Read: Matthew 13.1-52
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: The word "parable" translates from the Greek term “parabole.” This compound word comes from “para” (which means “to come along side or compare”) and “ballo” (which means “to throw or cast"). A parable is a comparison that is "cast alongside" a truth in order to illustrate that truth. Jesus used parables as "object lessons" in His teaching ministry, helping His listeners understand the larger truth He was trying to communicate. In today's Scripture reading, Matthew presents us with parables about the Kingdom of God that explain the variety of responses to Jesus listed in chapters 11-12. These parables make it clear that Jesus knew some people would doubt or even reject Him even after His authority was manifested in His teaching and His miracles. The Parable of the Sower (verses 3-9 and 18-23) is really "the Parable of the Soils," since it explains the underlying factors that produce the variety of responses to Jesus. The Parable of the Weeds (verses 24-30 and 36-43) explains how evil is at work in opposition to Jesus' ministry. The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast (verses 31-33) explain how the Kingdom of God grows to impact everything around it despite all that is arrayed against it, and the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl illustrate the true value of the Kingdom of God in comparison to all of its competitors (verses 44-46).
The final parable in this chapter is the Parable of the Net (verses 47-50). Here Jesus appears to acknowledge that those who follow Him around will always be a "mixed lot." In other words, Jesus recognizes that there is a difference between those who "follow Him around" and those who actually "follow Him" in faith. There are those who get "caught up" in what the Kingdom is doing, and there are those who are actually "caught" by Jesus for life and ministry in and for the Kingdom of God. While there will always be a temptation to make human efforts at "weeding out" the Church, in the end it is only God that is capable of making such judgments and carrying them out.
Jesus' concluding words in verse 52 once again remind us that treasure exists in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, since the New Testament witnesses to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Therefore, no teacher of the law who truly understood that law would reject Jesus if that teacher truly heard and comprehended what Jesus was saying and doing. However, "calloused hearts" can prevent this from happening and can make Jesus' parables sound like interesting stories instead of insights into Kingdom truth (as was predicted in Old Testament prophecy). In the Kingdom of God, hearing is less about the condition of our ears and more about the condition of our hearts.
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