Matthew 13:31-58
He gave them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come and nest in its branches.” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.” Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable. This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The poisonous weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. As the poisonous weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen!
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.” Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”
Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there. Then he came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers? Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? And aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And aren’t all his sisters here with us? So where did he get all this?” And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own house.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
COMMENT & QUESTIONS
The Kingdom of Heaven is presented in a bunch of different parables. See if you can work out what Jesus is describing about the Kingdom in the different parables.
Mustard seed - the rapid growth of the kingdom
Yeast - the kingdom spreads through different people
The darnel - the kingdom will sort out the righteous and unrighteous
Treasure/pearl - the value of the kingdom above all else
The net - there will be judgement along with the kingdom
This whole week we have been reading about people who rejected Christ. Finally, he returns to His hometown and is rejected by His own people. Next week we will see that Jesus spends less time with the crowds and more time with His disciples.
It can be hard when we spend all our time around people who oppose Christ. Think about the joy that comes when God’s family meet together and the joy that it is to share a faith in Jesus. Every Sunday we get to separate from the world and spend time with our fellow believers.
Prayers
Pray for the expansion of God’s Kingdom in this world. Pray that people will listen to the words of Jesus. Give thanks that we have found a ‘treasure hidden in a field’.