A funny thing happened a couple weeks ago. It was our last big snow.
And I have a pickup truck, which I love driving around in. I just drive around in it.
But I also have a snowblower. And when I can make those two come together,
put the snowblower in the back of the pickup truck, I love it.
So I cleared my snow around my house, loaded up the snowblower in the back of my pickup truck,
closed the back gate, and I was going to come over here to the church just to make sure that
if I could help out anyway, and it had already been cleared.
But I'm pulling out. I've got my truck in four-wheel drive. I punch it a little bit.
And I look up in the rearview mirror, and do you know what I see?
I see my snowblower rolling off the back of my pickup truck.
Apparently, the gate hadn't closed sufficiently because of snow.
And so I watched the snowblower roll off and then do about a three-foot bounce and fall back down.
I stopped. I rushed out. I ran up to my snowblower, which was on its side, looking dead.
What am I going to do?
I reached down, pumped the primer.
Are you going to be okay? Pull that cord.
That thing was ready to roar.
It needs a lot of work done to it.
But the engine was working great.
This morning, I don't want to punch the engine and drop you off the back of the gate.
I want to prime your pump.
I want your heart to be primed to receive the parables of Matthew 13.
And so this morning, we're going to take some time to take a look at these eight parables together.
Parables about the kingdom of heaven.
And if I can remind you what the kingdom of heaven is, the kingdom of heaven is a way of talking about the saving reign of God.
God being present and rescuing sinners to himself.
And the saving reign of God was inaugurated at the first coming of Jesus.
And it will culminate in the second coming of Jesus.
But this morning, I'm going to look at these eight parables in Matthew 13.
And we're going to see each one reveals some aspect of the kingdom of heaven.
Something about the saving reign of God.
And in order for you to fully appreciate each parable, you need to see how they're all functioning together as a whole.
Matthew 13, 1-53 is one extended teaching of Jesus.
It's all to be taken together.
And so what makes this teaching unique is that Jesus teaches in parables.
That's why it's commonly known as the parabolic discourse.
And personally, I just like saying parabolic.
I love the way that comes off my tongue.
Parabolic.
This parabolic discourse is one of five extended teachings throughout the Gospel of Matthew
that culminate in the climax of Matthew.
And that is the death and resurrection of Jesus.
But this morning, I want to prime your heart for these parables of the kingdom.
And so this morning, five primers.
You ready?
Number one, a parable is a kind of tool.
Primer number two, parables have a dual purpose.
Primer number three, the parables have an interwoven theme.
That makes it a beautiful tapestry.
Primer number four, and this is the one that I think you're going to be amazed by.
There is a very carefully constructed design here.
These parables are working together.
And primer number five, these parables point to a common focal point.
And his name is Jesus.
So primer number one, a parable is a kind of tool.
What's your favorite tool that you have?
Is it your phone?
Is it Google?
The remote control to your TV?
I was given a cordless drill by my mother-in-law about 10, 15 years ago.
And I love that thing.
That thing gets a lot done.
I've got an axe.
I love my axe.
I would carry it around my back if I could.
But I think it would raise too many questions.
And so I don't.
A buddy of mine let me use his chainsaw.
It's called a Husqvarna chainsaw.
It is awesome.
I would use it.
It would blow all this kind of wood chips all over the place.
I would smell like chainsaw exhaust and sweat.
And all that, all coming together, wood chips, exhaust, sweat.
Oh, man, it smelled so good.
But I have actually coined the fragrance.
It's a cologne.
It's called Weekend Warrior.
What's your favorite tool?
Jesus was a carpenter.
I'm sure he had a favorite tool.
But when it comes to teaching, one of Jesus' favorite tools was the parable.
A parable is simply a way to communicate truth.
It's a teaching tool.
And another thing you need to know about a parable, not only is it a teaching tool,
it's a teaching tool that communicates truth through comparison.
It's a very effective way to communicate spiritual truth,
and it does so through a comparison to everyday activity.
And so if you took a look at the eight parables in Matthew 13,
the parable of the sower,
you see this very visible presentation Jesus puts in your mind.
He paints a picture in your mind to make a point.
And so the parable of the sower is chapter 13, 3 through 9,
and we see this sower throwing seed,
and it's being received by four different kinds of soils.
