Living In The
Kingdom 4 - The Parables Of The Kingdom
The Kingdom of God is a
spiritual reality, however the Bible tells us that it
is not a completely strange and unknowable spiritual reality. In fact there are
very deep analogies between the principles of Creation and the principles of
the Kingdom and some of these deep analogies are set out in the parables of
Jesus.
An analogy is when something
is “like” something else in a way that “maps onto” the
other thing, so that inferences can be drawn or conclusions can be made.
So when we say that Christ is
the Head of the Church which is His bride then we are using human marriage (the
known thing) as a “map” that tells us how God’s love for His
Church (unknown thing) operates. Because the map is very close we can press
that particular analogy a long way and talk about faithfulness, love,
submission, sacrifice etc. Some analogies are very poor analogies and not very useful e.g.
saying the earth is like a basketball.
The parables often start with
a key phrase that indicates the analogy e.g. “the Kingdom of God is like
unto…” so we know the two things which are being compared e.g. the Kingdom of God and a field or a
dragnet. And the analogy can only be pressed as far as the similarity is valid.
For instance it would be incorrect to say that the Kingdom of God is
constructed from soil (field) or is carried in a fishing boat (dragnet).
Parables are mainly found in
the Synoptic Gospel (Matthew, Mark and Luke) which are written for solely
Jewish audiences (Matthew) or combined Jewish and Gentile audiences (Mark,
Luke). John’s gospel has no parables and was written primarily for
Greek-speaking churches in Ephesus and Asia Minor (Turkey) and thinks in terms
of symbols rather than in terms of similarities and parables.
So the key thought is that
parables are like maps of the Kingdom of God, however “the map is not the
territory” and they only give us partial information and can only be
pressed so far. In this lesson we
will examine the parables in Matthew chapter 13.
Definitions: An Analogy is a relation of similarity between
two or more things, so that an inference (reasoning from premise to conclusion)
is drawn on the basis of that similarity. So if item or person or process A is
known to have certain characteristics, and if item or person or process B is
known to have at least some of those characteristics, the inference is drawn
that B also has those other characteristics. If the cases are not similar
enough to warrant the inference, then it is a false analogy.
The Law of Correspondence of Heaven and Earth: Matthew 16:19 I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven." (see also Matthew 18;18)
Discussion:
When the Bible says that God is a Shepherd seeking the lost sheep is that a
good analogy or a poor analogy?
In what ways is God like a
shepherd seeking the lost sheep (Luke 15) ?
In
what ways is God not the least bit like a shepherd?
What do we mean by “the
map is not the territory”?
PARABLES & SPIRITUAL SENSITIVITY
(10) Then the disciples came and said to him,
"Why do you speak to them in parables?" (11) And he answered them, "To you it has
been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not
been given. (12) For to the one who
has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance,
but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. (13) This is why I
speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do
not hear, nor do they understand.
(14) Indeed, in their case the
prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "'"You will indeed hear
but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive."
(15) For this people's heart has
grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have
closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and
understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.'
(16)
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
(17) For truly, I say to you, many
prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and
to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Discussion: How is it
“blessed” to be spiritually perceptive? What happens to those who “have
more”? on the other hand what happens to those
who are “dull of hearing?”
SOWER
Matthew 13:1-52 That
same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. (2)
And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat
down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. (3) And he told them many things in
parables, saying: "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, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no
depth of soil, (6)
but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no
root, they withered away. (7) Other
seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. (8) Other seeds fell on good soil and
produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (9) He who has
ears, let him hear."
SOWER EXPLAINED
(18) "Hear then the parable of the sower: (19) When anyone hears the word of the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what
has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. (20) As for what was sown
on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it
with joy, (21)
yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when
tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls
away. (22) As for what was sown
among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world
and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
(23) As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and
understands it.
Discussion:
How is the parable of the Sower the master parable which gives us the keys to
Jesus’ use of analogy?
What is its meaning? What does it tell us about the spiritual life?
In this parable, how do heaven and earth correspond to each other?
TARES
(24)
He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven
may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, (25) but while his
men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went
away. (26) So when the plants came
up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. (27) And the servants of the master of the house
came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good
seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' (28) He said to them, 'An enemy has done
this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather
them?' (29) But he said, 'No, lest
in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. (30) Let both grow together until the
harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first
and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my
barn.'"
TARES EXPLAINED
(36) Then he left the crowds and went into
the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the
parable of the weeds of the field."
(37) He answered, "The
one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. (38) The field is the world, and the
good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
(39) and
the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is
the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. (40) Just as the weeds are gathered and
burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. (41) The Son of Man will send his angels, and
they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, (42) and throw them
into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. (43)
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their
Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Discussion:
What does the parable of the wheat and the tares tell us about the nature of
the Kingdom of God?
How does it build upon the symbolism in the parable of the sower?
How does this parable introduce a more complex mapping of the spiritual world
and the natural order?
What does it tell us about the
nature of evil?
Why is God patient with evil?
MUSTARD SEED
(31) He put another parable before them,
saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man
took and sowed in his field. (32) It is the smallest of all seeds,
but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a
tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
Background: The mustard tree was a rapidly
multiplying “pest” that grew everywhere and took over entire fields
as the mustard seed was blown by wind. It was against the law to plant it
anywhere near someone else’s field.
Discussion:
How is the mustard seed’s growth like the Kingdom of God?
How is the Kingdom of God a
“pest” to the kingdoms of this world?
THE HIDDEN BUT POWERFUL AND VALUABLE KINGDOM
LEAVEN
(33) He told them another parable. "The
kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of
flour, till it was all leavened."
HIDDEN THINGS
(34) All these things Jesus said to the
crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. (35) This was to fulfill what was spoken by
the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been
hidden since the foundation of the world."
TREASURE
(44) "The kingdom of heaven is like
treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy
he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
THE PEARL
(45) "Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, (46) who, on finding one pearl of great
value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Discussion: All these parables indicate that the
Kingdom is secret, hidden or obscure in some way. They alos
show people discovering it, or the Kingdom being revealed b its leaven-like
influence. They also indicate the great value of the Kingdom.
Have we made Christian truth
“too easy and too cheap”?
Why does God want us to seek
Him out and to “pay a price” of some sort for the Kingdom?
What price did the disciples
pay in order to learn about the Kingdom from Jesus?
Is there a connection between the
price we are prepared to pay for truth and our joy at finding it?
ULTIMATE SEPARATION
(47) "Again, the kingdom of heaven is
like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
(48) When it was full, men drew it
ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
(49) So it will be at the end of
the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous (50) and throw them
into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
Discussion:
What does this parable tell us about the end of the age?
How do the angels sort out the
good from the bad?
What is meant by
“sorting the good into containers”?