Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute
Matthew 9: 27-34

Jesus heals a blind mute DIG: What is the meaning of the title the blind men used for Jesus? How did they show faith? Why did Yeshua want them to keep quiet? How did the crowd react to Jesus’ power? How did the Pharisees react? Why the difference?

REFLECT: If we live by faith, and not by sight (Second Corinthians 5:7), in what ways might you still be partially blind or spiritually mute? How can Yeshua ben David give you fuller sight and speech?

Isaiah described the blessings that would be brought by Messiah: Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert (Isaiah 35:5-6). Jesus would perform two such miracles in this day, but they would not be for the benefit of the masses. After His rejection by the Sanhedrin (to see link click Lg – The Great Sanhedrin) the focus of His ministry changed (En –Four Drastic Changes in Christ’s Ministry). The purpose of the Lord’s miracles now would be for the benefit of His apostles. Jesus knew that after His death they would be scattered and have many doubts. But He wanted them to remember his messianic miracles so as to renew their faith in Him after His resurrection.

When Messiah left Jairus’ house in Capernaum, after raising his daughter from the dead, Jesus went on from there and two blind men followed Him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David (Matthew 9:27)! The title they used is a strong messianic designation in several places in the TaNaKh (Second Samuel 7:1-16; Psalm 110), and this was the first time it had been used of Yeshua. The rabbis taught that it was a messianic term, which needed to be directed toward a descendant of King David and therefore called Meshiach ben-David, or Messiah Son of David (Tractate Sukkah 52a). The men’s request for mercy could have a two-fold meaning, both in the physical as well as the spiritual realm.⁷⁵⁵

The blind men came to the right Person, because Jesus Christ was mercy in the flesh. He was the most merciful person that ever lived. He reached out to the crippled and gave them legs to walk. He healed the eyes of the blind, the ears of the deaf, and the mouths of the mute. He found prostitutes and tax collectors and those that were corrupt and drunken, and He drew them into the circle of His love and redeemed them and set them on their feet. Never was there a person on the face of the earth with the mercy of this One.⁷⁵⁶

Before His rejection Jesus performed miracles for the benefit of the masses and did not ask for a demonstration of faith, but after, He only performed miracles on the basis of individual need and a demonstration of faith. So, the emphasis changed from the multitudes without faith, to individuals with faith. The fact that they were asking for mercy from the Savior of sinners showed personal need. But, He was not performing miracles for the masses, so He did not initially respond in public.

Somehow they were helped along and ended up at Peter’s house where Jesus was staying. At this point, Jesus only performed miracles based upon individual need. But, the miracles needed to be on the basis of faith, so He asked them the all-important question: Do you believe that I can make you see? “Yes, Lord,” they told Him, we do” (Matthew 9:28 NLT). Again they addressed Him with the messianic title of Lord.

Then without the fanfare or superficial drama so common with self-proclaimed faith healers, He simply touched their eyes and said: According to your faith will it be done to you, and their sight was restored (Matthew 9:29). In the Days of Christ men learned first to believe in His Person, and then in His Word; in the Dispensation of Grace (see my commentary on Hebrews Bp – The Dispensation of Grace), we learn first to believe in His Word, and then in His Person.⁷⁵⁷

Jesus was no longer performing miracles to authenticate His messiahship to the nation of Israel, so He warned them sternly: See that no one knows about this (Matthew 9:30). But they couldn’t help themselves, and went out and spread the news about Him all over that region (Matthew 9:31). But, except for these few, the response in Capernaum was next to nothing. This only would be to their detriment.

This miracle was not only a revelation of the person of the Meshiach, for only God could restore sight to blind eyes, but also indicated what the Lord came to do for Isra’el. The Jews were spiritually blind and did not know ADONAI. Messiah came to reveal Ha’Shem to them. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, had made Him known (John 1:18). But, because Isra’el did not turn in faith to Him, her blindness was not removed. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5). Even though He is the long-promised Messiah and could reveal the Father to the nation of Isra’el, there would be no benefits from His coming until the nation, as did these blind men, turn to Him in faith.⁷⁵⁸

While Jesus was leaving Peter’s house, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus (Matthew 9:32). Being mute (Greek: kophos) often included the idea of deafness (Matthew 11:5), because the inability to speak is frequently caused by the inability to hear. In this man’s case, however, his being mute was caused because he was demon-possessed. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. This was another Isaiah 35 messianic miracle.

