The Power of Unbelief
Matthew 13:53-58
October 30, 2011

Having now concluded Matthew’s section on the kingdom of heaven,
We now move into a section that seems to validate what we just learned.

Jesus taught us all sorts of things about the kingdom.
From its GLORY, to its GROWTH, to its VALUE.
And we were indeed blessed to learn those things.

But starting off that section, Jesus began with a parable about a sower.
A parable where a sower sowed seed and the seed fell on four types of soil.
Some hard, some rocky, some weedy, and some fertile.

The point of the parable is that
Converts are not a good measure of evangelical success.

We have no control over the human heart, or how they will respond.
People don’t reject the gospel because we are flawed.
They reject the gospel because their heart is bad.

Many people today spend a lot of time and energy
Trying to come up with the next gimmick or trick or tactic
To get hard-hearted people to respond to the gospel.

Maybe if I am more intellectual…
Maybe if I am more relevant…
Maybe if I am more fun…
Maybe if I serve pizza…
Maybe if I use a celebrity…

But friends, those are hopeless gimmicks.

Certainly we know there was never a better evangelist than Jesus.
Certainly no one understood the gospel better…
Certainly no one preached with more conviction…
Certainly no one had more compassion…
Certainly no one was more relevant…
And if it came down to it, no one could make better pizza…
(we all saw what He did with water when wine was needed,
And we are aware that five loaves and two fish make a major meal)

And yet, despite the unique ability of Jesus,
Still people did not respond to the gospel.
WHY? Because their hearts were bad.

And now Matthew devotes a section of his gospel
To validate that truth.

For we are about to embark on truth being presented
To 8 different groups or individuals.

1) His Hometown (13:53-58)
2) Herod (14:1-12)
3) The 5,000 (14:13-21)
4) The disciples (14:22-33)
5) The Jerusalem Scribes and Pharisees (15:1-20)
6) The Canaanite Woman (15:21-28)
7) The 4,000 (15:29-39)
8) The Pharisees and Sadducees (16:1-4)

And of all of those 8 opportunities only two will prove to be successful.

Only the disciples and the Canaanite woman exercise true faith in Christ.
The rest all reject.

Some are certainly hard soil, some rocky, and some weedy,
But all end up rejecting Christ.

And Matthew’s point is validated that it is not the fault of the seed
And it is not the fault of the sower, but is the fault of the soil.

And tonight we begin looking at these confrontations.

The confrontation this morning drastically illustrates for us
“The Power of Unbelief”

For (58) “And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.”

So the point is obvious.

Now much has been said over the years
About the power of belief, or the power of faith.

Matthew 21:21-22 “And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Hebrews 11:32-34 “And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”

And indeed the examples are limitless as to the power of faith.

BUT REST ASSURED UNBELIEF ALSO HAS POWER
And it is the power to keep a person condemned in sin
And headed to hell.
Now we certainly know and believe in the Sovereignty of God.
We believe that God chooses those who are saved.
We believe that God calls those He chooses.
We believe that God justifies those He calls through the atonement.
We believe that God glorifies those He justifies making them secure.

Romans 8:29-30 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

Furthermore we know that no one can come to God
Apart from His enabling it.

John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

And so we believe in the sovereignty of God, even in regard to salvation.

BUT THAT DOES NOT NEGATE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO BELIEVE.

While it is accurate to say that no man is saved
Apart from being chosen of God,
It is equally accurate to say that no man is saved
Apart from believing in Christ.

The two mysteriously work together.

But belief is necessary.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”

John 6:29 “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

Over and over Scripture emphasizes the importance of belief.

In fact:
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Belief is vitally important, for Christ atones for those who believe.

And that makes unbelief extremely dangerous.
More than Cancer
More than Alcohol
More than Cholesterol

If you fail to believe in Christ, you will not be saved.
You can argue God’s sovereign election until you are blue in the face,
But if you don’t believe in Christ you will not go to heaven.

And by the way that tragedy is seen early in this text.
(53) “When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.”

That is no insignificant statement.
Where did He depart from? Capernaum

They just lost their chance.
He had worked numerous miracles there, and they had not believed.

Matthew 11:23 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.”

They did not believe and Jesus left.

And now we move on to a new challenge; Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth.

And there are four things I want to show you in this text.
#1 THEY SAW
Matthew 13:54a

“He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished”

So it is homecoming.
Jesus came home and Matthew wants to point out how He was received.

Surely if anyone would receive Him greatly it would be His hometown.
He knew them the best.
He had a foot in the door with them.

Surely this is the upper hand in reaching Nazareth.

Let’s see how it goes.

Now Matthew doesn’t give us the most information about this event.
Luke gives us way more insight into what occurred here,
And we will look at his gospel some.

But I really want you to recognize that even though Matthew doesn’t give all the detailed information his point is crystal clear.

He is going to point out that nothing substitutes for genuine belief.
These people were amazed, interested, and knowledgeable.
BUT THEY DIDN’T HAVE BELIEF AND THEY WEREN’T SAVED.

And that is the clear point.
But let’s work on it a little and bring a better understanding.

“He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue,”

Now Matthew doesn’t tell us what He taught, but Luke does.
Luke 4:16-21 “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus came and read the Scripture that pertained to Him.
And in order to explain the sermon, He simply pointed to Himself.

He had just spoken in parables about the kingdom,
But this sermon was no parable.
It doesn’t get much clearer than the sermon Jesus preached.

To read from Isaiah and then say, “That’s Me”;
There is nothing cryptic about it.

And so this crowd saw.
This crowd heard.

And this crowd was even mesmerized by what they saw.
This crowd was even “astonished”.

But being amazed at what Jesus can do does not equal saving faith.
(Many a lost man was amazed at Jesus)

Israel was astonished, not believing.
They could see, but you will soon see they did not perceive.
They could hear, but you will soon see they did not understand.

Don’t assume that amazement equals salvation, it does not.

But this crowd saw.
#2 THEY SPECULATED
Matthew 13:54b-56

And here the problem starts to emerge.
“Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?”

They didn’t deny that He had them,
They just wanted to know where He got them.

“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with Us? Where then did this man get all these things?’’

There is no denying Jesus can do miraculous things.

But it seems strange to them
That the simple son of a carpenter can do them.

Mary was a good lady, but apparently she wasn’t special enough
To produce a miracle working son.

Beyond that, none of Jesus’ brothers or sisters
Had demonstrated such ability.

“Where then did this man get all these things?”

Now, many have assumed that these were negative statements.
They were not.

The crowd isn’t deriding him here.
These were not mocking.

Listen to what Luke says:
Luke 4:22 “And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

These people were speaking well of Him.

They have no clue where He got His ability, but they like it none the less.
This text only indicates that they were interested in Him.

In short, they took an interest in Jesus.
They wanted to hear more.
They wanted to see more.

Seems Good
And Scripture still reveals that they did not believe.

And so being astonished and even interested is still not enough.
Nazareth was both of those things, and they weren’t saved.
They Saw They Speculated
#3 THEY STUMBLED
Matthew 13:57

Now that just sort of comes out of nowhere.
“And they took offense at Him”

Now one could suppose just from reading Matthew’s gospel
That their offense was due to his humble family life.

You know, they didn’t like Him because He was just from a carpenter’s family
And a carpenter’s son shouldn’t be able to do such things.

But that is not why.

Matthew doesn’t tell you why they “took offense”,
He is only concerned in showing you that they did.

