The Strand Study Bible

MATTHEW MATTHEW trying to unmask the lost. Too much attack on false religions may damage the saved before it exposes the lost. Like banking people who spend more time studying real currency verses counterfeit currency, those desiring to serve God with all their heart should spend more time studying God’s Word and winning people to Jesus than fighting false religions and trying to eradicate them. According to Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus did not call us to root out false religions , but to proclaim the Gospel. He even reminded us to “ let both grow together , ” knowing there was no possibility of the Church ever converting the entire world in this age. Parable #7 is aimed at believers who desire to serve God with all their heart . Notice the statement, “ Wilt thou then we go and gather them up ?” There are two character flaws associated with this parable: 1. Assuming the Church is going to convert the entire world (vs 28-29). It is not. Exposing false religions is one thing. Jesus did it (Mt 23). So did the Apostle Paul (Gal 2). However, attempting to convert them by battling them all the time is quite another. 2. Assuming everybody in church is saved (vs 30). They are not. Christians should never assume that everybody in church is saved. No matter what church Paul (Gal 5:4) or John (Rev 3:5) addressed, they always had to consider the fact that there would be “tares” (unsaved) amongst the “wheat” (saved). 13:31 The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds there is. Yet, in one season it grows into a shrub the size of a small tree(vs. 32). Its growth is phenomenal. Our Lord planted a very small seed (the Gospel seed - I Pet 1:23) into the hearts of a few men and women while He was here on earth. So insignificant was the Jewish/Gentile Church that He planted, few ever even noticed its beginning. Yet, within a very short period of time (around twenty years) the Gospel Church was turning the world upside down for good and for God (Acts 17:1-6). Parable #8 is aimed at believers who think bigger is better . The character flaw - assuming outward growth is a picture of spiritual depth . It is not. Although history confirms the fact that from the smallest beginning, the Church experienced astounding growth through the preaching of the Gospel, such growth is regarded as unfavorable because of the birds that lodged within its branches. The bigger something gets the easier it is for outside influences to infiltrate it and defile it. Christ warned his disciples here that the mere bigness of what appears outwardly is not always a true picture of true spirituality. According to Luke 12:32 and Matthew 10:16, real Christianity is a little flock surrounded by packs of wolves (Acts 20:28-30 and Mt 7:15-20). Christians would do better to build Christ’s Church (Acts 8:26-40), than theirs. Bigger is not always better. 13:33 According to Genesis 18:1-6, the term “ three measures of meal ” is a term associated with fellowship, and represents the three sons of Noah (Shem, Ham, and Japheth - Gen 10:1) from which the whole of mankind came. What Christ promised the apostles is that false prophets ( woman ) and false doctrines ( leaven ) would surely infiltrate Christianity and pollute it within mankind. Parable #9 is aimed at believers who fail to guard Christianity against false doctrines . The character flaw – assuming that Christianity cannot be infiltrated . It can. Because Christians fail to study sound doctrine, false doctrines infiltrate the Church and pollute it (Acts 20:27-31 and Mt 7:15-20). Though some interpret this parable as depicting the spreading influence of the Gospel, such explanations violate Christ’s use of these symbols elsewhere ( Parable #7 - The tares - Mt 13:24-30), which show evil existing till the end of the age. Leaven in the Bible is virtually always symbolic of evil (Mt 16:6-12, Mk 8:15, I Cor 5:6-8 and Gal 5:9), and is a picture of that which corrupts, and represents sin (Exo 12:8,15 and Lk 12:1). The woman here is the opponent of Christ. Like Jezebel, who infiltrated the church in Thyatira with her false doctrines (Rev 2:18-21), this woman most likely represents the part women have had in influencing false religions all over the world, such as, Islam (Gen 16:1-12), Seventh Day Adventist (Ellen White - 1863) New Age (Helena Blavatsky - 1875), Christian Science (Mary Baker Eddy - 1879), Unity School of Christianity (Myrtle Fillmore - 1891), etc. Women are warned not to take the lead spiritually for two reasons: * Women are more easily influenced by Satan (Gen 3:1-5 and I Tim 2:9-14) * Women have more influence over men than God (I Pet 3:1, Gen 3:6 & 16:1-12, Jud 16, I Ki 11 & 16:31 and Prov 7) 13:35 The fact that Jesus used this term ( from the foundation of the world ) indicates that these subjects (the parables of Matthew 13) are nowhere revealed in the OT; they are entirely new revelations. These revelations were not new to God however ( I Pet 1:2a , I Thess 1:4 , Rom 8:29a,b , Psa 139:16 and Jere 1:5b ); they were only new to the people hearing them. 13:44 According to Exodus 19:5, Deuteronomy 14:2 and Psalm 135:4, the “ treasure ” here represents Israel, God’s chosen people to bring forth the Messiah (See - Romans 9 Subject Head ). After birthing Israel into a nation, God took them into the wilderness to “hide” them for the next forty years. According to Christ, God’s assessment of that nation, which brought forth the Savior to the world, is “ priceless ” (something that will not be sold because it cannot be sold). Thus, God’s people need to see themselves as God sees them – priceless (Rom 8:38-39)! Question: Who offers everything ( and selleth all that he hath ) just to purchase an item (us)? Answer: Someone who doesn’t want anyone else purchasing that item. According to these two short parables (vs 44-46), Christ views both Israel (treasure – vs 44) and the Jewish/Gentile Church (goodly pearls – vs 45) as worth purchasing. He then buys us so no one else can …making us “ priceless .” According to II Corinthians 5:14, it is Christ’s love for us that leads us to a true understanding of self-worth, not our love for Him (II Tim 2:11-13). Thus, your view of you, as well as other people’s view of you, is never as important as God’s view of you. Fix your view of you and you will become “ priceless ” (something that will not be sold because it cannot be sold - Prov 4:7 ). For you to see yourself through any other lens is for you to cheapen what God considers “ priceless ” ( Eph 1:3 ). Parable #10 is aimed at the people of God who fail to understand their true worth . The character flaw – assuming that our love for God ( Christ ) is more important than His love for us . It is not ( Rev 2: 1- 4 ). It is not what we do for God that impresses God, but our appreciation for what Christ did for us (Phil 2:5-9). Learn to know your true worth and Christ will become worth serving. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Your view of yourself determines the price you’re willing to sell yourself for NOTE – Just as treasure is never discarded nor disposed of (though it can be discolored at times), so a born again believer always belongs to God (though, at times, he too can appear tarnished - Jn 10:28-29 , Gal 5:16-17,21 and I Cor 9:27). 1515