the parables of jesus (1974)

8/13/2019 The Parables of Jesus (1974)

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The Parables f JesusTHEBACKGROUNDAmong the greatestand mostprofound of atl biblicat teachingsare theparables of Jesus Christ. During His three-and-one-half-year ministry, Jesusexpounded from thirty to fifty parables (depending on whose estimate youwish to accept). There are some very important reasonswhy Jesus used theparabolic method of teaching. For today's Christian there is much vitalmeaning contained within these rustic examples taken from everyday life inancient Judaea and its environs. Here is a series of articles which will makethat meaning come alive.

(^t HoULDrr be surprising hat\Jesus used parables?Not i f\-/you understand omething fthe Jewishworld in Christ's day.Says Alfred Edersheim:Perhapsno other modeof teachingwas socommon mong he Jewsas hat byParables"(The Life and Times ofJesus he Messiah GrandRapids,Mich.: Will iam B. EerdmansPub-lishingCo.,19721, . 580).The Jewish eoplewerequite a'miliar with theparabolicmethodofteaching and had been for sometime. In a footnoteon the samepage, Dr. Edersheim nforms us:" . . . EveryancientRabbinicworkis literally ull of parables."The Old Testament tself con-tains many parables. he ProphetEzekielusedat least our. A goodexample s found in Ezekiel 7:2:"Son of man, put forth a riddle,andspeakaparableunto the houseof Israel." The prophet hen pro-ceedso unfolda strange toryof agreateagleand a giant cedar ree.Later in the samechapter,he ex-plains he meaningof this unusualstory.In I I Samuel 2 the Prophet a-than tactfully used a parable toconvey a message rom God toKing David.Isaiah5:l-6 alsocontains par-able which was used as a song-againconveying n importantmes-sage o the people y the parabolicmethod.Verse explainshe mean-ing.2

by BnanKnowlesWhat ls a Parable? In mostcasesa parable s a story drawn fromeverydayife. It is usually ymbolicor metaphor ic n nature-oftenconveying profoundspiritual es-son.Most parables se magery owhich he average erson an read-ily relate.As the hearer omesntodaily contact with the image orsymbol i.e.,a field,a fig tree,etc.),he s easily eminded f theparablein which the associatedmagery sused.In order to gain the maximumvalue from Jesus'parables,wemust, herefore, cquireat leastarudimentaryunderstanding f theelements sed n those tories. ndwe mustgainan elementary nder-standingof thegeography nvolved.This we will do as his series f ar-ticlesunfolds.Why Jesus Used Parables.There are several erygood easonswhy Christ chose o use he para-bolicmethodof teaching.The mostobvious eason s thatit was commonly acceptedamongthe Jewish peopleof that day.When a teacher aunched nto aparable,most isteners erecondi-tioned o respondand knew how toreceive uch eaching.In addition, he colorful storiesalso servedas effectivedevicesbywhich he listener ouldrememberthe lesson. Almost all parableswere ntended o conveya moral orspiritual esson f one kind or an-other.)

' ")1974Worldwide Church of Godand Ambassador CollegeAll Rights Reserved

But there is yet another reasonwhich has escaped many commen-tators. Jesusclearly explained t inMatthew I 3; 0- I l :"And the disciples came, andsaid unto him, Why speakest houunto them in parables? He an-swered and said unto them, Be-cause it is given unto you to knowthe mysteries of the kingdom ofheaven, but lo them it is not giv-en."What Jesuswas saying was thatthe people were not really ready atthat t ime to receive the profoundtruths of God's Kingdom---only thel2 disciples were. Therefore, Hesometimes used parables withoutexplaining them lo the people. Hedid, however, privately interpretthem to the disciples.When the peopleheard the par-able, i t seemed ike a simple "folk-sy" story of no particular spir i tualsignif icance.They heard and un-derstood t only on a physical evel.The spir i tual meaning escapedthemJesus cont inued: "Thereforespeak I to them in parables:because they seeing see not: andhear ing they hear not, nei therdo they understand" (versel3).Jesusknew that the generalpop-ulace was not yet ready to receivethe deeper ruths of His way of l i fe.Had He explained certain parablesplainly, they would have been ac-countable for what they had


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learned. As James later said:"Therefore to him that knoweth odo good,anddoeth t not, o him itis si r " (James :17).The truth of God is too Preciousto be thrownabout ndiscriminate-ly In Matthew7:6 Jesus aughtusan important principle: Give no tthat which is holy unto the dogs,neithercast ye your pearlsbefores*'ine. est they trample them un-der their feet, and turn againandrend1'ou."He w'as ot callingpeople dogs"or "swine"; He was merely llus-trating by analogy the reactionofsome people o the truth of God.Many people,whenexposedo thetruth of God will treat t with con-tempt and persecute hose whohave expla ined that t ru th, tothem.A Christian should, therefore,

use discretion n determining towhomhe will explaih he undilutedstronger ruths of God.Jesus entHis disciples n a pre-liminary evangelisticour with thisinstruction:"Behold, I send youforth as sheep in the midst ofwolves: e ye thereforewiseas ser-pents, and harmlessas doves"(Matt . l0 :16) .And this is exactly what Jesuswasdoing n speakingo the peoplein unexplainedparables.(A moredetailedexplanationof this impor-tant biblical principle is found inour reprintarticleentitled ShouldYou Try to Convert Others?"Write for your free copy.)Some Parables Understood bYReligious Leaders. Jesusalwaysprivately explained he intendedspiritual meaningof each parableto His disciples. ut thereareother

instances n which the people towhorn the parable was addressedalso knew the intended spiritualmeaning It depended upon whowas addressed nd under what cir-cumstances,Not all parableswere given tothe masses f peoplewho followedJesus.Someweregivenexclusivelyto the disciples.Others were ad-dresseddirectly to the religiousleadersof the day-the scribesandPharisees. nd they knew exactlywhat Jesusmeant. as we shall seeaswe progressnto this series f ar-ticles.The Grouping of the Parables.What many have not realized isthat the parableswere given inthree distinct sets or grouPings.Eachset or groupof parables ad atheme or overall message.Andeach set became progressively

THE SEAOF CALTLEE ithMountHermonn the background.Jesus deliveredHis frrstset of parableson a boat ust out fromtheshore on the Sea of Galileenear Capernaum.


