Parable Of The Net

^{Matthew 13:47-5047} “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The net here is a sagene, or a dragnet. The word sagene only shows up once in the entire New Testament even though there are other references to nets elsewhere, they use different words. So this is the type of net that gets dragged through the water and picks up EVERYTHING in its path. So when you throw this net overboard you get everything from seaweed, fish, boots and tires. This is the idea that the kingdom touched everything in the world, not just humans or the fish that they are after.

The net itself also doesn’t do any sorting whatsoever, it just gathers up everything within its reach. This is the same message as we saw in the Wheat and the Weeds that Joe talked about when the master said to not pull up the weeds. That will be done at harvest time. In other words, we can’t tell what the difference between the wheat and the weeds are now and we’ll wreck everything if we start putting our fingers where they don’t belong. The message is the same for the first half of this parable. We get caught up in the same net as everyone else, and it’s not our job to sort out everything before being brought up onto the boat, that gets done later. So let’s focus on being fish.

Let’s make no mistake about it; this parable is a judgment parable. This parable is split up into two parts. The first part we have Jesus telling the story and then the second part he explains what he is talking about. In this part we got angels replacing the fishermen and getting the willful sinners out of the midst of the righteous.

Let’s make no mistake, Jesus uses strong language here to highlight what this kind of life is like. A life that refuses to come into the party is a life that is hell. It is a life that continually tries to earn purpose and pleasure through whatever means they can. Judgment is a central part of Jesus’ message. Without judgment there is no need for salvation and life is cheapened. However, like we have already discussed, the beautiful part about judgment is that we are not judged by our own works (because we would fail miserably) but we are judged based on what Jesus has already done

The Parable Of The Pearl

Matthew 13:45-46:

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

1.  Have a definite purpose in life. The Greek word for 'merchant' means a traveling wholesaler who is traveling throughout the world to seek the premium products that the world has to offer. To seek the best merchandise to sell. He's looking for the best pearls of value, not because of why he wants them but to have them for his clients.

You know the pearl is valued for its size, its shape and its luster. Those three things make the value of a pearl and so that is what he is looking for. You've got to have a great purpose in life. Aimlessness produces restlessness and despondency. If you want to be successful you've got to have a goal in your life. The true measure of a man is not how tall he is but how high his ideals are. If you're going to climb you've got to reach for the branches and not the blossoms. I think too many of us are just reaching for the blossoms of life. You reach for the branches and then you can climb higher. Stay on the path that leads to your goal.  Set a goal in your life. Chart the course and hold yourself to it and you will succeed. Have a purpose. You know having a purpose, God will empower you to fulfill that purpose in your life. God will do that for you.
 

The merchant man looked the world over until he found what he was after. Nothing stopped him. He was focused on doing what he was doing.

2.   In order to be successful in life you have to have high standards. He had the highest standards. The Greek word here indicates that he was seeking goodly or fine pearls. He was seeking the best pearls that money could buy. Seeking the biggest and the best in perfect pearls is good when Jesus is your pearl. You need to seek a relationship with Jesus Christ because successful people have high standards, and the highest standard that you can have is none other than our Savior Jesus.

3.  If you want to be successful you need to have a sense of value. So many people go out and they say well I bought that I thought was going to be okay, or I married him, or I married her. I thought... Well, you need to have a proper sense of value. You need to have a good judgment and how do you get that. God will give it to you. You need to consult with your partner and God will help you to make proper decisions in life. All too often we conclude that something is valuable simply because so many people are chasing after it to get it. I've got to get me a pair of those boots. I've got to get me one of those electronic devices, because everybody's getting it. I've got to have one. The crowd does not set your value. Your value is set by a high standard. Not the crowd. Keep that in mind. If you follow the crowd their values will become your values.

A pearl isn't much. If you hit a pearl with a hammer you end up with a pile of lime-like chalk. It's just dust. A pearl isn't much. It's only the covering that makes the pearl valuable. And that's what makes you valuable is that covering. If you're covered with the robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, you're valuable. You're priceless. You are the pearl of great price. In Eden God covered man's nakedness, and at Calvary God covered man's sin. In both cases an innocent lamb died for the guilty.