The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Isra’el” (Matthew 9:33). The reason that nothing like that had ever been seen in Isra’el was that the Messiah had never come before. He was the first one in Jewish history to do so.

But the Pharisees continued to say: It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons (Matthew 9:34). Their hearts continued to harden toward the Son of God and His messianic claims despite all the evidence to the contrary. As the days went by their antagonism grew even more bitter. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood (John 1:5).

“Let me explain the problem science has with religion.” The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

“You’re a Christian, aren’t you, son?”

“Yes sir,” the student says.

“So you believe in God?”

“Absolutely.”

“Is God good?”

“Sure! God’s good.”

“Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?”

“Yes”

“Are you good or evil?”

“The Bible says I’m evil,” the student replied.

The professor grins knowingly. “Aha! The Bible!” He considers for a moment. “Here’s one for you. Let’s say there’s a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?”

“Yes sir, I would.”

“So you’re good . . . !” The professor thought he had him.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“But why not say that? You’d help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn’t.”

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. “He doesn’t, does He? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?” he demanded.

The student remained silent.

“No, you can’t, can you?” the professor says. He took a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

“Let’s start again, young fella. Is God good?”

“Er. . . yes,” the student says.

The professor probed, “Is Satan good?”

The student didn’t hesitate on that one. “No.”

“Then where does Satan come from?”

The student faltered. “From God”

“That’s right. God made Satan, didn’t He? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Evil’s everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything, correct?”

“Yes”

“So who created evil?” The professor continued, “If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.”

Again, the student has no answer. “Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?”

The student squirms a little. “Yes.”

“So who created them?”

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. “Who created them?’ There is still no answer. Suddenly the professor turned to face the classroom. The class is mesmerized. “Tell me,” he continues onto another student.

“Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?”

The student’s voice betrays him and cracks. “Yes, professor, I do.”

The old man stopped pacing. “Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?”

“No sir. I’ve never seen Him.”

“Then tell us if you’ve ever heard your Jesus?”

“No, sir, I have not.”

“Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelled your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?”

“No, sir, I’m afraid I haven’t.”

“Yet, you still believe in him?”

“Yes.”

“According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?”

“Nothing,” the student replies. “I only have my faith.”

“Yes, faith,” the professor repeats. “And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.”

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. “Professor, is there such thing as heat?”

“Yes.”

“And is there such a thing as cold?”

“Yes, son, there’s cold too.”

“No sir, there isn’t.”

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.

The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.

‘You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don’t have anything called ‘cold’. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest – 458 degrees.’

“Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.”

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

“What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?”

“Yes,” the professor replies without hesitation. “What is night if it isn’t darkness?”

“You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it’s called darkness, isn’t it? That’s the meaning we use to define the word.”

“In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?”

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. “So what point are you making, young man?”

“Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.”

The professor’s face cannot hide his surprise this time. “Flawed? Can you explain how?”

“You are working on the premise of duality,’ the student explains. ‘You argue that there is life and then there’s death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought.”

“It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never been seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.”

“Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?”

“If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.”

“Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?”

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

“Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?”

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.

“To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.”

The student looked around the room. “Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor’s brain?” The class breaks out into laughter.

“Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor’s brain, felt the professor’s brain, touched or smelled the professor’s brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says, with all due respect, sir, that you have no brain.”

“So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?”

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. “I guess you’ll have to take them on faith.”

“Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,” the student continues. “Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?”

Now uncertain, the professor responds, “Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.”

To this the student replied, “Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.”

The professor sat down. For we live by faith, not by sight (Second Corinthians 5:7).

In modern culture, this anecdote has often been popularly attributed to Albert Einstein.

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56

Jesus raises a dead girl and heals a sick woman DIG: Why is it surprising that Jairus approached Yeshua and begged Him to heal his daughter? What made it difficult for this woman to approach Christ? How do you think Jairus felt when Yeshua stopped to heal the woman? Why do you suppose Jesus stopped to point her out? What does the story about Jairus and the woman reveal about faith?

REFLECT: In what ways can you identify with the bleeding woman? Think of a time when you found it difficult to step out in faith. Why was it difficult for you? In what areas of your life do you need to experience more of Christ’s power? What does this story teach you about the Lord’s compassion? Jesus comforted Jairus by saying: Don’t be afraid; just believe. How are these words applicable to your life? What are the fears in your life? Who do you fear? What do you fear?

