Kingdom of God Culture of the Kingdom Kingdom Culture

Kingdom of God Culture of the Kingdom Kingdom Culture Foundational Aspects of the Parables . Why Parables? Parables are divine mysteries contained in word pictures (Matthew 13:35). They are not statements of fact or doctrine but instead explain the inner principles of the working of the kingdom – how it grows and finally triumphs in a hostile world. Other Examples of Parables in OT Prophetic style of speaking (Judges, Jeremiah). The wisdom books of both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes included parables. Examples from Scripture: Proverbs 20:10, 25:28. Ecclesiastes 9:13-16, 10:1. Kingdom Culture Interpreting the Parables of Jesus Guidelines Include . No rigid typology . Allegories – not every detail to be interpreted . A parable offers a complete picture but no parable gives the whole picture . Parables explain the dynamics of the kingdom (growth & progress) . Parables answer some key fundamental foundational questions . Parables contrast the Kingdom of God with the kingdom of this world . Full understanding of the parables can only be found in doing them Kingdom Culture Parables of Jesus Key Thoughts . God’s mysteries are his hidden wisdom . God reveals and opens the eyes of understanding to the believer . Matthew 13:11-13 (Secrets of the Kingdom) . Hear then do . Parallels to the book of James . Matthew 16:24-25 (Inner life principle of the cross) . Parables are not meant to be a test of spiritual depth or ability Kingdom Culture Kingdom Culture and Principles Taught in the Parables Matthew 13 . Sowing & Reaping (a) Sower (Matthew 13:3-23) (b) Wheat and Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30) . Growing & Changing (a) Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32) (b) Yeast (Matthew 13:33-35) . Buying & Selling (a) Treasure in the Field (Matthew 13:44) (b) Pearl of Great Value (Matthew 13:45-46) . Separating and Joining (a)The Net (Matthew 13:47-50) (b)The Teacher (Matthew 13:52) .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

“A Parable About Parables” // Matthew 13:1–23 // Listen #1
“A Parable about Parables” // A few days later when West Elm delivered our credenza I said, ‘Wow! You got this for 40 to $100?!?!?’ And she said, ‘No!? $1,400.’ My jaw hit the floor and I was distraught.” Matthew 13:1–23 // Listen #1 Again, listening is a critical life skill. And, whenever Jesus told parables, he would say, and you’ll hear it today, Listen. I’m so encouraged by hearing how God is working in and through our college students...the vision of our college ministry is not any Today, we’re going to look at a parable Jesus told about why he told different than the vision of our church: to make disciples who go and parables—which, I know sounds like a biblical version of Inception: make disciples. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I pray we never get a parable within a parable about parables. tired of seeing God work miracles among us. Amen? But this one is absolutely fascinating. I was always taught that Open your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew—Matthew 13Today we parables were “earthly stories with a heavenly meaning” where Jesus begin a series on the parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, and used simple, every-day analogies to help people understand profound the series is called “Listen.” truth. ● It’s kind of like today when we say, “It’s like that movie…” or “Do Listening, of course, is a critical life skill. One of our campus pastors you remember that scene from The Office?” told me this week that he was at home working in the yard when he ● Had Nic Cage been around in Jesus’s day, he would undoubtedly got a phone call from his wife, who told him she was at the mall in a have featured frequently in Jesus’s teaching.
[Show full text]
HERMENEUTICS and MATTHEW 13 Part I: Preliminary Hermeneutical Concerns
Dr. Mike Stallard Conservative Theological Society Baptist Bible Seminary August 2000 [email protected] HERMENEUTICS AND MATTHEW 13 Part I: Preliminary Hermeneutical Concerns When one reads the parables of the mystery of the kingdom of heaven given by Jesus in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, one immediately senses a majestic air to this teaching of Christ. However, the observant reader also discerns that a mere casual reading will not uncover all there is to know. In fact, it is tempting to believe that the disciples lied when they told Jesus that they understood all that He had said (13:51-52)!1 The large number of divergent views of the passage, even within traditional dispensationalism, speaks to the hermeneutical problems associated with any attempt to understand its meaning. Nonetheless, this paper is written with the express conviction that to read the text with difficulty does not automatically translate into the notion of reading the text without understanding. A proper awareness of background hermeneutical issues along with a rather straight- forward reading of the text will yield a comprehension of the passage that is available, not just to the technical experts in biblical studies, but to the average Christian in the world who contemplates these remarkable words of Jesus. This article is designed to be the first part of a two-part series on Matthew chapter thirteen. Here preliminary considerations in hermeneutics are discussed as a precursor to actual examination of the text of Matthew thirteen. The second article will discuss the particular exegetical issues of the chapter itself.
