The Parables of Jesus
Lesson 13
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Background
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Today’s Parables come from the Gospel of Matthew.
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We find Jesus teaching these parables shortly
after he was accused of being under Satan’s power, the religious leaders had
asked Jesus to perform a miracle, and Jesus had just described who his true
family was. These parables were told
shortly after the Kingdom of Heaven parables which we looked at earlier.
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Smaller
and Shorter Parables of Jesus
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The
Mustard Seed. (Matthew 13: 31 - 32)
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The mustard seed was one of the smallest seeds
that was planted in a herb garden. Jesus
was not comparing this mustard seed to other seeds, as there were smaller seeds
then the mustard seed. The Khardal Mustard was typical in biblical times and
this particular variety would grow into a bush that could grow 12 to 15 feet
tall.
§
This parable is likened to the kingdom of
heaven, “a man” is represented by Jesus Christ, “a field” is represented by the
world, “the seed” represents the word of God, “growing” refers to the spreading
of the church, and the presence of evil is represented by the birds of the air.
§
Jesus was using this parable to make a
prediction on how the Gospel would spread.
It first started with Jesus, it then grew to his 12 apostles, it next
grew to 120 people hiding in the upper room and receiving the Holy Spirit, it then
grew to 3,000 when Peter preached to a crowd, the Gospel then spread throughout
the Roman Empire, and the Gospel is now being spread to all the corners of the
earth. The church would start small and
will continue to grow. The church would
become a source of food, rest, and shelter for both believers and non-believers
that seek to take advantage of what the church offered. This parable is both a warning and a
prediction of the churches growth.
§
Related Readings
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Matthew 17:20, Luke 17:6, Galatians 1:6-9, 2
Corinthians 11:12-15
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The Yeast.
(Matthew 13: 33)
§
Typically Jesus would use the word ‘Yeast’ as a
symbol of evil in his teachings. This
parable uses a much different meaning and Jesus uses yeast to show the positive
growth of the church. Yeast is the
smallest portion of the ingredients used to make a loaf of bread, but yet it
permeates (spread throughout) and affects the whole loaf.
§
In some bible versions the yeast is replaced by
the word ‘leaven’. In Jewish homes, a
piece of fermented dough was reserved for making leavened bread. The reserved dough was hidden in the new
dough to permeate.
§
As in the Mustard Seed parable, the kingdom of
God would have a small beginning, but it would also continue to increase and
grow. Just as it takes time for the
yeast to spread through the dough, the Kingdom of God will take time to
grow. As yeast is placed inside the
dough, God also influences his church from the inside by changing our
hearts. Christians then slowly transform
their lives and slowly begin to transform the lives of others around them. The ultimate benefit of the Kingdom of God
would to be spread world-wide. The
nature of yeast is to grow and change whatever it contacts.
§
Related Readings
·
Galatians 5:7-10, Luke 17:20-21 (the Kingdom is
Spiritual), 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 (Transformed as in Yeast)
o
The Owner
of the House (Matthew 13:52)
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The Head of a Household is responsible for the
family.
It would be his responsibility to ensure that the storeroom
contained everything to feed the family.
He would handle serving the old food along with the new food to insure
the food was not being wasted. In the
same context, the minister/teacher is to use what he has learned and experienced
for the benefit of his spiritual family.
Jesus wanted his ministers to teach carefully by balancing the Old and
New Testaments together.
§
The Old Testament reveals the way to the
Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus was
revealing that the Kingdom of Heaven is the treasure we seek. Both the Old and New Testaments are
guidelines for faith and living in this world.
The religious leaders during Jesus’s time were trapped in the Old
testament and blind to Jesus’s teachings of the New Testament. They were looking for a future kingdom
preceded by judgment. Jesus taught the
Kingdom of Heaven is now and judgment was for the future. The religious leaders failed to acknowledge
the Spiritual Kingdom of Jesus.
§
Related Readings
·
Galatians 6:12-16, Matthew 5:17-20, Ephesians
4:7-14, Matthew 10:5-7, Matthew 28:16-20
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Questions
to Ponder/Life Lessons.
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How can we help to spread the Gospel to
others? Are we being like yeast?
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If we feel that we have limitations or weakness,
do we remember that all things are possible through Jesus Christ? Do we remember what we can do if we had the
faith of a Mustard Seed?
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Have we passed at opportunities God has clearly
shown us as an opportunity to share the Gospel with another?
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