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Walking on Water, Part 2

matthew-the-kingdom-of-heaven

Walking on Water, Part 2

Matthew 14:22-36

Matthew’s theme is that Jesus is the Messiah-King. As He walked this earth, our Lord’s message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” The subject of Jesus’ teaching was the kingdom of God. And in all of His preaching, He clearly showed Himself to be the long-awaited Messiah-King who fulfilled the prophecies of scripture. He had sent His apostles out to proclaim that same message of the kingdom and confirmed the gospel with miracles, signs, and wonders. He had compassion on the people, healed their diseases, and freed many from demonic possession. And yet, He had to rebuke the very places where He had taught and worked (Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum), because they would not repent at His teaching (Matt. 11:20-24). The religious leaders of the day resisted His teaching, demanded signs from Him (Matt. 12:38), and sought to kill Him (Matt. 12:14). Even His own family (Matt. 12:46-50) and the people of His hometown resisted and rejected Him (Matt. 13:53-58). King Herod reacted to news about Jesus with misunderstanding and superstition (Matt. 14:1-2). The multitudes that He fed misunderstood His mission—forcing Him to separate Himself from them because they sought to make Him into their earthly provider (John 6:15). Even Jesus’ own disciples failed to recognize Him as He walked out to them on the sea—fearing that He was a ghost (Matt. 14:26).

Remember, in this section of Matthew, that Jesus, having taught about the kingdom of heaven, is now concentrating on training His disciples in kingdom ministry. In the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus taught them that He is the Lord, the Messiah-King, who is able to work through them to do kingdom ministry when they trust in Him. But did they learn the lesson? Immediately after Jesus used them to feed the multitude, He sent them across the lake against a windstorm. And so, in our last lesson, we saw …

1. The disciple’s problem (Matt. 14:22-24)

They found themselves at their wits’ end without Jesus. Jesus deliberately sent them off on a journey that He knew would prove very frustrating to them, which would drain them of all their own personal resources. He did this so He could then illustrate to them—and to us—that He is far above those things that frustrate us. Jesus is building their faith in Him.

Then we saw…

2. Jesus’ presence (Matt. 14:25-27)

Finally, after they strained at the oars for hours against the wind, Jesus comes to them, walking on the water. The disciples are terrified. They think Jesus is a ghost, But Jesus comes saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I: do not be afraid.” (Matt. 14:27), revealing Himself to be Lord and Savior, the One who is above all their frustrations and fears. “What a profound lesson about God’s protecting love, when without human resource, when there is no way, He makes the storm His path to save His own.”[1]

Now when Mark and John wrote about this in their Gospels, the Holy Spirit led them to end the story with Jesus entering the boat and the disciples’ amazement. But Matthew goes on to tell us about something else that happened before then because the disciples need to learn what God can do through them when they trust in Jesus.

Which brings us to…

3. Jesus’ provision (Matt. 14:28-32)

Matthew tells us that Peter said, “Lord, if it is You . . .” What was Peter doing here? Was Peter doubtful? He and the rest of the disciples were certainly terrified. They were seeing a man walking on the water, after all. He looked like the Lord, He spoke like the Lord. Maybe, Peter thought, there was one way to be sure it was Jesus, and that was by walking on water to Him at His command. And so, Peter said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” (Matt. 14:28).

Peter certainly was impulsive, but I believe it was an impulse prompted by faith in Jesus. Peter was not putting Jesus to the test, something we are told not to do (Matt. 4:7). Jesus’ presence in the storm emboldened Peter to exercise a fearless faith. Peter overcame his fear and attempted the impossible.

As a commercial fisherman, Peter had spent a lot of time in boats out at sea. He knew how impossible it was to walk on the sea. I’m sure he knew better than to try stepping out of the boat unless Jesus commanded him to do so! And so, the Lord said, “Come” (Matt. 14:29), and Peter threw one leg over and onto the water, then the other, and soon he was walking on the water toward Jesus. Can you imagine the faith it took for Peter to step out of the boat? Can you imagine what he must have been thinking when he first touched his foot to the water and then put the rest of his weight onto it?

We may be tempted to criticize Peter a bit for his lack of faith as we see what happens next, but it’s important to point out that at least he got out of the boat! That took more faith than most of us would exercise. Most of us would stay in the boat and wait for Jesus to come to us! When Jesus says, “Come,” you’d better come. In Peter’s case, he was safer out on the water with Jesus than in the boat without Him.

Peter is an encouragement to me because we often find him saying or doing big, bold things for Jesus, and then immediately messing up right after. Peter walks on water with Jesus, then he sinks and needs to be saved. Peter makes the great confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16). Then when Jesus explained His impending suffering and death, Peter rebuked the Lord, speaking the words of Satan, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (Matt. 16:22). At the last supper, Peter pledged to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matt. 26:35). And we all know how that ended—with Peter in bitter tears after denying three times that he even knew Jesus (Matt. 26:75). Peter is a great encouragement for imperfect believers like you and me who sincerely want to follow Jesus but who are constantly falling flat on our faces. God used Peter. He can use us as well.

Now, as long as Peter’s eyes were fixed on Jesus, he did fine. He walked on water. But the fact is that Peter turned his gaze from Jesus. Matthew 14:30 says, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’” The moment he began to focus on the wind that was blowing, and on the waves that were thrashing around him—in other words, the moment he focused on his circumstances rather than on Him who walked above them all—Peter began to sink.

And so, he does the only thing he can do. He prayed a simple prayer, but a great prayer. He cried out, “Lord, save me!” And Jesus does! “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him,” before he sank down beneath the surface of the waves. Then Jesus said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:31). “You of little faith” is only one word in the Greek: “Little-faith.” It’s like a nickname. Jesus called Peter “Little-Faith.” “Little-faith, why did you doubt?” He was not rebuking Peter for attempting too much, but for trusting too little.

One of the details that I love the most about this story is found in the fact that Matthew tells us that “they” got back to the boat (Matt. 14:32). Jesus didn’t just leave Peter in the water, nor did Jesus walk back to the boat, dragging Peter under the water behind Him. I believe that Jesus raised Peter up and they walked together. Then, as soon as our Lord and Peter got back into the boat, Matthew tells us “the wind ceased” (Matt. 14:32). Once again, Jesus confirmed to them who He is—that He is the Lord who has authority over even the winds and the sea.

Ray Fowler points out some lessons we can learn from Peter here.[2] First, there is the lesson of faith. When you trust Jesus, God can do through you the most amazing and marvelous things. Then, there is the lesson of focus. Faith is keeping your eyes on Jesus. It’s not easy to keep your eyes on Jesus in the middle of the night, when the raging storm of fear threatens to overwhelm you. But don’t lose your focus! Keep your eyes on Jesus, not on your problems. And then thirdly, there is the lesson of forgiveness. God loves and forgives you even when you fail. Even when you lose faith, even when you lose focus, you just need to call out: “Lord, save me!”, and Jesus is right there to help you back into the boat.

The main point of the whole episode comes now at the end …

3. The disciple’s praise (Matt. 14:33)

Matthew 14:33 says, “Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly, You are the Son of God’” Matthew DOESN’T say “They thanked Him saying, ‘We would have died without You.’” Matthew says they “worshiped Him.” Though they had a long way to go in their spiritual understanding, the disciples were growing in their faith in the Lord. And so, for the first time in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ disciples confess that He is the Son of God. Their worship is joined to their confession.

Jesus is the promised Messiah-King and the disciples recognize and declare His deity. There is no other way possible that Jesus could have done what He did—walking on the sea, saving Peter, and calming the storm. It was not only a demonstration of His divine power, but also of His divine love and care for the disciples. The proper response to Jesus is to worship Him.

Let’s remember who Jesus is and worship Him. Let’s remember that, in our times of frustration, in our times of fear, and even in our times of weak faith, He is the Son of God. He is in control of all of life’s circumstances. He comes to us walking on the water. Let’s listen to His voice, lovingly, compassionately calling out to us in those tough times—in the times of frustration, or fear, or weak faith—and saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I: do not be afraid.” Let’s be very sure that we keep our focus on this One who walks above it all.

As we do, we will be ‘walking on the water’ with Him.

Finally, Matthew concludes this section with a summary Jesus’ …

5. Ministry to the people (Matt. 14:34-36)

34 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well. (Matt. 14:34-36).

Jesus has just taught His disciples a lesson about His divine nature, His awesome power, and His saving love. He is training them to trust Him. Now He teaches them another faith lesson. He demonstrates, again, His kingdom ministry to which He calls them. These verses not only give us the assurance that Jesus lovingly and graciously rewards any expression of faith that is placed on Him, but it also teach us what we who have placed our faith in Him for salvation should do to draw others to Him as Savior.

The people of Gennesaret took four simple actions that become a pattern for us in kingdom ministry.[3] First, they recognized Jesus. They recognized Him and His power to transform lives. Kingdom ministry begins with recognizing Jesus for who He is. Do we truly believe that Jesus is the only hope for men and women who are broken and ruined by sin?

Second, they sent out the word about Jesus. Once the men of Gennesaret recognized that it was this miracle-working Jesus who had stepped onto their shore, “they sent out into all that surrounding region” with the news of His arrival (Matt. 14:35). They spread the news. Nobody had to compel them to spread the word. It is the natural response of those who believe in the power of Jesus.

Then third, they brought needy people to Jesus. The people of Gennesaret sent out into all that surrounding region, and “brought to Him all who were sick” (Matt. 14:35). In other words, they sought out and brought those to Jesus who could not have brought themselves to Him—those who “had it bad”. It was a tremendous act of love and mercy for them to bring the needy. And as a result, Jesus graciously gave them what they needed.

The people of Gennesaret recognized Jesus when He came, spread the news about Him throughout the surrounding region, and then took the initiative to bring helpless people to Him.

Then finally, they plead with Jesus. Matthew tells us that those who brought the needy to Jesus “begged Him that they [that is, the people in need] might only touch the hem of His garment.” They probably got that idea from when Jesus healed the woman with the flow of blood who touched His garment in Matthew 9. Jesus told her, “your faith has made you well” (Matt. 9:22). Jesus didn’t have a magic robe that healed people when they touched it. Jesus responded to their faith with His mercy and compassion and made them perfectly well. He saved them thoroughly.

This highlights one of the most important things we can do for the needy people we bring to Jesus—to plead with Jesus on their behalf. Are you praying to Jesus, pleading with Him to save that family member or friend who is sick with sin? Recognize the power and compassion of Jesus to save them. Spread the news about Jesus. Bring the needy to Him. And plead with Jesus on their behalf. What a lesson in kingdom ministry!

Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, who walks on the sea above all our frustrations, fears, and failures. Have you come to Him for salvation? Do you worship Him? Are you bringing others to Him?

——————————————————————

[1] John MacArthur, Worship the Son of God, Part 2, https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/2310/worshiping-the-son-of-god-part-2

[2] Ray Fowler, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/when-the-going-gets-tough/

[3] Greg Allen, Bringing People to Jesus, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/031107.htm

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Walking on Water

matthew-the-kingdom-of-heaven

Walking on Water

Matthew 14:22-33

Today, We come to another familiar story in our study of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus walking on the water. Which would be so utterly amazing to us, had we not heard the story many times over. This episode in the life of Jesus has left its impression on the mind of the world.  Still today, we describe someone who is very gifted or successful as “able to walk on water.”  But we mean the phrase only metaphorically.  No one can literally walk on water. But Jesus did. And the point of the whole episode comes at the end when the disciples worship Jesus saying, “Truly You are the Son of God” (Matt. 14:33).

We said last time that this section of the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 14-17, focuses on Jesus training His disciples for kingdom ministry. Jesus does many miracles in this section, but these miracles have less to do with proving Himself to the crowds, and far more to do with Jesus teaching the twelve. We saw this last time as Jesus fed the five thousand. Jesus wants to do kingdom ministry through His disciples. So He pressed them to the end of themselves and their resources to reveal that kingdom ministry must be done according to His will and in His power.

Now, Jesus gives His disciples another hands-on ministry learning session. This lesson also will bring the twelve to the end of themselves. They find themselves tormented by the waves and the wind against them (Matt. 14:24). The Gospel of Mark tells us that when Jesus finally joined them in the boat, “… they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.” (Mark 6:51-52).

They didn’t learn the lesson Jesus was trying to teach them when He fed the five thousand. So now, He is teaching them again. Jesus wants to grow their faith in Him. And one of the ways Jesus grows our faith is through difficult circumstances. In those trials, we learn things about God’s love and power that we would never understand in any other way. Sometimes, the Lord puts us in difficult situations so we will learn to trust Him more.

So first we see…

1. The disciple’s problem (Matt. 14:22-24)

Here’s the setting. It’s late in the day (Matt. 14:14). Jesus has just performed the great miracle of feeding the multitude—5000 men, plus women and children—with five loaves and two fish (Matt. 14:13-21). The Gospel of John tells us that the crowd was so enthralled by this miracle that “they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king” (John 6:15). But Jesus, knowing that their enthusiasm is shallow, refuses them. The Lord knew that their motives were not spiritual and that their purposes were out of God’s will. Instead, Matthew 14:22 tells us, “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.” When it says Jesus made them get into the boat, the verb means He compelled or drove the disciples. Jesus got them out of there forcefully and quickly. If the disciples had stayed, they would likely have fallen in with the plans of the crowd for a popular uprising. But that was not Jesus’ plan.

He sent them “to the other side” of the lake away from the crowds and their superficial enthusiasm. Matthew 14:23 tells us, “And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.”  Jesus went up alone into the mountain on the eastern side of the lake to pray, to commune with His Father. The masses were wild with enthusiasm and the disciples misunderstood Him. The Father alone was what Jesus longed for at this time.

Meanwhile, what are the twelve doing? They are in a boat on the lake, and Matthew 14:24 says, “But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.” It should have been a short boat ride across the northwestern corner of the lake. They started in the evening, perhaps hoping to get to their destination before it got too dark. But now, they are “in the middle of the sea”, a long way from land, and not at all where they intended to be. Their little fishing boat was “tossed by the waves” because the wind had kicked up and was against them. Imagine trying to row against the wind on a storm-tossed sea in the middle of the night! They have been straining at the oars for hours (Mark 6:48).

And the worst part? Jesus is not with them. Back in Matthew 8, they had also been on the in a boat in a storm on the sea. The boat was being covered by the waves and the disciples thought they were about to perish. But Jesus was with them, asleep in the boat. When they woke Him, desperately calling out, “Lord, save us!”, Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm (Matt. 8:23-27). But this time, they are alone. Maybe they are thinking, “if only Jesus were here, He could rebuke the wind and calm the sea!” But there they are, alone, blown off course, exhausted, and buffeted by the waves on the sea.

