Daily Bible Commentary (25th February-2nd March 2013

Monday – 25^th February

Topic: The King’s Secrets

Read: Matthew 13:1-17

The parable of the sower.

When Jesus taught from a boat, surely that was a new thing. We can imagine some critic saying, “You can’t do that! Teaching belongs in the synagogue or in some other appropriate place.” It would be easy to come up with objections: “The damp air might make people sick” or “There are a lot of mosquitoes down at the shore” or “Someone might drown.” But Jesus knew that teaching from a boat suited His purposes well enough.
Then He spoke many things to them in parables: The idea behind the word parable is “to throw alongside of.” It is a story thrown alongside the truth intended to teach. Parables have been called “earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.”
A sower went to sow: Jesus speaks according to the agricultural customs of His day. In those days, seed was scattered first, then it was plowed into the ground.
In this parable, the seed falls on four different types of soil.
The wayside was the path where people walked and nothing could grow because the ground was too hard.
Stony places refers to a place where the soil was thin, laying upon a rocky shelf. On this ground the seed springs up quickly because of the warmth of the soil, but the seed is unable to take root because of the rocky shelf.
Among thorns describes soil that is fertile - perhaps too fertile, because thorns grow there as well as grain.
Good ground describes soil that is both fertile and weed-free. A good, productive crop grows in the good ground.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear: This is a not a call for all to listen. Rather, it is a call for those who are spiritually sensitive to take special note. This is especially true in light of the next few verses, in which Jesus explains the purpose of parables.

Tuesday – 26^th February

Topic: The King’s Secrets

Read: Matthew 13:18-31
Why did Jesus use parables? In this context, to hide the truth from those who would not listen to the Holy Spirit.
He used parables so that the hearts of those rejecting would not be hardened further. The same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay; and so the very same gospel message which breaks down honest hearts and leads to repentance, hardens the hearts of the dishonest and confirms them in their path of disobedience.
In this sense, the parables of Jesus were not illustrations making difficult things clear to all who heard. They were a way of “encoding” God’s message so the spiritually sensitive could understand, but the hardened would merely hear a story without heaping up additional condemnation for rejecting God’s Word.
Parables are an example of God’s mercy towards the hardened. The parables are given in light of Jesus’ rejection by the Jewish leaders, mercy given to the undeserving.
By speaking in parables, Jesus also fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, speaking in a way that the hardened would hear but not hear, and see but not see.
In light of this, how blessed are those who do understand the parables of Jesus. Not only do they gain the benefit of the spiritual truth illustrated, but they also display some measure of responsiveness to the Holy Spirit.
Parables generally teach one main point or principle. We can get into trouble by demanding that they be intricate systems of theology, with the smallest detail revealing hidden truths. The wayside represents those who never really hear the gospel with understanding. The gospel must be understood before it can bear fruit. One of Satan’s chief works is to keep men in darkness regarding their understanding of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4)
The stony places represent those who receive the gospel enthusiastically, but it is short-lived, because they are not willing to endure tribulation or persecution . . . because of the word.
The soil among thorns represents fertile ground for the word - but their “soil” is too fertile, because it also grows all sorts of other things that choke out the word of God.
The good ground represents those who receive the word, and it bears fruit in their “soil” - in differing proportions, though everyone has a generous harvest.
We benefit from seeing bits of ourselves in all four soils.
Like the wayside, sometimes we allow the word no room at all in our lives.
Like the stony places, we sometimes have “hot flashes” of enthusiasm in receiving the word that quickly burn out.
Like the soil among thorns, the world is constantly threatening to choke out God’s word and our fruitfulness.
Like the good ground, the word bears fruit in our lives.
Notice that the difference in each category was with the soil itself. The same seed was cast by the same sower. You could not blame the differences in results on the sower or the seed, but only the soil.

