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Post by Hardcase on Mar 29, 2010 9:05:44 GMT -5
No problem. I hate it that you lost all that work. I hope it's nothing serious.
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 1, 2010 16:36:03 GMT -5
Here's the first one of the one I couldn't get to on my laptop. I have the next one ready, I just have to re-type it since I can't get the laptop to connect to the internet. Hopefully I'll have it up before Sunday to catch up.
Matthew 12:38-40 (King James Version)
38. Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39. But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be no sign given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
We have been looking at the response given by Jesus to the Pharisees concerning His casting out of demons. The Pharisees accused Jesus of doing this by the power of Satan and Jesus completely refuted their claim. Today we are going to look at what Matthew records next and see what the Lord would have us to learn.
In verse 38 the first thing I noticed was the word then. This tells me that what happens next followed the lessons we have been looking at concerning Jesus' casting out of demons. As I thought on this, I realized that this is a continuation of the Pharisees trying to trick Jesus. We will look at this in more detail in a few minutes. The next thing I noticed was the phrase certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees. The word certain means a select few or not all. Too often we tend to lump all the scribes and Pharisees into one group, a group that was opposed to Jesus at every turn, yet that simply is not the case. I believe the leaders of the scribes and Pharisees were opposed to Jesus, yet not all of the others were. I believe that some of the rank and file members of the scribes and Pharisees trusted in Jesus as their Saviour, maybe not at this time, but later on as they witnessed the further fulfillment of prophecy. Another thing that I noticed was that Matthew mentioned that the scribes were in attendance too. Matthew didn't mention the scribes in the previous accusation against Jesus, just the Pharisees. Was it because the scribes were late and had just decided to show up? I don't think that was the case. I think, notice I said think, that the scribes were already in attendance, but they had just been in the background, allowing the Pharisees to take the lead. But now some of the scribes had decided to join in the fray. You have seen this type of person I am sure. They tend to hang back at first, yet they desire attention, so they decide to join in the discussion. This is the type of people that the scribes were, not wanting the Pharisees to have all the attention. Looking further in our verse, the next thing I noticed was that the scribes and Pharisees used the word Master to address Jesus. This word simply means "teacher". It was like the scribes and Pharisees were admitting that Jesus was the master teacher and that they were the lowly student, learning from Him. Do you think the scribes and Pharisees were sincere in using this title to address Jesus? I don't! I believe that these men had a sneer in their voice, admitting by their words that Jesus was the master teacher, yet by their actions refusing to accept that fact. Folks, I have seen a lot of that in the world today too. People claim to be a child of the King, yet by their actions they are claiming to be a child of Satan. We should not be that way! Our actions should speak louder than our words! We should live a life that is showing the world that we are indeed a child of the King. Are we? In the last part of verse 38 the scribes and Pharisees asked a favor of Jesus. They wanted to see a sign from Him. The word sign is defined as a mark, indication, or token to distinguish a person or thing from others. In other words, these scribes and Pharisees wanted Jesus to do something to set Himself apart from others, to prove that He was indeed the Son of God. Jesus had already did that! He had proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was God in human flesh by the previous miracles that He had done. No one else could have healed all the people that Jesus did, nor in the way that He had done it. These scribes and Pharisees had seen these miracles yet refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Are you like the scribes and Pharisees? We have looked at several of the miracles that Jesus performed in detail. He has proved beyond a doubt that he is indeed the Son of God. Who do you say Jesus is?
As we look now at verse 39, we see the start of Jesus' answer to the scribes and Pharisees. In the first part of His answer Jesus said An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. The word adulterous speaks of the action of a person who has unlawful intercourse with another's spouse. When we see the word generation in the Bible it usually means a period of years, 40 years to be exact, but not in this case. In this case it is referring to the entire nation of Israel. To better understand what Jesus is speaking of, let's break this down a little into a way we might better understand it. All throughout it's history, Israel had one major problem. This problem was idolatry. Israel continuously left it's first love, God, and chased after idols. Israel committed spiritual adultery by chasing after these idols. This is what Jesus was referring to when He used the phrase evil and adulterous generation. They had continuously rejected God, and now that He was in their midst they wanted to see a miracle from Him to proclaim that He was God. They wanted God to prove Himself. Folks, God doesn't have to prove Himself to anyone! He created the universe with just a word. Why should He have to prove Himself to His creation?
In the last part of verse 39 and the first part of verse 40 Jesus calls their attention to a story that everyone in attendance had heard. And I am sure you have too. It was the story of Jonah, spelled Jonas in this instance. If you will remember, God had told Jonah to go and witness to the people of Ninevah, but Jonah rebelled. He didn't want to go and witness to these people because they were evil and he wanted them destroyed. So Jonah got on a ship and tried to run away. But a great storm came up and to calm the storm the sailors started throwing things overboard. Finally Jonah told them to throw him overboard to calm the sea. They did, and he was swallowed by a great fish. Jonah spent 3 days and nights in the belly of this great fish and when he finally repented the fish puked him up. Jonah went and witnessed to Ninevah and a great many of the people there repented. That is just the general story that Jesus called to the people's minds.
In the last part of verse 40, Jesus prophesies concerning His death, yet the people didn't understand. He told them that He would be in the heart of the earth 3 days and 3 nights just like Jonah was in the fish's belly 3 days and 3 nights. In other words, He would be buried for 3 days and 3 nights. And just like Jonah was spit up by the fish after 3 days and nights, so would Jesus be raised from the dead after 3 days and nights. This was the great miracle that the scribes and Pharisees wanted! Yet they were too hard hearted to understand and see it. Are you like the scribes and Pharisees? A lot of people still want to see a sign today. They want to see a miracle to prove that God exists. Folks, nature proves that God exists! There is no need for a miracle!
Today we have seen the beginning of Jesus answer to the scribes and Pharisees when they asked Him for a sign. They didn't want to believe that He was God so they wanted to see a great miracle to prove to them that He was indeed God. Jesus told them that the great miracle that they wanted to see would be His resurrection, yet they didn't believe. Do you believe that Jesus raised Himself from the dead and is alive and well today?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 4, 2010 17:32:23 GMT -5
Matthew 12:41, 42 (King James Version)
41. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
If you will recall, last time we looked at the beginning of Jesus' response to a request, or demand, from the scribes and Pharisees who were wanting to see a sign or a major miracle from Jesus. He told them that the only sign they would see would be the sign of Jonas, or Jonah. Today, we are going to look further into His response and see what we should learn. I pray that you learn as much as I did when I started studying this passage.
