1st century Christianity in the 21st century
– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable Concerning Defilement
Having called for the crowd’s attention, the Lord made this simple statement:
Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. (Matthew 15:11)
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The Parable of the Blind Leaders of the Blind
If a blind man ever bids you to follow him, do so carefully and with your eyes wide open.
Jesus warned His hearers about the religious leaders of HIs day. Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the ditch. (Matthew 15:13-14)
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The Parable of 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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The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
The kingdom parables continue in Matthew 13 with the parable of the hidden treasure. It reads:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44)
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The Parable of 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 Parable of the 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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The Parable of the 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 Parable of 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
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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The Parable of the Divided Kingdom
The crowd buzzed, “Could this be the Son of David?” The Lord had just healed a demon-possessed man brought to him. Hear this, the Pharisees quickly accused,
This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons. (Matthew 12:24)
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