Through the eyes of Jesus
Key to Understanding the Parables
Matthew 13:3 – 9
Jan 16 2011

In my last message we took a look at what prompted Jesus to start speaking more deliberately in parables, and that was the direct outright hostility of some of the people around, mainly the Pharisees and Sadducees.

We also mentioned that Parables are more than just a story that a teacher or preacher will use to drive a point home; a parable is designed for a much more specific purpose. From a biblical point of view most parables are a story laid out from an earthly perspective or point of view to reveal a heavenly mystery or understanding.

The word Parable comes from two Greek words
Παρά (“Pa-ra”) along  or beside
And
Βάλλω (“Ba – Lo”) To throw
Parable’ is ultimately derived from Gk. parabolē, literally ‘putting things side by side’.

Today I want to start by taking an overview of this chapter to kind of set the stage as to what Jesus was doing in this particular setting, but before we begin we need to understand some basic principles for interpreting parables.

1. You need to know the original setting the parable was spoken in to understand its intended meaning.

Culture,  Political, Environment, Time period, Geography, etc

1. You must be able to discover the problem or question that the parable is addressing. Most parables will deal with a single problem or question. This can be found in the particular text being read or it may be in the surrounding verses, such was the case in my last message. It was only after Jesus told the first parable that the disciples saw a change in His teaching method that they asked Him why He changed and in order to understand you had to go back and read what happened previously. It is only then that you can understand the change.

 

1. You must determine the central truth of the parable. Most parables can have multiple points that are dealt with, but there is only one central point the parable is aimed at.

 

As I mentioned in the previous message most scholars see seven parables in this chapter and end up missing the eighth one. There is a lot of speculation as to why they only focus on the seven but the most common thought is that seven is the perfect number from a biblical perspective, but eight has its own uniqueness also.

Eight lends itself to new beginnings or new understandings. In scripture the eighth day is also known as the first day of the new week or a new period of time. So as we get to the eighth parable it is my hope that you can look back on the previous seven and understand them more clearly, in other words a deeper or clearer insight into what Jesus is trying to show us in this chapter.

Most Common Division of the Parables

Let’s take a quick look at the titles and how they are laid out by Matthew. Now is this to say that these are the only parable that Jesus spoke that day or that this is the completeness of each of the parables, most likely not as verse three states; Then He spoke many things to them in parables.

Most scholars show the division as a section of four and a section of three parables, The first four are;
1. The Parable of the Sower or the Seed     (Matthew 13:3 – 9 & 18 – 23)
2. The Parable of the Wheat and Tares       (Matthew 13:24 – 30 & 37 - 42)
3. The Parable of the Mustard Seed            (Matthew 13:31 – 32)
4. The Parable of the Leaven.                     (Matthew 13:31)

These four are spoken to the multitude out in the open near the sea shore. This not only exhibits the viewpoint of the Kingdom to the outside, the number Four in scripture is directed to earthly events. These parables also show just how far the devil is allowed to go in his opposition to the truth of God.

The second three parables are;
1. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure       (Matthew 13:44)
2. The Parable of the Great Peril                (Matthew 13:45)
3. The Parable of the Dragnet                     (Matthew 13:47 – 50)

By this time, Jesus had taken His disciples away from the crowd to a quieter and secluded setting and was spoken in private. Why would Jesus need to do something like this if the parables were designed to explain heavenly things? Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7:6
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

The Jewish Leadership was not ready to hear the truth of the parables and even if they did all that it would have done is to be trampled under foot.

Just as the number four in scripture relates to the world and earthly thing the number three relates to heavenly things and the completeness of things.

Now this splitting of the parables in this fashion may be the most wide spread idea for the seven parables others see these seven parables in different light. For the scholars that see or just focus on the seven it may be that they are trying to connect these seven to other aspects of the Bible.

Other ways to divide the parables

A.R. Fausset - (1821-1910), Church of England.
He sees the first parable, the parable of the Sower more as an introduction to the remaining six.
He divided the remaining six into working or complimentary pairs. Second and the Seventh, Third and the Fourth, and the Fifth and Sixth. He sees each pair setting forth the same general truth but with difference in points of view. Since these have connectivity to them in relation to the number seven, he feels that the eighth parable does not fit in.

William Arnot (1808–1875), preacher and theological writer & minister of St. Peter's Church in Glasgow.
He also links most of the parables together as pairs, except in his view point, the single one that stands alone is actually the seventh.

He sees the First and second as forms of relations between the Kingdom and the several classes of intelligent creatures it comes into contact with. The third and fourth show a form of progress of the Kingdom from its small beginnings to its grand ending. The fifth and sixth as a type of preciousness the Kingdom offers to everything else and the Seventh is about separation, the separation of good and evil..

Other writers have tried to compare the seven parables of Matthew 13 to the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, while others have tried to connect them to the Seven Churches in Revelation. Now can there be some kind of connection between these parables of Matthew 13 and these other ideas, most certainly, but we must not try to force connections where they are not specifically connected.

George Henry Lange (G.H. Lange) (November 20, 1874-October 20, 1958) was a noted Bible teacher, prolific author, and biblical scholar of his time.

His is the latest and currently the most widely accepted understanding of this chapter, but he still does not deal with the eighth parable. Now does this say that he has it perfect and the others have it wrong, no not at all? For in essence a parable is to get us to dig deeper into what Jesus is trying to show each and everyone of us. And since we all come from different backgrounds and settings we all see the picture slightly different.

This series of parables is right at the beginning to the height of Jesus’ earthly ministry and in some ways it gives us clues as to what is going to happen from that point on into the future, in other words the growth of the church.

In the parable of the Sower we can see a picture of the Apostolic age of the church. The seeds that are being spread to all walks of life and the result of the spreading.

In the parable of the Tares we can see the early church springing up in the midst of all kinds of various heresies.

The parable of the mustard seed is a seed that has taken on a form other than what it was designed to do and the resulting chaos that comes because of it.

The parable of the leaven is a result of the heresies or pagan rituals that were being mixed into the church during the mediaeval ages.

The parable of the Hidden Treasure deals with the period of the church as it comes to realization during the reformation period.

The parable of the Great Pearl deals with the contrast between Christianity and the modern culture and secularism.

The seventh parable, the parable of the draw net deals with the final separation of the church from the world.

This leaves us with the final parable that as noted is so often over looked, the parable of the Householder.

Eight simple statements that have brought bewilderment and confusion along with blessings and contentment to people since they were first spoken. 
Matthew 13:10 - 15

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

Verse 14 and 15 are not new statements, Jesus here is restating the prophesy told by Isaiah in Chapter 6:9 – 10, only instead of being a prophecy it is now coming to fulfillment. The parables in essence set out the demands that will lead to showing who is interested in gaining access to the Kingdom of God. For those that refuse the words of the parables, they refuse because they do not feel that what is being said is right, is fair or simply does not agree with how they view Jesus or His teaching should be.