“Jesus said to them, ‘Have you understood all these things?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then He said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.’” Matthew 13:51-52.
Jesus had just given His disciples seven parables dealing with the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, two of which terminate at the end of the age after the tribulation.
The end of the age does not mean the end of the world. It means the end of this age under the rule of sinful men, and the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ on earth, one thousand years, and then the end.
The fact that these were prophetic parables about the church is indicated by the Lord’s words.
“Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them [Jewish unbelievers] it has not been given.” Matthew 13:11.
A mystery is a doctrine which has not as yet been revealed. For instance, the bride of Christ was a mystery to Old Testament believers.
The key to understanding the parables was recorded in Mark 4:13 when Jesus began to explain the parable of the sower.
“And He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?’” Mark 4:13.
Though this does not appear to be much of a key, two things are implied; first, they can be understood.
And second, Jesus gives them the interpretation of the sower, the wheat and the tares, and the dragnet, the understanding of which opens all the others.
No, it is not simple, and no, not everyone sees each one the same, but with the help of the Holy Spirit a conclusion can be made.
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” John 16:13.
People do not seem to understand this but God expects us to use the brains that we have to search for Him, or to study His word. It does not matter if you have the I.Q. of a genius, that of a normal individual, or a little less.
As for the child or the mentally incapacitated, God is not going to expect any more from them than you or I would.
But for others who have a capacity to make informed decisions (the age of consent) ignorance will be costly.
Things like, “Gosh, with work and all I just did not have time to read a Bible.” Or, “My goodness, I did not know that the Bible said that!”
Words like these will neither justify the ungodly on Judgment Day, nor will be a valid excuse for the Christian at the judgment seat of Christ.
It may be that the only job God may have for you on earth is to pray for others (especially if you are housebound or bedridden), or to raise your family in a godly manner.
But one thing God does not want is spectators.
The first parable which is also interpreted by the Lord, Matthew 13:18-23, concerns the sower broadcasting seed, some falling by the wayside, some in stony places, some among thorns, and some on good ground.
There are four responses to the gospel of Jesus of Christ. The first is that which falls by the wayside where the traffic of the world has hardened the heart of the listener to the point that Satan can easily distract his victim with some worthless worldly bauble, and so the message has no effect.
Jesus tells us that the birds, which represent Satan, or his followers, come and snatch away what the listener has heard.
Birds are also mentioned in the parable of the mustard seed, showing that they are the workers of Satan also.
I doubt if there is anyone who would deny that this person either rejects the gospel or did not understand it.
However, most commentators seem to feel that the following two examples of the seed which is sown are also of folks who reject the gospel.
The second person is the one who receives the gospel in stony places. Jesus says of this person that he:
“…immediately receives it with joy; 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.” Matthew 13:20b-21.
Sadly there are many true Christians who fit this model; this is weakness, not unbelief.
The third person is one who hears the word in thorny places.
“…and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22b.
A person who has never accepted Christ as his Savior does not become unfruitful. They were never capable of producing fruit to begin with.
The fourth person who receives the seed on good ground hears and understands and bears fruit, “some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
This is what happens when a Christian keeps a close relationship with Jesus. It is also the reason the other two examples fail to bear fruit.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5.
The second parable that the Lord gave out was that of the wheat and the tares. Except for a few details, this one is extremely easy because Jesus explained it in Matthew 13:37-42.
The sower is the Lord; the field is extremely large it is the whole world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, in this case, the church, or better yet, the body of Christ.
There are two churches in the world, the visible church and the invisible church; the latter is the body of Christ.
The visible church which we see all around us has every sort of person in it who wants to attend. Many are unsaved and searching, many more are unsaved and playing church; what Tim LaHaye likes to call churchianity.
I think that we shall be surprised at the large number of these folks who go to church thinking that going to church makes them Christians.
So they be as good as they can and do good as they can thinking good intentions and good deeds will tip the scales when they stand before God on Judgment Day.
My friends, the only thing that tips the scales is the shed blood of Christ on the cross, and then for that person there is no judgment day.
“But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities.” Isaiah 64:6-7.
Jesus Christ is love, Christ is peace, Christ is companionship, Jesus Christ is Salvation, and our nation perishes because we have forgotten that.
