Sep
04
Matthew 13:36–43
36Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40“So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43“Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Focused Thinking: “Explain...
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03
Matthew 13:33–35
33He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.” 34All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. 35This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” Focused Thinking: What is leaven (yeast)? What is leaven illustrating in this parable? Leaven (yeast) is used as a symbol of evil or uncleanness (Matt16:6); but that isn’t the context here, it is a positive symbol of growth. Like the parable of the mustard seed, this parable stresses small beginnings with great growth. While the seed grows, however, the yeast permeates and transforms; thus, we see another aspect of the kingdom. Although yeast looks like a minor ingredient, it permeates the whole loaf. Like leaven...
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02
Matthew 13:31–32
31He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” Focused Thinking: CONTEXT: Through this parable, Jesus explained that his kingdom would have a small beginning. It began with Jesus alone and, upon his ascension, was left in the care of twelve apostles and just a few hundred other followers. Jesus compared this beginning to the mustard seed, which was the smallest seed that a farmer used. The mustard seed was so small that it would take almost twenty thousand seeds to make one ounce. No other seed so small produced such a large plant. From this very tiny seed would grow a large shrub—the largest shrub among all the herbs that the farmer would plant in his...
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01
Matthew 13:24–30
24Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26“But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27“The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29“But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” Focused Thinking: The parables...
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