TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 22, 2014.
LEAVEN
DEFINITION:
A substance that causes fermentation and expansion of dough or batter; an element that produces an altering or transforming influence; yeast.
SCRIPTURE:
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 leavened.” Matthew 13:33.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
In this fourth parable that Jesus taught most interpretations say that the woman is the harlot church that teaches false doctrine. There are two interpretations by Bible scholars concerning the leaven.
In some passages of scripture leaven is a symbol of evil so some say that the leaven represents evil that penetrates the Kingdom of God and His church. Most will say that in this parable leaven symbolizes the Kingdom of God that penetrates and works silently to transform man and society.
Our concern is not to get into a theological discussion but to relate this parable to us as believers today. Jesus is saying that it is the responsibility of the church (believers) to penetrate individuals and society with the gospel until the whole person and all of society is transformed.
The leaven represents the gospel. In the parable, leaven is liked unto the gospel. Leaven makes bread soft and pliable and no longer hard. The leaven of the gospel penetrates the heart of a man and softens the hardness of his heart.
Leaven makes bread moist and no longer dry. The leaven of the gospel penetrates the dryness of a man’s heart and life. Leaven makes bread satisfying and no longer unfulfilling like dry, hard bread. The leaven of the gospel transforms the dissatisfied life with no purpose, into one with meaning and significance.
Leaven makes bread nourishing. The leaven of the gospel nourishes our faith. The growth of our faith will prepare us and inspire us to feed others with the leaven of the gospel.
Jesus seemed to want believers to understand how the Gospel penetrates to the heart and soul of the unbeliever by comparing it to leaven. Leaven works quietly and silently until it permeates the whole batch of dough. The Gospel, like leaven, works silently and quietly in the soul of those who receive it causing the dough to grow. The Gospel works slowly and gradually in the believer causing him or her to grow spiritually. Leaven changes the quality of the dough and not the substance. The Gospel leaves a new believer unchanged on the outside but on the inside he is a changed person. He has been made a person of perfect quality, a man of God.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
PRAYER:
Help me to be diligent in feeding on Your Word so the leaven of the Gospel will penetrate the hardness of my heart and make me pliable in Your hands. Give me the words and guidance to be Your representative to someone today.
August 24, 2014
Mustard Seed: August 21, 2014
TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 21, 2014.
MUSTARD SEED
DEFINITION:
A plant whose seed makes into a powder or paste.
SCRIPTURE:
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, 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.” Matthew 13:31-32.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Today we study the third parable that Jesus taught as recorded in Matthew 13. The mustard seed that Jesus referred to in this parable is the church in its very beginning that included Jesus and His disciples. Christ is describing the growth and greatness of His kingdom and of Christianity in this parable.
Jesus is showing how the Church began as the smallest of seeds and grows as a tree spreading out its roots and branches. On the day of Pentecost, after Jesus ascended into heaven, the small kingdom began its phenomenal expansion. Like the mustard seed it continued to grow, branching out into other nations of the world unknown.
God planted the seed, the Church, and His field is the world. The fowls of the air that lodged in the branches are probably the same as in the parable of the sower, and represent Satan and his demons. But some interpret the branches to be a place where many believers and non-believers found help and safety under its branches.
Again the mustard seed that Jesus refers to in this parable is the Church. Look at what happened in the development of the Church. Remember the Church referred to here is the body of believers that believe in Jesus, not a building. Christ launched the movement all by Himself. It began in the soul of one man, Jesus, a carpenter from the obscure village called Nazareth.
The message and work of the kingdom was carried forth by men without position and prestige. They were not mighty, noble, rich or famous. They were common folk. They began with very little faith but continued to grow under their teacher, the very Son of God. The body of believers numbered only about 120 people when Christ departed from this earth.
The bush, all believers who believe in Jesus throughout the world, has grown from small beginnings into the greatest of bushes. Not only did God grow His Kingdom through the early believers but God continues to grow His Kingdom through His faithful followers each and every day.
This parable is an encouragement to every believer that what we plant He will grow. It encourages us in our personal lives and ministries. It encourages us to look forward to our hope in eternity where we will be rewarded for our faithful labor. It should encourage us to reach out to the world around us and proclaim the good news of the gospel.