It's like you're there.
You can imagine it.
Very vivid.
It's a comparison.
The parable of the weeds in chapter 13, 24 through 30,
that's the second parable.
Weeds and wheat growing up together.
It's like you're there.
The parable of the mustard seed in chapter 13, 31 through 32.
The parable of the leaven in 13, 33.
It's like when I hear Jesus saying that,
I imagine a lady just kneading dough
and kneading leaven through a lump of dough.
Very visible.
But they're there to make a comparison.
You go on to the hidden treasure in the pearl of great price.
The hidden treasure in 1344.
Can you not imagine a guy digging in the middle of a field?
I'm like there.
The parable of the net.
Fishermen getting this huge catch of mixed fish together.
That's 1347 through 58.
And the last parable, of course,
is the parable of the master of the house.
That's in 1352 where this guy comes out
and out of his treasure shares new and old things.
Each is very vivid.
And each is making a comparison.
So what a parable does is
it teaches truth through a comparison.
Jesus is going to point us to an everyday experience
we all deal with
and make a spiritual connection to it.
Jesus is absolutely brilliant.
Now, a parable is a teaching tool
that makes a comparison in order to communicate truth,
but it also provokes a response.
You just can't read it and kind of like,
well, I'm going to move on.
It provokes a response.
And it's not just these parables in Matthew 13,
but in Matthew 18,
there's the parable of the unforgiving servant.
It's an extended parable.
And you can't help,
but when you get done reading,
you're like,
am I forgiving everybody
the way I'm supposed to be forgiving everybody?
It provokes a response.
Or the parable of the talents
in Matthew 25.
Am I faithfully stewarding
what God has entrusted to me?
And am I doing that in a way
that when He comes back,
He will be pleased?
You see, parables are very vivid,
but they're designed to provoke
a response from us.
And so when you read the parable of the sowers
and you learn about all these kind of different soils,
you find yourself asking the question,
well, what kind of soil is my heart?
That's the right response.
If you read the parable of the hidden treasure
and you see this guy
who stumbles across this treasure hidden in a field
and you see his response
that in joy,
he sells everything that he has to buy it.
You find yourself asking the question,
am I responding that way to the kingdom of heaven?
Do I have that kind of joy?
Very effective teaching tool.
And so a parable is a kind of teaching tool
that compares everyday events
to make a spiritual connection
to a spiritual truth
and it's designed to elicit a response.
And Jesus used parables
like no other before or after.
You can even say that Jesus
was the prince of parables.
He's that good.
So primer number one,
parables are a kind of a tool.
Primer number two,
a parable has a dual purpose.
Think vertical blinds.
I'll come back to it.
Remember, Matthew 13 is coming after
a couple chapters
dealing with people's responses to Jesus.
Remember in John chapter 11,
John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus
and basically asks him,
hey, are you the one?
Are you the Christ?
And Jesus responds to John's disciples.
He says, well, let's see here.
The deaf hear.
The blind receive their sight.
The dead are raised.
The poor have the gospel preached to them.
You go tell John that I'm the one.
But John the Baptist was somewhat undecided.
And then what we see throughout the gospels too
are those who are decidedly followers of Jesus.
His disciples.
But we also see people who are decidedly against Jesus.
They have rejected Jesus as the Christ,
the son of man, the son of David.
In chapter 12, we see the conflicts
between Jesus and the Pharisees,
the religious establishment of the day.
There were some significant tensions rising.
And for the rest of the gospel of Matthew,
all the way up to chapter 26 and 27,
there is going to be this rising tension
between Jesus and the religious establishment.
We're kind of left asking this question though
as we're reading through the gospel of Matthew.
Why doesn't everybody see Jesus for who he really is?
For us, it's kind of clear.
We see Jesus to be the Messiah.
The one long anticipated.
The King of Kings.
The Lord of Lords who has come.
Why isn't everybody seeing Jesus that way?
Why are some people rejecting Jesus as the Messiah?
We see that happening in Kenosha.
Not everybody sees Jesus for who he claimed to be.
What's up with that?
Well, Matthew is helping us come to grips
even here in Matthew 13.
He's helping us come to grips
with the fact that not everybody
is going to become a Christian.