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stronger in its meaning and im-pact.Each group of parableswas pre-sented against a different geo-graphicalbackgroundand at threedistinct points n Christ'sministry.Each set was provoked or stimu-lated by a different set of circum-stances.To really gain the most out of astudy of the parables,one must ex-amine hem in their properchrono-logical sequence nd historical con-text.The Galllean Parables. Havinggrown up in Nazareth, Jesus atermoved to the town of Capernaumnear the Sea (or lake) of Galileewhere he may haveowneda home.It was in the provinceof Galileethat He workedas a carpenter ol -

lowing n the footsteps f His fatherJoseph.This provides he setting for thefirst group of parables,which maybe called the "Galilean Parables."This setof parableswasgivenearlyin Jesus'ministry."The sameday wentJesus ut ofthe house,and sat by the sea side[Seaof Galilee]. And great multi-tudeswere gathered ogether untohim, so that he went into a ship,and sau and the whole multitudestood on the shore. And he spakemany things unto them in par-ables . . " (Matt . l3: l -3).Here we have the setting:Jesuswas sitting in a small boat (proba-bly a fishing vessel)near the shoreof the freshwater akeof Galilee.Alarge crowd was standing on thegent ly sloping hi l ls ide, whichblended nto the calm and beautifullake.This setting provided a naturalamphitheater.The boat functionedas a speaker'splatform or stage;and His voice was carried acrossand reflectedby the water to theshore,where he peoplewerestand-ing. The sloped sides of the lake-shoreprovideda natural acoustical"backdrop" for the audience. Inshort, the speaking conditions asfound in nature were as nearlyideal as possiblen the days beforeelectronicamplification.Slx Parables to the People. Thisfirst set consistedof a total of tenparables.The first six of theseareaddressed o the people. The re-

maining four were exclusively forthe disciples.Remember, he accountof Jesuministry is given in four differenbiographical books, called "Gospels."To gain a truly comprehensivpicture of all of Jesus' parableeach of these accounts must becarefully compared.The first threeGospels (Matthew, Mark andLuke) are called"Synoptics."Thais, hey areall thought o havebascally originated from a commosource perhaps the Gospel oMark.Each writer wrote from a somewhat different point of view. TheApostle John apparently wrotmuch later and did not see he neeto include much of the materiawritten in the first three books.For an accurate picture of thisfirst groupingof parables,t is besto compare Matthew 13, Mark 4and Luke 8. In so doing, you wilnotice that Mark includes wo parables n this first setwhich are nofound n Matthew 13.The list of parables n the firsset s as follows:l'1 The Parable of the Sowe(Matt . l3:3-9)2\ The Wheat and the Tare(Matt. l3:24-30)3) The Lamp Under the Bushe(Mark 4:21-25)4\ The Grain of Mustard See(Matt . l3:31-32)5) The Kingdom Like l*aven(Matt . l3:33)6) The Seed Cast Into thGround (Mark a:26-29)This represents he set ofsix parablesgiven to the people."All these things spake Jesuunto the multitude in parables; nwithout a parablespakehe not untthem: That it might be fulfilled

RecommendedReadlngHowdoes one become citizen lthe Kingdom f God?What r.s heKingdom f God? s it the Church?Wherewill t be?Howwill t be setuo? What will Christians o in theKingdomof God? These basicquestions re answered n thebooklet Just What Do YouMean. . . Kingdomot God?To ob-tainyour reecopysimply equesttby title.Write o ihe address f ourotficenearest ou).


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which was spokenby the prophet,saying, will open my mouth inparables; will utter thingswhichhave been kept secret from thefoundation of the world" (Matt.l3 :34-35).The "prophet" spokenof is As-aph,a Leviteand the leaderof thesingers n ancient Israel. He hadwritten many centuries arlier:"Iwill openmy mouth n a parable:will utter dark sayings f old" (Ps.78:2). So Jesuswasactuallyuffill-ing prophecywhen He spoke heseparables.The first group of six parableswas not explainedo the people tthat time.But Jesus,n private, idpersonallvexplaineachone o thediscip lest a later ime."Then Jesussent the multitudearrar'.and ent nto hehouse: ndhis

disciples ameuntohim, saying,De-clare unto as the parableof the taresof the ield" (Matt. l3:36). He ha dalreadyexplainedhe parableof thes6ws1 s hgrn-verse I 8).The Remaining Four Parables.After explaining he parableof thewheatand he ares o thedisciples,Jesusalsogave hem four addition-al parables.n eachcase he expla-nationwasself-evident.hese astfour parables n this first set werenot given to the people in general.They may be istedas follows:7) The Hidden Treasure Matt.l3 ;44)8)The Merchant SeekingPearls(Matt. l3:45, 46)9\ The Net Cast Into the Sea(Matt. l3:47-50)l})The Householder and HisTreasureMatt. l3:52)

Theseparablesweregivenas es-sons o the disciples n particular.Jesusdid nol obscure he meaningin any way. Rather,He illustratedsome very important moral andspiritual lessonswhich were aimeddirectlyat the disciples.The Theme of the First Set. Acommon theme runs throughoutthese en parables,whether hey beaddressedo the general public orto the disciples.They all refer tothe Kingdom of God. Eachparableis designed o motivate hosewh ounderstand o really want and,de-sire the Kingdom. They show howthe Kingdom will grow, flourishand ultimately dominate the en-t i re world. They demonstratethe need to seek God's comingKingdom with every fiber of ourbeings.

TheParables f JesusTHEKINGDOM F GODln the preceding article we learned just what parables are and why Jesus usedthem. We also saw that there are three distinct sefs or grouping of parables,each having a different theme. This article examines the first six parables ofthe first set.

Jrsus sat in a small f ishingcraft just offshore n the Sea(or ake)of Galilee,He beganto addresshe arge rowd ssembledon the shore.He spoke o them inparablesabout the Kingdom ofGod.In this irstgroupof parables,e-susgave o the people ix parableswithoutany explanatio n.ater, Heprivatelyexplainedhe meaning fall heseo Hisowndisciples. e alsogave the four disciplesadditionalparables hich wereself-explanato-ry. These ast four parables on -taineda specialmessage ithin theoverall hemepertaining irectly othe disciples'utureapostolicminis-t r) .

