Matthew 13, Part Two

The parable of the mustard seed and leaven (vs. 31-35)—Both of these parables make the same point: the kingdom of heaven will start small, but grow mightily. The parable of the leaven indicates the subtle way the kingdom grows—we do not know how the seed works within which human heart. But, according to the mustard tree parable, the expansion of the kingdom will be visible.

The pricelessness of the kingdom (vs. 44-46)—Two parables here. In one, a man finds a treasure hidden in a field and “for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (v. 44). In the other, a man is searching for a pearl of great price, finds it, and, once again, sold all he had to buy it. The kingdom of God is worth everything we’ve got, and indeed, “for joy” we ought to give up all because what we get is far superior to what we’ll ever have to give up. Notice also that in the first parable, the man seemed to stumble upon his treasure; in the second, the fellow was looking for it. It’s the heart that matters, not how people find the kingdom.

The kingdom of the dragnet (vs. 47-52)—This is a rather simple parable, but would be very illustrative to the fishermen among His disciples. And since verse 1 says He was sitting by the sea, the parable would be even more vivid. Fishermen cast their nets and they bring in the haul. Some of the fish are worth keeping, some aren’t. You keep the good, you throw away the bad. “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (vs. 49-50). Jesus closes this section by asking His disciples if they had understood all these things, to which they answered in the affirmative. In that case, Jesus asserts, make sure you use this “treasure” for the benefit of others. I believe that’s His meaning in verse 52.

The prophet without honor (vs. 53-57)—Jesus then returned “to His own country” (v. 54), and “taught them in their synagogue.” But they didn’t accept Him. They did not deny His teaching and ability: “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?” (v. 54). But “familiarity breeds contempt”—“Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" (vs. 55-56). This is really no excuse for rejecting Him, of course. Perhaps the prejudice was against Jesus’ family’s station in life; Luke 2:24 indicates a measure of poverty. Or, as Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house” (v. 57). They simply did not want to submit to someone whom they thought they knew. Jesus didn’t waste Him time doing many “mighty works” there (v. 58). If people gave an indication they were going to be intransigent, then the miraculous would have been superfluous. The miracles were to confirm the word, not just show off Jesus’ abilities.