PEOPLE OF THE KINGDOM

What kind of people did Jesus use in ministry? As we look at those who interacted with Him in ministry, we quickly see that the pattern is that there is no pattern. Jesus used all kinds of people in His ministry. There were fishermen and a tax collector and a rebel against authority. There were the extroverted and the introverted. There were the rich and the poor. There were men and women.

This section will begin by looking at the women who were in the ministry of Jesus. It shall then move to several parables and shall be concluded with the question of who is to be considered as the family of Jesus.

• Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out. Some have mistakenly thought that Mary had been a woman of ill-repute, but there is nothing in the Scriptures to indicate this.
• Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward. This would have likely been a reference to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee.
• Susanna. Nothing more than her name is known to us.

These three women provided financial support to the ministry of Jesus. They were each women of financial means. They utilized their means to provide for those needs that were not provided by the miraculous works of Jesus.

Satan in the wilderness had tried to tempt Jesus into making "miracle bread." He refused then and He continued to refuse throughout His ministry. Instead He depended upon the giving of God’s people for His daily bread. There were times when He fed great multitudes through miraculous means, but He normally was fed by others.

• This was a part of what it means when the Bible says "He emptied Himself" (Philippians 2:5). Jesus emptied Himself of His manifested glory so that He felt hunger and He depended upon others to provide for Him.
• This dependence upon others allowed them to partake in the earthly ministry of Jesus. They could not preach as Jesus preached and they could not heal as Jesus healed, but they could participate in His ministry in other ways.
• This provides a pattern for financial support of ministries today. The precedent has been set that those who proclaim the gospel are to be supported by those who benefit from that preaching (1 Corinthians 9).

It is noteworthy that, while women played an integral part of this ministry of Jesus, they were not assigned to roles of leadership in the ministry of Jesus. He did not choose six men and six women to be His apostles. When He sent out the seventy disciples, He sent out seventy men. This same principle is reflected throughout the epistles.

At the same time, Jesus did not permit culture to dictate how women were to be used in ministry. He was not afraid to buck the trend of culture, even if this meant talking to a Samaritan woman by a well. This is important for us to know, for today culture has gone to the other extreme of attempting to break down all distinction between genders. We as Christians are not to allow culture to dictate doctrine.

This is not the first parable that Luke has related to us. And there will be many more to follow. Luke relates many of the longest of the parables of Jesus.

The recipients of this parable were made up of a variety of cities. They were also made up of different types of people. The parable is going to speak of different types of seeds and I believe that every type was evident in the crowd to whom Jesus spoke.

The story that Jesus tells is of a farmer going forth to spread his seed upon the ground. He did not have to explain this process. His story was familiar to everyone listening. There were no doubt many in the crowd who were farmers themselves. It was common practice to scatter the seed first and then to come back and plow the earth to cover the seed.

The initial character described in the story is the farmer. But the focus of the story quickly changes. The sower will not be mentioned again. Instead, our attention is focused upon the seed and its deportation. The seed falls onto four different types of ground.

The same sower sowed all the seeds. The seeds themselves were all the same. The only difference was in the ground where the seeds landed. Certain types of soil brought about certain results.

• Seed beside the road had no protection. It was eaten by birds even before it had a chance to grow.
• Seed in rocky ground had no chance to establish roots. Although there was some initial growth, it quickly withered and died under the heat of the sun.
• Seed among thorns also saw an initial period of growth. But the thorns grew at the same time and soon the good seed was choked.
• Finally, seed was sown on good ground. This grew up into plants which produced an abundance of fruit.

The story which Jesus is telling is being acted out before them. He is doing what He is describing. He is the sower. He is sowing the word. The sowing takes place over four different types of ground and with four different results. The point of the story is that, although the sower does his job and the seed is sufficient, it is only when it falls upon good ground that there is growth.

Unspoken is the question behind the question: Why is Jesus speaking in parables when the meaning of those parables is not immediately clear? It is one thing to give an illustration so that everyone can understand. It is another thing to give illustrations in such a way that no one understands. And yet, this is exactly what Jesus was doing. Even His disciples did not understand the meaning of these parables.

