Matthew 13

CHAPTER 13THEME: The parables of the Kingdom of Heaven show the direction of the Kingdom after Israel’s rejection of it until the King returns to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on the earthAs we have said, the Gospel of Matthew is probably the key Gospel to the Bible. It is the open door to both the Old and the New Testaments. If that is true, then chapter 13 is the key to the Gospel of Matthew. This makes chapter 13 all-important. It will give us a better understanding of what the Kingdom of Heaven is than any other place in the Book. We call it the Mystery Parables Discourse, and it is one of the three major discourses in the Gospel of Matthew.

1. The Sermon on the Mount looks back to the past. It is the law for the land.
2. The Mystery Parables Discourse reveals the condition of the Kingdom of Heaven in the world during the present age.
3. The Olivet Discourse looks to the future, to the return of the King and the things beyond this age. Let me remind you that our Lord followed John the Baptist in preaching, “…Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat_4:17). And our Lord enunciated the law of that Kingdom, the Sermon on the Mount. Then He demonstrated that He had the power, the dynamic, after which He sent His disciples out with the message. The message was met by rejectionIsrael rejected its King. Therefore, our Lord hands down a judgment against the cities where His mighty works had been done and against the religious rulers. When they asked Him for a sign, He said that no sign would be given to them except that of Jonah.

Jonah was a resurrection sign, and they were to have that fulfilled in Christ shortly after this. Finally, He gave that very personal invitation, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (lit., “rest you”)” (Mat_11:28). Now the question arises: What will happen to the Kingdom of Heaven? It is apparent that He will not establish it on the earth at His first coming. So what will happen to the Kingdom of Heaven during the interval between the suffering and the glory of Christ? Well, in the Mystery Parables Discourse our Lord sets before us Kingdom-of-Heaven conditions on earth during this interval, using seven or eight parables. We call them Mystery Parables because in the Word of God a mystery is something hidden or secret up to a certain time and then revealed. The church is a mystery (according to this definition) since it was not a matter of revelation in the Old Testament. It was revealed after the death and resurrection of Christ. Actually, there could be no church until Christ died and rose again. Eph_5:25 says that “…Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” It is important to note that the Kingdom of Heaven is not synonymous with the church nor is the church synonymous with the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven today is all Christendom (the portion of the world in which Christianity is predominant can be considered as Christendom). Obviously, the church is in Christendom, but it is not all of it by any means. These Mystery Parables show the direction of the Kingdom after it had been offered and rejected by Israel. They reveal what is going to take place between the time of Christ’s rejection and the time when He returns to the earth as King. With these parables our Lord covers the entire period between His rejection by Israel and His return to the earth to establish His Kingdom. I consider them very important. As we begin this chapter, notice that the very actions of Jesus are interesting.

Matthew 13:1

Notice the symbolism here. “The same day went Jesus out of the house,” which speaks of the house of Israel. “And sat by the sea side"the sea represents the gentile nations (a symbolism used elsewhere in Scripture). Our Lord is leaving the nation of Israel and turning to the world. He is now speaking of what will take place in the world until He returns as King. This act denotes a tremendous change that has taken place in His method. Great multitudes were gathered together to hear Him, and He went into a ship and began to talk to them as they stood on the shore.

Matthew 13:3

PARABLE OF THE SOWERAlthough our Lord gives several parables in this chapter, He interprets only two of them: the parable of the sower and the parable of the wheat and tares. His interpretation is a guide to the symbolism in the other parables. For instance, in this parable of the sower, the birds represent Satan. Now when He uses the symbol of birds in another parable, we may be sure that they do not represent something good. We need to be consistent and follow our Lord’s interpretation. The parable of the sower is the first of the Mystery Parables and may be considered as the foundation for all of them. I’ll just run ahead and give you our Lord’s interpretation of the sower. He will tell us later that the sower is the Son of man and that the seed represents the Word of God.