And why are they there? Jesus sent them there. No doubt, Jesus knew a storm was brewing. He knew the torment they would face on the sea. They were in this storm because they were obedient to Jesus. As we read our Bibles, we discover that two kinds of storms: storms of correction, when God disciplines us; and storms of perfection, when God helps us to grow. Jonah was in a storm because he disobeyed God and had to be corrected. The disciples were in a storm because they obeyed Christ and had to be perfected. MacArthur writes, “Jesus knew of their situation long before it happened, and He did not have to rush away from prayer in order to be on time to help. The storm and the disciples were equally in His hands, and He knew in advance exactly what He would do with both.”[1]

They are in Jesus’ spiritual boot camp. He is training them in faith. Adrian Rodgers says, “Jesus is an unusual teacher. He gives the test first and the lesson afterward.”[2] Jesus sat upon the mountain in prayer for hours—perhaps occasionally looking up to see how, off in the distance, the disciples were rowing frantically and fighting against the winds; and yet, did nothing to change the winds in their favor. Matthew tells us that it grew to be the fourth watch of the night (Matt. 14:25), which would have made it about three or four in the morning.

Jesus deliberately sent them off on a journey that He knew would prove very frustrating to them, and that would drain them of all their own personal resources. Why did He not come to them sooner? Jesus’ seeming delay was not due to indifference or inability. As remarkable as it may seem, I believe it was because Jesus wanted them to first exhaust themselves of every resource of their own. He did this so He could then illustrate to them—and to us—that He is far above those things that frustrate us. That He is with us and in control of all things even when we cannot see Him. He wants to build our faith in Him.

Which brings us to point 2…

2. Jesus’ presence (Matt. 14:25-27)

Matthew 14:25 says, “Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.” What a wonderful statement! “Jesus went to them.” He knew their need and He came. Spurgeon wrote, “Jesus is sure to come. The night wears on and the darkness thickens … He comes in the teeth of the wind, and on the face of the wave. Never fear that He will fail to reach the storm-tossed [boat]: His love will find the way. Whither it be to a single disciple, or to the church as a whole, Jesus will appear in His own chosen hour, and His time is sure to be the most timely.”

Jesus comes, “walking on the sea”, demonstrating His power over nature and His own true nature as the Son of God. In the Old Testament only God walked on the water and had power over the sea. Job 9:8 says of God: “He alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea.” And so by this miracle Jesus was showing that he is truly God. Later on, the disciples will acknowledge this when they worship Him in the boat saying: “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matt. 14:33).

Why did Jesus walk on the water? To show His disciples who He is and what He can do with them when they trust Him. I believe that’s what Jesus was doing with the disciples. And I believe that’s what He often does with us. In order to teach us about His own sufficiency in our lives, He will often send us off in a direction that He knows will frustrate us—into a situation that will take us to the end of ourselves and leave us feeling as if we’re getting nowhere. And then, Jesus comes, walking above it all. He sends us into the storm because He loves us and knows how bad it is for us to rely on our own strength and resources. He wants to wean us of our trust in ourselves, and to learn to trust Him alone.

But in their struggling faith, the disciples don’t recognize Jesus right away. Matthew 14:26 says, “And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear.” Matthew tells us that they were “troubled”; but I suspect that was something of an understatement. It didn’t register to them that it was Jesus walking toward them. Rather, as Matthew tells us, they were saying, “It’s a phantasma”—a ghost; some unearthly, inhuman apparition. No man could do what they were seeing. And if it isn’t a man, what is it? Matthew tells us that “they cried out for fear”.

Why did they not recognize Jesus? The answer is they were not looking for Him. Had they been waiting by faith, they would have known Him instantly. Instead, they jumped to the false conclusion that His appearance was that of a ghost. The point is this: fear and faith cannot live in the same heart, for fear frequently blinds the eyes to the presence of the Lord.[3]

Notice the contrast. The disciples are terrified. Jesus is calm. I don’t know what that scene looked like, but I don’t picture Jesus walking upon the water with great difficulty—as if He were struggling to keep His balance. I doubt He was leaping from wave to wave like a broad-jumper. No, He was just walking, calmly walking. As the wind was blowing and the waves were raging all around Him, He walked in the midst of it all with perfect calmness and peace. When He detected the fear in His disciples over the sight of Him coming, He immediately spoke to them and said, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” (Matt. 14:27).

First, He says, “Be of good cheer”—that is, take courage. We can take courage and be of good cheer—no matter what the troubling circumstances—because of what He says next: “It is I”. Literally, this is the Greek version of God telling Moses in Exodus 3:14 that His name is “I AM.” Jesus identifies Himself with the God who in the Old Testament miraculously delivered His people again and again. It’s not just that Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry. It’s me. I’m not a ghost.” It’s His way of saying, “I am the Lord God of the universe. I created the wind and the waves and I sent the storm.” We could never be of good cheer if it wasn’t Him. but because He is God and is always near, we can always be of good cheer—even in the most fearful of circumstances. And finally, He commands us, “Do not be afraid.” We can truly abandon all fear. We can truly be at peace. The circumstances are all in His mighty hands.

Now when Mark and John wrote about this in their Gospels, the Holy Spirit led them to end the story with Jesus entering the boat. But Matthew goes on to tell us about something else that happened before then. 

Which brings us to…

3. Jesus’ provision (Matt. 14:28-32)

Matthew tells us that Peter said, “Lord, if it is You . . .”. Isn’t that interesting? Was Peter unsure? Perhaps he was unsure. He was seeing a man walking on the water, after all. But I suspect that Peter thought there was one way to be sure it was Jesus; and that was by walking on water to Him at His command. And so, he said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” (Matt. 14:28).

Peter was not putting Jesus to the test, something we are told not to do (Matt. 4:7). Instead, he was the only one in the boat who reacted in faith. His impulsive request led him to experience an unusual demonstration of God’s power. Jesus’ presence in the storm caused Peter to exercise a fearless faith. Peter overcame his fear and attempted the impossible. But notice that he did so only with Jesus’ command to come. Notice also that he asked only to do what Jesus was doing.

Peter had spent a lot of time in boats out at sea. He may not have known too many things, but he knew better than to try stepping out of the boat unless Jesus commanded him to do so! And so, the Lord said, “Come”; and Peter threw one leg over and on to the water, then the other, and soon he was walking on the water toward Jesus. We may be tempted to criticize Peter a bit for his lack of faith in this story; but it’s important to point out that—at least—he got out of the boat while the others stayed in! That took more faith than most of us would exercise. Most of us would stay in the boat and wait for Jesus to come to us!

Now, as long as Peter’s eyes were fixed on Jesus, he did fine. He walked on water. But the fact is that Peter turned his gaze from Jesus. Matthew 14:30 says, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’” The moment he began to focus instead on the wind that was blowing, and on the waves that were thrashing around him—in other words, the moment he focused on the circumstances rather than on Him who walked above them all—Peter began to sink.

He prayed a simple prayer, but a great prayer: “Lord, save me!” And Matthew writes, “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”” (Matt. 14:31). “You of little faith” comes out to four words. But in the Greek Jesus only used one word: “Little-faith.” It’s a title or a nickname. Jesus called Peter “Little-Faith.” “Little-faith, why did you doubt?” He was not rebuking Peter for attempting too much, but for trusting too little.

And one of the details that I love the most about this story is found in the fact that Matthew tells us that “they” got back to the boat (Matt. 14:32). Jesus didn’t just leave Peter in the water, nor did Jesus walk back to the boat, dragging Peter under the water behind Him. I believe that Jesus raised Peter up and they walked together. As soon as our Lord and Peter got back into the boat, “the wind ceased” (Matt. 14:32). Once again, Jesus confirmed to them who He is—that He is the Lord who has authority over even the winds and the waves.

Ray Fowler points out some lessons we can learn from Peter here.[4] First, there is the lesson of faith. When you trust Jesus, God can do through you the most amazing and marvelous things. Then, there is the lesson of focus. Faith is keeping your eyes on Jesus. Don’t lose your focus! Keep your eyes on Jesus, not on your problems. And then thirdly, there is the lesson of forgiveness. God loves and forgives you even when you fail. Even when you lose faith, even when you lose focus, you just need to call out: “Lord, save me!”, and Jesus is right there to help you back into the boat.

The main point of the whole episode comes now at the end …

4. The disciple’s praise (Matt. 14:33)

Matthew 14:33 says, “Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly, You are the Son of God’” Matthew DOESN’T say “They thanked Him saying, “We would have died without You.” Matthew says they “worshiped Him.” Though they had a long way to go in their spiritual understanding, the disciples were growing in their faith in the Lord. And so, for the first time in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ disciples confess that He is the Son of God. Their worship is joined to their confession.

Jesus is the promised Messiah and the disciples recognize and declare His deity. There is no other way possible that Jesus could have done what He did, because it was more than just a demonstration of His divine power, but also of His divine love and care for the disciples. The proper response to Jesus is to worship Him.

Let’s remember who Jesus is and worship Him. Let’s remember that, in our times of frustration, in our times of fear, and even in our times of weak faith, He is the Son of God. He is in control of all of life’s circumstances. He comes to us walking on the water. Let’s listen to His voice, lovingly, compassionately calling out to us in those tough times—in the times of frustration, or fear, or weak faith—and saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I: do not be afraid.” Let’s be very sure that we keep our focus on this One who walks above it all.

As we do, we will be ‘walking on the water’ with Him.

I wonder, have you believed that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you worship Him? Has He saved you from your sin and yourself? Are you walking by faith with Jesus? Here’s what Jesus says to you, “Come!”

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[1] John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary-Matthew, Moody Publishers, p. 439.

[2] Adrian Rodgers, quoted on https://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew-14-commentary#14:24

[3] Got Questions, What was the meaning of Jesus walking on water?, https://www.gotquestions.org/walking-on-water.html

[4] Ray Fowler, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/when-the-going-gets-tough/

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Jesus Feeds the 5000

matthew-the-kingdom-of-heaven

Jesus Feeds the 5000

Matthew 14:13-21

Today, in our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we come to a very familiar story, the feeding of the five thousand. Many of us have heard this story read and taught since we were children. The downside of being so familiar with this passage is that we might be tempted to rush past it, thinking, “Yeah, I got it, nothing new here.” But what if you read this miracle story as if you were hearing it for the very first time? Instead of skimming over the words, your eyes would be glued to the page. Instead of dispassion, there might be exhilaration. You would be amazed at the compassion and power of Jesus. You might react like those men in the Gospel of John who saw this miraculous sign firsthand and said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14).

The feeding of the five thousand is arguably one of the most important miracles Jesus ever worked. Other than the resurrection of Christ, this is conceivably the most famous miracle in the New Testament. It is the one miracle Jesus worked that all four Gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—chose to include in their accounts.

Each of the Gospel writers emphasizes different aspects of the story. Mark’s account demonstrates the compassion of Jesus. He begins with, “And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd…” (Mark 6:34). Luke uses this miracle to set up the great question from Jesus about His identity. His account concludes, “So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”” (Luke 9:17-18). John moves from this miraculous sign to Jesus’ declaration that He is the bread of life, the Son of God “who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33). One reason the Holy Spirit ensured that this story is recorded four times is that it affirms to us that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in human flesh and the Savior of the world. He is the One we must trust for salvation.

Now, what about Matthew? What is his emphasis? To begin with, we must remember the theme of the Gospel of Matthew. His is the Gospel of the Kingdom. He presents Jesus as the Messianic King who comes in fulfillment of the prophecies of scripture to save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:23). Matthew wants us to think of the kingdom of Israel while he explains the kingdom of heaven.[1] In Matthew 13, Jesus taught His disciples the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in parables. Now, in chapters 14-17, Jesus gives His disciples on-the-job training in the work of the kingdom. This section is like Jesus’ kingdom boot camp. And the feeding of the five thousand is their first training session.

Matthew particularly shows how Jesus purposefully involved His disciples in this miracle. When the disciples want to send the crowd away, Jesus tells them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (Matt. 14:16). Jesus uses what the disciples have—five loaves and two fish (Matt. 14:17). He gives it to the disciples, the disciples give it to the people (Matt. 14:19), and the disciples take up twelve baskets of leftovers (Matt. 14:20). Matthew clearly makes the point that the ministry of the kingdom is a mission that Jesus wants to do with His disciples, and that their ministry is completely dependent on Him.

The structure of Matthew’s text suggests that his emphasis is on Jesus’ conversation with His disciples. Matthew begins with a transitional statement linking this event to the death of John the Baptist (Matt. 14:13a). Then he reports how the multitudes followed Jesus, and He showed compassion on them and healed them (Matt. 14:13b-14). The central part of the passage is Jesus’ interchange with the disciples (Matt. 14:15-18), followed by the miracle of the feeding (Matt. 14:19-20). The passage closes with a report of the magnitude of the miracle (Matt. 14:21).[2]

Following this structure as our outline, first we see…

1. Matthew’s Transition – Jesus withdraws with His disciples (Matt. 14:13)

Matthew 14:13 is a transition verse. The disciples of John the Baptist had come to Jesus and reported the news—not only of Herod’s murder of John but also of Herod’s fearful attitude toward Jesus as well. So, Matthew transitions, “When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.” (Matt. 14:13). We will notice as we study the next few chapters that, from this point on in Matthew’s Gospel, although crowds still follow Jesus, His ministry becomes less and less public. More than once, we will read that Jesus departed or withdrew (Matt. 14:13; 15:21, 29; 16:13). Mark 6:31 records that on this occasion, Jesus said, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”

Going forward, Jesus will direct much of His attention to the personal training of His disciples. Jesus didn’t withdraw to a deserted place because He feared Herod. No, He went there to spend time with the twelve—to refresh, teach, and train them. They needed to be prepared for kingdom ministry and to be ready to give their lives for it just as John the Baptist had done.

Here’s a good place to make a simple application. If we are going to be involved in kingdom ministry, we must spend time with Jesus, learning, loving, praying, and fellowshipping with our Savior. Do you spend time alone with King Jesus daily? Do you gather weekly with His church to worship and be equipped for kingdom service? One of my favorite times each week each Sunday I get here to my study around four in the morning to spend time with the Lord preparing for our corporate worship and praying for you.

If I had been one of the disciples, I’m sure I would have looked forward to spending some alone-time with Jesus. Instead, I imagine that the disciples were sadly surprised to land in a deserted place only to find a multitude of people had followed them on foot around the lake. So much for a quiet time of rest!

We have seen Matthew’s transition as Jesus departs to be alone with His disciples. Next, we see…

2. Jesus’ Compassion – Jesus heals the sick (Matt. 14:14)

Matthew 14:14 says, “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” (Matt. 14:14). Jesus was not bothered by the crowd. When He saw them, He didn’t resent them—far from it! Rather, “He was moved with compassion for them.” The word for “compassion” is very expressive. It means that Jesus’ whole being was stirred to its most profound depth for these people.

Mark and Luke both tell us that because Jesus had compassion for them, He spent the day teaching them about the kingdom of God (Mark 6:34; Luke 9:11). Matthew stresses Jesus’ compassion in healing those who were sick. Jesus cared about people’s needs—their spiritual needs and their physical needs. MacArthur points out that “Jesus postponed His rest, His privacy, His time alone with the disciples, and even His time with His Father in order to meet the needs of those helpless people who suffered.”[3]

As we said before, the healing ministry of Jesus was a sign to all that He was the Messiah and the fulfillment of scripture (Matt. 8:16-17; 12:15-21). And His healing ministry demonstrated His compassion. Jesus extended mercy to the hurting then, and He continues to do so today. Regardless of what state or situation you may find yourself in today, Jesus is moved with compassion and will extend mercy to you if you will receive it. You can bring your troubles to Him, and you will find sympathy, compassion, mercy, and love that heals your deepest hurts.