Jesus through this parable teaches us that just as the birds come to the mustard tree to nest in the safety of the branches, we are to come to Him to find safety in His outstretched arms reaching out to us to bring us into His Kingdom. We are to come to Him first and then live and walk with Him. Where do you stand? Are you a believer or a non-believer? He is waiting for you to come and become a child of God and a joint heir with Jesus in the Kingdom of God.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
PRAYER:
Thank You for this parable of the mustard seed. How grateful we are that You established Your church, a body of believers that can reach out to the world and share the good news of the gospel that You gave to us.
MUSTARD SEED
DEFINITION:
A plant whose seed makes into a powder or paste.
SCRIPTURE:
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, 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.” Matthew 13:31-32.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Today we study the third parable that Jesus taught as recorded in Matthew 13. The mustard seed that Jesus referred to in this parable is the church in its very beginning that included Jesus and His disciples. Christ is describing the growth and greatness of His kingdom and of Christianity in this parable.
Jesus is showing how the Church began as the smallest of seeds and grows as a tree spreading out its roots and branches. On the day of Pentecost, after Jesus ascended into heaven, the small kingdom began its phenomenal expansion. Like the mustard seed it continued to grow, branching out into other nations of the world unknown.
God planted the seed, the Church, and His field is the world. The fowls of the air that lodged in the branches are probably the same as in the parable of the sower, and represent Satan and his demons. But some interpret the branches to be a place where many believers and non-believers found help and safety under its branches.
Again the mustard seed that Jesus refers to in this parable is the Church. Look at what happened in the development of the Church. Remember the Church referred to here is the body of believers that believe in Jesus, not a building. Christ launched the movement all by Himself. It began in the soul of one man, Jesus, a carpenter from the obscure village called Nazareth.
The message and work of the kingdom was carried forth by men without position and prestige. They were not mighty, noble, rich or famous. They were common folk. They began with very little faith but continued to grow under their teacher, the very Son of God. The body of believers numbered only about 120 people when Christ departed from this earth.
The bush, all believers who believe in Jesus throughout the world, has grown from small beginnings into the greatest of bushes. Not only did God grow His Kingdom through the early believers but God continues to grow His Kingdom through His faithful followers each and every day.
This parable is an encouragement to every believer that what we plant He will grow. It encourages us in our personal lives and ministries. It encourages us to look forward to our hope in eternity where we will be rewarded for our faithful labor. It should encourage us to reach out to the world around us and proclaim the good news of the gospel.
Jesus through this parable teaches us that just as the birds come to the mustard tree to nest in the safety of the branches, we are to come to Him to find safety in His outstretched arms reaching out to us to bring us into His Kingdom. We are to come to Him first and then live and walk with Him. Where do you stand? Are you a believer or a non-believer? He is waiting for you to come and become a child of God and a joint heir with Jesus in the Kingdom of God.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
PRAYER:
Thank You for this parable of the mustard seed. How grateful we are that You established Your church, a body of believers that can reach out to the world and share the good news of the gospel that You gave to us.
Tares: August 20, 2014
TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY AUGUST 20, 2014.
TARES
DEFINITION:
A weed; undesirable plant.
SCRIPTURE:
Another parable He put forth to them saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares (weeds) also appeared.” Matthew 13:24-26.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Jesus explained this parable giving us six factors to understand His message.
First, He tells us that the sower of the good seed is the Son of Man the Lord Jesus Christ.
Secondly, the field is the world. While here on earth Jesus sowed the good seed in person but before He ascended into heaven, He commissioned His church, you and I, to proclaim the gospel to every person in every nation. Today the world is our mission field.
Thirdly, the good seed in this parable is not the gospel but the children of the kingdom. Jesus began to sow (scatter) the good seed (the children of God) first in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria; and he continues to scatter His children into all parts of the world. The good seed, His children, as they are sown are to share their faith with the part of the world in which they have been scattered.
When we are born into this world we have no choice as to what part of the world that would be. God has put you, as a believer, into the part of the world you live in for a reason. Wherever you live, you as a believer, are a “good seed,” a child of God, and His ambassador.
