parable of wheat and weeds, enemy sowing tares among wheat while men slept
24 He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
25 but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away.
26 But when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also.
27 The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’
28 “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’
29 “But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Jesus explains the parable of the weeds privately to disciples, son of man sends angels at end of age
36 Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”
37 He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
38 the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.
39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.
41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
parable of the mustard seed growing from smallest seed into a tree where birds nest
31 He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field;
32 which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”
30 He said, “How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?
31 It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth,
32 yet when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow.”
parable of leaven hidden in three sata of flour until all was leavened
33 He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”
quoted as the prophetic source for Jesus speaking in parables, uttering hidden things from of old
1 Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done.
parable of treasure hidden in a field, man sells everything to buy the field
44 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
Jesus asks disciples if they understood, compares a disciple to a householder bringing out new and old treasures
51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”
52 He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”
whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and encouragement of scriptures we might have hope
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek
16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor John worked through five of Jesus' parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13, following two weeks of groundwork laid on the parable of the soils and the wheat and tares. His central question, returned to again and again, was "how is this so?" - what does it actually mean that the kingdom of heaven works the way each parable describes? The message pressed toward a single conviction: the kingdom is of surpassing value, and nothing in this world should be allowed to choke it out.
What was said
The earlier parables set the table. The sower and the soils showed that the message of the kingdom can be hardened against, shallow, or choked out by the wealth and possessions of this world. The wheat and tares showed that in this age, the kingdom and its counterfeits grow side by side, but a harvest is coming. Both parables end with the same language: weeping and gnashing of teeth for those separated out at the end of the age. Pastor John kept returning to that framing so the later parables would carry their full weight.
The mustard seed parable asks the listener to sit with something that looks inconsequential. Jesus is explaining the kingdom of heaven to a small group behind closed doors, and the picture he chooses is the tiniest of the available agricultural seeds. Yet that seed becomes a tree large enough for birds to nest in. Pastor John read this as something that at first looks like nothing, growing inexplicably into something profound and productive, blessing even those not directly connected to it, the way God causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike.
The parable of the leaven, told about a woman hiding leaven in a very large amount of flour, added something the mustard seed did not. Its operation is internal, invisible, and it changes every particle it touches into something with the same propagating power. Pastor John noted that Jesus told one parable drawing on a traditionally male role and one drawing on a traditionally female one, making the kingdom accessible to everyone. He summarized the leaven this way: the kingdom of heaven works through the Holy Spirit internally, invisibly, irresistibly, and irreversibly.
The treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great price sit together deliberately. A man stumbles on a treasure and hides it again, then sells everything to buy the field. A merchant who knows what he is looking for finds one pearl and does the same. Pastor John pointed out that Scripture repeating something is a signal to pay attention. Both parables say the same thing: once you truly see the kingdom, you would give everything for it. Laid alongside the parable of the soils, the warning is plain - do not let the thorns of wealth and distraction choke this out.
The dragnet parable shifted the emphasis away from the present and toward judgment. Unlike the wheat and tares, which concentrated on how things look right now, the dragnet is mostly about the harvest. Fish of every kind come up together, and only at the shore are they sorted. Pastor John connected this to the question of how we live now. Since God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble, and since a day of separation is coming, the right response is to humble yourself before God rather than resist Him.
Pastor John closed by sitting with Jesus' question to the disciples: "Have you understood all these things?" They said yes, and Jesus told them that a scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse things new and old. That sent Pastor John to the Old Testament, which Paul says was written for our instruction and for our hope. The thing Christians are asked to defend, he said, is not a system of arguments but the hope that is within them. A life read as gracious, forgiving, and joyful in the middle of a difficult week is itself a kind of parable thrown down beside a truth that is hard to see.
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The pastor talked about the parable of the soils and said that we live in one of the richest times and places in history, making us especially vulnerable to having the gospel choked out by wealth and possessions. Where do you see that pressure in your own life?
The parable of the wheat and weeds suggests that when the church turns its attention away from the gospel toward worldly power or other distractions, it falls asleep and the enemy gets to work. What are some things that tempt us, individually or as a church, to take our eyes off the gospel?
That's great news. What's that? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1I love it. Yeah. I know. I know. What they told me was it'd probably be there.
