Hey all!
Since the holidays are right around the corner, I thought I’d offer up holiday movie suggestions!
Happy movie nights!
*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jesus tells the people the Parable of the Weeds. The kingdom of heaven is like the man who sowed the good seed. But while everyone was sleeping, the enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat seeds. When both sprouted, the servants wanted to pull the weeds. The man said not to because they may accidentally pull wheat, too. Instead, let them both grow together until harvest. At that time, you can collect the weeds for burning and then store the what in his barn.
The disciples asked Jesus to explain the Parable of the Weeds. Jesus says that the man is the Son of God (him). The field is the world. The good seeds are believers. The weeds are unbelievers. The enemy is the devil. The harvest is at the Second Coming. The harvesters are angels who will weed out sin and evil. Unbelievers will be thrown into the fiery furnace at the end of the age where they will weep and gnash teeth. The righteous will shine in the kingdom.
13)
The two sowers: the sower who sowed the good seed is Jesus. The sower who sowed the weeds is the devil.
The good seed: believers
The weeds: unbelievers
The harvest: the Second Coming
The harvesters: angels
14a) Satan comes when you least expect it and when you are most vulnerable.
b) The man said not to pull the weeds because they may accidentally pull wheat, too — meaning they could accidentally cause a believer to fall, or pull a believer and put them in the wrong pile and burn at the Second Coming.
c) Because unbelievers act like believers at times, and believers sin, too. Since we are all human and sin, it’s hard to distinguish those who ask for forgiveness from God and those who do not.
d) God decides who will be His and who won’t. When we focus on growing believers in their relationship with Christ, more good is done for his kingdom and perhaps more unbelievers will turn, too.
I liked this parable because it’s pretty clear what Jesus is saying. There will always be weeds/unbelievers amongst the harvest/believers. We can work to make ourselves more distinguishable by trying to be more like Christ every day. Then perhaps the weeds will be more likely to come to Jesus. It’s cool how we get to study the meaning explained by Jesus himself at the same time. I like how BSF does this. Plus, it shows the power we have in our hands of having the privilege of reading God’s word. The early Christians did not have this privilege.
The devil hopes to destroy the sower’s work/believers with his weeds, or sin, that is growing amongst them.
This parable comes immediately after the Parable of the Sower because people may be wondering if they should separate themselves from unbelievers.
Note that in the Parable of the Sower, the seeds are the Word of God. Here the seeds sprout to wheat, which represents believers. The Parable of the Sower shows how people respond to God’s Word; the Parable of the Weeds shows how believers will be eternally separated from unbelievers at the End Times and how the enemy tries to deceive believers.
The weeds and the harvest would grow together till it would be obvious which was which at tht End Times.
Fun Fact: Those who disliked others would, in fact, plant weeds in their enemies’ fields to sabotage the harvest. This was common enough that a Roman law existed making it illegal to do this.
Note that God divides the people at the End Times.
Many early priests tried to turn this from the world to the church, meaning there were weeds amongst the church. However, it is clear Jesus means the world (including the Gentiles). God will divide; not us. In sum, there will always be unbelievers in the world.
Note the role angels play; they will help sort the unbelievers and believers at the End Times. Pretty cool!
Jesus does not dice words. Unbelievers will burn (note the wailing and the gnashing of teeth we see in Revelation), and believers will shine in eternity. I don’t know about you, but I like the idea of shining!
We are to focus on planting seeds, not pulling weeds, meaning we focus on preaching the Good News and bringing others to Christ, not on judging or condemning weeds or unbelievers who still may turn to Christ.
Our job is to bear fruit. What fruit are you bearing?
The disciples ask Jesus why he speaks to the people in parables. He tells the disciples that the people don’t have the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom like they do. Whoever has will be given more, and whoever does not have will lose even more. Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, which says that the people have hardened hearts so even though they see, they do not, and even though they hear, they don’t. They might understand with their hearts and be healed. He tells the disciples they are blessed because they understand what they see and hear, and many have not in the past.