1. Mysteries Revealed: "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God..." (8:9)

2. Mysteries Hidden.

Unlike most parables which teach only one major point, this parable has a number of points. Let us begin by identifying the elements of the parable.

The Sower is Jesus Himself. He has been preaching to the people. He has been sowing the Word among them. We have also been given a ministry of sowing the word. Jesus gave His disciples a charge to go out and make disciples of all men. The Sower commissioned others to continue the work of sowing. We share in that commission.

As the disciples have been watching Jesus sow the word, they have also been watching the reaction of the crowd. Though there has been some opposition, much of the reaction has seemed to be positive. And yet, this parable will serve as a warning that not all who initially react in a positive manner to Jesus will bear fruit. There are four specific types of ground upon which the seed falls.

Notice that there is a progression in each of these four cases. The first sees no growth at all. The second sees initial growth, but the roots have nothing onto which to hold. The third grows strong roots, only to be strangled by the surrounding thorn bushes and weeds. Only the fourth makes it to maturity.

1. The First Instance.

2. The Second Instance.

3. The Third Instance.

4. The Fourth Instance.

There are some important lessons in this parable.

• The lesson of universal evangelism.

• The lesson of false beginnings.

• The lesson of an effectual seed.

The purpose of a lamp is to give light to an area in darkness. A lamp belongs on a lampstand. It is only there that it accomplishes its purpose. When you cover up a lamp by placing it in an inappropriate place, it cannot perform that function for which it was designed.

The kingdom is like that. It is meant to be seen before a watching world. Its message is meant to be proclaimed to the nations. This will involve taking it beyond the borders of Israel. The truth WILL be heard. The kingdom will not be able to be suppressed. Truth is like that. It always finds a way to be revealed.

The problem is not a matter of the truth being heard. The problem is whether or not you are listening to that truth. And so Jesus gives a warning: "Take care how you listen." This parable has a direct connection to the previous parable. They both relate to how you LISTEN.

To what do you give your attention? Most Americans are more familiar with the popular television commercial than with the Scriptures.

You see, the brothers of Jesus didn't believe in Him (John 7:5). They had grown up with Him and had lived with Him for many years and they did not believe that He was the Messiah of Israel. That is amazing. I can understand the scribes from Jerusalem hearing and not understanding, but his own brothers?

There is a lesson here. Sometimes there is a correlation between proximity and distortion. People who grow up in a religious home often have a harder time coming to know the Lord because they are too close to the subject. They never really come face to face with their need.

I grew up in a religious home. We went to church every Sunday morning and Sunday night and Wednesday night. My brothers and I were made to read the Bible every night and we hated every minute of it. I went for years without any reality of God in my life until I moved away from the Lord and from the church in a period of real rebellion. It was then, for the first time, that I began to be really aware of my need.

Jesus is going to remove Himself from His family. They are seeking to approach Him on the basis of their physical relationship. He will not allow it. He is establishing a new relationship - one based on faith and obedience to Him.

Who is the true family of Jesus? It is those who bear kingdom fruit. It is those who come to the light and utilize it to see their lost condition and who repent and then become reflectors of that light. Who is the true family of Jesus? It is made up of a number of diverse disciples and it is made up of men and women who determine to become co-workers with Him. That is His true family. And there is room in that family for you.

Jesus told a story once of a teenage boy who decided that life at home was too slow and monotonous. He wanted to live life in the fast lane. So with his pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends, and ultimately an unemployment line. In the end he had nothing. A homeless bum.

Finally swallowing his pride, he began the long walk back home; all the while rehearsing the speech that he would give to his father.

He never used it. Just as he rounded the corner, his father, who had been waiting at the gate, saw him and ran to meet him. The boy's apologies were muffled by the father's words of forgiveness. The boy fell into his father’s open arms.

Those arms were never opened so wide as when they were nailed to a Roman cross. One arm reached back through history to all those who had gone before. The other arm reached forward, even to where you sit today. His arms are still open. A hen gathering her chicks. An embrace for a lost child. They are open for you.