New Testament 2
Lecture 19
Matthew 13 Parables
The Purpose of Parables
•	Jesus’ _________________________were always designed for force a decision concerning God and His kingdom.  No parable that Jesus told would allow the hearer to remain the way he/she was before hearing it.  A decision will be made. The following are examples of the genius of Jesus in producing parables. 
•	The Parable of Weeds and Tares (13:24-30)
This parable is peculiar to Matthew, appearing in the place of Mark’s parable the seed growing of itself (4:26-29).  Observe the careful wording to the effect that the kingdom of heaven may be compared to, no that it is actually like a man sowing a field.  The _________________________is not like a man, a field, etc.  But something about it may be compared with the farmer’s experience with wheat and weeds.
Weeds (zizania)
Were one of the various kinds of _________________________or bearded darnel (lolium temulentum) which grew in Israel.  They great along with the wheat and closely resembled it. They would be most clearly distinguishable when harvest time was at hand.
The Chief Reason to 
Let the _________________________or weeds grow in the midst of the wheat was that to pull up the weeds would risk pulling up good wheat.  Farmers the, as now, “weeded” their crops; but the farmer here ruled this out because of the great number of weeds the enemy sowed in the midst of the field.
The Man Who Sowed and The Householder
Are the same man. The appearance of weeds (tares or darnel) among the good grain is a perennial threat, but deliberate sabotage is unusual.  Since the farmer had sown “_________________________” seed, it was concluded that the enemy sowed the “_________________________” seed.  At the harvest the weeds were to be burned unless they seed or “poison” the next crop.  
The Servants
Are not blamed because they slept; the point is that the enemy took advantage of this time for his evil work. The interpretation follows in verses 36-43.
13: 36-43: The Parable of the Words Explained
The parable is interpreted and applied point by point, in an allegorical manner.  The style throughout is typically Matthean.  The main teaching is that the separation of evildoers and the righteous will take place at the _________________________of the age and not before.  Judge may seem to be delayed, but know it is certain.  This is a reminder to impatient disciples that God is patient in his judgment of wicked and vindicating righteousness.
The Contrast
Between _________________________doers and the _________________________supports Matthew’s great concern to show that Jesus rejected not only Pharisaic legalism but also antinomianism or lawlessness. Moral demand is not sacrificed by a gospel of salvation as the gift of God’s mercy.
For Matthew the Field
Is the world or the _________________________field, not just the nation Israel alone. 
The Interpretation
May have been used to keep the early church from rashly _________________________and expelling a wayward member. But it seems that Jesus’ intended point is that impatient disciples need to accept God’s delay in judgment of the wickedness and rewarding the righteous.  
Two reasons for the Delay
•	To prevent the _________________________from being uprooted with the unjust.
•	 because God has appointed an end-time for the separation. When man tries to assume God’s function as_________________________, he both disobeys God and risks confusing the good with the bad.
Parable 2: The Mustard Seed (13:31-33)
This parable seems to be contrasting the magnitude and might of the _________________________of God with its seemingly small beginning.  
The Jewish Expectation
Of the Kingdom of God would come with awesome _________________________and _________________________and catastrophic results, striking down the wicked and vindicating the righteous.  That it came in a baby and rejected all the military expectations and by Jesus who saw Himself as a Messiah.  It was One that came and gave Himself to sinners and tax collectors.  His mission was with a dozen common people.  
This Parable
Is designed to give _________________________in the current situation because the way things look now, is nothing compared to what God will soon do.  
Grain of Mustard Seed
This parable seeks to contrast the smallness of the seed and the greatness of the plant.  This was proverbial in that culture.  Some scholars see the birds in the branches as the coming of the Gentiles into the kingdom.  As birds flock to the trees for protection, so the gospel given to _________________________would be a blessing for all men.  
 The Parable of Leaven (13:33)
A contrast is drawn here as well.  The amount is not specified.  Three measures of meal would make about 40 to 50 pounds of_________________________. The greater emphasis is probably upon the inner and transforming way leaven penetrates and changes the dough.  The kingdom does not come with outward show or with worldly powers.  But it does come with revolutionary force, changing from within.
The Parable of Hidden Treasure and Costly Pearl (13:44-46)
These twin parables have the same basic teaching, the joy occasioned by the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God. Along with the joy are closely related lessons.  The privilege of living under God’s rule, the kingdom of  heaven, is a joy worth the surrender of everything else.  Not only is this joyous privilege worth all, it costs all. Paradoxically, _________________________is free yet costs everything.
One Must Sell All
To possess the treasure or the pearl of great cost.  The _________________________are a call to decision. The kingdom has come in Jesus and it is the highest good.  One must have this joy if he is willing to leave all and follow Jesus.
A further note
About these parables shows that some people may discover the _________________________without looking for it while others are searching and find it.  
The Central Focus
Of these parables seems to be the priceless worth, the joy of possession, willingness to suffer all else for the kingdom, and a call to decision. The parable of the man who found the _________________________is not concerned with the ethics of the find, but with the discovery of a treasure. 
The Parable of the Dragnet (13:47-50)
This parable may be paired with that of the _________________________and_________________________, each teaching that judgment is outwardly delayed yet certain.  
The Net (sagina)
Is a seine or dragnet.  It was pulled between two _________________________or taken out into the water with a rope. One end was fastened to the shore and the other taken out in the water. Then it was brought into another place on the shoreline a distance from where its first end began.

The Sorting of the Fish
Takes place only after the net has caught its_________________________.  Good (kala) and the bad (sapra) fish are edible and unedible, are determined by taste or Jewish law.  Jews were forbidden to eat things from water unless they had _________________________and _________________________ (Lev 11:9-12).
The Application
The kingdom of Heaven will include every one in its grasp and every person will eventually be judged according to what he/she has done with the King of the Kingdom.  The nets do not do the separating only the catching.  Only at the close of the age will the separation be done.  At that time both _________________________and _________________________will be done.  
Another Interpretation
Is that just as one cannot select which fish one wants in his net, so the church and Christians (fishers of men) must expect a mixed catch and be prepared to spread their _________________________over a wide area.  The mission of Jesus involves an undiscriminating appeal to men of every class and type.