[Show full text]
127 LESSON THIRTEEN: ...Learning from Jesus Matthew 13:1-58; Isaiah
LESSON THIRTEEN: ...Learning from Jesus Matthew 13:1-58; Isaiah 6:1-13 Jesus brings God’s GLORY to earth and plants it one seed at a time. Glory is a clear, unobstructed view of God. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve walked in, lived in, and feasted in the Glory—a clear, unobstructed view of God. And then sin dimmed man’s view of God. As sin multiplied, man’s view of God was distorted. Jesus came to restore the Glory—to clear away the debris of sin and give mankind an opportunity to see God clearly. Jesus is sowing seeds of Glory throughout the whole earth. The seeds of Glory release a clear, unobstructed view of God. The kingdom of heaven on earth is in people and places where God’s Glory shines forth. During His days on earth, Jesus sowed the seeds of Glory in two ways: 1) Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables—stories or illustrations from daily life that revealed heavenly truths, things hidden from the foundation of the world (Matthew 13:35). Isaiah 6 explains why Jesus used parables. 2) Jesus spoke directly to the disciples, for it had been granted to them to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 13:11) They were given ears to hear and understand God’s mysteries and eyes to see God’s Glory. The Parables of the Sower, the Seed, and the Soil describe how the seeds of glory are planted and how they grow and flourish. These parables also explain why many of the seeds of Glory do not grow and flourish.
[Show full text]
Of Soils and Souls: the Parable of the Sower
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel Volume 9 Number 3 Article 5 9-1-2008 Of Soils and Souls: The Parable of the Sower Jared M. Halverson [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/re BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Halverson, Jared M. "Of Soils and Souls: The Parable of the Sower." Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel 9, no. 3 (2008). https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/re/vol9/iss3/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Of Soils and Souls: The Parable of the Sower Jared M. Halverson Jared M. Halverson ([email protected]) is a Church Educational System coordinator in Nashville, Tennessee. There are certain stories which are not so much the heritage of the scholar and the material of the theologian as the possession of every man; and such are the parables of Jesus. Even in an age when men know less and less of the Bible, and care less for it, it remains true that the stories Jesus told are the best known stories in the world.1 Among the parables of Jesus, in some respects the parable of the sower ranks first. Chronologically, wrote Elder James E. Talmage, the sower comes “first in the order of delivery,” and literarily, he added, it deserves “first place among productions of its class.”2 The primacy of this parable, however, goes beyond chronology and composition.
[Show full text]
SEPTEMBER 17 – 21, 2018 MONDAY Matthew 13:1-23; Psalm 119:33-36
WEEKLY DEVOTIONS AT GLENKIRK SEPTEMBER 17 – 21, 2018 MONDAY Matthew 13:1-23; Psalm 119:33-36 This week we consider one of Jesus’ first fully-developed parables. Our emphasis will be upon the sower and the hard ground “along the path” where the “seed” couldn’t take root before being “snatched away.” Jesus often used parables for public, larger group teaching, a method that perplexed many, including His disciples: “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10) A way to consider parables is as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning”—to meet people where they are while orienting them eternally. “[Jesus’] parables were teaching aids and can be thought of as extended analogies or inspired comparisons.” (GotQuestions.org) “A parable [creates] revelation by illustration … designed to communicate truth in everyday terms.” (Allen Ross) “[Parables have] a double advantage upon their hearers: first, upon their memory, we being very apt to remember stories. Second, upon their minds, to put them upon studying the meaning of what they heard so delivered.” (David Guzik) Some might characterize parables as particularly “user-friendly”— but were they? The disciples’ question in verse 10 suggests otherwise, as does Jesus’ related response in verse 13. “The parables, Jesus said, are hidden to those who do not pay attention, who do not listen, but [who are] open to those who do. ... Each parable is like a mystery novel with certain clues given to guide us to the meaning.” (Ray Stedman) “[Jesus’ parables] reveal truth to him who desires truth; they conceal truth from him who does not wish to see the truth.” (Guzik) Jesus loved His hearers, even the unbelievers (Matthew 5:44).
