Parables of the Kingdom

Good afternoon, everyone! Hope you're enjoying the wonderful Sabbath day and all the sunshine we have outside. Welcome to the visitors we have with us. It was good to see the Housens with us. It's funny how little things give you flashbacks to years gone by, like a number of you I grew up in the church. I was watching the Housens' daughter playing with her turtle and peeking it up above the chairs, and it took me back to when I was a little kid in church. I didn't actually play as much with stuffed animals. I like these rubberized, lifelike-looking lizards and snakes.

By coincidence, we would usually sit one row in front of a whole group of older ladies that came to church.

You could probably figure out how that story ends when I love to pull those out of my bag with a flourish. CPR is a good thing. It really does help people. I'd like to start with a brief story.

In the land of Wisdoma, a renowned teacher named Eli spoke to his disciples under the sacred wisdom tree.

He often delivered long, elaborate teachings, mesmerizing the listeners, but leaving them overwhelmed.

One day, a simple gardener named Lila approached Eli, asking for guidance.

Eli looked at the vibrant flowers Lila attended and said, Listen, Lila, and I shall tell you a parable.

In the days of old, a farmer sowed a vast field with countless seeds.

He watered them diligently, and they grew into a bountiful forest. Yet, as time passed, the forest grew dense and tangled, and the sunlight could not reach the ground.

The flowers beneath struggled to blossom amidst the shadows.

Lila nodded, understanding the imagery of the parable.

Eli continued, So it is with wisdom. A teacher's words can be like seeds sown in eager minds, but if the words become a thicket of complexities, they might cast shadows of confusion.

A single ray of sunlight can nurture a single flower to bloom, just as a simple truth can transform a heart.

Lila smiled, comprehending the moral of the story. She returned to her garden, shared small, meaningful insights with those who visited. Her garden thrived not with a multitude of tangled vines, but with a delicate beauty of well-tended flowers.

And so the people of wisdom learned that the depth of wisdom does not reside in the multitude of words, but in the clarity of understanding. Like a garden that flourishes with care and simplicity, hearts flourish with lessons that are straightforward and profound. Thought that was a really interesting story. Now, interestingly enough, for the sake of attribution, that story was generated by chat GPT. When I gave it the prompt to tell a story about sermons in the form of a biblical parable with a moral lesson. So it's interesting to see what technology can do. Not inspired words, but it takes as an algorithm predictive language and puts the story together. It's really interesting to see what can be accomplished and some very true words about parables and what parables do in terms of delivering clarity and simplicity in teaching a story. Stories have been at the heart of how people learn for years, really, as long as humanity has been around. I was struck by a story of a classical composer. Some of you have heard of Giuseppe Verde. If you put his name into modern English, he'd be known as Joe Green. Not mean Joe Green, for those of you who remember him. But he wrote a chorus called the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves back in 1842. He wrote that as a parable or as an allegory. It was a catchy tune. People loved going to the opera back in those days. It was in the days before Italy became a country. It was a bunch of individual provinces, and it was under the rulership of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Verde wrote this song, and he wrote it in a musical called Nabucco. It was about the children of Israel in Babylon as captives, and how they were held captive there and longed to have their own land. It was written as this sort of poke at the Austro-Hungarian Empire that was lording it over the Italian people when they wanted to have freedom and have their own people. He wrote it in such a way, almost like a beer hall song.

I'm not going to try to hum it. You'd probably recognize it if somebody other than me hummed it.