Fourth, the tares are “the sons of the wicked one,” Satan. Jesus said to the unsaved religious leaders of His day, “You are of your father the devil.” Where Jesus sends His children, you and I, Satan also sends his partners in sin.
Fifthly, the enemy that sowed the tares is the devil.
And finally, the harvest is at the end of the age, when we all witness the second coming of Christ. He will then send His angels to reap the harvest and separate the wheat from the tares. He will rapture the “wheat,” the children of the kingdom, and burn the “tares,” the children of Satan. The children of the Devil will be cast into “the furnace of fire,” while the children of God “will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.” Revelation 20:15
In summary, there are both good and bad people in this world. God sows the righteous and Satan sows the wicked. Men are not to judge who the wheat and tares are because a day of harvest and judgment is coming when God will be the judge. God alone has the wisdom and authority to judge and He will separate the wheat from the tares.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.
PRAYER:
Thank You for saving me from my sins and making me a child of God and one of the good seeds among the tares of this world. Help me to be Your witness in the part of the world that You have placed me. May my life shine out with Your love and may my words declare the good news of the Gospel.
TARES
DEFINITION:
A weed; undesirable plant.
SCRIPTURE:
Another parable He put forth to them saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares (weeds) also appeared.” Matthew 13:24-26.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Jesus explained this parable giving us six factors to understand His message.
First, He tells us that the sower of the good seed is the Son of Man the Lord Jesus Christ.
Secondly, the field is the world. While here on earth Jesus sowed the good seed in person but before He ascended into heaven, He commissioned His church, you and I, to proclaim the gospel to every person in every nation. Today the world is our mission field.
Thirdly, the good seed in this parable is not the gospel but the children of the kingdom. Jesus began to sow (scatter) the good seed (the children of God) first in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria; and he continues to scatter His children into all parts of the world. The good seed, His children, as they are sown are to share their faith with the part of the world in which they have been scattered.
When we are born into this world we have no choice as to what part of the world that would be. God has put you, as a believer, into the part of the world you live in for a reason. Wherever you live, you as a believer, are a “good seed,” a child of God, and His ambassador.
Fourth, the tares are “the sons of the wicked one,” Satan. Jesus said to the unsaved religious leaders of His day, “You are of your father the devil.” Where Jesus sends His children, you and I, Satan also sends his partners in sin.
Fifthly, the enemy that sowed the tares is the devil.
And finally, the harvest is at the end of the age, when we all witness the second coming of Christ. He will then send His angels to reap the harvest and separate the wheat from the tares. He will rapture the “wheat,” the children of the kingdom, and burn the “tares,” the children of Satan. The children of the Devil will be cast into “the furnace of fire,” while the children of God “will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.” Revelation 20:15
In summary, there are both good and bad people in this world. God sows the righteous and Satan sows the wicked. Men are not to judge who the wheat and tares are because a day of harvest and judgment is coming when God will be the judge. God alone has the wisdom and authority to judge and He will separate the wheat from the tares.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.
PRAYER:
Thank You for saving me from my sins and making me a child of God and one of the good seeds among the tares of this world. Help me to be Your witness in the part of the world that You have placed me. May my life shine out with Your love and may my words declare the good news of the Gospel.
Sower: August 19, 2014
TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 19, 2014.
SOWER
DEFINITION:
One who scatters or plants seed.
SCRIPTURE:
And as he sowed some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. Matthew 13:4-5.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERENCE:
We are taking one parable at a time for the next two weeks and looking at it carefully. This first parable is easy to understand, because Jesus interpreted it for His disciples. The sower is one who sows the Word of the Kingdom of God in the world. It is either the Lord Himself or a servant of His, like us. The seed is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the incorruptible seed. The ground onto which the gospel seed is sown is the heart of the men who are the hearers that we are to communicate to.
Jesus made it very simple and clear as to what He wants us to do. We cannot say that we do not understand. He wants us to share the good news of the gospel to our fellow man (and women). Then He went on to let us know what kind of responses we could expect.