So, we learn about Jesus’ compassion. Next, we also learn that Jesus wants to show His compassion and mercy through His disciples.

So, next we see the …

3. Disciple’s Situation – Jesus involves them (Matt. 14:15-18)

Matthew 14:15 tells us the crowd’s situation and what Jesus’ disciples propose to do about it, “When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” The disciples saw the situation. They are in a deserted place, the people have no food, and it’s getting late. What they did not see is that the solution was right there with them, full of compassion, and ready to act. Did you notice the contrast between Jesus’ attitude toward the multitude and that of the disciples? Jesus welcomed them, but the disciples said to Jesus, “Send them away”. It may be that the disciples were just being practical about how to meet the needs of the crowd, but given the situation, I think they wanted a break. My guess is that they viewed the crowd as an annoying problem rather than, like Jesus did, people who needed compassion. So, the disciples give Jesus some advice, “Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

But Jesus does not take their advice. By the way, God never needs our advice. He knows all things and is Lord over all. We know that Jesus had the power to feed all the people without any help from the disciples. He could have called down manna from heaven like Yahweh did for Israel in the wilderness. He could have spoken the word and had a loaf of bread appear in each person’s hand. He could have called angels to distribute food to the crowd. Yet, Jesus does none of those things. Jesus surely knew what He was going to do. But His disciples don’t. And Jesus wants to involve His disciples in this miracle.

So, Matthew 14:16 says, “But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”” The emphasis in the Greek is on YOU—the disciples. Jesus challenged both the compassion and the faith of the disciples.

The disciples recognized the need. They understood what Jesus was asking them to do. But to them, it seemed impossible. But instead of saying, “Okay Jesus, show us how,” the disciples immediately start raising objections. They don’t have the resources to feed such a crowd. They say to Jesus, “We have here only five loaves and two fish” (Matt. 14:17). It was enough perhaps to satisfy the hunger of a little boy, but certainly not enough to feed a multitude of thousands of people. The situation was humanly impossible. In and of themselves, they couldn’t even begin to accomplish what Jesus was proposing. The disciples were focused on their insufficiency rather than trusting in their Master’s sufficiency. They overlooked the power of Jesus to do the impossible.

Isn’t it easy for us to do that as well? God calls us to do something big, like reach our community for Christ, and we get all hung up because we are looking at the obstacles instead of the mission. Remember, when God asks you to do something, He can do it through you! Otherwise, He would not have asked you.[4]

So, what do you do when God asks you to do something that is clearly beyond your means? In Matthew 14:18, Jesus says, “Bring them here to Me.” Bring what you have to Jesus. They had a meager five loves and two fish. Notice that Jesus didn’t ask them to produce what they didn’t have. He asked them to give Him what they do have. How many times have we made up excuses about what we don’t have, and we fail to offer to Jesus what we do have? “If I just had more money, I’d give regularly to the church!” “If I just had the gift of evangelism, I’d witness more!” “If I just had the ability that others have, I’d serve the Lord.” “If I just …”! Listen, the Lord doesn’t use what you don’t have. He uses the inadequate things you have when you yield them to Him.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, nothing good will ever come from anything we can do apart from Jesus. Jesus Himself said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But nothing will be impossible if we take stock of what little resources we have, and then humbly, personally, relationally obey Jesus’ command, “Bring them here to Me.”[5]

That is the disciple’s situation. Now we see …

4. God’s Provision – Jesus feeds the multitude (Matt. 14:19-20)

Look at what Jesus does. Matthew 14;19-20 says,

19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.

First, Jesus had the multitudes sit down. Mark tells us that they sat in ranks, in hundreds and fifties (Mark 6:40). Second, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them. He gave thanks to God for His provision—even if that provision seemed small and insignificant in human eyes. With God’s blessing, even the insufficient becomes sufficient. And third, He broke and gave the loaves. He divided it up and distributed it through His disciples.

Just think of that! They were the very ones who were complaining that all this was impossible. Now Jesus uses them to feed the multitude. I have no doubt but that, as they distributed the increasingly multiplied food, their sense of wonder and awe over Jesus multiplied as well. And as a result, everyone had a feast—both literally and spiritually. Jesus provided all that they needed—and more!

Did you notice how many leftovers they gathered up after everyone was satisfied? Twelve baskets full. Remember, there are 12 disciples. So, what’s happened here? They take the five loaves and two fish that Jesus blessed, broke, and gave. The disciples take their basket with portions that Jesus broke and they go around and feed this mass of humanity. When they’re done feeding everyone and the disciples return, their baskets are still full! They had more food at the end than they had at the beginning!

Why are there twelve baskets full? In the Old Testament, the number twelve is most associated with the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. Matthew is giving evidence that Jesus has come as the promised Messiah-King of Israel. Jesus is setting up a new Israel, a new kingdom, with these twelve disciples. As Messiah, Jesus is able to meet all the needs of the nation. Just as God provided manna for twelve tribes of Israel in the wilderness, even so, Jesus provides for His people in the wilderness.

But there’s more than that going on here. Think about where “bread” has been mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew so far. In Matthew 4, Jesus went out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1). And what did the devil say to Him? “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matt. 4:3). Jesus wouldn’t do that because He lived in obedience to the word of God (Matt. 4:4) and didn’t have to prove who He was to Satan.

But Jesus does give evidence that He is the Son of God to His disciples. And one of the ways He proves it is when He makes bread right there in the wilderness where there is no bread. Jesus would not do what the devil tells Him to do, but, in His compassion, Jesus does provide bread to feed a hungry crowd. And in doing so, He proves that He is the Son of God.

This crowd came seeking Jesus, following Him into the wilderness and He fed them. What did Jesus teach in the Sermon on the Mount? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6). They hungered after the Lord and He filled them. He satisfied them. The bread was a physical manifestation of His spiritual provision.

In Matthew 6:11, Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Why? Because through Jesus, your Heavenly Father provides bread—everything that you need for life and godliness. He is the provider of bread. We are to ask God for it and look to Him to provide.

Jesus satisfies completely and abundantly. The people leave fuller than a Thanksgiving dinner. And Jesus leaves twelve baskets full of bread for His disciples. There are a lot of parallels between the feeding of the five thousand and Psalm 23 in the Old Testament – you know, the Psalm that begins, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,” (Psa. 23:1). In Psalm 23, David describes the Lord as His shepherd who guides him, leads him to rest, lays him down in green pastures, and provides for all his needs until his cup runs over. And that’s exactly what Jesus does for the people here in Matthew 14. He has compassion on them because they are like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). He guides them, teaches them, sits them down in the green grass, and provides for their needs until the baskets overflow.

Thus, we see God’s provision. Then finally we see the…

5. Miracle’s Conclusion – Jesus fed 5000+ (Matt. 14:21)

In Matthew 14:21, we read, “Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” This is the first we hear of the massive number of the multitude. Now, if you had not heard this story over and over again since you were little, you would surely be thinking, “What! Are you kidding me? That really happened?” Listen! What Matthew wants us to do is to stand in awe of Jesus. This is a man who takes five loaves and two fish and feeds 5000 hungry men plus women and children!

Here’s the point that Matthew wants us to see: Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah-King, who is the Lord, our compassionate shepherd who shows mercy and provides salvation. And Jesus wants to use His disciples, and us, in the ministry of the kingdom. The lingering question is: Will we? Will we see the ministry of the kingdom as something Jesus wants to do through us? Will we take the message of Jesus, the Bread of Life, to a world that is starving for truth? I know, the mission is overwhelming. I know, the opposition is mounting. I know, our resources seem meager. I know, our little church appears insignificant to this world. But Jesus is with us! And with Christ, nothing is impossible. He commands, “You give them the gospel!” And He says about our meager abilities, “Bring them here to me!”  

So, in closing, what is God asking you to do these days? Has God laid a certain ministry idea upon your heart? Is He calling you to a closer walk with Him? Is He calling you to serve, or get involved, or be a member in this church? What needs is He showing you that need to be filled? How might God use you to fill those needs?

The disciples with their bread and fish were greatly used by the Lord. Before He could use them, however, they had to be placed in His hands. There are people here today who need to place their lives in the hands of the Master. Some need to come to Jesus for salvation. He died in your place to forgive the debt of your sin. He was raised to give you a new life. Repent and believe on Jesus today. Jesus works through His saved disciples to save the world. Come to Him, believe on Him, abide in Him, serve in Him, love in Him, do everything in Christ so that all the glory is to Him. What an awesome, compassionate Savior is Jesus!

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[1] Peter Krol, The Feeding of 5,000 According to Matthew, https://www.knowableword.com/2014/01/20/the-feeding-of-5000-according-to-matthew/ accessed 07/23/2024.

[2] Allen Ross, The Feeding Of The Five Thousand (Matthew 14:13-21), https://bible.org/seriespage/21-feeding-five-thousand-matthew-1413-21 accessed 07/23/2024.

[3] John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew, Moody Publishers, Chicago, p. 428.

[4] Ray Fowler, Give It to God, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/give-it-to-god/ accessed 07/26/2024.

[5] Greg Allen, Bring It to Jesus, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/021807.htm accessed 07/26/2024.

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The Death of John the Baptist

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The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12

Today, we begin a new section of the Gospel of Matthew. It is a narrative section, full of accounts of Jesus’ miracles and controversy over Jesus’ identity. Matthew’s Gospel, as you may remember, is the Gospel of the King. Matthew wrote it primarily for the Jewish people, and it presents Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah and King of the Jews. We just finished looking at Jesus’ third extended teaching section where He taught the crowds and His disciples parables of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13. At the end of Matthew 13, after the parables are completed, Matthew tells us that this King then presented Himself to the people of His own hometown of Nazareth. But they were offended at Him and didn’t believe on Him. Matthew 13:58 concludes, “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

This lack of miracles in Nazareth was significant because Jesus had been doing many mighty works throughout Galilee for quite some time. In Matthew 4, we read,

. . . Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan (Matthew 4:23-25).

In Matthew 8-12 we saw Jesus cleanse a leper (Matt. 8:1-4), heal a centurion’s servant of his paralysis (Matt. 8:5-13), and raise Peter’s mother-in-law from her sick-bed (Matt. 8:14-15). Jesus exercised authority over the wind and the waves (Matt. 8:23-27), over the demons (Matt. 8:28-34), and over sin, proving His authority to forgive sins by healing a paralytic (Matt. 9:1-7). He cured a woman of a life-draining flow of blood (Matt. 9:20-22), raised a dead girl to life (Matt. 9:18-19, 23-26), gave sight to two blind men (Matt. 9:27-31), and set freed a demon-possessed mute man so that he could speak (Matt. 9:32-33). Everywhere He went, He demonstrated compassion to people in need—“… teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matt. 9:35).[i]

And this leads us to the very first thing we find in Matthew 14 today. This new section of Matthew begins with a controversy over Jesus’ identity prompted by His miracles. News of Jesus’ miracles reached the ears of Herod, the king over Galilee. So we see…

1. Herod’s Fear and John’s Faithfulness (Matt. 14:1-5)

Matthew 14:1-2 says, “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.””  

Herod was the name of a number of related rulers that we find in the New Testament. Although they pretended to be kings of the Jews, the Herods were not strictly Jewish. They were Idumean, descendants of Esau from Edom. Herod the tetrarch, also called Herod Antipas, was the son of Herod the Great, the king who ordered the murder of the infants of Bethlehem in the account of Jesus’ birth (Matt. 2). Rome divided Herod the Great’s territory after his death and his sons governed these smaller territories. “Tetrarch” means ruler of a fourth—a fourth of a region.

Herod Anitpas began his rule shortly after Jesus was born and ruled over Galilee and Perea throughout the time of our Lord’s life on earth. He was the civic ruler over the region where Jesus grew up, worked, and did most of His public ministry.  

When Herod heard about Jesus and all the miracles that He was doing, he was convinced that Jesus was somehow John the Baptist come back from the dead. Matthew told us back in Matthew 4:12 that “John had been put in prison.” And in Matthew 11, we saw that John heard about the works of Christ from prison and sent his disciples to ask if Jesus really was the “Coming One” (Matt. 11:2-3). Now, in Matthew 14:3-12, Matthew gives us a flashback to what had happened earlier, telling us the rest of the story about John the Baptist. Here we learn that it was Herod who had arrested John and put in prison.

And we learn why. Matthew 14:3-4 says, “For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” The reason Herod arrested John was because John had confronted him about his sin of adultery.

Now, history shows us that the Herods were an incestuous and immoral family. But Herod the Tetrarch’s behavior in this case caused a scandal that was particularly shocking. Herod Antipas’ brother Philip had a wife named Herodias (who was also his neice, Herod the Great’s granddaughter). Herod Anitpas lusted after his sister-in-law Herodias. So, he divorced his own wife and convinced Herodias to divorce Philip. Then Herod Anitpas and Herodias eloped. So, Herodias divorced one uncle to get married to the other. It’s more scandalous than a soap opera! The conduct of Herod Antipas outright incestuous lust.

This is where John got into trouble. John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” What boldness this took! John, no doubt, knew what kind of a man Herod was, and he knew what Herod could do to him. But as Jesus once asked the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” (Matt. 11:7). No! John was no flimsy little reed shaking in the wind. He was a “a prophet … and more than a prophet” (Matt. 11:9)—A mighty wind who shook the ruler of Galilee!

John’s words so inflamed Herod  that he arrested John. Apparently, Herod wanted to put John to death. He wanted to silence that righteous tongue of his; and by doing so, silence the condemnation he received from the word of God. Matthew 14:5 says, “And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet” (Matt. 14:5). What Herod should have feared was the judgment of God. Instead, he feared the judgment of the crowds.  Many men today are just like Herod; they’re more afraid of the judgment of men than they are of the judgment of God.[ii] As we see later in this story, because Herod feared men and wanted to protect his reputation, he would do the despicable—order the death of God’s prophet.

So, we see Herod’s fear and John’s faithfulness. John had not only pointed faithfully to the law in order to declare sin, but he had also pointed faithfully to Jesus and declared, “… He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matt. 3:11-12). He declared that Jesus is the Messiah, the King, the Savior, and Judge.

John is faithful. Herod is fearful.

Next, we see…

2. Herod’s Weakness and Herodias’ Revenge (Matt. 14:6-12)

It was Herod’s birthday. Mark tells us that he threw a great feast, and all of the nobles and high officers and all the chief men of Galilee came (Mark 6:21). The wine, no doubt, flowed freely. Matthew writes, “But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod” (Matt. 14:6). History knows this girl as Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Philip her first husband and Herod’s brother. So Salome was, at the same time, Herod’s step-daughter, his niece, and his grand-niece.  

She “danced before them.” This kind of thing was never done by a member of the royal household. Dancing girls, in those days, were considered to be very immoral. And though we’re not told what sort of dancing Salome did, we can be pretty sure that it wasn’t ballet!