But the story goes that the Austrian guards, the soldiers, would walk down the street once this thing went public, and they would be singing and humming the tune, kind of oblivious to the fact that it was all about the Italian people telling them that they wanted them out of there and wanted them off their neck. And in fact, when the emperor went to the musical and this song played, he actually turned his back because he was offended to have much by it. This is the power of stories. Stories have been used all throughout history in order to teach lessons. So what I'd like to do today, in the short time that we have, is just explore the idea of parables a little bit more deeply. And while I might ramble a bit through a bit of this, there's a clear point here that does actually relate to the Holy Day season that we're entering into. So if you'll bear with me as we go that direction. And for a title today, I've chosen, Parables of the Kingdom. Parables of the Kingdom. So as a starting point, what is a parable? What is a parable? A parable actually comes directly from the Greek word that is parabole. So it's a straight transliteration. And it really means to place one thing by the side of another. So the way it's used in older Greek literature, it talks about a juxtaposition, a comparison, a putting of one thing aside the other thing in order to create a comparison or a likeness between the two of them. So a story that's told as a parable uses a situation, usually one that's common to the listener, to illustrate a bigger truth. And if we reflect on it, we can already think probably of some parable that we've heard in the Bible, or we think of stories that we might have heard just growing up. The story of the ant and the grasshopper.

Probably only takes those few short words to bring to mind an entire set of lessons about industriousness, planning ahead, not waiting until you feel like doing something, but doing it when you need to do it, right? And those stories have a way of sticking with us.

Use of common themes in these stories helps intangible lessons to become more concrete. Somehow, the way we're wired as human beings, when you hear the story of the ant and the grasshopper, you can picture those ants running back and forth, busily going back and forth, and somehow that creates a visual in the mind that's a lot easier to hold on to than a 20-minute lecture about the importance of industriousness, right? And that's why these things are so important. And a story can be a whole lot easier to remember. Now, parables are also interesting because they're not necessarily as precise. And without getting too crazy about, you know, geeking out on forms of literary emphasis, there's actually a difference between a parable and an allegory.

So the Bible uses both. A parable tends to be a very simple story, has a simple point, and it doesn't hang so much on what the symbolism is of every little thing that's within the parable. So a good example might be in Matthew 13, verse 33, where Jesus speaks the parable, saying, The kingdom of God is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it was leavened. Full stop. That's the end of the parable. Very simple story, very short, and meant to bring across a point. Now, every little piece of that story does not have a defined meaning. In fact, Jesus Christ never goes back to define what those different elements mean. And so we're left to think about that, to consider it and understand what does it mean about us? What does it mean about Jesus Christ? It says it's about the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean about God's kingdom? It's meant to teach those types of lessons. In contrast, in allegory, we'll use all the different elements to draw out a lesson. So a good example of that might be the story of the prodigal son. So if we remember the story of the prodigal son, you've got the younger son who's eager to go out. He wants his inheritance. He wants to get out in the world and just do whatever he wants to do. He wants to party. He wants to spend his money. Have a great time. Then you have the father, and then you have the older son who's a good boy and keeps at things. And each one of those represents very specific concrete things. And so that story is told more in the form of an allegory, where we're meant to think about each individual element of it and a more granular idea of what those means. So why what is it that a parable is? It's a simple story. It's meant to bring across a lesson. And because the language is not always incredibly precise, the lessons can be varied. And there can be different things that we might be able to read into these parables and what they mean. Some of them are explained by Jesus Christ. Some of them are not fully explained. They're left really for us to try to understand based on the context. Often the parable is led into with certain words and indications. Often there are few indications coming out of the parable, and we're left with those clues to put together the meaning and the understanding of them. So with that background, why is it that Jesus Christ spoke in parables?

Talked about the fact that stories can make things super clear for people, make them very memorable. Is that why Jesus Christ used parables? Turn with me, if you will, to Matthew 13.

Probably some of you are thinking about this scripture because there's something counterintuitive about parables in the way that Jesus Christ used them. Matthew 13, we'll read verses 34 and 35.

Here we read Matthew, saying, these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them. That it might be fulfilled which is spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world. So the first reason that Jesus Christ spoke in parables was simply to fulfill prophecy.

