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)

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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. James 1:22-25

Come into the Glory of the Lord!

The fire still burning in the root is ignited when we come to Jesus, Who opens our eyes and clears away every obstruction. We are undone/ruined and then we are made holy and sent back into the world…

And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundred- fold, some sixty, and some thirty. Matthew 13:23

WARNING: Only a tenth of the Israelites who met Isaiah saw the Glory and only a few saw the Glory in Jesus. It is easier to walk in the way of the ninety percent. Spiritual erosion sets in when a person hears Jesus calling and walks away; hearts grow dull and eyes grow dim and ears no longer receive God’s messages of hope and healing.

132 The Parables of the Tares, Mustard Seed, and Leaven Matthew 13:24-43

The recipe for effective, false teaching is simple: Add a little dash of error to an adequate measure of truth and repeat it over and over and over. Repetition dulls the ears and eventually convinces the listener to believe the lie. Once the lie is received as truth, it takes root and is very hard to detect, and even harder to uproot. Jesus masterfully illustrated the effectiveness of this recipe in the next three parables: 1) Tares growing alongside wheat, 2) a Mustard seed planted in a field, and 3) a smidgen of Leaven hidden in three pecks of meal.

The parable of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43) Jesus shared the parable of wheat and tares and then explained it.

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a ______who sowed

______in his ______. But while men were sleeping, his______came and sowed ______also among the wheat, and went away. (13:24-25)

7. Use Matthew 13:36-39 to identify the components in the parable.

The man sowing the seeds is:

The field is:

The good seed is:

The tares are:

The enemy is:

Tares are a type of poisonous rye grass (Lolium temulentum) that grows wild in Syria and Israel. They look like wheat until the grain begins to form on the sheaf. At this point the roots of the tares are wrapped around the roots of the wheat. If ingested, tares cause convulsions and even death.

8. a. What became evident to the landowner’s slaves when the grain appeared on the wheat? (13:26)

b. To whom did they turn and what did they want to know? (13:27)

133 9. a. How did the landowner respond to their concern? (13:28)

b. What instruction did the landowner give His slaves? (13:29-30)

Remember, Jesus is the landowner!

10. When and how and by whom will the tares be eradicated? (13:30, 40-42)

11. What will happen to the wheat at the end of the age? (13:30, 43)

The parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32) A tiny mustard seed can grow into a tree reaching a height of 20 feet with thick, overhanging branches, like a willow tree.

12. a. Who planted the mustard seed and where did he plant it? (13:31)

b. What happened when the seed was full grown? (13:32)

134 Apply these truths: Seeds bear fruit according to their kind; good seeds produce good fruit and evil seeds produce evil fruit. The seeds we sow settle in the heart, are absorbed in the mind, and eventually dominate the will. They may not seem significant at first, but as they grow, they command greater precedence and importance.

• A little goodness, faith, or gratitude well planted and tended will grow and multiply and become the character traits by which a person is known. • On the other hand, a little lie or bitterness or rebellion or pride has the same ability to take root and grow and contaminate and control a person.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field.

The mustard seed was probably a black mustard seed that often grew in the fields around the Sea of Galilee. These tiny seeds were carried by the wind or by birds and dropped on the soil, grew into a tree, and provided a place of shade for the hardworking farmer. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. When we take the tiniest seed of truth and plant it in the field of our lives, it will grow and provide shade in the future.

The parable of leaven (Matthew 13:33-35) Leaven was a symbol of hidden sin. Before every Passover, Jewish families scoured every corner of their houses to find and destroy every trace of leaven. This physical exercise was a picture of the spiritual work of looking for and eliminating every trace of sin, so our sin will not prevent us from seeing God clearly.

13. Who added the leaven? (13:33)

How was it added?

To what was it added?

135 Apply these truths: This parable specifies a woman as the one who hid a little leaven in the meal. The first woman to do this was Eve. There must have been a little leaven–a little sin of doubt or discontent—hidden in her heart. Her little leaven surely seemed small compared to all the beauty in the Garden, but her little leaven is the root of all the sin in all of us who come after her. Our sin nature is the fruit of her leaven that became sin. The seeds of discontent and doubt become rebellion and rebellion unchecked becomes hostility toward God. A little leaven has enormous power for long term harm.

The Parables of the Treasure, the Pearl, and the Dragnet Matthew 13:44-52 14. What was being released as Jesus opened His mouth and spoke in parables to the multitudes? (13:34-35)

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

The parables contain things hidden since the foundation of the world, which are unwrapped in Jesus and discovered through the Spirit.

The parable of the treasure (Matthew 13:44) 15. a. Where is the kingdom of heaven hidden? (13:44 and 38)

b. What is the treasure? (13:44)

c. What fills the one who finds the treasure? (13:44)

d. What does he go and do after finding the treasure? (13:44)

136 The parable of the pearl of great value (Matthew 13:45-46) Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

16. a. What was the merchant seeking and what did he find? (13:45)

b. What did he do? (13:46)

People today are looking for a string of pearls; they are gleaning ideas and instruction from different cultures and various sources and stringing them together to create their own philosophies and religions. Jesus is THE PEARL of great value. I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me. John 14:6 The parable of the dragnet (Matthew 13:47-50) Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it is filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

A dragnet is a large net thrown over the side of a boat to catch the fish swimming alongside it. The word ‘sea’ describes the masses of people living on earth.

17. a. How is the kingdom of heaven like a dragnet? (13:47-48)

b. When will the dragnet be pulled up and hauled in and by whom? (13:49)

137 c. What will occur when the dragnet is pulled up on the beach and the kingdom of heaven is removed from earth? (13:47-50)

18. What did Jesus ask the crowd and how did they answer? (13:51)

The crowd heard Glory!

19. There must have been scribes in the crowd that day who also heard and saw God clearly. What word of encouragement did Jesus speak directly to them? (13:52)

20. Who heard the Glory but rejected it and why? (13:53-58)

The Kingdom of Heaven is a family! It is made up of people who hear His voice and come into His Glory and do His will!

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