A Deeper Look at Matthew:  An End-Times Bible Study
Copyright 2012
 
 
Matthew 13
 
            Here, we are at one of the famous parables of the Bible.  Jesus, in 13:1, goes out of the house He is at and sits by the seaside.  A large multitude, it says, comes and gathers around Him.  There are so many people that He has to get into a ship and sit, with all the people standing on the shore.  To be sure, this demonstrates just how much the people of Jesus' day wanted to hear the wisdom that came from the Son of God's mouth.
            So, it says in 13:3 that Jesus is speaking to them in parables and Jesus mentions in this verse that a sower goes out to sow [seed].
            Some of the seed falls by the wayside and the fouls come and devour it.
            Other seed falls on stony places, where it doesn't have a lot of earth.  This seed springs up quickly but, because it doesn't have a lot of earth for which to grab onto - and because the sun is up - the seed becomes scorched and it withers away because it has no root.
            Some seed falls among thorns and, while the seed grows up, the thorns around the tender plant choke it out and kill it.
            Finally, in 13:8, Jesus says some seed falls on good ground where it grows and brings forth fruit, some yielding a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.
            Jesus says in 13:9, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
            And so Jesus' disciples ask Jesus why he speaks to the people in parables.  He answers and says to them, because the disciples have been given the understanding to know "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven," but to them [the unsaved multitudes] it has not been given.
            Jesus goes on to say in 13:12 that, to those who have, more shall be given unto them; but to those who do not have, from these people it shall be taken away, even what they have.
            He says in 13:13 that He speaks to them in parables because "they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."  The next verse says that it is now fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 6:9-10.  These verses in Isaiah say that the people' heart is waxed gross (has become dull or calloused).  These people do not see the truth or believe the truth.  Therefore, they do not believe the truth even when it is right in front of them.  These verses in Isaiah say that their "ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed."
            But, in speaking to the disciples in 13:16, Jesus says to them, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."
            The simple fact is that the unsaved masses are in complete delusion - today (2 Thessalonians 2:11) - and back then (13:13).  Simply, people like this have become blind to the truth because they are not saved and when you are not saved you do not have the Spirit of God to show you the truth.  Remember what Jesus says in John 14:6.  Jesus, the Son of God, is the "way, the truth, and the life."  Our triune God is truth.  It is embodied in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  When you are on the broad path to hell, as most people are (Matthew 7:13-14), you do not have the Spirit of God.  And, when you are not full of the Spirit of God, you do not have the ability to see the truth that can save you.  Remember, when you get saved, God comes to live inside of you.  When you are not saved, you do not have the Spirit of God.   And, you are either a child of God, or you are a child of the devil, as the Pharisees are in John 8:44.  The children of God see the truth, as it should be seen, while the children of the devil cannot see the truth because they are blinded by the lies of the devil.
            Jesus says to them, in 13:17, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things (miracles of Jesus) they see, and hear the things they hear (wisdom of Jesus), but have not seen or heard these things.
            Finally, Jesus begins to explain the parable of the sower in 13:19.  He says that whenever someone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand, then comes the wicked one (devil) and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is the seed which fell by the wayside.  Today, the "word of the kingdom" is the word that Jesus is the Son of God and He has died for our sins.  (This is the gospel.)  Whenever you share the gospel with a person or group, and the people do not understand, the devil will come and try to take what has been shared with them.  The devil wants them to forget about the gospel and will stop at nothing to take this truth away from them, lest they come to understand the gospel in the future.
            The second example Jesus gives is the seed that falls in the stony places.  This is the person who receives the truth immediately receives it with joy.  However, Jesus goes on to say that this type of person has no "root in himself."  What does this mean?  Well, what is the root symbolic of?  A foundation.  This type of person has no foundation of truth in their life.  This type of foundation only comes by having the precious Spirit of God as your foundation.  Without a foundation in the Spirit of God, a person will not do and hear the sayings of Jesus.  People like this have a foundation of sand (Matthew 7:26).  When tribulation or persecution comes (floods, rain, and wind in Matthew 7:27), this person becomes offended and the house is destroyed because they do not have their root (foundation) founded in the Spirit of God.  Instead, their foundation is set in things other than God.
            The third example Jesus gives is seed that is sown among the thorns (13:22.)  This type of person "hears the word" but does not embrace the word like they embrace other things.  This type of person is caught up with "the cares of this world" and the deceitfulness of riches.  This person would rather have what this world has to offer, instead of the gospel that can save them from hell once they die.  People like this think money is the answer to all of life's problems.  They believe true security lies in money, and not in a relationship with God the Creator.  People like this will hear the gospel but when they go through life, this word of the gospel is choked and killed by the person's desire for what earth has to offer, not what heaven has to offer.  This person's plant grows up but is killed by their love of money and all it represents, and all it can buy.  They care less about the things of Jesus that can save them from eternity in hell.
            Finally, Jesus says that some seed falls on "good ground."  Seed like this, Jesus says, represents a person who hears the word of God, understands it, and brings forth fruit, some yielding a harvest of a "hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold."