This prophecy comes from Psalm 28 verses 2 and 3. It's a prophecy about the Messiah and ways that we would identify him. And it spoke several months ago about some of the clues that are written here, especially in Matthew, as Matthew began to understand after the death of Jesus Christ and really what it was and how the Old Testament actually foretold Jesus Christ and what he was going to do. And so one of the very most simple reasons why Jesus Christ spoke in parables was it was a proof that he was the Son of God. He was fulfilling some of the prophecies that were given, saying what it was that God would do through his Son that he would send.

The second reason, which again is really, in this case, directly counter to this idea that stories help to make things more clear, is that Jesus taught in parables in part to hide meaning, to hide meaning from those who did not have understanding. We'll stay in Matthew 13. Let's read verses 10 through 15.

Matthew 13 verses 10 through 15. Now, it can be reflexive for a lot of people to think because when we read parables, they actually do help to illuminate things. Well, surely Jesus Christ spoke these things because it helps people understand. Use common everyday things that they grasp, remember, understand to bring home a point. But here, quoting Isaiah 6 verses 9 and 10, Matthew writes, starting in verse 10 of Matthew 13, And Jesus answered and said to them, So here Jesus says he's not speaking in parables to try to illuminate understanding in those who were not given understanding. And in fact, it probably causes more confusion for them.

And in them, verse 14, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, again referring to Isaiah 6 verses 9 and 10, saying, Seeing you will see and not perceive. For the hearts of the people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them. And we understand, of course, that Jesus Christ works according to calling. God calls certain people in this lifetime. He doesn't call others, and that's why these types of things are said. It's not a situation where this is the only chance that people have for salvation in this life, and therefore it's unfair because God doesn't allow some people to understand His word. We understand it's one of the things we look forward to as we celebrate these fall holy days, that salvation will ultimately be available to everyone, but not everybody's minds are open to understanding by God in this existing life. But note as well that this passage is not just about closed minds. It's not just about parables being there so that people will not understand, because there's a corollary, there's an opposite that's actually brought out here, and the fact is that Jesus Christ did also use parables so that some people could understand better. Let's go again through this passage and let's look, because there are three sets of contrasts that are set up here that bring out this point. The first one is in verse 11.

Jesus answered them and said, to you it's been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. To them, it's not been given. And he's making it clear, as we see in other parts of Matthew 13, that the disciples were very much able to understand the parables. In the latter part of the passage, they even say that to Jesus Christ. Yes, they do understand. The second contrast, again, verse 12, for the one who has more will be given, and he'll have an abundance, in contrast from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. So again, he's setting up a contrast between those who understand, who have understanding, who can gain more understanding through these parables that he's teaching, and those who do not have understanding, who will continue not to, and perhaps even come away more confused, because they don't have the understanding to grasp what's being spoken in the parables. The last is in verse 14 and 16.

In verse 14, Jesus is recording and saying, indeed, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, and he goes again talking about hearing they shall not hear. But in verse 16, then he said, blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

So we reflexively and correctly understand that the parables were given in part to confuse and to not illuminate in those who did not understand. But in addition, they were given to drive more understanding in those whose minds God had opened. In this case, the disciples that he was working with. And that's very clearly laid out in this passage in Matthew 13 verses 10 through 17.

So the parables do serve both to illuminate and to confuse, and which it does depends a lot on the hearer of the parable. I'd like to read a couple short paragraphs that I thought are instructive in this way. This is from David Guzik's commentary on Matthew 13. In the first paragraph, he writes, The same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay. And so the very same gospel message that humbles the honest heart and leads to repentance may also harden the heart of the dishonest listener and confirm that one in their path of disobedience. And we probably see this at times, perhaps, when we have conversations with friends who come from a non-Christian background who don't believe in God, whatever it might be. And when certain things come across to them, the same thing that might prick us in the heart and say, boy, I need to change my ways, can cause them very quickly to say, this is ridiculous. It's just foolishness. And turns them even more against God. We've probably seen that if you read or look at debates between atheists and Christians, for example. You can see that the same words, the same passages can cause a very opposite reaction within people. I just love this phrase, the same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay. I think it's a great way to put it.