Luke does tell us why.
Luke 4:22-23 “And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, ” Is this not Joseph’s son?” And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'”

They took offense because He offended them.
He told them that their fascination with Him was only skin deep.
You are only interested in Me performing miracles for you.

You are enamored, you are listening,
Only because You want me to do here
What you have heard I did in Capernaum.

He exposed their hearts.
• They weren’t here for the truth, they were here for the show.
• They weren’t interested in repentance and being right before God, they
were interested in being mesmerized and entertained.

And when He called them on it, they quickly turned against Him.

You could say, “It’s not their fault, He should have been more gentle.”
(many would say that today)

BUT TRUE SAVING FAITH
REQUIRES THE REMOVAL OF JUST SUCH A SELFISH HEART.

Jesus could have ignored the issue, but then they couldn’t be saved.

Furthermore, if they had truly believed who He was,
This would not have caused them to be offended.
Let me prove it
Matthew 15:21-28 “Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.”

This woman could have been offended as well, but she believed.

Jesus wasn’t to blame here in Nazareth, He was dealing with hard soil.

And this crowd in Nazareth scoffed at Jesus
And “took offense” over His confrontation.

“But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”

WHY IS A PROPHET NOT WELCOME IN HIS HOMETOWN?
Because someone that familiar has a lot of logic to overcome.

Have you ever heard the statement, “Familiarity breeds contempt”?
That is what is going on here.

Jesus is saying: “I’m not surprised you don’t believe, you have too much logic to overcome.”

That means the reason they don’t believe
Is not because Jesus offended them.
The reason they don’t believe is because they are too hard-hearted
To believe on raised among them could be their savior.

Luke adds more that Christ said.
Luke 4:24-27 “And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

According to Luke Jesus pointed out to them that
Being Jewish or being from Jesus’ hometown
Does not automatically qualify a person for miraculous aid.

God only went to people who had faith.
A believing Gentile is far more pleasing to God than a disbelieving Jew.
And Nazareth had that same kind of unbelief.
And when Jesus called their unbelief, “They took offense at Him.”

And so we see that all their interest meant absolutely nothing.
All their enthusiasm was pointless.

In the end, they still refused to believe.
And let me show the consequence of their unbelief.

The Saw, They Speculated, They Stumbled
#4 THEY SUFFERED
Matthew 13:58

“He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.”

Luke again gets more specific as to their unbelief.
Luke 4:28-30 “And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way.”

And He did not do many miracles
Because they in essence ran Him out of town.

How could a people who were one minute fascinated by Him,
In the very next minute turn against Him?

The answer: THE POWER OF UNBELIEF

WHAT SHOULD THEY HAVE DONE?

They should have responded to Christ in humility of faith
Based upon the facts they already knew.

John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

The blind man knew this
John 9:30-33 “The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

John 10:25 “Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.”

John 14:11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”

In fact that is why John wrote his gospel.
John 20:30-31 “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Obviously they should have believed in Christ
But they were selfish and hard-hearted, and missed out on salvation.

And there we learn it again.

People aren’t lost because we aren’t cool enough
Or trendy enough or engaged enough, or whatever.
The gospel doesn’t require fancy packaging.

PEOPLE ARE LOST BECAUSE THEIR HEARTS ARE BAD

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.”
(MacArthur Matthew Commentary 8-15, pg. 409 & 411)

THAT IS WHY PEOPLE ARE LOST
THEY CHOOSE NOT TO BELIEVE

AND THEIR UNBELIEF WAS SO POWERFUL,
THEY DIDN’T EVEN LISTEN TO CHRIST.

Let me remind you:
If you present the gospel and people don’t respond,
It is not your fault.

That is simply the power of unbelief.
And the tragedy is that their unbelief
Will only bring about eternal destruction in hell.

BE ENCOURAGED TO GO THROW THE SEED

On the flip side, if this morning you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ let me appeal to you one more time.
Jesus Christ came to this earth and lived a sinless life
By which He is the only offering that is acceptable to God.

And He died upon a cross to pay the debt
Of all who would place their faith in Him.

He is the only means of salvation that this world will ever know.
And you must deny yourself and trust in Him.

• Being enamored with Him is not enough.
• Knowing the truth about Him is not enough.
• Being interested in Him is not enough.
(Nazareth had that)

You must confess Him as Lord and believe in His saving power,
Otherwise there is no escape.

But do not remain in unbelief, for the consequences are eternal.

Matthew 13:23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

The Responsibility of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:47-52
October 23, 2011

As you know we are working through Matthew’s gospel,
And central on Matthew’s mind at this point is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew was fascinated with the kingdom of heaven,
So much so that he devoted an entire chapter of his gospel
To Jesus’ teaching about it.

And so here in Matthew 13
We have Jesus revealing to us the mysteries of the kingdom.

As has been said often, these mysteries were not given to the lost,
But only to those who had entered the kingdom.

So we are extremely grateful that our Lord
Has chosen to reveal these things to us.

Matthew 11:25-27 “At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

We are in fact blessed.
And as such, we are now learning the mysteries of the kingdom.

WHY DOESN’T EVERYONE ENTER THE KINGDOM?
The Parable of the Sower: They have bad hearts

WHY DO THE UNRIGHTEOUS EXIST, AND WHY DO THEY REMAIN?
The Parable of the Tares: An enemy planted them, God is protecting the wheat

WHY IS THE KINGDOM SO SMALL?
The Parable of the Mustard Seed: It starts small, but ends big
The Parable of Leaven: It spreads by influence

WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE UNBELIEVERS?
The Parable of the Tares Explained: They will be removed

IS THE KINGDOM WORTH IT’S COST?
The Parable of the Treasure in the Field
The Parable of the Pearl of great value – those who know are glad to pay it.

Well, this morning let’s learn one more thing about the kingdom.
(We are actually going to study two parables, each with different meanings,
But in a unique way, they seem to teach us the same thing)

This morning we learn about the Responsibility of the Kingdom.
And certainly this should be hard to grasp.
The lost are responsible to enter the kingdom.
The redeemed are responsible to spread it.

And the two parables we are looking at this morning
Clearly illustrate exactly that.

#1 THE GREAT SEPARATION
Matthew 13:47-50

You will notice that this parable, begins with the word “Again”

That indicates to us that this parable
Is explaining a reality already explained to us.

This parable reiterates that of the parable of the tares of the field.

Matthew 13:24-30 “Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”

This is the same point.
• Once there was a field, here there is the sea
• Once there was a crop, here there are fish
• Once there were reapers, here there are fishermen
• Once there was a barn, here there are containers

But the parables are obviously the same.

What is also obvious is that Jesus duplicates the parable on purpose.
No doubt it was important to Christ that we understand this parable.

The fact that He repeats this truth
Is an indicator to us to pay special attention.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;”

I’m sure many of His followers would have understood.
James and John, Peter, and Andrew were all fishing, when He called them.

They fished with different techniques in Bible times.

One of the ways they used to fish was just with a line and hook,
much like people fish today.

This was the type of fishing Peter did when Jesus told him to catch the fish,
that would have the shekel so they could pay the two drachma tax.

Matthew 17:27 “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Another type of fishing was a one man net.
This is also what we saw Peter doing on the shore when Jesus called him.

Matthew 4:18 “Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.”

The third type of fishing was the one Jesus referred to here.
A group of men would take a very large net, as big as half a square mile,
They would weight the bottom and float the top.
They would make a large circle in the water. (two boats, or just one)

And obviously with such a tactic, they would gather “fish of every kind”
(among other things I’m sure)

(48) “and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.”