In verse 41 the first thing we need to look at is the phrase the men of Nineveh. Nineveh was a very important city on the banks of the Tigris River in modern day Iraq. This city was the capital of the Assyrian Empire and was a rival of Babylon, which was also in modern day Iraq. In the book of Jonah, Nineveh was mentioned as being a very great city of three days journey. Some biblical scholars have said that this three day journey was broken down in the following manner. Day 1: travel to Nineveh. Day 2: stay in Nineveh. Day 3: travel back home. Other scholars have said that this three day journey was how long it took to walk across the city. I don't know, all I do know for sure is that Nineveh was a large city because in the last part of Jonah it is mentioned that there were sixscore thousand that didn't know their right hand from their left, meaning children. Sixscore thousand means 120,000 children, not counting adults, so as you can see this was a very large place. Some have said that the population was around 600,000 total, while others have said that the city couldn't have held more than 175,000. Whatever the population, you can see that it was a very large city, and when there is a large population base, there is much wickedness. And Nineveh was no exception. Jonah was sent to preach to the city because of their wickedness, and the city repented, for a time. This city was so wicked that it has been said that they would impale their enemies on stakes in front of the city, and hang their enemies heads in the kings garden, minus the bodies of course. They would also torture their enemies- men, women, and even children- by hacking off their ears, noses, and fingers, gouging out their eyes, or tearing off their lips and hands. They reportedly covered the city walls with the skin of their victims. In about 612 B.C. the city was overthrown by the Medes and Chaldeans and ceased to be a city of any importance. Now that we know a little about the history and cruelty of the city of Nineveh, let's get back to our verse. In verse 41 Jesus said the men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it. If you would, I would like you to think about a court for a moment. But not a court that has one judge, but one that had multiple judges, sort of like our Supreme Court. It is possible that Jesus was calling to the people's minds the Sanhedrin Court, which had 71 members and was presided over by the High Priest. What ever the case, Jesus said that the men of Nineveh would rise, or stand, in judgment against Israel and would condemn it. Jesus gives us the reason why the men of Nineveh would do this in the last part of verse 41. It is because they repented at the preaching of Jonah! Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh that unless they repented they would be destroyed in 40 days. The people repented, meaning they turned from their evil ways, and turned to God. The people of Nineveh heard the preaching of Jonah and reacted to it! Yet the people of Israel, as a whole, heard the Gospel straight from the King of Kings and wouldn't hear Him. Folks, Jesus is greater than Jonah in every aspect! Yet the people wouldn't heed Him. Are you like the people of Nineveh or the people of Israel?
In verse 42, Jesus said that the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it. The queen of the south was known by another name, the Queen of Sheba, which was a country or tribe located to the south of Israel. Biblical scholars differ greatly on the exact location of Sheba. Some say it was the country of Ethiopia, others say it was in modern day Yemen, and still others say it was in Arabia. The people of Sheba, or Sabeans, were mostly a nomadic merchant people, traveling and trading in goods, yet they did have a cruel and vicious nature at times. These people were the ones who destroyed Job's herd of oxen, donkeys, and servants in Job 1:15. They had to have had wealth because the Queen of Sheba is mentioned as coming to Solomon's court to see for herself if the stories of his wisdom were true. Since Solomon was the wealthiest king on earth at that time, it is only logical to think that only those who had wealth, or renown, would have gotten an audience with him. Legend also has it that she was very beautiful because legend states that Solomon fathered one of her children, but I can find no biblical references to that, so I can't say whether it is true or not. Whatever her beauty was, or where her country was located, we know for a fact that she came to see Solomon after she had heard of his wisdom. And Jesus said she would rise in the judgment against the Israelites! Again, this is just like in verse 41, where Jesus said that the men of Nineveh would rise in judgment against the Jews, except this time there is only one in judgment, not a whole group of people. Jesus finished this verse by saying there is one greater than Solomon here. The Israelites were proud to have Solomon in their heritage because he was the wisest human to have ever lived. The Israelites took pride in the fact that he was of the nation of Israel. Yet Jesus, who gave Solomon his wisdom, was among the people right then and right there and they refused to accept Him! Jesus was, and is, wiser than Solomon ever thought of being, yet the religious leaders of that day refused to accept the fact that he was indeed the Son of God! The Queen of Sheba accepted the fact that Solomon was the wisest man on earth, because she had seen evidence of his wisdom, yet the religious leaders refused to accept Jesus as being wiser than Solomon even after they had seen evidence of his wisdom. We have seen time and time again in this study the wisdom of Jesus. Are you like the Queen of Sheba, accepting the fact that Jesus is who He says He is? Or are you like the religious leaders of that time, denying the fact that Jesus is the Son of God?
Before I finish these sermon notes on these verses, i need to make one thing perfectly clear. Neither the men of Nineveh nor the Queen of Sheba will sit in judgment against mankind. They might stand up at the judgment and ask the religious leaders why they didn't accept Jesus as their Saviour, but they won't judge mankind. I believe that the people of Nineveh were saved after hearing Jonah's preaching and the Queen of Sheba was also saved after seeing evidence of Solomon's wisdom. I believe that Solomon gave God all the glory for his wisdom which was a witness unto her and he was able to lead her to the Lord. Only one person will sit in judgment against mankind and that person is Jesus. He alone gave His life as the perfect sacrifice for mankind's sins and He alone has the right to judge mankind. He will sit in judgment against you! Will you hear the words Enter in or Depart from me?
Today we have seen Jesus give two examples of people who heard the Gospel preached and acted upon it. I believe that both of these groups of people accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour. If you have read any of these sermon notes, you have had the Gospel presented unto you. How are you going to react? Are you going to be like the men of Nineveh and repent and turn to Jesus? Are you going to be like the Queen of Sheba and see that Jesus is indeed the Son of God?Or are you going to be like the religious leaders of Jesus' day and refuse to accept the fact that Jesus is who He says He is? You have a choice to make. What is your choice? I pray you make the right one.
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 18, 2010 17:53:27 GMT -5
Matthew 12:43-45 (King James Version)
43. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through the dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44. Then he saith, I will return unto my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worst than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
If you will recall, we have been studying Jesus’ answer to some of the scribes and Pharisees concerning His performing of a miracle. They wanted Jesus to prove to them that He was indeed the Son of God and Jesus told them that the only miracle that they would see would be the sign of Jonas, or Jonah. If you recall, we also looked at the fact that the men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba would be able to point their fingers at the people of that day and ask them why they didn’t accept Jesus as their Saviour. Today we are going to look at the final part of Jesus’ answer and hopefully learn what He would have us to learn so that we may be better servants for Him.