The Parables Contained Doc-trlne. It is important o realize hatthe parablesweredoctrinal in na-ture: "And he taught them manythings by parables, nd said untothem in his doctr ine. . " (Mark4:2).A "doctrine" s a biblicalprinci-ple, eaching, r truth which s ac-ceptedas authorative. t constitutespartof the dogma f realChristiani-ty. Therefore,we cannotunderesti-mate the importanceof seekingunderstandingf the parables fJesusThe first parableJesus ave s ofspecialsignificance ecauset is apacesetterf sorts. t is typicalof allsuchparables, nd he methodof ex-

planation lso ollowshesame asicpattern.Speaking f the first parable nthisgroup that of the sower), esussaid o His disciples: . . . Know yenot this parable?andhow then willye know al l parables?" (Mark4:13.)The Parableof the Sower."Hearken: Behold, there went out asower o sow:And it came o pass,ashe sowed,some ell by the way side,and the fowlsof the air cameand de-voured t up. And some ell on stonyground,where t had not much earth:and mmediately t sprangup, becauseit hadno depthofearth: But when hesun wasup, it was scorched: nd be'cause t had no root, it witheredawey.

And some ell among horns, and the


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thornsgrewup,andchokedt, and tyieldedo ruit. Andotherell ongoodground, nddidyield ruit that sprangup and ncreased:nd broughtorth,somehirty,andsome ixty,andsomean hundred'" Mark 4:3-tThis firstparable s a simplestoryliberally acedwith local color. t isfound n threeof the four Gospel c-counts-Matthew. Mark and Luke.EachGospelmentions pointor twonot found n the otheraccounts.Wewill useMark's moreconciseGospelas our basic eference.Jesus escribes scene ery amil-iar to His audience: sowerwentoutto sow grain in his field. The seedfal ls on four di f ferent types ofground: l) the wayside,2) stonyground,3) among thorns,and 4)goodground.Each represents dif-ferent category f personwho hearstheWordof Godat some oint n hislife. Each esponds ifferently.We are not told who the sower s,but it is explained hat "the sowersoweth he word' (verse 4). Wemust assume hat whoever issemi-natesGod'sWord (Godor oneof Hishuman instruments)s the sower.The seedn the parable,hen, epre-sents hegospelmessagend all thatit includes.Each personwho hears t reactsdifferently. Not everyone espondswith equalenthusiasm.or doe s heWord of God bear he same ruit ineach ndividual t touches.Those by the Wayside. Thepeoplein this first categoryhear he gospelmessage, ut they are immediatelydissuadedromdoinganythingaboutit. God's ruth is neverallowed otake oot n their ives.Theyareeasyprey for the devil, who subtly con-vinces hem to disbelieve hat theyhear. "Satan cometh mmediately,and taketh away the word that wassown n theirhearts" verse5).There are many waysby whichthis happens: snide emarkaboutthe messagerom a "friend" who issupposedlyin the know" aboutsuchthings.A sudden hange f personalcircumstances ay ead o a "tempo-rary" diversion-whichbecomeser-manent.A minordisagreementbouta smallpointcan ead heprospectiveChristian to "throw out the babywith the bathwater." t couldbe anynumber f things,but the result s al-ways the same The person ejects6

the gospelof the Kingdom of Godbefore it gets a chance to takeroot.On Stony Ground. Personsn thisparticulargroupingadvance.ome-what further than those n the firstcategory. heir nitial reaction o theWord of God is enthusiastic. heyarehappy o hear he ruth preached.They welcome t and may evenbe-come bapt ized. Then they thatgladly received is word were bap-l ized. . . " (Acts2:41).But unfortunately, heir enthu-siasm oonwears hin. They"havenoroot n themselves,ndsoendure utfor a time: afterward, when ffiic-tion or persecution riseth or theword's ake,mmediatelyheyareof-fended" Mark4:17).These babesn Christ"never l-low their spiritual roots o go downquitedeeply nough o draw on thepure,nourishing aterof God's pir-i tualpowerJohn :38, 9;Acts :8).Whenpersecutionomes long, heyarenotstrong nougho withstandt.They haveno persevering ower nthe faceof the ridiculeand derisionof thosewho do not share heir be-liefs.Such peopleare only willing toobeyGod as ongas t doesnot costthem anything n termsof personalprestigeand respect.Loss of facemeans ossof everythingo them.They are willing o compromiseheWord of God rather than suffer ori t .Did notJesus ay n another lace:" . . . If any manwill comeafterme,let him . . . takeup hiscross, nd ol-low me"? Matt . 1624.)Among Thorns. The third type ofperson n this parable progressessomewhaturther. He too begins obear ruit and ive a life of obedienceto Christ. His life changes s heyields o theWordof God.But he oohas a "hang-up."At somepoint nhis Christian ife, "the cares f thisworld, and the deceit fulness friches, nd the lustsof other hingsentering n, choke he word,and itbecometh nfruitful" (Mark 4:l9).In order to become nfruitful, hemust haveat one ime been ruitful.Here ssomeonehohasactually e-gun to bearsubstantialruit as a re-sult of God'sWord. He has madespiritualprogress. e may havebeenin the Church or some ime.Others

may even consider him well established n the body of Christ.But sooneror later, plain old materialism or sensuality creeps in andsmothershis spir ituality.Perhaps t is a craving or materiasuccessn the world of business r industry. A desire o be at the top othe financial heap can divert a person's ocus of attention from spirituato material things.For this reason, he Apostle Pauwarned the Colossiansabout driftinginto materialism: Set your affectioon thingsabove,not on things on theearth" (Col. 3:2). He also said tha"to be carnally [physically] mindeis death. . . " (Rom. 8:6).There are many pitfalls which cantear a person away from the abundant l ife to which God has callehim. It could be money, he desire ofinancial success, notherwoman oman, a ob, or an inordinatedesireoany kind. It could be a craving foliquor or food (not that eating anddrinking are wrong,but drunkenneand gluttony are) or possiblyevenarcoticdrugs.Whatever t is, it diverts one fromhis ife in Christ-choking out the nfluenceof God's Holy Spir it and stifl ing any further bearing of goofruit.On Good Ground. This categorydescribespeoplewho are convertedandwho make continual growth and progress n the faith. They bear the goofruitof theSpir it Gal.5:22-23).But not all bear the same amounof fruit. Some are much more productive han others.Many do not real ize their maximum potential aChristians-they merelyget by witha modicum of effort.Yet it is Christ'swill that we beamuch fruit. Those who are closest oJesus Christ bear the most fruitJesus aid: I am the vine,ye are thebranches:He that abideth n me, andI in him, that same bringeth forthmuch ruit: for without me ye can donothing" (John l5:5).Which category areyou in'lSummation of First Parable. Inbriefest ummary, his first parablea simple, earthy story drawn fromdaily life in Galilee. While the audiencedid not understand ts meaning at the time it was given, Jesulater privatelyexplainedt to His disciples. It can now be understood by