Matthew 13:4

Sowing seed was a familiar sight in Palestine. They would sort of scratch the surface of the ground with a very crude plow. Sometimes they didn’t even do that much. Then the sower would go out and fling the seeds upon the earth. Even today in our land in the springtime, all the way from Pocatello, Idaho, to Pensacola, Florida, and from Minnesota to Muleshoe, Texas, you will see farmers sowing wheat, corn, and cotton. It is a very familiar sightof course, we use machines to sow the seed, while in that day it was sown by hand. As I have mentioned, the sower represents the Lord Jesuswe learn this from the parable of the wheat and tares (v. Mat_13:37). The Lord Jesus is the One sowing the seed, and I feel that this defines His work today in the world. He was the King, but He laid aside His regal robes, and today He is doing the work of a farmer, sowing seedbut He is still the King. The seed, we learn from verse Mat_13:19, represents the Word of God. The field symbolizes the world (v. Mat_13:38). Notice that it is the world, not the church. We are talking about a world situation. I think the picture is something like this: Here is the church in the world, and outside there are multitudes of people who have not received Christ. The Word of God is given to this one, and the Word is given to that one, and the Word is given to another. One accepts, another does not accept. Our business is to sow the seed, although not everyone will receive it. The Lord Jesus has charge of this great program of sowing seed. He has given me a little corner to work in, and my business is to sow seed. I want to be specific here. This is the day for sowing seed. I don’t want to split hairs, but the “harvest” is not the picture for today. But someone says, “Didn’t Christ say, ‘Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest’?” Yes, and let’s look at it again: “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Mat_9:36-38). This passage occurs just before the Lord sent out His apostles to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The age of the Law was coming to an end. Harvest time comes after seed has been sown. For fifteen hundred years, approximately, under Law, the seed had been sown. Then the harvest came, and a new age, a new dispensation, came in. At the close of one age there is a harvest, and at the beginning of another age is the sowing of seed. But I want to emphasize that the harvest at the end of an age is judgment. We will see that in some of the parables which follow. However, in our day we are to be sowing the seed of the Word of God. I rejoice when I receive a letter from someone who has listened to my teaching of the Word by radio. Some folk listen for a year or more, and finally the seed germinates and brings forth fruit. It is my business to sow the seed while I am in the world, and it is your business also, my friend. Now notice where the seed falls. It falls on four types of soil, and three-fourths of the seeds do not growthey die. There was nothing wrong with the seed, but the soil was the problem. You can argue election all you want to, but in this parable there is a lot of free will exhibited. The condition of the soil is all important as far as the seed is concerned. Now let’s look at our Lord’s interpretation of the types of soil on which the seed fell. In verse Mat_13:4 He says that some of it fell by the wayside, and the birds came and ate it up. In verse Mat_13:19 He explains to His disciples the meaning of it

Matthew 13:9

Well, if we have these things on the side of our head called ears, can’t we hear Him? Yes, but notice the question and His answer

Matthew 13:10

Someone has said that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. This is a good definition. But the word parable is from the Greek paraboleµ. We get our English word ball from it. You throw something down beside an object to measure it. For example, it’s like putting a ruler down beside a table to measure it. That ruler is a parable; it is put down for the purpose of measuring. Our Lord gave parables to measure heavenly truth which He could set before us. Why did He do it?

Matthew 13:11

If a man wants to know the Word of God, he can know it. He who wants to know the truth can know it. But you can shut your ears to it. There are multitudes of so-called broadminded people who shut their ears to the Word of God. If you don’t want to hear it, you won’t hear it, my friend. Not only would you fail to hear it, but you wouldn’t understand it if you did hear it. You must have the kind of ear that wants to hear the Word of God.