That's what they told me. And so that was I've got a you know, summertime's crazy here, but I told them I said, yeah. We'll we'll plan a time where, you know, where I don't already have a wedding, honestly. I mean, it's crazy. So I've got, like, every Saturday in June, most of the Saturdays in July, a lot of midweek stuff too.
So we'll try to figure out when. And yeah. So that was what they said, but that might change. I think we ought to have one here myself even even if even if we did the small one there and then kinda had a a if even if it was just a musical funeral. You know what I mean?
And it'll be both, I'm sure, wherever wherever it is. We we sang because he lives and a few others just around the around the bedside. Oh, yeah. It's Laura. Thank you.
Me too. Me too. Yeah. That's what I I I opened the box on those. Hey.
Hey. Marcus. Marcus. Mute my mic. I think you muted me.
Speaker 2Oh, there we are. There we are. And and Ray, I do wanna hear you, but just not quite yet. Good morning, everybody. How are you this morning?
Good. It's good to see you. It really is. I'm really glad to be here with you. Would you stand with me?
I would love to sing together. From Mark four, here's what the disciples said after Jesus commands the winds and the waves to be still. They say, who is this man even the wind and waves obey him? And can I just pray for us for a moment? God, that we would look to you like those disciples look to you in awe and wonder because you are powerful.
In Jesus name, amen. Alright. At your name.
Speaker 1Seed, I've got few announcements this morning and no clicker. So would you click through them for me if you would? The
Speaker 2I could give you one. And that is Monday night is on tomorrow, meal, music, and message. We're gonna do pulled pork. We're in James where James says, patiently endure as you wait for the Lord's return. Another cool thing is we have a group from International House of Prayer.
They're just passing through, and we're gonna host them. And they're gonna help out, lead worship, and serve some food, and and we're gonna have company. So please know that it's another service that we have, another worship gathering. You're invited. Maybe not at the same time because we wouldn't all fit in there at this if we did this, but it's available.
All right. I'm going to hand it over to the other crew,
Speaker 1Yellow microphone. It should be. Alright. Thank you, a very for our our next a Certainly, if you want to. So, that's a happening between services.
Strong We Oh, thank you. This thing works now. That's really good. That bodes well for the sermon. So, would you stand stand up?
Join us in song.
Speaker 2God, we sing to you our great and glorious God and knowing that, God, you have prepared a place that will never perish, spoil, or fade. Thank you, God, for this hope, this living hope. In Jesus' name. Amen. Our father, creator, you hold our hearts together.
There's no one higher than you. The You can have a seat here for a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service. I'll invite the ushers to come on forward, and we're gonna sing. Here's my heart.
From Psalm one thirty nine says, search me, oh God. Let's make this our prayer. I wanna pray this now. Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Would you point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting Greg, would you like to pray? Sure.
Speaker 1God almighty, we're thankful to be here this morning. Thank you, lord, for this for this time together, that people would show up right here, gather in your name, sing your praises, lift up hands and hearts and voices to you. Lord, we pray that we would ever be breathing out praises to you. If there's breath in our lungs, I pray, Lord, what's breathed out would be praised to you. Lord, would you help us in this life to be shining light, to live in the light, to be humble and available and useful for your kingdom purposes.
Lord, this offering this morning, this time of worshiping you through giving says we trust you. We trust you, Lord, to do your will and your way among us, through us. Use these resources, Lord, to reach hearts, to advance the message of your love and forgiveness that is available. Lord God Almighty, rather than being a part of the grumbling, may we be a part of the solution to that grumbling. In Jesus' name, Lord, we pray that you would help us and show us your way and allow us the strength and the endurance to walk in it.
Amen.
Speaker 2Amen.
Speaker 1It's time for children's church downstairs. Last night, last night right here in the sanctuary, so there was a wedding that was supposed to take place out at Slide Lake and it was raining cats and dogs. And so the bride called at five minutes after five or so and said, can we have the wedding at the church? I said, yes. And so when they got here, said, do you know how to run the sound system?
He said, I can't even make this clicker work. No, I don't, but I'll speak loud, you know? It was just a beautiful thing. The couple for their first act right after their vows, they did communion together. Just think, God, thank you to get to be a part of something that that matters, that means something.
It's just so good. It's not working again, Marcus. Yeehaw. Ho. That's probably my fault.