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anyoneo whomGodwisheso revealits meaning. he story s timelessnits application.It applies o four typesof peoplewho hear he Word of God.All re-sponddifferently.The fourth groupbears ruit until the day they enterinto he Kingdom f God at Christ'sreturn.A simple, et profound,mes-sage oncerninghe KingdomThe Wheatand the Tares."Anotherparableput he forth untothem, saying,The kingdomof heavenis likenedunto a man which sowedgoodseed n his field: But while menslept,hisenemy ameand sowed aresamong he wheat,and went his way.But when he bladewassprungup, andbrought orth fruit, then appearedhetares also. So the servantsof thehouseholderameand said unto him.Sir, didst not thou sowgoodseedn thyfield? rom whencehenhath t tares?

He said unto them. An enemyhathdone his. The servants aidunto him.Wilt thou hen hat we go andgatherthemup? But he said,Nay: estwhileye gatherup the tares,ye root up alsothe wheatwith them. Let both growtogetheruntil the harvest: nd n thetime of harves t will say o the reap-ers,Gatherye together irst the taresandbind hem n bundleso burn hembut gather he wheat nto my barn.Matthew 13224-30The secondparable is also takenflrom a description of typical rurallife in the provinceof Galilee. Anyfarmer of the day would have knownabout tares (darnel) . They wereweeds which grew with the wheatand lookedvery much like it a s longas the wheat remained n the bladestage.When they grew to maturity,however, they were readily distin-guishable.This is a simple l lustrat ionpoint-ing out the fact that both the con-verted and unconvertedhave to coex-ist in the samesocietyuntil the timeof the great harvest of l ives atChr ist 's return. Dur ing that t imeJesusChrist wi l l make a separat ionbetween hosewho are His and thosewho are not.The bestaccountof this parable sfound n Matthew 13.24-30.The ex -planation is given in verses36-43.)Eachelementof the parablehasvitalmeaning.Notice Matthew'sexplana- lon:"The field is the world; the good;eec ltrue Christians] are the chi l-j : : : . r i the kingdom; but the tares


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are the children of the wicked one[Satan----compare ohn 8:44, I John3:81; he enemy that sowed hem isthe devil [the god of this society, ICor. 4:4]; the harvest s the end ofthe world;and the reapers re the an-gels.As therefore the tares are gath-eredand burned n the fire; so shall tbe in the end of this world [Greek:aionos, meaning "age"] ."This parablegraphicallyshows hefate of thosewho insist on followingthe devil when they know betterThose who are incorrigibly wickedwill be thrown into a lake of f ire-and be burned into ashes (Mal.4:3) .

John spokeof this in the book ofRevelation: And death [the dead]and hell [the grave-hades] werecast into the lake of f ire. This is thesecond death. And whosoever wasnot found written in the book of l i fewas cast into the lake of fire" (Rev.20 14-15). n order to die twice, onemust first / ive twice (James Bondnotwithstanding).This meansa rer-urrection must occur.This is not immortal l i fe as a

"soul" in an ever-burning ellf ire-itis complete extinction and oblivionforever And this is doctrine (If youhave never proved that the conceptsof an immortal soul and an ever-burning hellfire constitute a/se doc-trines, then pleasewrite for Is Therea Real Hell Fire? and "What IsMan?")The Lamp Under a Bushel."And he saidunto them, s a candlebrought o be put undera bushel, rundera bed?and not to be set on acandlestick? or there s nothinghid,whichshallnot be manifested:eitherwas any thingkept secret, ut that itshould omeabroad. f any manhaveears o hear, et him hear."Mark 4:21-23This parablehad an especially ignif-icant meaning or the disciples. esushad told them earlier: "Fear them[the people]not therefore: or thereis nothing covered, hat shall not berevealed;and hid, that shall not beknown. What I tell you in darkness,that speak ye in light: and what yehear in the ear, that preach ye uponthe housetops" Matt. 10:26-27).The gospel message s the light

that shines n a dark place. Christwas the Light of the world (Johnl:9). Christiansare to l ight the worldwith their example and with theirmessage Matt. 5:14-16). t is thework and the duty of God's Churchto proclaim the my'ster iesof theKingdom of God to all the world.Christ i l lustrated this importantpoint by showing that if a personbought a candle t would be ridicu-lous o hide it (or snuff out its l ight)beneatha bushelbasket So it is withthe message f the Kingdom. It is notsomething or a Christian o clutch ohisbreastas a personal alisman; t isnot his alone o have and to keep.It is a messagehat must be pro-claimed. As Paul said, " . . . Woe isunto me, if I preach not the gospel"( l Cor. 9:16.)God has revealed o His peopletruths that werekept secret rom thebeginningof t ime. Even the mightyprophets f old were not granted hesame nsight into the plan of salvat ion that lay members of God'sChurch ma,v- ave oday.Even angels desire to look intosomeof the things we may readi lyknou ( l Pet. l :10-12). "But as it iswri t ten. E1e hath not seen,nor earheard.neitherhaveentered nto theheart of man. the thingswhich Godhath prepared for them that lovehim. But God harh revealed themuilo us bt his Spir i t : for the Spir i tsearcheth l l th ings. rea. the deepthingsof God" t l Cor. 1:9. 0).Can rre hide suL'h ruth and l iehtunder a "bushel" 'God lorbid:The Grain of l lustard Seed."Another p*reble put he forth untothem.sering.Tte liingdom f heavenis like to e grrin of mustardseed,rhich a men took and sowed n hisfield: l'hich iodeeds the leastof allseeds: ut rben it is grown, t is thegreatestemoogherbs,andbecomethtree.so brt the birdsof the air comeand odge n tbe brancheshereof."Matthew 3:31.32A_eain.\e useMatthew'saccountThis parable hows hat the preparation for the Kingdom of God has hesmallest f beginnings.-et that rul-ing Kingdom u' i l l ul t imatel l f i l l a / /the earth.Danielurote: " . \nd thereuas giv-en him [Christ ] dominion. nd gloryand a kingdom. that all people,na-tions, and languages.should serve

NEARTHEBOTTOMOF THEVALLEYOF HINNOM,outsideJerusalem.Fires burn'ing in this valley n New Testament imesrepresented he tinalpunishmentwhich willburn he wicked o ashes.


