Matthew 13:44

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Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ~ Matthew 13:44

Today, we return to our study of Matthew. Having spoken to the people using four parables, in today's passage the Lord Jesus taught the fifth of seven parables to His disciples inside Peter's house. The first two parables in this chapter teach about the nature of the mystery of God's kingdom which had been hidden from generations past. The parable of the soils differentiates between those who believe in the Lord Jesus as their Savior with those who do not. The second parable, the parable of the wheat and the tares, instructs us to keep the wheat and the tares together until the harvest comes. Otherwise, someone might uproot a tare before that tare would choose to believe in the Lord Jesus. 

The third and fourth parables teach of the power of the kingdom.  In spite of the fact that good and evil are growing together, the good will triumph in the end. The parable of the mustard seed teaches we must value what may seem to be insignificant because even though the kingdom of God began small it will increase value over time. And then there was the parable of the leaven which represents the kingdom, buried as it were in the dough of the world which, ultimately, will penetrate and permeate and influence the whole world. And the parable of the leaven shows the internal permeating influence of the kingdom which touches every dimension of human life. 

Today's parable is illustrated by a hidden treasure. In biblical days it was common for the people to bury their treasure in the ground. They did this because they feared being advanced upon by a group of people who desired to take their treasure. In this parable there was a man who was tilling up a field. It was then that he came across a treasure that had been buried. Immediately he put the treasure back where he found it and then went about purchasing the field for himself. The only way to possess the treasure was to purchase the land. Holding back at all would have cost him the greatest treasure he could have ever imagined. It is not enough that we found God, it is a must that we keep finding Him.

This is not a parable that teaches that we can earn our salvation. That is impossible! This is a parable that turns our attention from those not so substantive things of this world that once consumed our attention to the loving rule of God in our hearts and lives. To be ruled by God is to be defined by Him. Today's parable reveals to us how our eyes have been opened to the truth and how the truth is becoming so much more valuable to us than anything else. This parable emphasizes the change that is coming about in our value system. This parable reveals to us that which we value the most is that which satisfactorily defines us most. The moment we tasted the Lord to see that He is truly good, we could never go back to the empty cisterns of this world. This type of discovery caused the woman at the well to leave her water pot at the well.

Today's parable teaches us the Kingdom of God is of such value, that it is actually worth us giving up everything for it. Augustine once wrote, “Christ is not valued at all unless he is valued above all.” Obedience to God's commands, when motivated by our love and faith, is the source of our joy. This joy isn't simply a fleeting emotion, but a deeper, abiding sense of well-being that comes from aligning our lives with God and His will. When we treat obedience as something we do first and then we experience joy, we will have turned obedience into duty rather than devotion.

Few are ever called upon to give up everything for the kingdom of God, though there have been those who have given their very lives for the advancement of the gospel. Having said that, dying to the self life could be considered a higher calling than say literally dying for the gospel. "Dying to self" means surrendering our lives because we have come to the point in our lives that we are being defined by God. When God defines us, we prioritize His purposes above ours. When God is defining us, we essentially live a life that is more aligned with Christ's definitions of what is of most value in this life. 

Dying to self mustn't be confused with death of self because self-denial is not to be confused by self-rejection. As God works within us He enables us to increasingly recognize the utter foolishness of being defined by the world or ourselves. God desires for us to see and to embrace the essence of the Christian life which is "Christ in you the hope of glory." The Lord Jesus is truly the treasure and it is His joy that prompts us to value Him and His gospel in such a way that we prize above all His calling on our lives. And, we know that we are being defined by Him when we obey Him with a willing heart. When we make the Lord Jesus our greatest treasure, we will be empowered to lose sight of the negative side of faith.

Surrendering our lives fully to the Lord is no small thing. It requires of us to make the conscious choices to deny our natural desires and humbly submit to His leading and control in our lives. Dying to self means joyfully relinquishing all rights we think we have to our lives to the One who sacrificed everything to save us. It means enthroning Him as the rightful Lord over every area of our lives. Jim Elliot once said, "God always gives his best to those who leave the choice with him" Of course, we will never be perfect at obeying God this side of heaven but if we do not reach for perfection, we will not be effective at it. As we die to self, we are no longer found trying to get our own way. Rather, we let go of trying to make a good impression on God and others. Quite simply, when we die to self, we will no longer be obsessed with self of any sort. And, dying to self actually makes life easier because when we die to self and live to the Lord Jesus we will discover His joy and His contentment even when we’re overlooked and deemed unimportant by others.

Matthew 13:36-43

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36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." 37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will 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 offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" ~ Matthew 13:36-43

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus used seven parables to explain to His hearers the nature of the kingdom of God. When the Lord Jesus decided to teach the people with parables He did so in order to confuse those who weren't really seeking the truth. A second reason was to make the truth more accessible and rewarding for those who sought it. Those who through their questions seek the Lord will enjoy a deeper fellowship with Him. It is through believing in the Lord Jesus as our Savior that we are justified in God's eyes and it is through being defined by God that we are being sanctified. Justification gets us into heaven and establishes us in a personal relationship with God, while sanctification gets heaven into us now and it furthers our fellowship with God.

In v.36 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, 'Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.'"

The Lord Jesus dismissed the multitude and went into Peter's house to be alone with His disciples. There have been times in my life when I have been acutely aware of my own loneliness even though I was among many people. I have found that this loneliness is always an invitation from the Lord to be alone with Him. Since we can't love someone we don’t know, we are wise to allow the scaffold of loneliness to enable us to draw nearer to the Lord. I am finding that it is in these moments that I am granted an expanding heart to hear the Lord and to grow in intimacy with Him. 

In response for further explanation, the Lord Jesus explained His parables to His disciples. God reveals His truth to those who seek Him through their questions. Although the disciples had heard four parables up to this point, they approached Him with a request for His explanation for the parable of the tares. They did this because of their confusion. We are often found in this same posture, confused by God's will and His teaching. It is during these moments of confusion that we tend to entertain more questions and when we bring those questions to Him in time we get answers. We must be wise in these moments to give Him the time to deliver the message we need to hear at the moment we need to hear it. All the while, we will find ourselves experiencing a greater degree of intimacy with Him.

In v.37-39 of today's passage we read, "37 He answered and said to them: 'He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.'"

The Lord Jesus referred to Himself as "the Son of Man" more than any other designation in the gospels. In fact, the Lord Jesus is referred to as the "Son of Man" 82 times in the New Testament. By doing so, He identified Himself as the Messiah. In Daniel 7:13 we learn that the Messiah is referred to as the Son of Man.  So He, through that title, was identifying Himself as the Messiah, God incarnate. The is important because this designation means that He is both God and man who has been given authority by the Most High. At the cross He demonstrated His power in the most unusual way. He demonstrated His power through His weakness. This is what it means for Him to be the Son of Man.