You all talk amongst yourselves. I'll be right back. Okay, parables of the kingdom. This is what we're in. I could've kind of done the review for the past two weeks.
So, This is this is an amazing, amazing story from Jesus, this parable of the soil. That's what it starts off with. He starts off and I I did this one two weeks ago. So, I start off with the parable of soils. Lord, have mercy.
I mean that so sincerely. Parable of soils. Alright, here we are. And Jesus told him a lot of things. In parables, it says, he started off with one about the four soils.
I think that's one out of seven given in Matthew and so the first one in Matthew is this parable of soils. I think that what he's saying right there, it can be about heaven and hell. You can certainly interpret it that way. If you do that, then you're wondering whether the third group, the ones that receive the gospel but it's choked out by thorns, you're wondering where they stand. I think that to take it past that, there we go, We can look at this and see that Jesus said, some of the seed that the sower sowed fell on the roadside.
Meaning, it's so packed down hard that it can't penetrate the soil at all and just the birds eat it and take it away. So that one is pretty rough. Some fell on the rocky places. It has a little bit of dirt but more rocks and it doesn't get to take deep roots. So it springs up immediately but has no depth of soil so it gets scorched.
The others fell among thorns and it specifically says an explanation that this is the riches and the wealth and the possessions of this world. And it has a way of choking out the gospel message. Can you imagine? Can you think about that? I think we need to imagine that.
I think we need to think about that. In our day and time, one of the richest times, in one of the richest places too. We need to consider that this is truth, that this is real and good. And he says it for our good and for his glory. But other fell on the good soil, yielded a crop, some a 100, some 60, some 30 fold.
The one who has ears, let him hear. That's the way we started off. Two weeks ago, and I spent the whole time just on this. If you want to go back and listen to it, you're welcome. I'm going beyond it this week.
There this is just a lead off parable for with with the the covenant with with If I had to name it, with I'd say that it was the, well, let's just read it. He was saying, the kingdom of God is like a man who cast seed upon the soil. That sounds like the first and he goes out to bed at night and he gets up daily and the seed sprouts and grows. How? He himself does not know.
It's the parable of inexplicable growth. That's just what happens. God Almighty, in his infinite wisdom, designed things that way. And this says the soil produces crops by itself. First, the stalk, the head, then the mature grain in the head.
And now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle because the harvest has come. So it's the parable of inexplicable growth. But I might add that it is also of an imminent harvest. Right? So there is a time that the very next one is still sticking with the agricultural theme.
And Matthew says that Jesus presented this other parable to him saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Yeah. By this point, he's already explained to the disciples that the sower of the seed in his first parable was himself. It was the son of man. Jesus presented another parable saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. I think that there's room for a social commentary of every time that the church pays attention to anything that's not the gospel. That they rest in anything that's not gospel if it's worldly power or if they get their eye off the ball. We're going to sleep. We're not paying attention to what God wants our hearts to pay attention to.
His loving forgiveness, his mercy, his grace, his extension of unmerited favor. Not just to us but for everyone else around us. And and while his men were sleeping, the enemy comes and sowed weeds among wheat and left. When the wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident and the slaves and landowner came and said to him, Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? We know you.
We know you did. How then does it have weeds? Well, that's the type of weed right there. And I covered this last week, if you want to go back, you can listen to that one. Not as much technical difficulty at the beginning, but hey, still fun.
Spurious sweet, darnel. It's a plant that grows which resembles sweet in many ways, but it's worthless and even poisonous. And so, there are a lot, I believe in the explanation. Jesus goes forward in the parable and says, an enemy has done this. The slave said, do you want us then to go out and gather it up?
But he said, no, no. While you're gathering up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. So allow both of them to grow together until the harvest because there is a harvest coming. There's always a harvest coming in these parables. Allow both of them to grow together until the harvest and at that time of the harvest, I'll say to the reapers first, gather up the weeds, bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat in my barn.
So that's two distinct groups there. So the explanation that Jesus gives just as review, he left the crowds, he went into the house, and his disciples came to him. And so he speaks in parables in public, and then in the house, the disciples, if they are confused, they will ask, and he'll explain. They say, explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field. And he said, well, the one who sows the good seed is the son of man.