With such a large net, you caught a lot of fish,
And you caught a lot of junk, so it was necessary to sort what you caught.

And so that is what the fishermen did.
They sorted out the fish they wanted and threw away the fish they didn’t.

It was a simple illustration.
And yet it mirrors the work of the great judgment.

(49-50) “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

And from that we learn some very important facts.

1) THE END IS COMING

Jesus speaks very clearly about “the end of the age”

This world is on a clock, it is counting down.
God is not just waiting until He feels like ending everything,
There is a day on His calendar.

Consider this phrase in the book of the Revelation.
At one point God will set loose four evil angels to terrorize the earth.

But notice what John says about them.
Revelation 9:15 “And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.”

God already has the hour picked, and the earth is screaming towards it.
“the end of the age” is coming.

2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

It is quite humorous to me today how worked up people get
About the environment today.

On one hand you have those who are constantly screaming
Out of fear that we might destroy it.

Friends, Christ is the sustainer of this world.
Colossians 1:16-17 “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

You can’t bring an end to this world before He is ready.
(Now certainly we can make it less pleasurable to live in,
But even then our worst enemy is CO2, it is sin.)
A true environmentalist would be on a war against sin, not smoke.

Others want to protect this world, because they are under the delusion that it will last forever. (We’ll leave it to our children, etc.)

It will not, God did not intend for it to.
1 John 2:17 “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

The end is coming.
Not by man’s doing, but by God’s doing.

The end is coming.
2) ANGELS ARE COMING

Another misconception about this world is the role of angels.

People today talk of angels
As these sweet, friendly, guardian type creatures.
(Right up there with unicorns and pixy fairies)

Let me give you a less than pleasant view of them.
“the angels will come forth and take the wicked from among the righteous and will throw them into the furnace of fire”

Listen, the lost world has this fantasy about angels,
Trust me, they won’t rejoice when they meet one.

Matthew 13:41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,”

Matthew 24:31 “”And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 “…the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

Revelation 14:14-20 “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ” Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”

And rest assured, angels are coming.
They are enraged about what has occurred on this earth.

They are angered at the spread of sin.
They, above all else, want to see Christ glorified.

• Who announced His birth?
• Who ministered to Him during His temptation?
• Who ministered to Him in the garden?
• Who was waiting on edge just for Him to give a nod from the cross?
• Who sat celebrating the empty tomb?

They are in love with Jesus.
And you had better know they can’t wait
To come and clean up His kingdom!
They hate what this world has done to Jesus.
And they will come with holy fury
As the ultimate agents of divine judgment.

The End is Coming The Angels are Coming
3) WEEPING IS COMING

Jesus said that the angels will take the wicked and “will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Can I just remind you of an elementary truth?
HELL IS REAL

It is not a mythical place…
Jesus spoke of it often. (More than any other preacher)

Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Mark 9:43 “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,”

Matthew 22:13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25:30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Hell is real.
• The outer darkness
• The lake of fire
• The place of torment
• The place prepared for the devil and his angels

It is a real place.
Revelation 20:14-15 “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

I mean you really have to be selective in your Bible reading
To ignore the doctrine of a eternal punishment.

God created it, and people are going there.
In fact Scripture says “Many” are going there.

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

The wicked may mock and scorn and laugh now, but some day they will only weep and gnaw their tongues because of the pain.
And Jesus reiterates this again with this parable of the dragnet.

Now certainly the point of this mystery is to explain what the outcome will be for all those who are not part of the kingdom.

For everyone in the world, who is not a part of the kingdom of heaven,
There place will be in the outer darkness.

For all the tares…
For all the bad fish…
Their inheritance is eternal torment.

This parable explains the mystery of what happens to the bad fish.

And this is not a new revelation.
Scripture is very forthright about this information.

Every fish ought to do everything it can to not be a bad fish.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU KNOW

And this is what I mean by “The Responsibility of the Kingdom”
They are responsible to enter it.

You know I have a strong belief in the sovereignty of God,
And of things like election and predestination.

But listen, that does not change that Scripture also clearly teaches
That the sinner is responsible to turn from sin and confess Christ.

Romans 1:18-23 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”

God has certainly given revelation.
Creation Conscience
His Word His Son
His Church as salt and light

But man has not responded and they stand forever condemned.

Today, sinners suppose they are getting off scot free,
But they don’t even realize their lives are headed for the day of judgment
In which their deeds will be called to account.
John MacArthur wrote this:
“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 quickly swim away, thinking they have escaped, not realizing 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 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.”

The only hope for those sinners,
Is that they come to their senses and respond to the gospel,
Forsaking their old way of life that Christ might make them new.

That Christ might transform them from bad fish to good fish.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

And because the truth has gone forth, they are responsible to adhere to it.
Otherwise the weeping is certain.

And so we see there will be a Great Separation.
#2 THE GREAT STEWARDSHIP
Matthew 13:51-52

Some don’t regard this as a parable, but it clearly is, as Jesus makes a comparison here of the disciples to “a head of a household”

“Have you understood all these things?”
Did you get it ALL?
Do you read Me?

“They said to Him, “Yes”

That means that they are now accountable.
“To whom much is given…much is required”

(52) “And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

It was the responsibility of the “head of a household”
To give provisions or rations to the family.

They were the stewards.
And they divvied it out to the family as it was needed.

And Jesus here tells they twelve that they are now those stewards.
And therefore they were responsible to go
And spread this mystery to the rest of the world.

• They knew why people weren’t entering the kingdom.
• They knew why there were tares among the wheat.
• They knew why the kingdom appeared small.
• They knew how the kingdom would grow.
• They knew how valuable the kingdom is.
• They knew what would happen to all those who did not enter it.
And they were now obligated.

Remember what Paul said?
Romans 1:14-15 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”

Ephesians 3:1-3, 8-10 “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles — if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief…To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”

Paul was bound to deliver that which he knew.
And that is precisely what Jesus is saying to the disciples.

And notice EXACTLY what He said.
“every scribe who HAS BECOME a disciple of the kingdom is like a head of household who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

In other words, one of the distinguishing marks of a true disciple
Of the kingdom is that they share the treasure.

Jesus is saying if you are truly a disciple,
Then you are also a steward.

However, those who pretend to be disciples,
But who are not good stewards are frauds.
Matthew 24:45-51 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Charles Spurgeon said, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”
That is exactly what Jesus is saying here.
Every true disciple of the kingdom
Is either a faithful steward or a lying hypocrite.

We are responsible for what we know.

Now some would say, “Absolutely, but I’m gonna be like Jesus and I’m not gonna share it with those to whom it is not granted, just like Jesus didn’t.”

That would be fine and well except you don’t know who that is.
Jesus did, you don’t.

We are called to share it everywhere.

TURN TO: ISAIAH 6

VERSE 8
And obviously his answer should be our answer.

Here is the mission
VERSES 9-10
(Recognize that? It is the verse Jesus quoted earlier in Matthew 13)

Notice Isaiah’s question
VERSES 11-12

So God told him to preach until everyone is destroyed.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THAT?
VERSE 13

Because there was a remnant that would be saved.
Isaiah didn’t know who they were, and neither do we.

We know that at least 75% won’t accept it because their hearts are bad,
But we don’t know who they are until we share it.

Furthermore we know the kingdom spreads in this manner (like leaven)

And now we find that we are responsible
To share the mystery we have received.