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him: his dominion s an everlastingdominion,whichshallnotpass way,and hiskingdom hat whichshallnotbedestroyed"Dan.7:14).The saintswill inherit his King-dom with Christ. But the saints fthe most High shall ake the king-dom, and possesshe kingdom forever.even or everand ever" (verseI 8).Whata magnificentestinyWhatincredible lory This s the marvel-ous uture of all true Christians-toinherita// things sa partof theuni-verse-filling ingdomof God.But ookhowsmall t all began nall of Old Testamentimes,only acomparative andful of peoplewerecalled o nherit heKingdom f God.Men Like Abraham, saac,Jacob,Noah, Daniel and David. Womenl ike Esther, Rahab, Sarah andothers. Thosewhohaveneverbeencalledwill have heir first chanceorsalvation ater-by a resurrectionfrom hedead.Fora full explanationwrite or our freearticle ls This heOnly Day of Salvation?")It wasnot until shortlyafter thedeath nd esurrectionf Christ ha tsubstantial umbers f peoplewerecalled o the Kingdom f God.On theday of Pe ntecost,.D. 31,three housand eoplewereadded otheChurch;and romthenon t grewor contracted n varying degreesthroughouthe centuriesActs2:41-47).At thispresentime,God saddingto the Body of Christ thosewho arebeing alled o eternalife. By the re-turn of JesusChrist, housandsponthousands hall have beenadded othat ever-growing ultitude. t willthen constitute he ruling familyKingdom f God.Eventually, ll Is-raelandevery umanbeingwhohaseverivedwill have adanopportuni-ty for salvation. od is not willingthat any should per ish ( l l Pet.3:9).Think of all the billionsof peoplewhohaveever ivedandrealize hatmostof themwill ultimatelybe ad-ded to the Kingdom of God. Whenit's all saidanddone, hat Kingdomwifl f inallylll the earthHow appropriates the parableofthe tiny mustardseedwhich growsinto a largeshrubor bush n whichthe birdsof heavenind shelter. hattiny seedproduces plant many

thousandsof times its own size-andso i t wi l l be with the Kingdom ofGod.The Kingdom Like Leaven."Another parablespakehe unto them:The kingdom of heaven s like untoleaven,whicha woman ook and hid inthreemeasures f meal, ill the wholewas eavened." M"r,hew 13:33The fifth parable illustrates essen-tially the same point as the previousone, but by a different analogy. Theentire parable is contained n Mat-thew l3:33.Leaven s thesubstance sed omakebread dough rise by expansion.Mosthomemakerswill be familiar with itsqualities.Even hosewhohavenot usedyeast, aveat eastmadecakes, iscuits,pancakes,r a similarproductwith bak-ing powder,which s alsoa typeof leav-en.A littleleaven s all that is necessary

to eavenhewhole ump of dough Gal.5:9) .So i t is with the Kingdom of God.What God has started with a com-parative few at this t ime wil l ul t i -mately result n the entire earth b-ing blanketedwith the knowledge fGod. "They shall not hurt nor de-stroy in al l my holy mountain [na-t ionl: for the earthshall be/u// of theknowledge f the Lord, as he waterscover he sea" (Isa. I l:9).The Seed Growing of l tself ."And he said, So is the kingdom ofGod,as f a man shouldcest seed ntothe ground:andshouldsleep,end risenight and day, and the sced sbouldspring and grow up, he knoreth nothow.For the earthbringeth orth fruitof herself: irst the blade. hen he eer.after that the full corn n the eer. Butwhen he fruit is brought orth. imrne'diately he putteth in the sickle. be'cause he harvest t tot;.* 4:2G29We do not understand the precisemechanismby which the Word of

God produces fruit in human lives.But we certainlycan plainly see hatit doesGod's ministersare very much likethosewho plant seed'and hencare for itwhile it comes o fruition. Paul madesuch an analogy when he referred tohimself and Apollos: "l haveplanted,Apollos watered:but God gave the in-crease.So then neither is he that plan-teth any hing,neitherhe hat watereth;but God hatgiveth he ncrease" l Cor.3:6-7).God causeseach member of the

Church to grow in grace, n knowl-edge nd n character. hisgrowth sbroughtaboutby God's Holy Spiritworking n each ndividual ife-notby the minister husbandman).t isalsoGodwhoadds o theChurchasawhole compare ohn 6:44 and Acts2:47).He increasest quantitativelyaswellasqualitatively.Thosewho are called n this ageare he "firstfruits"ofthat greathar-vest f l ives James:18).And i t isGodwhowill reapHis ownharvestnthe endof thisageof growth.Summary.This completeshe firstsix parableswhichweregiven o thepeoplewithout explanation. atertheywerea// explainedo the disci-p les: " . . .And when they werealone,he xpounded// things o hisdisciples"Mark 4:34).The predominanthemeof these

particular parables s plainly th eKingdomof God.By theseparablesJesusshowedthat mostpeoplewhoare calledpassthrough severalstages.Thosewhoendure o the end-continuing tobear hegood ruit of God'sSpirit-will ult imately chieve alvation ndglory or all eternity.The restwill be cast nto a lakeoffire.whichrepresentsheir second-and final-death. But the righteousand he sinnerwill have o live sideby side n this societyike the grainand he weeds-that s. until the fi-nal harvest f souls t theendof theworld.ThenChrist's ngelic ervantswill makea separation.Also, it is God who gives thegrowth n His Church-both numer-icallyandspiritually. nd the exam-ple of the lamp un der the bushelteaches s that the Churchof Godmust pteach he gospel f the King-dom asa beacon f light shining n aworldof darkness.