That's Jesus. And the field is the world, and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, and the weeds are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and it's coming. And the reapers are angels. So just as the weeds were gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
The son of man will send forth his angels. Angels means messengers. Angel, an angel, whether it be a celestial being or not, one who carries a message is an angel. The Son of Man will send forth his messengers, his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all the stumbling blocks. Paying attention to the message removes stumbling blocks.
And those who commit lawlessness and they'll throw them into the furnace of fire in that place where they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And then the righteous will shine forth like the sun and the kingdom of their father, the one who has ears, let him hear. So continuing with the rest of these parables. Those I think all lay the groundwork for this week, and we have five of them starting right here. Matthew and Mark both tell the story story of the mustard seed.
It's just a couple of verses long, but here it is. He presented another parable to them saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. There used to there was a Christian bookstore in the town that I went to college in called the mustard seed, Christian bookstore, so cute. He presented another parable to them saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which person took and sowed in his field. And this is a smaller than all the other seeds.
It's not the smallest of all the seeds that we know about, but it's the smallest of the agricultural seeds that they had in their day available. It's tiny. This is smaller of the other seeds, but when it's fully grown, it's larger than the rest of the garden plants and it even becomes a tree, 10 to 20 feet tall depending on who you ask. So that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches. Mark tells almost the same and he was saying, how shall we picture the kingdom of God?
Or by what? Parable. Parable is thrown down beside. That's what it means. Something an illustration that's thrown down beside.
I've used bananas rotting as an illustration before. I've used cars running in the ditch on both sides of the road before. A parable is something that is thrown down alongside a truth for comparison. Something that's kind of difficult and ephemeral hard to understand is made easier to understand by a parable. Jesus says, well, kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which when sown upon the soil, though it's the smallest of all the available seeds that are upon the soil.
Yet, when it is sown, it grows up inexplicably, becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches with the result that the birds of the sky can nest under its shade. You ever been in a seed market? Seed markets in The Middle East have all of these spices usually on one side and seeds on the other, and that's kind of an example from up there. All these different seeds and the tiniest little one of all makes the biggest plant. So that's how is this so.
If he's throwing down this example for us beside it, I'm trying to if we hit a how is this so that's blank and I don't have it, I'm gonna ask you. Alright? How is this so? I I think that what at first looks inconsequential. Think about Jesus being behind closed doors and explaining this parable to these 12 guys.
You know, maybe there were a few more there, but it still is a small group of people. And he is really the king. Right? The kingdom of heaven, he's explaining it for what it's like. At first, it looks inconsequential, but it does grow inexplicably into something that is quite profound, productive, and meaningful.
It's the difference in life and death, eternal life and death. To the point that it blesses even those who are not directly related to it. Do you agree with that? I think that's the way. I I I was not in the room when Jesus described it to the disciples, but I think that that's something that looks at first inconsequential, grows into something that's quite profound, productive and meaningful to the point that it blesses even those not directly related to it.
What do those birds have to do with that tree? I mean, last time we heard about birds, they were representing the devil stealing the seed. But it's a blessing. God causes his reign to fall on the just and unjust. And we should be gracious, not just to the family of God, but we should be gracious.
Keep on planting the seeds, looking forward to a time of harvest. Matthew thirteen thirty three goes forward. This one not included in Mark. He spoke another parable to them, the kingdom of heaven is like a like leaven which a woman took and hid in three sata of flour until it was all leaven. Now, a sata of flour is about 21 pints.
So three sata is 10 more than 10 gallons. That's a lot of flour. That's a lot of bread. If you're going to leaven it, it's a lot of bread, right? So he spoke another parable, kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three sata of flour until it was all leavened.
From Smith's Bible dictionary. Leaven. Now, in the Bible, before I give the definition here, in the Bible, usually when leaven is mentioned, it's talking about sin. Beware of the leaven of the pharisees, but it's not that way. In this particular case, Jesus is saying, this is a good thing.
The kingdom of heaven is like this. It's like a woman taken and hiding in three sata of flour and kneading this dough until it was all leavened. Its source is from without. That bread without or that flour without that leavening agent will not increase the same way it would with the agent. It is secret in its operation.
You can't really see what's going on. It spreads by contact of particle with particle. That's good. The vast and unchronicled witness is the way that the gospel advances. It's widely diffusive.
