach.But I would defend your right to preach it. I honestly believe that the way to a happy life is to embrace Christ and to love the Father.....seems far to many times folks forget the Father........
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Post by Paws on Jun 5, 2010 8:31:42 GMT 12.75
I am the way, the Truth and the Life.... No one comes to the Father but by Me.
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Jun 14, 2010 12:47:29 GMT 12.75
Matthew 13:24-30 (King James Version)
24. Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which 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 blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? 28. He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29. But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
If you will recall, we have started studying the potion of Matthew where a lot of the parables are recorded. We have looked at the parable of the sower, Jesus’ explanation of that parable and the reason why He started talking to the people in parables. Today we are going to look at the parable commonly titled The Parable of the Wheat and Tares. Jesus’ explanation of this parable can be found in Matthew 13:36-43. While I mainly want to concentrate on our passage of Scripture, I will have to touch on these verses also. Ready to get started? I am, so let’s go.
In verse 24 the first thing we need to notice is the phrase Another parable put He forth unto them. We have looked at the definition of a parable before but it never hurts to look at it again. A parable is a story or a saying about common ordinary things that the people knew about, but with spiritual applications. It is different from a fable because a fable gives things attributes that they normally don’t have, like a fox talking and things like that. A parable uses everyday things to explain spiritual things. The word them in this part of our verse is referring to the multitude of people that were following Jesus. Some say that this word refers to the disciples, but I don’t think so. If Jesus had wanted to teach just the disciples He would have taught them in such a way that only they would understand. Therefore I believe that this word refers to the multitude. The next thing we need to identify in this verse is the phrase the kingdom of heaven. I have stated this before, but like the definition of a parable, it never hurts to repeat yourself when defining words. The kingdom of heaven is one of Jesus’ official titles. When I was in the U.S. Navy and a high ranking dignitary came aboard the ship, a bosun’s mate would pipe them aboard and announce them by title instead of their name. An example would be if the President of the United States came aboard. He would be announced over the loud speaker system as United States, arriving or when he left as United States, departing. The same thing was for captains of other ships and so forth. They were never announced by name but by title. It is the same way with Jesus. Kingdom of Heaven is His title! Another thing that I want to point out is the word likened. This is the Old English way of saying something is like something else. In verse 24 Jesus said that He, shown by the phrase Kingdom of Heaven, was like a sower of a field or a farmer, if you will. Jesus was placing Himself in this parable as the one who sowed the seed or as the farmer. Before we go any further I need to point out one thing. The sower of this passage is the same as the sower in the parable of the Sower, but these parables don’t mean the same thing. The parable of the Sower was talking about the 4 different types of people that hear the Gospel while this parable is speaking about the lost and saved together. Don’t get the two parables confused! Getting back to verse 24, we see that this man sowed good seed in his field. If we were to put this in terms that we might better understand we would say that this farmer planted seed in his field that was free of weeds and other contaminants. It may have been gone over by someone who knew what the seed that the farmer wanted to plant looked like and they took other seeds that the farmer didn’t want in his crop out. But this seed that the farmer planted was pure and free of other seeds.
In verse 25 we find that something happened to the field that the farmer planted with this good seed. The phrase But while men slept signifies that what happened occurred at night. What happened was that an enemy of the farmer came at night, planted tares in this farmers field along with the wheat (good seed) and left. A tare is a plant that is not suitable for human consumption that is grown along with the wheat or barley. The most common tare in the Holy Land is the bearded darnel which is nearly indistinguishable from wheat as they are growing but readily identified once the grain is ready to harvest and is poisonous to humans. So we can see that this enemy of the farmer was a vicious person who wanted nothing more than to kill or harm the farmer and others who consumed this crop. And he did this foul deed at night so that he wouldn’t be found out!
In verse 26 we see a small time lapse in our parable. When the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit tells me that however long it takes for wheat and the bearded darnel to grow and to show their true nature has passed since the field was planted by the farmer. The wheat in Palestine was planted in November or December after the early rains and was harvested in April, May, or June. So there was a time lapse of 5 to 8 months between the planting of the wheat and the harvesting of the wheat. All this time the bearded darnel was being cultivated along with the wheat. It was receiving the same water as the wheat, the same fertilizer, the same care and attention because no one knew that it was planted among the wheat until harvest time.