When she got done dancing, Herod made a drunken—and, I suspect, a somewhat lustful—promise to the girl: “Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask” (Matt. 14:7). Apparently, the girl then consulted with her mother, Herodias which resulted in the most notorious “dancer’s tip” in all of history. Matthew 14:8-11 says,

So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.” And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

Salome’s mother Herodias was bent on revenge. She hated John the Baptist for condemning their incestuous adultery. She wanted John dead, executed in a most gruesome manner. And she wanted it here and now.

Matthew tells us that Herod “was sorry”. But He was not sorry enough to change his mind, to repent. Herod was more concerned about keeping his drunken, hasty promise to the girl than he was about taking the life of the prophet of God. He was more concerned for admiration before men than he was about damnation from God. He feared men rather than God. So, to protect his prideful reputation, in fearful weakness, he gave the order and the dastardly deed was done. John the Baptist, faithful prophet and forerunner of the Messiah, is executed.

Now we understand why Herod was so afraid that John the Baptist had risen from the dead. When he heard news of Jesus and his mighty works, he was struck in his conscience with guilt and fear. Everything Herod did was out lust, pride, and fear. And now all he can do is fear what is coming.

Matthew concludes this gruesome tale by writing, “Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.” (Matt. 14:12). And with that, Matthew connects the death of John with the ministry of Jesus.

What can we learn from this passage?

I believe that this account of the death of John the Baptist is not included here simply to complete the story of John’s life. Matthew places it here because it is a magnificent, flesh and blood example of what the Lord had been teaching throughout the Gospel. John is a man who was persecuted for righteousness’ sake. He acknowledged Jesus before men and paid the price for it. Now he will receive the great reward in heaven that is reserved, Jesus said, for those who are persecuted for His name’s sake. John is an example to us of faithfulness unto death. Matthew shows us here what kind of people we ought to be.

Are we faithful and bold in our day the way that John was in his day? Can we be like John and not fear to denounce the sin of this world, saying, “It is not lawful . . .” Sin breaks God’s law and God’s heart. There is no other way for people to realize their need for a Savior until they realize that they are sinners against God’s law, and they need to be saved. Then like John, not just pointing out the sins of the world, but pointing them to the Savior, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). May God make us more like John—so bold and courageous in speaking the saving message of Christ to this world, that we are willing to suffer with Him for doing so. May He make us faithful to the end.

Herod reminds us that we live in a sinful, dark world of evil. John reminds us what our mission is in this fallen world—to faithfully proclaim Jesus no matter what it costs us.

John is also our example because his life and ministry reflect the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. John was the forerunner of Jesus and his death foreshadows the death of our Lord. The parallels are striking. A Roman ruler, Herod, was responsible for John’s execution. And another Roman ruler, Pilate, was responsible for Jesus’ execution. Herod feared the crowds because they believed John was a prophet (Matt. 14:5). The chief priests and Pharisees feared the crowds because they believed Jesus was a prophet (Matt. 21:46). John was seized and bound (Matt. 14:3) and Jesus was seized (Matt. 26:50) and bound (Matt. 27:2). Herod was asked by Salome to kill John and was grieved to do so (Matt. 14:6-11). Pilate was asked by the Jews to kill Jesus and was reluctant to do so (Matt. 27:11-26). John was buried by his disciples (Matt. 14:12). Jesus buried by a disciple (Matt. 27:57-61).

It’s really all about Jesus Christ. He came to die for our sins. He is King and Lord, risen from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the throne of God. He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Have you trusted in Him? Has He saved you? Believe on Him today. He will make you faithful unto death and give you the crown of life (James 1:12; Rev. 2:10).

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[i] Greg Allen, Two Kings, Matthew 14:1-14, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/021107.htm

[ii] Greg Allen, ibid.

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The Tragedy of Unbelief

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The Tragedy of Unbelief

Matthew 13:53-58

53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Today, we come to the end of Matthew 13. In this chapter, Jesus has taught both the crowd and His disciples in parables. The parables were about the kingdom of heaven—its beginning through the preaching of the gospel, its nature, its growth in the world, its immeasurable value, and its final and complete establishment at the return of Jesus Himself to earth.

The final six verses in Matthew 13 are a transition passage between Jesus’ parables of the kingdom and Matthew 14-17 which focus on miracles and opposition. In many ways what happens at Nazareth is an outworking of the parables Jesus has just shared. In the parable of the sower, Jesus taught that not all receive the gospel message, which is exactly what happens in Nazareth. In the parable of the weeds, Jesus taught that believers and unbelievers will live together in this world until Christ returns. The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast show us how God’s kingdom seems small and insignificant in the beginning, which we see in Nazareth when Jesus’ own hometown rejects Him. The parables of the treasure and the pearl teach that only those who treasure Christ truly receive Him. The people of Nazareth did not receive Jesus when He came because they did not honor or treasure Him. And then finally, the parable of the dragnet shows God’s judgment on those who disbelieve. This is prefigured by the lack of miracles in Nazareth due to their unbelief in Christ.[1]

Unbelief is deadly. Unbelief is the greatest stumbling block. Unbelief is the chief wickedness. Unbelief is the mother sin, the father sin, the parent sin…the sin of all sins is unbelief. It was unbelief that caused Eve to sin against God in the Garden of Eden. She failed to believe the Word of God. It was unbelief that unlocked the doors to the promised land and the Israelites did not go in the Bible says, because of their unbelief. It was unbelief that tied the hands of Jesus when Jesus was in His own hometown and the Bible says, He could do no mighty works there because of their unbelief and the sovereign God has limited Himself to work according to the faith.[i]

In the end, people who reject Jesus do not do so because the evidence for faith is not compelling enough. It’s not because the things the Scripture say about Him are not intellectually sound. When you really get down to it, people who hear the truth about Jesus and reject Him do so because of an unbelieving heart of disobedience toward God.

Jesus’ visit to His hometown of Nazareth teaches us that Jesus can be rejected even where He is best known, if unbelief abides in the heart.[2] How in the world can you hear Jesus teach, see Him grow up for thirty years in your midst in a little town, know that He has preformed miracles upon miracles that could never be refuted, and not believe?

Our passage this morning has a very simple structure. Jesus goes to his hometown. We see the people’s reaction to him, and then we see Jesus’ response. In this passage we see what the tragedy of unbelief does. It blinds the eyes, hardens the heart, and prevents salvation.

1. Jesus goes to Nazareth (Matt. 13:53-54)

Matthew 13:53 says, “Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.” “There” is Capernaum where Jesus had been teaching and doing many miracles. Where did He go? Matthew 13:54 tells us “When He had come to His own country…” That place—as Luke tells us in his Gospel—was Nazareth, where Jesus had spent His growing-up and early adult years.

Nazareth was a very small and humble town. The people who lived there would have seen Jesus up close and personal for a long, long time. The families of Nazareth would have grown up along with the members of His earthly family. Many people would have had children who played with Jesus, and with the other children of Mary and Joseph. He would have worked in the community in Joseph’s trade as a carpenter. Luke tells us that it had been Jesus’ custom to go to the synagogue of Nazareth on the Sabbath. Jesus was called a “Nazarene”. Nazareth could truly call Jesus their ‘hometown boy’.

Surely, the people of Nazareth had heard about all that Jesus was doing. In fact, when Jesus goes to their synagogue, they ask, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?” (Matt. 13:54). They heard about the things that He was doing and the miracles He had been performing in Galilee. When He came back to His hometown, we would expect that they would have a great celebration and that he would receive a hero’s welcome. When Jesus arrived in Nazareth, Matthew tells us that, “…He taught them in their synagogue…” Imagine how packed their synagogue would have been that day! What would Jesus—one of their own!—have to say?

Luke, in his Gospel, gives us an example of what Jesus was teaching them. He writes,

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Luke 4:16-19).

Jesus had read from a passage that the people of Nazareth would have known and loved. It was a passage from Isaiah 49 that spoke about the coming of the Messiah—the promised King of the Jews. But Luke goes on to say that something remarkable happened.

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:20-21).

No doubt, you could have heard a pin drop! Luke tells us that “… all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth”.

We have seen that Jesus finishes teaching His parables of the kingdom and returns to His hometown where He teaches in their synagogue. What was the reaction to Jesus?

2. The people react to Jesus (Matt. 13:54-57)

Matthew 13:54 tells us that, “…He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished…” At first, they were astonished. His words struck hard and left a deep impression.

The people were amazed or impressed by Jesus’ wisdom and power. But you know what? It doesn’t matter if you’re impressed with Jesus. A lot of people are impressed with Jesus. They are impressed by His teachings, captivated by His example, awestruck by His sacrifice. But it doesn’t matter if you’re amazed with Jesus. What matters is do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe He is the Son of God? And that’s where the people of Nazareth ran into a roadblock with Jesus.

But even though they were amazed and marveled at what He taught, their hearts were full of unbelief. So they asked, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” (Matt. 13:54-56).

Why did they bring up the subject of Jesus’ family? Because it lays the foundation of why they were astonished and why they questioned where Jesus had gained His power and teaching ability. Jesus had grown up in their midst. They knew Him as child and a young man. They knew He did not have formal religious training like the Rabbis – so how could He teach like He does? They had not seen Him do miracles when He was living in Nazareth – so where did this power come from? To the people of Nazareth, Jesus was just a carpenter that used to live there and the son of a carpenter whose family still lived there.

Matthew shows us that their familiarity with Jesus bred contempt. Matthew 13:57 says, “So they were offended at Him…” The word “offended” literally means that they stumbled at Him. As Paul put it, “. . . they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame’” (Romans 9:32-33). In Matthew 21:44, Jesus would say later of Himself, “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder”. It’s the same today. Jesus is not what people expect Him to be; and they either must be changed by Him, or they will take offense at Him. They either fall on Him, or He falls on them.

What was it that He said that was so offensive? I believe that what was offending them the most was what He was telling them about Himself. As you read the Gospels, have you been surprised by how many times that people get offended by Jesus? It happened a lot! And usually it was what He says about Himself that offended them the most. It put them at the point of decision. They either had to believe what He said about Himself, turn from their sins, and trust Him, or they had to refuse to believe what He said, and reject Him out of a hardness of heart.

Both the verb “taught” in Matthew 13:54 and the verb “offended” in Matthew 13:57 are in the imperfect tense, indicating a progressive action. This suggests that the more He taught, the more offended they became at Him. Look at our passage in Matthew, and you can see how that offense grew.

First, they didn’t believe in who He was presenting Himself to be. He was presenting Himself to be the Messiah—both in the things that He taught about Himself and in the things that He did. His teaching and His works were authenticating Him as their long-awaited King. But they wouldn’t receive Him as the King sent from God. They said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty miracles?” And people do the same today, don’t they? They refuse to make a connection between His divine words and divine works, and draw the conclusion about His divine identity.

Second, they wouldn’t accept His authority. They didn’t appreciate that His words placed Himself above them. They focused on His human-family as reason to believe that He was no better than them. People do something similar today when they insist that Jesus was just a man—a wonderfully profound teacher and a brilliant religious reformer; but in the end, just a man. And as a mere man, they say, He has no real authority.

So, they were offended at Him. And the reason they were offended and rejected Him is given in Matthew 13:58—they responded to Him with “unbelief”.

John 1 tells us that “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12). The people’s response to Jesus in Nazareth teaches us a great danger we all face—especially in the church! Jesus can become the least appreciated in the place where He is the best known . . . if He is greeted by those who have sin in their lives and unbelief in their hearts.

This is how the people of Nazareth reacted to Jesus. How did Jesus respond to their unbelief?

3. Jesus’ response to their unbelief (Matt. 13:57-58)

Matthew 13:57 tells us, “But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’”

The word translated “without honor” in this verse is a word that means to be dishonored or despised. We find the same word twice in Isaiah 53:3 where Isaiah says about Christ: “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”  

Jesus is not saying here that He was honored everywhere else except His hometown of Nazareth. Jesus was dishonored in other places, as well, but there’s something about your hometown or your own home or family that makes things especially hard. It’s hard to take a stand for God among the people who know you best, unless they’re standing for God, too.

Notice Jesus even specifies “his own house” here. Although Mary was a believer, the Bible tells us Jesus’ brothers did not believe in Him at this time, although they would come to faith in Him later (Acts 1:14; James; Jude). It’s hard to be a Christian, but Jesus is saying it is especially hard at home.

In Matthew 13:58, we’re told, “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Mark, in his Gospel, tells us that Jesus laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them (Mark 6:6); but that was all. He didn’t do in Nazareth—His own home-town—the sort of mighty works that He did elsewhere. They wouldn’t believe on Him, nor trust Him; and so, they didn’t receive very much from Him.

He disappointed their expectations because they wouldn’t receive Him for who He is. How many people do you know who say they have had the same kind of experience with Jesus? They say that they tried Jesus, but He didn’t work for them. And the truth is that they wouldn’t receive Him for Who He really is—Lord and Savior. They didn’t come to Him for deliverance from their sin. They came to Him selfishly or pridefully—with their own preconceived notions of who He should be or what He should do for them. They do not see Jesus do mighty works for them because of their unbelief. So many people miss out on salvation because they see Jesus only from a worldly or human perspective.

John MacArthur wrote,

Those who heard and saw Jesus did not reject Him for lack of evidence but in spite of overwhelming evidence. They did not reject Him because they lacked the truth but because they rejected the truth. They refused forgiveness because they wanted to keep their sins. They denied the light because they preferred darkness. The reason for rejecting the Lord has always been that men prefer their own way to His…The people of Nazareth were like people throughout the history of the church who can find every foolish reason to justify their rejection of the gospel. They don’t like the attitude of the one who witnesses to them; they think most church people are hypocrites; they think the preacher is too loud or too soft, too stuffy or too overbearing; and the services are too formal or too informal. They are offended at the slightest things Christians do and construe the insignificant as being all important. They put up one smoke screen after another to excuse their unwillingness to believe the clear and demanding claims and promises of Christ.[II]

What a tragedy! How much we lose when we won’t—by faith—receive Him as He truly is!

Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to this earth and lived a sinless life. Because of this, He is the only offering that is acceptable to God. He died upon a cross to pay the debt for your sin. He was raised from the dead to give eternal life to all who would place their faith in Him. He is the only means of salvation that this world will ever know.

When God sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins, God gave us a gift that we don’t deserve. Let us give Jesus the honor He deserves every day of our lives and for all of eternity.

Repent of your unbelief. Place your trust in Christ today. Honor Jesus by living for Him and telling others about Him.

 

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[1] Ray Fowler, A Prophet without Honor, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/prophet-without-honor/

[i] Adrian Rogers, quoted on https://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew-13-commentary#13:58

[2] Greg Allen, The Home-Town Stumble, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/012107.htm

[ii] John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary-Matthew, pg. 409 & 411.

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The Parable of the Dragnet

parables-of-the-kingdom

The Parable of the Dragnet

Matthew 13:47-52

In our verse-by-verse exposition of the Gospel of Matthew, we have been studying the kingdom parables that Jesus taught in Matthew 13. Each of these parables unveils profound truth concerning the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 13:11)—truth about the beginning of the kingdom on earth, its obstacles, its spread, its immeasurable value, and its consummation in the final judgment. The Kingdom of Heaven is defined as the rule and reign of the Lord Jesus over His people. For now, that is an invisible, internal kingdom. Jesus rules over our hearts. When the Lord returns, it will be a visible, physical kingdom too.

