Moving Through Matthew - Between the Rejection and Restoration (Matthew 13:3-50)
Moving Through Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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As we move into Chapter 13 of Matthew this morning, I want us first to understand something. The Jewish people knew there was a Messiah that was coming. We’ve talked about this. They knew that there was one from the line of David that would be a King forever. And even after 400 years of silence from the Lord (the time between Malachi and the announcement of the coming of Emmanuel by the angel, the Jews still had the hope of a coming Messiah.
But, then after he did come…what next? Nothing in the Old Testament pointing to what we see happened after he was rejected. So what is to take place between the rejection of Jesus as Lord by the Jews here and the return of the Lord as we read about in Revelation?
Look at Matthew 13:11
Matthew 13:11 (ESV)
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.
King James Version (WordSearch Edition) (Chapter 13)
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
I like that word mysteries. But either translated as mystery or secret, what Jesus is saying here is that until now, what happens between rejection and return has not been known. But that is about to change. Jesus gives us a picture of what will happen between his rejection and teh Kingdom of Heaven....which is the return of Christ.
Let me point out one other Scripture from the Old Testament showing that this time of mystery was not yet known.
In Zechariah chapters 12, 13, and 14 we see the conversion of Israel and the coming of the Kingdom. Now remember the coming of the Kingdom points to the return of Jesus Christ and the setting up of the 1000 year reign.
Look at Zechariah 12:10
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
There is coming a time when the Jewish people will see what they have done. What did they do? THE ONE THEY HAVE PIERCED. But they will turn, and they will be sorrowful for what they did to the Messiah.
So here you have the piercing (THE REJECTION) and the mourning (the time of RESTORATION the second coming), but what happens in between. Because as of now it has been 2000 years!
Matthew 13 gives us this time. In fact you can read chapter 13 like it is 2022. We are between the rejection and the restoration. (THE CHURCH AGE)
And as we talked last week, Jesus begins to teach in parables. Now if you remember I told you that a parable is when you are trying to explain something that might be difficult to understand, so you tell a story to help illustrate what you are trying to say.
But here is another way to explain what a parable is. The original greek word for parable is par-uh-bole-a and means alongside. So to speak a parable means to put a story beside the truth that is trying to be expressed…and Jesus did that.
Let’s look at he first parable…
The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-23)
The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-23)
Now I am not going to read the enter parable this morning because of time so let me summarize.
A man went to sow seed in the field. The seed that he is sowing is the preaching of the gospel. So some with reject it (the seed on the path), some will receive the gospel for a time but the stones, the thorns and the sun will cause them to fall away, and then some will receive it and there will be evidence of this by the spiritual fruit they produce.
What is the Lord saying? The gospel will be preached in the whole world. Some will reject, some will accept it then fall away, and some will accept it and begin to live a life that produces spiritual fruit. THIS IS VERY SIMPLE…a reminder that not everyone will have faith and follow Jesus. Not everyone is going to heaven.
The Parable of Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)
The Parable of Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)
A man sowed wheat in the field, and during the night, someone came and sowed weed in the same place. The weeds grow with the wheat and ruin the wheat crop. But you cant pull them up because they look just like the wheat, so you leave it alone until the harvest.
What is the Lord talking about in this period of time? He is saying that there will be true and false believers. People standing side by side with true believers who are not true believers. They may look like it, they may even sit beside you in church, but they are false. And on the day of judgement it will be revealed.
Remember the verse from Matthew 7:21 “21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
That is what he is speaking of here, and what I was speaking of last week in my own life. I looked like a Christian, act like one, but I was just playing a game until I refaced my heart and desires on him, not me.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32)
The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32)
The mustard seed is the smallest seed. But as it was planted it produced a big tree, like big as a mango tree. SO big that birds could come and rest on its branches.
Jesus is pointing to the coming church age when the church will begin small. When Jesus ascended to the Father he told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit fell on them and gave them the power to preach the gospel. In Acts 2 we see the boldness of Peter, as he stood up and preached the gospel and 3000 were saved that day. That was the beginning of the church. Now 3000 people doesn’t seem small, doesn't seem like a mustard seed, but when you think about all those who have coem to salvation over the last 2000 years and entered God’s church, it is like the big tree that started vert small.
The Parable of the Leaven (Matthew 13:33)
The Parable of the Leaven (Matthew 13:33)
This one has the same application as the mustard seed. A woman hid leaven in flour until all of it became leaven. The leaven is the Kingdom, buried inside of the dough which is the world....until the leaven (the Kingdom) from inside begins to touch the entire world
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44)
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44)
A man is working in the field and he comes across a great treasure. What does he do? Does he take it? Steal it? No, he sells everything he has to buy the field so he can have the treasure. He is very honest.
What is Jesus saying? The treasure is salvation, redemption. And this man gave up everything to that he could have redemption. There will be people during this Kingdom period who will give up everything for the treasure of salvation.
One note here…he wasn’t looking for it, he came upon it. Jesus is saying that the grace of God will fall on some people in a moment when they least expect it. They will come across their treasure of salvation.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value (Matthew 13:45)
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value (Matthew 13:45)
Jesus says that there was a man who was looking for the perfect pearl. The looked along time through many pearls until he found the right one. Then he sold everything like the man with the hidden treasure, to obtain it. Again the Pearl of Great Value is the Kingdom, redemption, but this man, unlike the one before had been searching and searching until he found the Kingdom.
I don’t know if you have ever heard Pastor Emma give his testimony. He was searching and searching because he knew there was something he needed. He looked at many different religions including Hare Krishna before found the Kingdom of God. He look through many pearls before he found the one of great value.
The Parable of the Net (Matthew 13:47-50)
The Parable of the Net (Matthew 13:47-50)
A net is thrown out from a boat to collect fish. When the net is drawn in, there are fish that are good and fish that are not. So the good where kept but the bad were thrown out, not back into the water, they were destroyed.
The is a picture of the end of the church age and the beginning of the Kingdom of God, when Jesus returns. The good, those true believers will be kept under his care, but those who have rejected Christ and are not his will be cast into a Devil’s Hell.
Now, why would Jesus not speaking plainly about what was to come between his rejection and his restoration? Look back at Matthew 13:10-13
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.
There is great reward in following Jesus. I’m not talking about only heaven. For the follower of Christ that stays true, the seeks God, and wants to follow his will and his Word, more understanding and insight will be given to you. ****the one who has (what? passion to follow Christ) the more understanding he will be given. But the opposite is true. The one who does not have a passion for the Lord, any kind of understanding will be not be given, and some will even be taken away.
Let me close with this. What kind of soil does your life have?
Is there a rocky path on your heart where the gospel has fallen, but it has not taken root and something has taken it away?
Are there weeds and thorn in your soil that have choked out any thing that would come from what you hear?
Or is your soil good. The Word of God has landed in yoru life and you can see the good fruit it is producing?
I ask you this because the time between the rejection and the restoration is getting closer everyday. ANd when that time of restoration comes we will all stand before the Lord and teh soil of our heart will be revealed.