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Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13. If you want to use one of the Bibles from the pew rack in front of you, Matthew 13 is on page ____ in those Bibles. We’re continuing our study of Matthew’s Gospel, and it will help us understand what Jesus teaches here in Matthew 13 if we connect it to what Matthew has shown us up to this point in his Gospel. And by now, you’ve heard me say what probably feels like a thousand times that the main picture Matthew gives us of Jesus is that Jesus is the King over all. On the most epic level imaginable, Jesus is the King of Kings who rules over all things. And on the most intimate level imaginable, Jesus is your King, who rules over your life. And for the first nine chapters of Matthew, we saw this clearly: We saw Jesus coming as King, Jesus calling people to follow Him as King, Jesus teaching what it means to follow Him as King, and then Jesus showing His power as King.
But starting in chapter 10, a shift takes place. Jesus sends His disciples out to spread the good news of His kingdom throughout Israel. In verse 7, Jesus tells them to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And He gives them power to heal people and perform miracles and cast out demons. But He also warns them that their mission isn’t going to be easy, and their message isn’t always going to be well-received. In fact, they will be betrayed and arrested and beaten and persecuted and even executed for declaring that Jesus is King.
The shift continues in chapters 11-12. In chapter 11, John the Baptist sends people to ask Jesus if He’s really the Messiah… if he’s really God’s Anointed King. And the reason that John’s having doubts… and the reason that John can’t come and ask Jesus for Himself… is because John has been thrown in prison by King Herod. It’s exactly what Jesus said would happen to some of His followers in chapter 10, but you can understand why it would make them have doubts. If Jesus is really the King, and if He’s really ushering in His kingdom, then why isn’t He conquering Herod and conquering Rome and setting His people free and leading Israel to worldwide power? That’s what the Jews have always expected from their Messiah. Based on their understanding of the Old Testament prophecies, they expect the Messiah to be a Warrior King like David who conquers the nations and sets Israel up as the most powerful nation on earth. But that’s not what’s happening. Jesus hasn’t gained any political power. The political leaders of Israel aren’t even submitting to Him, let alone the leaders of the world. And then in chapter 12, we see that the religious leaders of Israel aren’t submitting to Jesus, either. In fact, when we get to chapter 12, the religious leaders are so opposed to Jesus that they make up their minds to kill Him.
And at the end of our chapter today, you’ll see that it’s not just the leaders in Israel who are rejecting Jesus. Even many of the people in Jesus’ hometown… every-day people who Jesus grew up with… are rejecting Jesus. Look at verses 53-58 in chapter 13. Matthew writes, “And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?’ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.’ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”
So think about how confusing all this could be for Jesus’ followers. On one hand, Jesus has done some things to make them think He’s the Messiah King. He’s taught with amazing authority. He’s healed people and calmed storms and performed miracles with supernatural power. But on the other hand, He hasn’t made any progress politically, He’s been rejected by the religious leaders, the people aren’t all flocking to Him as their King, a lot of people are offended by Him, and there aren’t really any signs that He’s setting up the kingdom that the Jews expect their Messiah to set up.
So is Jesus the Messiah King or not? Is Jesus establishing His kingdom or not? If you’ll think in those terms and keep those questions in mind, I think it will really help you as we look at what Jesus teaches in chapter 13. Because basically for this whole chapter, Jesus is saying, “Let me tell you what the kingdom of heaven is really like. You expect it to be like this, but this is what my kingdom’s really like.” And the way that Jesus does that in this chapter is through parables. He gives us eight straight parables here. Now, parables are basically just stories from everyday life that illustrate a spiritual truth. You take something like farming or fishing or a tree, and you use it as an illustration. And before we start looking at Jesus’ parables, let me warn you about one of the mistakes people often make. Sometimes people get really focused on lots of small details in the parables, and they start trying to make all sorts of points that Jesus isn’t trying to make, and they ignore the fact that Jesus tells us very clearly exactly why He’s telling these parables. Just so you can see it for yourself, let’s glance through the chapter real quickly. Look down at verse 24, “He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to…’” Then skip over to verse 31, “He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like…’” Then verse 33, “He told them another parable, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like…’” Verse 44, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” Verse 45, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like…” And just for good measure, verse 47, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like…”
So all throughout this chapter, Jesus is teaching what the kingdom of heaven is like. That’s the point of the parables: to teach us what the kingdom of heaven is like. And it’s not what anybody expected. Jesus is the King, and Jesus is setting up His kingdom, but He’s not doing it the way they expected. It’s going to be very different from what anyone thought.