In verse 43 the first thing we need to look at is the phrase When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man. This unclean spirit that Jesus is speaking of is a demon. Before we go any further, I need to point out the fact that Jesus does not name this demon, or tell us his powers, just that it is a demon. This demon could have just had the power to make a person not to be able to speak, or blind, or whatever. The phrase gone out of is essentially speaking of this demon being cast out or forcibly removed from an individual. The word man is speaking of a general individual, not a specific person. The next thing we need to look at is the phrase he walketh through the dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none which is found in the last part of verse 43. The word he is referring to the demon who has been forcibly removed from a person. This demon goes through the dry places meaning a place that has no water, like a desert, looking for peace, or a place to rest, and not finding any. To better understand what Jesus is saying, we need to think on the general area that Jesus was conducting His personal ministry in. The majority of Jesus personal ministry was in the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River valley. It was a fertile place, yet not very far from this location there was a desert region. Being on the edge of a desert, water was sometimes scarce, making certain places dry. When a person goes through a area that has no water, that person will have no peace of mind or rest. They are always thinking about where they will get their next drink of cool refreshing water. They don’t have peace of mind! And when a person doesn’t have peace of mind, they don’t have rest. If you will be honest with yourself, you will admit that this has happened in your life at some point. It may have been something that was on your mind, forcing you to focus your thoughts on it and not allowing you to have peace of mind that we all desire. This is what Jesus is referring to, except He is using a demon that has been cast out as His example.
In verse 44, the phrase Then he saith is speaking of the demon that has been cast out talking to himself. We have all done this, telling ourselves something, either in our mind or out loud. This demon made a decision and said that he would go back to the house from whence he came out. The word house is referring to the unwilling host of a demon. In other words, he is making the decision that he would go back to the person from which he was forcibly removed and repossess that person. When he gets back to the person that he had previously possessed, this demon finds that the house, or person that was previously possessed, is empty, swept clean, and decorated, or garnished.
In verse 45, the demon, signified by the word he, goes and gets 7 other spirits, or demons for a total of 8, and moves back into the host body. Each of these other demons are more wicked than the first and after they move in, the host, shown by the word man, is worse off than he was before when he had just one demon possessing him. Let’s put this in an example that we might better understand. Let’s say you were renting a house, and had been kicked out for non-payment of the agreed upon rent. You wandered around for a day or so, looking for a place to stay, yet couldn’t find any suitable place, therefore you had no peace of mind. You made the decision to go back to your former place of residence, the one you had been kicked out of, and found this house empty, cleaned up, and decorated, ready for the next tenant to move in. The owner is no where around or not paying attention. You then go and get 7 more people, and move back into this rented house. Each of these other 7 people are more evil than you are and each one is very destructive. Wouldn’t this house be worse off than before when it had just one tenant? YES! This is the same example Jesus used except He used the example of demon possession while I used the example of someone who rented a house. In the last part of verse 45 Jesus said Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. I had to think on this for a while to get the understanding of what Jesus was speaking about, and I’m not sure I can put it into words, but I’ll try. Think, if you will, of different doctrines. There are a lot of different things in this world that people want you to believe, things like baptism will save you and works for salvation. And each of these are false! If you believe one false doctrine, it is very easy for other false doctrine to creep in. Folks that is how one major religion got it’s start, by believing one false doctrine. This religion started believing that baptism would save you. They later got the bright idea that since baptism saved you, then infants should be baptized, so that they would be saved. After that it was easy for other falsehoods to get in. Today this religion reaches over ¼ of the people on the earth, and is teaching major falsehoods. And it all started with believing one false doctrine! This is what Jesus was telling the scribes and Pharisees that they were doing. They had started believing in a perverted version of one of God’s laws, and had gotten so far away from the truth that they were leading a lot of people down the road to destruction. And the same thing is still going on today! People are teaching falsehoods, like works for salvation and baptism for salvation, and are leading countless others down the road to ruin. Are you believing and teaching falsehoods?
Today we have seen Jesus give a short example of how false teachings can lead a person to ruin. The only way to avoid false teachings is by reading and studying your Bible, and praying about it. The Holy Spirit will convict you of the truth if you will only let Him. Are you letting the Holy Spirit convict you of the truth? Are you studying your Bible and praying about it? A man can be wrong, but the Holy Spirit never is. What are you believing?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 25, 2010 18:34:14 GMT -5
Matthew 12: 46-50 (King James Version)
46. While He yet talked to the people, behold, His mother and His brethren stood without, desiring to speak with Him. 47. Then one said unto Him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 48. But he answered and said unto him that told Him, Who is my mother? And who are my brethren? 49. And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
We have been looking at Jesus’ response to some of the scribes and Pharisees accusations that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Satan so by their reasoning Jesus wasn’t of God but of Satan. Jesus refuted their claim totally and completely and even used the example of a demon being cast out of a person then returning to prove His point. Today we are going to look at what Matthew records next and see what the Lord would have us to learn to be better servants for Him.
In verse 46 Matthew wrote while He yet talked to the people. This short phrase tells me that this happened right after Jesus’ response to the scribes and Pharisees accusations that He was using the power of Satan to cast out demons. The scribes and Pharisees were doing their best to discredit Jesus and His ministry, but Jesus answered them with clear and concise logic. As Jesus was finishing His response, this incident that we are going to look at happened. The next thing Matthew tells us is that His mother and brethren stood without, desiring to speak with Him. I noticed several things in just this short verse that need to be pointed out. The first thing I want to point out is who was there. It was His mother (Mary) and His brothers! Notice that His earthly father (Joseph) wasn’t there. Now I don’t know if Joseph was dead, which was entirely possible, or if he just wasn’t in attendance. To the best of my knowledge the Bible doesn’t mention Joseph after Jesus went to the Temple when He was about 12 years old, which is recorded in Luke 2. So it is quite possible that Joseph was dead and that Jesus’ brothers were taking care of their mother like the Law in the Old Testament told them to do. The next thing I want us to notice in this verse is that Jesus had earthly brothers. A lot of people want to think that Jesus was an only child, but Mary and Joseph had more children after Jesus. In Mark 6:3, it is recorded that Jesus had at least 4 brothers, James, Joses, Juda, and Simon. Juda, or Jude, was probably the author of the book of Jude. Mark 6:3 also mentions that Jesus had sisters but it doesn’t mention them by name or how many there were. In the last part of this verse Matthew wrote that they stood without, desiring to speak with Him. This part of the verse tells me two things. First, there were a lot of people around Jesus. The word without could mean either outside of a house or building, or it could man that they were outside of a group of people. Either way, there was a lot of people around. Mary and His brothers could have gotten close to Jesus and spoke with Him if there wasn’t. Secondly, Mary and His brothers desired, or wanted to, speak with Jesus. We have no record of what Mary wanted to talk to Jesus about, it could have been anything. But it had to have been important for Jesus’ brothers to have taken the time to go and see Him. Remember, during that time period it was hard to earn a living, meaning that a day’s wages were very minimal, and people had to work constantly to survive. Therefore whatever Mary needed to speak with Jesus about had to be very important. Also keep in mind that Jesus’ family, other than Mary, didn’t believe that He was the Messiah. His brothers didn’t believe until after His death. Therefore whatever they had to speak with Jesus had to have been important, at least in their minds, because they wouldn’t have taken off of work to go see Him if it wasn’t.