And there you have the truths of the kingdom.

1. People don’t enter because their hearts are bad.
(Don’t get discouraged if you are rejected, it isn’t your fault)

2. The tares are there because an enemy sowed them.
(Don’t try to root them out, the angels will get them eventually)
3. The kingdom appears small, but it will get bigger.
4. It will spread like leaven
(So get to work touching people’s lives)

5. The kingdom is more valuable than any cost you could pay
(So regardless of the cost, you were right to enter, and you are right to tell others to do so too)

6. Some day the kingdom will be purified, so go out and warn sinners and thus fulfill your duty.

THIS IS WHY CHRIST SPOKE ON THE KINGDOM.
IT WAS TO MOTIVATE YOU AND I
TO BE FAITHFUL KINGDOM CITIZENS

WILL YOU BE ONE?

Matthew 13:52 “And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

The Value of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:44-50
October 16, 2011

As you know we are studying through the gospel of Matthew.

You know it to be one of four gospel accounts in the New Testament,
All equally inspired by the Holy Spirit,
And yet each coming from their own unique perspectives,
And focusing on their own attributes of Christ.

For Matthew it was simple.
Matthew as fascinated with the kingdom of heaven.
(a phrase only used by him and used 32 times)

After all Matthew left his job, his wealth,
And his financial security in order to follow Jesus.

He traded his earthly kingdom for an eternal one.
It is no wonder he was focused on it.

Certainly that is what we have seen here in this 13th chapter.
Here we find 8 parables concerning the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus is explaining the mystery surrounding it.
We know that the disciples were
Confused about some things regarding the kingdom.

They had certainly read the prophecies
Regarding the glory and grandeur of God’s Kingdom,
But had failed to understand the violence it would first endure.

Jesus must have blown their minds when He said:
Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”

Certainly the disciples never pictured
The kingdom of heaven being under attack.

In reality there were several things about the kingdom
That the disciples didn’t understand.

It is those mysteries that Christ is revealing here in Matthew 13.

As already noted, Jesus is revealing these mysteries
Through the use of parables.

Now, contrary to popular belief,
These parables were not meant to make the mysteries easier to understand.
Parables were used to keep the truths hidden
From those to whom the mysteries were not granted.

Matthew 13:10-11“And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.”

And so Jesus is giving these truths rather cryptically.

Matthew 13:34 “All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.”

These truths are given in parable form,
And apart from a divine explanation
They are absolutely impossible to understand.

That means that if we understand them, we are blessed.
It indicates that the Spirit of God has seen fit
To allow us to understand these magnificent truths.

Matthew 13:16-17 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. “For truly 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.”

So we are blessed this morning to be allowed insight into
Some of the most sought after and captivating truths of all eternity.
We are granted access to classified information.
We are given the truths of the kingdom of heaven.

Now we have already seen several mysteries explained.

WHY DOESN’T EVERYONE ENTER THE KINGDOM?
The Parable of the Sower: They have bad hearts

WHY DO THE UNRIGHTEOUS EXIST, AND WHY DO THEY REMAIN?
The Parable of the Tares: An enemy planted them, God is protecting the wheat

WHY IS THE KINGDOM SO SMALL?
The Parable of the Mustard Seed: It starts small, but ends big
The Parable of Leaven: It spreads by influence

WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE UNBELIEVERS?
The Parable of the Tares Explained: They will be removed

And so we have already been given great insight
Into the kingdom of heaven.

This morning we see two more mystery revealing parables.
They teach us the value of the kingdom.

And it is vitally important that we understand this mystery.
For we understand that there is a great cost
To entering the kingdom of heaven.

Salvation doesn’t cost anything, but there is a great cost to salvation.

Already in Matthew’s gospel we have seen 4 fishermen
Leave their families and their fishing businesses to follow Jesus.

We have seen a tax collector leave his tax booth to follow Jesus.

We have seen a man confronted with being homeless if he were to follow,
And another confronted with losing his inheritance if he wanted to enter.

Matthew 8:19-20 “Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Coming in Matthew’s gospel is a call to lose your life.
Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

And Luke’s gospel reminds us that it may cost even our families.
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”

And all of this is consistent with Jesus teaching on entering the kingdom.

Jesus said:
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

And so to simply state it,
Entering the kingdom may well indeed cost you everything.

That is why Jesus tells people to count the cost before they enter.
Luke 14:28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?”

We are told to count the cost.

This, by the way, was the main problem of the ROCKY SOIL.
• He immediately accepted with great joy
• And when persecution arose it shocked him and drove him away.
So we must count the cost.

BUT WE MUST NOT LET THE COST DETER US.
That is what the WEEDY SOIL did.
So there is a balance.
Counting the cost and paying it anyway.

But that brings about a very important question.
IS IT WORTH IT?

This is what Peter wanted to know.

He had just seen Jesus tell the Rich Young Ruler to sell everything
And he saw the Rich Young Ruler (weedy soil) say “No”,
That cost is too high.

The young man didn’t get the kingdom, but he still had his riches.

That got Peter to thinking.
Matthew 19:27 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

Peter wanted to know if he made the right decision.
Is the value of the kingdom equal to it’s cost?

That is the mystery that Jesus is explaining here
With these two parables.

#1 THE PARABLE OF THE TREASURE IN THE FIELD
Matthew 13:44

Now this isn’t a difficult parable to understand,
But it is one that is worth being examined a little more closely.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field,”

Now first off, this isn’t all that strange.

In Bible times people didn’t put their treasure in banks,
Nor did they hide it under their mattresses.

In those days you buried your money or your treasure and either left yourself a map or you buried it next to a landmark you could remember.
Achan did this with the spoils of Jericho.

Furthermore it was also highly possible in Jesus day
For buried treasure to be found from time to time.
WHY?

Because Israel had been completely deported during the exile.

Imagine people with buried treasure either being killed or deported
And not being allowed to return for 70 years.
By that time most treasures would be forgotten or lost.
And so it wasn’t uncommon for treasures to be found.

And here Jesus uses that analogy
To describe the kingdom of heaven.

And here the treasure is in fact one that gets found.
“which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

We have here a man who found a treasure in a field he did not own.

It is obvious what type of man he was, he was a treasure hunter.

He was in search of a treasure.
And on this day he found one.
And the treasure he found here was of great value.

Now we know how this works.
You wake up on Saturday morning at 6 because you want to be the first person to the garage sale and you take with you $100.

When you get there you find a treasure of treasures,
But the cost is more than you brought.

You could steal it, and this man could have.
(but you would always run the risk of losing it)

SO WHAT DO YOU DO?
You bury it.

You find the box of used caps (which no one wants)
And you stick that treasure in the bottom of that box
And run home to gather the funds you need and fly back to the sale.

That is what this man did.
He “hid it again”

And then notice what Jesus says:
“and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Make sure you understand the point.
• This is not a man who was reluctantly forced to give all that he had.
• This was not a man who begrudgingly had to give such a high price.

This man joyfully gave all that he had to buy that field.
WHY?

Because the treasure in the field was worth far more than all that he had.
Yes he gave all that he had,
But in the end he was far more wealthy than when he started.

This parable is not about the cost of the kingdom.
(sure it cost him everything)

This parable is about the value.
This man was filled with “joy” to do this.

And you’ve been to that garage sale.
• Now you’ve gone home and gotten the money needed, and you fly back to that
garage sale and make a bee-line for that cap box.