The second comes from William Barclay's commentary, and it says, The parable conceals truth from those who are either too lazy to think or too blinded by prejudice to see. It puts the responsibility fairly and squarely on the individual. It reveals truth to him who desires truth. It conceals truth from him who does not wish to see the truth.

Now, we know that beyond the desire in the individual is also God's Spirit, and whether he enables understanding that goes along with it. But again, it stands for the proposition that two sets of people, two different ways to hear, understand, and to listen to a parable. Just a few reflections, then, about understandability of the parables. First of all, as people that God has called, there's no doubt that we, through God's Spirit, have the ability to understand these parables, to know what it is that God is thinking. We understand Jesus Christ as the Son of God. We understand his kingdom that's coming. We understand the church that he has already established. We understand that he gave his life for our sins. All of those things, those understandings of his plan, are important background and fuel our understanding of what's then written in the parables. Now, I'll admit, I've often puzzled over this idea that the parables confuse people and aren't understandable, as we've clearly read in the Scripture.

And another element of that, I think, is understanding that existed at the point in time that these parables were given. As we've talked about before, at that point in time, most people didn't understand at all that Jesus Christ was even the Son of God, much less that he was coming to establish his church and not to bring physical salvation. There is a different ability to understand at least elements of the parables in the time that we live in now, because for one thing, we have the New Testament. People Jesus spoke to originally when he gave the parables didn't have the New Testament, didn't have the understanding that's in the New Testament. And in the Western Christian world, broadly defined, there are plenty of people who at a minimum do understand that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he is about something other than bringing salvation to the first century Jewish nation. That does open up additional ability to understand things that were said in the parables that wouldn't have existed in the minds of people at that time who would not have understood either of those things. As we'll look at in a moment, we can very clearly see that in the context of the parables, because this section we've been reading in Matthew 13, for example, comes immediately after a confrontation between the scribes of the Pharisees and Jesus. As he was healing on the Sabbath, he was asserting that he was Lord of the Sabbath. He was really laying out the fact that he was the Son of God, something that the people he was speaking to just couldn't fathom or accept. So why is it that Jesus spoke in parables? There's the first simple answer that he did it because it was prophesied, and it was a way to show that he was the Son of God. And the second reason was, at the same time, to hide and to illuminate his Word, depending on who it was that was listening, depending on the degree to which God was working with that person. So lastly, why should we care?

Particularly now. And that comes to where we sit right now before the Holy Days. So if you look up anywhere on the internet or anywhere else you want to and try to research out how many parables there are in the Gospels, you'll find different counts anywhere from 30-ish to I think the highest count that I found was 60 or so parables. So it depends on, you know, how people define them, how they might parse one parable into two or three, depending on how they break it up. But most accounts will tell you they're anywhere between 30 and 60 parables recorded in the Gospels. Interestingly, they're recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They are not recorded in John. John wrote his Gospel much later. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels, and they give a bit of more of a straight-up chronological view of what Jesus Christ was doing and walk through all of those steps. John tends to hit from a more conceptual level and not this straight chronological approach. He doesn't mention the parables. Matthew, Mark, and Luke do. The kingdom of God is the most frequent theme of the parables. I don't know how much we've focused on that before, and at this time of year as we're looking towards the kingdom in terms of what we're doing with the Holy Day plan, I think it's interesting to look at the parables through this context.