In verse 47, Matthew writes Then one said unto Him, behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. The word one means a single person, probably a messenger of some sort. This person stood outside of the main group or house and when someone wanted to speak with a person inside, they would tell him and he would deliver the message. Then the person inside could decide if they wanted to speak with the person on the outside or not. This person was probably a servant of one of the Sadducees or the owner of the house. I think if it had been one of the disciples, Matthew would have recorded that person by name. But since he didn’t name who that person was, I think it was a servant.
In verse 48 Jesus responds to the one who told Him that Mary and His brothers were standing outside waiting to speak with Him. He said Who is my mother? And who are my brethren? This answer must have seemed strange to the person Jesus was addressing, because it would seem like Jesus didn’t know who His own family was. Folks, I assure you, Jesus knew who Mary was. He had been breast-fed when He was an infant by Mary for about 2 years due to the fact that they didn’t have baby bottles in those days. He wouldn’t have forgotten His mother! He also played games with His brothers while growing up, the sort of games that kids played. He wouldn’t have forgotten who His brothers were! So why did He give an answer like this? The answer is given in verse 50.
In verse 49 Matthew records that Jesus stretched forth His hand toward His disciples and said Behold my mother and my brethren! In other words Jesus reached toward His disciples, who were probably all together in one group, and said that this was His family. This too might have seemed strange, considering that none of His disciples had given birth to Him, or that none of them had played games with Him while He was a child. None of the disciples were actually kin to Jesus, yet He said that they were His family. Why? Again, the answer is given in verse 50.
In verse 50 Jesus said, For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, my sister, and my mother. There are several things I need to point out in this verse so please bear with me. First, Jesus said whosoever. This is a term that means anyone and everyone. We would use the term “whoever” in today’s language. Next, Jesus said shall do. This is the action of the verse and refers to something that a person has to do. What is that thing that a person has to do? The will of the Father! We have looked at what the will of the Father is in previous studies, but it never hurts to go over it again. Peter wrote in II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The will of the Father is that all should come to repentance! Folks, God wants every person to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour, but He gives each one of us a free choice. That choice is either to accept Him or reject Him. And God will abide by your choice. He wants a willing servant, not one that serves Him because he is forced to. Jesus next identified who His Father was. It is God! This is seen by the phrase which is in heaven. Jesus didn’t want anyone to get confused about who He was speaking about when He said my Father. He didn’t want anyone to think that He was speaking about Joseph when in fact He was speaking about God. Finally in the last part of verse 50 Jesus said the same is my brother, my sister, and my mother. The words the same refers back to whoever do the will of the Father. In other words, Jesus is saying that whoever comes to repentance is His brother, sister, and mother. We can take it a step further and say that Jesus said that whoever is saved, or comes to repentance, is His family. Paul preached in the 8th chapter of Romans of the spirit of adoption. When a person is saved, they are adopted into the family of God. It is like they were actually born into the family, with all the rights and privileges that pertains to that family. When I was saved, I became a child of God, therefore I am a brother to Jesus. Glory Hallelujah! I am a child of God because of my repentance of my sins and my accepting Jesus as my Saviour. Are you a child of God? I also found it interesting the manner in which Jesus listed those of His family. He listed siblings first, then His mother. Notice He didn’t list a father. That is because God is His Father and no one can be in that position other than God. Also Jesus listed siblings before His mother. First, Jesus counted being a brother or sister to Him as being of more importance than a mother. Being considered a brother or sister to Jesus is of utmost importance. Secondly, this tells me that Mary, while being blessed above all women to bear Jesus in the womb, wasn’t as special as some say. She was a normal woman who had to trust Jesus as her Saviour just like everyone else. She had to repent of her sins just like I did, or just like any other person who has ever been saved. One other thing I need to point out. When a person becomes a child of God, or as some may say, a member of the family of God, they are that way for all eternity. The same concept is in a normal family. If you have a son or daughter, and that child does something that makes you ashamed, are they still your child? YES! I have done things in the past that if my parents knew what I had done they would have been ashamed to have called me their son. Yet I am still their son. The family of God is the same way! When I accepted Jesus as my Saviour, I became a child of God throughout all eternity and nothing can change that fact. No matter what I do, I am still a part of the family of God. Now this doesn’t say that I won’t be disciplined for the things I do, just like you would discipline your child, but I am still part of God’s family.
Today we have seen a very important teaching in the Bible. It is that when you are saved, you are a child of God, a brother or sister unto Jesus, and that you are a child of His for all eternity. Are you part of the family of God? To become a member of the family of God you have to accept Jesus as your personal Saviour. Have you accepted Him as your Saviour? Have you repented of your sins and by faith turned unto Him? If so, then live like it. Live your life so that it reflects the fact that you are a child of God. If you aren’t a member of God’s family, then I urge you to turn to Him before it is too late, repenting of your sins and by faith trusting in Him to save you for all eternity.
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Post by broncbuster2 on Apr 27, 2010 17:53:11 GMT -5
AMEN
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 9, 2010 17:49:58 GMT -5
Matthew 13: 1-9 (King James Version)
1. The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2. And great multitudes were gathered together unto Him, so that He went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3. And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6. And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8. But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Today we are beginning a new phase in our study of the Gospel of Matthew. We have reached the portion of Matthew where the parables are recorded. We will learn a lot from these parables, and hopefully it will make us better servants for Jesus. Please bear with me during this portion of our study. It will seem like I am getting long-winded, but it is necessary because of the nature of our study. Ready to get started? I am, so let’s go.
In the first part of verse 1, Matthew records The same day went Jesus out of the house. This tells me that what we are about to study happened immediately following Jesus’ reply that His mother and brothers were waiting to speak with Him. If you will recall, Jesus was in a house and Mary and His brothers came and wanted to talk with Him about something of great importance. Now we don’t know what Mary wanted to speak to Jesus about, but it had to be important because Jesus’ earthly brothers came with her. In other words, Jesus’ brothers had to take off work and take their mother to see Jesus. Since people in those days had to work to survive, just like they do today, this tells me that what they had to speak to Jesus about was of great importance. So this happened immediately afterwards. The house that Matthew records Jesus coming out of was most likely Peter’s. We have studied before that Peter had a house in Capernaum, and it was from Peter’s house that Jesus had His base of operations, if you will. In other words, Jesus stayed at Peter’s house quite often, and came and went as He pleased. In the latter part of verse 1, Matthew records that Jesus sat by the sea side. This is why I think that the house that Jesus came out of was Peter’s. Peter’s house was in Capernaum, and Capernaum was about 2 ½ miles from the Sea of Galilee. Therefore it is only logical to reason that Jesus came out of Peter’s house, and walked down to the Sea of Galilee, and sat down in the sand, or on the rocks, on the beach.