• You are a little nervous because there is an old man going through that box
and trying on caps,

• But you are able to push him down without causing any major damage, and
what a relief when you find that treasure still there.

At that moment when the treasure is still there, how do you feel?
Are you sad, that now you have to pay for it?
NO – you are rejoicing that it now can be yours.

And so it is with the kingdom of heaven.
The cost you may pay is so far smaller than the value you receive
That there is no buyers remorse after the fact.

UNDERSTAND: This was a treasure hunter.
He wasn’t the type that willingly parted with treasures.
His life was all about collecting them.

And yet he found a treasure so great
That he willingly parted with every other treasure he had ever found
In order to gain this one.

The kingdom is that valuable.

Now, let’s move on to our next parable.
#2 THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL OF GREAT VALUE
Matthew 13:45-46

And we notice the word “Again”.
That is a key word for us to let us know that this parable
Is repeating a truth already learned once.

(You will see that again next week as the parable of the dragnet
restates the parable of the tares of the field)

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,”
Now, for explanation sake, let’s see that this man
Is in some ways different from our previous man.

• The last man was a Snooping Traveler.
• This man is a Shrewd Trader.

And notice the description of this man.
• He is a “merchant”
• He is not a collector.
• He is not a consumer.
• He is not a jewelry maker.

This man is a “merchant”

WHY DOES HE WANT PEARLS?
To sell them.
To make money off of them.

It is important that you understand that,
So that you will know we are not dealing with a sentimental man.

This is not a man who would be duped into over paying for a pearl.
If the pearl isn’t valuable he won’t pay for it.

He knows the value of pearls; that is his business;
That is his trade; that is his livelihood.

And he is “a merchant seeking” them.

And so in that regard our two men are very much alike.
One worked, one scavenged,
But they both were searching for something of great value.

(46) “and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

And again we find a similar result.

This man found something of such great value that in order to obtain it,
It cost him “all that he had”

So there was a definite cost to be paid.
We are not overlooking that.

However, this man was a businessman, and he would not have paid that price, unless what?

He thought he was getting a good deal.

Here was a man who understood the value of pearls
And he just happened to run across a pearl
That was worth more than the total gross value of his entire estate.

If he thought he was getting a raw deal, he wouldn’t have sold his stuff,
Nor would he have purchased the pearl.

And that is the point.
The pearl had great value.

AND THAT IS JESUS’ POINT TO THE KINGDOM.
• It is not about the cost you will pay.
• It is about the value you will receive.

It is not as though Jesus is here telling people to leave all that they have
For the kingdom, and they do so feeling cheated by Jesus.

Jesus is not a car salesman.
Where He overcharges you and then you feel cheated later.

The reward Jesus has for you is so great, that if you could see it,
You would gladly forsake all that you have to get it.

If someone came and said, “I’ll sell you all of the oil rights in west Texas.”
You’d say, “How much?”
If they said, “All that you have.”

Would you do it?
All you have to figure is if the total value of your estate
Is worth less or more than all the oil rights in Texas.

The kingdom is that valuable.
Matthew 19:27-29 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”

The answer is, that it is worth it!
The kingdom has tremendous value.

Take it from the apostle Paul.
DID HE KNOW THE COST OF THE KINGDOM?

He talks of financial difficulty. He talks of emotional oppression.
He talks of demonic attack. He talks of physical pain.
He talks of incarceration. He talks of shipwreck.
He talks of rejection. He talks of a loss of reputation.

The kingdom was tremendously costly for Paul.

DID HE VALUE TO HAVE MADE A GOOD TRADE?
Philippians 3:7-11 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul said in comparison to the kingdom.
All that I used to have is “rubbish”

I like the KJV – “dung”

Every time I mow I pick half a five gallon bucket of poop
Out of my backyard that my dog has left me.

And I want you to know, if anybody ever offers me new shop
In exchange for my bucket of poop, I’m trading them
(I’ll even throw in the bucket). I won’t hesitate.

Paul said the same.
The kingdom is that valuable.

SO LET’S GET TO THE APPLICATION PART NOW.

Theoretically we would go now into some sort of invitation asking,
“Don’t you want to enter this extremely valuable kingdom?”

But I’ve already told you this chapter is not for those outside.
That is why it is written in parables.

Jesus gave this truth to those who are already in the kingdom.
WHY DID HE WANT US TO KNOW THE VALUE OF THE KINGDOM?

So that we would rejoice!
So that we would continue!
So that we would act like leaven and spread the truth!

You will notice this chapter ends with a parable of great responsibility.
Matthew 13:51-52 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus is going to expect the disciples to go and share these truths
With the members of their household (i.e. the church)
But it is awful hard to get people motivated
To share such depressing news.

But if the disciples really knew what they inherited
Was much greater than what they lost,
Then they would easily share it with others.

Friends, Jesus wants you to know that your decision to follow Him
Was not a bad decision.

• And your decision to sacrifice for Him is not a bad decision.
• And when you tell people to leave their life behind and forsake all to
follow Jesus, you are giving them good advice.

Because the kingdom you are inheriting and the kingdom you are offering
Is far more valuable than anything they or you could ever lose.

And if you could see it, like these men did, you’d know that.

In the mean time, accept it by faith.
That our inheritance, our treasure,
Is greater than anything we could ever lose!

So share this great truth!
Psalms 145:10-13 “All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your godly ones shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.”

That is why Jesus shared this parable with you.
He wanted you to know the greatness of the kingdom you are inheriting,
And He wanted you to speak of the glory of this great kingdom.

So rejoice!
Share this truth!

And do not grieve the cost that you now pay.
If you could see it ahead of time,
You’d consider yourself to be getting the bargain of a lifetime!

Luke 12:32-34 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The Parable of the Tares of the Field
Matthew 13:24-30
October 2, 2011

As you know we are presently in the midst of
Exploring the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 13 is a chapter of 8 parables,
All meant to further explain the realities of the kingdom of heaven.

We also know that these parables were given
To explain the kingdom to those who are a part of it.

In fact, Jesus spoke it in parables to purposely disguise the truths
From those who are outside the kingdom.
(It is His own secret code – if you will)

Jesus actually saying in verse 11, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.”

So Jesus is explaining the mystery of the kingdom of heaven,
And He is doing so in a way
That only those who are in the kingdom can understand.

That means that we count it privilege to have this insight.
We are blessed for knowing these things.

In fact Jesus said to the 12 in verse 16-17, “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly 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.”

Let that sink in for a moment.
The very truths we are about to study are truths that the saints of old
Desperately wanted to know, and yet they never did.

1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.”

Not only did the righteous men of old want to know it and yet never did,
These are the truths that hold angels captive.

Let me put it to you another way.

When Jesus started teaching these parables and truths of the kingdom,
All heaven went silent, and angels pressed their faces against the glass
These truths are absolutely priceless.
This information is most sought after information of all history,
And very few have ever been granted to understand it.

That puts us in privileged and elite company this morning.
Jesus is explaining the mysteries surrounding the kingdom of heaven.

We have already had one of those mysteries explained.

If you wanted to state the mystery, I suppose it would have been something like this:
WHY DO ONLY SOME [and not all] WHO HAVE THE GOSPEL
PREACHED TO THEM ACTUALLY ENTER THE KINGDOM?

The answer Jesus gave: THEIR HEART IS BAD

It isn’t the fault of the sower, it isn’t the fault of the seed.
Some hearts are too hard to even understand the gospel.
Some hearts are too shallow to fully grasp the gospel.
Some hearts are too weedy to even take the gospel.