One particle of leaven being able to change any number of particles of flour. A life lived in a godward direction can have an amazing productivity. It does not act like water moistening just a certain amount of flour, but it is like a plan and that it changes the particles it comes in contact with into its own nature with like propagating power. I like that. It's a little wordy, but I like it.
I think it's helpful. If I were to say it shorter, the kingdom of heaven works through the Holy Spirit in this way, internally, invisibly, irresistibly, and irreversibly. Mustard seed and leaven, if you think about that, at the time, the ones who are sowing in the seed in the ground in all of the parables that Jesus gave, it was a guy. And then when he tells the story of the leaven, it's a gal. And so he's trying to make it accessible for absolutely everybody.
Right? Note that he tells one parable that would be most traditionally related to a male role, not that it has to be. And the other most often related to a female role, but not that it has to be. Now, right here we get not not really a break, but it's not a parable. It just says, all of these things Jesus spoke in the crowds, in parables, to the crowds in parables, and he didn't speak anything to them without a parable.
He always had illustrations. I was cleaning out the office closet, which I have just books a plenty, all books, books, books. And I found in there from pastors past list and books of illustrations. Now we have the Internet, we can go look there, but it works best when it really hits you. And I looked and looked and looked through those, and I was thinking, man, is a tough way to live.
I'm glad that I I was not living at this time. But Jesus, at this point, least in Matthew, he says, and when he started doing this, this is what he did all the time. He was giving them illustrations so that they could see and not see. Mark says, and with many such parables, he was speaking the word to them that so far as they were able to understand it. That reminds me of John 15, think it is, where Jesus is in the upper room discourse and he's talking to his disciples about him going away and it's good for them and I know you can't imagine it.
And then when they're so confused, he said, there are many more things I would like to say to you, but you can't bear them right now. And so far as they were able to understand, he did not speak to them without speaking a bearable, but he was explaining everything privately to his own disciples. Christ is still in that business of explaining things to you. Prayer, I believe, should be contacting God Almighty through Christ, and allowing his Holy Spirit to illumine the truth of his word. He was explaining everything privately to his own disciples.
This was so that what was spoken through the prophet, it was Isaiah would be full I don't know if this is Psalms, would be fulfilled. I will open my mouth in parables, and I will proclaim things hidden since the foundation of the world. I think it's Psalm seventy eight two, a Psalm of Asaph. I will open my mouth with a parable, and I will utter hidden things. Some of your translations would say, riddles, confusing things, difficult things.
I will utter things that have been held from old. Paul says in various epistles that the mystery of things not known until now has been revealed in Christ. And Christ is saying, I'm gonna open my mouth with this parable, and I'm gonna utter these hidden things, things from old. It's in the part of a bigger Psalm, 72 verses I think, but my people hear my teaching and listen to the words of my mouth. Pay attention.
I'll open my mouth with a parable. I'll utter hidden things, things from of old, things we've heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants. We're gonna keep on telling the story. Tell me the story of Jesus.
Right? We will not hide them from their descendants. We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders that he has done. Jesus carries on, continues. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again.
Isn't that something? It was something that he found and then hid again. And he from joy over it, he goes and he sells everything that he has, everything that he has and he buys that field. Now, how is this so? There's another one that follows right after this.
It's similar. Like that great treasure, the kingdom of heaven is of surpassing value, and it is rather to be obtained than anything and everything else. Do you agree with me? That's what Jesus is saying is the kingdom of heaven is a treasure, and it's kinda hard to see. He's trying to explain it by parables.
It's kinda hard to see. But once you get it, you would give everything for it. Ain't it great that it's a free gift? Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. Again.
So this one is in some way similar to the last one. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went, sold everything that he had and he bought it. He would give everything away. Why? How is this so?
Because the kingdom of heaven is surpassing value. Maybe I should say, again, anytime the Bible says something more than once, it's screaming out to pay attention. The kingdom of heaven is of surpassing value. And if we lay this alongside the first of the parables, and we know that the seed went in deep, but it was choked out by thorns. Jesus is saying, get rid of everything else in your mind.
Put your interest and your treasure into the kingdom of heaven. Pay attention to this. Don't allow the world to choke out the kingdom of heaven. He goes on. It's just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a drag net. Now, first thing I thought when I read this was this. That's the first thing. You know, just the facts, ma'am. Actually, never said that.
Did you know that? On all the episodes, it was on the radio and when it was on television, Jack Webb never said just the facts, ma'am. He said, All we know are the facts, ma'am. I pray that what I'm presenting to you is just the facts. Just the facts.
Just the truth of the word as it is presented by Jesus. Now, again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet, and a dragnet, not a police dragnet, but a dragnet is cast into the sea. It's allowed to sink down, and then as they go back towards the shore, they drag up fish of every kind, this says. Actually, it's interesting because it looks like it says all nations, all races, all it's a weird way to call fish, but it's not a weird way to call people. Every people group, as Ralph Winter would say.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a drag net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind. And when it was filled, they pulled it up onto the beach, they sat down, and they gathered the good fish in the containers, but the bad threw away. And so it will be at the end of the age. So Jesus gives the parable and immediately a little bit of explanation right here. So it will be at the end of the age, angels will come forth, messengers, and will remove the wicked from among the righteous.
This sounds a whole lot like something we heard last week and a few minutes ago in the introduction. And they will throw them into the furnace of fire in the place where they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That sounds a whole lot like, in fact, it's exactly the same verbiage as the wheat and the tares, in that place where there'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So how is this so? How is the kingdom of heaven like a drag net?
Well, Jesus explained it a bit right there. Everything that comes up when all of these people and people groups or all of these fish, not everything is good. And so in this world, there are various groups of people with their own peculiarities. All of us are peculiar in some way, and they're all allowed to swim about freely. This parable didn't concentrate on the swimming about freely like the wheat and the tares was about the here and now.
And it seems that the dragnet is more about the harvest. It's more about that time of judgment. In this world, are various groups of people with their own peculiarities, none better or worse than any of the other. They're all allowed to swim freely, but there is indeed a judgment day coming where God's angels will separate into just two groups. And since God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble, should we not live accordingly?
Right? It's mentioned multiple times in scripture that you can and you should humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Humble yourself. You can resist God in pride and he will resist you. Or you can humble yourself before God and it changes everything.
Humble yourselves before God and it will change eternal destiny. Maybe not just yours. Should we not live accordingly? I think we should. So living in the light.
If we are living in the light, just as he is in the light, then I believe that the seed that he sowed will have a very productive and meaningful harvest. What's next? Oh, this is good. This is fun. And at the end of this passage actually, the end of this passage, it's in verse 53, it says, and Jesus left that place.
It's like boom, mic drop, he's out of there. But in verse 51 here, he says, have you understood all of these things? And they say to him, yes, we got it. Uh-huh. Isn't that funny?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. We've had two thousand years to contemplate this stuff. And have you understood all these things? I woke up this morning and I went, Lord, I gotta get up there in just a little bit.
I know what it says. I know what it says. It's hard to apply these things to our lives. Would you help me? I mean, that's it.
I know what it says. How is this so? How is this so? Have you understood all these things? And they say to him, yes, we got it.
Yes. And Jesus said to them, therefore, good, good. Therefore, every scribe who has become a disciple Oh, wait a second. Now, a lot of times when he mentions scribes, who are those? They're the opposition.
A lot of times. So every scribe who has become a disciple. Usually, says the pharisees and the scribes seeking to trick him. They ask him a question. Or it says, they are constantly searching the scriptures, and they're constantly worried about making one convert.
And when they do make that convert, they make him twice the son of Satan that they are themselves. It's usually a negative context there. But he's saying, y'all have been paying attention. You know what your Bible says. Do you understand these things?
And they say, yeah, I think so. It's very different from the way we are raised. It's very different from what I had thought before. But Jesus said, every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven, somebody who studies the kingdom of heaven, and that's what he's been describing to them. Every scribe who has become a disciple of kingdom of heaven, he's like a head of household.
Like a head of household who brings out of his treasure new things and old things. Now, we have the whole old testament or they had the whole Old Testament. We have the whole Old Testament and the New Testament. And when we lay those things down beside each other, a lot of people in the world especially have said they look like two different gods. They look like two different, but that's not true.
That's not true. It all depends on how you read that. If you go in with a hermeneutic of goodwill, you believe God is good and that he loves us. You will come out understanding the Old Testament in a completely different light. Actually, you'll agree with Paul right here.
Paul says, now these things happen to them. This is the Israelite, God's chosen people. Right? These things happen to them as an example, and they're written down for our instruction. If in humility you go and look at the Exodus story, there should be things that remind you of yourself.
There should be things that say, these stiff necked people are me. I tend to be stiff necked, and God forgive me. May I not fall in the wilderness, but make it to your promised land. I trust you and your sustaining power, Lord. Show me your way.
Allow me to walk in it. Direct me where you'd have me go. They're written for our instruction, those of us who upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Actually, in Romans, he says something similar. For whatever was written in the former days, old testament, was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have.
Hope, Hope. I said this last night to somebody and I and I I believe it. We spend a lot of time on Christian apologetics, and I'm not saying to skip that. That's fine. But the thing that we're asked to defend is the hope that's within us.
That's what we're asked to defend is where is this hope? How can you live a joyous life? How can you live amongst all the news that has happened this week? How can you live and still hold your head up and praise God for his goodness? Amen.
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another and in accord with Christ Jesus, that together, you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, welcome one another just as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. He took the hit. He laid down his rights rather than demanding them. He laid down his rights to welcome us into the kingdom.
And shouldn't we be that welcoming? How is this so? Okay. We have access as students, disciples of God's word to eternal truth of the gospel. That's God's message of love and forgiveness.
If he stands ready to forgive, and we are to follow after him, then we should be standing ready to forgive. And if we sin against someone else, we should ask them to forgive us in humility. I'm gonna read Psalm seventy eight one through four one time. My people, hear my teaching. Listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable. I will utter hidden things, things from of old, things we have heard and we have known. This none of this stuff is new, is it? You've heard all these parables before. Things we've heard and known, things our ancestors have told us and we will not hide them from their descendants, from the future.
We will keep on telling the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power and of the wonders that he has done. Why? Because we're not ashamed of the gospel. If you're reading with a hermeneutic of goodwill and you believe that God is good and you have trusted in him and you are saved, that's great. There are tons of people who are not reading it that way.
They need to read your life that way. As God is gracious, loving, merciful, and forgiving, stands ready, and will not hold against us. And if you confess, your sins, I'm faithful and just to forgive your sins. Throw them in the sea of forgetfulness, remember them no more. Throw them as far as the East as the West, remember them no no more.
Though your sins be as scarlet, they'll be as white as snow. That's the way God forgives. That's the way we are to be forgiving. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It is the very power of God unto towards salvation for everyone who believes.
It's to the Jew first because they had that storehouse of scripture. They had that log when God reached out to Abraham, and Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, and continually telling that blessing even after they messed up because all of us messed up. There's not I defy you to find an example in the Old Testament of somebody that didn't mess up. Alright. And don't even mention Joseph to me.
Good grief, that little snotty nosed brother. There's no one righteous. No, not one. Jesus alone can save. I'm not ashamed of that gospel for it's the power of God for salvation everyone who believes to the Jew first, but also to the Greek for in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
Just as it is written, this is Habakkuk two four, but the righteous will live by faith. That one in italics right there is added to make it kind of flow in English, but think about this. The righteous will live by faith. What is it that allows them to live? Their faith.
What is allows them to be righteous? Their faith. And what is it that allows them to live out that faith in righteousness. It is the fact that they're willing to live it by the Holy Spirit like Florine said a minute ago. Would you all pray with me?
And I'll ask the band to come back up. Lord, for all of the things that are going on in the world, we pray. There are so many, it's hard to even make a lift. There are major movements that are happening, and there are minor movements that are happening. There are disturbing trends in a lot of places.
There are wars and rumors of war. There's all kinds of other stuff that we could be distracted by. I pray, Lord, that you would restore unto us the joy of your salvation, that we would know it, that we would rest in it, that it would give us hope, and that as we look forward to harvest day, we don't just look forward to it selfishly for our little group, but that we would be extending the balance that, Lord, like you said, you're gonna build your church. It's inexplicable to us, but I pray, Lord, we'd allow those seeds that have been planted to grow up, that we would be cultivating always, throwing rocks out of the field, and able, Lord, to just keep going forward. Just keep going forward with the hope, and the joy, and the peace, and the comfort, and the love that only you can provide, and that we'd live that way to everyone.
In Jesus' name, Lord, have your will among us. Amen. Would you stand with us, and we're gonna play a song. Amen. For benediction today, I just would add to this.
May the Lord bless and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and give you peace. Amen. Amen.