Matthew 13:12

If you know a little truth and you want to know more, the Lord will add to it. If you don’t want to know the truth, the Lord will see to it that you won’t get it. You see, the Lord will never shut the door to one who wants to hear. He makes it very clear that this is His reason for speaking in parables. Those who don’t want to hear will not understand them. The Lord drew His parables from commonplace things, things that were at the fingertips of the people in that day. He gave them great spiritual truths illustrated by things they knew and could see. Someone has put this concept in verse He talked of grass and wind and rain And fig trees and fair weather, And made it His delight to bring Heaven and earth together. He spoke of lilies, vines and corn, The sparrow and the raven. And words so natural, yet so wise Were on men’s hearts engraven. In the parable of the sower, we see what could be called a Kingdom-of-Heaven condition; that is, it exhibits God’s present rulership over the entire earth as He calls out a people to His name. And God is carrying out His program today through the church, the called-out body, composed of every true believer. Therefore, we have a Kingdom-of-Heaven condition today as God is carrying on His program of bringing folk to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Matthew 13:19

The birds represent the evil onethe Devil takes away the seed sown by the wayside. This is something which ought to cause every church member to examine his own heart. My friend, don’t apply this to the other fellow, apply it to yourself. Someone has written a clever little poem which says: When you get to heaven You will likely view, Many folk there Who’ll be a shock to you. But don’t act surprised, Or even show a care, For they might be a little shocked To see you there. The wayside soil apparently represents church members, professing Christians. They heard the Word of God, but it was not the hearing of faith. The Word was not mixed with faithor if it was, it was a formal, intellectual faith which simply nodded the head. In other words, to folk like this, Christianity is a sideline. Belonging to the church is like belonging to a lodge or a club. These folk are in deep freeze. Not only do we find them in our churches, but some of them have fallen away from the church and are in cults and “isms.” The second group are represented by the rocky soil.

Matthew 13:20

These rocky-ground folk are the opposite of the first group. It was the Devil who took the Word away from the wayside hearers, but the flesh is the culprit with this group. Instead of being in deep freeze, they are in the ovenwarm, emotional, shedding tears, greatly moved. These are what I call Alka-Seltzer Christians. There is a lot of fizz in them. They make as much fuss during a service as a rocket on a launching pad, but they never get into orbit. I classify them as the Southern California type. They have great zeal and energy during special meetings, but they are like burned out Roman candles after the meetings are over. I stood on the rear end of a train, years ago, going through Kansas. Someone had thrown a paper onto the railroad tracks. As our train sped past, the paper fluttered up into the air and went in every direction. As soon as the train had gone by, the paper settled down on the track and was soon dead still. As I looked way back at the paper lying there, I thought, “That is just like a lot of so-called Christians. When there is a sensational meeting in progress, they really get enthusiastic, but they have no real relationship with Christ. It is just an emotional high.” They are the rocky-ground folk. The third group of hearers is like thorny ground

Matthew 13:22

With these folk the world crowds out the Word of God. The Devil got the wayside folk, and the flesh took care of the rocky-ground folk, but the world chokes out the Word for this class of hearers. The cares of the world move in. Sometimes it is poverty, and other times it is the deceitfulness of riches. It is quite interesting that folk at each end of the social spectrumextreme poverty and extreme prosperityare folk who are the most difficult to reach for Christ. I find that a great many people have let the cares of the world crowd out the Word of God.

These three types of soil do not represent three types of believersthey are not believers at all! They have heard the Word and have only professed to receive it. My friend, it is well for all of us to examine ourselves to see whether or not we are really in the faith. Thank God, some seed falls on good ground, and our Lord interprets this for us

Matthew 13:23

These are the hearers who receive the Word and understand it. Some of them don’t bring forth much fruitonly thirtyfold, but some bring forth an hundredfold! There must be an understanding of the Word. The Ethiopian eunuch, you remember, was reading the Word, but he didn’t understand italthough he wanted to understand it. So the Spirit of God put Philip there as a hitchhiker. He took a ride with the Ethiopian and gave him a ticket to heaven. He explained the Word to himthat the One who was led as a sheep to the slaughter was the Lord Jesus Christ, that He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. The Ethiopian believed and received Him. Philip was sowing the seed of the Word of God. This is a Kingdom-of-Heaven situation as it reveals that the Sower, the Lord Jesus Christ, is sowing the seed of the Word of God in the world and that the Holy Spirit applies it to the hearts of those who want to believe. After our Lord had given the parable of the sower, He said something quite interesting