They're not going to receive Jesus
as God's promised Messiah.
Not everyone in this city
is going to joyfully bow their knee
to Jesus as their Savior and King.
Why not?
Well, Jesus helps us understand that
in Matthew 13.
Right after he speaks the parable of the sower,
his disciples in chapter 13, verse 10,
if you want to look there with me,
his disciples notice something.
They notice that Jesus is speaking
only in parables to the crowds.
It's a change of his method.
Why do you speak to them in parables?
This was new to them.
And so they're like,
what's going on here?
Why are you just speaking to the crowds in parables?
And then in verse 12,
Jesus answers them.
He says,
To you it has been given
to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,
but to them it has not been given.
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.
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.
Indeed, in their case,
the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled
that says,
you will indeed hear,
but never understand,
and you will indeed see,
but never perceive.
Jesus is explaining to them
why not everybody is bowing their knee to him
as the king.
Jesus is saying something
very significant here.
The parables serve a purpose,
but it reveals something
about those who hear the parables.
Would you just turn back
in your Bible to Matthew 11,
verse 25?
In verses 20 through 24,
Jesus has just pronounced woe
to Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum,
these cities in the greater Galilee
and Metroplex
that Jesus has been doing
all sorts of kind of miraculous works,
and what Jesus says,
woe to you,
because you've seen the works,
but you've not believed,
you've not repented.
And so they essentially rejected him
for being the king.
And so what we see in verses 25
through 27
is a little bit of an explanation.
At that time,
Jesus declared,
I thank you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
that you have hidden
these things
from the wise and understanding
and revealed them
to little children.
Yes, Father,
for such was your
gracious will.
All things have been handed over
to me by my Father,
and no one knows the Son
except the Father,
and no one knows the Father
except the Son,
and anyone to whom the Son
chooses to reveal Him.
We're starting to get the sense
of the purpose of parables.
The purpose of parables
are twofold.
They hide
and they reveal.
And so what Jesus is saying here is
those who have eyes
to see the parables
and what they mean,
that's been revealed
to them by God.
That's God's grace.
It's God's grace
that you can see
the meaning of a parable.
It's His kindness to you.
But what we also see here
is that God holds us,
everyone accountable
for their hearts.
Jesus is very clear
that saying He chooses
whom He will reveal
God's saving reign to.
And what that goes to
is it goes to the depth
of our spiritual depravity.
We are unable to see God
unless God by His grace
reveals Himself to us.
That's the extent
of our sinfulness.
So Jesus speaks in parables
to the crowds
as a way of hiding
the kingdom from the proud
and revealing the kingdom
to the humble.
It's a dual purpose.
You know what vertical blinds are?
Come with me.
Let's say that this window right here
has a set of vertical blinds.
You know, long,
about three inches wide.
If I had a cord right here,
I could make the vertical blinds
dance back and forth.
You know what I'm talking about?
Well, let's say
that we have a vertical blind
right here
and I pull the cord
and I set it
at about 45 degrees.
So if I'm standing here,
what am I looking at?
I'm looking at the broad side
of the shade.
Will I be able
to see through the window?
I won't be.
It's, the window's been
hidden to me.
But for those of you
who are sitting over there,
if the blind was set
at 45 degrees,
would you be able
to see out the window?
You would be able
to see out the window.
And so a parable functions
like a vertical blind.
For those who have hearts
that are hard towards Jesus,
the parable will keep them
from seeing the truth
of the kingdom
that the parable teaches.
But for those people
who have tender hearts
towards Jesus,
humble hearts
towards Jesus,
the parable is open to them
so that they can see
the truth of the kingdom
that it conveys.
A parable has a two,
has a double purpose.
To hide the truth
of the kingdom
from those who have hard hearts
Jesus is not going
to throw his pearl
unto swine.
But he is also,
it serves to help
those with tender hearts
to see the truth
of the kingdom
that Jesus intends.
How do you respond
to something like that?
Well, for those of us
who have been given eyes
to see and ears
to hear Jesus
and what he means,
look at chapter 13,
verse 16.
He says to his disciples,
but blessed are your eyes
for they see
and your ears
for they hear.
Blessed are you,
brother and sister in Christ,
for God in his grace
has given you eyes
to see and ears to hear.
