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127 LESSON THIRTEEN: ...Learning from Jesus Matthew 13:1-58; Isaiah

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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. …Every seed is encoded with Glory and Eternal Life. Every see planted in good soil will bear fruit; the challenge is having good soil in which to plant the seed. The Parables of the Wheat and Tares, the Mustard Seed, and the Leaven describe how Satan plants seeds that mimic the seeds of glory. Satan’s seeds hide God’s Glory and bring death. The Parables of the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl, and the Dragnet show the value and the cost of uncovering God’s Glory. Jesus is the Lord of hosts, the Holy One, sowing the seeds of Glory that make men holy. “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” 127 The Parable of the Sower, the Seed, and the Soil Matthew 13:3-9; 18-23 Jesus is the Sower; the Seeds are heavenly truths; the Soil is the hearts and minds of people on whom the seeds of Glory fall. 1. Where was Jesus and what was He doing when the crowd caught up with Him? (Matthew 13:1-2) 2. Use the box below to describe or illustrate the four types of soil and their response to Jesus and the seeds He sows. (13:4-8, 19-23) (13:4, 19) (13:5-6, 20,21) (13:7, 22) (13:8, 23) 128 3. a. Why did Jesus speak in parables to the crowd but directly to the disciples? (13:10-13) b. What promise was given to someone who heard and wanted more? (13:12) c. What happened when someone heard God and did not want more? (13:12) Apply these truths: When Jesus called the disciples to come and follow Him, they came because they longed for more and their desire for more was richly rewarded! God gives disciples spiritual eyes to see the kingdom of heaven and spiritual ears to hear and understand the mysteries unveiled in Jesus. To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 13:11 When Jesus calls and we come, we receive eyes and ears that can see and hear God and the Holy Spirit to guide us into more of Jesus—more truth, more intimacy, more knowledge, more wisdom, more worship, more holiness. As we embrace the more, we discover the Holy Spirit is also about less—less sin, less stumbling, less defeat, less selfishness and less interference from the world and from Satan. To us it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The multitudes are exposed to holiness; a disciple is immersed in holiness. 129 Isaiah experienced The Holiness of GOD Isaiah 6:1-13 Jesus explained why He spoke in parables by referring to a prophecy spoken over Isaiah. To understand the magnitude of the prophecy, Israel’s sin, and its long reaching effect, we need to look at Isaiah 6:1-13, at an event that occurred 740 years before Christ, when a young Hebrew man walked into the temple and saw Jesus. In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of host, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the threshold trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Isaiah 6:1-4 4. a. Who and what did Isaiah see when he entered the temple? (Isaiah 6:1-4) b. Why was Isaiah ruined/undone? (Isaiah 6:5) c. Once Isaiah was ruined/undone, what was done to Him and by whom? (Isaiah 6:6-7) 130 5. a. To whom was Isaiah sent and why? (Isaiah 6:8-10) b. What is the result of generations of Israelites refusing to hear God and be made holy? …How long would Isaiah’s words dull their ears? (Isaiah 6:11-12) *The one scroll found whole among the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946 was the Scroll of Isaiah. It is on display at The Shrine of the Book, in Jerusalem. Isaiah experienced the Glory and His view of God, earth, and himself changed. Isaiah was a prophet before he saw the Lord, but after his encounter, he was entrusted with the privilege and burden of presenting a vision of God’s holiness to the people of his day. God poured His Gory through Isaiah for forty years (740-700 B.C.). Isaiah was undone/ruined when he saw the Lord and was swept up in His holiness. Isaiah was undone/ruined when he heard the worship surrounding the throne. Isaiah was undone/ruined when he saw his unclean lips and cried out to the Lord. Isaiah was undone/ruined when a seraphim touched his mouth with a burning coal. Isaiah was undone/ruined when a Holy God made him holy. Ninety percent of those who heard Isaiah’s magnificent descriptions of God refused them. As they closed their ears, their eyes dimmed and their hearts grew cold and hard. According to tradition, Isaiah was stuffed into a log and sawn in half when the people could no longer tolerate God’s messages of hope and holiness. But ten percent heard and saw and were made holy. The fire ignited in them was still burning in the root of Israel when Jesus appeared and is still burning today. The Glory of God is still in Isaiah’s words. Yet there will be a tenth-portion in it, and it will again be subject to burning. Like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains when it is felled. …The holy seed is in the stump. Isaiah 6:13 6. What was being re-ignited as people heard Jesus and saw God’s holiness? (6:13) 131 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 Apply these truths: Where is God’s Glory today? Has it been trampled in the dirt? Has it been lost? Is it being defiled? Has the world blotted out and completely obscured God’s Glory? Is the fire still in the root? Can we experience the Glory? The Glory is in Jesus! Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light. Matthew 12:28-30 We need Glory. Until we get a clear, unobstructed view of God, we cannot see ourselves clearly and are not capable of hearing and responding to Him. The Glory is in hearing and doing God’s word! But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.
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