According to Luke 22:69, the Jews knew that "the Son of Man" was a Messianic title. When He stood before the Sanhedrin the Lord Jesus said, "Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God." To that the religious leaders of Israel responded, "Are You, then, the Son of God?"  To which He said He was the Son of Man. Then they reported that He claimed to be the Son of God. This proves they knew the title "Son of Man" was a Messianic reference.  And so, the sower in the parable of the sower was the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. 

Even though Satan wrestled away Adam's authority over the earth in the Garden of Eden, the world is still God's field. It ultimately belongs to Him. He is King of the earth. He holds in His hand the title deed even though He hasn’t really laid claim to it fully as He will according to Revelation 6 when He will unroll the scroll. By doing so, He will reclaim the title deed to the earth. So, the Lord sows His seed or His word in the world which belongs to Him. Having received the word from the Lord and therefore having entered into a personal relationship with God, we are not where we are on this earth by accident. The Lord planted us where we are to serve Him by serving others. We are in this world to be used of God as He reaches out to the tares. And, we must never forget that we were once tares.

In v.40-42 of today's passage we read, "40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will 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 offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

God is not the author of evil, it proceeded from the "devil"  which means adversary. We were once on his team without even knowing it. The Lord reminds us that "the harvest waits till the end of the age."  He said this because the disciples were ready to usher in the Lord's kingdom with force but the fullness of time for the Gentiles had not yet happened. In fact, we are still in that time awaiting the second coming of the Lord when He will usher in His millennial kingdom. The second coming will happen at the end of the Tribulation which is referred to in Daniel 9 as the time of Jacob's trouble.

The tares or the unbelievers will be gathered up by the angels of the Lord and burned. And their reaction will be "wailing and gnashing of teeth." Those in hell will experience painful, eternal, inevitable, inescapable judgment because no amount of suffering on the behalf of those who are yet in their sin will satisfy the wrath of God. This just underscores the eternal value of what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross. It was at His cross that He rescued us from the wrath of God that we rightfully deserve. The wrath of God is the absence of God in our lives.

In v.43 of today's passage we read, "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" 

At the end of time, the much anticipated kingdom of God will be established. And those who valued their hearing by listening to and receiving the free gift that came through the cross of the Lord Jesus will reflect the likeness of God like the sun shines in the midday sky. Those who were justified through the cross and sanctified by the Holy Spirit will be glorified by the Father.

The Lord Jesus used the analogy of hearing to describe the process our hearts went through resulting in being saved. At the heart of sin is self-reliance. Not everybody who has ears hear. Not everyone listens to the Lord but He speaks to everyone. The Bible is clear that all of creation is continually revealing truth to everyone about God. In Psalm 19:1 we read, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." In Romans 1:20 we read, "For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made." Not everyone responds to God from a heart of trust. At the end of time those who will be declared by God as righteous will be those who received the free gift of His righteousness through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 13:33-35

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33 Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. 34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world." ~ Matthew 13:33-35

Today, we continue our study of the fourth of seven parables found in Matthew 13. This is also the last parable in Matthew 13 spoken by the Lord Jesus to the crowd. The remaining three, dealing with the inner secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, were spoken only to the disciples. Both the parable of the mustard seed and today's parable speak about the incredible influence the gospel has in any context. The parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven both reveal the importance of small beginnings or humility. The Lord Jesus utilized these two parables together in order to describe the kingdom of God in its guaranteed ultimate greatness in the hearts of people. It was Watchman Nee who once said, "I must first have the sense of God's possession of me before I can have the sense of His presence with me."

In the Old Testament God told us in advance through the prophets that the kingdom of God would ultimately come to our sin-sick hearts. When the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth as a baby, He came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Jews didn't expect this. Instead, they expected Him to come as the Lion of Judah who will rule the world with a rod of iron. Of course, this is yet to happen. Since Israel had missed His first coming, they were not ready to yield their hearts and souls to Him. This will be the point of the Tribulation and one-third of Israel will be saved through that seven year period of chaos that is almost here. The Jews problem was they didn't expect Him to do it the way He did it. But God's ways are not man's ways. From the very beginning God had promised to not only bless Abraham and his people but also the Gentiles with an intimate and personal relationship with Himself. We will always find ourselves in error when we evaluate God on the basis of our understanding alone. 

The first two parables in this chapter describe the nature of God's kingdom. There will always this side of heaven be those who receive His kingdom and there will always be those who reject it. In the second set of parables, the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of leaven, the Lord Jesus taught about the power of God's kingdom. Whereas through the parable of the mustard seed the Lord taught that the believer and the unbeliever must be allowed to exist together until the time of the fullness of the Gentiles has come about, the parable of the leaven emphasizes how God's kingdom permeates the hearts of the broken and the willing.

In this parable the woman took leaven and hid it in three measures of meal which is the equivalent of about 30 pounds. Leaven is a single-cell organism, only visible under a microscope, that people use to bake bread. It sparks a fermentation process that causes a solid, dense ball of dough to rise into a soft loaf. Its effects begin after we mix together flour, water, and yeast. It consumes and breaks down sugars present in the dough, releasing carbon dioxide and alcohol, which produce air bubbles that cause the dough to rise, becoming airier, and thus making the dough tastier and more edible. The leaven  illustrates the power of the kingdom of God. A small amount of leaven produces a massive amount of dough. This illustration  reminds us that the kingdom of God begins small but due to its permeating nature, it changes the hearts of people from the inside out. 

So, the true Christian life is Christ living in us. The work of the enemy of our souls is always from the outside in, whereas the work of the Lord will always be from the inside out. After God plants His leaven inside our soul He always works from the inside out. And, God always blesses us with others in mind. God's life planted in us makes us increasingly alive to Him. Vance Havner once said, "The first discovery a Christian needs to make is that he cannot of himself live the Christian life. Living the Christian life is not so much our responsibility but our response to His ability." This is why the Lord throughout the Scriptures implores us to focus on Him and His abilities rather than ourselves and any change that may come about in our lives over time.

While most believe the secret to the Christian life is self-perfection, it is not. No, the secret to the Christian life is the freedom of the presence of God in our lives to do what He pleases. Whereas our old life ended at the cross of the Lord Jesus, our new life began at His resurrection. Since we cannot can earn God's favor unto salvation, we cannot achieve spiritual growth through our own efforts to become "better" people. Self-reliance often leads to pride and a diminished reliance upon God. The essence of the Christian life is about receiving and responding to God's grace, His unmerited favor and His transformative power. Christian discipleship calls for denying oneself and following Christ, rather than focusing on self-improvement. It is only by His grace that we are enabled to growth in faith in His ability to produce His character in, to and through us. Our hope is realized by us through Christ in us who is our ultimate hope. 

Matthew 13:31-32

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31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the 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 nest in its branches." ~ Matthew 13:31-32

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus is utilizing seven parables in His teaching. In fact, He is on His third parable, the parable of the mustard seed. By using parables, the Lord Jesus was able to share truths that immediately connected with His listeners which they largely understood. As a result, they became more engaged so that in their minds they experienced the story for themselves. When the Lord Jesus taught in parables, He engaged the people’s imaginations, allowing them to arrive at the most important truths in life.