Jesus was teaching in this parable that a sower went forth to sow and a large number that listened did not allow the Word to take permanent root. Only a small number allowed the Word to take permanent root and only a very few allowed the Word to bear 100% fruit.
This is true today. Many unbelievers hear about God daily on television, radio, by communication from believers, and some even in churches. But only a small number respond to the gospel message. Also very few begin to grow in their knowledge of God and His Word.
There are four responses that we can expect to the gospel message when we present it to unbelievers. In other words, there are four different types of ground upon which the sown seed may fall. Christ did not teach that all the world would be converted even though that was His desire. These four responses to the Gospel are not caused by different qualities of seed that have been sown because the Gospel is the same and never changes because God does not change. Christ put the responsibility for faith or unbelief on the soil, which is the hearer.
The first response comes from a hard heart. The wayside soil is hard and unprepared for seed. The fowls that devour the seed that fell on the hard ground are Satan and his evil demons. How many people do you know that have hearts that are hardened and have no desire to listen to the gospel? These people just do not want to hear about God because of their hardened hearts.
The writer Edward Dahlberg observed, “At nineteen, I was a stranger to myself and would not accept there was a God who loved me. At forty I asked, “Who am I?” At fifty I concluded I would never know. A recent poll among University students revealed that 92% of all students really do not know who they are or if there is a personal God that wants to love them. Jesus talked about these and their hardened hearts in this parable.
The second response comes from a shallow heart. Such a person has no spiritual depth and no commitment to God’s Word. He holds to his religious decision of honoring God for a while, but when tribulation or persecution comes his way he is offended that God allowed it and falls away from his profession of faith.
They are the ones who blame God when they have problems and life gets difficult for them. They say that they just cannot believe that God really cares about them if God would allow them to suffer. We all know people like this. They are, what we might call fair-weather believers that only want to say they know God when all is going well.
The third response comes from a worldly heart. A heart that loves the world system is a heart alienated from God. The love of money, success, and the pleasures of the world choke out the influence of the Word of God in the life of the professing believer so that he becomes unfruitful. This type of person has a choice problem. They choose fame and fortune over God.
The fourth response comes from an understanding heart. Only a few people allow the Word of God to take permanent root. They are the ones that have an honest and good heart. They hear the Word of God and understand it and they bear the fruit of God’s Word in their own life. They will be faithful to God, obey His commandments and be a witness to the lost.
Our prayer is that each person reading this devotional has a honest, understanding and good heart wanting to share the good news of the gospel and desiring to grow daily in the knowledge of the Word.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
PRAYER:
It is my prayer today that I can have an understanding heart and be a fruitful believer. May the Word of God have a permanent root in my life and in the lives of my family so that together we can be used according to Your desire.
SOWER
DEFINITION:
One who scatters or plants seed.
SCRIPTURE:
And as he sowed some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. Matthew 13:4-5.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERENCE:
We are taking one parable at a time for the next two weeks and looking at it carefully. This first parable is easy to understand, because Jesus interpreted it for His disciples. The sower is one who sows the Word of the Kingdom of God in the world. It is either the Lord Himself or a servant of His, like us. The seed is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the incorruptible seed. The ground onto which the gospel seed is sown is the heart of the men who are the hearers that we are to communicate to.
Jesus made it very simple and clear as to what He wants us to do. We cannot say that we do not understand. He wants us to share the good news of the gospel to our fellow man (and women). Then He went on to let us know what kind of responses we could expect.
Jesus was teaching in this parable that a sower went forth to sow and a large number that listened did not allow the Word to take permanent root. Only a small number allowed the Word to take permanent root and only a very few allowed the Word to bear 100% fruit.
This is true today. Many unbelievers hear about God daily on television, radio, by communication from believers, and some even in churches. But only a small number respond to the gospel message. Also very few begin to grow in their knowledge of God and His Word.
There are four responses that we can expect to the gospel message when we present it to unbelievers. In other words, there are four different types of ground upon which the sown seed may fall. Christ did not teach that all the world would be converted even though that was His desire. These four responses to the Gospel are not caused by different qualities of seed that have been sown because the Gospel is the same and never changes because God does not change. Christ put the responsibility for faith or unbelief on the soil, which is the hearer.