A pearl is produced as a result of suffering of a living organism and from much suffering an object of beauty and value is formed. And I'm wondering, could it be that when we all get to heaven that those who have suffered the most in this life will be the most valuable up there. As the little grain of sand in the oyster is ultimately clothed with a beauty not of its own so we are covered with the beauty of the righteousness of the character of Jesus Christ and that is priceless. You can't afford it. All you have to give is filthy rags in exchange for the robe and that's all he wants, is your filthy rags and he will give you this covering that will make you a priceless pearl. It will make you into one of Jesus' jewels. Never forget your value.

So Jesus is standing at your heart door knocking and Jesus is looking for pearls. He's looking for this jewel. Jesus loves you because he sees in you a pearl. You are the pearl that he died for. May his death not be in vain. He paid for your covering with his blood. Give your life to Jesus. May He be the thrill of your soul. May he be jewel of your life and may you sparkle in his kingdom. Jesus loves you.

 

 

The Parable Of The Hidden Treasure

^{Matthew 13:44:
44} “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
 

We are not sure what this man was doing in someone else’s field. Maybe he was a hired helper for the man who owned the field, or maybe he was just passing through. Or maybe the field was for sale and the man was looking it over before deciding whether to buy it. Whatever the reason he was there, he found an amazing treasure, maybe similar to the emeralds. This was a great surprise! Instantly, the man knew that the treasure was incredibly valuable. He was full of joy over this discovery. He went home and sold everything he owned: his house, his furniture, his jewelry, his sheep and goats. Then he took all the money that he had made, and he bought that field. Clearly, the treasure in that field was worth more than everything else that the man owned.

 

When the man found the treasure, he could have covered it back up, gone about his business, and forgotten all about it. But that’s not what he did. The treasure was too great to forget about! The man was so excited to know that he could possibly own that treasure. He probably laid awake each night thinking about the treasure until it was his. Notice that the man sold EVERYTHING. He was left with nothing. He knew that the treasure was better than his home and his belongings. The treasure was so important to him, that he joyfully gave up everything else in the world to gain that treasure.

 

The parable mentioned is not a plea for us to sell all we have in order to obtain the kingdom - for we truly have nothing to offer God (Ephesians 2:5-9). Instead, they are a call for us to desire the kingdom above all else. Consider the words of Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” The emphasis is not on what we give up, but on the unfathomable new life that is being offered to us

"The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship, and those who know where the treasure lied joyfully abandon everything to secure it" (D. A. Carlson).

 

"…The kingdom of heaven, the glad recognition of God’s rule over heart and life, including salvation for the present and for the future, for soul and ultimately for the body, the great privilege of therefore being made a blessing to others by the glory of God, all this, is a treasure so inestimably precious that one who obtains it is willing to surrender for it whatever could interfere with having it" (William Hendriksen).

When we discover that we can enter God’s kingdom, we have a choice to make, just as the man in the field did. We can see the treasure and we can just go back to our old way of life. Or we can see God’s kingdom, full of peace, love, forgiveness, freedom, and joy, and want that more than anything else.

Jesus is not saying that you must go out and sell everything you own. He is saying that you should be willing to. He is saying that NOTHING compares in value to the new life that the King wants to give you. You should not love anything or anyone more than you love the King, God Himself. If you belong to the kingdom, you have the greatest treasure! This treasure is freely given by God, the King, to everyone who trusts in Him.

Parable Of The Yeast

Matthew 13:33:

³³ He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds^[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Many seem to have a problem with this parable? The trouble is that whenever yeast is used figuratively in the Bible it is usually speaking about “the bad guys” and the influence of sin, hyprocrisy, or their false teaching, (1 Corinthians 5:6-8, Galatians 5:9, Matthew 16:6-12, Mark 8:15-21). Yeast has been regarded this way ever since Israel was asked to sweep every bit of it out of their houses before the Exodus (Exodus 12:39).

