The Kingdom of Heaven, Matthew 13, Day 41, Feb 10, | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Pearls

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
An illustrative parable. Wheat and weeds growing together. Let them. God will sort out the wheat, and destroy the weeds in his own time.
Weeds, zizanion, is probably darnel, a weed that resembles wheat in its early growth, but is easily distinguished in maturity.

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

³¹ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
God conquers your heart and calls you to dwell in the Kingdom of heaven, little by little. It comes into your heart like a mustard seed, but will eventually feed and shelter many.
ESV–Israel was not prepared for the insignificant beginnings of the Kingdom of God so this image would have shocked the listeners.
The Kingdom of God would spread throughout the world, and believers from all nations would find rest in it.

³³ He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
A little bit of the yeast of Christ can change a lot in one’s life, and circumstances.
Like yeast in bread, the conversion of an individual to a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, to becoming Christ’s man or woman, is active, though not fully visible at first, since it begins with an inner transformation of the heart.
NIV Yeast here is a symbol of growth. As yeast permeates dough, so the kingdom of heaven spreads through a person’s life. Or it may signify the growth of the Kingdom by the inner working of the Holy Spirit, using God’s word.

³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. ³⁵ So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

Why parables? They means more. We each fill in the gaps with our own experience. They grow in richness with us.

And for Jesus, teaching to hostile crowds, parables provided safety. He wasn’t talking about the Pharisees, for heaven’s sake. He was talking about wolves in sheep’s clothing.

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
ESV The Parable emphasized the supreme value of the hidden treasure.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The essential nature of discovering Jesus is that he becomes all in all. He doesn’t do well as being one among a host of other Gods.

The nature of the Kingdom–of living in the world as if one is in heaven, living under the Kingship of Christ, is that one slowly “sells” more and more things for the sake of fellowship with him, to gain him, for his undisputed Lordship over one’s life.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷ “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Good and evil live together until the time of judgement.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

⁵² He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
ESV They understand how the “new” revelation of Jesus fulfills the old promises of the Old Testament.

A Prophet Without Honor

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴ Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. ⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

⁵⁸ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
They thought he was a jumped-up hometown boy. They did not see the marvelous and miraculous in and about him. And so, he did no miracles there, did not cast his pearls before swine.
Jesus aligns himself with the OT prophets who had revealed God’s will for the people of Israel but had consistently been rejected by them.
The Spirit does not force his miracles on a hostile skeptical audience.
Matthew’s gospel frequently stresses the close relationship between faith and miracles.