Through His teaching the Lord Jesus was describing His kingdom. The term "Kingdom of heaven" occurs some sixty times in the synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. The King, of course, is God Our Father who is in heaven. Broadly speaking, the Kingdom of heaven is the application of God's definitions for all things in our lives. It is the culture of God come upon the hearts and the lives of all who willingly submit to His authority. Submitting to the kingdom of heaven is seeking to be defined by God. It is taking to heart what God has said on a given subject. 

The Lord Jesus described His kingdom through the smallest known seed at that time. His kingdom always starts out small and ends up big. As His kingdom germinates in our hearts, we are defined more and more by Him. To recognize the nature of His kingdom requires faith on our part. Augustine once said, "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." The more we place our trust in Him we learn of His undying faithfulness to us. As a result, we learn to take risks on Him and His ways more and more.

Through His teaching of the parable of the mustard seed, the Lord Jesus provided another agrarian story that His hearers quickly understood. The mustard seed represents the ability of our faith to grow. Such faith is built upon trusting God whom we can't see with our eyes but whom we are learning to see with our hearts. Thomas Aquinas once said, "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." Our faith in the God of the Bible has the ability to grow only as it is exercised. Like the muscles in our bodies, the more we exercise them, the stronger they will become. So, when we find ourselves being broken down of our will in the middle of a trial, we must continue to pursue God with our hearts and our minds. When we avail ourselves to a deepening personal relationship with Him, the result will be that we will become stronger in our trust of Him. 

There is a species of mustard called the Khardal mustard, which is a bush, and it grows up to fifteen feet tall. Before it is buried in the ground to die it is pretty insignificant. But, once it grows up into a bush it is strong enough to support birds that nest in its branches. The mustard seed is small and unimpressive, yet as it grows it can produce a great benefit for others. With the Lord Jesus it is always about others. Required for us to get to this place is that we must embrace our smallness and His bigness. The problem is God's definition of bigness is different than ours. Through the teaching of this parable we learn His kingdom begins small, but expands with time and trust. In its beginning it is always insignificant and humble. But, we mustn't dismiss the small things in this life. God gives grace to the humble and this is how His kingdom works. As long as King David was small in his own eyes he experienced the grace of God in Goliath proportions.

If we are willing to let Him, God will include us in the building of His kingdom in this world today. When we trust in Him, concluding He is with us, He will actively guide our steps. We will learn in time to let go of the anxious worry which so often distracts and defines us. We can be fully where we are, living out of our relationship with the Lord and others. This is the normal result of the application of the gospel of the Lord Jesus to the human heart. If we let it, the gospel will take away our pride and emphasis upon self and lead us in the way of selflessness. As we learn to be defined by Him and walk in His ways, others will be drawn to Him through our yielded lives.

The  Lord Jesus gave explanation for the first two parables so that we could pursue our understanding of the remaining five. By explaining the first two, the Lord Jesus gave us a start which is always fueled by our pursuit of Him. It is clear from the first two parables in this chapter that every element in this parable has significance. Again, the mustard seed grows up to be a rather insignificant and unimpressive bush. In fact, its process of development illustrates the absurdity of our growing faith in the God of the Bible. In our fallen state, faith in the God of the Bible is not normal. But, it is possible for us to have faith in Him as it grows through increased use. Enduring the pain of trials renders for us a heart that sees God more vividly. Martin Luther once said, "Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times." It is only as we go through the trials of this life which drive us to the Lord Jesus that we develop the muscle memory of heart that enables us to trust Him even through the most severe trials. And, when we avoid the trials, we essentially avoid Him. The trials grant us the heart to pursue and embrace Him.

Matthew 13:24-30

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24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' 29 But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ~ Matthew 13:24-30

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus utilized parables in His teaching to get the people to think more deeply about what is really really and worth their investment. Earlier, the Lord Jesus taught them, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." His will is always better than ours, we just lack the ability to see transcendently. In today's chapter the Lord Jesus taught the people by using seven parables which were used to reveal to truth to those honest with the truth and to conceal the truth from those who were not honest with the truth.

The reason the Lord Jesus shared this parable was to prepare His listeners for the inevitable conflict that comes from having believers and non-believers among one another. He prepared us for such disruptions so that we would not be apprehensive due to the fact that the story is not yet over for even the unbeliever. This was part of the reason the Lord Jesus instructed His servants not to pull the tares from among the wheat because people have been known to come to faith in Him late in life.

In v.24-28 of today's passage we read, "24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'"

This parable of the wheat and the tares is another parable about sowing but the sowing is different from that in the parable of the sower. There, the seed was the Word of God. In this parable the seed is not the Word of God; it is the people of God. The wheat are those who put their trust in the God of the Bible who has put us all in the place where He wants us. Wherever we find ourselves, as children of God, we have been put there by the Lord Jesus. It is so important to understand that He has sown us and put us where we are. And the field, well, it is the world where we have influence.

Into that same field there came an enemy. He came while people were unaware of what was happening. The enemy sowed a crop of his own which was a poisonous weed which looks very much like wheat. In fact, when it first begins to grow even an expert cannot distinguish it from wheat. But as it grows it begins to change, and by the harvest time, it becomes obvious to all that is not wheat. The tares or poisoned weeds are people who are deceived by the evil one. When the servants of the owner of the field asked if they should pull up the tares, the response of the Lord was surprising.

In v.29-30 of today's passage we read, "29 But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."

The Lord Jesus instructed His servants to leave the tares among the wheat. The wheat, of course, are those who had placed their faith in the Lord Jesus as their Savior. The tares are those who appear to be true but are not believers in the Lord Jesus. There are those who are looking for the perfect church. Well, I am so sorry to inform you but there is no such thing. I am always leery of any group who claim to have a corner on God's truth. They say they have the truth and no one else does. But there will always be evil even in the hearts of believers. This does not mean that we are not to expose the false and meet it positively with the truth. Nor should we allow those who teach falsely to become predominant within the church. Our efforts to identify the "false" among us always results in an atmosphere of constant scrutiny, and will create a culture of judgment. Often, we will misjudge a true believer to be a false believer, and destroy the faith of the true believer thinking they were false.

In Revelation 14:14-16 we read, "14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, 'Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped."

At this time in the narrative the seven seals in the book of the Revelation have been opened along with the blowing of the seven trumpets. The abomination of desolations by the antichrist in the temple of Jerusalem has taken place. The persecution of Israel has escalated to highest level. The execution and martyrdom of Christians all over the world will be happening. The earth and the sky will have been devastated by divine judgment. Satan will be ruling the earth with the iron fist of the antichrist, aided by the false prophet. The remaining world will have been deceived into worshiping the antichrist as if he were God. The time for the final harvest will be at hand. 

The One who will sit on the cloud will cast forth His sickle as a means of conveying to His angels that the time of the harvest has come. The reaping of the harvest will signify preparation for the kingdom age or the millennium. The good grain will be reaped and gathered in. At the same time, those who will be tares will be separated and burned up. This will be the harvest of grain, both the wheat and the tares. The believers and the unbelievers will be separated at that time.