Jesus warns in Matthew 16:6 (NLT) “Watch out! ... Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” Galatians 5:9 (NLT) says “… This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!” Clearly yeast is used in a very NEGATIVE way to describe the teaching and hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
Sin has certainly infiltrated our world, transforming the original dough. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard (Romans 3:23 NLT),” but Jesus says “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast…” The only way that sin and the Kingdom of Heaven are alike is in their ability to INFILTRATE AND INFLUENCE the world.

To say that yeast is ONLY spoken of as defiling would be a FALSE ASSUMPTION. Look closer. In each passage it is the PERVADING nature of the yeast and it’s INFLUENCE that is being emphasised. Perhaps this is the only place in the Bible where yeast is likened to something good.

A similar analogy is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 (NASB95) it says “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a THIEF in the night.” but this is not saying that Jesus is a thief. In every other place in the Bible stealing is spoken of as a sin, but here it is simply speaking about the ability of the thief to come UNEXPECTEDLY.

Maybe you think you don’t have much to offer God. A small boy with some fish and bread probably thought the same way, but he offered God what he had and God made a miracle out of it. The disciples said in effect “We don’t have enough.” He said “Here, take what I’ve got!” and under the authority and rulership of Jesus it fed 5000, with some left over (Matthew 14:13-21).

When the Kingdom of Heaven infuses my thoughts, my words, my actions, and resources then God can do something INCREDIBLE through me. He wants me to live a life enlarged by the muscles of His Kingdom purposes. Dream big! Live big for Him! “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NASB). I am “filled with all the fullness of God…according to the power that works within me” (Ephesians 3:19-20). Incredible impact and influence!

The Kingdom of Heaven transforms my life when I respond to the authority of Christ. I am changed incredibly when I accept what He has done for me on the Cross, where He paid the penalty for my sin.

The world will never be the same (Acts 1:8) as the gospel continues to TRANSFORM lives. Inherent in this parable, like yeast permeating dough, is the ever insistent invitation of Jesus to you today to be transformed, not by the kingdom of darkness, but by the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mark 4:30-32:
³⁰ Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³² Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

Now there are 3 interesting features of this parable that illustrate the truth that Jesus is teaching to his disciples about the growth of the kingdom of God.

1. First, there is the small and seemingly insignificant beginning. The minuteness of the mustard seed. "It is like the mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground."

The mustard seed that Jesus is referring to here was likely the common black mustard seed that was a tiny seed that birds loved to feed upon. This plant would grow in the wild and it was also cultivated by farmers for both its leaves and its seeds were of value. The leaves of the mustard plant were eaten as a vegetable, much as we would eat the leaves of a lettuce plant in our salads, and the mustard seed was used as a condiment, either powdered or made into a paste. The first point that Jesus makes about the mustard plant is the conundrum of such a large plant coming from such a small seed. The mustard seed is the smallest seed known to the Middle East. It is roughly the size of the head of a pin, or a grain of sand.

 

2. And this brings us to the second feature of this parable. For Christ also focuses on the phenomenal growth of the mustard plant. "Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants." While it is true that the mustard plant in Palestine starts with a very tiny beginning - a seed the size of a grain of sand, it is also true that the mustard plant soon shoots by the other garden plants, growing with thick stems to a height of 10-12 feet. Christ illustrates the size of the plant when he says that the birds of the air can perch in its shade. The verb that Jesus uses in the original language here literally means to pitch a tent.

It implies more than birds just sitting on the branches. It rather indicates birds living in the mustard plant, building nests, and raising families. This plant that began with such a humble beginning becomes a home for families of birds. It is phenomenal that such tremendous growth comes from such a little, tiny seed.

3. Now let's move to the 3rd feature of this parable. Yes, the mustard seed starts from a very small

beginning, and it grows phenomenally to pass the other garden plants. But finally, notice with me the blessing that the mustard seed brings in its growth.

There is blessing to people as they eats of the leaves and enjoys the seed paste as a condiment.

There is blessing for the birds that build their nests in the branches and eat the mustard seeds as part of their diet. *The mustard seed, though small and seemingly insignificant, brings great blessing to all.