Today, we come to the parable of the Dragnet. What in the world is a dragnet? When you hear that word, maybe some of you immediately think of the old television police show. One famous phrase from Dragnet is, “The stories you are about to see are true.” And I can tell you this about what Jesus teaches us today, “the parable you are about to see is true.” In this parable, Jesus portrays a principle of the kingdom of heaven that is absolutely true and worthy of our attention. Another famous phrase that Sergeant Friday would often say is, “Just the facts, ma’am.” Today we are going to look at the facts from the One who knows, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus teaches His disciples some truths concerning the judgment of men and the proclamation of the gospel.

1. The Parable of the Dragnet (Matt. 13:47-50).

A. The Picture of the Judgment (Matt. 13:47-48).

Again, Jesus uses a parable, a common story with a spiritual truth. This particular parable was indeed common to the disciples. After all, at least four of them had been professional fishermen and many of the others had grown up around the fishing industry in Galilee.

In Galilee, there were three common types of fishing. First was the simple hook and line. Peter used this method in Matthew 17:24-27 to catch a fish with a coin in its mouth that he used to pay taxes. Second was the one-man casting net. A man would wade out into the shallow water and hand cast this net over schools of small fish. Third was the large “dragnet” or seine that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. It could be pulled between two boats or anchored to the shore on one end so a single boat could pull it to surround the fish. Some of these nets were very large and would drift for hours catching all kinds of fish.

The purpose of the dragnet was to draw everything that came into its sphere, pull it all to the surface or the shore, and allow the fishermen to empty its contents into the boat or onto the beach and pick through it all—selecting the best and most profitable fish, and discarding the rest. We can only imagine what types of things would be caught in a large dragnet. Weeds, refuse, small and large fish, good and bad fish. Jesus said it “… gathered some of every kind.” Anything in the path of the net would eventually be caught and gathered by the fishermen.

We see a couple of examples of this kind of fishing in the Gospels. In Luke 5, Jesus taught the crowds from Simon Peter’s boat. After He was finished, He told Peter to let down his net for a catch. And when Peter and his co-workers did so, Luke tells us, “they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink” (Luke 5:6-7). We have a similar story at the end of the Gospel of John after Jesus had risen from the dead. He stood on the shore and told Peter and his fishing partners to cast their net out at a certain spot. When they did, “they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish” (John 21:6). Eventually, the disciples came to the shore, “dragging the net with fish” (John 21:8). The Lord had made a fire and invited them to bring some of the fish they caught; and we’re told that “Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken” (John 21:11).

Jesus says in Matthew 13:48, “when [the dragnet] was full, they drew” it “to shore” and the fishermen “… sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.” The bad fish are those that couldn’t be used either because they were unclean or not suitable for market.

So first, Jesus tells the parable of the net. The kingdom of heaven is like a net catching fish in a lake. When the net is full, the fishermen collect the good fish in baskets and throw the bad fish away. What does this parable teach us?

B. The Principle of the Judgment (Matt. 13:49).

Jesus doesn’t leave us wondering what this parable means, He explains it clearly. Jesus compares the “dragnet” to the judgment by saying “So it will be at the end of the age…” Jesus specifically tells us this parable is about the end of the age. There is coming a time “at the end of the age” when all men, will be separated and judged.

Earlier in this chapter, the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares symbolized believers and unbelievers living alongside each other in the world and their separation and judgment at the end of the age. There are quite a few similarities between the parable of the weeds and the parable of the dragnet. In Matthew 13:41-43, Jesus explained the parable of the wheat and tares…

41 “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 “and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matt. 13:41-43).

That parable focused more on the co-existing of the good and evil in this present world, whereas the parable of the dragnet focuses more on the separation of the good and evil at the end of the age.

As in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, “The angels”, God’s agents of justice, “will come forth.” Their task will be to “separate the wicked from among the just” (Matt. 13:49). Notice in both these parables the role of the angels in separating the wicked from the righteous at the end of the age.

This agrees with Jesus’ other teachings in the gospel of Matthew. In Matthew 24:31, Jesus teaches that when the Son of Man comes on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, “… He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Angels also appear in Jesus’ teaching about the sheep and goat judgment in Matthew 25. There, He said, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” (Matt. 25:31-32).

Listen to John MacArthur’s words as he describes the judgment using Jesus’ metaphor of the dragnet:

Men move about within that net as if they were forever free. It may touch them from time to time, as it were startling them. But they swim quickly away, thinking they have escaped, not realizing that they are completely and inescapably encompassed in God’s sovereign plan. The Invisible web of God’s judgment encroaches on every human being just as that of the dragnet encroaches on the fish. Most men do not perceive the kingdom, and they do not see God working in the world. They may be briefly moved by the grace of the gospel or frightened by the threat of judgment; but they soon return to their old ways of thinking and living, oblivious to the things of eternity. But when man’s day is over and Christ returns to set up His glorious kingdom, then judgment will come.[1]

This kingdom ‘dragnet’ would not only draw people from all people groups around the world; but it would also draw both the faithful and the faithless, both the just and the wicked. And Jesus is teaching us that not all who appear to embrace His kingdom will truly have a part in it. He warns that at the end of the age—just after He returns to this earth to assume the full possession of His kingdom—He will separate out from it those who do not belong in it.

C. The Peril of the Judgment (Matt. 13:50).

In Matthew 13:50, Jesus says that the “wicked” will be “cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” I think it’s very instructive that, in this parable, the Lord doesn’t tell us about the destiny of those who are His “just” ones. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, He does tell us about their destiny. He tells us that, on that great day when He returns to this earth and commences His earthly reign with the great “separation”, then “the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43). But there is no such joyful note here in this parable.[2] Instead, Jesus ends with the dreadful warning that the angels “will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:49-50).

“Wailing” suggests anguish. Hell is a place of conscious torment. And I believe that one of the greatest aspects of that torment will be an eternal separation from the God who made us for Himself and loved us, but whom we refused. The wicked did not want to bow to Him or serve Him or even know Him. And then—to their eternal anguish—they will have what they wanted.

The phrase “gnashing of teeth” describes intense hatred and malice. King David wrote of how the wicked “plots against the just and gnashes at him with his teeth” (Psa. 37:12) and of how ungodly mockers at feasts “gnashed at me with their teeth” (Psa. 35:16). Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations of how the enemies of Israel “have opened their mouth against you; they hiss and gnash their teeth” (Lam. 2:16). And in the book of Acts, after Stephen preached to the Jewish leaders—just before they rose up and stoned him to death—we’re told that “they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth” (Acts 7:54). Hell is a place of eternal torment for those who hated our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

We find similar imagery in the book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament where we read: “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14-15)

The biblical doctrine of hell is hard for many people to accept. However, if we are to be true to God’s Word, we must accept its reality. The teachings about judgment in Scripture are essential. If there is no judgment, then there is no need for salvation. If there is no final judgment, then many of the wicked in this life would get away with their wickedness. If there is no moral reckoning, then God is unjust. But God’s kingdom is a kingdom of justice, and so, yes, there is a day of judgment coming.[3]

Hell is not a mythical place. Jesus spoke more about hell than any other prophet or apostle. He constantly emphasized the reality of eternal punishment. And He used horribly graphic terms to describe it. There is a reason. It’s because He is the Savior of mankind who will also one day come as the Judge of all the earth. He loves people more than they could ever know and does not wish for them to suffer eternal punishment. Therefore, He tells the horrible facts about it because He does not want people to experience it and has come to save them from it.

When people die, or when the Lord returns, they do not go out into nothingness or cease to exist. God will “separate” the wicked from the righteous and “cast them into the furnace of fire.” Jesus Himself knows those who are truly His within His dragnet. And on the great day of judgment when the angels pull the dragnet to shore, the Lord will see to it that the wicked are separated from the righteous—both to the praise of His grace, and to the glory of His justice.

The Bible teaches that the Lord has no pleasure in the destruction of wicked people. In Ezekiel 18:23, the Lord asks, “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is … longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Luke 19:41 records how Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people would not repent. Our Lord is a good and merciful Savior. And when the final judgment comes, no one who heard His gospel will be able to say that He did not give them ample opportunity to believe it and trust in Him. No one under the influence of His “gospel dragnet” will be able to have an excuse for not knowing Him and trusting Him as they should. In fact, Mt.25:41 tells us hell was not created for men but was “prepared for the devil and his angels.”     

Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the dragnet is clear. It is a warning that judgment is coming. Those who have rejected Christ and His kingdom will be separated out of it and sent away to eternal torment.

Jesus has just shared all seven of these parables of the kingdom. Now he encourages the disciples to teach these parables to others. So He teaches them …

2. The Parable of the Householder (vv. 51-52).

A. Have you understood? (Matt. 13:51)

In Matthew 13:51, Jesus asked His disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” The word “understand” means “put together”. We could say that He was asking them, “Have you put all the pieces of these things together so that you now comprehend them?” Remember the parables are designed both to conceal and reveal. The parables are meant to conceal the truth from those whose hearts are hardened towards God. And they are meant to reveal spiritual truth to those whose hearts are open towards God.

“Have you understood all these things?” That’s a good question for us. Do we have an understanding, have we put together these vital truths of the kingdom and the judgment? The truths Jesus teaches in these parables disclose God’s program for history and eternity.

Do we really believe what the parable of the sower teaches—that we come into the kingdom by hearing and receiving the message of the gospel so that it produces fruit in us? Do we believe that even though we live alongside unbelievers like wheat and tares in a field, that there is a time coming when we will be separated? Do we believe that the kingdom, even though it appears small and insignificant like a mustard seed, will ultimately permeate and rule over the whole world? Do we believe that the kingdom is a treasure worth more than everything else in life? Do we really believe that judgment is coming, that hell is real, and that the kingdom of heaven is glorious?

The disciples answered, “Yes, Lord.” Though their understanding was far from perfect they understood what they could at the time. They accepted the things they understood and they were eager to understand more. The truths about the kingdom that Jesus teaches in these parables are meant to be received by eager, hungry learners who love Jesus Christ, have ears to hear Him, and a heart to go forward and follow Him. They are for those whose heart cry is “Thy kingdom come!” Apart from Jesus Christ, the truths in these parables cannot be understood. But through an authentic relationship with Him by faith, they can be.[4] In Matthew 13:12, Jesus said, “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance.”

So we respond to the parables of the kingdom by being eager learners, disciples who want to hear and understand.

B. Then be like good householders (Matt. 13:52)

Finally, in Matthew 13:52 Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

This verse is like a mini-parable that sums up the disciples’ responsibility concerning all the other parables. The word “scribe” means “one who writes.” In those days the term referred to a student and teacher of the law. The word “instructed” is the verb form of the word disciple. Under Jesus’ teaching, the disciples were becoming scribes—students and teachers of the truths of God’s kingdom.

Jesus implies an expectation of us regarding the mysteries of the kingdom. We aren’t supposed to sit passively and receive information about the kingdom—as if the Lord wants to merely pour knowledge into empty heads. Rather, we are to grow. We are to be scribes and disciples—astutely trained scholars in the school of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, who work hard at understanding and applying the kingdom truths He imparts to us.

Jesus said such a scribe was to be like a “householder.” This literally means the “house-master”. He was the manager of a household, or a family, or a large estate. He would maintain supplies of food and clothing and use them wisely. He was responsible for making sure that everything in the treasure-store was well-stocked; so that when anything was needed for the provision of each member of the household, and for the smooth operation of the house, it was provided.

The “householder” or head of the house would “bring out of his treasure [storehouse] things old and new.” They were to “bring out” the truth, which means to “cast forth.” They were not to keep the truth of the kingdom to themselves. They were to bring it out and cast it forth. In other words, one of the distinguishing marks of a true disciple of the kingdom is that they share the treasure. They share the truth of the kingdom, the word of God.

The disciples, later, as they became apostles would dispense both “new and old” revelation. In other words, both the Old Testament and the New Testament are important. They are both the word of God. The older teachings about God and the kingdom are still valuable and true. But now we must add to them these newer teachings about the kingdom.

The newer teachings do not replace the old teachings. Rather the new teachings complete them and fulfill them. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” A teacher of the law who only knows the Old Testament can only teach the law. But those who know the New Testament also teach faith in Christ and God’s grace given to us in his Son Jesus.

We read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

God has given you everything you need in His word to teach others about the kingdom and to reach others for Jesus Christ. All Scripture is useful for teaching, both the old and the new. The new completes the old. So, we focus on Jesus and His teachings about the kingdom.

Jesus is coming again. When He comes, this world will end. God’s great dragnet will sweep through the earth and no one will escape. All people, great and small, will stand before the throne and be judged according to their works. The punishment for the wicked will be serious and severe. Those who have rejected Jesus Christ will experience eternal pain, mourning, and regret. Only those whose names are found written in the Lamb’s book of life will be saved.

And so, now is the time to make your decision about Jesus. It will be too late after you die or after Jesus returns. Now is the time for salvation. When Jesus returns, that will be the time for judgment. Because God will make the division then, you must make your decision now.

Have you trusted Jesus for salvation? If not, I urge you, I encourage you, I invite you, I welcome you – come to Jesus today. He loves you. He died for you. He is waiting for you. What are you waiting for?

And to us who already belong to Christ, are you telling others about Him?

I remember another phrase from the show, Dragnet. Sargent Friday would say, “We were working the day watch.”

There’s a whole mass of humanity all over the world moving toward judgment. God has placed this church here to be a lighthouse, a rescue operation to get the word out about the kingdom of heaven, about eternity, about heaven and hell, but most importantly to get the word out about the Savior, Jesus Christ. Are you working the day watch?

The church is not a country club where you come to socialize, pay a few dues, and leave. We are not a performing arts center where talented people do their thing up on stage and the congregation applauds and nods approvingly and leaves unaffected. We’re the body of Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit and commissioned to proclaim to our world that Jesus saves.

The stakes are high. It’s not just life and death, it’s eternal life and eternal death that hangs in the balance. We have the treasure, the good news of the kingdom of heaven—the word of God. We have the Savior Jesus Christ. We have the Holy Spirit to empower us. We are His church. Let’s bring the treasure of the gospel to everyone.

————————————————————————

[1] John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary—Matthew, p. 395.

[2] Greg Allen, Bad Fish in the Dragnet – Matthew 13:47-50, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2006/120306.htm

[3] Ray Fowler, The Parable of the Net, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/parable-of-the-net/

[4] Greg Allen, Students of the Kingdom – Matthew 13:51-52, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/010707.htm

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Psalm 21 – Victory In Jesus

Fifth Sunday

Psalm 21 – Victory In Jesus

Psalm 21:1-13

1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

2 You have given him his heart’s desire,
And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.

4 He asked life from You, and You gave it to him–
Length of days forever and ever.

5 His glory is great in Your salvation;
Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.

6 For You have made him most blessed forever;
You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.

7 For the king trusts in the LORD,
And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Your hand will find all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find those who hate You.

9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger;
The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath,
And the fire shall devour them.

10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth,
And their descendants from among the sons of men.