All of this underscores a dire warning to confirm whether we are wheat or tares. The worst experience is to think that we are real but we are not. The worst message that anyone will hear on that day will come from the Lord Jesus who will say, "Depart from me for I never knew you." The wheat are those who are honest about their condition as sinners. They are honest about the truth and honest about their need for the Savior. The wheat are those thirsty for the Gospel which is God's declaration that man has been undone by sin and he needs the salvation only the Lord Jesus can deliver. The gospel declares the broken are made right before the God of the Bible by receiving the free gift of forgiveness through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 13:18-23

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18 Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ~ Matthew 13:18-23

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus is found teaching the people in parables. He spoke in parables in order to reveal further truth to those who were honest with the truth and to conceal it from those who were not. In today's passage the Lord Jesus explained the meaning behind the parable of the sower after the disciples came to Him with questions about it. The sower is anybody who sows. The seed is the Word of God or God's definition of all things.

In v.18-19 of today's passage we read, "18 Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside."

The word "hear" is emphasized in today's passage. It is the most important thing we can do to advance ourselves in relationship and fellowship with God. You will have noticed that the word "receive" is also accentuated in today's passage. If we just hear and do not welcome the teaching into our souls, what have we accomplished? In fact, this idea is reinforced by the word the Lord Jesus used here translated "word." His rhema or His spoken word is what creates faith in our hearts according to Romans 10:17 which reads, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 

The Lord Jesus accentuated "anyone hears the word of the kingdom." You will remember that back in Matthew 6 He taught us the Disciple's Prayer which began with "Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done." The kingdom of God points us to the One in charge. The kingdom of God is the area in which God is King. Our problem is that we skip the first part and immediately go to the second part, "Thy Will be done." When we begin with worship of God, we gain His perspective. I've discovered when I approach God with the right perspective, I realize He sees what I don't see. He knows what I don't know. I find that when I pray with that perspective, I am granted more faith and a broader perspective. As a result, I tend to pray with more faith which is the heart's ability to see God. His kingdom must come first before we see the wisdom of His will for us.

The word "heart" is the key to interpreting the whole parable here. This parable is about the heart condition. It's not about the skill of the sower and it's not even about the seed. The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Learning to get vulnerable with God is hard because we are born with a skeptical heart, especially toward God. It is out of a broken heart that we find our pursuit of God. Once we have come to know the Lord through confessing to Him that our way does not get us to where we truly want to go and His way does, it is then that we begin giving our heart to Him. Giving our heart to Him is a slow process that speeds up with experiencing His faithfulness for ourselves. And, when we do this and we let God love us, we mustn't be surprised that our heart begins to hear music it hasn't heard before and our feet starts dancing as never before.

In v.20-21 of today's passage we read, "20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles."

Those whose hearts are described by the stony ground are those who never get beyond their questions to the place of being vulnerable with God. It's a matter of trust. Most often we judge God by our natural fallen human motives. The fallen approach to this life fails to judge God accurately because unforgiven and fallen man does not know God's forgiveness. This obstructs our view of Him. Without a personal relationship with the God of the Bible, we view Him in accordance with the view that Satan has of Him. Once we come into a personal relationship with God and we allow Him the opportunity to reveal Himself to us, it is then that we gain an increasing understanding of Him and the more we learn about Him the more amazed we will be at who He is.

In v.22-23 of today's passage we read, "22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

The word "received" here is of utmost importance. To receive is to hear and to take into one's being. Due to this, the seed remains long enough to sprout and grow and to bring forth the fruit of God which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. The person who gets it is the person who will increasingly be defined by the Lord. All of the things of this world that he once depended upon to define him will lessen in value over time.

There are five passages in the New Testament that we see this 30 fold, 60 fold, and 100 fold return. The context in each of them is people’s response to the Word of God sown in their lives. The seed here is always God’s Word. We are told that the seed keeps producing because it is in good soil. The good soil describes the heart that is responding to God's grace. Most crops in Israel average about a tenfold yield. So, a thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold crop is extraordinary. When the Lord Jesus explained this, He saw that the word “understanding” is decisive, it implies receptivity, response, transformation. This person not only hears the gospel, but understands it and he values it deeply. The good soil is the heart that receives the seed of the gospel, cultivates it in the heart, which in turn produces fruit in his life. For some the fruit is more than others. Parallel to more fruit in our lives is our recognition of God's faithfulness. We would not have faith without God's faithfulness. Sometimes in order to see God's faithfulness we must go through difficulty. And, if we run from the difficulties, we will find ourselves running from God.

Matthew 13:16-17

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16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. ~ Matthew 13:16-17

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus taught the people using parables. A parable is a common understood story that eventually renders a spiritual truth. Since we were born sinful, we had to be rescued from the clutches of sin in order to have a relationship with God. Our sin separated us from God. This is why the Lord Jesus came to pay the penalty for sin. He did this in order to free us from the clasp of the devil. Once we are "born again" we are positioned to enter into a personal relationship with God. As time goes on, we discover we are getting to know the Lord for ourselves and to understand His teaching. This scenario always begins with a heart that is receptive to the voice of God. The Lord Jesus taught in parables in order to enable those who sincerely seek the truth to discover it and even more truth. He also taught in parables in order to hide the truth from the insincere.  

In the parable of the sower that preceded today's passage, the Lord Jesus used the illustration of the farmer to describe why He came to this earth. In this parable the farmer spread His seed or the secret to the kingdom of God. First, His seed encountered shallow soil. Due to the shallowness of heart, these people are those who never enter into a personal relationship with God because the truth never penetrated their hearts. To them, the truth was never really a priority.

The second type of soil, the rocky soil, describes those who showed interest in the truth and even expressed joy over its discovery, but, only for a short time. Initially this person got excited about the Gospel, but his excitement waned. His problem was he got excited about the truth but it was not important to him. So, he missed the reality of the Gospel and he never entered into a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The third type of soil describes the person who showed some receptivity to the truth but it really never penetrated his heart because the deceitfulness of riches choked the truth out of his life. For this person the seed was smothered out by the weeds which prevented it from maturing. The root system of the weeds represented the hard times that came to aid the development of his potential faith. Since He did not prioritize the truth of God or the God of truth in his life, he did not benefit from it. He was turned away by the fertilizer of trials.

The fourth type of soil describes those who have good and productive soil. This is the person who hears the word, receives it, and the word bears fruit in and through his life. These reveal that to the degree that they invest in God's culture will be the degree that will they will reap of God's fruit in and through their lives. The key to it all is the willingness of the heart to yield to God and His truth. And then, it is up to God to produce the results which He has promised He will do only if we allow Him.

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear."

