The Weekend Word
Matthew 13:44-58
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
Here I will ask NOT what is the kingdom of heaven – but who is the kingdom of heaven?
Jesus, God rules and reigns on the earth as king among sinners
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
- Again, we need to look at who are the players
- Who is the treasure?
- Who is the man?
- The disciples may be looked at as having given up all to get Jesus
- The even say “Lord we have given up everything to follow you”
- The same with you and me?
- Jesus is the treasure.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
- When you know who this Jesus is, everything takes on a new perspective.
- What about the other view – Jesus is the man / merchant who finds us = we are the treasure / the pearl?
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
- Jesus is the net – he draws everyone – gathers in all kinds
48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
- The sorting out. Similar to the Wheat and Weeds
- Judgment = good and bad.
- No one wants to say it – but even in our church, every Sunday sits the weeds among the wheat.
- Look, Jesus dies for them all, then he sorts them out like fish.
- Go back and read v.11
- “And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
- At the end of times
- Who sorted the wheat and tares? – the angels
- Look at the choices – the distinction – you are either Evil or Righteous
- There is no in between.
50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Where do the evil go? Where were the weeds tossed?
- Jesus keeps at them – same story using different approaches, different language, different analogies
- Go has promised to hand these people over to their own desires.
New and Old Treasures
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.”
- Yes? Lying right to Jesus’ face.
52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
- Scribe = old word for teacher.
- This is what we have been doing – taking the treasures out of the closet – old & new – out of the storehouse and letting them loose.
- Jesus is the treasure – he has been taking the old messianic prophecies and making them new – setting them before us.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there,
- When Jesus had finished — this marks another major dividing point in Matthew’s gospel.
- From this point through Ch 18 we find Jesus preparing his disciples to build his church.
- Jesus is applying the parables – he is separating his disciples from the other people.
- He will separate his church
54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
- Look at their first reaction – they recognized that he spoke wisdom and worked mighty works.
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
- As they were identifying his family, his origins etc. – this was not a complement, but a derision.
56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
- Wait a minute – if he came from this clan, how is it he is doing all these things??
- His claim to be messiah – can’t be.
57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”
- It’s tough to please the home crowd.
58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
- Unbelief = lack of faith
He shall be called a Nazarene, even by Nazarenes.
The rejection of Jesus at Nazareth strongly brings home the point (which is not lost elsewhere in the gospels) that Jesus was fully man who had (by human standards) no kingly or otherwise important persona. He wasn’t even qualified to preach in the synagogue of a backwater village!
He gets hungry, tired, suffers and ultimately dies for our sins. His kingdom is not of this world and it seeks citizens who would be disciples of its King. If we don’t get Christ right, then we will create a Christ in our own image and follow him/me. Without naming our celebrity christs, I think we get the picture.
The Greek word “apistia” is unbelief.
Definition:
unfaithfulness, faithless
want of faith, unbelief
weakness of faith
The reason a lot of Christians are missing out on the supernatural aspects of a walk with God.
They mentally acknowledge the Holy Spirit academically but don’t honestly expect Him to interact with them as a living active person.
Moving in and through them in spiritual gifts that He gives to them for the benefit of the Body of Christ and themselves.
And miracles of healing and changing of circumstances through His capabilities as God Almighty.
I can only wonder how many of us actually are aware of His presence in our lives beyond our mental gymnastics of knowledge and stored minutia that we banter back and forth in our thoughts?
Kathryn Kuhlman used to ask her crowds, “Do you know Him, do you really really know Him?”
The Nazarene’s missed Jesus because they really did not know Him at all.
They had apistia in their hearts.
And it cost them dearly.
Here are a few places where apistia appears in Scripture:
Mark 6:6
And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.
Mark 16:14
Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.
Romans 11:20
Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited , but fear;
Romans 11:23
And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
Hebrews 3:12
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
Hebrews 3:9
So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
This is a very real issue that we must be on guard against in our own hearts lest we miss out.
Why do they sort the fish but leave the weed?
Dusty, very good question.
I think we need to look at the timing. For the weeds, when the discussion comes up it is not the right time – it is not at the end of the age – but at the end, then the weeds will be destroyed.
The fish story I think is happening at the end of the age – the net is full – the net has dragged everyone one in for judgement .. and the separation takes place.
Thank you MLD