11 For they intended evil against You;
They devised a plot which they are not able to perform.

12 Therefore You will make them turn their back;
You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.

13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength!
We will sing and praise Your power.

On our Fifth Sunday Sings I often love to bring to you a portion from the book of Psalms. Psalms is the songbook, the hymnal, of the Bible. These songs were inspired by the Holy Spirit of God as scripture, were sung by Israel in their worship, and are given to us for teaching and admonishing one another (Col. 3:16). We are to sing them with grace in our hearts to the Lord. In their praise, we worship the Lord. In their theology, we meet God. In their prayers, we learn to pray.

Today, I want us to look briefly at Psalm 21. David, king of Israel, composed this Psalm as a song of praise and thanks to Yahweh, the Lord God, in the aftermath of victory. It is a companion to Psalm 20 which is a prayer for going into battle. In Psalm 21, David rejoices in the great victory that the Lord had won. It’s all about what God has done. A quick reading of the Psalm brings that easily to light.

(1) “The king shall have joy in YOUR strength, O LORD”
(1) “in YOUR salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!”
(2) “YOU have given him his heart’s desire”
(3) “YOU meet him with the blessings of goodness”
(3) “YOU set a crown of pure gold upon his head”
(4) “YOU gave it [life] to him”
(5) “Honor and majesty YOU have placed upon him”
(6) “YOU have made him most blessed forever”
(6) “YOU have made him exceedingly glad”
(8) “YOUR hand”
(8) “YOUR right hand”
(9) “YOU shall make”
(9) “The LORD shall swallow”
(10) “YOU shall destroy”
(12) “YOU will make them turn their back”
(12) “YOU will make ready YOUR arrows”
(13) “Be exalted, O LORD, in YOUR own strength!”

It’s clear, isn’t it? King David has returned from battle victorious, but he’s not taking credit for a single aspect of the victory. The Lord delivered him, and David is honoring God and rejoicing in the Lord. David knew that every victory he experienced was from the Lord. And like David, we could sing this song giving credit to God for every spiritual blessing and victory.

But I want you to notice something else about this psalm. Rather than writing in the first person using “I” and “me”, David writes it in the third person, using “he” and “him”.  This could be because David wanted the congregation to sing about the victories God gave him. But I think there is more to it than that.

Notice that in Psalm 21:1-6, David looks back with gratitude for the victory that God gave, but in verse 7-12, he looks forward with confidence and hope. I believe that David wrote the psalm this way because he wanted us to see the greater King in the future. This is a psalm ultimately about the Messiah, our Lord Jesus. Like many of the psalms do, it speaks about David but looks past David to fulfillment in Christ Jesus. It is a prophetic picture of the certain victory which God will grant His Messiah-King. David praised God not only for the blessings and victory that were his, he praised God for the blessings and victory that belong to Christ. David rejoices in these blessings. He sings praise to the Lord God.

So, if these blessings and victory belong to Christ, what do they mean to us today? Here is where our union with Christ comes in. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” If I am in Christ, and Christ receives all these blessings, so do I! This is why we sing and rejoice.

What are these blessings that belong to Christ?

  1. Salvation – Psalm 21:1 says, “The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!” The Lord saved David from his enemies. God delivered him and gave him life and victory. Jesus Christ was delivered from death and received the victory over sin when God raised Him from the dead. This is what we sing about—Christ’s resurrection, Christ’s victory. After writing a whole chapter in 1 Corinthians on the resurrection, Paul says, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57). Because Christ has been delivered from death, we who are in Christ have been delivered from sin. Salvation is ours in Christ.

Christ is blessed with salvation, and second, Christ is blessed with …

  1. Answered Prayer – “You have given him his heart’s desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips.” (Psa. 21:2). The Lord answered David’s prayer for victory in battle. But even more, God always answered Jesus’ prayers. At the tomb of Lazarus Jesus prayed, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me…” (John 11:41-42). David rejoices that God answers the prayer of His anointed, namely Christ. And because we are in Christ and we pray in the name of Christ, we can also rejoice in answered prayer.

David rejoiced in answered prayer through Christ, and third, Christ is blessed with …

  1. Eternal Life – “He asked life from You, and You gave it to him–Length of days forever and ever.” (Psa. 21:4). David looked ahead to Christ and rejoiced in the eternal life that is His through His resurrection. Eternal life is knowing Christ. Rejoice that you know Him!

David rejoiced in eternal life in Christ, fourth, Christ is blessed with …

  1. Glory and Honor – “His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.” (Psa. 21:5). God placed upon Christ the highest glory and the highest honor. Rejoice that we who are in Christ will be glorified in Him. This glory is Christ’s and ours in His presence. “For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.” (Psa. 21:6). Rejoice in the blessing of God’s presence through Christ.

These blessings are Christ’s because He trusts in God the Father. “For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.” (Psa. 21:7). David knew these blessings because He trusted in Christ, and that is how we know them as well—by faith, by trusting in Christ. It’s through the mercy of the Most High. It’s by God’s grace showered on us in Christ.

The first seven verses describe the blessings Christ in His victory over sin and death through His resurrection. The rest of the psalm is about the future victory of Christ at His second coming. Christ will have the …

  1. Victory – In Psalm 21:8-12 we see that all of Christ’s enemies will be exposed (Ps. 21:8), they will be destroyed (Ps. 21:9-10), and completely defeated (Ps. 21:11-12).

And so David concludes the psalm, “Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.” (Psa. 21:13). When we look at Christ and see all that God has done through Him and for Him, we rejoice and sing praise! God has delivered Him, answered His prayers, given Him eternal life, glory, and honor in His presence, and total victory.

These spiritual blessings in Christ also belonged to David because he trusted in the Lord. And they are ours when we are in Christ. Rejoice in the blessings Christ has received! In Him, those are your blessings as well!

 

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The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl

parables-of-the-kingdom

The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl

Matthew 13:44-46

In Matthew 13, Jesus teaches the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in parables. The Jews in Jesus’ day, including His disciples, had certain expectations about the kingdom of God. They knew the prophecies about the glory and grandeur of God’s kingdom, but they misunderstood the nature and timing of the kingdom.

We have already looked at four of the parables. First was the parable of the sower. In it, Jesus showed why there are many who will not receive the King and His kingdom. They expected that when the Messiah-King arrived, all Israel, indeed the world, would instantly turn to Him. That didn’t happen. Many rejected Jesus and His message of the kingdom. Jesus explained that they could not receive the message of the kingdom because their hearts were hardened, shallow, or worldly.

Second was the parable of the wheat and the tares. The disciples expected that when the kingdom came, all the wicked and all evil would immediately be judged and destroyed. Jesus explain that the sons of the kingdom will grow together with the wicked until the end of the age. Only at the final judgment will God separate them.

Next, Jesus told the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast. The disciples expected God’s kingdom to be glorious and immense, and they were not prepared for the humble form of the kingdom that they saw. Jesus explained that though the kingdom appears small and insignificant, it will eventually grow and permeate the whole earth.

Today, we look at two more parables of the kingdom of heaven—the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl of great price. These two parables share the common purpose to teach us about the precious, immeasurable value of the kingdom. Both parables follow a similar pattern. Each begins with an object of enormous wealth, a treasure in a field, or a costly pearl, but its full value is unseen or unrecognized. Then someone discovers its true worth. Finally, that person trades all that he has to acquire the vast riches unrecognized by others.

First, I will explain the two parables and then I will draw some application from what we learn. First, we see that the kingdom of heaven is like…

1. Treasure Hidden in a Field (Matt. 13:44)

Jesus taught in Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

The details of the parable all support the main point: the kingdom of heaven is incomparably valuable. First, it is a treasure, something stored up, hidden away because it is precious and costly. In the days before there were reliable banks, people commonly buried their valuables to keep them safe. This was especially true in the land of Israel which had been subject to countless military raids and wars over its long history. Jesus’ story implies the treasure had long been hidden and forgotten, and whoever buried it was no longer around to claim it. It couldn’t have belonged to the present owner of the field, because, if it did, he wouldn’t have sold the field, or at least, he would have dug up the treasure first before selling.

According to Jewish rabbinic law, if someone found treasure, it belonged to the finder.[1] But if it was on someone’s land and the finder lifted it out, it belonged to the owner of the land.[2] In that case, “finders, keepers” didn’t apply. By not disturbing the treasure, reburying it, and purchasing the field, the man who found it legally acquired it for himself.

The second element that shows its great value is how the man felt about founding it—“joy”. The man doesn’t go off dutifully or reluctantly to raise the funds to purchase the field. No, he is so full of joy at the discovery of the treasure that he is glad to sell everything he has to obtain it.  

Thirdly, its value is demonstrated by what the man does, “he goes and sells all that he has.” Imagine this man figuring up the value of the land and making an offer to the owner. Then the man sells everything he owned—literally everything—to scrounge up all the money he could. Selling everything he had could have made him experience temporary hardship, homelessness, and hunger. But he was happy to suffer whatever the loss because of the great gain he would have.

But this parable is not about the cost of the kingdom of heaven, it’s about the overwhelming value of the kingdom. It is a precious, priceless treasure. Finding it brings great joy. It’s worth more than everything else you have.

And that brings us to the second parable. Its theme is the same. The kingdom of heaven is like…

2. A Pearl of Great Price (Matt. 13:45-46)

Jesus teaches, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matt. 13:45-46).

Again, this parable is a twin to the parable of the treasure in the field. The details are different, but they also support the main point—that the value of the kingdom of heaven is most precious and priceless.

The merchant in this story is a person who buys and sells commodities. And this particular merchant is on a quest to find pearls. Pearls were considered the most valuable items in Jesus’ day, more precious than silver or diamonds or gold. Jesus tells us the merchant is looking for “beautiful pearls,” which means he is looking for fine pearls, the best pearls, those of the highest quality and value. A pearl that was perfect and beautiful was priceless.

Notice the difference between the man who found the treasure and the pearl merchant. The man in the field was not necessarily seeking treasure, he just discovered it, perhaps by chance. But the merchant is seeking his treasure, the most beautiful pearls. And Jesus tells us he found it—”one pearl of great price.” It is very valuable, extremely costly. The merchant knows his business. He would know what a pearl was worth. He certainly wouldn’t be duped into overpaying for a pearl. No, he understands how valuable this pearl is. “This was the granddaddy of all pearls, the pearl of pearls, the best of them all, magnificent, beautiful, of the highest quality, unequaled, unrivaled, incomparable, matchless, superior, supreme.”[3]

And notice that this merchant does the same as the man who found the treasure in the field, he “went and sold all that he had and bought it.” This merchant considered the pearl so valuable that he sold everything he had to buy it. He knew it was worth more than all he had. He knew he was getting a good deal.

Again, that is the point. The kingdom of heaven is like that. It is like a treasure or a pearl more valuable than anything and everything we have. It’s not about the cost you will pay. It is about the value you will receive.

So those are the parables and their explanation. Let’s make three points of application…

  1. The Kingdom is priceless.

Both parables teach us the incomparable value of the Lord’s Kingdom. In his commentary, John MacArthur quotes Thomas Guthrie, who writes about the preciousness of the treasure we have in salvation:

In the blood of Christ to wash out sin’s darkest stains, in the grace of God to purify the foulest heart, in peace to calm life’s roughest storms, in hopes to cheer guilt’s darkest hour, in a courage that defies death and descends calmly into the tomb, in that which makes the poorest rich and without which the richest are poor indeed, the Gospel has treasure greater far than east or west unfold, and its rewards more precious are than all the stores of gold![4]

Christ and His Kingdom are treasure precious beyond comparison. It is incorruptible, undefiled, and eternal (2 Pet. 1:4). Do you know, O Christian, the great treasure you have in Christ and His Kingdom?

When you recognize the value of the kingdom of heaven and realize it is yours, what do you do? REJOICE! Because …

B. The Kingdom brings joy.

The man’s response to finding the treasure was joy (Matt. 13:44). When God truly reveals himself to you through Christ, there is a joyful, spontaneous abandonment of self and sin for Christ and the gospel. That’s the joy of salvation.

The world pursues happiness. But happiness is fleeting because your happiness most often depends on what happens—your circumstances. When something good happens, people get happy. When something bad happens, they are unhappy. Christian joy is not like that. Joy is not tied to what happens. Joy is tied to Christ and His kingdom (Rom. 14:17). It is found in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ (John 15:11), “whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet. 1:8). Joy is the gift of God, the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22).

O Christian, do you have this joy? “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Phl. 4:4).

The kingdom is priceless, the kingdom brings joy, and finally …

C. The Kingdom must be personally appropriated.

In both parables, the one who found the priceless treasure “sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt. 13:46). This, of course, isn’t saying that we can “buy” our place in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We know from the rest of scripture that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. No amount of money, or good works, or religious rituals, or keeping God’s law could ever purchase for us a place in the kingdom of heaven.

So why does Jesus stress that the men sold all they had and bought the field or the pearl? Gil Rugh points out that “The point in buying or purchasing something is in securing it for yourself, having it as your possession.”[5] The point of buying in this parable is securing it for yourself.

Let me show you how this concept is used in other places in scripture. Proverbs 23:23 says, “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.”  That proverb is not teaching that you can purchase truth or understanding. The opening verses of Proverbs, show that knowledge, wisdom, and truth are found in fearing and trusting in the Lord, not purchased with money (Pro. 1:7; 9:10).  The point is to obtain the truth, to get wisdom, instruction, and understanding for yourself—to make it yours. The emphasis on buying the truth is not on paying money for it necessarily, but rather the emphasis is on doing whatever is necessary to secure the truth. It may cost you to stand for the truth. No matter what, secure it for yourself.

In Isaiah 55:1, the Lord gives this call to His people: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.” Here again, the idea behind buying is not trading money for the refreshing water of life. Even those without money can secure it for themselves because it can be obtained “Without money and without price.” The idea is securing it as your possession.

Jesus used this same approach in Revelation 3 when He wrote to the church at Laodicea. This church thought it was wealthy and needed nothing. Yet Christ said they were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). So, He tells them in Revelation 3:18, “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” Can you purchase these spiritual blessings from Christ? No. His salvation is by grace and spiritual blessings are free gifts, but you can buy it from Christ in the sense of securing it from Him. What you need to be righteous before God you can get only from Jesus Christ.

So, the emphasis on buying is securing it for yourself. What is the emphasis on selling all you have? The point is that the kingdom of heaven is so valuable that you should let nothing keep you from it.

Do you remember the story of the rich young ruler? (Matt. 19:16-22). He asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life. He told Jesus that he had kept the law from the time he was a youth, but he knew something was missing. “What do I still lack?” he asked. Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matt. 19:21-22). Jesus then said to his disciples, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matt. 19:24).

What a contrast he was to the man in Jesus’ parable! He didn’t sell all that he had “for joy” over Jesus’ offer. In fact, he went away sorrowful. He did  not consider eternal life to be of more value than his possessions.

When Peter heard this, he looked at himself and his fellow disciples, and saw how they had forsaken all to follow Jesus. He said to the Lord, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” (Matt. 19:27). Peter wants to know if it is all worth it. Is the kingdom of God so valuable that it’s worth more than everything? I think it was a very good question to ask.