The blessing of God is attracted to the heart that desires Him. Seeing and hearing are always involved in the revelation of God to our hearts, but it is always more than seeing with our physical eyes and hearing with our physical ears. Our hearts must be involved. Giving our heart to God is not a one-time occurrence, it is an ongoing process. As we do this, slowly our souls come more into line with the will of God for our lives. Prayer and the study of God's Word are essential to this process which enables us to embrace change when it comes. Remembering the faithfulness of God is key in this scenario. When we look back and focus on the track record of God in our lives, we will be reminded of those times when God was true to His promises to us. This is the fertilizer needed to move forward into deeper intimacy with God.

The message of the Bible is that our faith is not of us, it is the gift of God. Without the faithfulness of God, there is no faith. The message of the Bible is that we were made alive to God not of our will, but of the will of God. The message of the Bible is that God is the only One who has revealed in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the truth. For those who respond to the truth, we must never forget that it was due to the graciousness of God that we came to understand our need for the Savior. Through the blessing of divine revelation we come to see the utter emptiness of the self life. 

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "For assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

All of the Bible points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. The prophets wrote about Him and His coming. They longed to see it come to fruition. Of course, hundreds of years, even thousands, transpired before He came to this earth. The morning the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, two very sad and discouraged disciples were slowly walking along the road to their hometown of Emmaus.  As they walked, the two were going over and over the events of the last several days. They had believed the Lord Jesus to be the Messiah. They had placed all their hopes on Him. Then, in a gut-wrenching turn of events, He was suddenly arrested, tried like a common criminal, and crucified on the cross. All of this, even though He was completely innocent of the slightest sin! He had to be innocent to fulfill His calling to redeem wretched mankind. At some point along their journey, a man in traveling clothes, whom they thought to be a stranger joined them and walked along side of them. They soon discovered it was the Lord Jesus. Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He revealed to them how the whole of the Old Testament Scriptures points us to Him.

Sadly, the only thing that can prevent us from receiving divine revelation is the stubbornness of the fallen human heart. But, for those hungry and thirsty enough to be blessed to be given revelation from God, these recognize the futility of all other explanations for this life. Back to our brothers on the road to Emmaus. It was then that the Lord Jesus opened their thinking that they might understand the Scriptures. No-one would understand the Scripture were it not for the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit in the process. He opens the ears of the deaf and He opens the eyes of the blind, those humbled enough to cry out to Him for help. The darkest hour is always just before the dawn, so we should always be people of hope and prayer, not gloom and defeatism. The Holy Spirit has a great track record of turning situations on a dime only if we let Him.

Matthew 13:10-15

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10 The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" 11 He replied, "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'" ~ Matthew 13:10-15

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus is teaching the people by the Sea of Galilee. That day He utilized seven parables in His teaching. In them He drew His hearers attention to biblical faith which says to God, "I give up! I can never make myself right before You, so I trust You and depend on You completely to do what I cannot do myself." This kind of faith is altogether incompatible with the idea that our good works can somehow give us a right standing before the perfectly holy God. Such faith will, though, yield a certain measure of obedience in those who give it safe haven in their soul.

In v.10 of today's passage we read, "The disciples came to him and asked, 'Why do you speak to the people in parables?'"

After the crowds had gone home the disciples came to the Lord with questions about His parables. One of the greatest signs that we have been "born again" is that we seek the truth. But, most often, we want the truth when it serves our purposes only. The true sign that we have entered into God's family is when we are confronted by the truth, and, we conclude: the truth must win. This will never mean that we will be perfect this side of heaven, but it does mean that we will be the servants of truth, not the other way around. 

In v.11 of today's passage we read, "11 He replied, "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand."

It is the cross of Christ that justifies us before God. His perfect sacrifice brings us into relationship with God. The believer who is growing in his fellowship with God will increasingly know the secrets of God. The Greek word translated "secrets" in v.11 is the word from which we get our English word "mystery." The combination of the words questions and mystery provide for us the makings of the stage where a grand pursuit ensues. This is what our fellowship with the Lord is all about. When we entered into our personal relationship with Hm, we entered the pursuit. And, the more of Him that we get to know, the more of Him we will want. The development and the deepening of any relationship is largely based on this kind of a pursuit. To the degree that we invest our being in the pursuit of anyone will determine how deep that relationship grows.

Our longings determine our search. The problem is the longing is most often created by thirst, and, we want our thirsts quenched quickly. But, it does not work that way. The more arduous the pathway to God will determine the glory discovered at the end of the search. But, we do not want to put in the hard work. This is why the Lord Jesus taught in parables, to aid those who are engaged with the truth and to hinder those who are not. Those who follow the Lord Jesus are known to be obedient to the truth, and, when this happens, we are being defined by God. To those who are being defined by His truth are given the secrets of the kingdom of God.

In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'"

Based upon certain Old Testament passages like Isaiah 6:9-10, which the Lord Jesus quoted here, it was no surprise that Israel rejected the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. Interestingly, Isaiah wrote those words at a time of profound judgment on Israel. God had just pronounced a series of curses on them. He cursed them for all of their drunkenness and immorality. He also cursed them for their bribery and their oppression of the poor. He cursed them for their hypocritical religion. And then, at the height of all of that, King Uzziah died, and the country plunged into some of its darkest days. 

This was odd at the time because they were poised for kingdom dominance. Then, all of a sudden the judgment of God came in the form of the Babylonian captivity. It wasn’t long after that, Jeremiah echoed the message of Isaiah, and the enemy came and swept away the people into Babylonian captivity. That was the first fulfillment of Isaiah’s words. And the Lord Jesus reminded the people this was the second. In the final analysis we discover parables are a judgment on unbelief. The fact that the natural man does not understand the things of God is not only a statement about man's ignorance, it is a statement about God’s judgment on rebellious and stubborn man. 

When He came to this earth as a Jew, the Lord Jesus gave the people of Israel all they needed to conclude He was their long awaited Messiah. They just simply refused to believe in Him as their Savior. The fact that you and I have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior reveals we understand this is not a statement about our intellect, it is a statement about God’s grace. It was His intervention in our hearts and minds that made us to see our need for the Lord Jesus and to believe on Him as our Savior.

Matthew 13:1-9

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1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear." ~ Matthew 13:1-9

Today, we transition into Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus is teaching the many who gathered on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This day began back in Matthew 12:15 where the Lord Jesus taught in the synagogue. He began by quoting a most unusual prophecy that the message of God would go out to the Gentiles. Today's chapter consists of seven parables which the Lord Jesus told all in one day. In them He places emphasis on biblical faith. It has always been faith in the God of the Bible that has made man right with God and when our faith is met with His Word, things of eternity take place.

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore."

It was the practice of the Lord Jesus to teach with the Lake as His backdrop. And, this time, He used a boat as His pulpit. As always, He taught the people concepts that are humanly difficult to understand. The words "gathered around Him" are key in it all. We do not gather around one another, we don't gather around the buildings we meet in. No, "we gather around Him." Coming to Him is the overarching theme of the Bible. He Himself said it in John 17, "This is eternal life that they may know you." We do not know those with whom we pursue not a relationship and God is no different.

