Matthew 13:33-44: “Jesus Teaches
by
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In the previous Kingdom Parables we have seen how that
consistency in symbols has been key to interpretation
1.1.1.
We saw how the Parable of the Sower, which began
Jesus’ teaching of the parables, had birds and that these birds symbolized
satan and demons, and that as a result the ‘birds’ seen in the Parable of the
Mustard See had to also symbolize evil emissaries who come within the church
1.1.2.
We saw how that in the first Kingdom parable that
Jesus explained that the tares and wheat symbolized non-believers who would
come in amongst the church and that they would coexist in the church until the
Rapture (these ones within showing that the church was church becoming
something that it shouldn’t be) and how that resultantly the Parable of the
Mustard Seed had to likewise be teaching us that the church would become
something that it was not meant to be (it would grow big but be a habitation
also for demons)
1.2.
We will look now at the Parable of the ‘Leaven hidden
in the Meal’, and see how it teaches of the internal corruption that would come
up from within the church
1.3.
We will also look at the parable of the ‘Treasure
hidden in the Field’, and we will discover again that most good commentators
are in error concerning this parable, for they confuse the treasure with the
man who is performing the action
2.
VS 13:33 - “33 He spoke another
parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and
hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.”” - KINGDOM PARABLE #3: The leaven hidden in the meal
2.1.
As with the previous parable, there are many commentators, and many of
them who are otherwise reliable, who I believe are wrong when they interpret
Jesus in this parable as teaching that the church would have a permeating
influence which is described as leaven which when first injected into the world
is very innocuous and small, however over time it eventually infiltrates and
permeates the entire world with the gospel.
I believe that the problems with this interpretation are basically three-fold:
2.1.1.
First of all, the context of this parable again is that of Jesus’
teaching through parables of the compromise that has and will occur within the
church unto the end of the age
2.1.2.
Secondly, in all of scripture every other reference to ‘leaven’ is a negative
one, a reference to sin, moral corruption, false teaching, and hypocrisy
2.1.2.1.In Matt. 16:12, Jesus
explains to the disciples that what He was referring to when He told them to
“beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” is to beware of “their teaching”
2.1.2.2.In Mark 8:15 Jesus told His
disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
2.1.2.3.In Luke 12:1 Jesus told them
to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” which was hypocrisy
2.1.3.
Third, it is not into ‘meal’ that leaven is to normally be put, but
rather ‘flour’, and, it is a very unnatural occurrence for leaven to be placed
into meal. Plus, once within meal leaven
would render the meal to be unusable.
2.2.
So, I believe that in this parable what Jesus is teaching is that as the
church will begin to become something other than what it was intended to become
and that wicked people will come within the church, and thus that “doctrinal
and moral impurity was to enter into the church and to make it full with
internal corruption”
2.2.1.
Early in the history of the church there were Jews who converted to
Christianity and then after receiving the grace of God they began to believe
that a Christian must also have to keep the Jewish Law as a Jew. Because of them, Paul wrote the book of Galatians
in which he writes in Gal. 1:6, “Though we or an angel from heaven preach
any other gospel, let him be accursed”
2.2.1.1.You see, doctrinal purity is
a very important thing in the lives of God’s people, for what we believe has a
profound effect upon how we live
2.2.1.2.We
Christians should never be deceived into believing that ‘Doctrine’ is not
important! Quite the opposite is true. Mere Bible teaching which does not lead to
the forming of sound doctrine in our lives is not really that effective for us.
2.2.2.
Next, into the church came a heresy that is addressed in several of the
N.T. epistles: Gnosticism
2.2.2.1.The Gnostics believed that
matter was evil but spirit was good, and therefore they did one of two very
opposite things in their lives:
2.2.2.1.1.They taught that men were to
discipline their bodies and live a very separate and ascetic life away from an
civilization if they were to truly be spiritual
2.2.2.1.2.Or, they had a fatalistic
attitude, believing that victory over the flesh was futile, and so they taught
that you could still serve God while fulfilling the lusts of your flesh
2.2.2.2.The Gnostics believed that
since matter was evil Jesus could never be God and man, the combination of the
two natures, and thus they believed the heresy that Jesus became deity at His
baptism when the Holy Spirit fell upon Him.
They also believed that since God who is spirit and holy could not
endure something horrible and sinful such as the cross, that deity left Jesus
before He went to the cross, and therefore when He died on the cross, He died
as a mere man
2.2.2.3.All of John’s 3 epistles
deal with the heresy of Gnosticism, and in 1 John 4:2 he writes, “By this we
know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ [the
Messiah] has come in the fles is from God”
2.2.3.
Speaking of doctrinal impurity arising within the church, is this not
what did in fact happen to the church down through history? The Roman Church began to preach a salvation
based not upon grace and faith, but of works, and of grace that was received
only through the sacraments administered by the church
2.2.4.