Jesus told them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life” (Matt. 19:28-29).

The answer is: Yes, it is worth it. The kingdom of Jesus Christ is a treasure far more valuable than anything and everything. The “great price,” was paid by Christ for our redemption. He emptied Himself of His glory, came to earth in the form of a lowly servant, and shed His precious blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. It cost our Lord Jesus Christ everything—humility, rejection, suffering, and death on a cross. His blood has purchased salvation, eternal life, the kingdom of heaven for all who believe in Him. To us, it is a free gift. We cannot earn it or pay for it. Christ has already paid the ransom for our freedom from sin and death. We receive it free of charge by God’s grace through believing in Jesus Christ.

Then why did the man sell all he had to obtain the treasure? FOR JOY! Once you truly see Jesus Christ as Lord, the eternal Savior and King, no one will have to tell you to go, sell all you have and buy that field or secure that pearl. You will joyfully give anything and everything just to have Jesus Christ and His kingdom. It will be like abandoning trivial trinkets to possess eternal treasure. It will be like giving up your garbage to possess a lavish kingdom.

The apostle Paul writes about His salvation in Philippians 3. First, he lists the self-righteous things that once gave him confidence in the flesh. He thought these things merited him the kingdom of heaven. He writes that he was “… circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” (Phil. 3:5-6). These were his self-righteous treasures of the flesh. But meeting Jesus Christ changed everything. He writes,

7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Phil. 3:7-11).

In comparison to the kingdom of heaven, to knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, everything else is rubbish—garbage, dung.

Every day, people are tempted to trade eternal joys for worldly pleasures. They pursue self-righteous, works-based religion rather than receiving God’s gift of salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ. Some people never come to Jesus because they are afraid they would have to give up their sinful desires and the trinkets of this world. But nothing is more valuable than the kingdom of heaven. Nothing is more important than entering the kingdom of God. Only Jesus can bring you into the kingdom, and so no one is more important than Jesus.

If you have not yet trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, what stands between you and Christ? What do you think is more important than eternal life? Your family, your job, your prestige, your influence, the pleasures you now enjoy? Repent of your folly. Change your mind about Jesus Christ. He is Lord and Savior. Surrender your all today.

 

 

[1] William Barclay, Daily Study Bible, Matthew, p. 94-95, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb/matthew-13.html

[2] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 328. Carson quotes Derrett (Law, pp. 1–16) who pointed out that “under rabbinic law if a workman came on a treasure in a field and lifted it out, it would belong to his master, the field’s owner; but here the man is careful not to lift the treasure out till he has bought the field.”

[3] Ray Fowler, The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/parables-of-the-treasure-and-the-pearl/ accessed 6/20/2024.

[4] Thomas Guthrie, The Parables, London: Alexander Strahan, 1866, quoted by John MacArthur, Matthew, https://www.gty.org/library/study-guides/111/the-parables-of-the-kingdom accessed 06/21/2024.

[5] Gil Rugh, Hidden Treasure and Costly Pearl, https://s3.amazonaws.com/ihccathena/pdf/GR695transcript.pdf accessed 06/21/20024.

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The Mustard Seed and Yeast Parables

parables-of-the-kingdom

The Mustard Seed and Yeast Parables

Matthew 13:31-35

We are again in Matthew 13 Jesus told His disciples “it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 13:11).  In this chapter, Jesus taught about the kingdom of heaven using parables, concealing the truth from those who refuse to hear it, and at the same time, revealing the truth to those who will receive it.

In our previous lessons, we have looked at two of the seven kingdom parables. The first was the parable of the sower, the seed, and the soils. In it, Jesus explained the mystery of, “Why doesn’t everyone enter the kingdom?” We saw that the kingdom of God begins with hearing the message of the kingdom with a receptive heart that will bear fruit for the kingdom. Those with hard hearts, shallow hearts, and worldly hearts will not hear, receive, and bear fruit.

The second was the parable of the wheat and the tares. In it, Jesus explained the mystery of, “Why is evil still present, if the kingdom of God has come?” We saw that an enemy, the devil, planted “sons of the wicked one” alongside the Lord’s “sons of the kingdom,” and they only remain because the Lord doesn’t want the wheat harmed. Separation awaits the judgment at the end of the age. The Lord “is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, NASB).

Today we will look at two parables: The Mustard Seed and the Leaven. We are taking these two parables together because they are short, and they teach similar lessons. The mystery that Jesus explains is, “Why does the kingdom seem so insignificant?” Remember, Jesus came proclaiming, “… the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). He taught about the kingdom of displayed the power of the kingdom by His mighty works. And even though, at times, multitudes flocked to Him, many did not really believe in Him. Jesus’ true disciples were a very small group.

Yet, these disciples, no doubt, had great expectations of the kingdom. They knew the promises of the prophets concerning the kingdom of God. For instance, Isaiah prophesied,

2 … the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. … 11 Therefore your gates shall be open continually; They shall not be shut day or night, That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, And their kings in procession. 12 For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, And those nations shall be utterly ruined. (Isaiah 60:2-3, 11-12).  

And the Zechariah prophesied,

20 Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Peoples shall yet come, Inhabitants of many cities; 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, “Let us continue to go and pray before the LORD, And seek the LORD of hosts. I myself will go also.” 22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, And to pray before the LORD.’ 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ‘ (Zech. 8:20-23).0

This is what they were expecting the kingdom of God to be like. When the Messiah-King arrives and His kingdom appears, the Jewish nation would be glorious, other nations and kings would bow before Him or perish, people would cling to them saying, “Bring us to God.”

But what has been the experience of Jesus’ disciples so far? Instead of people flocking to the kingdom, many are rejecting it. Instead of the nations bowing or perishing, they don’t even notice it. And so Jesus teaches these parables to explain why the kingdom seems so small and insignificant.

We begin with …

1. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt. 13:31-32)

Matthew 13:31-32 says,

31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 “which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” (Mat 13:31-32).

So, what is the kingdom like according to this parable?

A. The Kingdom Starts Small (Matt. 13:31)

Jesus says that “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed”. The mustard seed is not the smallest seed in the world, although it is the smallest seed that was commonly planted in Israel. Mustard seeds are proverbial in the Bible. They symbolize that which is small, and which seems—at first glance—to be utterly insignificant.

In Luke 17, Jesus’ disciples came to Him and said, “Increase our faith.” Jesus told them that it wasn’t a matter of having great amounts of faith, because He said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed”—just the tiniest little amount—“you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:5-6). In Matthew 17:20, Jesus told them, “if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

God’s kingdom starts small. And, as I said, this surely seemed strange to the disciples. Here was Jesus proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven had come. But they look around, and what do they see? It’s just Jesus and a bunch of unschooled fishermen in the remote areas of Galilee traveling around and teaching the people. They weren’t attracting worldwide attention. In fact, even by the Jews, they were being rejected, choked, and persecuted. They must have felt insignificant compared to the power of Rome with its legions of soldiers or the pomp of Jerusalem with its temple and treasure. I am sure that most people didn’t give the disciples of Jesus a second glance.

Jesus teaches that the smallness and seeming insignificance of the kingdom is not an anomaly. It’s not a mistake. It’s God’s plan. The kingdom of heaven is not about huge crowds, a flashy show, or worldly power. The kingdom comes by changing people’s hearts and lives one at a time. Jesus did not come seeking the brightest and the best, He came to seek sinners who would repent and believe. This is the way the kingdom works.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church,

26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Cor. 1:26-29).

God’s kingdom starts small. It has humble beginnings. There didn’t seem to be much about it that would have impressed anyone that it would come to much of anything. It began with a humble Teacher who organized no army or assumed no political office. He gathered a group of men around Himself—a tiny band of twelve. One of them would betray Him, one of them would deny Him, and all of them would flee and desert Him. And He Himself would be rejected by the people to whom He presented Himself as King. They would crucify Him as a despised criminal. And from these humble, “mustard seed” beginnings, who would have expected anything great?

The mustard seed aptly illustrated the lesson that Jesus was seeking to teach—that something so remarkably small grew into something far beyond proportion with respect to its beginning. Even though the kingdom seemed small and insignificant …

B. The Kingdom Will Grow Large (Matt. 13:32)

The tiny mustard seed grew into a large brush—almost like a tree in size. The mustard bush sometimes reached a height of ten to twelve feet! Such mustard bushes had branches that spread out, and were strong enough for birds to light on and rest. And that’s the picture that Jesus is seeking to paint for us—that the kingdom of heaven is like that seed. At its beginning, it was something very small and tiny—something that no one would ever expect to grow into something so big that birds could rest on its branches.

The of a tree with the birds of the air resting in its branches is a common image for a prosperous kingdom in the Old Testament. In Daniel 4, God gave King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon a vision. In that vision, Nebuchadnezzar saw his own kingdom as,

“10 . . . a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became strong; its height reached to the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of all the earth. 12 Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it” (Daniel 4:10-12).

In Ezekiel 17, God uses these same terms to describe the downfall of Babylon and the future glory of Israel when Jesus returns to reign, saying,

22 Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.” (Eze. 17:22-24).

Jesus promised that even though His kingdom starts small, it would grow to be like a great tree whose branches would spread out, where the birds could find shelter and blessing. His kingdom is that very kingdom that was promised to Abraham when God told him that, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Jesus’ kingdom is that kingdom foretold by the prophet Daniel, “the stone cut without hands” that struck all other nations at the base and caused them to crumble, and that then “became a great mountain” that “filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34-35).

The point to Jesus’ disciples is that although the kingdom may look unimpressive now, just wait, it is like a mustard seed, it will become the most glorious. That is a good lesson for us today. Sometimes it can become discouraging, as we wait for the return of Christ. Jesus’ church isn’t popular in the world. The Lord isn’t honored. Our church is small, most overlook it or think we are weak and insignificant. That is not the end of the story. One day, the kingdom of heaven will rule the world.

So in this parable, we learn that even though God’s kingdom starts small and seems insignificant, it will eventually grow to be the greatest of all kingdoms in the world—the kingdom that will truly bring about the blessing to all the families of the earth.

Second, Jesus taught …

2. The Parable of the Yeast (Matt. 13:33)

33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” (Matt. 13:33).

Jesus says that His kingdom is like “leaven”. Leaven is that substance that is used to ferment a lump of dough. It causes the bread to rise. The chief characteristic of leaven is that it spreads throughout whatever it is put into until it permeates the whole thing. In the Bible, leaven can picture the spread of something negative or positive.

In Matthew 16, Jesus taught His disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” (Matt. 16:6)? He called their hypocritical behavior and teaching “leaven” because, once allowed to make an entry into our hearts, such hypocrisy spreads itself throughout our whole life and thinking. The apostle Paul had to rebuke the Corinthian believers for tolerating sinful behavior in the church warning, “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Cor. 5:6). Once sin is permitted to come in, and once its presence is tolerated, it spreads itself and corrupts everything!

So leaven pictures something small that, when introduced, eventually spreads or permeates the whole thing. Only in this parable, the leaven does not picture sin spreading in the kingdom, but the kingdom spreading throughout the world. The truths it teaches are, first …

A. The Kingdom Is Initially Hidden (Matt. 13:33a)

And just as the parable of the mustard seed teaches us that God’s kingdom starts small, the parable of the yeast teaches us that God’s kingdom remains hidden at first. Jesus says woman who took a bit of leaven and “hid” it into three measures of meal. This is no small batch of dough. It would have been the rough equivalent of about three dry gallons of meal, making enough bread to feed dozens of people. By the way, it’s the same amount that was used in the Old Testament by Sarah, Gideon, and Hannah when they were making bread (Genesis 18:6; Judges 6:19; 1 Samuel 1:24).

And this generous amount of flour and small bit of leaven is meant to serve as an illustration—something “big” into which something “little” was hidden. You can’t see the yeast in the dough at first, but it is still there—it is growing and spreading. The leaven will end up permeating every part of the very large lump of dough. So the kingdom of heaven is initially hidden in this world, but …

B. The Kingdom Will Spread through the World (Matt. 13:33b)

The Kingdom of heaven is like leaven. It has an amazing way of growing, by spreading to those around it. In this way, God’s kingdom will spread through the whole earth. The kingdom spreads when you (as one person) go and share the gospel with another person. It doesn’t require fancy gimmicks, huge platforms, or any elaborate programs.

Jesus started with twelve ordinary men. They had no degrees, no fame, no great musical talent, no riches. They just went and proclaimed Jesus everywhere they went to everyone they could. And like leaven, the kingdom began to spread. The book of Acts records how the kingdom spread in those early days:

Acts 2:47 says, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 4:4 says, “However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.” Act 5:14 says, “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.” Act 6:7 says, “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” Acts 12:24, “But the word of God grew and multiplied.” Acts 19:20, “So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”

And on and on it went even until today. Here we sit two thousand years later—in a building dedicated to His worship, reading His word, and encouraging one another to walk faithfully with Him and to serve Him until He returns to this earth—and we’re doing so in a spot that is on nearly the exact opposite side of the globe from where it all began. We’re just one church hundreds of thousands scattered across our nation—and just one nation among many in the world—that worships Him! His kingdom has truly spread throughout this vast globe like leaven throughout dough! It has permeated the whole world; and is spreading in the world all the more even as we speak!

Like the yeast, the kingdom of God exerts its influence from within, not from without. God first changes the heart of a person, and that internal change has external manifestations. The gospel influence works the same way. One Christian influences someone in their family, or a friend, or a co-worker, or a neighbor. Their heart is transformed by believing the gospel.  Slowly and sometimes almost imperceptibly, the kingdom spreads. The nature of yeast is to grow and to change whatever it contacts. When we trust Christ, His grace grows in our hearts and changes us from the inside out. As the gospel transforms lives, it exerts a pervasive influence in the world.

So we see that the kingdom is initially hidden but will spread throughout the world. Finally look at …

3. Jesus’ Use of Parables (Matt. 13:34-35)

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 13:34-35).

Here again, we are reminded just how wonderful it is that we have been given these truths, for not all have been granted them. Jesus spoke these parables to all, only explained them to some. That’s why we’re told that Jesus spoke these things “to the multitude in parables”; and that, “without a parable He did not speak to them . . .”

Jesus said that this was so “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet” (Matt. 13:35), and He then quoted Psalm 78:2. Psalm 78 is a long psalm that outlines the history of the Jewish people. It was a psalm that the Jewish people knew well. It speaks of God’s constant grace to them, and of their persistent hardness of heart toward Him. And it begins with an appeal:

Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us (Psalm 78:1-3)

The Psalmist called, “Give ear! Incline your ears!” That was Jesus’ cry to the people; “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:9). Jesus, the Messiah-King, is speaking to them in the very manner that it was foretold that He would speak to them—in parables. Only those with hears to hear would receive it.

And this reinforces what Jesus just taught. The kingdom didn’t grow by marching armies and political conquest. No, Jesus invested these truths in 12 men, and let them spread it to the rest of the world. Jesus’ method was to teach those who received the word and then they would go and spread the truths they learned.