In verse 27 we see the servants of the farmer’s reaction. When the bearded darnel was discovered growing among the wheat they came and asked the farmer if he had planted seed free of contaminants or not. In fact, the servants asked the farmer why bearded darnel was growing in his field along with the wheat. These two questions were designed to inform the farmer that something was not right in his field and that a poisonous plant was growing alongside the good plant.
As we look at verse 28 we see the farmer’s reaction to the information that a poisonous plant was growing along with the good plants and another question from the servants. Let’s look at the farmer’s reaction first. This farmer, when informed that the bearded darnel was growing with the wheat, immediately knew that an enemy of his was the one responsible for this foul deed. He knew it wasn’t a friend because a friend would never do something this heinous therefore it had to be an enemy. Can you imagine the disappointment this farmer felt? As his crop was growing he could look across the field and see what he thought would be a great harvest of wheat. Then, when it was getting close to harvest time, he was told that all the crop growing wasn’t fit for human consumption. It must have been a great disappointment to him. Now let’s look at the servant’s third question to the farmer. They asked if he wanted them to go ahead and gather the crop. They were asking the farmer if he wanted to destroy the crop along with the bearded darnel and lose all his hard work and profit. The farmer had invested time, hard work, and money in this crop and now the servants were asking him if he wanted to lose it all. This was a logical question and needed to be asked. It was a question that the farmer was going to have to answer by making a decision concerning his crop.
In verse 29 and 30 we see the farmer’s decision concerning this matter. He told the servants to leave the bearded darnel in with the wheat until harvest time. The reasoning behind this decision was that the farmer still wanted a harvest of wheat. There was no way that the servants would be able to go through the field and weed out all the bearded darnel without destroying some of the wheat also. So he told them to leave it alone until harvest time, which wasn’t far off, and then the ones who were to gather the crop, (the reapers), would gather the bearded darnel together and burn it, but they would put the wheat harvest into his barn, or storage shed. The reapers would go through the field gathering the wheat and storing it for later consumption, then they would go back and gather the bearded darnel and destroy it in a fire so that it would not contaminate future seed.
Now, let’s look at the spiritual applications of this parable. In verses 37 through 43 of this same chapter of Matthew, Jesus gives us the explanation of this parable. We will look at that in detail in a later sermon, but we have to look at it in general now. First let’s identify all the different people mentioned in this parable. The farmer is Jesus, the field is the world, the servants and reapers are the angels, the enemy is Satan, the wheat is the saved, the tares are the lost, and the harvest is the end of the world. The saved and the lost will inhabit this world until the time is right for the harvest. When the time is right, the time of harvest, Jesus will come back for His children and gather them together unto Him. He will then instruct His angels (reapers) to gather together the lost and destroy them in the fire. This fire is the lake of fire and brimstone where the lost will be tormented for eternity while the saved will be with Jesus for all eternity.
Today we have seen a great parable that Jesus spoke to the people. We have seen the earthly side of it and we have seen a portion of the spiritual application. My question to you is simple. Are you a wheat or a tare? Are you a child of Jesus, or a child of Satan? What will happen to you when Jesus comes back for His children? Will you go to be with Him? Or will you be in the fire for eternity? Only you can make this decision. I pray you make the right one.