Here, God is speaking to Isaiah to go to the people and tell them to hear and see, but they won’t understand or perceive. Their hearts are hardened, their ears are dull, and their eyes are closed. If they see and hear, they will understand with their hearts.
11a) He tells the disciples that the people don’t have the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom like they do.
b) In order to reach more people. With the growing opposition by the Pharisees against Jesus, parables would not give them any more fuel to use against him.
c) That many would not believe in him because they wouldn’t hear his message and understand.
12a) Their eyes are open, and their ears can hear the message of the Good News and follow Jesus to eternal life.
b) Just by being a believer and chosen to have my eyes open and my ears hear. I am very blessed in this world, and I know although my path can be hard, I will still be blessed.
I can almost see the disciples pulling Jesus aside and asking him what’s up. I like how Jesus is teaching the people, but he’s also preparing his disciples for kingdom work at the same time. Jesus understands what we need. He speaks to the people in the terms they can understand so that they can follow him. So he does the same to us today.
Here are some great parable readings for you!
The point of Jesus speaking in parables he tells the disciples is so that those who hear his message and reject it won’t reject it more, and those that hear the message and accept it will turn to him more. Jesus is teaching to those who will spiritually respond.
Bible scholar Barclay puts it so: “The parable conceals truth from those who are either too lazy to think or too blinded by prejudice to see. It puts the responsibility fairly and squarely on the individual. It reveals truth to him who desires truth; it conceals truth from him who does not wish to see the truth.”
Parables challenge the listener to take action.
Those who want to hear will gain more; those who don’t, won’t fall more, but will still face consequences.
God conceals truth from those who oppose Him as an act of judgment. Those who can hear grow in Christ. However, the more truth you hear and understand, the more accountable you are to it and to God.
Parables are, in short, mercy to those who reject Jesus.
Jesus is fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy with parables, so that the hardened would hear but not hear nor see.
Those who do understand the parables are blessed with spiritual truth.
Fun Fact: “The kingdom of heaven” phrase is used 32 times in Matthew.
The disciples never quite understand Jesus’s mission or kingdom until he dies and resurrects. They keep asking for explanations. We understand the kingdom of heaven as God on earth. The disciples had no clue.
Remember that God is in control of who understands His truth. He it the one who unstops ears to hear. To understand God’s Word fully, we need the help of the Holy Spirit.
God is telling Isaiah to speak to those who would not respond to His Word to prove their guilt. However, the Word of God can open eyes, ears, and hearts.
*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jesus was sitting by the lake (Sea of Galilee), but the crowds were so big that he got into a boat so the people could see and hear him better. He told the parable of sower. Some of the seeds that the farmer scattered fell on rocky places. They sprang up quickly, but because the soil was shallow, they withered due to a lack of root. Other seeds fell among thorns, which choked the plant. Other seeds fell on good soil where it produced a good crop.
Jesus explains the meaning of the parable of the sower. When people hear the message about the kingdom of God and do not understand it, the evil one takes away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places hears the Word and receives it with joy. But he falls away when trouble arises because he has no root. The seed in the thorns is the man who hears the word, but is unfruitful because of his worries and deceitfulness of wealth. The one who received the seed on good soil hears the Word and understands it. He produces a good crop.
6) He uses temptation, deceit, greed, and all the other sins to snatch us away.
7) It can be easy to focus on your problems, rather than your blessings.
8 ) John 15:5 reminds us that if you are close to Jesus, you’ll bear much fruit. When you stray, you can do nothing. Philippians 2:12-13 reminds us that God works in you for His good purpose. We all have our seasons of when we are following God’s will closely and when we stray. I think this is why our fruit can vary. God gives us all different gifts and opportunities to grow with Him. The difference in fruit lies in your obedience to these gifts and opportunities given.
9) We all need strong roots so that we won’t be tempted by the devil. If we have strong roots and are faithful, we’ll bear good fruit for the evil one will not be able to snatch us away.
10) The soil of my heart is a yearning for God and His will. I know because He is with me always, and I strive to follow Him and His path.
More of a personal day, but an encouraging one. We will bear fruit if we follow Jesus and God. No one says it’s easy, but it will pay off.
The boat gave Jesus a platform to speak from (Mark 4:1).
Parables are meant to teach one main principle to those listening. They made the idea easier to remember, and it stayed longer with the people.
Jesus spoke to things the people would understand. Everyone understood farming.
The seeds fell on four places:
Jesus uses “he who has ears, let him hear.” to call attention to his words.
Each soil type represents one of four ways that we respond to Jesus:
We all go through the different types of soil in our lives — times where our faith wanes or where we are on fire for God. However, what matters in the end is that we strive to be the good soil and bear fruit in all that we do.
It can be helpful to ask yourself which soil are you and what can you change to become the good soil.
Jesus was sitting by the lake (Sea of Galilee), but the crowds were so big that he got into a boat so the people could see and hear him better. He told the parable of sower. Some of the seeds that the farmer scattered fell on rocky places. They sprang up quickly, but because the soil was shallow, they withered due to a lack of root. Other seeds fell among thorns, which choked the plant. Other seeds fell on good soil where it produced a good crop.
Jesus explains the meaning of the parable of the sower. When people hear the message about the kingdom of God and do not understand it, the evil one takes away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places hears the Word and receives it with joy. But he falls away when trouble arises because he has no root. The seed in the thorns is the man who hears the word, but is unfruitful because of his worries and deceitfulness of wealth. The one who received the seed on good soil hears the Word and understands it. He produces a good crop.
3) He told the parable of sower. Some of the seeds that the farmer scattered fell on rocky places. They sprang up quickly, but because the soil was shallow, they withered due to a lack of root. Other seeds fell among thorns, which choked the plant. Other seeds fell on good soil where it produced a good crop.
4)
The sower signifies: God or Jesus
The seed signifies: the Word of God
The soil along the path signifies: those who hear but don’t take action
The birds that snatch the seed signifies: the evil one
The rocky soil signifies: problems that arise that prevent one accepting God’s Word
The thorny soil signifies: those who don’t truly accept God’s Word even after growth
The good soil signifies: those who accept Christ as their Savior
5a) The seed that fell on good soil. It was the only one that produced a crop.
b) The same in all four accounts was God and Him extending His hand to us to believe His word. The seeds all started out equally, meaning they all had a chance to be fruitful. What was different was the soil and how each responded to God’s Word and let hindrances keep them from God.
c) We need to ensure our roots are deep so we can withstand the evil one’s attacks on us. We need to not let circumstances sway us to turn from God. We need a solid foundation of knowing God’s Word in order to spend eternity with God and survive and thrive in this world.
Great life lessons we can glean from this parable. I love Jesus’s parables because they all apply to us today and we can learn so much when we study the meaning in depth.
Here are some great parable readings for you!
The boat gave Jesus a platform to speak from (Mark 4:1). With rising opposition, Jesus could no longer preach in synogogues, so he taught outdoors.
Parables are meant to teach one main principle to those listening. They made the idea easier to remember, and it stayed longer with the people. The parables of Matthew 13 focus on God’s kingdom. Your response determines if you will have eternal life or eternal damnation.
Jesus spoke to things the people would understand. Everyone understood farming.
The seeds fell on four places:
Jesus uses “he who has ears, let him hear.” to call attention to his words.
The meaning behind his words would make no sense to those with spiritual deafness. Those who recognized Jesus would understand his words.
Each soil type represents one of four ways that we respond to Jesus:
We all go through the different types of soil in our lives — times where our faith wanes or where we are on fire for God. However, what matters in the end is that we strive to be the good soil and bear fruit in all that we do.
It can be helpful to ask yourself which soil are you and what can you change to become the good soil.
*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.