[Show full text]
Parables-Week-Three.Pdf
INTRODUCTION This study guide will be most helpful if you work through it slowly with an open Bible, looking up all the references. Grab some friends and do it together! STUDY GUIDE FOR KINGDOM STORIES: PARABLES THAT INFURIATE OR INSPIRE (WEEK 2) Kingdom of Heaven INTRO ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν Kingdom Heaven GREEK bä-sē -l ā '-ä' GREEK ü-rä-no's Read the Following Verses: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of Matthew 5:20 the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 12:28 "If it is by the power of the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." How would you describe the Kingdom of Heaven? Do you think it is here now or something we will enter into in the future? When the Messiah (and His Kingdom) comes what will happen? EXPECTATIONS REALITY • Visible defeat of God’s enemies • Visible defeat, but not removal • Return His people to the Promised Land • Return His people to Himself • Fulfill the promises of a Davidic throne and rule upon • Return rule and power to His the earth in power and glory. people. Col. 2 Cor. 2:14-15 “Are you the one who is to 5:19 Matthew 18:18, come, or shall we look for 28:18-20 another?” These parables in Matthew 13 are an explanation of how people in chapters 11-12 repsonded to Jesus.
[Show full text]
The Beatitudes and Woes of Jesus Christ for the Slow
THE BEATITUDES AND WOES OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE SLOW SAVOURING OF SERIOUS DISCIPLES by Father Joseph R. Jacobson To the Chinese Christians of our own time who along with survivors of the gulag and the jihad are giving the whole Church a fresh vision of what it means to be called “disciples of Jesus” INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS The Beatitudes and Woes of Jesus Christ are stark. Much of our teaching and preaching based on them is not. Jesus sets them out as ground rules for His disciples. He places them at the very beginning of His special instructions to them, whereas entire theological systems have treated them as an afterthought and relegated them to the end. The problem is that in Jesus’ instructions the Beatitudes are descriptive, not prescriptive. That is, they tell us what discipleship is, not what it ought to be. They spell out the everyday norms of discipleship, not its far off ideals, the bottom line, not the distant goal. This makes us most uncomfortable because, fitting us so poorly they call into question our very right to claim to be disciples of Jesus at all. There can be no question that they are addressed specifically to Jesus’ disciples, both the Beatitudes and the Woes. Matthew makes that plain in his way (Matthew 5:1-2) and Luke makes it plain in his way (Luke 6:20). The fact that Jesus singles them out from the crowds which are all around them, pressing in on them with their own expectations and demands, simply underscores the urgency Jesus felt to clarify what He was expecting of them by way of sheer contrast.
[Show full text]
A Savior Worth Following
LESSON 2 A SAVIOR WORTH FOLLOWING What is one important truth you think your students need TEACHER GUIDE to hear? Imagine being at your job and having a man you’d never met approach you, and tell you to quit your job and follow him. Would you do it? Would you leave your family for an unknown amount of time if someone bid you to “come”? That was the decision placed before Jesus’ disciples—twelve men from different backgrounds and vocations. Amazingly, all of them dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus. Remember that you are one of Jesus’ disciples too. Think of What they witnessed during their three years with him was a time when you had to give something up to follow Christ. extraordinary. Jesus was a rabbi who not only had the ability Consider sharing this story during “Going Deep.” to teach Scripture with authority, but also to heal the sick, forgive sins, and even raise people from the dead. Jesus challenged their assumptions of who the Messiah would be. LESSON SCHEDULE & SUPPLY LIST Instead of power-hungry, he was humble. Instead of demanding respect, he was the ultimate servant. Instead of flaunting his Note: Italicized supplies are included in the curriculum. You can deity, he was completely obedient to his Father. find the video on the DVD or DVD-Rom (for .mov version) and the printables on the Print Materials Disc in the Week 2 folder. Using parables and memorable sayings, Jesus taught his disciples and others about the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom SETTING THE STAGE (10 minutes) would right everything that was wrong with the world: sickness, disease, pain, sadness, and even death.