This then is the visible church, it is a mixed bag.
The invisible church is the body of Christ on earth which consists only of those who have actually responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ and accepted Him as the Savior of their souls, the only Savior and way to heaven.
If the rapture of the church came on a Sunday morning and the churches were full; the invisible church would disappear, leaving a dead visible church of pseudo-believers behind.
This thought alone should scare believers into action to speak truth to everyone in the church and when possible to those who will listen outside.
But remember; do not rob your boss by taking up the time of others by talking of Jesus all the time.
Before work, after, during breaks, and lunch, are the only legitimate times to give out the gospel at work, even then with care. Often some just want to be left alone to enjoy their break or lunch.
During the rest of the time at work the best gospel is being a model employee who shows up on time, does not grouse about work, does not waste time, and does the best they can on every project they do.
By the way, I have heard this from different sources, if you are union, working too hard at your job angers a lot of people.
Many unions engender an atmosphere of laziness. But trust me it is always easier to work hard than it is to appear to be working hard.
Work hard but whatever you do, do not brag or draw attention to yourself if at all possible. People do not listen to folks whom they do not like, particularly Christians.
So the sower of the wheat is Jesus, the wheat is the invisible church. And the world, the entire world, was and is sown with Christians in every culture.
Some of these cultures have forgotten about Christ and the tares have taken over, but they know of a God who saves.
Missionaries have gone into some of the darkest places and given the gospel, and often some folks would come to them afterward and say that they knew there was something like this and thank them for bringing it to them.
“…because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…” Romans 1:19-20.
For this reason brothers and sisters, pray for the Muslims trapped in the Middle East. They are not all ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, or Al Qaeda; some are farmers, weavers, and shop keepers.
Good husbands who love their wives and children, not of the so-called religion of peace, but those who want to live their lives in peace.
These folks call themselves Muslims because that is what their ancestors were. Yet they are often victims of the armies of Islam simply because they are there.
They are beheaded, blown up, maimed, tortured, husbands murdered and women and children taken as sex slaves, because they can be taken by anyone who wants them, either for themselves or for profit in a brothel.
This, my friends is Satan unhinged, and a taste of the coming worldwide tribulation. But this is not the tribulation and we Christians are still here.
Our government may be out of control, but that does not make us helpless; we can pray.
“No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy…” Psalm 33:16-18.
“He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear [reverently trust Him] Him, in those who hope in His mercy.” Psalm 147:10-11.
We can pray for the victims who are crying out for mercy and deliverance. We can pray that God sends His angels into those places to turn back those who harm them.
We can pray to God to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to these victims that whether they live or die they will have hope in Jesus.
God wants us to tell others about salvation in Jesus, He wants missionaries to preach Christ and Him crucified.
He wants all of us to remember that it is all about Jesus, all about Jesus, no one and nothing else.
But! Where we cannot go He can, God’s Holy Spirit can walk into the cruelest hell, look around and urge those who will listen to Him and say, “You, you, and you, I have the words of life.”
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He [Jesus] Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:14-15.
“For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven the Lord viewed the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to release those appointed to death…” Psalm 102:19-20.
No Christian has the right to say, what good will it do to pray for these victims of Muslim cruelty, or those held as sex slaves throughout the world, or those rotting in North Korean prisons, or Chinese labor camps.
No Christian has the right to say, what good will it do to pray against the corruption in our own government, and the lawless behavior of the rioting communists within it, or the erosion of our Constitution.
Have you never read?
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” James 5:17-18.
Anyone who does not believe that God answers prayer has accepted the liberal theologian’s version of a neutered god who is battle weary from fighting Satan.
God answers the prayers of sincere Christians.
Jesus sows the wheat, but it is Satan the Devil who sows the tares who are sons of the wicked one. It is the sole purpose of these sons of Satan to destroy the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15.
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24.
“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.” 2 Peter 2:1-2.
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1.
But there is power in the blood of Christ and it is God’s intention to honor His Son by throwing the full weight of His power behind the gospel.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:8-11.
But there is an end to these evildoers, the harvest, when the tares are bundled and burned at the end of the age and the wheat is gathered and put into the owner’s barn.
“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, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 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 13:41-43.
Things New and Old, Part 1 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 1-21-15, updated on 7-24-23.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.