So those who go out and sow the seed, mustn’t get discouraged, it is not their fault when people don’t respond, it is simply the result of bad hearts.

This morning we get to parable number two.

Often called “The parable of the wheat and the tares”,
But that is a little inaccurate.

Matthew 13:36 calls it “The parable of the tares of the field”

For this parable really isn’t about the wheat at all.
This parable is all about the tares.

And if you want to know the mystery we are dealing with here, it is this.
WHY ARE THERE TARES, AND WHY DO THEY REMAIN?

Put more clearly.
WHY ARE THERE NON-BELIEVERS, AND WHY DOES GOD LET THEM HANG AROUND?

Perhaps you’ve wondered something similar to that before.

• Today they tell us that Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion.
• There are more false than you or I can even name.
Unbelief is everywhere.
That is troubling to us.

But even more troubling is the fact that God seems to let it remain.
WHY DOESN’T HE JUST SQUASH ISLAM RIGHT NOW?
Those are puzzling questions.
Jesus gives the answer in this parable of the tares of the field.

Let’s read it again this morning before we break it down.
(READ VS. 24-30)

Now, before we dive into it, let me identify the symbolism for you.
(This will cause us to double up some next week, but I would rather double up than cover it all too fast and miss something)

Matthew 13:37-39 “And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.”

That now unlocks the parable to us.
Four things
#1 THE FARMER’S PLANTING
Matthew 13:24

Here again we have “another parable” from Jesus.

It was meant to conceal truth from the disbelieving,
And reveal truth to those who did believe.

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.”

And so let’s take our key and clarify it.
• The man is Jesus Christ.
• The good seed is believers (those in the kingdom)
• The field is the world.

That alone helps us clear up one common misconception.
People often quote this parable in response to unbelievers in the church.
(I even have at times in the past)

That is problematic on a couple of levels.

First, because Christ clearly revealed that the “field” is not the church,
The “field” is the world.

This parable is not about the world in the church,
But is about the church in the world.

There are passages that speak about lost people infiltrating the fellowship of believers (Jude 1:3 – “crept in unnoticed”) but this is not one of them.

The “field” is not the church, it is the world.
The Second problem is that when people try to make the “field” the church they trap themselves into bad theology.

Namely because the Lord will clearly indicate that the tares
Cannot be removed until the end of the age.

This would clearly contradict His teaching in chapter 18
To remove the immoral man from your midst in the church.

So understand what we are dealing with.
We are dealing with Christ sowing His kingdom in the earth.

Another thing we must make sure we notice is that
The seed here is different from the seed in the previous parable.

In the previous parable the seed was “the word of God”,
And it spoke of the preacher spreading the gospel.

But in this parable the seed is not the word of God,
It is “the sons of the kingdom”.

Christ is not here preaching, Christ is here planting His children.

This parable isn’t meant to answer why unbelievers don’t respond,
This parable is meant to answer
Why a sovereign God allows them to remain.

And the final thing you need to see is that everyone He planted is “good”
He “sowed good seed in his field.”

Christ never “sort-of” saved anyone.
His salvation is a true one, a sure one, a complete one.

And so we have here Christ taking His true sons of the kingdom
And planting them in the earth or in the world.

And that we understand, in fact that is not mysterious at all.

The Farmer’s Planting
#2 THE ENEMY’S PLOT
Matthew 13:25

Here have the villain of the story.
“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.”

I have in the past made reference to the sleeping men as partly to blame,
But this parable doesn’t really bare that out.

In fact we don’t even know who “his men” are in this parable.
The believers are the seed…
The angels are the reapers…

So we don’t even know who they are, let alone assign them with blame.

The parable simply indicates that the “enemy came and sowed tares”
At an opportune time for him.

He came when no one would be there.
He came in the middle of the night.
And then he “went away”, seeking to absolve himself of all blame.

He did this in secret so that no one would know it.

We may not see a lot of this today, but it was = so common in Jesus day
That Rome actually laws forbidding such behavior.

As a means of revenge, people would commonly do just that.
They would sneak into an enemies field and sow tares in his wheat.

This would dilute his crop, and even weaken the actual wheat
(that is what weeds do)

Now there again, because of our key, we know what Jesus refers to.

The “enemy” is the devil, and as he saw our Lord planting His sons
Satan instantly went to work as well.

He came during the night and also infiltrated the earth with his own sons.
We even know how he did it.

No, Satan did not create humans and place them on earth.
Satan simply went to Eve and deceived her,
And ultimately led the entire race into sin.

God didn’t create it that way.
God created everything good.
God created everything perfect.
But the enemy crept in and contaminated what God had made.

The Farmer’s Planting, The Enemy’s Plot
#3 THE SLAVE’S PROBLEM
Matthew 13:26-28

And here is where thy mystery reveals itself.

I know the slaves are not revealed to us by Jesus either,
But the point is fairly clear to be made.
The “slaves” are actually the disciples.
The “slaves” are any who seek to understand this mystery.

These are the people who spot the tares
And don’t know why they are there.

Notice what happened.
“But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.”

So for a while no one knew what the enemy had done,
But eventually his handy-work began to reveal itself.

When the fruit came, the tares began to become obvious.
And that caused confusion on the part of the slaves.

They didn’t understand why the farmer would have tares in his field.

That is the confusion we spoke of earlier.
WHY WOULD GOD LET FALSE RELIGION REMAIN?
WHY WOULD GOD LET UNBELIEVERS CONTINUE TO MESS UP THE EARTH?

There has been many a believer heavily confused by this reality,
Certainly the slaves are here.

Now notice the assumption of the slaves.
“Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?”

Their assumption is that this was the responsibility of the owner.
(He was the sower)

The accusation actually attacks the effectiveness of Christ’s salvation.
Are we to say that His salvation may or may not make a man righteous?
Are we to say that His salvation sometimes goes dud?

Certainly not.
If Christ plants it, it is good seed.
If Christ makes it, it is good.
If Christ saves it, it is saved.

But you understand the mystery.
The slaves don’t know why the tares are there.

And so Christ answers that question.
(28) “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’”

If you wonder where all the unbelievers came from today,
They didn’t come from God, they came from the devil.

If you wonder where false religion came from today,
It didn’t come from God, it came from the devil.
He is the usurper.
He is the liar in the garden.
He is the deceiver.

The tares are the sons of the evil one.
John 8:41-47 “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are ofyour father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

1 John 3:9-10 “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

And so to answer the first question as to
Why God would put so many non-believers and “tares” in His field…

The answer is God didn’t, the devil did.

But the next logical question is that if God didn’t plant them,
Why does He let them stay?

(28) “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’”

That only seemed obvious.
You didn’t plant the weeds, so obviously you don’t want the weeds.
Do you want us to pull the weeds?
Should we go on a cleansing mission?

Now, again understand they are not asking
Should we remove false brethren from the church,
That is an obvious “yes” taught numerous places in Scripture.

Here, they want to know if Christ wants them
To remove all unbelievers from the world.

SHOULD WE GO ON CRUSADE?
“Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?”

Of course you will remember that John,
One of “The Sons of Thunder”, had this very idea.

Luke 9:51-54 “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

That was the question of the slaves as well.
Should we destroy them?

They didn’t know how the tares got there,
And they wondered why they were allowed to remain.

Why does God let Islam endure?
Why does God let unbelievers live on?