In verse 2 we see that great multitudes were gathered together unto Him. The crowds following Jesus were very large, some as large as 4,000 men, not counting women and children. I know you have all heard the story of Jesus feeding the 4,000 with a few fish and 7 loaves of bread, so I won’t go into that today. But often times we tend to think that it was just Jesus and His disciples roaming around the countryside of Israel, but that is not the case. There were a lot of people following Jesus! I can’t stress this enough. Times were hard in those days, and they didn’t have all the modern conveniences that we have today. They didn’t have a car to drive to where Jesus was. They either walked or rode on a donkey! There was no air conditioned church building and padded pews to sit in. They followed Him in the heat and either sat on the ground or stood up. These people followed Jesus no matter what the conditions and hardships were. Can we say the same thing? In the next part of verse 2, Matthew records that He went into a ship. The word He here signifies Jesus. The ship that Jesus went into was most likely a fishing vessel of some sort. We don’t know who owned this ship, but it is possible that it was Zebedee. If you will recall, when we studied the call of James and John, that they were on a boat with their father Zebedee, repairing nets. When Jesus called them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men, they left the ship and their father, and followed Him. This all happened close to Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And since Jesus is now on the Sea of Galilee, it is possible that this was Zebedee’s ship. You might find the next part of verse 2 insignificant, but I don’t. Matthew records that when Jesus entered into this ship, He sat and the people following Him stood on the shore. In other words, Jesus sat down upon something on this fishing vessel. It could have been a crate, or wooden box of some sort, we just don’t know. But it is important to note that Jesus sat down. Why is this important? Because of the customs of those days! When Jesus sat down, and the people stood, it signified that Jesus was the teacher and the people were the students. The custom of those days was that the teacher sat down when he was ready to teach and the students, or followers, stood. Folks, Jesus is the Master Teacher! He knows everything, and it would do us well to heed everything He says. Do we? Another thing that I found significant is where Jesus went. He went on a ship on the coastline! Why is this important? Think a moment if you will on the way sound travels. Sound travels best on a place where there is nothing to block it. The acoustics were such that the sound of Jesus’ voice, and the words that He was speaking, would travel best to the people from the beach. Jesus did this so that ALL the people could hear Him, not just those that were up close, but ALL. And the people heard Him! When Jesus speaks today, through His Word, are you hearing Him?
In the first part of verse 3 Matthew records And He spake many things unto them in parables. The first thing I want us to look at is the word parables. This word literally denotes a placing beside. It signifies a placing of one thing beside another with a view of comparison. It is generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson. It is the lesson that is of value; the hearer must catch the analogy if he is to be instructed. Such a narrative or saying, dealing with earthly things with a spiritual meaning, is distinct from a fable, which attributes to things what does not belong to them in nature. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words). In other words, Jesus is using things in everyday life to explain spiritual things. Notice also that Jesus spoke more than one parable to the people while He was on the ship. This is shown by the word many. While we are going to look just at the first parable today, Jesus spoke to the people in more than one parable. In the latter part of verse 3 Jesus begins this parable which many have titled “The Parable of the Sower”. He said Behold, a sower went forth to sow. A sower is someone who sows seed, a farmer if you will. This person would take a handful of seed and walk along the ground that was to be planted, casting the seed out in a way so that the seed would fall on fertile ground. When I was growing up we lived close to my grandparents. My parents and grandparents would plant a large garden every year. In this garden would be several different varieties of peas. They would plow several large rows and after it was fertilized I would come along and plant the peas. I would take a handful of peas, walk along the row, letting them slip between my fingers into the rows thus planting peas. They would follow me, covering the peas with dirt thus planting the peas. I was considered “the sower”. This is sort of like the way they planted in ancient days too. The job of the sower is to plant the seeds, or sowing.
In verse 4 Jesus tells us where some of the seeds fell. Some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up. The way side would be the ground that is not prepared for the seed. It is ground that is not plowed and made ready to receive seed. The seed that falls on this type of ground is not covered up and the birds will come and pick it off the ground and eat it.
In verse 5 and 6 Jesus said Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched: and because they had no root, they withered away. Stony earth is what we would call rocky ground. There is not a lot of good dirt in rocky ground and when the seeds germinate and produce plants, these plants don’t have the root system needed to support growth and production therefore when it gets hot these plants wither away and die.
In verse 7 Jesus said And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up and choked them. This is ground that has been prepared but for some reason or the other the weeds that were there previously had not be killed off. When the plants that were planted to produce food sprung up, these thorns also sprung up, thus robbing the food producing plants of the nourishment they needed by taking much needed nutrients from the soil. In other words, the thorns choked them out.
In verse 8 Jesus said But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. This is the seed that fell upon the ground that was prepared for it, producing the product that it was intended to produce. Some produced more than others, but all produced that fell upon this type of ground.
We have before us 4 different types of ground. We have the way side, rocky ground, thorny ground, and good ground. The seed that fell upon each of these grounds reacted differently. Some never sprang up, some did but didn’t produce product and some were choked out and some produce a lot of product. But what does it all mean? In verse 18 through 23 of this chapter Jesus explains this parable to His disciples. We need to look at the meaning now to better understand this parable, but we will look at it again when we get to those verses. Before I go any further, I need to point out one thing. The seed that Jesus is speaking of is defined as the Gospel. The Gospel is actually defined as “good news”. What is the good news? That Jesus loves you and came to give His life for you! He came and lived the perfect life, died a sacrificial death, and rose again on the third day so that you might live forever with Him. That is good news! The different types of ground are different types of people who hear the Gospel. Now let’s look at each individual type of ground and see what effect the Gospel had on it. (1.) The way side ground. This is the ground that was not prepared for the Gospel, or someone who doesn’t understand the preaching of the Word of God. If a person doesn’t understand, then the Gospel doesn’t have any effect upon them, thus Satan, represented by birds in this passage, comes and devours the Gospel before they have a chance to think on it and become convicted by it. This would probably be a person who is too busy to listen to the Gospel thereby not taking the time to understand it. (2.) Rocky ground. This is the person who receives the Gospel, is saved, but doesn’t take the time or put forth the effort to grow in the Lord. They are saved, but when trials or persecution comes along, they quit serving the Lord. (3.) Thorny ground. This is a person who is saved when they hear the Gospel, but allows the cares of this world to overcome them and never produce fruit. This person is one who is always worrying about the things of this world and not of the next. (4.) Good ground. This is the person who is saved and produces fruit. They have accepted Jesus as their Saviour and are doing the things He wants them to do, like witnessing to others, and so forth. They are the ones who are presenting the Gospel to others, thus becoming the ones who sow the seed.