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 20, 2013 23:33:08 GMT 12.75
31. Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field. 32. Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. By way of introduction, we have been looking at a few of the parables that Jesus spoke unto the multitude that was following Him. We have noticed previously that Jesus was on a ship, possibly beached on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and had begun talking to the people in parables. We have looked a the parable of the Sower and the parable of the Wheat and Tares. Today we are going to look at the parable of the Mustard Seed, and see what the Lord would have us to learn. In verse 31 the first thing we need to look at is the phrase “ Another parable put He forth unto them”. If you will look back at the beginning of this chapter of Matthew you will find that Jesus left a house where He was teaching the people and walked to the seaside, which was on the Sea of Galilee. There, because of the large number of people that was following Him, He boarded a ship and started speaking to the people in parables. This ship was probably a fishing vessel and was probably beached upon the sand. There Jesus started talking to the people in parables and, as we have learned, spoke more than one parable to the people. In this chapter of Matthew there are 8 parables recorded that Jesus spoke to the people at this time and we will look at them all. But why is it important to note that Jesus spoke more than one parable to the people? Because He is the Master Teacher! Folks, often times we think that Jesus climbed up on this ship, spoke one parable, then climbed down and left. That is simply not the case! He spoke more than one, and taught the people totally and completely. We should be the same way! We should be willing to talk to others about Jesus and His love for us for an extended period of time, not just a few moments. Can we? The next thing we need to look at in verse 31 is the “ grain of mustard seed”. There are 3 different types of plant that might be the mustard that Jesus is referring to. All I can find out about two of them is their scientific names. The other was, and still is, grown for condiments and has seeds that are hot flavored. It is possible that this plant is used for making the mustard that we use, but I’m not sure. What I do know is that these plants have very small seeds, at one time thought to be the smallest in the plant kingdom. As we look at the last part of verse 31 we find that a farmer took this small seed and planted it in his field. I can only think of two different reasons why a farmer would do this. Either he wanted to make a spicy spread, like the mustard that we use today on hot dogs, or he wanted a plant that put off and aromatic odor and was pretty to look at, sort of like the sunflower we see planted in fields today. What ever the reason, Jesus used this hypothetical farmer as an example. In verse 32 we find that Jesus said that this mustard, while having very small seeds grows into the greatest among herbs and that the birds come and lodge in it. The only picture I could find of a mustard plant shows this plant to be quite tall and with a large trunk for a plant. It is possible that this plant grows to a height of about 20 feet and has a trunk circumference of about 2 feet or so. That is what I see when I looked at the picture. But this is not a tree! A tree grows much slower and is much larger. One important thing to note is that Jesus said that the birds lodged in the branches, not nested. The birds didn’t make their home in this plant, but simply rested in it, looking down at the ground for either insects or other seeds. The birds find rest in this plant! This will be significant when we get into the spiritual aspects of this parable. Now, let’s look at what Jesus meant when He spoke this short but wonderful parable. There are two different thoughts to this, but I think only one is the proper interpretation. The first thought is that this is referring to heaven itself. Some scholars have declared that heaven is small and expands when needed. They say it sort of grows just like a mustard plant. It is possible that this is what Jesus meant, but I don’t think so. I think this parable has a twofold meaning and is referring to Jesus and His love. If you will look back at verse 31 we see that Jesus used the words “ kingdom of heaven”. We have discussed before that this is a title for Jesus and I won’t go into that again today. Using the logic that one of Jesus’ official titles is the kingdom of heaven, we can determine the meaning of this parable. Jesus is like the mustard seed. He started out small, a baby, and grew into a great plant that people can find rest in. What do I mean? When I was saved all I knew was that Jesus loved me and that He gave His life for me. I found rest in Him, just like the birds find rest in the mustard plant. I believe that this parable is also referring to Jesus’ love and our love for Him. As I grow and mature in Jesus, I find that my love for Him grows more and more each day. My love for Him started out like a grain of mustard seed, small and insignificant. But as I learn more about Him, I grow in Him, and my love for Jesus grows, just like the mustard plant. Today we have looked at the parable of the Mustard Seed and what I believe it is referring to. My question to you today is this. Do you know the love of Jesus? Have you experienced His love for you? If not, then I urge you by faith to turn unto Him, repenting of your sins, and trusting in Him to save you for all eternity. Turn to Him before it is too late. Read more: ohiocampcooks.proboards.com/thread/3439/matthew-13-31-32##ixzz2R00IjID3
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Post by Toby Benoit on Apr 21, 2013 5:10:39 GMT 12.75
Bravo!!!
Ya know back in the olden days, mustard was a BIG Apothecary. It was one of the most valued herbs used for antibiotics and astringents.
I've turned to Him many times when i'm just at my wits end... I take rest and let Him handle it for me. I can't say I always like the results, but I trust it's his plan. However, I've yet to be able to say I haven't gotten a response! Even the unanswered prayers, given time, reveal themselves to be blessings!
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 27, 2013 8:18:33 GMT 12.75
I know it isn't Sunday, but I have another sermon note ready to post. Due to my hectic schedule I will post as they become available instead of waiting till the weekend. Thank you for your consideration.
Bro. Freddie
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