The first response comes from a hard heart. The wayside soil is hard and unprepared for seed. The fowls that devour the seed that fell on the hard ground are Satan and his evil demons. How many people do you know that have hearts that are hardened and have no desire to listen to the gospel? These people just do not want to hear about God because of their hardened hearts.
The writer Edward Dahlberg observed, “At nineteen, I was a stranger to myself and would not accept there was a God who loved me. At forty I asked, “Who am I?” At fifty I concluded I would never know. A recent poll among University students revealed that 92% of all students really do not know who they are or if there is a personal God that wants to love them. Jesus talked about these and their hardened hearts in this parable.
The second response comes from a shallow heart. Such a person has no spiritual depth and no commitment to God’s Word. He holds to his religious decision of honoring God for a while, but when tribulation or persecution comes his way he is offended that God allowed it and falls away from his profession of faith.
They are the ones who blame God when they have problems and life gets difficult for them. They say that they just cannot believe that God really cares about them if God would allow them to suffer. We all know people like this. They are, what we might call fair-weather believers that only want to say they know God when all is going well.
The third response comes from a worldly heart. A heart that loves the world system is a heart alienated from God. The love of money, success, and the pleasures of the world choke out the influence of the Word of God in the life of the professing believer so that he becomes unfruitful. This type of person has a choice problem. They choose fame and fortune over God.
The fourth response comes from an understanding heart. Only a few people allow the Word of God to take permanent root. They are the ones that have an honest and good heart. They hear the Word of God and understand it and they bear the fruit of God’s Word in their own life. They will be faithful to God, obey His commandments and be a witness to the lost.
Our prayer is that each person reading this devotional has a honest, understanding and good heart wanting to share the good news of the gospel and desiring to grow daily in the knowledge of the Word.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
PRAYER:
It is my prayer today that I can have an understanding heart and be a fruitful believer. May the Word of God have a permanent root in my life and in the lives of my family so that together we can be used according to Your desire.
Parables: August 18, 2014
TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY AUGUST 18, 2014.
PARABLES
DEFINITION:
An earthly story with a heavenly meaning; a story with earthly analogies to illustrate a spiritual truth or a moral truth; a story that compares something unfamiliar with something familiar.
SCRIPTURE:
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; He did not say anything to them without using a parable. So it was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” Matthew 13:34-35.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
For the next eight days we are going to look at eight parables, one each day, that Jesus taught and is recorded in Matthew.
The question is asked, “Why did Jesus teach in parables?” Jesus wanted to teach the disciples and His audience the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. By mystery Jesus does not mean something mysterious, but rather something unknown and not revealed until this present time.
While Jesus was teaching, the truth of His teachings was not understood. Even His disciples who were with Jesus day after day for close to three years could not understand some of His teachings. It was impossible for them to understand all the mysteries of Jesus teachings because they were not yet revealed.
Because Jesus knew that they were not understanding he said to His disciples, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterword you will understand.” John 13:7. By afterword Jesus meant after His death, resurrection and return to heaven.
The message of what Jesus was teaching the disciples was twofold. Jesus gave a picture of modern day Christianity by saying that within the church there is a mixture of good and bad. It includes professing believers as well as genuine believers; false doctrine as well as true doctrine; false ritual as well as true ritual and professing belief as well as real belief.
Jesus also gave a picture of the world (all who inhabit the earth) and its priceless value to God. He said He had come to seek and sacrificially purchase the world. He taught that His followers are to laboriously work, seeking to lead men out of the world and into His kingdom. This is the message that Jesus wants us to learn today from these parables.
Jesus was trying to have his disciples understand that He was the most unique person who ever lived because He was the Son of God who had come from the Kingdom of God. H.G. Wells wrote, “Christ is the most unique person of history. No man can write a history of the human race without giving first and foremost place to the penniless teacher from Nazareth.”
Rabbi Steven Wise said that Jesus, the Jew, has influenced the world more than any other man. This person called Jesus lived on the earth for only 33 years. He never traveled more than 100 miles from His home.
Charles Lamb was right in saying that if all the great men of history gathered together at one location and Shakespeare should enter, they would rise to do him honor; but if Jesus Christ should come in, they would fall down and worship Him.