And it also gives us
something to remember
because when we're talking
to others about Jesus,
our confidence
is not in our ability
to make a compelling case
about Jesus,
but our confidence
is in God's grace
to give people eyes
to see and ears to hear
so that they would
eventually understand
who Jesus is
and what he's done.
So this is primer two.
The parables have a dual purpose.
You've got to be thinking
vertical blinds.
Primer three.
The parables share
common interwoven themes.
I'm a fan of the antique roadshow.
I could binge for far too long
on antique roadshows.
But there was this one
antique roadshow
where someone brought in
this ancient Native American tapestry.
And they had it up
somehow hanging on this
kind of nice woodwork.
And it was,
the wovenness to it,
the design was so intricate
and lovely.
These parables
have interwoven themes to them.
And let me just identify
some of them for you.
There's a theme of
the proclamation of the kingdom.
We see that in the parable
of the sower.
The sower throws the seed.
And at the very last parable,
the parable of the master
of the house
who brings out of his treasure
both new and old.
That's a reference to
Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament.
It is making God's word known.
Proclamation of the kingdom.
Another interwoven theme
is the different responses
to the message of the kingdom.
The parable of the sower,
you have four different responses.
You have wheat
and you have weeds.
You have different kinds of fish
that are all caught together
in one big net.
Then they're sorted out
good and bad.
You have the hiddenness
of the kingdom.
The parable of the mustard seed.
It is so small
you can barely see it.
Leaven goes unseen.
The hidden treasure,
the pearl of great price
is rare.
You just don't see those around.
There's the interwoven theme
of hiddenness of the kingdom,
but it doesn't stay hidden.
It grows.
And so the theme
of the parable of the mustard seed
and the parable of the leaven
is that it starts small
and unseen
and surprise,
it grows into something impressive.
There's another theme
of that those of the kingdom of God
are in close proximity
to those who are
in the kingdom of Satan
in this world.
We see it in the wheat
and the tares
growing up together,
separated at harvest.
We see it in the parable
of the net
when all these fish
are caught together
at the same time
then are eventually separated.
There's also the interwoven theme
of final judgment.
The parable of the weeds
ends in judgment.
The parable of the net
ends in sorting.
A reference to judgment.
And then there's the theme
of the incredible value
of the kingdom.
Of course, the hidden treasure
should come to your mind.
The pearl of great price.
But even in the parable
of the sower,
the good soil yields
a wonderful yield.
A valuable yield.
All these themes
are woven together
in this rich tapestry
of parables
that make up 13.
It's all connected.
It's a detailed tapestry
of themes related
to the kingdom of heaven.
The saving reign of God.
That's primer three.
Primer four.
These parables share
a common,
carefully crafted design.
Now, notice,
I'm not sure if you're aware
of this,
but the first four parables,
Jesus speaks
to the crowds
on a beach.
Would you look at
verses one and two?
That same day,
Jesus went out
of the house
and sat beside the sea
and great crowds
gathered about him
so that he got into a boat
and sat down
and the whole crowd
stood on the beach.
So the first four parables
is Jesus preaching
to crowds,
those who aren't following him yet,
on a beach.
That's the first four.
And then the last four,
Jesus moves from the beach
to a house
and moves from talking
to a crowd
to talking to his disciples.
And you see that
in verse 36.
Then he left the crowds
and went into the house
and his disciples
came to him saying,
explain to us
the parable of the weeds.
And from there,
he goes on to share
four more parables.
So, do you know
what just happened?
There's a very subtle division
in Matthew chapter 13
that divides
these eight parables
into two groups of four.
It's kind of like a butterfly.
You know,
have you ever seen
a butterfly flutter?
We're going to be seeing him
in a little bit.
I can't wait.
But when a butterfly flies,
you see the symmetrical wings, right?
Matthew is setting up
a symmetry
that we're going to,
he's going to help us
to see in a little bit.
But a butterfly's wings
support its body.
That's where all the action
is going on.
There's another aspect
of design here
that you may not have noticed.
The first parable,
the parable of the sower,
and the last parable,
the parable of the master
of the house,
they have introductions
to the parables
that are different
than the middle six.