Wednesday – 27^th February

Topic: The King’s Secrets

Read: Matthew 13:32-43
Parables of corruption in the kingdom community (Matthew 13:24-30).
The enemy’s purpose in sowing tares was to destroy the wheat. But the wise farmer will not allow the enemy to succeed. Instead, He will sort it out at harvest time.
As applied to the kingdom community, this parable teaches us that it is not our job to sort the tares from the wheat. That is only done at the time of harvest. Among God’s people, there may be some who are not genuine Christians, but it is God’s job to sort out false professors.
Parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:32)
Another illustration of corruption in the kingdom community: the parable of the mustard seed is to show that the beginnings of the gospel would be small, but its latter end would greatly increase; in this way the work of grace in the heart, the kingdom of God within us, would be carried on. In the soul where grace truly is, it will grow really; though perhaps at first not to be discerned, it will at last come to great strength and usefulness
Some commentators say that the birds of the air will come to rest in the tree represents the enemy sowing his agents into the church as it grows and the gospel is spread.
The parable of the leaven in the meal. ( Matthew 13:33)
As the property of leaven is to change, or assimilate to its own nature, the meal or dough with which it is mixed, so the property of the grace of Christ is to change the whole soul into its own likeness; and God intends that this principle should continue in the soul till all is leavened - till the whole bear the image of the heavenly, as it before bore the image of the earthly. Both these parables are prophetic, and were intended to show, principally, how, from very small beginnings, the Gospel of Christ should pervade all the nations of the world, and fill them with righteousness and true holiness.

Thursday– 28^th February

Topic: The King’s Secrets

Read: Matthew 13:36-50
Parable of the wheat and the tares explained. (Matthew 13:36-43)
In His explanation, Jesus makes it clear what the different figures in the parable represent. The field represents the world, the seed represents the word, and the crop is either grain from the good seeds, or are tares - representing the sons of the wicked one.
Jesus explains that the kingdom community will have tares - false believers - in its midst, and that it isn’t the job of the church to weed all of these out. God will do it at the end of the age.
These tares appeared identical to the wheat when they were young. It was only as time went on that the difference was clear
Clearly, the enemy plants counterfeits in the kingdom community, and this is why being a “member of the Christian community” isn’t enough.
As long as God’s people are still in this world (the field), there will be unbelievers among them; but it should not be because God’s people receive unbelievers as if they were believers.
The parable of the hidden treasure. (Matthew 13:44)
That of the treasure hid in the field. Many slight the gospel, because they look only upon the surface of the field. But all who search the Scriptures, so as in them to find Christ and eternal life, John 5:39, will discover such treasure in this field as makes it unspeakably valuable; they make it their own upon any terms. Though nothing can be given as a price for this salvation, yet much must be given up for the sake of it.

The parable of the costly pearl (Matthew 13:45-46).
All the children of men are busy; one would be rich, another would be honorable, another would be learned; but most are deceived, and take up with counterfeits for pearls. Jesus Christ is a Pearl of great price; in having him, we have enough to make us happy here and forever. A man may buy gold too dear, but not this Pearl of great price. When the convinced sinner sees Christ as the gracious Savior, everything else becomes worthless to his thoughts.

Friday – 29^th February

Topic: The King’s Secrets

Read: Matthew 13:47-58
The parable of the dragnet. (Matthew 13:47-50)
The world is a vast sea, and men, in their natural state, are like the fishes. Preaching the gospel is casting a net into this sea, to catch something out of it, for His glory, who has the sovereignty of this sea. Hypocrites and true Christians shall be parted: miserable is the condition of those that shall then be cast away
We wonder if the disciples really did understand Jesus here. However, Jesus did not deny their claim to understand. Jesus says that everyone who really knows God’s word both will know the old and learn the new of the kingdom
Jesus is rejected at His Nazareth. (Matt13:53-56)
The people of Nazareth are surprised that such a “normal” boy could grow up to do such spectacular things.
Because these villagers were so familiar with Jesus as a boy, and so unaccustomed to spectacular things from him, we may conclude that Jesus must have grown up a very normal boy.
 Jesus plainly had many brothers and sisters; the Roman Catholic idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary is in contradiction to the plain meaning of the Bible. We know that Jesus had brothers, but now we also learn that He had sisters. Mary did not remain a virgin after she gave birth to Jesus.
A prophet without honor (Matthew 13:57-58).
We often have wrong ideas about what it means to be spiritual. We often think that spiritual people will be much more “strange” than “normal.” Therefore, those closest to truly “spiritual” people see just how normal they are and sometimes think that they aren’t spiritual because they are normal.
It is truly remarkable that Jesus was, in some manner, limited by their unbelief. As long as God chooses to work in concert with human agency, developing our ability to partner with Him, our unbelief will hinder the work of God

GOD BLESS!

JESUS LOVES YOU!