Matthew 13:24

THE PARABLE OF THE TARESIn this parable our Lord picks up where He left off in the parable of the sower. He has told us that only one-fourth of the sown seed ever got into good ground. The other three-fourths never did produce anything because the folk who heard the Word did not respond to it. In other words, they were not saved. Of the people who heard the Word of God, only one-fourth were truly saved. Frankly, in my own ministry I have found the percentage even lower than that.

If one out of ten responding to my invitation to receive Christ is genuine, I feel that my batting average is good. Other Christian workers tell me the same story. A member of the team of a very prominent evangelist has told me that only three percent of their inquirers can be considered genuine converts. So you see, our batting average is not too good, but we thank God for each person who does come to Christ. We are in a Kingdom-of-Heaven situation, giving out the Word of Godand this is what happens to it. But now we see another facet of the Kingdom-of-Heaven condition in the world today. It is a picture of a man who sowed good seed in his field

Matthew 13:25

Notice who is asleep. While men slept, the enemy came. Remember, the sower is the Lord, and He neither slumbers nor sleeps. Satan is the enemy, and he sows tares among the wheat. The tares are false doctrine. There’s a great deal of that type of sowing today.

Matthew 13:26

As wheat and tares first begin to grow, it is difficult to distinguish between them. Frankly, a lot of cults and “ism” also sound good at first. You cannot tell them from the real thing until about the twelfth or thirteenth lesson. Those are the lessons in which they introduce their false doctrine. Someone once said to me, “Dr. McGee, you should not criticize so-and-so. I listened to him, and he preached the gospel.” Well, he does preach the gospel every now and then. But it is the other things he says that are in error. You see, he sows tares among the wheat. Now we will see that the sower knew who was responsible for the tares

Matthew 13:27

This is a very important picture to see and to interpret. Our Lord says, “Don’t try to pull up the tares. Let them both grow together, and when they finally head up, you will be able to recognize which are tares and which are wheat.” Somebody comes to me and says, “Pastor McGee, do you think the world is getting better?” I reply that I do think it is getting better. Someone else asks me, “Do you think the world is getting worse?” I tell him that I do believe the world is getting worse. A third party who heard me give both answers, says, “What are you trying to doride the fence? It is not like you to try to please everybody.” Right! But actually, both are true. The wheat is growing and the tares are growing. The world is getting betterthe wheat is heading up. Never has there been so much Bible teaching as there is today. I thank God for that. And there are many wonderful saints of God who love His Word and who would die defending it. That wheat is growing, my friend! However, the world is also getting worse. There are a lot of tares growing. I have been a pastor for a long time. When I began my ministry, I entered a denomination with the idea of cleaning it up. I was the one that just about got cleaned out. I found I could not straighten out my denomination. I was thankful to find out from this passage, and related passages, that my business was to preach the Word. I don’t go around pulling up tares anymore because I found that when you pull up tares, you also pull up some wheat with them. But now I know that my business is not to pull up tares but to sow the wheat. Sowing the Word of God is my responsibility. Both tares and wheat are growing in this world. This is a Kingdom-of-Heaven situation in Christendom during this interval between Christ’s rejection and His return to establish His Kingdom upon the earth. It is not a picture of Christ’s church. “Well,” you say, “it certainly is a picture of the organized church.” That is true, but the organized church is not His church. His church is composed of that invisible number of saints. When I say invisible, I mean that they are not confined to an organization. (Actually, I do not like the term invisible because I find out that a lot of the saints think it means that they are to be invisible Sunday night and at the midweek service. In fact, they are invisible many times.) The true church is made up of true believers, irrespective of any denomination.

