In Case You Missed It - 1/18/09

Each week I will try to post a summary of the previous Sunday's lesson in order to reinforce what was taught (or go over what should have been taught). This will hopefully be helpful to you whether or not you were in class.

1/18/09 - FUEL Session 59 - Parables about the Kingdom
Scripture: Matthew 13

Biblical Truth: Jesus used parables to teach about the origin, spread, power, and ultimate victory of the kingdom of God.

There were 7 parables in this passage:

• The Parable of the Sower (vv. 1-9 and further explained in vv. 18-23) compares four types of ground to conditions of the heart - the path (v. 4) represents a heart hardened by sin, the rocky ground (vv. 5-6) represents a shallow heart with no real commitment, the thorny ground (v. 7) represents a heart weighed down by wealth and worrry, and the good ground (v. 8) represents an open heart that is receptive to God's message.
• The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds (vv. 24-30 and further explained in vv. 36-43) compares the sower of wheat to Jesus and the sower of weeds to Satan. As God grows his Kingdom through Jesus, Satan will be attempting to counteract that growth.
• The Parable of the Mustard Seed (vv. 31-32) compares a large tree that has grown from a tiny seed to the Kingdom of God, which began with one man, Jesus, and is still growing.
• The Parable of the Yeast (v. 33) compares the work of the Kingdom to leaven in flour - a small amount is enough to affect the entire measure of flour, even if its work is not evident at first.
• The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (v. 44), and
• The Parable of the Priceless Pearl (vv. 45-46) both illustrate the point that the Kingdom is worth giving up everything else.
• The Parable of the Net (vv. 47-50) compares the Kingdom of God to a fishing net. The net gathers in all the fish before the fishermen determine which ones are good and which are bad, meaning that we all will face God's judgment.

While it is important to recognize these parables as an effective teaching method used by Jesus, it is more important to learn what He is teaching. The Kingdom of God is His reign on heaven and earth, and we that are believers in Christ are already living and working in that reign. To know this is both a comfort and a call to Godly living.