In v.3 of today's passage we read, "Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed."

We love a good story because stories are known to aid us in our understanding. This life is truly about our pursuit of God and the stories we tell that come out of those pursuits. The Lord Jesus conveyed truth through telling stories. The Greek word translated parable, is a word that means "cast alongside of" and it is used 48 times in the New Testament. The Lord Jesus employed parables in one-third of His teaching. A parable is a story cast alongside something else in order to illustrate the truth for those with a willing heart to understand. The Lord Jesus utilized parables in order to convey to us something that was unknown to us before. The Lord Jesus taught the crowd this parable about the farmer who sowed seed in three types of ground which all failed to produce a result. We fail until we abide in the truth which God has given us.

In v.4-7 of today's passage we read, "4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants."

The first three responses to the seed were not adequate because the soil did not receive the seed so that it could germinate and grow roots. The unwilling heart represented by these three soils was too shallow in its understanding of reality. Receptivity to the words of the Lord Jesus increases our capacity to understand His parables and our ability to listen intently. Listening is such an art and the plumb line is His written word. When we are good at listening to Him, we will gain what we need to understand in a given moment. I believe this explains why so many reject God's word and His ways. 

Listening is hard work, yet, the more we do it, the easier it seems to become. When God speaks to us, He will always be consistent with His Word, the Bible. Of course, there are many situations in our lives that He doesn't speak to us in His word specifically, so we must be in His word in order to hear His voice. He will never contradict His Word when He speaks to us. When we were born again, we were given new ears. Now, our ears are tuned to the frequency of the voice of the Lord Jesus who said in John 10, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."

In v.8 of today's passage we read, "Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

There are two main ways to get to know anyone. One way is to hear about them from someone else. Another is to hear from them for ourselves. The advantage we have in developing our relationship with God which is fellowship is that He tells us about Himself in the Scriptures. We call this His self-revelation. Essential in knowing God is to come to Him through His written and His Living Word. Of course, the Living Word is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In Hebrews 11:6 we learn that the Lord Jesus rewards us with revelation about Himself when we seek Him. And, the seed in today's parable represents the Word of God. According to Romans 10:17, it is His word that creates faith in us. But not all who hear the word, as in this story, believe. The difference is that of the willingness of the heart. Faith operates in the arena of our soul which is made up of our mind, our will, and our emotions. Faith is an act of our will. This explains the different responses given in this parable. 

In v.9 of today's passage we read, "Whoever has ears, let them hear."

Listening is believing. God will always appeal to the deepest longings of our heart because He made us to be in a personal relationship with Him. The Lord Jesus said in John 17:3, "Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." 

When the human heart is left to itself, it will always be barren and empty. If we do not bring our heart before the Lord, "breaking up the fallow ground," as the prophet Hosea said, it will remain as it was when we were born into this world, barren and empty. The prophet Jeremiah said, "The heart is deceitful above all else, and desperately wicked." Solomon said, "Keep your heart with all diligence, out of it proceed the issues of life."

The receptivity of the human heart to the truth of God is evidenced by obedience. When we hear spiritual truth, and we give it safe haven in our heart and soul, more truth will be given to us. This is why some people get bored with Bible study, because they never allow the truth to sink deep enough into their soul. It is not given the chance to penetrate the heart and the soul.

The phrase, "Whoever has ears, let them hear," appears eight times in the New Testament. When the Lord Jesus addresses those who have ears, He refers to all who have been given His Word, no matter our age, ethnicity, language, or status. But there is a difference between having ears and having "ears to hear." It means we are allowing the Word of God to penetrate our heart and soul, leading to a confrontation of our natural way of thinking and then allowing God's way of thinking to define us. When God's way of thinking defines us, we will bear His fruit. It is up to us, the hearers, to decide whether to receive His life altering words or not. When we throw the welcome mat out before our heart for His word, He promises, eternal life will happen.

Matthew 12:46-50

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46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” 48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” ~ Matthew 12:46-50

Today, we conclude our study of Matthew 12 where the culture of the Lord Jesus and the culture of the religious leaders of Israel could not have been made clearer. Matthew wrote his gospel account in order to give us a clear picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as the King of Israel. The supernatural world knew His identity, but most of the people of Israel didn't, including His disciples. The theme of relationship verses religion is continued in today's passage. This is why the family of the Lord Jesus was given front and center attention in this narrative. If we do not have a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus, we are not in His family.

In v.46-47 of today's passage we read, "46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, 'Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.'"

Matthew informs us at this point in the narrative that the family of the Lord Jesus had arrived to speak with Him. Even though His mother believed in Him as the Messiah, His half brothers and sisters didn't. This explains why they had a hard time understanding Him and His ministry. In fact, they had earlier suggested that He go to Jerusalem to do His ministry because, as they believed, He would have a larger audience. It has never been about numbers with the Lord Jesus. But, this is the type of thing our unregenerate default mode does to us: it clouds our ability to recognize God, His work in our lives and in this world. 

In v.48-50 of today's passage we read, "48 He replied to him, 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'"

Once word was delivered to the Lord Jesus that His family was outside, everybody expected Him immediately to go out and see them. But He didn't. Instead, He looked around at those seated around Him and He acknowledged them as His family. The Lord Jesus Christ made it clear that His family is made up of those who believe in and are being defined by the God of the Bible. The point He made that day in a profound way was spiritual relationships supersede family relationships. This underscores the fact that the Word of God must have the final authority in our lives. It must be the deciding factor in the making of our decisions. Biblically speaking, there must always be a priority in our lives of spiritual relationships over any other relationships. Not that we should disregard our family, we should honor all. When our will is not aligned with the will of God for our lives, we must obey God.

The Lord Jesus was not denying the reality that Mary and his siblings were His family. He was not saying that He didn’t love them. He loved them as evidenced by His redemption of them on the cross. It was not until after the cross and the resurrection that the siblings of the Lord Jesus really believed He was the promised Messiah. In fact, James, one of His half brothers, wrote the epistle of James and became a leader in the church in Jerusalem. To be related to the Lord Jesus is not a physical thing, it’s a spiritual thing. 

The evidence of His identity had been piling up, and the people were slow to make the obvious conclusion and to make the subsequent confession that the Lord Jesus is God. This went on until after the resurrection. In fact, when the Lord Jesus came back to Galilee after His resurrection He appeared to more than 500 believers at one time in Galilee. And when the Holy Spirit came in the upper room in Jerusalem, about month later, there were only 120 gathered there. The resurrected Christ was seen by more than 500 after His resurrection and only 120 were there in that upper room in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit came.

While on this earth, the Lord Jesus provided a lot of evidence for us to conclude His identity correctly. But, seeing is not always believing. The real world is an unseen world, a world that we can only access by the means of our faith, the Word of God, prayer and the Holy Spirit. It is a must that we are defined by the thoughts and culture of God as found in His Word. A key part of the process of learning to view all things through the lens of the eternal is growing in our faith in the God of the Bible. In order for our faith to grow in Him, we must entertain the questions that are created by our doubts. One of the twelve disciples, Thomas, was skeptical about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and he wanted proof in order to believe. 