The Farmer’s Planting, The Enemy’s Plot, The Slaves Problem
#4 THE FARMER’S PLAN
Matthew 13:29-30

Here comes the answer to their confusion.
“Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?”

“But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.”

So obviously our Lord did not want a holy war.

Now, many have assumed it is because Christ is so compassionate and loving, and merciful that He can’t bare to watch the tares being destroyed.

Now listen, there is some truth to that.
Earlier when John wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans.

Luke 9:55-56 “But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.”

Certainly our Lord did not come to destroy sinners, but to save them.

John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

BUT IN THIS PARABLE THAT ANSWER IS TOTALLY WRONG
Yes Christ is in the business of saving tares…
In fact the reality is that all the wheat in this field used to be tares…

But this parable is not an evangelistic one.
This parable is meant to explain why the tares get to endure.

And the answer is clear.
“No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.”

WHY DID THE FARMER NOT WANT THEM TO GO AFTER THE TARES?
Because He was concerned about the tares? – NO

IT IS BECAUSE HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE WHEAT.

Carrie and I had a garden.
I messed up and let Bermuda grow in my watermelons.
But I did not remove the Bermuda.

And that is farmer’s stance here.

In this parable he is not the least bit concerned about the tares.
They are of no value to Him.

The ONLY reason they are allowed to remain
Is because trying to remove them now could damage the wheat
And cause it not to bear fruit.

How many times have we talked about non-believers enjoying the benefits that believers bring to this earth?

Sodom could not be destroyed until Lot was removed.
A believer spouse is said to sanctify her non-believing husband.

And today, it is the children of God
That actually save the lives of the wicked every day.

The only thing that keeps a holy God
From unleashing holy war on unbelievers today
Is that His wheat is not yet ready to be harvested.
AND SO HE IS PATIENT.

Romans 9:22-24 “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.”

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

That passage is often quoted about the Lord being patient toward the lost,
But who does it say He is patient toward? “you”

Could it be that His patience is in waiting for the fruit to mature, and in that patience a window of opportunity remains for the lost to repent?

Certainly that is the teaching of this parable.

(30) ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”

That is no different than what Peter said.
2 Peter 3:9-10 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

John the Baptist said:
Matthew 3:10-12 “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Later in the explanation
Matthew 13:41-43 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

And that pretty much settles the mystery as to
Why non-believers exist and why God allows them to remain.

They EXIST because the devil planted them.
They REMAIN because God doesn’t want to harm the wheat.

But rest assured, there is coming a day when the harvest is ripe,
And our Lord will send forth His angels and gather His wheat,
But the tares will suffer eternal judgment of fire.

And at that point, the kingdom will be like it is supposed to be.

The Revelation reveals it like this:

Revelation 14:14-20 “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ” Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”

That is the fate of the tares.

And there is the mystery explained
Why the earth has two kingdoms simultaneously growing at once.

That explains why Christianity and Islam are both enduring.

It is only because the devil planted the tares,
And God is patient,
Not wanting any of His wheat to be wrongly destroyed.

But rest assured the day is coming when this earth will be purified,
And His kingdom will be the only one.

Revelation 11:15-18 “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Kingdom Growth
Matthew 13:31-43
October 9, 2011

We have been studying the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven
We have said that the Kingdom of Heaven is here.
(Not physically, but spiritually)

And Jesus has set out to explain this mysterious reality.

You see, the disciples heads were filled
With misconceptions about Christ’s kingdom.

Namely that they were looking for a glorious physical kingdom.

Even after all these parables were given, they were still confused:
Luke 19:11 “While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.”

Even at Christ’s ascension, they asked:
Acts 1:6 “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

Obviously they were interested in the kingdom.
The problem was that they didn’t immediately understand
The truths of the kingdom,
Probably not even until they received the Holy Spirit.

The realities about the Kingdom of heaven were a mysterious thing.
Jesus has set out to explain those mysteries to His followers.

We also know that those explanations are not for everyone,
But only His followers.

That is why He spoke in parables.
He is concealing truth from those who won’t see it
And at the same time revealing truth to those who will.

And as we said last week, that puts us in very prestigious company.

For Jesus said:
Matthew 13:16-17 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. “For truly 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.”
We have been given a tremendous privilege
To see what many a righteous man wanted to see.
And certainly we grab a hold of that privilege.

So Jesus is explaining the truths about the kingdom.
We have already seen two mysteries explained.

1) WHY DOESN’T EVERYONE ENTER THE KINGDOM?
(Parable of the Sower)
Because they have bad hearts.
Some hard, Some shallow, Some Divided

2) WHY ARE THERE OTHER RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD THAT ALSO SEEM TO FLOURISH?
(Parable of the Tares of the Field)
The enemy planted them,
And they remain only because God doesn’t want the wheat harmed.

And so two great mysteries have already been explained to us.

This morning we move on to more.

And the mystery revealed today is this:
3) WHY IS THE KINGDOM SO INSIGNIFICANT?

Now you and I may not be asking this question,
But the disciples were.

They were following Jesus with grand expectations.
Let me show you what they were looking for.

Isaiah 60:10-14 “Foreigners will build up your walls, And their kings will minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you. “Your gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, With their kings led in procession. “For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined. “The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The juniper, the box tree and the cypress together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious. “The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet; And they will call you the city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”

Zechariah 8:20-23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”‘”

That is what they were expecting in regard to the kingdom.

When the Messiah showed up, and His kingdom appeared.
They expected the world to flock to Him.
They expected Kings to bow before Him.
They expected people to cling to them saying, “Take us to God.”

When the Kingdom arrived,
They expected it to be World Renown, Full of Followers.

But thus far Jesus teaching,
Has been a direct conflict to their expectations.

The King was here, BUT:
Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”

Instead of people flocking to it, THEY ARE REJECTING IT.
Instead of begging to enter, THEY DON’T EVEN NOTICE IT.
In fact 3 out of every 4 people fail to enter.

This couldn’t have all been what the disciples were expecting.

Now of course we do believe the kingdom will come as promised.
Romans 11:29 says, “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.”
And as Hebrews 6:18 says, “It is impossible for God to lie.”

BUT NOT UNTIL CHRIST RETURNS.
Now the Kingdom is under attack, (like David’s was)
And the disciples had trouble understanding.

And so these three parables are here given to us
To explain the smallness of the kingdom.
Why so small?
Why so slow?
Why so many sinners?

#1 THE GLORY OF THE KINGDOM
Matthew 13:31-32

Now we have all heard this parable before.

No interpretation given.
The meaning seems obvious, but we can’t be dogmatic.

CHRIST IS TALKING ABOUT THE GLORY OF THE KINGDOM.

The Kingdom was falling short of the disciples’ expectations.
They expected a glorious following.
Thus far the Kingdom seemed insignificant

The kingdom was small.
It wasn’t attracting worldwide attention,
It was being choked and persecuted from its present community.

IT DIDN’T LOOK SPECTACULAR.
And so Jesus gives a parable of explanation:
(31-32a) “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds,”

If a person were to look at a mustard seed,
They wouldn’t see anything that looked very impressive.
All they would see was a tiny seed.

It certainly would be hard to get excited about anything that small.

Mustard Seed is the smallest seed.
Smallest garden seed – (not counting weeds)
Only Tobacco is smaller – (native to America)
Mustard was the smallest seed they knew about.

Anyway, the smallest seed was the mustard seed,
It was small, insignificant, and nothing to write home about.

