The Parables: Parables are short stories that have both a surface meaning and an underlying meaning. They possess both social and spiritual lessons that are timeless. Jesus exemplifies the master teacher, presenting deep, spiritual truths in simple, contextual anecdotes.
As Chapter 13 starts at the point that Jesus had apparantley been in the house teaching, but the crowds were so great that He moved outside. We gather how crowded it had become because in the last chapter, Jesus' family had not even been able to get close to him. Here the people still crowded so close to him that he sat in a boat out on the water while the people gathered on the shore to listen. And he told the parable of the sower.The Parable of the Sower
1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
This is one of Jesus's best known parables. Just what is a parable? A parable is a short narrative or story that makes a moral or religious point using everyday objects as comparisons. The farmer sowing seed was an everyday sight to the people of Jesus' day. He talked of the seed falling on 4 different types of soil' the path, which was beaten hard so that it couldn't grow and the birds ate the seed. rocky places, obviously rock with a thin layer of soil over it, where thorns are already growing; and good soil such as the soil of Galilee that grew good crops.He finishes with the statement tat we heard in 11:15. "He who has ears to hear let him hear" He is letting listeners know that this simple little story has a deeper meaning.
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" 11 He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.' 16 "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
People often say that Jesus taught the parables to make his point easier to understand. That's not what He says!! He says He taught in parables so that only those who were serious about learning from Him would understand. "Whoever has........" a desire for spiritual understanding, God will open their hearts to more knowledge; but those who don't want o understand, God will take what little they have from them. Why? That doesn't seem right! Because, He says, they have rejected it--they chose not to see or hear.Again He mentions 2 groups' those who are eager to learn from Jesus and those whose minds are closed to His truths. The second group fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah. These people have closed their hearts to His message, because if they hadn't they might hear Him, understand and be spiritually healed. They don't want that==they prefer their own ideas.
But Jesus tells his disciples that they are blessed, because they want to learn from Him. Many had looked forward to the time the Messiah would walk the earth==Noah, Abraham, Moses, David--but they didn't life to see it. Those gathered around Jesus to learn were privileged to see Him.
The question for each of us is, do you study the bible with learning in mind, or just getting the answers to random questions? Do you show up to church just for fun and to see people, or do you enjoy learning the Word? You do need to make and effort to understand' Jesus told stories to hid the truth. But he's ready to help each of us understand. When His disciples came and asked him questions, he was glad to share the answers. And in John 14:26 He said the Holy Spirit 'will teach you all things' Just ask him and then; "blessed are your eyes because they see. "
18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
Now Jesus explains the parable of the sower to His disciples. He doesn't identify the 'sower,' but this is anyone representing Christ, 'sowing" the seed, which is the message of His kingdom. There are 4 types of soil, representing the hearts of those who hear the message. The soil that has been beaten down so that the seed is eaten by the birds represents those who hear and don't understand, so that Satan easily snatches it. The rocky sol is those who hear with joy, but have no depth of commitment and lose interest when problems arise. The seed among the thorns show those who allow their worries and/or their interest in material things to take priority. Last is the 'good soil, 'those who hear and understand and bear fruit.Jesus says that the result of our witnessing depends largely on the state of the people's hearts. Some hearts will be hardened so they can't understand; others will be so shallow they will quickly lose interest when problems show up. Some will have hearts so full of care and worldly pleasures the Word will be choked out. But there will always be some whose hearts will turn to God joyfully and bear much spiritual fruit!
Remember John 15:5? " I am the vine' you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Examine your heart carefully-which category do you fit? You'll only fit in the last group if Jesus is the most important thing in your life. Remember, the test of the 4th soil was producing a crop. And Jesus says you cant 'bear fruit' with out him
And remember that the seed is God's Word. We have to hear it and make an effort to understand it, or it can't take root and grow to produce a crop.
The Parable of the Weeds:
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 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?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' 29 But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."
Another parable from Jesus, remember, He gave as the reason his parables that some truly wanted to learn from Him while others had already closed their hearts to HimNow he likens the kingdom of heaven to a man sowing wheat' at night an enemy comes and spreads weeds among the wheat. When these weeds begin to sprout everyone realizes what has happened. Some translations use the word 'tares' for the weeds, a plant also called darnel, which is difficult to tell from wheat until the heads of grain form.
The owner of the field tells his workers not to pull up the tares, or darnel, because it might uproot and damage the wheat plants. They're left to grow until harvest time-the time when it's the easiest to tell the difference between the tow types of plants. Then, says the owner, he'll tell the harvesters to harvest the weeds first, bundle them up, and burn them. After that it will be easy to harvest the wheat and store it in the barn. Remember, all the work was done by hand at that time-no motorized equipment that just cut and gathered, unable to tell the difference between the plants as it harvests.
So what does this tell us?
The explanation to this parable is given in verses 36-43, when the disciples ask Jesus to explain it. Remembering that He said He told parables to hide the truth from those who could not understand it, why don't you see how you do. Study the parable and see what it says to you. You may already know the answers, but read it as if you were hearing it for the first time. Ask yourself, as you read if you're really following Jesus. If you really want to understand what He's saying and are willing let Him be the top priority in your life. Can you give up what you know is getting in the way of a Christian life?
No comments:
Post a Comment