Matthew contains 12 kingdom parables, and there are two concentrations of them in single chapters. One concentration is in Matthew 13, which contains six parables, and the other concentration is in Matthew 25, which contains three. And for those of you who aren't looking at your clock, we do not have time to go through all of Matthew 13 and Matthew 25, and I don't have any intention of doing that. What I do have an intention of doing is sparking your interest and curiosity to go there and to do that in follow-up to this message. As we move towards the fall Holy Days, I think a useful course of study is to spend some time in the Gospels and looking at the parables and what it is that Jesus Christ said about the kingdom of God. Over and over again in these passages, he says, the kingdom of God is like. And then he goes into the parable. You can probably think of one or two of them in your head right now. And looking through them and not only reading the parable itself, but considering the context that was written in, which we'll talk about a little bit more in a moment, I think can help to illuminate and bring a lot more thoughts and understanding to our minds as we read those things, we pray about them, we consider what it is that they mean. Let's talk for a moment about Matthew 13. There's some really interesting articles you can find out there, especially again if you want to look at how things are set up from a literary and organizational aspect in this chapter. There's a real parallelism that's set up in this chapter in the way it's laid out. I'm not going to go through all the details of it, but I'll leave it to you to look at. Different commentaries will sort through this and organize it in different ways, but most will agree there are three pairs of parables in Matthew 13. So there are essentially three points that are being made, each through two of the parables. And just to briefly talk through those, the first of the three pairs would be the parable of the tares, which is verses 24 through 30, and the parable of the dragnet or the net cast into the sea, which is verses 47 through 50. And those two parables both talk about the fact that the kingdom of heaven includes both those who will be gathered up and those who will be cast away. In the parable of the tares, it's talked about the fact that there's good seed and bad seed that's mixed together and it's left together until the harvest. And the bad is thrown away and burned up, the good is gathered in. The parable of the dragnet talks about a fisherman that goes up, gathers a bunch of fish, keeps certain ones, throws others back. That's the first pair. The second pair is the grain of mustard seed in verses 31 and 32 and leaven in verse 33. Both of these talk about small beginnings, imperceptible things that start and that grow into very large things. It talks about the mustard tree growing large so that even birds can sit in it, how it starts with a tiny little seed.

Parable of leaven talks about the fact that leaven is mixed together with these three measures of grain and it grows and expands just like we see in baking bread. And the third of the three pairs is the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. I didn't jot the verses down for those, I just realized, so I'll let you look those up yourself. They're in Matthew 13, that'll give you a clue.

The treasure in the field, the pearl of great price, both having to do with the incredible value of God's kingdom and how just like a merchant who finds something great value or anyone else who finds something great physical value that nobody else understands, is willing to sell all and buy it up.

So these three pairs of parables in Matthew 13. Matthew 25, just again from a quick overview perspective, includes three longer parables. Some people might even describe them as allegories, but they go into much greater depth. Instead of being a short, like one verse, two sentence burst, they're much longer and more involved. First is the wise and the foolish virgins. The second is the parable of the talents.

And the third is the parable of the judgment of the nations, or you might note is the parable of the sheep and the goats. Or Jesus Christ says those frightful words, I did not know you. Right? And the words none of us want to hear. So those are the passages that I would encourage you to look at. A couple more things before we wrap up, because we're getting close to time here. In addition to the topping of the kingdom, there's another commonality between these two chapters, Matthew 13 and Matthew 25, and that is where they fit within context if you look at the preceding chapters. For example, Matthew 13 starts by saying, I believe it's later in the day, he sat down and talked with the multitude.

And so it's connected to the things that happened in the prior passage. The prior passage, Matthew 12, like we talked about a bit, starts with healing on the Sabbath, goes into conflicts between Jesus Christ and the scribes and the Pharisees, moves on to questions and challenges to the divinity of Jesus Christ, and even the allegation that Jesus is of the devil.

That's the backdrop of the parables that were then given that afternoon as Jesus Christ was speaking further. Matthew 12 culminates in the scribe and the Pharisees asking Jesus for a sign, and it's interesting to me that Matthew 13 then talks about these parables, as Jesus really refuses to give much of anything as any concrete sign.

