Matthew 13:45-58: “Jesus Teaches
by
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
Here in these verses we will study today, we have the
last two of the Kingdom Parables
1.1.1.
The
1.1.2.
The Dragnet of Fishes
1.2.
As we have seen in the previous Kingdom parables, we
must be consistent in the interpretation of symbols in order to arrive at the
proper interpretation of them
1.2.1.
The parable of ‘The
1.2.2.
The parable of the ‘Dragnet of Fishes’ closely parallels
the prevous parable of the ‘Wheat Sown Among The Tares’
2.
VS 13:45-46 - “45 “Again, the kingdom
of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl
of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it”” - KINGDOM PARABLE #5: The Pearl of Great Price
2.1.
This is yet another of the Kingdom Parables which I believe has often
been misinterpreted even by otherwise good Bible expositors, and I believe that
the problems with interpretation are similar to those for the previous parable
of the ‘Treasure Hidden In The Field’ and are three-fold:
2.1.1.
First of all, there are those who interpret this parable to teach that
the merchant who is seeking fine pearls is any person in the world who is
considered to be ‘a seeker’ after truth and God in his life, and that in the
previous parable the person stumbled upon the truth of salvation, but here he
is deliberately seeking after truth and God.
However, I believe that those who hold this view are again violating the
principle of Expositional Constancy for the context of these parables has the
man who is doing the action is always the ‘Son of Man’, not just any person
2.1.2.
Secondly, we have here the same problem as in the previous parable with the
fact that salvation is a gift from God’s grace merely to be received by faith,
not something that a person can buy, which would teach a salvation based upon
works
2.1.3.
Third, there is a problem with the fact that the Jews to whom Jesus was
addressing did not value ‘pearls’ in the least, and there were no Jewish pearl
merchants in the land, and not only so but the oyster was something that was
not kosher and thus being unclean it was forbidden by the Lord to eat. Only Gentiles valued pearls or ate oysters.
2.2.
It is obvious from this chapter here that the previous parable and this
parable are very similar in nature, for in each case the person sells all that
he has and goes and buys the treasure
2.2.1.
In the previous parable, the man actually purchased the entire field which
contained the treasure
2.2.2.
In this parable, the man goes and purchases the pearl itself
2.3.
I believe then that the interpretation of this parable is also very
similar to that of the previous parable.
The man again is Jesus, and the pearl is God’s people, however in the
previous parable I believe that the treasure symbolized ‘God’s people
2.3.1.
First of all, the Jews listening must have been shocked to hear Jesus
teach about a ‘pearl of great price’ for the Jews did not value pearls at all
2.3.2.
Secondly, the oyster was not kosher and being unclean it was not to be
eaten by a Jew
2.3.3.
Third, observe the process that occurs when the pearl is actually formed
inside of the oyster
2.3.3.1.The inside of an oyster
shell is beautifully colored because of a chemical that is secreted inside of
it. And, when an irritant such as a grain of sand or a bacteria enters within
the shell it begins to damage the flesh of the oyster and then in defense of
itself the oyster begins to secrete this same chemical all around this foreign
agent, and the result is that a beautiful gem is created
2.3.3.1.1.There are some similarities
then as to how it is that the church is dealt with by God. For when trials and suffering come into our
lives the result threatens our health and perhaps even safety, but the Lord
uses that very irritant in our lives in order to secrete into us, through the
working of the Holy Spirit, the very beauty of the nature of Christ Himself,
and that which initially was so painful eventually ends up being used in our
lives for producing something that is very beautiful and to be treasured
3.
VS 13:47-50 - “47 “Again, the kingdom
of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every
kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat
down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
49 “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take
out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will cast them into the furnace
of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”” - KINGDOM PARABLE #6: The dragnet of fish
3.1.
This parable is very similar to the parable of the ‘Tares Among The
Wheat’ in that in both cases the parable teaches that there will come a future
time of God’s judgment where those who are God’s people will be separated from
those who are not
3.2.
In the parable of the ‘Tares Among The Wheat’ the principle is taught that
there will be tares that will grow up alongside of the good wheat and that it
is at the time of judgment when the two will be separated, one to eternal life
and the other to eternal condemnation, however in this parable we see simply
that a dragnet is cast into the sea and that it becomes filled, and within that
dragnet there will be some good (or desirable) fish and some bad ones
(undesirable), and that the two kinds of fish will be separated into two
different groups, the good fish will go into containers, however the bad fish
will be thrown away
3.3.
So, the principle taught in this parable is simple and singular, there is
going to be a judgment day that will come upon the earth one day, and in that
judgment the angels will be the agents who shall take ‘the wicked’ out from the
earth and among God’s people, and these ones will then be cast into the furnace
of fire (the lake of fire mentioned earlier from Rev. 20:10-15)
3.4.
Note here that twice in this chapter Jesus describes the judgment of hell
that awaits all un-believers as being a place where there will be ‘weeping and
gnashing of teeth’
4.
VS 12:51-52 - “51 “Have you understood
all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And He said to them, “Therefore
every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head
of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old”” - Jesus tells them that every scribe who
becomes a disciple of His will be ‘like a head of a household who brings for
out of his treasure things new and old’
4.1.
As I was studying this parable, I suddenly found it hilarious that the
disciples told Jesus here that they understood all the things that He had been
telling them, when we know that in reality they had no clue as to their
interpretation (especially since I know that all down through the centuries
Christians have debated these parables to great extent)
4.1.1.
I know also by this that He was speaking to a group of men here, because
they all say, “Yes”, to His question
4.1.2.
It is so typical of people though in general to think that they know more
than they really know about things (even the things of God), and since Jesus
had not interpreted four of six of these Kingdom Parables, I think that at this
time they should have had many questions for Jesus, for truly these parables
have been a subject of great debate throughout the centuries
4.2.
I believe that what Jesus may be saying in this statement to His
disciples about scribes who become His disciples is that there is both an old and
a new covenant which believers shall be privileged to share in, a covenant of
law and regulations and a covenant of grace, and God has revealed Himself to
man within both covenants, and hence Christ’s disciple can learn spiritual
truth about the Lord from both covenants
4.2.1.
I think that the church has often been wrong when it has failed to teach
people of the revelation of God which came through the Old Testament, for God
has revealed Himself through all of the Word of God and thus it is the church’s
duty to teach the whole counsel of God to God’s people
5.
VS 13:53-58 - “53 And it came about
that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54 And
coming to His home town He began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they
became astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these
miraculous powers? 55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother
called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 “And
His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these
things?” 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is
not without honor except in his home town, and in his own household.” 58 And He
did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief” - Jesus revisits His hometown of
5.1.
The people of
5.2.
In these verses we find out who Jesus’ brothers are and that He had some
sisters at this time:
5.2.1.
Jesus’ brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas
5.2.1.1.James was the brother who is
believed to be the one who eventually (after Christ’s resurrection) came to
faith in Him and pastored the church in
5.2.1.2.Judas was the brother who is
believed to be the one who wrote the book in the New Testament called, “Jude”
5.3.
In these verses Jesus makes a profound statement here about prophets in
general, and that is that they have honor everywhere except in their own home
town
5.4.
It is a sad thing that because of the unbelief of the people that Jesus
could do no miracles, for His miracles would not be as pearls cast before
swine, for they deserved to be observed by those whose faith brought glory to
God