Matthew 13

Jesus taught with parables. He was not the first to do so. We find examples of parables in the Old Testament prophets. What was unique about the way that our Lord used parables was that He did not explain their meaning to the crowds, but only to His apostles.

The Lord had attracted great crowds because of His amazing healing ministry. He was displaying truths about the kingdom of heaven through great acts of mercy. But when the time came to speak about the kingdom, His method of teaching was often judgment speech, a way of teaching that concealed as much as it revealed. He began by telling a story about a farmer planting seed in four different soils, but He only explained the story to His disciples later in the passage. The crowds were left without an explanation.

It should not surprise us that the Lord’s disciples were puzzled by this teaching ministry. They asked Him why He taught in parables. His answer, quoting the prophet Isaiah, was very clear and forthright, yet we still find it puzzling because we have trouble agreeing with it. We cannot fathom why the Lord would teach in such a way that would leave so many without real understanding. He told His disciples that He taught this way because it had not been given generally to the crowds to understand the message of the kingdom. To get the message was a gift, and only the disciples had been given that gift. In fulfillment of Isaiah, this teaching was a part of the Lord’s plan of judgment against His Old Covenant people. It was not God’s intention to continue the Old Covenant way of life. It was not His intention to heal their nation at that time. Thus He intentionally taught them in such a way that would leave many confused.

He did explain the parable of the sower and the soils to His disciples. The story was about hearing God’s Word. Not everyone who would hear the Word of the kingdom clearly proclaimed would receive it in the same way or with the same fruitfulness. Four responses were contained in the story. The first group did not understand the message. The evil one snatched away the Word from the consideration of the hearer before it could have any fruit. In the next two cases the Word was heard, but there was no lasting yield. In one case, trouble and persecution came, and the person fell away. In the other case, the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches crowded out the Word before there was any real good that came from it. It was only in the final case of the good soil that the Word had its way. The yield would still vary in that case, but there would be a yield. In all cases the Word was the same, but only in the final case was there any lasting kingdom fruit.

Other parables were also recorded in Matthew 13. The Lord talked about wheat and weeds, about a mustard plant where birds found a home, about a woman hiding leaven in a flour container, and about many other things. By teaching in this way, Christ was speaking great truths that had been hidden since the foundation of the world, but He was doing it in such a way that was consistent with the sovereignty of God, revealing His truth to those whom He had chosen. In a way this was very much like the prophets. These stories, like so much prophetic material, were given largely for our benefit. These were things that would be much more fully understood once the kingdom had more fully come, after the events of the cross, the resurrection, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the church. The meaning of these parables of the kingdom became more obvious after years of preaching the gospel, just as many prophetic texts were also easier to consider after much progress of the Lord’s kingdom throughout the world. The parables still teach us truths about the church, truths concerning matters that would have been very difficult for anyone to understand until the church had more fully arrived.

Now we do see some very important principles of kingdom life in these verses. We know that within the baptized church there will be some who are not elect. This matter will certainly be corrected when the Lord returns at the final resurrection, when He comes with His angels in judgment and salvation. Until that day, we have been forewarned that the devil will be working much mischief right within the church. We are told of the great worth of the kingdom, despite its small beginnings. We learn that the kingdom plans of the Lord will be overwhelmingly successful, and that we would be wise to give up everything that we have for the prize of heaven and the great resurrection age to come.

The disciples claimed to understand many of these things when they were privately instructed, yet the time would eventually come when this great Teacher of parables would be abandoned, even by them. It was then that the most important kingdom seed would be planted through the Lord's willing gift of the kingdom for our salvation.

The message of the kingdom, and of the great events necessary for our redemption, was wonderfully displayed and concealed in the Lord’s parables, just as it was in the entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures. We have the privilege now of considering these truths in the light of the cross, the resurrection, and even centuries of gospel proclamation. We are blessed to be able to use these good words, both new and old, for the glory of God. What was once a matter that was largely concealed can now be all the more wonderfully revealed through the preaching of the Word and the gathering and perfecting of the elect who are being brought into the kingdom of heaven.