So I think that's an interesting context and worth looking at as well. Don't just read Matthew 13 in isolation. Start from the beginning of what's called a discourse, these two chapters, and understand how it flows together and what that means and the additional context that that provides. Similarly, Matthew 23 and Matthew 24, as they precede Matthew 25, have conflict. Matthew 23 we probably know as the famous woe unto you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites. Things got to that point between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees that they were essentially screaming at each other and Jesus was calling them out for what they were because he felt that strongly about what they were doing in obscuring, polluting, misdirecting, misusing the law of God.

Chapter 4, interestingly, opposite of Matthew 12, where the scribes and Pharisees asked for signs, in Matthew 24 the disciples come to Jesus Christ and say, what is the sign of your coming? And some of you might remember some of the passages in Matthew 24 as Jesus Christ does lay out through much of that chapter some of the things that will happen, both that will not indicate his coming and some of the things that will happen that will indicate his coming.

And on the back of that, he then goes into Matthew 25 telling these three parables, almost as though he's saying after the request for these signs from his disciples, you know, you're just asking me for signs of what's going to happen. Let me tell you these three parables to let you know it's not about figuring out the signs of when I'm going to come.

It's about what you need to do in the meantime. Because if you think about the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, you think about the parable of the talents, you think of the parable of the sheep and the goats. It's all about the actions that we need to take as followers of Jesus Christ. And it was given as a reaction to this section where the disciples were asking what are the signs of your coming. As though Jesus Christ was saying, okay, I'm going to give you a few things, which he did in Matthew 24. And he spends all of Matthew 25 essentially saying, with that background, here's what you really need to be focused on if you're about the kingdom of God.

That's as far as I'm going to go in terms of talking about these, because we're also at time.

What I would urge you to do is study these two passages as we're coming into the Holy Days. These fall Holy Days are all about the kingdom of God and what it is that's going to lead into it.

And let me give you a few questions, kind of a study guide if you want to use it, as you're looking through these passages. First of all, the question, how does the chapter, or perhaps the two chapters, connecting to the chapter, and again the two chapters we're talking about with Matthew 13 and Matthew 25, how do the preceding chapters connect with the parables in the chapter that you're reading? And why would those events prompt those teachings?

Spend some time thinking about that. Then secondly, as you look at the parables individually, one at a time, what does each individual parable teach us? First of all, about Jesus Christ.

Secondly, what does it teach us about his kingdom? Thirdly, what does it teach us about our Christian lives and responsibilities? I think as you reflect on them and look at them, you'll find there's a lot to consider in all of those veins. Now if I can quote Mr. Thomas and what he would sometimes say at our Kingdom of God seminars, if you want to do the advanced course, I would advise you to go. First of all, go to ucg.org. There is an incredible wealth of sermons and articles out there. Search out these parables. Search out the parable of the mustard seed and look at some of the articles that are written there, sermons that are given on it. Same as these other parables, same as these chapters of the Bible. Incredible wealth of information that'll illuminate and give you other things. I would recommend do not do that until you've done the first thing. I think there's a lot of power in going to the material, looking through it, reflecting on it, praying about it, and seeing what you see. And then go to the next set of material. Some of it's going to resonate directly with you as things that you saw. Some things will be new and different, and they'll probably mean more after you've spent some time putting your own independent thought and prayer in looking at those passages. There are also some very interesting commentaries and study guides that are available more generally on the internet, especially as they talk to structure and literary devices that can help you at least understand more background and how and why these verses and passages are constructed in the way that they are. So in conclusion, parables are an age-old method of conveying complex teachings in an understandable style. Even chat GPT can do at least a reasonable job of a facsimile of one. While the parables of Jesus served in part to obscure the truth, as we read in Scripture, they were unquestionably also meant to enhance the understanding for those whose minds God has opened. And we need to approach them in that way as people who do understand God and His plan. Lastly, a major theme of the parables is Jesus. I'm sorry, the parables of Jesus is the kingdom of God. As we approach the fall Holy Day, spending time in these teachings to gain a greater perspective of what Jesus taught about His kingdom can help us to gain the perspective that we need in this time of year.