In verse 9 Jesus said Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Jesus is essentially saying that whoever has ears let him hear, or understand, the parable of the sower. Do you have ears? Do you understand what Jesus is teaching?
In conclusion today we have seen the parable of the sower. We have seen different types of ground and the effect seed has upon it. Note, the seed is the same for each type of ground, meaning the Gospel is the same for each individual, it is just that the ground has changed. Which type of ground are you? Are you the one who has heard the preaching of the Gospel, yet don’t understand, and have never given your life to Jesus? If so, I urge you to turn to Him before it is too late, repenting of your sins and trusting Him to save you for all eternity. Or are you the type that has been saved (stony ground) yet when trials and persecution came along you turned away from Him? If so, I urge you to turn back to Jesus, availing yourself of the promises that He will never leave you nor forsake you no matter what the circumstances. Or are you the person who has been saved, but has never done what Jesus asked you to do (thorny ground)? If so, why not tell others about Him? Someone had to tell you, so why not pass it on? I pray that we are all the good ground, producing fruit like Jesus wants us to. Which type of ground are you?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 23, 2010 17:13:24 GMT -5
Matthew 13:10-13 (King James Version)
10. And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 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. 12. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing hear not, neither do they understand.
As usual, a short review before we get into our passage for today. Last time we begin a new area in our study of Matthew; the study of the parables of Christ. We will be looking at these parables for quite some time, and I am looking forward to it. Last time we looked at the parable of the sower and what it meant. We saw that Jesus compared every one to a different type of soil. Those who hear, but don’t understand the Gospel and are never saved was compared to unprepared, or untilled, soil. Those who hear the Gospel and are saved, but fall by the wayside because of persecution are compared to rocky soil. Those who are saved but let the cares of the world over come them are compared to soil with weeds in it. And those who are saved when they hear the Gospel and do the things that Jesus desires of them are compared to soil that is good and prepared for the seed. Today we are going to continue our study of the parables of Christ and see what we can learn. I pray that each one who reads this is learns to be better servants for the Lord because of what we learn.
In verse 10 the first thing we need to notice is that Matthew wrote And the disciples came, and said unto Him. The word disciples in this instance indicates the 12 Apostles. The word came is the verb and is the action of this phrase. But does this mean that the disciples were not present when Jesus spoke the parables? NO! The disciples were there but the way this verse reads tells me that they asked Jesus a question privately afterwards. The question they asked was Why speakest thou to them in parables? If we were to put this in modern English we would say that the disciples wanted to know why Jesus spoke to the people in parables. And it was a valid question. I believe the disciples asked in such a manner that indicated to Jesus that they really wanted to know the answer. Since Jesus had never spoke to the people in this manner before, the disciples desired to know why He did so now. We find Jesus’ answer in the next verses, and I will get into that in a moment. But what I want us to key on now is that the disciples came to Jesus and asked a question. Folks, we can ask Jesus any question just like the disciples did and He will answer it. We can go to Him in prayer and through the conviction of the Holy Spirit we will receive an answer. Now it won’t be in an audible voice, yet we will receive an answer. Another thing I want us to look at in this verse is the word parables. This is the plural form of the word and it means more than one. So in other words, the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to the people in more than one parable. Folks, this happened after Jesus talked to the people in multiple parables, not just one. We have looked at just one parable so far in our study, therefore Matthew skips other parables, but comes back to them later, and puts this now. I believe the reason Matthew wrote it this way is so that we might understand it better.
In verse 11 we see the beginning of Jesus’ answer to the disciples concerning why He spoke in parables. Jesus said Because it is given unto you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For us to better understand these verses we need to go back to the basics. Who is Jesus speaking to? His disciples! What were the disciples? The first church! Therefore the word you signifies the church. In other words the church was given the understanding of these mysteries of heaven. Who makes up the church today? Those who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour and have been scripturally baptized by a local New Testament church! So we can break it down even further and say that the saved are the ones who are given understanding of the mysteries of heaven. By this same reasoning the word them in the latter part of this verse is referring to the lost, or those who have not accepted Jesus as their Saviour. Next we need to look at the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. First we need to define what the kingdom of heaven is. It is Jesus! This is one of the official titles of Jesus and since we have gone over this before I will not go into it today. But what are these mysteries of Jesus? Are they things we can not comprehend today? NO! The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are things that only a saved person can understand, like the love of Christ, loving your brethren, and so forth. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour understand these things, or should. Can a person tell another about the love of Jesus if the first person has never experienced it? NO! You have to experience something before you can tell others about it. Do you understand the mysteries of Jesus?
As we look now at the first part of verse 12 we see that Jesus said For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. What is Jesus speaking of? He is speaking about understanding! Let’s break this down a little more so that we may get a better grasp of this. For whosoever hath means the ones who have accepted Jesus as Saviour or, as I like to put it, the saved. To him shall be given is speaking of understanding. And he shall have more abundance is speaking of growing in the Lord. Therefore Jesus is saying that we who have accepted Him as Saviour will be given understanding of His teachings so that we can grow and mature in Him. How is this understanding given to us? By the Holy Spirit! A lost person can not sit down and study the Bible and understand it. They do not have the love of Christ in their life, nor do they have the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit to understand it. By that same logic, a saved person SHOULD be able to sit down and study the Scriptures and understand what they mean. Does this mean that we can understand everything about God when we are first saved? NO! We have to grow and mature in Him just like a child grows up in life. When you were born, were you walking and talking immediately? NO! You had to grow and learn. It is the same way in the life of a child of God. They should grow and learn more about Jesus daily. Are you growing and maturing in Him? In the latter part of verse 12 Jesus said but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Jesus didn’t switch subjects in the middle of the verse so we have to use the same reasoning we used in the first part of this verse. Whosoever hath not is speaking of those who have not accepted Jesus as Saviour, or the lost. The phrase from him shall be taken away even that he hath is speaking of a limited knowledge, but not acting upon, the love of Jesus. To put it a different way, those who don’t accept Jesus as their Saviour, what little knowledge they have of His love, will be taken away if they don’t act upon it. This is speaking of the cares of this daily life. If a person is told about Jesus, and doesn’t act upon it, meaning accept Him as Saviour, then what little knowledge they have concerning the love of Jesus will fade away due to the cares and concerns of this world. This is why it is so important for us to continue witnessing to the lost, so that they will come to a point in time when they realize that they need a Saviour and act upon it. Are we telling others about Jesus?
In verse 13 Jesus breaks it down for us a little more. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing hear not, neither do they understand. The phrase Therefore I speak to them in parables is basically saying this is why Jesus is talking to the people in parables now. The people saw, but didn’t see, and they heard but didn’t hear. The people that Jesus was witnessing to didn’t understand what He was saying therefore He started speaking in parables so that they would understand. We are to do the same thing! When we are witnessing to someone, we need to tell them about the love of Jesus in a way that they will understand, not in a way that confuses them. This is why I preach and teach the way I do, so that you might understand the Scriptures better. Are we telling others about Jesus in a way that they can understand?