The middle six parables
all start with something like
the kingdom of heaven
may be compared to,
the kingdom of heaven
is like,
the kingdom of heaven,
the kingdom of heaven.
But the first parable
and the last parable
don't start that way.
But they're about
the kingdom of heaven.
So what Matthew does
by doing that
is helps you to say
this parable is this beginning,
this parable is the end,
all these parables
are to be taken together
even though
four is on one side
and four is on the other.
Do you,
you're starting to see
that Matthew's actually
crafted this chapter
very carefully?
Now,
there's still another design
to this passage.
And I'm guessing
that when you walked
into this room
this morning
and if you've read
Matthew chapter 13 before,
I'm guessing you weren't aware
of what is going on
below the surface.
this.
And I want to show it to you
because it's striking
when you see it
because it is so elaborate.
It's called a chiasm.
And it's carefully crafted chiasm.
Now, you might say,
chiasm, what is that?
It sounds like some condition.
Chiasm is taken,
is from a Greek letter
X,
chi.
And what you need to note
about the letter chi
is its form.
It has two strokes
and there is an intersection
in the middle.
Do you see it?
Why don't you hold up
your hands right now
and go like this,
make an X with your fingers
and say,
chiasm.
And just say parabolic
because it's so fun to say.
So, in Matthew 13,
1 through 53,
there is a chiasm
and it's easier
to show you it
than to try to explain it.
So, I've asked Andy
to put it up on the screen.
You guys ready?
Follow with me.
I think you'll be encouraged.
This chiasm begins
with Jesus' arrival
in Matthew 13,
1 through 2.
Why don't you throw it up there?
Is it up there?
Sorry about the size.
It's the only way
to squish it all
on one screen.
One screen.
Jesus arrives.
He shows up.
And the next part,
progression of this chiasm
is the parable of the sower.
So, that's number two.
And the parable of the sower
is about the word
of the kingdom
being received.
Remember the four
different soils.
The next progression
of the chiasm
is in chapter 13,
verses 10 through 17.
There's a Q&A.
The disciples ask Jesus
about parables.
Why are you speaking
in parables?
And then Jesus explains them
by pointing to Isaiah 6.
The chiasm progresses
even more
in chapter 13,
18 through 23.
The explanation
of the parable
of the sower.
Jesus explains
what the soils represent.
That's number four.
And then the fifth point
on the progression
is the parable
of the weeds.
And that's chapter 13
through 24 through 30.
People are the wheat
in the weeds.
Judgment is the harvest.
And then He moves
into a pair
of parables.
They're like kissing cousins.
This pair
kind of runs together.
The first parable
is the parable
of the mustard seed.
It's a shorter parable
and it's about
the kingdom of God
growing.
That's 31 and 32.
But its kissing cousin
is chapter 13,
verse 33.
The parable
of the leaven.
And that too
is about the kingdom
of heaven spreading.
And so they're different
but they're to go together.
And that brings us
to the intersection
of the chiasm.
The very point.
And the point of it,
I'll come back to it
in a little bit,
but it's Jesus
is the fulfiller.
And that we see that
in chapter 13,
34 through 43.
So that's the intersection.
But now we're going
to reverse our direction.
Okay?
And here's where
I want you to see
the balance
because it's beautiful.
So from Jesus
the fulfiller,
there's the parable
of the hidden treasure.
Which is a one verse parable
kind of like
the parable of the leaven.
And then with it
comes the parable
of the great
pearl of great value.
And the parable
of the hidden treasure
and the parable
of the pearl
of great value,
they're kissing cousins too.
They're supposed
to go together.
And so,
do you start seeing
the balance
that's forming here?
Well, let's go on.
After the parable
of the pearl
of great value,
there's the parable
of the net.
People are compared
to fish.
The judgment
is the sorting
that goes on.
And it parallels
the parable
of the weeds.
And then Jesus
explains the parable
of the net.
Just like Jesus
explained the parable
of the sower.
And then
in number three
coming back,
there's this Q&A
in verse 51.
Instead of the disciples
asking Jesus
a question about parables,
it's Jesus asking
his disciples
about parables.
Do you understand
what I'm saying?
And they say,
yes!
And from there,
Jesus gives
the parable
of the master
of the house
in verse 52.
