matt13 page1

THE PARABLES OF MATTHEW
CHAPTER 13 page 1 of 5

There are 8 Parables in Chapter 13 of the Gospel of Matthew.

But observing them closer we see that 4 of the parables belongs together.
Aligning them in the proper order will give us a better understanding in the deeper meaning of those parables.

We have 5 parables that has to do with the good and the bad,
or the believers and the unbelievers.
The last parable no.#8, is about the old (O. T.) and the new (N. T.).

Matt 13:51-52

Jesus saith unto them;

"Have ye understood all these things?"

They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

Then said he unto them,

"Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old."

When one understands the parables,
then you are like unto one that is instructed in the spiritual things of God,
and can bring out spiritual treasure from the O.T. and the N.T., to teach your household
(the gathering, church, Christians).

If you do not understand the spiritual meaning of the parables,
for they are the hidden deeper spiritual things of the realm of the heavens, of God,
how can you teach anyone?

Like the parables, the Scriptures has many deep spiritual treasures of God.

Teaching literal things of God will help you some,
but it will not make one grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord.
It tends to makes one puffed up in literal knowledge.

1 Cor 2:11-14

"For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God."

"Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth,
but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

If you're one that says that we should take the things of God only literally,
then you are in the realm of the natural and you do not understand the deeper spiritual things of God.

There isn't a verse in the Bible that says, to take the Bible literally.
On the contrary, there are verses that indicates the opposite.

1 Co. 2:10; God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit seacheth all things, yea the deep things of God.

1 Co. 2:13; Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

2Co. 4:18; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen is temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Let us look at the 8 parables,
and align them that we can understand and explain them correctly.

1. The bad and the good soils (hearts) (vs. 3-9).                             The bad and the good (explained; 18-23)
2. The Wheat (good) and Tares (bad) (vs. 36-43).                          The good and the bad (explained; 37-43).
3. The man and the mustard seed (faith)(v. 31-32).                         The good (unexplained).
4. The woman and the leaven (v. 33) (sin).                                       The bad   (unexplained).
5. The man who hid the treasure (v. 44)(unbeliever).                       The bad   (unexplained).
6. The merchant man finds the pearl of great price (v. 45-46)(believer). The good (unexplained)
7. The Good and the Bad sea creatures (vs. 47-50).                      The good and the bad (explained; 49-50).
8. The householder that can bring out both the old and the new (v. 51-52)            (unexplained)

Looking closely at all the 8 parables in Mat. 13:3-52
and aligning them shows that they become 5 parables of the same basic subject,
of the good and the bad.
It is about the believers and the unbelievers.
Jesus spoke all of the 8 parables in this chapter in a certain sequence to give us a pattern,
and to arrange them so we can understand the meaning of the other unexplained parables.

Aligning parable 3 with 4 and parable 5 with 6.

Parables 3 and 4

Aligning parable 3, the man and the mustard seed and parable 4,
the woman and the leaven is appropriate for the man (head) goes together with the woman (body).
We have the good (mustard seed, faith) and the bad (leaven).

Parables 5 and 6
Aligning parable 5, the man who hid the treasure (bad) with 6, the merchant man who found the Pearl of Great Price (good) and we again have the bad and the good.

Many interpret the Parable of the Hid Treasure as Christ seeking for
(1) the church, others say
(2) the treasure is Israel.

(1) THE CHURCH; Some say that Jesus came to find the church, and when he found it, buried it and went and bought the world with the church in it,
by dying for the world and the church.
When Jesus came the church was not yet in existence.
The church came into existence at the day of Pentecost, after he died and resurrected.
I know it says in

Eph. 5:26

"Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it."

But this is a general statement of reflection, but the sequence is,
He came seeking for all, and whosoever believeth is saved,
and add to the church after it was formed by the Holy Spirit at the day of Pentecost
(Acts 2:1-4)

(2) ISRAEL; While it is true that Jesus came originally to seek and to save the Jews but they rejected Him. Thus, He did not find the Jewish nation, and buried them in the world,
and bought the world with them in it, by dying for them.
In the New Testament the word treasure refers to The Word of God

The mysteries of God, The Gospel of God, and The Glory of God,
which was displayed on the Cross are included in the Treasure which is the Word of God.

(2Co. 4:3-7, 10);

3. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:" (To the unbelievers the Gospel is hidden from them.)

4. "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

5. "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake."

6. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

7. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."

2 Cor 4:10

10. "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."