And now, let me ask you: How do you hear these things? Do you have ears to hear? Do you tune out when you hear them? Do you fall asleep when they are presented to you? Do you close your ears to them? Or does your heart thrill; and do you long to hear more? And are you influencing others around you with the gospel of Jesus Christ?

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then I hope—dear brother or sister—that you draw encouragement and strength from the truth being taught to us in these two wonderful little parables! Never despise the apparent “smallness” of the success of Jesus’ kingdom on this earth. It began as something very small; but its expansion and growth is assured, and it’s success in this world is absolutely guaranteed—no matter what.

And if you are not yet a follower of this great King, then the good news of His kingdom is being offered to you. He will, one day, return to this earth to claim His rightful rule; and you will stand before Him then. May you be given the ears to hear the news of His kingdom now—in this day of grace; and may you trust Him today as your Savior and Lord!

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The Wheat and the Tares

parables-of-the-kingdom

The Wheat and the Tares

Matthew 13:24-43

In our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we are in Matthew 13 where Jesus teaches the parables of the kingdom. Matthew has shown us that Jesus is the Messiah King who came to bring everlasting righteousness by saving His people from their sins. Now, the King teaches the mysteries of the kingdom (Matt. 13:11) in parables. First was the parable of the sower, which taught us how the kingdom begins. The message of the kingdom is sown like seed, and how people hear it, receive it, and bear fruit from it reveals the condition of their hearts.  That’s how Christ’s Kingdom began on this earth—through the sowing of His gospel and by its reception by those in whom it produces fruit. That’s how it continues to grow even today—through preaching and proclaiming the message of who Jesus is and what He has done.

In our passage today, Jesus teaches a parable that answers one of the most basic and perplexing questions people can have about His kingdom. If the kingdom of heaven has indeed come, why is evil still present? If, as Jesus said, “surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28), why was it that Jesus was meeting with such great opposition from the Jewish religious leaders? Why were they plotting to kill Him? Why was there so much resistance to Him as “King”?

And for us, as we look at the condition of our world today, why does it seem that evil is stronger than ever? If it’s true that Jesus’ kingdom has begun on this earth, then why does it seem as if evil has such a powerful sway over the hearts and lives of so many? Why is sin and wickedness so prevalent, and the gospel message so resisted?

Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares answers that question. It teaches us that Jesus was fully aware that evil would seem to prevail in this world. In this parable, Jesus teaches us that, though evil will be found mixed into His kingdom for the present, it will be fully separated from His kingdom at the end of the age. The Lord and His people will be victorious in the end. Righteousness will rule this earth. His kingdom will prevail.

With that introduction, let’s look first at…

1. The Parable (Matt. 13:24-30).

Like the parable of the sower, Jesus spoke this parable to the multitudes of people on the shore of the sea of Galilee as He sat in the boat to teach (Matt. 13:1-3). After this parable, Jesus taught two more (the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven) then He sent the crowds away and explained the meaning of it privately to His disciples.

Matthew 13:24 tells us that Jesus “put forth” a parable to the people. The word means “to place beside” or “to place near”. It suggests deliberate and thoughtful care. Jesus taught what “the kingdom of heaven is like”. The whole story is designed to teach something about God’s kingdom.

It is, He said, “like a man who sowed good seed in his field” (Matt. 13:24). Notice how this is similar to the parable of the sower but also different. In the parable of the sower, there was just one sower, and it was all good seed but four different types of soil. Here there is one field or soil, but two sowers and two different types of seeds.

The man “sowed good seed in his field,” suggesting that he was careful to select just the right seeds, good seeds that would take root, and sprout up, and would produce a productive crop in his field.

Then Jesus tells us that something very evil happened. While the man and his servants slept, under the cover of night, an enemy crept into his field and sowed “tares” in the very field where the man had sowed good seed (Matt. 13:25).

Scholars tell us that “tares” refer to ‘darnel’, a weed that was prevalent in those days. It looked very much like wheat when it sprouted up, and it even appeared to have an ear that looked like an ear of wheat as it developed. If the kernels from the tares became mixed up with kernels of wheat, the bread that would be made could make whoever ate it dizzy and sick. It was difficult to tell the difference between them until they both became ripe. Then it became clear that the tares were most definitely not wheat. Matthew 13:26 says, “But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.”

The one who sowed the tares in the other man’s field was “his enemy” (Matt. 13:25). He was seeking to sabotage and destroy the other man’s crop. It’s an evil thing to do to someone.

Eventually, the man’s servants notice the tares growing in the field and wonder about the source of the problem. “So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’” (Matt. 13:27).

I think they asked a question that was very much like a question you and I may ask. If Jesus’ kingdom has come into this world, then how is it that evil is found to have sprouted up in it? Why is there so much opposition to the kingdom of Jesus today? Why is there so much harm done to people in its name? Why are there so many governments in the world that are hostile to the spread of the gospel, and that oppress their people in disregard to the message of Jesus’ kingdom? How did so much wickedness seem to grow along with the spread of His kingdom on earth? “Jesus,” we may ask; “didn’t You sow a good kingdom in this world? How then does it have tares?”

The owner immediately identifies the source of the problem. The tares are there not by accident or by natural causes. No, this is intentional harm. “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’” (Matt. 13:28).

The servants suggest a simple strategy for dealing with the problem. “The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’” “Should we go pull the weeds?” It sounds sensible but the owner exposes the problem with that strategy. “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.’” (Matt. 13:29). By that time, their root systems had become so intermingled together that you couldn’t pull one out without destroying the other.

Instead, he told his servants, basically, to ‘put up’ with the weeds for a while. He said, “Let both grow together until the harvest” (Matt. 13:30). At harvest time, he would send out his reapers into the harvest and tell them, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” (Matt. 13:30). The harvest will be the right time for separating the wheat from the tares.

But now, notice . . .

2. The Explanation (Matt. 13:36-39).

For the explanation, we need to jump ahead a few verses because Jesus told two more parables to the multitude in between this parable and its explanation that He gave privately to His disciples. We will look at these parables next time. Matthew 13:36 says, “Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house”. And that’s when the disciples sought greater insight into their Master’s teaching. And so, we read, “And His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’”

Jesus is always glad to give insight to those who genuinely seek it from Him. And look at how He begins! He gives them a point-by-point explanation of the details of His parable!

He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels” (Matt. 13:37-39).

Here, we have the key to understanding this parable from the Lord’s own lips. He presents Himself as the sower, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” As with the parable of the sower, the problem is not with the sower or the seed. Jesus sows good seed. The message of the gospel and the fruit that comes from it are good.

Then Jesus explains “the field is the world.” This is a parable about the kingdom’s spread in the world. Many people have mistakenly made the “field” out to be the church; and have used this parable to explain why there are sinful people found in the church. It’s certainly is a problem that sinful people make their way into the church; but that is not what this parable is really about. Rather, we’re told that the field is the world—the realm of human life and activity.

This is in accord with other passages in the gospel of Matthew where Jesus expresses the world-wide mission of the kingdom. Jesus is a Savior for everyone. Therefore, the gospel is to be sown in the whole world. God’s kingdom is to encompass the whole world (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus then says that the good and bad seeds represent two kinds of people who have two kinds of destinies. “The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom”—that is, those who hear the word of the Savior, and respond to it by believing in Him and following Him. “But the tares are the sons of the wicked one”—that is, those who are still under the devil’s regime. Like their evil father, they openly oppose God and fight against His kingdom. So the two seeds and the plants that come from them refer to believers and unbelievers.

Jesus told the people of his day who did not believe in him: “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God…. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8:42, 44). The letter of 1 John says this about believers: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).

Jesus tells us clearly who the enemy is: “The enemy who sowed them is the devil” (Matt 13:39). He sows the “sons of the wicked one” into the Lord’s field. The tares grow in the same field as the wheat. They may look, to the careless eye, as if they were “wheat”. But in time, they will be revealed for what they truly are—“tares”, “sons of the wicked one”.

Then, notice who the reapers are: “the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels” (Matt. 13:39). The reapers, who are sent out authoritatively by the Lord Himself to gather up the tares and separate them from His wheat, are His angels. And they do their reaping at “the harvest”. The Old Testament often uses the image of the harvest for the last judgment at the end of the age. (Jeremiah 51:33; Hosea 6:11). Jesus says the harvest is “the end of the age”. This speaks of the time of judgment at Jesus’ return—that time He described when He said, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:31-32).

3. The Application (Matt. 13:40-43).

Jesus has explained the various elements in the parable. Next, He goes on to apply the truth of the parable, showing that it describes the fate of believers and unbelievers.

Here we learn three very important things about the fate of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age. Frist…

A. God will weed out of his kingdom all evil and sin

40 “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,” (Matt. 13:40-41).

That’s good news! Remember the question we asked at the beginning of today’s message? Why doesn’t God do something about all the evil in the world? Part of the answer is He will do something about it. God will weed out all evil and sin at the end of the age.

This is exactly what we find when we come to the book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament. We read in John describes the glory of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:

23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Rev. 21:23-27).

One day, there will be an end to all evil and sin. The new heaven and new earth will be perfect in every way. That’s the first thing Jesus says about the fate of believers and unbelievers. God will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. Secondly…

B. Unbelievers will be punished for their sin

42 “and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:42).

Jesus says just as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. All those who cause sin or do evil will be weeded out of the kingdom, and God’s angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This is also exactly what we find in the book of Revelation. We read John’s words in Revelation 20:

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11-15).

What will be the fate of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age? 1) God will weed out of his kingdom all evil and sin. 2) Unbelievers will be punished for their sin. And then finally…

C. The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father

43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt. 13:43).

This language comes from the Old Testament book of Daniel which also speaks of the fate of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age. We read in Daniel 12: “2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:2-3).

Once again, this is exactly what we find when we come to the end of the book of Revelation. We read in Revelation 22: “3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev, 22:3-5). The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of heaven. All evil and sin will be removed from our lives. We will be glorified and perfected in Christ.

Now, all of this teaches us that we should not be surprised by the fact of evil. But neither should we despair! Jesus lets us know that evil will be permitted by Him to grow with His kingdom until ‘the harvest’ at the end of the age. And then—and only then—will it will be fully removed. At that time, when the great angelic announcement of Revelation 11:15 is finally made—that “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”—then, with all things that offend taken away, and those who practice lawlessness completely removed, the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father!

In closing, let me suggest some practical lessons we should draw from this parable, and from our Lord’s explanation of it.

First, I we need to understand that it is the Lord’s plan that His kingdom citizens be sown in this world and bear His influence on it. You see this from Matthew 13:24, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.” And in His explanation of this parable, He tells us, that “the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom”, and that “the field is the world” (Matt. 13:38).

Our Lord has chosen to leave His redeemed people to live in this world—the great “field”—to bring His influence upon it. Before He went to the cross for us, He prayed for believers and said,

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17:14-19).

That’s Jesus’ great plan for this lost world—to sanctify a people unto Himself from out of it, and to send them back out into the world to bring His influence upon it. You remember His closing ‘marching orders’ to us, don’t you?

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

If you have heard the message of the gospel, and have believed on Jesus Christ, you are that “good seed” that He has sown upon this earth. And I hope you are thrilled with a sense of the greatness of your vital purpose! You bear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to the lost people of this world; and Jesus has left you here in this world—for a time—in order to bring His influence to bear in it.

Another sobering principle we draw from this parable is that, so long as Jesus’ kingdom grows in this world, the devil will ensure that evil will also be present. You and I need to realize that the devil does everything in his power to frustrate and destroy the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The consummation of God’s kingdom means Satan’s eternal doom. And so, the devil seeks to sow his own wicked influences in the Lord’s field—sometimes even in the very places in which the good seed was sown.

I think we can get a good sense of the kind of evil that he seeks to plant next to the good seed by what Jesus says He will one day tell His reapers to remove. He calls them to gather out of His field “all things that offend”. Literally, He speaks of “stumbling blocks”—that which causes His people to stumble in their faith or fall into temptations to sin; and “those who practice lawlessness”—that is, those who practice and advocate actions that violate God’s standards of holiness in His law.

There are malicious people who, under the inspiration of the devil, seek to cause professing believers to doubt their faith, or persuade them to sin. This is no small problem. Jesus warned that “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). But for now, so long as the kingdom is being spread in this world, the devil will seek to sow tares where God seeks to sow wheat.

A third principle we draw from this parable is that, as Jesus’ followers, it is not our role to remove evil doers from the presence of this world. The owner of the field answered those who wanted to pull up the tares immediately, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.” He left that important work to the reapers, the angels, at the time of harvest. This teaches us that it is not our role to take out the evil doers from the world. We are not here to root out all the unbelievers by force and rid the world of them by violence. That is not our mission. We are not qualified to do it. We do not know a person’s heart. Only the Lord knows so only the Lord is able to ultimately judge. Our role is not to pull out the weeds, our role is to continue the work of Jesus in sowing the seed of the gospel, making disciples of all the nations, baptizing and teaching them. That’s it.

Now, I hasten to add that we must keep this in balance with other passages of Scripture. It is, for example, a very important part of our duty in this world to serve as “salt” and “light”. Jesus told us in the Sermon on The Mount, “You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). We are to let our light so shine in this world that men will see our good works and glorify our Father. And we are to serve as the preservative in this world that will keep the corruption of sin from overwhelming everything around it. And when it comes to the church itself, it is our duty to lovingly confront sin in our midst and call one another to repentance (Mathew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5:12). The Bible tells us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).

But we need to remember that evil will always be present in this world all the way to the day of judgment; and it is not our role to make heaven on earth—nor is it even in our ability to do so. Historically, whenever the church has established some movement to purify the world of evil, or come campaign to forcibly remove sin from the culture, it ended up harming everyone—including the good people of Christ’s kingdom. We end up uprooting the wheat!

The removal of evil from this world is a job for the angels at the time of judgment. It is not the job of the seeds to pull the weeds. We are to patiently persevere in faith and obedience until the day that Jesus Himself orders the complete removal of all evil from the presence of the world. We are to trust that “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9).

Finally, look at how Jesus ends His interpretation in Matthew 13:43, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” The warning of this parable is a dreadful one. It tells us that, if a man or woman is not one of “the sons of the kingdom”—that is, someone who has heard the message of the gospel, has placed their faith in Jesus Christ, and now trust Him and follow Him and obey Him—then they are among the tares who will be gathered up by the angels on the day of judgment at the end of the age; and will be cast into the furnace of fire, where there will be eternal “wailing and gnashing of teeth”.

If you fear that you are one of the tares, let me tell you the good news. You don’t have to remain a tare. The miracle of the gospel is that God takes sons of the wicked one and turns them into sons of the kingdom. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13-14).

If you will repent—change your mind about your unbelief—and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved. Repent and believe. And let me clear up something today. Repentance is not saying, “I am sorry for my sins. I can do better. I can please you, God.” No, repentance is not “I can”. It is realizing that “I can’t.” It’s to realize that I am lost without Christ. I am a sinner, condemned to hell. I need a Savior—and Jesus Christ is the Savior. Believe on Him. Trust in Him. Rely completely on His finished work of redemption for your salvation. He will rescue you from the domain of darkness and bring you safely into His Kingdom of light. God will forgive your sin because Christ paid your ransom by His death on the cross. He will raise you to a new life because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

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