In addition.we have earned hatwhatGod is startingso small n usnow will eventually ill the entireearth The Kingdomwill grow andflourish o becomemillionsof timesits starting ize.Whatprofoundruths hese impleparables ontain What glory is re-vealedn themIn the next installmentwe willanalyze nd examine he remainingfour parablesn this first Galileangrouping-those given only to thedisciples.


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The Parablesof JesusFORDISCIPLESNLYThe theme for this group of ten parables is the Kingdom of God. ln the

preceding article we covered the first six parables, which were given to thepeople but explained only to the disciples. Now we examine the remaining fourparables - all of which deal with important doctrinal points concerning theKingdom.I-ESUS had addressed he first sixI parables n this series irectly tor/ the peoplewho were standingonthe shoreof the Sea of Gali lee.Bu tbecauseof their spir i tual bl indnessHe did not explain the meaning to

them. t wasonly to the discipleshatHe later revealed he meaning."All these hings spakeJesusunrothe mult i tude in parables; nd with-out a parable spake he not untothem" (Matt. l3:34). The people-at the t ime-never really realizedwhat they had been told ActuallyChrist had given hem precious nfor-mation that had been kept secretsince the world was formed-but itwas hidden in the parables (verse3s)."Then Jesus sent the mult i tudeaway, and went into the house:an dhis disciples came unto him . . . "(Matt . l3:36).Now the sett ing had changed. e-suswas no longer sitt ing in the boaton the Sea of Gali lee. He was in ahouse His own or perhapsPeter's).The disciplesasked for an explana-tion of the parableof the tares verse36). Jesus explained not only thatparablebut al l the parablesHe hadgiven o the people Mark 4:34).Following the explanationof theparables given to the people, Jesusthen added four more parableswhichpertaineddirectly to the work of thefuture apostles.These were not givento the peopleat that t ime, but to thedisciples nly. The meaningwas no thidden-there was no need. In fact,the meaningof eachof these our lastparables s self-explanatory.Jesus continued with the sametheme-that of the Kingdom of

God-but He spoke of things which10

had to do with the ministry of theapostles.The discipleswere still t?otconverted at this point. They werenot yet fully resolved to carry outtheir apostolic ommissions. ou wil lrecall that fol lowing Christ 's cruci-f ixion Peter had said: "l go a fish-ing . . . " (John 2l :3). And fol lowingPeter'sexample, he others said thesame hing. But Christ had intendedthat they should become fishersofmenThese our parableswere designedto show the disciples he incrediblevalue and pricelessnessf their apos-tol ic call ing. They were intended oi l lustrate the true worth of theknowledgeof the Kingdom of God.And the last of theseparables ndi-cated how they were to preach andteach others about the Kingdom ofGod.Let 's examine them one at atime.The Hidden Treasure."Again, the kingdomof heavens likeunto a treasure id in a field: hewhichwhena manhath ound,he hideth,andfor joy thereof goeth and selleth allthat he hath, and buyeth hat field."Matt. 13:44Here we seea personwho stumblesunexpectedlyupon a valuable trea-sure in a field through which he ispassing.He is not seeking t. He justhappensupon it. But in so doing heimmediately recognizes ts tremen-dousvalue and takes steps o acquirethe field-even at the cost of sellingall his earthly possessions.We may learn two lessons romthis brief parable.One: not everyonewho is called s seeking he truth ofGod. Most are ust goingabout theirlives oblivious to the need to searchfor l i fe's meaning.Their whole goal

in l i fe is self-perpetuation nd per-haps material success.Then, quiteunexpectedly, od ntervenesn theirl ivesand calls them to His Kingdom(John6:44).The second esson:a wise personwil l immediately ecognize he valueand meaningof that high call ing.Hewill take steps to see hat from thattime forth nothing eopardizeshis ef-forts to pursueeternal l i fe. He wil labandonhis materialgoalsand "seekfirst the kingdom of God" (Matt,6:3 .He wil l not care what the cost s-although he should soberly countthat cost before he setsabout becom-ing a real Christian: "For which ofyou, intending o build a tower, sit-teth not down first. and counteth hecost, whether he have suff icient tofinish t? . . . . So likewise,whosoevehe be of you that forsaketh not allthat he hath, he cannot be my disci-p/e" (Luke l4:28. 33).Jesuswas pointing he disciples othe importance of their call ing asapostles. ut the principleapplies oall who are called of God to HisKingdom.What areyorzwil l ing to giveup toachieve alvation?The Pearl of Great Price."Again, he kingdom f heavens likeunto a merchantman, seekinggoodlypearls: who, when he had found onepearlof great price,went and sold allthat he had,and bought t."Matt. l3:4146Notice the difference between hisand the previousparable.The mer-chant was seeking"goodly pearls."Since the pearl o[ great price repre-sents the Kingdom. \r'e must con-clude that describesa personsearch-ing for spir i tual truth.


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There are many suchpeople n theworld. Not everyonestumblesuponthe truth : some are actually seekingknou'ledgeof God and His King-dom.Consider he moving exampleof aman named Simeon: "And, behold,therewasa man in Jerusalem,whosenamewasSimeon;and the samemanu'as ust and devout, waiting for theconsolation of Israel, and the HolySpirit was upon him. And it was re-vealedunto him by the Holy Spirit,that he should not seedeath, bef,orehe had seen he Lord's Christ. Andhe cameby the Spirit into the temple:and when the parentsbrought n thechi ld Jesus, o do for him after thecustom of the law, then took he himup in his arms,and blessedGod, andsaid, Lord, now lettest hou thy ser-vant depart in peace,according tothy word: For mine ey es have seenthy salvation"(Luke 2:25-30).Simeon had yearned for God'sKingdom and His Christ And Godrewarded him by allowing him tosee he Messiah before his death-and indeed to prophesyconcerningHimGod has not yet givenus the privi-legeof seeingChr ist as did Simeon.But we have beenoffercd hat pearlof great price-we know of the King-dom of God and how to achieve al-vat ion.