The Treasure are the things contained in the Word of God,

the Scriptures given to us, believers.
But the world and many Christian do not know how precious and valuable the Word of God is.
It is hidden from the world, but revealed to us that it becomes a treasure us.
The more we learn of the deep spiritual things contained in the Word of God,
it is to us a treasure of precious revelation of the things of God.

The Alignment:

1. Parable no.1; The sower; the good and the bad. Explained by Jesus.

2. Parable no.2; The Wheat and the tares; the good and the bad. Explained by Jesus

3. Parable no.3 & 4; The Mustard Seed and the Leaven; the good and the bad. We will call this No. 3.

4. Parable no.5 & 6; The Hid Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price; the good and the bad. No. 4

5. Parable no.7; The Sea Creatures; the good and the bad.

Since Jesus explained parables 1,2 and 5, we will look parable 3 (3 & 4) and parable 4 (5 & 6).

Parable 3.
The Parable of the Man and the Mustard Seed
(Mat. 31:32; Mar. 4:30-32)

He identifies it as a man and a woman so we will know that this two parable goes together,
as the man (head) and the woman (body) belong together,
and also these 2 parables are next to each other.

The Man and the Mustard Seed is about faith.
Jesus said, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed you can move a mountain
(Mat. 17:20, huge obstacles which deter your progress).
And about the leaven, he said to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Like leaven (yeast) makes the bread to rise,
the doctrine of the Pharisees has to do with works that one must do to be righteous.
These causes one to be proud and puffed up and the result is hypocrisy, malice and wickedness.

The man represents the head, spirit, mind and the woman represents the body, the soul, the emotions.
If we emphasize faith, (although it is small as a mustard seed)
which cannot be readily seen outwardly,
it will grown into a large tree and the birds of the air, (spiritual) Christians,
who emphasizes grace, faith, and spiritual things, he is like the birds of the air, (spiritual)
that lodged in the branches of the mustard seed which is liken to faith.
The Greek word for lodge is kataskenoo.
Kata is under and skenoo is a tent.

It means that one with faith, a Christian who emphasizes spiritual things,
is one who abides, resides and walks by faith, because he or she has grown spiritually.

Since the man is a picture of the head, spirit, mind,
he or she that is living or abiding in faith is a spiritual person.

The Apostle Paul says

"I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, so then, with my mind I serve the law of God,
with the flesh the law of sin
(Rom. 7:25).
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus
(Phil. 2:5).
We have the mind of Christ
(1Co. 2:16).

Thus if you are spiritual and emphasize faith,
there is no obstacle that is too great that cannot be removed.

A person who is walking by faith is not dominated by feelings that comes from the soul.
Feelings of fears, anxiety, sadness, etc. may arise,
but is soon subsided or overcome by the spirit of the mind,
that is filled with the knowledge of the Word of God rightly divided.

This is because the Word of God has entered into the mind, and into the heart of the soul,
and the soul (emotions) is subject to the mind,
the body subject to the head, the church subject to Christ as Christ was subjected to the Father.

Of course it depends on big faith or little faith.
Little faith will save you for eternity and big faith will save you here and now,
in difficult situations and any obstacles.
The mustard seed which is very small, and a herb (vegetable),
grew up to be a big tree with branches.

Parable 3, continue.
The Parable of the Woman and the Leaven
(Mat. 13:33; Lk. 13:20-21).

"Another parable spake he unto them;
The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."

The kingdom of heaven is the realm of the spiritual.
The woman which represent the body or a church took,
and hid 3 measures of meal till the whole was leaven.
The Greek word for meal is aleuron or flour, which is the basic ingredients of bread.
Bread speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ in salvation.

The 3 basic ingredients of salvation is:
the Cross,
redemption and eternal life or the Gospel of God,
the Word of God.

This is like the Talent, money and goods that God gave to the people in the Parable of the Talents
(see notes on the Parable of the Talents).

There are many churches that teach salvation by works, or faith plus works,
and add to the Gospel of God and the whole becomes leavened, puffed up, pride, evil.
This is the doctrine of the Pharisees

.
The Apostle Paul says,
if any other man or even angels preach any other gospel,
other then the one of Grace and faith, let him be accursed.
They pervert the Gospel of Christ
(Gal. 1:6-9).

Many Christian churches are emphasizing works after you are saved.
Even after you become a Christian, do not teach nor emphasize works to please God.
Works are the result of Grace and Faith.
All is of Grace and faith.
God gives to us by His Grace and we receive it by faith.
Grace and Works do not mix
(Rom. 11:6).

Faith is what pleases God and without faith it impossible to please Him
(Heb. 11:6).

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