Today we have seen the reason why Jesus began speaking to the people in parables. We have seen that those who have accepted Jesus as Saviour should grow in Him daily, understanding more and more about Him. We have also seen that those who have not accepted Jesus as Saviour can not understand and that what limited knowledge they do have will fade away if we don’t keep telling them about Him. We have also looked at the way we are to witness to people which is simple and to the point, not confusing them. Are you growing in the Lord daily? Are you telling others about Him? Have you accepted Jesus as YOUR Saviour?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 31, 2010 16:50:04 GMT -5
Matthew 13:14-17 (King James Version)
14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
If you will remember, last time we looked at the beginning of Jesus’ response to the disciples question of why He was speaking to the people in parables. We saw how that people who have accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour can understand the things of God and those who do not cannot. Today we are going to look at the rest of Jesus’ response and learn more about how to be better servants for Him.
In verse 14 the first thing we need to do is define who Jesus is speaking about when He used the word them. Some have said that this word refers to the parables, but if you read in verse 15 you will find out that it doesn’t. The word them in this instance refers to those who have rejected, or have not accepted yet, Jesus as their personal Saviour. Looking at the first part of verse 14 we find that Jesus said that these people who have not yet accepted Him or have outright rejected Him have fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which is the New Testament spelling of Isaiah. This prophecy comes from Isaiah 6: 9, 10. We will look at this prophecy in detail in a moment, but first I want you to notice one thing. I want you to notice what Jesus is saying. He is saying that these people who have not accepted Him, or even outright rejected Him, are fulfilling prophecy that was written about 700 years prior to His coming. Each of these people had a choice to either accept or reject Jesus. Those who didn’t accept Him were fulfilling prophecy! God knows each persons heart, and He knows whether or not a person is going to be saved. But He still gives each person a free choice. By rejecting Him as Saviour these people were fulfilling prophecy without even knowing it. Are you fulfilling prophecy? Another thing that I need to point out is that this is an ongoing message from the Lord. This concerned the people Of Isaiah’s day, the people who heard the Lord, and the people of today.
As I stated earlier, we will look at the prophecy of Isaiah in detail. To do this, we will need to look at the last part of verse 14 and all of verse 15. To better understand this prophecy we need to have a general overview of Isaiah chapter 6. In Isaiah 6 we find what is commonly called the call of Isaiah to be a prophet. Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a throne and was afraid because he had unclean lips. In other words, Isaiah realized that he was not holy enough to be in the presence of the Lord even though he was a saved man. An angel touched a live coal to Isaiah's lips, signifying the removal of unconfused sins, and then Isaiah heard the Lord asking who would go and preach the Gospel to the people. Isaiah volunteered to go, and the Lord gave him this message and prophecy. Now that we have a basic overview of Isaiah chapter 6, it is time to look at the message that the Lord gave to Isaiah. In the latter part of verse 14 Isaiah prophesied that the people would hear but not understand and see but not perceive. Let’s take these one at a time. 1. By hearing ye shall hear but not understand. This phrase brings to my mind a child. This child is told to do something, yet doesn’t understand why they need to do it. And since this child doesn’t understand what they are doing, they don’t do it. They hear with their ears, yet they don’t comprehend or understand what the other person is telling them. 2. And seeing ye shall see, but not perceive. This is the same concept as the previous. This concept brings to my mind an old saying that I’m sure all of you have heard before. It is not seeing the forest for the trees. These people see with their eyes, yet they don’t understand exactly what they are seeing.
As we continue to look at this prophecy in verse 15, the first thing we need to do is define a couple of words. These are waxed gross. As I looked at these words in my concordance and expository dictionary, I came to realize that these words represent a term and have to be taken together. This term signifies to thicken, fatten, and in the passive voice to grow fat. In other words the peoples hearts become hardened due to the repeatedly hearing of the Gospel and continued rejection of the conviction of the Holy Spirit and it didn’t affect them anymore. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. When I was pastor at Maple Springs, I had an elderly deacon. I was preaching about the coming of the Lord and after services one Sunday he made a comment that I found disturbing. He said that he had heard all his life that Jesus’ coming was imminent yet since He hadn’t come back yet he was beginning to think that Jesus never was coming back. His heart was becoming hardened to the truth! Folks, we should never become like that. We should be like a child in this aspect, having a tender heart, always following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Do we have a tender heart? In the next part of verse 15 Isaiah wrote that the peoples ears had become dull of hearing and their eyes were closed. The people had heard the preaching of many prophets, and had heard for centuries that Jesus was coming, yet they had grown tired of hearing that message and had stopped listening. They had seen with their own eyes the Son of God standing right before them, yet they didn’t see Him for who He truly was. Have you stopped listening or seeing? In the last part of verse 15 we find a great promise. Lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. When the people see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, they will be converted, and the Lord will heal them. Glory Hallelujah! This is exactly the way I was saved! I saw, by faith, with my eyes Jesus nailed to the cross for my sins. I heard someone tell me that I needed a Saviour and that that Saviour was Jesus. And I understood in my heart that I was a sinner and needed to repent of my sins. I was converted, from a child of the devil to a child of God, when I asked Jesus to save my soul, and I was healed, not of a physical ailment, but of the eternal punishment of sin, eternal separation from God. Have you availed yourself of this great promise?
In verse 16 Jesus told His disciples, But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. If you will recall, in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we learned that the word blessed means spiritually prosperous. So Jesus said that the disciples were spiritually prosperous because they had seen Him with their own eyes and had heard Him with their own ears. They saw and understood what they were seeing, they heard and had understood what they were hearing. It is still the same way today! I am blessed with eternal life in heaven because I saw, by faith, and understood what I was seeing. I heard the preaching of the Gospel and understood that I needed a Saviour. Are you spiritually prosperous today?
In verse 17 Jesus told His disciples That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. The disciples got to see things that men throughout the ages had desired to see, the Son of God. They had heard what men since Adam had desired to hear, the Son of God speaking. These prophets and righteous men had not been blessed to see Jesus in the flesh, yet they saw Him by faith, like I have. These men had not been blessed to hear Jesus speak in a literal voice, yet they heard Him by faith like I have. The disciples were blessed above all men because of what they got to see and hear, and all of them except one died a martyr’s death. Each of their lives were changed because of what they saw and heard. My life was changed because of what I saw, by faith, and heard, by faith. Has yours?
