Explore the Bible Lesson Preview October 14, 2007 "Be Patient With Others" Background: Matthew 13:1-53 Lesson: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Motivation: This chapter marks a change in Jesus' ministry: His place of teaching became the seashore rather than the Synagogue; His pla n of teaching became the parable rather than a presentation of truths. The impact of parables was immediate: 1) They took a listener from the concrete to the abstract; 2) They took a listener from the known to the unknown ; 3) They required a listener to discover truth ; and 4) They provided a word picture. Examination: I. The Parable of the Sower (13:1-9, 18-23) A. Implications of the Soils 1 / 7
1. The Wayside Soil - the closed spirit - rejection (4, 19) - Some people are hard hearted toward the gospel; they have no interest in it. 2. The Stony Soil - the changeable spirit - reformation (5-6, 20, 21) - Some people receive the Good News " with joy", but their reception is superficial. They have no room to put down roots and are soon pursuing the latest fad. 3. The Thorny Soil - the choked spirit - repression (7, 22) - Some people give evidence of receiving the Word but are not willing to make Christ Lord of their lives. They begin to focus on " the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches." Christ is either Lord of all or He's not Lord at all. 4. The Good Soil - the committed spirit - reproduction (8, 23) - Notice that even among the mature plants there is a marked difference in productivity: 30, 60, 100. B. Implications for the Sower 1. If you don't sow at all, you'll be destitute of a harvest. 2 Cor. 9:6 "... whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." (NIV) 2. If you sow generously, you'll sometimes be disappointed. Three of the four types of soil bare no fruit at all. 3. If you sow only with a short-term focus, you'll be deceived. a. Some immediate successes will in fact be failures. 2 / 7
b. Sometimes a 100-fold increase will come from a single seed. You may not even see the seed germinate but the fruit will remain. 4. If you sow with faith, you'll be divinely rewarded. a. The seed of the gospel is powerful, able to get a hearing in even difficult circumstances. b. The harvest is inevitable; the 30, 60 or 100 fold increase more than makes up for the seemingly "wasted seed". (Isaiah 55:11) c. While the sower is to be wise in the area that he concentrates the seed, he cannot produce growth. (I Cor. 3:7) The receiving individual is responsible before God to hear the Word and understand it. II. Jesus' Reason for Using Parables (13:10-17) A. The Principle of Responsibility - Taken in context with the Parable of the Sower, Jesus is teaching an inescapable fact of life: People are responsible for their own actions and direction of life. (I Cor. 2:14) Some "get it" and some don't - but all have access to truth. The quote from Isaiah (14-15) is not to imply that God hides truth, but that people close their hearts to it. B. The Principle of Accountability 3 / 7
In verse 12, Jesus is applying another fact of life to the spiritual realm: "If you don't use it, you lose it." Remember that required French class in school, or the piano lessons or the garden you started. The price of inattention is loss. III. The Parable of the Tares Among the Wheat (13:24-30, 36-43) A. Wheat and Tares are Sown Together - The "sons of the kingdom" and the " sons of the wicked one " are planted in the same field. While environments are similar, they are grown from different seed; their very nature is profoundly different. B. Wheat and Tares are Grown Together - The implication is that we see them mingled together at work, at the mall, and, yes, even at church. Outwardly, they are very similar, even intertwined in relationships. C. Wheat and Tares are Known Together - An ultimate day of judgment will come based on fruit. While they look similar to wheat, tares produce no fruit. The harvester recognizes them for what they don't have. IV. The Parable of the Mustard Seed and Leaven (13:31-33) A. The Power to Grow - The mustard seed reminds us to look beyond the beginning and dwell on the possibilities. B. The Power to Influence - Leaven is usually a symbol of evil. The quality stressed here is its ability to influence events far beyond its proportional size. A strong stand for good or for evil will influence others and make waves far beyond the point of impact. V. The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl (13:44-46) 4 / 7
A. God's Kingdom for Us - Both parables remind us of the joy of discovery. When we find the Kingdom of God, it is worth any price or any sacrifice to obtain. Each man " sold all that he had." B. God's Redemption of Us - Both parables should bring to mind that God valued us so much that He sacrificed his Son to redeem us from sin. (John 3:16) God's people are His treasure. (Ex. 19:5; Ps. 135:4; Eph. 5:25) VI. The Parable of the Net (13:47-52) A. Put Out a Big Net (47) - Two kinds of fishing nets were commonly used in Palestine. This drag net was pulled behind a boat and was much larger than the hand held casting net. Jesus is instructing us to plan big. (John 21:6-7) B. Don't Be Picky "gathered some of every kind" (47) - Barclay comments on page 89 of his Matthew Commentary Vol. 2: "There have always been two views of the Church - the exclusive and the inclusive. The exclusive view holds that the Church is for people who are good, people who are really and fully committed, people who are quite different from the world. There is an attraction in that view, but it is not the New Testament view, because, apart from anything else, who is to do the judging, when we are told that we must not judge? ( Matthew 7:1). It is not any man's place to say who is committed to Christ and who is not. The inclusive view feels instinctively that the Church must be open to all, and that, like the drag-net, so long as it is a human institution it is bound to be a mixture. That is exactly what this parable teaches." Realize that there was pork on the ark; Esau as well as Isaac; Judas among the Twelve. C. Persevere to the End "When it was full" (48) - When Jesus called His disciples to be "fishers of men", He was not talking to rod and reel sportsmen who 5 / 7
went fishing occasionally. Rather, fishing to these men meant an every day pattern of life that resulted in great hauls of fishes. Jesus implies here that if we are faithful in drawing the net, He'll be faithful in filling it. (Matthew 9:37-38; 11:28-30) D. Leave the Judging to God (49-50) - Instruction is given in scripture for dealing with a church member who is publicly bringing shame on the church through flagrant sin (I Corinthians 5:1-2, 9-13). However, the clear implication of this chapter is that the church will always be a mixture of godly and ungodly. Rather than judge others, we must be examples of what God desires. In God's eyes, there are no big and little sinners (James 2:10). So, our vision would be to gather as many people together as possible to hear the powerful Word of God. Some will be hypocrites and pretend to be what they are not; but, in the final judgment, the perfect Judge will sort it all out. Our process is to know, grow, go and sow. Our role then is to be gathers (47) and learners (51-52). We draw from the Old Testament as well as the New to "understand these things". Application 1. Christians are to sow, to observe and to gather with an eye to the harvest. 2. Individuals are responsible and accountable for their response to the gospel. 3. God's Kingdom is a treasure worth any price or sacrifice. Notes: **You may now access David's Lesson Preview in MP3 format at: http://www.hfbcbible study.org/ ; also, the Highpoint Bible Study (Downtown) is available on MP3 at the HFBC site under the Highpoint link/downloads. 6 / 7
Dates: 9/11-11/13 - Living Proof w/ Beth Moore; 9/13-12/11 - Men's Life & Breakfast; 10/12 - Bunko, Babes & Burgers, Women's Event; 10/13 - Golf Tourney for Food Pantry; 10/25 - Leadership Commitment Event; 10/31 - Fall Festival; 11/4 - Celebration Sunday (churchwide event); 11/18 - Christmas Store Gift Collection Day; 11/25 - Thanksgiving - 10 a.m. worship (SS opt.) Ascend @ 6:30; 12/1 - MTC Christmas Store 9-4; 12/1 - Kingdom Kids Winter Event; 12/1 - Preschoolers Christmas Party; 12/14-15 - Christmas Presentation; 12/23 - Christmas - both a.m. services (no SS, no Ascend). 7 / 7