This man Jesus spoke and taught His disciples what God sent Him to communicate to the world that the Kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything in this world.
Parables vividly communicated from the known (earthly) to the unknown or unseen (spiritual). When Jesus disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables, Jesus answered, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Matthew 13:13.Those whose ears had been opened by God would understand His parables and be blessed, while the unbelievers and uninterested would hear but not comprehend.
Today these parables still help our understanding of what is going on in the world, what God is accomplishing and how He is continually working in our world. We also through these parables see what God will do when Christ returns to set up His earthly kingdom. Each parable that we will look at these next few days are considered to have a rare beauty capable of unending study and new understanding of spiritual truth.
Thus these parables will help us understand how Christ wants us to administer His church and be a light to the world during this present age, and how He will judge all upon His return.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
PRAYER:
Help me to understand by studying the parables what You taught while here on this earth. Show me the mysteries of the Kingdom of God so I can help others see that the Kingdom of God is the most important thing they can have.
PARABLES
DEFINITION:
An earthly story with a heavenly meaning; a story with earthly analogies to illustrate a spiritual truth or a moral truth; a story that compares something unfamiliar with something familiar.
SCRIPTURE:
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; He did not say anything to them without using a parable. So it was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” Matthew 13:34-35.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
For the next eight days we are going to look at eight parables, one each day, that Jesus taught and is recorded in Matthew.
The question is asked, “Why did Jesus teach in parables?” Jesus wanted to teach the disciples and His audience the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. By mystery Jesus does not mean something mysterious, but rather something unknown and not revealed until this present time.
While Jesus was teaching, the truth of His teachings was not understood. Even His disciples who were with Jesus day after day for close to three years could not understand some of His teachings. It was impossible for them to understand all the mysteries of Jesus teachings because they were not yet revealed.
Because Jesus knew that they were not understanding he said to His disciples, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterword you will understand.” John 13:7. By afterword Jesus meant after His death, resurrection and return to heaven.
The message of what Jesus was teaching the disciples was twofold. Jesus gave a picture of modern day Christianity by saying that within the church there is a mixture of good and bad. It includes professing believers as well as genuine believers; false doctrine as well as true doctrine; false ritual as well as true ritual and professing belief as well as real belief.
Jesus also gave a picture of the world (all who inhabit the earth) and its priceless value to God. He said He had come to seek and sacrificially purchase the world. He taught that His followers are to laboriously work, seeking to lead men out of the world and into His kingdom. This is the message that Jesus wants us to learn today from these parables.
Jesus was trying to have his disciples understand that He was the most unique person who ever lived because He was the Son of God who had come from the Kingdom of God. H.G. Wells wrote, “Christ is the most unique person of history. No man can write a history of the human race without giving first and foremost place to the penniless teacher from Nazareth.”
Rabbi Steven Wise said that Jesus, the Jew, has influenced the world more than any other man. This person called Jesus lived on the earth for only 33 years. He never traveled more than 100 miles from His home.
Charles Lamb was right in saying that if all the great men of history gathered together at one location and Shakespeare should enter, they would rise to do him honor; but if Jesus Christ should come in, they would fall down and worship Him.
This man Jesus spoke and taught His disciples what God sent Him to communicate to the world that the Kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything in this world.
Parables vividly communicated from the known (earthly) to the unknown or unseen (spiritual). When Jesus disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables, Jesus answered, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Matthew 13:13.Those whose ears had been opened by God would understand His parables and be blessed, while the unbelievers and uninterested would hear but not comprehend.
Today these parables still help our understanding of what is going on in the world, what God is accomplishing and how He is continually working in our world. We also through these parables see what God will do when Christ returns to set up His earthly kingdom. Each parable that we will look at these next few days are considered to have a rare beauty capable of unending study and new understanding of spiritual truth.
Thus these parables will help us understand how Christ wants us to administer His church and be a light to the world during this present age, and how He will judge all upon His return.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
PRAYER:
Help me to understand by studying the parables what You taught while here on this earth. Show me the mysteries of the Kingdom of God so I can help others see that the Kingdom of God is the most important thing they can have.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