In John 20:27 we read, "Then Jesus said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas replied, 'My Lord and my God!'"

Then in John 20:29 we read, "Jesus said to him, 'Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'" 

Our faith demands that we believe without seeing. When we are to be sure of what we cannot see, there is little room for asking for proof!  But, God reveals Himself to us best as we go through the hardest of moments wherein we learn the correct questions to ask of Him. The key is that we run to Him with our questions. Learning to trust Him, even when we cannot see the outcome of the situation, is what enables us to see Him best, with our hearts. This, in large part, is a must for the development of knowing Him and making Him known.

Matthew 12:43-45

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43 When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, "I will return to the house I left. When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." ~ Matthew 12:43-45

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 12 where on the heels of delivering a man from demon-possession, the Lord Jesus taught the religious people that morality was not enough to be right before God. Religion is self-defined morality, not Savior-defined morality. Certainly morality is better than immorality, but morality is more dangerous than immorality, especially if one has not been born again. The moral are harder to get to the point where they see their need for a savior. Our morality often prevents us from embracing the brokenness that is needed for us to come to faith in the Lord Jesus. 

It is quite dangerous to embrace moral reformation without regeneration. The moral successfully clean up their lives on the outside, but neglect their heart, and as we have seen, the real issue is the condition of our heart. In Proverbs 4:23 we read, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Throughout the Bible we learn the condition of our hearts matters most to God because our hearts are the very foundation of our relationship with Him. And, the only way the heart is changed is when we have given it to Him. A broken heart precedes a transformed heart. And, if our heart is not broken, arrogance has a way of getting in the way. This is why the Lord gave us the Law of Moses which reveals our sin. The law requires complete obedience, but when we do not comply, hidden rebellion is brought out into the open. The rebellion of the human heart is identified when it meets up with the law. This must be dealt with and it is why the Lord Jesus told us that we must be born again.

In v.43-44 of today's passage we read, "43 When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, "I will return to the house I left. When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order."

The Lord Jesus had just cast a demon out of a man and here He taught the people metaphorically. Through His words He reminded them that after the demon left the man and the man did not invite God to come to dwell within him, he had remained neutral regarding the Lord. This is what happens when we depend upon our goodness and morality to be made right with God. The religious leaders had cleaned up their lives but they remained prey to the enemy because they had not been delivered from him by being born again. 

According to v.44, the demon returned to the house from which he came and he found it unoccupied, cleaned out and put in order.  And therein, my friend, lies the problem with depending upon our morality to make us acceptable before God. The problem in the moral person's heart is it is unoccupied. The Spirit of God is not there to make his heart toward God alive. Morality without the Lord Jesus makes us double sons of hell. It is better to be immoral than moral without Christ. It is better to be irreligious than religious without Christ, because morality and religion are a seduction. Morality and religion give the deception that all is well with God when it is not. When a person comes to believe in his own righteousness, he is not redeemable because he sees not his need for the Savior.

Throughout the Bible it was never the immoral people who blasphemed the Lord Jesus. It was always the moral ones. It was never the harlots, prostitutes, or tax collectors. It was the religious people. It was the self-righteous people. When we are religious, moral people we are confident in our own righteousness. We are utterly deceived into believing that we have been delivered from the powers of Satan because we live moral lives.  

So, when the demon came back to find the whole place cleaned up, it was also empty. And if the living God is not present in a heart, therein we have a disaster. There really is no more serious danger than the danger of morality that blinds us to our need for the Savior. An attempt to clean up our lives without Christ is to be exposed to an even greater danger. There is no benefit in reformation without regeneration, and this is exactly what happened in this story. 

When the demon left the man, he looked for an arid place, a place where there is no water. And throughout the Scriptures water is compared to the Word of God. We often read of the water of the Word. It is the word of God that reveals our self-righteousness for what it is. It is the Word of God that defines things according to God's righteousness. This is why the demon searched for a waterless place. The demon wanted rest but he sought it apart from God. We are the same and we can only find rest in a personal relationship with God. Apart from God's Word and His will we will never find rest. We only discover this rest in coming to the Savior who is the only Righteous One. He is the only One who can provide for us real life.

In v.45 of today's passage we read, "Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."

This teaching of the Lord Jesus was a reference to the ministry of John the Baptist, where in a sense, the cleaning up of the life and the demons go out when that moral reformation takes place, because a vile, wretched, evil, unclean spirit might not be at home in a person trying to live a moral life. And so, the demon leaves initially. But if Christ isn’t invited in, that place stays empty. It is always an invitation for the demon to return. Then eight demons come back, and it will be worse. The empty house, then, speaks of the spiritual vacuum that is created when people get moral but don’t invite the Lord Jesus Christ to be their Savior. The reason morality is more dangerous than immorality is because the sinful person who is aware of his sinfulness has more vigilance than the moral person who has no such awareness. When a person becomes self-righteous and moral, he feels himself beyond the activity of Satan so that Satan can come in en masse, without that individual ever being prepared to deal with Him.

Matthew 12:38-42

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38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." 39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here." ~ Matthew 12:38-42

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 12 where the Lord Jesus has been compelling the religious leaders of Israel to believe He was the promised Messiah. In only months, the Lord Jesus will be crucified in Jerusalem on the cross by the very ones before Him at this moment. From this point onward the ministry of the Lord Jesus was spent convicting these religious people of their need for a savior. The Lord Jesus will speak of grace to the outcasts, to the tax collectors, to the prostitutes and to the criminals. Increasingly, He will concentrate on teaching His disciples, teaching them about His death and His resurrection and their ministry that would follow. 

In v.38 of today's passage we read, "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.'"

Along with the common folk, the religious leaders of Israel had seen many signs most of which they dismissed. In fact, they accused the Lord Jesus of performing them by the power of Satan. Their request for yet another miracle revealed their hypocrisy because the Lord Jesus had been doing signs and miracles for years. One more sign was not going to convince these who were increasingly being defined by themselves instead of God. They had been deceived by the god of this world, Satan, yet they were guilty of self-deception. The worst deception is self-deception because when we deceive ourselves, we are doing both the deceiving and we are being deceived. This makes it difficult to identify the deception, as we are essentially creating our own version of reality. Since we are deceiving ourselves, there is no external party to hold us accountable for the falsehoods we have created.

In v.39-41 of today's passage we read, "39 But He answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.'" 

In response to the religious leaders request for yet another sign, the Lord Jesus identified them as evil or wicked which was a word the Lord Jesus used at another time to describe Satan. The Lord Jesus spoke to the morally religious Jews, the ones most concerned with their adherence to the law of Moses and they could not hear Him. They were so religious that the whole of their lives were under the control of their religious duties and obligations and rituals. On the outside they were squeaky clean, but on the inside they were wicked in the most dangerous way. Their morality had blinded them from the truth.