True believers are those who have trusted Christ as Savior, are resting in Him, and love His Wordthis is the real test. Don’t be disturbed that the wheat and tares are growing together. One day the Lord will put in His sickle and separate the tares and wheat. I am thankful it will not be my job because I am afraid I would pull up some of the wheat.

Matthew 13:31

THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEEDThis parable presents a different kind of seed. The mustard tree is an unlikely symbol of the church or of individual Christians. Ordinarily, fruit-bearing trees are used to depict believers. Mustard is a condiment and has no food value. It’s not wheat germ, loaded with vitamins; it’s just good on hot dogs and hamburgers. Mustard is not a food you can live on. The mustard seed does not grow into a mighty oak like the little acorn does. It is a shrub which thrives best in desert lands. The mustard seed “is the least of all seeds.” Several years ago a liberal preacher in our area made the discovery that the mustard seed is not the least of all seeds. He thought he had found an error in the Bible. What did our Lord mean by “the least of all seeds”? It was the least of all seeds that the people in His audience knew about. It is my understanding that it is least of all the seeds in the category of plants to which the mustard belongs. It is a very small seed. “But when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” This little seed, which should have become an herb, got to the fertilizer and became a tree large enough for birds to roost in. This parable reveals the outward growth of Christendom as the parable of the leaven speaks of the internal condition of Christendom. The church has not converted the world, but it has had a tremendous influence on the world. Any place that Christianity has gone can be called Christendom. This parable reveals the outward growth of the organized church. The church and the world have become horribly mixed. There has been real integration between man in the church and man in the world. They live and act very much alike in our day. The Christian should be salt in the world, not mustard!“The birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” Years ago I heard another liberal preacher interpret the birds as being different denominations. He spoke of the Baptist birds, the Presbyterian birds, the Methodist birds, and all other church groups as being birds.

That, of course, is a contradiction of our Lord’s own interpretation of the birds in the first parable. We can be sure that the birds in the parables of this discourse do not speak of anything good, but rather they represent evil. The birds are the ones that took the seed which fell by the wayside. Our Lord said that they represent the enemy who is Satan. I am afraid that Christendom today is a mustard tree filled with a lot of dirty birds!

Matthew 13:33

THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVENThe parable of the leaven is the key parable of this chapter. Let me try to help you realize the importance of it. First of all, the Gospel of Matthew is the key book of the Bible. Secondly, chapter 13 is the key chapter of Matthew. And thirdly, verse Mat_13:33 is the key verse of chapter 13. So actually, what we have here is one of the key verses of the Bible! Now notice the very important teaching in this verse “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven"but don’t stop there"which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal.” What does the leaven represent? There are those who interpret the leaven as the gospel, and they ought to know better! Nowhere is leaven used as a principle of good; it is always a principle of evil. The word leaven occurs ninety-eight times in the Bibleabout seventy-five times in the Old Testament and about twenty-three times in the New Testamentand it is always used in a bad sense. The great scholar, Dr. Lightfoot, made the statement that rabbinical writers regularly used leaven as a symbol of evil.