If we are patientand endure o thevery end-if we have really beenwi l l ing to forsake everything andhavegivenGod's Kingdom top prior-ity in our lives-we too will somedaygaze upon the face of the l iv ingChr ist , this t ime in al l i ts br i l l ianceand glory as the returning CreatorGod.Not ice what the scr ipture says:"Beloved, now are we the sons ofGod, and it doth not yet appearwhatwe shal lbe: but we know that . whenhe shallappear,weshall be ike hint:forwe shall seehim as fte s" (I John3:2\ .Whether you were searching orthe truth of God or not-will younow recognize he valueof what youhavewithin your grasp?The Net Cast Into the Sea.

"Again, he kingdom f heavens likeuntoa net, hat wascast nto the sea,and gatheredof every kind: which,when t was ull, they drew to shore,and sat down,andgatheredhe good

into vessels, ut cast the bad away. Soshall it be at the end of the world: theangelsshall come forth, and sever hewicked from among the just, and shallcast them into the furnace of fire:there shall be wailing and gnashingofteeth." Matt. l3:47-50As Peter and the otherswent ou tas "fishers of men," there was noguarantee that every person theycaughtwould be of top spiritualqual-ity. The gospelmessage ttracts al lkindsof people.Not everyones trulyconvertedand headed or the King-dom. Simon Magus, in Acts theeighth chapter, s a goodexampleof

a person who was attracted by thepower of the apostles (he was evenbapt ized) , but his mot ives werewrong.There are those who fellowshipwith true brethren of the body ofChrist. They eat with them, attendservices wi th them, and pay l ipservice to righteousness-but theyare not chi ldren of the King-domJude spoke of such as "spots inyour feasts of charity, when they

feast with you, feeding themselveswithout fear . . . " (Jude 12). SuchAS lN ANCIENT TIMES, a fisherman casts a net into the Sea of Galilee


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people o not truly have he fear andrespectof God which a genuinelyconvertedpersonmust have. Theyappear as Christiansand teachersoutwardly,but inwardly they arehypocrites nd spirituallyunclean.Peteralsowarnedof such ndivid-uals.He wrote: But therewere alseprophetsalsoamong hepeople,evenas there shal l be false teachersamong ou,whoprivilyshallbring ndamnable eresies,vendenying heLord that bought them, and bringupon themselves wift destruction"( I I Peter : l) .Theseare not outsiders-theyareinsidersamong the peopleof theChurchof God.They are caught nthe "net" alongwith thosewho areheadedor the Kingdomof God.Butat the return of Christ,suchpeoplewill beseparated-God's ngels il l"sever he wicked rom among thejust."Upon completionof this parableJesus sked hem, Have ye under-stoodall these hings?" They an-swered n the affirmative (Matt.

l3:51) .He thengave hemone astparablewhichcouldonlyapply o theministryof Christ.The Householder'sTreasure."Thensaid he unto them,Thereforeevery cribewhich S nstructed ntothekingdom f heavens like untoaman that is an householder,hichbringeth orth out of his treasurethings ew ndold." Matt. 13:52Here wasan obvious eferenceothe disciples,who had been "in-structedunto the kingdomof heav-en" by the previousparables heyhad learned some ent i rely newthings-as Jesus adsaid n verse 5:"That it might be fulfi l led. . I wil lopenmy mouth n parables; will ut-ter thingswhichhavebeenkept se-cret from the foundation of theworld."But they alsowouldpreachsome"old" things-things from the OldTestamentprophetsand writers,aswell as the new ruthswhichChristhadpersonally iven o them.The Jewishpeople o whom theapostles reached ere amiliarwith

many of the Old Testament each-ings used by the apostles n thepreaching f the gospel.n addition,they heard many new truths whichweregivendirectly o thedisciples yChrist.The complete essagef theNewTestament ombineshe wordsandlessons f the Old Testamentwiththe evelationf Jesus hrist.Therefore some hingsare new and someare old.This s amplydemonstratby the fact that the New Testamenwriters ncluded ome850 referenceto the Old Testamentn their writ-ings-280 of which are directquotesThis completeshe first setof Gal-ileanparables.And it came o passthat when Jesushad finished heseparables,edepartedhence" Matt.l3:53) .

In thenextarticlewewill examinea parable rom Christ's "later Ju-deanministry,"whichdealswith asomewhat ifferent hemeand wasgiven nder nentirely ew etofcir-cumstances.

The Parables f Jesus,,WHOISMYNEIGHBOR?"FTER HE sreat Gali lean mrn-istry, Jesus began to traveloutside he province.His jour-neyings o preachthe gospel ookHim to the north o Caesarea hil ip-pi (Matt . 16:13) , nd henback oGalilee gain. aterhewentsouth oJudea ndJerusalemJohn7 and8).This period s generallycalled the"later Judaeanministry" by com-mentators. t somepointduring hisJudaean eriod,Jesus ave he par-ableof the goodSamaritan.If you havestudieda little of thehistoryof Israel,you will recall hatthe northern en tribesof the Houseof Israel weretaken captiveby theAssyr iansn theyears 21-718 .C.Thebulk of the House f Judah withpartsof Benjaminand Levi) did notgo into captivity until the Babylo-

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nians conquered hem in the year585.After the northernHouse f Israelhadbeen arriedaway, he Assyriansreplaced hem with Gentilepeoplesfrom five citiesof the areaof Baby-lon: "And the king of Assyr iabrought men from Babylon, andfrom Cuthah, and from Ava, andfrom Hamath, and from Sephar-vaim,and placed hem in the citiesof Samaria nsteadof the children ofIsrael: and they possessedamaria,and dwelt in the cities hereof' (I IKings 7:24) .TheseGentilepeoples till popu-lated Samaria n Jesus' ay. Theywere cal led Samar i tans. Theyadoptedmany of the religiouscus-tomsof the Jewsandeven laimed obe descendedrom Joseph-when t

wasexpediento do so see osephuAntiquities f theJews, l:8,6).A spirit of antagonism evelopebetween ewsand Samaritans.hisspirit s reflectedn John's ccount fJesus' iscussion ith the Samaritanwoman whom He met at Jacob'well.She said o Jesus:How is itthat thou, beinga Jew,askest rinkof me,whicham a woman f Samaria? for the Jews have no dealingwith the Samaritans" John 4:9).Obviouslyherewas ittle or no sociacontactbetweenhe two groups.With this understanding,e maynow ook at the parableof the goodSamaritan.The subject n questionhere is"What shall do to inherit eternalife?" (Luke l0:25.) The questiohad beenaskedby a lawyer-a man