Speaking of moral impurity, has not the history of the church revealed
the stench of corruption? A few years
ago I read the first half of, “A Woman Rides The Beast”, and that book
chronicles the corruption of the papacy, and because of disguist and grieving
at the stories of corruption within the church I was not even able to finish
reading the book. For instance, there
were even some popes who were murdered by the ones who became their successors,
etc., etc.…
3.
VS 13:34-35 - “34 All these things
Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did not speak to them without
a parable, 35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled,
saying,“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”” - An explanation for Jesus’ teaching in
parables
3.1.
Matthew includes here that this particular day that Jesus taught every
principle to the people in parables, and it is as if He one day decided to
employ a new means of communication and stories for illustration then filled
His mind and He began to tell these stories and explain their meaning to those
who stayed around long enough to hear their explanation
3.2.
As I mentioned when I first began this chapter, Jesus use of parables was
not primarily to hide truth from the multitudes, rather the parables provide a
framework for teaching great principles, however the parables which Jesus
taught also bring judgments for they serve as a means of separating those who
are truly interested in knowing the truth from those who are not
3.3.
Matthew gives his own commentary here pointing out that the Psalmist in
Ps. 78:2 wrote prophetically of how that the Lord planned to speak to the
people in parables in order to reveal truth that was known from the foundation
of the world
4.
VS 13:44 - “44 “The kingdom of
heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and
from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field”” - KINGDOM PARABLE #4: A treasure hidden in the field
4.1.
For background information here, it is worth noting that all throughout
history that money and great treasures have been hidden by people within the
earth, and down through history many treasures have been dug up by people. There have not always been banks readily
available to people as there are today so the options for where to hide
valuables was limited in history past, plus when rulers would overrun a land
they could easily take away any and all treasures that one possessed unless
they were hidden in a safe place somewhere in the earth
4.2.
Again this parable is one which has often been misinterpreted even by
many good Bible expositors
4.2.1.
The misinterpretation of commentators has again to do with the not
understanding the principle of Expositional Constancy and the fact that many
commentators see the man in this parable who is doing the acting as being just
any person in the world, rather than the ‘Son of Man’ who has been the main
person acting in the previous parables
4.2.2.
There are three major theological problems with believing that the man is
just any person who comes across the treasure of salvation through Christ and
then sells all he has to buy this treasure
4.2.2.1.First, this person is able
to buy this gift, so this would teach a
salvation which is based upon works, instead of faith through grace
4.2.2.2.Secondly, we don’t ‘find’
the Lord, as this man in the parable found the treasure, rather He finds us
4.2.2.3.Third, if just any person is
represented by this man, the man does not just buy the treasure, he goes and
buys the whole field, not just the treasure
4.3.
I would propose to you then that because of Expositional Constancy and
the theological problem associated with buying salvation, that the man acting
is again Jesus, and that the treasure in the field is ‘YOU’
4.3.1.
Jesus found us, and to Him we were considered a ‘treasure’, and then
because of the ‘joy’ over being able to set us free, He gave all that He had
upon the cross of
4.3.1.1.Hebrews 12:2 teaches us that
it was for the ‘joy’ set before Him that He endured the cross, “2 fixing our
eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the
joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God”
4.3.1.2.In 1 Cor. 6:20 Paul wrote
about Christ’s having purchased us, “20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in
your body”
4.3.1.3.In Acts 20:28, Paul said
that Christ has purchased the church by His blood, “28 “Be on guard for
yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own
blood””
4.4.
I mentioned earlier in our study of the gospel of Matthew that if at
times we wonder just how much God truly values us, we can look at the fact that
we were of such value to Him that He was willing to give that which was most
valuable of everything that is in all of the universe in order to purchase us,
His ownly unique Son
4.5.
It is interesting here that it is written that this man went and he hid
this treasure that he had found
4.5.1.
Paul wrote in Col. 3:3-4 about the fact that God purchased us and that He
also has hidden our lives in Christ, “3 For you have died and your life is
hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then
you also will be revealed with Him in glory”
4.5.1.1.You see, that which we are
is really that which we shall be in Christ, only at this juncture of time what
we are cannot be seen by looking upon our external, for the magnificient glory
that God has in store to glorify us with is hidden from the world but resides
within us, and it is only to be revealed when He shall return for His church
4.5.1.2.We have been given eternal
life in Christ, and it is the same eternal life which we shall enjoy for
eternity, however in this present life we must enjoy it within the confines of
a sinful and degraded body. But, when
Christ returns for us, on that day we shall enjoy eternal life in a fully
glorified body
4.6.
Lastly, I would just mention that a limited atonement was never God’s
plan for Christ to accomplish for He died for the whole world, and thus He has
legally purchased the entire earth (symbolized here by the field which he
purchased), and in Revelation chapter 5 we see that Jesus eventually gets back
the title deed to the earth which is rightly His because of the blood of His
cross when He died for the sins of the whole world
4.6.1.
In 1 John 2:1-2 John writes about the fact that Christ died for the sins
of ‘the whole world’, “2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to
you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for
our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world”