[Show full text]
Godspell: the Parable of the Sower” Matthew 13:1-9
Rev. Dr. Roula Alkhouri January 5, 2020 “Godspell: The Parable of the Sower” Matthew 13:1-9 Many of you watched the football game last Sunday between the Bills and the Jets. One interesting commentary I heard from someone who went to the game was about the Jets’ kicker who missed the field goal twice. The comments went something like this, “How could the person who trains to be a kicker miss the goal twice? This is what they train for and work on all the time and they get a lot of money for this. How is this even possible? How could they keep their job?” Even though I am not a football fan, I understand the frustration. I am sure in practice and without the pressure of the crowds, this young man has a much better average of accuracy than one third of the time. But with nerves and the pressure of having to get the ball in, his average went down. I see in this example a metaphor for our lives of faith. When things are calm and we are not under pressure, we know our potential for good and can align our actions with it. But when the pressures of life, our emotional hurts, and our fears dominate our thinking, we start missing the point and we lose our way. How often do we miss the big goal that is in front of us and is supposedly easy to see? In the story of the Magi, we know that they missed the point by going to Herod first to seek the newborn king.
[Show full text]
Matthew 13:1–23 the Parable of the Sower That Same Day Jesus Went
Matthew 13:1–23 The Parable of the Sower 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 He who has ears, let him hear.” 18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
[Show full text]
2021 Term 1 Matthew 13-14 Thtsntsans
MATTHEW 13-14: Intentional Stories and Revelatory Signs. Thoughts Notes and Answers Acts 10:38 … God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. KIAMA ANGLICAN CHURCHES Bible Studies: February – April 2020 1 MATTHEW 13-14: Intentional Stories and Revelatory Signs. Intentional Stories and Revelatory Signs Program MATTHEW 13-14 Preaching/ BibSt / Kiama Anglican 2021. Week Study MATTHEW Title Page Ending Sun 24 Jan 1 13: 1-9;18-23 Four Soils Sun 31 Jan Sun 7 Feb 2 13:10-17 Speaking in Parables Sun 14 Feb 3 13:24-30;36-43 Wheat and Weeds Sun 21 Feb 4 13:31-35 Seeds, Yeast and Stories Sun 28 Feb 5 13:44-46 Buried Treasure and Fine Pearls Sun 7 Mar 6 13:47-53 Fair and Foul Fish Sun 14 Mar 7 13:53-14:12 Honourless Prophets Sun 21 Mar 8 14:13-21 Fish and Bread for All Sun 28 Mar 9 14:22-36 Walking or Sinking? Fri 2 Apr Good Friday Sun 4 Apr Easter Day BOOKS Blomberg, C. Matthew (The New American Commentary) (Nashville, B&H Publishing, 1992) Bolt, P. Matthew: A Great Light Dawns (Explore the Bible Today) (Sydney South, Aquila, 2014). Carson D.A. “Matthew” in Expositors Bible Commentary (Revised) (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2010) France, R.T. “Matthew” in Carson, D.A.; France, R.T.; Motyer, J.A.; Wenham, G.J. (Eds) New Bible Commentary (21st Century Edition) (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).
[Show full text]
2/18/18 Matthew 13:33-58 Jesus Has Been Declaring the “Kingdom
1 2 2/18/18 a) The “kingdom of heaven” is the identical time between the First till the Second Matthew 13:33-58 Coming to sow seeds of the gospel to set up the Kingdom Age. Jesus has been declaring the “kingdom Parables” in b) The nature of the period is still marked by attempt to open the ears, eyes and understanding of opposition, hostility and rejection by the the multitudes that are opposing, rejecting Him and majority of sinners in each generation till the gospel through unbelief. the Second Coming. c) Leaven is yeast the ferments and corrupts Through the “kingdom Parables” Jesus is revealing the doe and causes it to rise. things kept secret from the beginning of the world, d) Leaven consistantly throughout Scripture regarding the preaching of the gospel and the ongoing represents evil and sin, both in the Old opposition, rejection of both Jesus and the gospel Testamet and New. Matt. 16:6, 11, 12; throughout the “kingdom of heaven”, till His Second 1Cor. 5:6-7; Gal. 5:9 Coming to set up the Kingdom Age. 3) The culprit, “Which a woman took and hid in Matt. 13:35 three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” vs. 33c We have looked at three “kingdom Parables”, the a) A womam consistantly in the Scriptures Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the wheat and represents and is symbolic of false tares and the Parable of the mustard seed. Matt. 13:1- religion, it is no different in our text. 32 Zech. 5:7-8; Rev.
[Show full text]