Teaching in Parables
March 21, 2021
Commentary
In this chapter Jesus began to do something He had not done before. He began to teach in parables which was to make a comparison between a known truth and an unknown truth. Some define it as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. He did not do this to confuse or condemn the people but rather to arouse their curiosity and gain their attention. Did you ever hear someone say “Let me plant this thought in your mind"? This expresses the idea of a parable. In this passage Jesus uses such familiar figures as soil, seed, birds, thorns, rocks, sun, and fruit. The seed is God’s Word; the various soils represent different kinds of hearts; and varied results show the different responses to the Word.
It is said that in Palestine during New Testament times, the average ratio of harvested grain seeds to those that were planted was less than eight to one. The truth of God’s Word must take root in the heart, be cultivated, and permitted to bear fruit. Actually it is shocking to realize that three-fourths of the seed did not bear fruit. Jesus did not describe an age of great harvest but one in which the Word would be rejected. The sun in this parable represents persecution and this helps believers grow. However sunshine will kill a plant with no roots. It is possible to believe and yet not be saved (John 2:23-25). Their faith was weak, their understanding limited and their decision was not sincere.
Application
What kind of soil best characterizes me? Am I a child, a teenager or a young adult? How has my soil changed over the years?
Matthew 13:1– 9 (NET)
1 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake. 2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore. 3 He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 The one who has ears had better listen!”
Illustration: Determination With Out Compromise
I know a young fellow in Oklahoma who was intent on going to college, but his folk did not have the money, and he had to work. Finally he got a job in a restaurant for the summer, which promised sufficient earnings to enable him to enter college the next fall. On receiving his first Saturday night’s pay envelope, he was ordered to report the next morning at seven o’clock. He had not thought of having to work Sundays but was told that restaurants must stay open everyday. He must either report for duty next morning or quit. He had been reared to spend Sunday God’s way. College plans were dashed. Then he saw an announcement of a coming examination in his Congressional district for a Rhodes Scholarship. He decided to study at home in preparation for that contest. He won the appointment. The following Fall, instead of going to his state college he entered Oxford, in England, with a $1,500 appropriation to finance him. (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #12541).