            The only way a person is going to be able to yield fruit is if they are truly and genuinely one of God's chosen (elect).  These are the people who are filled with the precious Spirit of God and are headed to heaven.  These are the saved people.  The kinds of things these people choose to do with their life will determine what kind of harvest they have.  Those who dedicate their lives fully to serving God will yield a greater harvest than those who dedicate less of their time.
            Jesus goes on to tell a different, yet, in some ways, similar parable in 13:24.  Here, He says the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sows good seed in his field.  But, "while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."
            So the blades spring up and bring forth fruit, but the tares appear, also.  So, some of the householder's servants ask him, "Didst not thou sow good seed in thy field?  From whence hath it tares?"   The man replies to them and says that an enemy has done that.  The servants then ask the man if they should go and gather them up.
            The man replies and says no, lest they uproot the wheat along with the tares.  He tells them to let both of them grow until the harvest, and at that time he will say to the reapers, "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
            Jesus tells another parable in 13:31, saying the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man sows in his field: which, while being one of the smallest of seeds, when it is grown it becomes the greatest among herbs.  It becomes a tree so that birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.
            Jesus says in 13:33 that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman takes and hides in three measures of meal, till the entire thing is leavened.
            Jesus speaks all of these things in parables and does not speak to them without using a parable (13:34).  The next verse goes on to say that, by doing this, Jesus is fulfilling the prophecy made in Psalm 78:2, where it says, "I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old."  (I find it interesting that in Daniel 8:23, it says the "king of fierce countenance (which some say is the beast or Antichrist)," has understanding of dark sentences).
            The disciples then tell Jesus to declare unto them the parable of the tares of the field in 13:36.
            So, Jesus explains this to them.  First, He says, the man that sows the good seed is the Son of man (Jesus).  The field in which He sows the seed is the world.  The wheat are the people of God (who are like wheat because wheat is useful for eating), while the people of the devil are like tares (not good for eating).  The enemy is the devil and he has planted his people right next to the people of God (just like today), where the people of God work right alongside the people of the devil.
            Eventually, there will be a harvest which happens "at the end of the world" (13:39) whereby the tares (people of Satan) are gathered and placed in bundles to be burned (which may mean the great tribulation on earth, or, in a broader sense, hell itself).  Jesus says the harvest happens at the end of the world.  The beings who do the harvesting are the angels.  He says that, at the end of the world, He will send out His angels and they will gather "all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  Please, if you have not repented of sins and accepted Jesus as Savior, please do so now so you don't go into the furnace of fire!
            Jesus goes on to say in 13:43 that the righteous will "shine forth as the sun" in God the Father's kingdom, which we know to be heaven.  Jesus ends, saying, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."  Many of Jesus' sayings are very cryptic to the unenlightened but they will be understood by those who have been quickened by the Holy Spirit.  This is precisely why Jesus speaks in parables - stories that have a surface meaning but have a hidden and deeper meaning for those who have "ears to hear."
            Jesus gives an excellent example of just how priceless salvation is in Matthew 13:44.  It is like treasure in a field which, when a man finds it, he sells everything he has and buys that field.  Is salvation that priceless to you, that you would sell everything you own to lay hold of life eternal?  Jesus confirms this story again with a similar story about a pearl of great price in 13:45-46.
            Jesus gives us yet another short story in 13:47-49.  The kingdom of God is like the catch of fish brought in by a fisherman's net.  Some of the fish is good and some of it is bad.  At the end of the age, similarly, Jesus will send forth His angels in the rapture; the good will go to be with Jesus in heaven while the bad will be cast into the great tribulation.  Jesus qualifies where the "bad" will go in 13:50 - the wicked will go to the "furnace of fire" where is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Does this sound like hell to you?
            Jesus asks them if they understand what He has taught them and they reply that they have.
            In 13:52, Jesus likens a scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven to a householder who brings forth out of his treasure, old things and new things.  Jesus may be alluding to Old Testament teachings and prophets and to New Testament teachings and prophets.  Animal sacrifice (old) compared to the perfect sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus (new).
            So Jesus departs and comes into His own country.  He teaches the people in their synagogue, so much so that they are "astonished."  They ask themselves where Jesus got His wisdom and mighty works.  They know Jesus is the carpenter's Son and they know Jesus' entire family but they cannot understand why Jesus has so much power.  13:57 says the people are "offended" by Jesus.  They do not appreciate why Jesus is so different, nor did they appreciate the fact that Jesus "is not one of them."  Jesus is not the type of person that they can take for granted, although they probably tried.
            Jesus says in 13:57 that a prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.  What does he mean by this?  Well, what is a prophet?  A prophet is a special person of God who has unique spiritual ability.  They, many times, communicate the oracles and messages from God to the people.  Because they have above average spiritual powers, they are seen as "different."  Some of them have healing power, and other powers from God (like parting the Red Sea).  They do not fit into the crowd and, while they grow up, their family and in a greater sense their "country," will not give them the honor they are due.  They do this because they treat the prophet like he is "one of them," when he is very much different.
            Matthew 13 ends, saying that Jesus cannot do many works in His own country because of their unbelief (lack of faith).  Simply, they refuse to believe that Jesus "is not one of them."  And, taking this one step further, they, therefore, refuse to believe Jesus is the Son of God.