Maybe the easiest way to see this is to look at the two parables Jesus tells in verses 31-33. Remember, you’ve got people who are wondering, “If Jesus is the Messiah King, why aren’t we seeing Him overwhelm armies and conquer nations and rule the world?” Look at what Jesus says in verses 31-33, “He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ He told them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’”
Do you see how Jesus is correcting their view of His kingdom? He basically says, “You expect me to establish my kingdom with a massive show of force all at once, but that’s not how I’ve chosen to do it. I’m going to plant a tiny seed, and over time, it’s going to grow into the biggest tree. I’m going to put some yeast in some flour, and over time, it will spread through the whole thing.” Jesus is telling them not to be deceived by external appearances or immediate results. He’s working in ways they don’t see yet, and when it’s all said and done, His kingdom will have a greater impact than they would ever dream. And isn’t that exactly what’s happened? You start with a baby born in a manger to an unwed mother in a tiny town in the Middle East who grows up and gathers a small group of unknown, uneducated men as His followers and then gets arrested and hung on a cross to die… and somehow, today, 2000 years later, on the other side of the world, you and I are gathered in His name, believing that He is the King of Kings and rejoicing that He accepts us into His kingdom by faith in Him. How in the world has the entire world been changed by this man? Because He really is the King. And He really is setting up His kingdom. Just not the way anybody expected. Not like a massive army. Like a tiny mustard seed.
So let’s walk through the rest of chapter 13, and I know it’s a really big chunk, but I want us to at least touch on all eight parables today, because they all go together. But before we do, let’s look at verses 10-17, because in those verses Jesus explains why He teaches in parables. So read verses 10-17 with me. Matthew writes, “Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.’ For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.’”
So the disciples come to Jesus and they ask Him, “Why do you teach with parables?” And Jesus gives them two different reasons. He tells them that He’s accomplishing two things at once when He uses parables. First, He uses parables so that people who are believing the truth about Jesus will see the truth more clearly. Look at verse 11. Jesus says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven…” The word translated “secrets” can also be translated “mysteries,” and in the Bible, the word “mystery” refers to something that was hidden or unclear in the Old Testament, but it’s being revealed and made clear in the New Testament. You can see this same thought in verses 34-35, “All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’” So Jesus is using the parables to reveal truths that were mysterious and hidden in the Old Testament. For example, in the Old Testament it was clear that God was going to send His Messiah to reign as King. But what wasn’t as clear is what type of King He was going to be and how He was going to set up His kingdom. You get hints of it in the Old Testament, but there was still a lot of mystery around the fact that the Messiah was coming not just to reign politically as the king of Israel, but to reign spiritually as the king of all nations. And even more, the Messiah was going to set up His kingdom not by force and power but by suffering and sacrifice. He wasn’t coming to conquer and condemn the world but to serve and save the world. And when we come to Matthew 13, now that Jesus is here, He’s making that clear. Those mysteries are being revealed.
And look at verse 11 again, and make sure you see that Jesus tells His disciples, “It’s been given to you to know these things.” The reason they’re understanding the mysteries and seeing the truth more clearly is not because they were so smart. It’s not because they were such good people. It’s not because of them at all. It’s because God gave it to them as a gift. God opened their hearts and minds to the truth by His grace. He gave it to them. We see the same thing in verse 12, “For to the one who has, more will be given…” God gave you what you have, and now that you have, God will give you even more. The reason God gives you more is because of what God gave you to start with. It’s all of God. It’s all His grace.
So when Jesus teaches in parables, it’s an expression of God’s grace to those who are believing the truth about Jesus, and the parables help them see the truth more clearly.
But then the second reason Jesus says He teaches in parables is so that people who are rejecting the truth about Jesus will be blinded to the truth more completely. In other words, not only are the parables grace from God; at the very same time, the parables are also judgment from God. And I want you to see simultaneously both God’s sovereignty in His judgment, and our responsibility when we’re judged. In verse 11, we see God’s sovereignty. Jesus says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” According to Jesus in that verse, when people don’t know the truth, why don’t they know it? Because God hasn’t given them the ability to know it. That’s God’s sovereignty. Now, at the very same time, look at verse 13 and see our responsibility, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Think about the Pharisees and religious leaders who have decided to kill Jesus at this point. Think about what they’ve seen and what they’ve heard. They’ve seen miracle after miracle. They’ve heard teaching on top of teaching. They’ve seen Jesus heal people and drive out demons. They’ve heard Him teach about God and about the Old Testament unlike anyone who ever lived. It’s not that they haven’t seen enough to see who Jesus. It’s not that they haven’t heard enough to know who Jesus is. It’s that even when they see it, they reject it and refuse to see what it means. Even when they hear it, they reject it and refuse to hear what it means. They see, but they don’t see. They hear, but they don’t hear. God put the truth right in front of them, but they refused to see it and hear it, and they are responsible for that choice. And the parables are judgment upon them… judgment upon their hard hearts… and judgment that hardens their hearts even further.