In the Old Testament it was forbidden to be used in the offerings made to God. In the New Testament our Lord warned to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees (see Mat_16:6). And the apostle Paul spoke of the leaven of malice and wickedness (see 1Co_5:8). Symbolism in Scripture does not contradict itself, and we may be certain that leaven is not used in a good sense here in Matthew 13. Leaven is not the gospel. The gospel is represented by the three measures of meal. How do we know this? Because meal is made out of grain or seed, and our Lord has already told us in the parable of the sower that the seed represents the Word of God. Remember that this parable is a picture of what happens to the Word of God on this earth during the interval between Christ’s rejection and His exaltation when He will return to set up His Kingdom. Note what happens to the Word of God represented by the meal. This woman comes alongI hope you ladies will forgive me for pointing this outand when a woman is used in a doctrinal sense in Scripture, she is always used as a principle of evil. She takes the leaven and hides it in the meal. If the leaven represents the gospel, why in the world did she hide it? The gospel is to be shouted from the housetops and heralded to the very ends of the earth. Obviously, the leaven is a principle of evil, and the woman puts it in the meal, which represents the gospel, the Word of God. We certainly see this in reality in our day. There is no cult or “ism” which ignores the Bible. I find that even those who worship the Devil, the demon worshipers, use the Bible. False teachers of every description put leaven in the meal, the Word of God. What does leaven do? Well, leaven is a substance, such as yeast, used to produce fermentation. When it is put in bread dough, it causes it to rise. And it makes it tasty also. That is the reason a great many people find a thrill in some of the cults. Unleavened bread is just blah as far as the natural taste is concerned.

A little leaven really helps it. I grew up in the South, and my mother used to make delicious biscuits. She would put leaven in the dough and put them on the back of the stove to rise. If I came running into the kitchen, she would shush me because she didn’t want those biscuits to fall. When they got to a certain height, she would stop the fermentation by putting them in the oven and baking them. Have you ever seen what happens when you let dough continue to rise?

I tell you, it makes a pan of corruptionsomething you wouldn’t want to eat! Leaven is a principle of evil. This parable teaches that the intrusion of wrong doctrine into the church will finally lead to total apostasy"The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said, “…when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luk_18:8). The way the question is couched in the Greek, it demands a negative answer. In other words, he is saying that when He does return the world will be in total apostasy. And the apostle Paul, writing to a young man studying for the ministry, warns that the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine (see 2Ti_4:3). The final, total apostasy of the church is revealed in the church of Laodicea (see Rev_3:14-19).

Matthew 13:34

“I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world"nail down that statement. Our Lord is giving us a brand-new truth. The things He is revealing now, in parables, have never been revealed like this in the Old Testament.

Matthew 13:36

Jesus has sent the multitude away and has gathered His disciples about Him. He is going to interpret the parable of the tares to them. We have already gone over it, but let’s read it as the Scripture states it.

Matthew 13:37

This is an exact picture of the condition in Christendom in our day. My Lord never missed His predictions. This has been fulfilled as accurately as anything possibly could be.

Matthew 13:41

You see, in the Kingdom during the Millennium there will be evil rearing its ugly head. But it will be taken out.

Matthew 13:42

These harsh words of Scripture came from the gentle lips of our wonderful Lord. The last three parables are unusual in that they deal with certain different aspects of the Kingdom of Heaven as it is today.

Matthew 13:44

THE PARABLE OF THE TREASURE HID IN A FIELDThe “treasure” is Israel. The “field” is the world. The “man” is the Son of man who gave Himself to redeem the nation Israel. This is not a sinner buying the gospel because the gospel is not hidden in a field. Israel, however, is actually buried in the world today. Someone says, “Well, they are a nation right now.” They are, but they certainly are having a struggle. They will not be able to enjoy their land until they receive it from the Lord Jesus Christ. I was very much interested in reading a paper that came from Israel concerning a convention of certain scientists. In a picture I noted above the platform a great sign, printed in both Hebrew and English, which read something like this: SCIENCE WILL BRING PEACE TO THIS LAND. May I say to you, friend, science will not bring peace to Israelnor to any country. Only the Prince of Peace is able to do that. Actually, Israel is buried throughout the world. The largest population of Jews is not in Israel but is in New York City. And Jewish people are scattered throughout the world. But God is not through with Israel as a nation. The apostle Paul wrote: “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew …” (Rom_11:1-2). Paul believed that the Lord was not through with Israel. Zechariah, one of the last writers in the Old Testament, wrote that a new day would come for Israel: “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zec_12:10). The prophet Jeremiah in many passages speaks of the regathering of the people of Israel and of God bringing them to their own land. That time is still future. When God regathers them, it will be by miracles so great that they will even forget their miraculous deliverance from Egypt which has been celebrated longer than any other religious holiday. God is not through with the nation Israel, and this parable makes that fact very clear. Israel is the treasure hid in a field, and Christ is the One who “for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” In fact, He gave Himself to redeem the nation. Our Lord purchased them with His blood, just as He bought your salvation and my salvation. Zechariah writes of the cleansing which will take place at the time of Christ’s return to this earth: “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (Zec_13:1).

Matthew 13:45

THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICEThe popular interpretation of this parable says that the sinner is the merchantman and the pearl of great price is Christ. The sinner sells all that he has that he might buy Christ. One hymn says: I have found the pearl of greatest price. My heart doth sing for joy. And sing I must for Christ is mine; Christ shall my song employ. I cannot accept this interpretation, and I have dismissed it as unworthy of thoughtful consideration. To begin with, who is looking for goodly pearls? Are sinners looking for salvation? My Bible does not read that way, nor has that been my experience as a minister. Sinners are not looking for salvation. The merchantman cannot be the sinner because he has nothing with which to pay.

To begin with, he is not seeking Christ, and if he were, how could he buy Him? The merchantman sells all that he hashow can a sinner sell all that he has when he is dead in trespasses and sins (see Eph_2:1)? Further, the Scriptures are very clear that Christ and salvation are not for sale. Salvation is a gift"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Joh_3:16). God so loved that He gave. And in Rom_6:23 we are told that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The correct interpretation of this parable reveals Christ as the merchantman. He left His heavenly home and came to this earth to find a pearl of great price. He found lost sinners and died for them by shedding His precious blood. He sold all that He had to buy us and redeem us to God. Paul told this to the Corinthians: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2Co_8:9). He redeems us to GodHe bought us. Now let’s look at the pearl for a moment. The pearl represents the church. A pearl is not a stone like the diamond. It is formed by a living organism. A grain of sand or other foreign matter intrudes itself into the shell of a small sea creature. It hurts and harms it. The response of the organism is to send out a secretion that coats over the foreign matter. That fluid builds up until a pearl is formednot a ruby or a diamond, but a beautiful white pearl. A pearl is not like other gems. It cannot be cut to enhance its beauty. It is formed intact. The minute you cut it, you ruin it. The pearl was never considered very valuable by the Israelites. Several verses of Scripture give us this impression. For example, in Job_28:18 pearls are classed with coral. Although the pearl was not considered valuable among the Hebrews, it was very valuable to the Gentiles. When Christ used the figure of “goodly pearls” (v. Mat_13:45), I imagine that His disciples wondered why. Oriental people gave to the pearl a symbolic meaning of innocence and purity, fit only for kings and potentates. With this information in our thinking, let’s look again at the parable. Christ came to this earth as the merchantman. He saw man in sin, and He took man’s sin and bore it in His own body. Our sin was an intrusion upon Himit was that foreign matter. And He was made sin for us. As someone has put it, I got into the heart of Christ by a spear wound. Christ “…was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities …” (Isa_53:5). Notice Christ’s response to the sinner. He puts around us His own righteousness. He covers us with His own white robe of righteousness. “…we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus …” (Eph_2:10). Christ sees us, not as we are now but as we shall be someday, presented to Him as “…a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph_5:27). Christ sold all that He had in order that He might gain the church. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1Jn_3:2). When we come to the last book of the Bible, the Book of the Revelation, we find a description of the New Jerusalem, the future home of the church. Notice the emblem on the outside of the citythe gates are made of pearls! That is no accident, friend; it is planned that way by Christ’s design. He is the merchantman “Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

Matthew 13:47

THE PARABLE OF THE NET CAST INTO THE SEA"So shall it be at the end of the world"the word world is the Greek aioµn, meaning “age.” The Bible does not teach the end of this world. It is true that time will be no more, but then eternity begins, and as far as I’m concerned, I can’t tell the difference (and I have never met anyone else who could). The end of the age simply means the time when Christ will return to establish His Kingdom on earth.