When it comes to responding to the gospel we are better off being immoral rather than moral, irreligious rather than religious. Moral and religious people feel they are good enough and they see no need for a savior. The essence of the gospel is that we are damned by our sin and that we cannot be good enough to merit God's favor. These religious Jews hated the Lord Jesus for exposing their true condition. They did not understand that morality is not the same as spirituality. They believed they were good enough and they didn't understand that they desperately needed a savior.

The Lord Jesus identified these morally religious people as "an evil and adulterous generation" because they were separated from God by their sin. As the Old Testament sacrificial system reminded them daily, they needed a savior. Ironically, the evidence of their evil nature was proven by the fact that they were seeking yet another sign. With all of the evidence the Lord Jesus had given them, they didn't believe He was God. This is where many end up while seeking what is being offered rather than seeking the one offering. This is true of any relationship. Their love was not love, and any relationship build on this kind of a "love" will not endure the crevices of selfishness and greed.  

This is the most dangerous approach to life, to depend upon our morality to make us right with God. This is what caused the Jews to reject the diagnosis of their wretchedness. It is from the posture of need that our needs are truly met. These religious leaders were condemned in the presence of the only One who was the only one who could have saved them. They died in their sin because they were blinded by their self-righteousness.

Graciously, the Lord Jesus then drew their attention to two signs they had been given before but they didn't "get." In the same way Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, so the Lord Jesus would be buried in the earth for three days. Just as Jonah came out of His virtual death alive, the Lord Jesus would come out of His actual death alive. This was the sign of Jonah. It was given to point us all to the Lord Jesus death, burial and resurrection. The unbelieving Ninevites believed in God as a result of Jonah's miracle. They got the message of judgment. They knew God was going to destroy them if they didn't turn from their sin. Mercifully, they saw their need for a Savior and they turned to God.

In v.42 we read, "The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here." 

The Lord Jesus then reminded them of another miracle they did not get. The Queen of the South, a Gentile, traveled many miles to garner Solomon's wisdom which was steeped in His submission to the God of all creation. Such people will stand up at the judgment and condemn the unbelieving Jews because they didn't believe in God's promise through Solomon. Again, their moral religion had blinded them from the truth. They were worse off than the evil Ninevites and the Gentile woman from the end of the earth who had very little spiritual privilege. 

These religious Jews were too comfortable in their houses of glass serving themselves. They needed the gift of brokenness but they returned the gift to the Sender. Brokenness is unwanted because pain is required. For them it was too hard to peer long enough into the eyes of pain to see its purpose. But, for those who do, it yields a wisdom that pushes us to the Savior. And, it is then that we see Him for the loving God that He is. And, when we see His heart, we will recognize that He is the truth who is trustworthy to depend upon and worthy to follow.

Matthew 12:33-37

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33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. ~ Matthew 12:33-37

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 12 where we have learned that the unforgivable sin is resisting to respond properly to the wooing of the Holy Spirit to believe in the Lord Jesus as our Savior. The moment we believe in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, it is then that the Holy Spirit quickens and awakens our spirit to God. In John 3, the Lord Jesus referred to this moment as being "born again." When sin entered this world through the rebellion of Adam and Eve, mankind's spirit was made dead to God and alive to the devil. The moment Adam and Eve ignored God’s law, "Their eyes were opened and they realized they were naked." For the first time, mankind tasted rebellion and was awakened to the difference between good and evil. To that point in time, they had experienced no evil, no shame, and no guilt. But, with one forbidden bite, their spirits became dead to God and their souls and bodies began to die. 

In v.33 of today's passage we read, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit."

The moment sin entered the human existence, mankind died to God spiritually. That means man's spirit was no longer able to communicate with God properly. In fact, when man sinned in the Garden of Eden, his proclivity to relate to God was taken from him. The degeneration of man was caused by the serpent who was present in the Garden with Adam and Eve. According to Revelation 12, we find that the serpent, also known as the devil is none other than the dragon who was cast out of heaven. He was cast out of heaven because pride was found in him and he defined his life for himself. The rejection of God and His definition of all things is what the Bible calls sin which is what made everyone born since Adam and Eve sinful and therefore dead to God.

Humanly speaking there is no one good. It is not until we believe in the Lord Jesus that we are born again and therefore made good. We become good because God's presence is found to be in us and if we are being defined by Him as evidenced in our obedience to Him, we will be known as good. But, even though we may be born again, if we are defined by sin we will be known as bad. We sin because we are sinners. We are not sinners because we sin. Sin is not something we become, rather it is a state of being that we are born into. This is why we must be born again.

In v.34-35 of today's passage we read, "34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things."

The Lord Jesus referred to the religious leaders as a "Brood of vipers." Given Lucifer is referred to as the serpent throughout the Bible, the Lord Jesus used this term to describe the Jewish religious leaders as sons of the devil. In Matthew 23:33, we read "You brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?" In those days farmers burn the stubble of their fields to get the land ready for the next planting season. As the fires near the snake dens, the snakes slither away from the flames, but they often do not escape being consumed. Snakes fleeing the fire was a common sight in the days of the Bible. The designation of "brood of vipers" was meant to make the religious leaders aware of their own wickedness and then to call them to repent of the self-life. The ultimate message here is this: No one will escape the fire of God’s judgment by relying on their own works. 

In v.36-37 of today's passage we read, "36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

The word "speak" is repeated three times in today's passage. What we say reveals the content of our heart. The word "words" go hand in hand with the word "speak." The Lord Jesus had just delivered a man from demonic possession and the crowd who witnessed it asked if the Lord Jesus were the long-awaited Messiah. He of whom they asked was the Word who spoke the worlds into existence. Then the religious leaders of Israel accused the Lord Jesus of doing miracles by the power of Satan. To their erroneous accusation the Lord Jesus responded with one of His most forceful rebukes He ever gave while on this earth. He turned the religious leaders' words back on them to expose the evil power that was defining them. The Pharisees were so blinded by their own evil pursuits that they didn’t recognize the spiritual danger they were in at that moment. They spoke words out of the abundance of the evil in their hearts.

On the other hand, the Lord Jesus has been speaking to us since creation. The freedom the Lord Jesus offers enables us to embrace vulnerability with God. The Word of God is one of two primary means by which God deepens our personal relationship with Him. The other is the Holy Spirit. God uses His Word to pierce down to the inner most part of our souls in order to free us from the awful effect of sin on our psyche. The Word of God will always be faithful to diagnose the condition of our hearts and our souls. It is the knife God uses to penetrate the most vulnerable parts in our innermost being and lays bare our truest thoughts and intentions. 

Since the Word of God is powerful, by it all created things are made naked to God. This means all our disguises are exposed by the Lord. God always sees us as we are. No one can run from the omniscient God of the Bible. For everyone who has ever lived and ever will live, there comes a time when God confronts our lost condition. This is why I believe no one can ever say everybody has not heard the gospel. When we respond positively to God's Word, we will be defined by Him. And, when we are being defined by Him, we will most fulfilled. This is why the Lord Jesus said earlier in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied."