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Jesus unveiled the mysteries of the impending Church Age in parabolic form. (Matthew 13:1-50) Congruent with eternal plan, it was a form of communication that allowed Him to disclose the mysteries of the age to His disciples and yet keep them secretive to the Jewish people who had rejected His earthly ministry. (Matthew 13:11-12)
In seven of the “Kingdom of Heaven” parables, Jesus described the manner in which the authority of the Father would be manifested on earth during the approaching Church Age. He clarified how the message of divine authority would be presented and cultivated on earth and the angelic and human response. Parable of the Sower Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23 (Presented to a large crowd) “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:3-9) Jesus provided the explanation of the parable to His disciples as follows: “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” (Matthew 13:18-23) |
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In this parable, Jesus is the “sower.” The “seed” sown is identified as the “word” or “message” of the kingdom. (vs. 19; cf. Luke 8:11) Thus, the parable of the "Sower” clarified that the authority of God would be identified on earth during the impending Church Age by the sowing of a message.
Jesus Christ is not only the “sower” but also the "seed" or message sown. He is the embodiment of the “message of the kingdom” from the heavens. As the living “Word of God,” Jesus is the source of communication from God to mankind on earth. (Revelation 19:13; cf. John 1:1-2, 14; 1 John 1:1-2) He is the “Good News.” (cf. Mark 1:1; Romans 1:1-6; 3:21-31; et al) The parable of the "Sower” reveals the authority of God communicated through the Good News of Jesus Christ would no longer be recognized outwardly and visibly as in the past. Instead, it would be sown inwardly and invisibly in the heart of those willing to receive it. (vs. 19) As a result, the parable of the "Sower” described the four different groups of people that would exist during the impending Church Age: |
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According to the parable of the "Sower,” the message of the authority of God manifested on earth during the coming Church Age, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, would not be valued by all. As evidenced by measure of spiritual fruitfulness, only a minority would genuinely hear the message and “take it to heart.”
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Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
Matthew 13:24-30, 13:36-43 (Presented to a large crowd) “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 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?’ 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?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 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.’” (Matthew 13:24-30) Jesus explained the parable of the “Wheat and Tares” to His disciples as follows: “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and 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; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are 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, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ‘Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun’ in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:37-43) |
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As explained by Jesus, He is the “Son of man” in the parable of the "Wheat and Tares." During the impending Church Age, He would sow “good seed” in His “field.” (vs. 37) The “field” is the world. (vs. 38) The “good seed” is identified as the “sons of the kingdom.” Thus, the “good seed” refers to all human beings who would be receptive to the “Good News” and thereby choose a state of submission to the authority of God during the impending age. (vs. 38)
The “sons of the kingdom” would encounter opposition from an adversary identified as the “wicked one” and “the devil.” (vss. 38-39) He would sow “tares” (bad seed) amongst the good. The “tares” are identified as the “sons of the wicked one.” (vs. 38) As used in this parable, “sons” is a Semitic idiom that describes those who “belong to or are characterized by the ‘of’ that follows it.”1 Thus, the “sons of the evil one” or “devil” are subordinate fallen angels. The “evil one” and his “sons” would offend the authority of God by causing “stumbling blocks” for the “sons of the kingdom” and provoking lawlessness on earth. According to the parable of the "Wheat and Tares,” the devil and his “sons” would be forced to discontinue their spiritual opposition to the plan of God at the end of the impending Church Age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom [the realm of His authority] all stumbling blocks (Greek: skandalon, ‘enticement to unbelief’2; ‘one who causes someone to sin’3), and those who commit lawlessness.” The devil and his “sons” will then be thrown “into the furnace of fire.” (vs. 42) Thus, the righteous will be free to forever, "... shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matthew 13:43) |
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Parable of the Mustard Seed
Matthew 13:31-32 (Presented to a large crowd.) “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and 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.’” (Matthew 13:31-32) |
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Like the growth of a mustard seed, the recognition of the authority of God manifested on earth would grow organically during the impending Church Age. It would start from humble beginnings and grow to great size despite spiritual opposition (“the birds of the air” cf. Matthew 13:4; 19).
Parable of the Leaven Matthew 13:33 (Presented to a large crowd.) “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.” (Matthew 13:33) |
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Leaven “was a common Jewish metaphor for an invisible, pervasive influence that was often corrupting by nature.”4 In the New Testament, it was used regarding several pervasive, corrupting influences. For example, the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 16:6, 11, 12); the teaching of the Pharisees alone (Luke 12:1); and the prejudiced request for a sign from Jesus by the Pharisees and Herod (Mark 8:15 – 2x). It was also used about the pervasive, corrupting influence of the sinful conduct of a member of the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:6, 7, 8 – 2x) and the teaching of a Judaizer in Galatia (Galatians 5:9).
Unlike the examples above, however, the leaven in the parable of the "Leaven” was not qualified by a specific, pervading influence that causes corruption. Instead, the pervading influence is the authority of God manifested on earth from the eternal realm. Consequently, the leaven in this parable is not associated with corruption but merely suggestive of the general character of leaven. The authority of God manifested on earth during the impending Church Age would be a pervasive influence that would rise above all opposition and related corruption. Parable of the Hidden Treasure Matthew 13:44 (Presented to a small group of disciples.) “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). |
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From the immediate context, it can be understood that the “man” in this parable is Jesus. (cf. vss. 31, 37, 41) The “field” is the world. (cf. vss. 31, 37, 38, 41) The “hidden treasure” is the “kingdom of the heavens” or more specifically, the authority of God manifested on earth invisibly from the eternal realm during the impending Church Age.
In the previous age, the nation of Israel was the vehicle through which God had visibly manifested His authority on earth. It was evidenced by divinely appointed leadership, law, tabernacle, temple, oracles, etc. However, considering their failure to obey covenantal law the nation of Israel experienced the judgment of God. As a result, His glory departed, His authoritative presence was hidden from them, and they were exiled into foreign lands. (Isaiah 6:9-10; Ezekiel 8-11; Matthew 13:10-15) The authority of God remained hidden from national Israel not only during the ensuing “exilic period” but also in the “intertestamental period” that followed. Six hundred years after the authority of God was originally concealed from the nation of Israel, the Father sent His Son, the promised Messiah, to earth. He was both fully God and fully man. While in human flesh, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, selflessly emptied Himself of His divine authority and, by faith alone, yielded to the authority of the heavenly Father. (Philippians 2:5-8) As a result, the authority of the Father was “found” or “discovered” on earth in the person and work of the incarnate Son. Throughout His earthly ministry, Christ Jesus graciously revealed the authority of God in word and deed. His manifestation of divine authority on earth was confirmed “by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit.” (Hebrews 2:4) “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip replied, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” In return, “Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:7-9) The primary emphasis of Jesus’ earthly ministry was national Israel. Initially, He provided the nation with a renewed offer to form the kingdom of God with them on earth. However, the representative leadership of Israel was unwilling to recognize Jesus’ messianic qualifications and visible manifestation of heavenly authority. Therefore, they rejected Him and His offer. Consequently, the authority of God would be “hid again.” Thus, it would remain invisible to national Israel during the impending a Church Age. (cf. Matthew 13:10-17) After His rejection by national Israel, Jesus proceeded toward the fulfillment of the redemptive plan of God. He would joyfully “go and sell all that He had” to purchase the “field” in which the treasure of divine authority had been hidden from national Israel. (cf. vss. 31, 37, 38, 41) The legal right for God to rule the earth had previously been abdicated by His legal representative, Adam. The sacrificial death of Christ constituted the price of redemption. Through His sacrificial payment the world could be legally restored to the kingdom of God. As a result, God would regain authority over the world and thereby, acquire the legal right to redeem the elect, from both Israel and the Gentile nations. According to the “Parable of the Hidden Treasure,” the authority of God would continue to be manifested on earth during the impending Church Age. However, it would remain hidden from national Israel. |
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Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
Matthew 13:45-46 (Presented to a small group of disciples.) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46) |
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