Matthew 13:50

Our Lord makes it clear in this section that it is a terrible thing to be lost. I was very much interested in reading a scientific paper written by men who were presenting certain scientific evidence in several different fields, and their point was that science was not sure of many things. For example, they were not sure exactly what the atom blast would do. They were not sure of the consequences of germ warfare. They were not sure about the effect of the birth control pill. And many other things were mentioned. Then one of the scientists said this, “It’s just like this matter of eternity.

You may not know whether there is a heaven or a hell, but you had better make sure that you are going to heaven because even if you happen to be wrong, you’ll be all right. But if you are wrong, it is surely going to be bad.” And our Lord made it very clear that it is indeed going to be very bad. It is considered sophisticated in our day to be a suave person. Certainly, you will not be considered a square if you deny the existence of hell. But, my friend, in reality you don’t know a thing about it, do you? You may say, “Well, you don’t know either.” Well I know what is in this Book. And since the Bible has been accurate in everything it has predicted, and since in my own life I have proven it true, I take it for granted that it is accurate in its description of hell. And I work on that premiseand it’s more than a premise. If you were told that a hurricane was going to hit your town, what would you do? After you had been given the information, someone might come along and say, “Oh, they warned of a hurricane ten years ago, and no hurricane came.” I think you would say “Well, they might have been wrong ten years ago, but they could be right this time; so I think I’ll go to a storm cellar.” You would be a fool if you didn’t. What about the man who rejects Christ’s warning of hell? He says, “I’ll take my chance.” It will be too bad if he is wrong. Our Lord Jesus Himself makes this fact very clear in this parable when He says, “the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 13:52

THE PARABLE OF THE HOUSEHOLDERSome of the people call this verse a parable and others do not. Nevertheless, the content of this single verse has an important message for us. This is a very personal verse, especially for those of us who teach and preach the Word of God. I am to bring forth both the old and new. Some folk say to me, “Oh, I’ve heard all of that before.” Of course they have. But it is my business to bring forth old things, and I do hope to bring forth a few new thoughts, also.

Matthew 13:54

JESUS RETURNS TO HIS OWN COUNTRY AND IS REJECTEDAfter teaching these parables, the Lord Jesus departed and headed toward Nazareth, His hometown. Let me call your attention again to the fact that in Christ’s day they never questioned whether or not He could perform miracles. Their question was, “Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?” Where does He get His wisdom, and how can He do these mighty works?

Matthew 13:55

“Is not this the carpenter’s son?” That was what confused them. They did not recognize who He really was. To them He was just a carpenter’s son. And that is all He is to some folk in our day. They think He was a great teacher, a great man, a wonderful person, but to them He was only a carpenter’s son.

Matthew 13:56

It is obvious that the Lord Jesus had brothers and sistersof course, they were half brothers and half sisters, younger than He was, and born of Mary and Joseph. They did not understand until after His resurrection that He was truly the Son of God.

Matthew 13:57

You see, His hometown folk were so familiar with Him and with His family that they were “offended in him.” That is, they took offense at Him. I suppose they said, “We know His family. He grew up among us. Where does He get the things He teaches?”

Matthew 13:58

This is a tremendous revelation. Note what it was that limited the power of God when He was here. It was unbelief! “He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” It was not that He was unable to do them; but because of their unbelief, He did very few miracles there. My friend, the great problem with you and me is that we do not have faith to believeand I’m talking about faith for the salvation of men and women. We need the kind of faith that believes Christ can save the lost. He is limited today in your own community, in your church, in your family, and in your own life by unbelief. And this is certainly true of me also. Our Lord states a great truth here. Let’s not bypass it.