That is exactly how many people likely viewed the kingdom of Christ
Small, insignificant, and nothing to write home about.

But the unique thing about this small seed
Is that it becomes the biggest plant.

The mustard plant in Palestine grows to approximately 12 to 15 feet tall,
Which is much taller than normal garden plants,
And was large enough for birds to nest in its branches.

So the seed that looked the least promising,
Actually became the largest and most glorious plant.

“and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”

And as Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed”

It may have seemed small then, and it may even seem small now,
But it will ripen into the largest most glorified kingdom some day.

So large that “the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
(meaning people from all nations will come to this kingdom for rest)

The point to the disciples being,
Although the kingdom may look unimpressive now,
Just wait, it is like a mustard seed, it will become the most glorious.

I believe that is a good parable for us to study today.

Sometimes it can become discouraging,
As we wait for the return of Christ.
Christianity isn’t popular in the world.
Jesus isn’t honored.

It is easy for the world to overlook the kingdom of heaven
As being small, weak, and insignificant.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
It will one day rule the world.

A GOOD ILLUSTRATION OF THIS IS FOUND IN DANIEL.
Daniel chapter 2 speaks of a dream that Nebuchadnezzar had.

He saw a statue,
Head of gold
Chest of Silver
Waist and thighs of bronze
Legs of iron
Feet of clay mixed with iron – ten toes.
A stone smashed them all.

Interpretation: Statue = World dominating Kingdoms
Gold – Babylon
Silver – Medo-Persia
Bronze – Greece
Iron – Rome
Iron & Clay – Ant-Christ & his puppets
The small stone was the kingdom of Christ.

Daniel 2:44-45 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. “Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

The kingdom of heaven will become the most powerful,
And glorious kingdom to ever rule on earth, and it will never end.

Revelation 11:15 “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”

It may look insignificant now, but it won’t forever.

So first the glory of the kingdom.
#2 THE GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM
Matthew 13:33

This again is a parable that Christ does not explain,
But again the meaning seems obvious.
“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven”

Leaven often has an evil connotation.
Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees
No leaven in their sacrifices
“Unleavened bread” for passover
No reason to assume leaven is evil here.

He is comparing the kingdom to a modern day marvel.

Just as it was amazing how such a small seed could make such a big tree.
Leaven also had an amazing characteristic.

Leaven has an amazing ability to spread.
Jewish women would save a lump of leavened dough
They would give it to their daughter on her wedding day.

So you can understand why Jesus warned us
To watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees.
(Their hypocrisy could easily spread and it was very dangerous)

Paul even warned the Corinthian church that their tolerance of sexual immorality could spread like leaven.
“Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of doe?”

“The Kingdom of heaven is like leaven”
It has an amazing way of growing, by infecting those around it.

How can it grow from being so small to being so large?
Because it grows like leaven.

And what an important point to understand.
Today our fascination in churches is with Big programs,
And State of the art events, and cutting edge displays.

We tend to think the bigger it is, the louder it is, the more high tech it is, the more famous it is, then the bigger impact we can make.

Now it isn’t that those things are evil, or bad, or even wrong.
So long as you know they are powerless to save by themselves.

Remember what Paul said?
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
Paul understood the kingdom of heaven isn’t grown through marketing.
You don’t bully people into the kingdom…
You don’t “wow” people into the kingdom…
The kingdom spreads like leaven, from one life to another.

The kingdom spreads when you (as one person)
Go and share the gospel with another person.

It doesn’t require gimmics, or tricks, or any fancy program,
Just go and personally share the truth with someone else.

That is how it grows.
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

1 Peter 3:15-16 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”

That is the secret to kingdom growth.
It doesn’t require special effects, just committed people.

And we certainly saw that with the disciples.
• 12 ordinary men.
• No degrees
• No fame
• No musical ability that we know of
• No pyrotechnics
• They didn’t even have the use of pizza

They just went and shared the truth with every person they could,
And like leaven the kingdom began to spread.

Acts 2:41 “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”

Acts 2:47b “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Acts 4:4 “But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”

Acts 5:14 “And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number,”

Acts 6:7 “The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”

And on and on and on.

AND IT STILL DOES TODAY
It will someday be the premier kingdom on the earth,
The biggest of the garden plants,
And it will get that way by growing like leaven.

So you see the Glory of the Kingdom and the Growth of the Kingdom.

Now before we move on,
We see again the method Jesus is using to preach the truth.
(34-35) “All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”

And there again we are reminded just how fortunate we are
To have been given these truths, for not all have been granted them.

Furthermore it is a reinforcement of what Jesus just taught.
The kingdom didn’t grow by leaps and bounds
Through massive crusades and large crowds of people.

Jesus invested these truths in 12 men,
And let them spread it to the rest of the world.

Jesus didn’t reach the world through a mass-mailing, or an internet video.
Jesus’ method was thorough instruction to those
Who would go and spread the truths they learned.

Glory, Growth
#3 THE GLEANING OF THE KINGDOM
Matthew 13:34-43

Now you will notice that at this point “He left the crowds and went into the house.”

This opened the opportunity for the disciples to get some clarification.

“And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
This indicates that they understood the parable of the mustard seed
And the parable of the leaven.

It also indicates that they were EXTREMELY CURIOUS
As to the point of the presence of TARES.

We mentioned last week, how they assumed
That tares should be immediately removed.
(call down fire on them?)

So here Jesus explains the parable.
(37-39) “And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.”

Now we already talked about this parable a little last week.

We talked about why tares exist.
They exist because the devil planted them.

And we talked about why tares remain.
They remain because God is concerned about the safety of the wheat.

But here, as Jesus explains the parable,
Jesus focuses in on a third point of that parable,
And that is THE TARES WILL BE REMOVED

Notice, Jesus doesn’t go into great detail about the sowing of the tares,
Or even the temporary ignoring of the tares,
He focuses solely on the day they will be burned.

It indicates to us, that Jesus is just as eager to remove them as you are.

(40-43) “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

The explanation Jesus focused on was the gleaning of the kingdom.
He looked forward to the day when the harvest was ripe,
And the wheat was gathered,
And the tares would be destroyed.

He saw them as “stumbling blocks”
He saw them as “those who commit lawlessness”
He was ready for the day when they will be thrown “into the furnace of fire”

In short, Jesus allows them to remain, but they will not get the kingdom.
Stumbling blocks may exist.
Lawless people may exist.

But rest assured they are not safe, and they will not inherit the kingdom.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Ephesians 5:5 “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

They will be removed.

And this is Jesus point as He explains the parables.
• Sure the kingdom looks small, but it will one day be the biggest.
• It will grow because it spreads like leaven.
• And don’t fret the presence of the tares, they will be removed.

Now, for us that is exciting!
We praise God to know that His kingdom will endure and we do not have to fret if at times it feels as though the kingdom is small.

It is also means that we have work to do.
We were commissioned with the task of spreading the seed and influencing lives. The kingdom grows on a personal level, so share it with someone.

We don’t have to be a mega-church.
We don’t need a multi-million dollar budget.
We don’t need a state of the art facility.
THAT ISN’T HOW THE KINGDOM GROWS ANYWAY

And finally, for any who feel safe in the kingdom, but have never born fruit, don’t sit comfortable, as you can see Christ is none too pleased about the presence of tares in his field.

Some day all of those lawless stumbling blocks will be removed.

“He who has ears, let him hear.”