“The one thing I ask of the Lord - the thing I seek most - is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 DELIGHTING in the LORD BIBLE STUDY SERIES DAY 1: The King Teaches the Parable of the Sower Matthew 13: Parables Taught by the King As we open up Chapter 13 we find Jesus teaching through the use of parables. This chapter is considered by many as one of the most important chapters in this Gospel because it unfolds the mysteries of the Kingdom of the heavens. These mysteries can be misinterpreted if you don’t have a proper understanding of “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Kingdom of God.” We will try to help you differentiate between these two in Day 1. Many think that the Kingdom of Heaven refers to the “church.” Nowhere is scripture is the church ever referred to as such. We must remember that the Kingdom revealed in the Old Testament, promised to Israel and offered to them; they rejected. It was a Kingdom where Jesus ruled and reigned in Jerusalem and was their King. Remember this kingdom was preached in the beginning of Matthew, but the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, as King, as well as His message. Through these parables, Jesus becomes the revealer of the secrets of the kingdom, showing what will take place after the kingdom has been rejected by Israel, how it will be opened to the Gentiles with its ultimate fulfillment postponed. He will further explain what will happen in the Kingdom during His absence. The word parable means “to place beside”. In this chapter, Jesus takes a spiritual lesson and places it beside an earthly example in order to illustrate a point (and there is usually just one point per parable). These parables were so simple, yet so profound. There are seven parables found in Chapter 13. The first four Jesus speaks to the multitudes and the last three He shares only with the disciples. The parables bring us through the progression of the Kingdom of the heavens from the beginning, the progress and then the end of this present Christian age. Insight into these parables could only be understood by divine revelation so that he who had ears could hear (Matt 13:9). Writing the homework for this week has been challenging for me because of the content found in this chapter. However, I took great comfort when I read this quote by Chuck Smith: “Now as we enter into the thirteenth chapter, we come into the area of the parables that deal with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. And in these we have more or less a key to all parables. Years ago when I was in seminary I had a very smart professor who exhorted us young seminarians to not preach from the parables until we've been pastoring for at least thirty years. I now qualify. And I wish I had back a lot of those sermons that I preached from the parables when I thought my professor didn't know what he was talking about. But over the years there has been a definite change in my understanding of the parables. I do not profess to have a perfect understanding even at this point. And as I look at these parables I cannot stand before you tonight and say, well now this is what Jesus meant, and have that kind of confidence. All I can share is what I have come to learn, and what I have come to believe, but as I continue to grow I cannot guarantee that in time I might even come to other understandings than what I presently possess. I will frankly confess to you, that I do not consider my understanding of the parables complete. I am certain that there is more to be gleaned then what I have yet been able to gather.” (Chuck Smith) Having Chuck Smith admit that he himself does not feel completely adequate to teach the parables made me feel even less adequate!!! However, having said that, what I have given you these five days I believe is consistent with the whole counsel of God and is first and foremost substantiated through scripture. It is based on studying many different commentators and is in line with what Calvary Chapel Chester Springs teaches. As always, we encourage you to study this for yourself and allow God to speak to your heart His Truth. © Calvary Chapel Chester Springs Matthew • Chapter 13 • Day 1 DELIGHTING in the LORD BIBLE STUDY SERIES In verses 1-23 we see the first of the parables and it is about a farmer sowing seed. Jesus’ disciples struggled to comprehend the meaning behind this story and asked Jesus to clarify why he spoke using parables. Jesus answers them and then explains this classic account. Perhaps you too struggle to understand some of the parables found in this chapter, however it is my prayer that you will glean richly from today’s lesson and that your heart’s soil is such that it can receive the seed God plants in your heart. R RECEIVING God’s Word Open in Prayer Read Matthew 13:1-58 Today’s Scripture Focus: Matthew 13:1-23 E EXPERIENCING God’s Word Helpful Background for Understanding Parables: Before we begin our study of the parables, I want to introduce a term that will help us as we dive into this chapter. It is called “Expositional Constancy”. This means, when explaining difficult material within the Bible, consistency to what the whole counsel of God (the Bible) teaches and how it is used is how the material and words should be interpreted. For example, Jesus tells us that the field is the world, therefore in all of the parables where you have a field, every field represents the world. Jesus is constant and doesn’t change. Another example would be that since the seed is the Word of God, wherever you have parables that involve the planting of seed, it is the planting of the Word of God. We must establish this expositional constancy or else you can start reading into parables things that were not intended. One other thought that I believe will help you to understand these parables better is knowing the difference between the “Kingdom of Heaven” and the “Kingdom of God”. Matthew’s Gospel is unique in that it is the only Gospel that uses this term in all of the Bible. Matthew uses Kingdom of Heaven 32 times and Kingdom of God only 5 times. According to New Ungers Bible Dictionary, the Kingdom of Heaven is a term descriptive of any type of rulership God may assert on the earth at a given period. It is the reign of the heavens over the earth and embraces authority. To simplify, Kingdom of God is the reign of God over the earthly Kingdom of Christians. It is rule and region. His rule over the earthly region. In one word, “the Kingdom of the Heavens” is equivalent with Christiandom. It includes the whole sphere of Christian profession. It is the saved and the unsaved, and all those who name the name of Christ. The church is not the Kingdom of the Heavens, but the church is in the Kingdom of Heaven. To help you with this, think, Los Angeles is in California, but Los Angeles is NOT California. © Calvary Chapel Chester Springs Matthew • Chapter 13 • Day 1 DELIGHTING in the LORD BIBLE STUDY SERIES The Kingdom of God embraces fellowship and the relationship of the people to Jesus Christ. The “Kingdom of Heaven” is used in general terms describing anyone who proclaims to be a Christian. We all know that not everyone who claims they are a Christian are real deal, born again believers walking in a right relationship with Jesus Christ and are saved. Whereas, the “Kingdom of God” never includes the unsaved only those who are true believers in Jesus Christ. We pray this will help you as you dive into this chapter and as we continue through Matthew. May God open our eyes and our ears to His understanding. 1. Describe the setting (time/place/people) at the beginning of this chapter. 2. Who do you think the “farmer” represents in this parable? 3. Using verses 18-23, fill in the following chart Who is represented and what is… Their spiritual condition? “the path” “the rocky places” “the thorns” “the good soil” © Calvary Chapel Chester Springs Matthew • Chapter 13 • Day 1 DELIGHTING in the LORD BIBLE STUDY SERIES 4. Which remains the same, the soil or the seed in this parable? How is this like Jesus and the message of salvation? 5. What do you think the phrase in verse 9 which says “He who has ears, let him hear” means? 6. Go to Revelation and read verses 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29, 3:6, 3:13, 3:22. What phrase is repeated over and over again? Pick a church from these 7 references and tell what the trouble is with “their soil”. What are they unable to hear? 7. Why do you think the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables and what was Jesus’ answer to them? 8. Who has received the secrets of the kingdom of heaven and who has not, why? How does this fulfill the prophecy given in verse 14 (Isaiah 6:9)? © Calvary Chapel Chester Springs Matthew • Chapter 13 • Day 1 DELIGHTING in the LORD BIBLE STUDY SERIES A ACTING on God’s Word Here are two possibilities, as to how we can apply this parable to our lives.