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expert n Mosaic aw.But the awyerhad nopracticalnterest n theques-tion.To him it wasa theoreticalestquestion-he was, n a sense, aitingJesus.He was estingHis theology.Law Dlvlded Into Two Parts. Jesusknew he manwas amiliarwith theScriptures, o He responded y ask-ing the lawyer a common abbinicquestion: What is written in thelaw? how readest hou?" (Verse26).The awyer henparaphrasedromthe Torah or Pentateuch-the firstfive booksof the Bible, commonlycalled "the Law." He said: "Thoushalt ove he Lord thy God with allthy heart,andwith all thy soul,andwith all thy strength, ndwith all thymind; and thy neighboras thyself."This was somewhat ooselyquotedfrom Deuteronomy :5 andLeviticusl9:18.Thissimplestatement ummed pthe entire Law, which was dividedinto two parts: ) love oward God,and 2) loveof neighbor.Jesusconfirmed hat the lawyerhad ndeedanswered orrectly.But the man wanted o vindicatehis own stand,which obviouslydidnot squarewith the latter aspectofthe commandment. e tried o implythat the answerwasnot as simpleasJesushad indicated.He then pre-sented technicali ty: But he, will-ing o ustifyhimsell saiduntoJesus,And who is my neighbor?" Verse2e.)This was he crux of the wholesit-uation.To the religious ew of thatday, this wasa crucial technicality.What if onehad o deal with a Gen-tile, a Samaritan,a publican,or asinner?Thereweremany classes fpeople ith whomdevout ewswouldhaveno dealings.But Jesusrapped he awyerat hisowngame.He then aunchednto henow-famous arableof the goodSa-maritan.The Good Samaritan. Christ de-scribed he storyof a man(most ike-ly a Jewishmerchant) raveling romJerusalemo Jericho.Possibly e hadsold somegoods here and was nowreturninghomewith the money.Thejourney from Jerusalem o Jerichowas a lonely,dangerouswenty-onemiles of desert road. Bandits fre-quentedheroutehoping o rob hosetravelingalone.

The man wasattackedby thieves,whoeven ook his clothing.Left bad-ly beaten y the sideof the road, heman was half dead and urgent ly nneedof help(verse30).By coincidencea Jewish priestcame by where the man lay. Hewould have been familiar with thelaw quotedearlier, but perhapshejustifiedhimselfwith the same ech-nical question: Who is my neigh-bor?"Rather than stopping o help thewoundedman, the priest merelylooked nd henquicklypassedy ontheotherside.He didn'twant o "getinvolved."Shortly after, a Levite came by,stopped,ookedat the suffering rob-bery victim, and also passed y onthe otherside.Neither of these ew-ish religious eaders anted o takethe time and effort to assist heinjuredman.But then a Gentile Samaritancamealong.Whenhesaw he njuredtravelerhe was mmediatelymovedwith compassionor the man. Herenderedassistance y disinfectingthe man'swoundswith wine,keepingthemmoistwith oliveoil, and bind-ing them up with bandages. heSamaritan hen put the man on hisown beast and took him to an innfor much needed est and recupera-tion.Theparticular ypeof "inn" beingreferred to here did not chargeforlodging,only for food and sometimesentertainment. he Samaritangavethe hostenoughmoney two pence-about two days' labor-compareMatthew20:2) o pay or thevictim'sfood until he himself returned.Heleft strict instructions hat the in-jured man was o be properlycaredfor in the meantime.Should theamountexceedwhat the Samaritanhadgiven he nnkeeper,epromisedto make up the difference pon hisreturn.This was a shining example ofcompassionn a fellowhumanbeing.The Samaritan certa in ly went"aboveand beyond"n caring or theman. He did more than would nor-mally be expected.With this ndictingexample urn-ing in the mind of the lawyer,Jesusthen asked he penetrating uestion:"Which nowof these hree, hinkestthou, was neighbourunto him that


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fe l l among the th ieves?" Verse36).What could he lawyer say? Thepriestand he Levitehad endered oassistance hatsoever. nly the Sa-maritan had shown any concern-and then he had goneoverboard ohelp the man. But evenat that thelawyer still didn't want to say theword "Samaritan" He merely re-plied: . . . He that shewedmercyonhim.. . " (verse37).The lawyer was now completelycornered.He had no comeback, olegal technical i ty to fa l l backupon.And whilehe was n that posi-tion, Jesusadministeredhe coupde grace: Go, ANDDo rHou LIKE-wISE"What This ParableShould Meanto You. This parables not merelyaquaintand nteresting toryof a first

century"put down." It conveys neof the most important lessons fChristianity. t is axiomatic o realChristianity hat the true Christianmustbe compassionatend mpartialin rendering ssistance hen it isneeded.Paul said: "As we have hereforeopportunity, let us do good unto allmen,especially nto themwhoare ofthe householdf faith" (Gal.6:10).And: "Seethat none enderevil forevil unto any man; but ever followthatwhich sgood,bothamong our-selves, nd to all men" (I Thess.5: 5).God s norespecter f persons. eis not partial o one aceor the otherwhen it comes o showingcompas-sion, hearingprayersand renderinghelp. God inspiredPaul to write:"There s neitherJew typical srael-

i te l not Greek I typical Gent i le ] ,there s neitherbondnor ree, here sneither male nor female: for yeare all one n Christ Jesus" Gal.3:28).With God here s no racialpreju-dice,no status r social aste ystem,no "male" chauvinism. ll people fall races, exes nd social evelsmaybeChristians. nd t is hedutyof al lChristians o help all peoplewhoneed help, wheneverhey have theopportunity o do so.The meaning f theparable f thegoodSamaritanmay be summedupby simply quotinga singleproverb:"Withhold not good from them towhom it is due [your neighbor ],when t is in thepowerof thine handto do t" (Prov.3:27).In short,a true Christiangets n-volved


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