And where the parable
of the sower
was about the word
being received,
the parable
of the master
of the house
is about the word
going out.
He brought out
from his treasure
things new and old.
And then,
Jesus departs.
1353.
It is balancing
Jesus' arrival
and 131.
Do you see
the chiasm?
Do you see
the X?
Do you see
the point?
Now,
there is beauty
to this.
Now,
if you came
into this building
this morning
and you're like,
man,
I hope I see
a chiasm
in Matthew 13
this morning,
I would really
be surprised
by that.
But you're going
to leave this building
and you might find,
did you know
that there was
a chiasm
in Matthew 13?
And it's beautiful.
What it gets at
is Matthew,
this former tax collector,
he was very careful
about crafting
a structure here
that makes a point.
Now,
if you're like me
who love words
and love how words
kind of relate
to each other,
you can just
kind of get stuck
on the structure
of the literature.
But we're not
to stay there.
We're not
just to say,
isn't this thing
a beautiful thing?
It serves
a purpose.
And so,
the fourth primer
I wanted to make here,
help you anticipate,
was this passage,
it's carefully crafted.
But the fifth primer
is this craftsmanship,
it makes a point.
Now,
if you look up
on the screen,
did you notice
how the shape
of the structure
is like the pointing
of an arrow?
Do you see it?
Where is the arrow
pointing?
It's pointing
at the center
of the chiasm.
And so,
Matthew has,
under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit,
arranged it this way
to call your attention
to Jesus.
These parables
call your attention
to Jesus.
And so,
these parables
make a common point.
It's all about Jesus.
And in verse 34
through 35,
Matthew,
the narrator,
inserts himself,
which is an indicator
just from the start.
Hey,
something going on here.
And he says that
Jesus speaking parables
is the fulfillment
of Psalm 78 too.
That doesn't happen
every day.
It's a big claim.
But he doesn't stay there.
He goes on to say
in verses 36
through 43
is the explanation
of the parable
of the weeds.
And in that explanation,
Jesus references
himself as
the Son of Man
twice.
And so,
what your attention
is called to
is nowhere else
in Matthew 13
does Jesus refer
to himself
as the Son of Man.
Just here.
And Matthew
has it here
to bring to your mind
that Jesus
is the focal point
of all these parables.
They're parables
of the kingdom
and the kingdom
is all about Jesus.
He is the great
fulfiller.
Now,
coming back
kind of around
your ability
to understand
a parable
has everything
to do
with your posture
of heart
towards Jesus.
If you're
hard-hearted
towards Jesus,
you're not going
to understand
His parables.
It's the vertical blinds
that are going to
close out
the truth of the kingdom
to you.
But if you're
humble of heart,
poor in spirit,
His parables
will reveal
the spiritual truth
they convey
about the kingdom.
And it's amazing.
It's all about Jesus.
It's all about His grace.
So, in closing,
I hope I have primed
your pump
for the parables.
Remember,
a parable is a tool.
And it uses comparison
to provoke a response.
A parable has a dual purpose.
Vertical blinds.
Parables have interwoven themes
that hold them all together.
It's a rich tapestry
in Matthew 13.
And these parables
have a careful design.
It's called a chiasm.
And of course,
these parables
make a common point.
It's all about Jesus.
I hope you've had
your pump primed
because next week
we're going to take
a detailed look
at the parable
of the sower.
Let's pray.
God in heaven,
we thank you so much
for Jesus.
We thank you
for the Gospel of Matthew.
We thank you
for our Bibles
and the beauty
of the literature
that is in our hands.
Thank you, God,
for this chiasm.
Thank you
for the loveliness of it.
Thank you
for these parables.
Thank you, God,
that you have given
many of us in this room
ears to hear
and eyes to see.
We are so thankful
for that.
But God,
we're also aware
that these parables
are all about Jesus.
And so,
over the next few weeks
as we're heading
through these parables,
God,
would you make Jesus clear?
Would you teach us
about the kingdom of heaven,
the saving reign of God?
And God,
you would have your way
with us
with the parables
that you would reveal
yourself to us,
that you would change us,
that you would make us
a people who are
faithful disciples
on mission,
following after our King,
our Savior,
Jesus.
Thank you for this time
together,
and we pray
in the name of Jesus.
Amen.