Both Good and Bad in the dragnet of the Gospel

– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of the Dragnet

The Parables of Jesus, the dragnet

This is the last of the kingdom parables in Matthew 13. Again, the Lord used an image familiar to His listeners. He said:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to share; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50)

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Treasure Beyond Measure: The Pearl Of Great Price

– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

The Parables of Jesus, the pearl of great price

Our text this week is very much like the text we looked at last week. Matthew 13:44 spoke of a man who found a treasure in a field. With great joy he sold all that he had so he could purchase it. Of course, the treasure is the kingdom of God. Now we come to the pearl of great price.

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The Wonderful Leavening Effect Of The Kingdom

– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of Leaven

The Parables of Jesus, leaven

Jesus has been teaching about the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13. We’ve seen the Sower, followed by the Wheat and Tares, and then the Mustard Seed. Now, He uses leaven to illustrate a kingdom characteristic. We read:

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. (Matthew 13:33)

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The Mustard Seed: A Biblical Study On Spiritual Growth

– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of the Mustard Seed

The Parables of Jesus, mustard seed

As the Lord’s parables about the kingdom continues in Matthew 13, now we come to the parable of the mustard seed. It reads:

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. (Matthew 13:31-32)

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Wheat And Tares: Are We Genuine or False Believers?

– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of the Wheat and Tares

The Parables of Jesus, wheat and tares

In one sense, all of the Lord’s parables are about the kingdom of heaven, but there are a collection of parables which begin in Matthew 13 that we commonly call the kingdom parables. Each begins with the statement, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”

The parable of the wheat and tares is the first of the kingdom parables, recorded in Matthew 13:24-30. It builds upon the parable of the sower which precedes it. The sower spreads the seed in his field, with expectation of a good crop. However, while the workers of the field slept, an enemy slipped in and sowed tares (false grain, Strong’s) among the wheat. As the crop grows, the workers see that tares are growing along with the good grain. While they have confidence in the quality of the seed sown by the field’s master, the presence of the tares perplexes them. The owner of the field perceives that it was an enemy. But what should be done now?

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The Sower: Spreading Good Seed on Every Soil

– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of the Sower

The Parables of Jesus, the sower

Jesus’ parables tend to use simple images. He would employ activites and ideas the common person would understand – activities that folks had experience with. Perhaps the best known parable spoken by Jesus is the parable of the sower. Two gospels record this parable, Matthew (13:3-23) and Luke (8:4-15).

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The Parable of the Two Debtors: A Powerful Lesson on Forgiveness

– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of the Two Debtors

The Parables of Jesus, the two debtors

Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to his home for a meal. As He sat at the table, a woman, simply identified as a sinner came in. Some have tried to identify her as Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2), but the text does not infer this. Her name is not as important as what she did. Simon withheld some basic courtesies from the Lorrd – he did not wash His feet, give Him a kiss, nor anoint His head. However, the woman whom Simon called a sinner (Luke 7:39) did all of these for the Lord (Luke 7:44-46).

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