Today we have seen the second part of Jesus’ response to the disciples question concerning why He started speaking in parables. We have seen Jesus quote from the sixth chapter of Isaiah and we have looked at the in detail. We have seen how the disciples were blessed because of what they had seen and heard. Are you blessed too? Have you seen by faith what Jesus did for you on the cross at Calvary? Have you heard that He loved you so much that He died for you? Have you placed your faith in Him to save you for all eternity?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Jun 13, 2010 19:13:59 GMT -5
Matthew 13:18-23 (King James Version)
18. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19. When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he that received seed by the way side. 20. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23. But he that receiveth the seed into good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
As usual, a short review before we get into our verses for today. We have started looking at the parables that Jesus spoke to the people. We looked at the parable of the sower, and a short description of what this parable meant. We have also looked at why Jesus started speaking to the people in parables and the fulfillment of prophecy. Today we are going to look at Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower and see what we can learn. May you be as richly blessed as I was when I studied this.
In verse 18 we find the reason the following 5 verses are placed in the Scriptures. It is the explanation of the parable of the sower to the disciples and to us. If you will recall, Jesus spoke this parable to the people while He was on a small ship just off the coast or beached on the sand in the Sea of Galilee. It is my belief that He spoke many parables to them that day, and later the disciples came to Him and asked why He started talking to the people in parables. Jesus answered their question and then He gave the explanation of the parable of the sower to the disciples. The longer I think about it the more I am convinced that Jesus gave this explanation later on, maybe a day or so, and it was only to His disciples, not the whole multitude of people that were following Him. The reason I think that is because of where this explanation falls in the Scriptures. It is after His explanation of why He started speaking in parables. Another thing we need to go over before we get into the heart of our study is why Jesus gave this explanation to the disciples. It is so that they would not misunderstand this parable! If a person just casually read this parable they could come to an understanding of the Scriptures that is totally different than the one that Jesus gives us. I could read this parable without reading Jesus explanation and teach several falsehoods, but after I read and studied this explanation there is no way I could teach these falsehoods. This is why Jesus gave us this explanation! It is so that we will teach the truth.
In verse 19 we get into the first part of Jesus’ explanation of this wonderful parable. In this verse Jesus explains the seed falling by the way side in this parable. The first thing we need to look at is the phrase When one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not. What is the word of the kingdom? It is the Gospel! We have gone over this before but it never hurts to go over it again. The Kingdom of Heaven is one of Jesus’ official titles. Therefore the word of the kingdom is the preaching of Jesus or the preaching about Jesus. We call this the Gospel or good news. The pharse when one heareth is speaking of a person who hears the Gospel preached. It could be a man, woman, or child. The phrase understandeth it not is speaking of someone who does not accept Jesus as Saviour, be it man, woman, or child. If we tie all of this together we will come to the conclusion that Jesus is referring to a lost person as the way side or unprepared ground. In the next part of verse 19, Jesus said then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. There is only one being in the universe that is referred to as the wicked one and that being is Satan. Before time began, when Satan decided that he wanted to be God, and tried to overthrow God, he became the wicked one. He was cast out of heaven and through him sin came into this world. Catcheth away that which was sown in his heart refers to a person hearing the Gospel and before they can think on it Satan comes and removes it from their heart by causing them to think on other things. I have seen this time and again and I’m sure you have too. The Gospel is preached to a person who needs to accept Jesus as Saviour, but they let the cares of this world rule their thoughts and they don’t think about what they just heard. Therefore they don’t accept Jesus as Saviour. Are you like this? When you hear the Gospel preached does Satan cause you to think on other things?
In verse 20 and 21 Jesus changes the type of ground. This time it is stony or rocky ground. This is a saved person as noticed by the phrase the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. This person has hear the Gospel preached and has received it into his heart and with joy has accepted Jesus as Saviour. But this person doesn’t serve the Lord like a child of God should. They are a faithful servant for a while, but when trials and tribulations come they quit serving the Lord. Again, I have seen this happen just like you have. A person accepts Jesus as Saviour and is on fire for Him, but when things happen in their life because of their stand for Jesus, they roll over and quit. Oftentimes this is a young convert or someone who doesn’t take the time to study the Scriptures. They accept Jesus as Saviour, then when they try to tell others about Jesus or their salvation, they are ridiculed and put down. After a while they quit serving the Lord because of this ridicule and are like a plant that is planted in rocky ground. They have no root depth and during the heat of the day they wither away. Are you like this type of ground? Have you quit serving the Lord because of things that has happened in your life?
In verse 22 Jesus changes the type of ground He is speaking about again. This time it is thorny ground, or ground that has not had weed killer sprayed on it. Again, this is a person who has accepted Jesus as Saviour, as evidenced by the phrase becometh unfruitful. A person can not bear fruit unless they are a child of God and the word becometh refers to an action. These were fruitful, or producing fruit, yet they let the cares of this world influence them and quit producing fruit. I have seen this too. A person is saved and is working for the Lord. They allow the things of this world, such as making a living or acquiring riches, influence their way of life and they stop serving Him. It could be that this person has decided that they have to work on Sundays and stops going to church. They have decided that they need or want certain worldly goods and put these goods before their service to the Lord. Before long, they stop telling others about Jesus and stop serving Him altogether. Are you like this?
In verse 23 Jesus again changes ground. This time it is the good ground He is talking about. This person is saved and they are a good and faithful servant for the Lord. They are producing fruit and are serving Him like they should. But notice, not all produce the same amount of fruit, yet all produce some. Some produce more than others, some less, but all produce fruit. This is a person who is saved and stays the course no matter what they circumstances. They don’t let the cares of this world influence them, nor do they let their eyes get off the prize that they are hoping to attain, which is a reward in heaven. Are you like this person?
One thing I need to point out before I finish. Three of these types of ground were saved people, and one was not. No where in this parable do I find that the ones who were not producing fruit were ever tilled up. They did not lose their salvation! They were still saved although they had stopped producing fruit.
Today we have seen Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower. We have seen the 4 different types of ground and their meaning. Everyone is one of these types of ground. Are you the way side or unprepared ground? If so, then I urge you to allow Jesus into your heart today. Are you like the rocky ground and have quit serving the Lord due to trials in your life? If so, I urge you to start serving Him again. Jesus will make it worthwhile in the end. Are you like the ground that has thorns in it? Have you stopped producing fruit for Jesus? If so, I urge you to turn your eyes back to what is important, Jesus, and start serving Him again. Or are you lie the good ground, producing fruit for Him? If so, I urge you to keep on keeping on, producing fruit, and serving Him. What type of ground are you?
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Post by catman50plus on Aug 28, 2011 8:10:42 GMT -5
Thank you for posting this. As the Bible tells us that to those who are given much, much is expected. I needed this reminder, even though I know it well, I have failed to do, and life has not been too good for me as of late, but now, the answer to the problem I have found. Yes, I know this to be a very true thing, and have asked forgivness. I am sorry this may be off topic, but was led to do this. Thanks.
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