After ministering for a brief time in the region of the Gadarenes where He healed two demon-possessed men, Jesus crossed back over the lake to Galilee by boat (and returned to Jewish territory), a large crowd gathered around Him (Mark 5:21; Luke 8:40a). They irresistibly longed to see Him, and hear Him and be touched by Him. Among them was a desperate father with a very sick daughter. He hoped Messiah might heal her. But also, hidden in the multitude was a woman with a terrible secret. She hoped to be healed anonymously. Each of them took a step of faith.

While the Lord was talking to John’s disciples about fasting (Matthew 9:14-17), the synagogue leader in Capernaum named Jairus, meaning God enlightens, came and bowed down at Christ’s feet (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41a). This was one of the most important and the most respected men in the community. But, something happened to him when his daughter fell ill and when he heard that Jesus was near.

His prejudices, his dignity and his pride were all forgotten. As the synagogue leader, Jairus may have been a Pharisee, yet, when he faced Yeshua he did not protect himself by going at night like Nicodemus did, or by disguising his true motive and need with an involved and veiled religious question. No, he came and bowed down at the feet of the miracle-working Rabbi. This was an act of great homage and reverence – and the Greek term interpreted bowed down (prokuneo meaning kiss the face) is most often rendered worshiped (Matthew 4:10; John 4:21-24; First Corinthians 14:25; Revelation 4:10). There can be no doubt that he must have regarded Jesus as an outsider, as a dangerous heretic, and as one whom the synagogue doors were closed. After all, hadn’t the Great Sanhedrin already declared the Nazarene to be possessed by Beelzebub? But, Jairus was a big enough man to abandon his prejudices in his hour of need. Like Naaman, the Syrian prime minister who had to swallow his pride to lose his leprosy (Second Kings 5), it must have taken a conscious effort of humiliation for Jairus to come and beg the Galilean Rabbi for help.⁷⁴⁴

Jairus pleaded earnestly with Jesus to come to his house. Although he didn’t know that his daughter had just died, he expressed amazing faith that she could be resurrected if Yeshua intervened. He begged: My only daughter is dying. Please come and put Your hands on her so that she will be healed and live. She is my only daughter. Having compassion on him, the Messiah got up and went with him, and so did His apostles (Matthew 9:18-19; Mark 5:23-24a; Luke 8:41b-42a).

If you’ll celebrate a marriage anniversary alone this year, God speaks to you. If your child made it to heaven before making it to kindergarten, He speaks to you . . . If your dreams were buried as they lowered the casket, God speaks to you. He speaks to all of us who have stood or will stand in the soft dirt near an open grave. And to us He gives this confident word, “I want you to know what happens to a believer who dies, so that when it happens, you will not be full of sorrow, as those who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and then came back to life again, we can also believe that when Yeshua returns, God will bring back with Him all the believers who have died (First Thessalonians 4:13-14 TLB).⁷⁴⁵

As Jesus was on His way, He was interrupted by yet another compelling need. A large crowd followed the Lord and almost crushed Him. Just then a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her (Matthew 9:20a; Mark 5:24b-25; Luke 8:42b-43). She had been afflicted with a blood disease for as long as Jairus’ daughter had been alive. Because she had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, she had been in a state of uncleanness for twelve years (Leviticus 15:19-30). In other words, she was not a sinner, but she was untouchable! No part of her life was unaffected.

Sexually . . . she could not touch her husband.

Maternally . . . she could not bear children.

Domestically . . . anything she touched was considered unclean. No washing dishes, no sweeping floors, no cooking for others.

Spiritually . . . she was not allowed to enter the Temple.

She was physically exhausted and socially ostracized.

She was a bruised reed. She awoke daily in a body that no one wanted. She was down to her last prayer. And on the day we encounter her . . . she’s about to pray it.⁷⁴⁶

She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse (Mark 5:26). There is a statement in the Talmud about the healing of someone who was subject to bleeding. This will give you an idea of what it means when the Bible says that she suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors. Rabbi Yochanan said: Take the gum of Alexandria, the weight of zuzie, and an olive, the weight of a zuzie, of krokas hortensis, the weight of a zuzie, let these be bruised together and be given in wine to the woman that is subject to bleeding. But if this does not benefit her, take Persian onions three times locks, boil them in wine, give it to her to drink and say, arise from your flocks. But if this does not work, sit her at the crossroads. Give her a cup of wine to hold in her hand. Let someone come behind her and scare her, and say arise from your flocks. And if that does no good, take a hand full of kewmen and a hand full of krokas, let these be boiled in wine and give them to her to drink, and also say arise from your flocks. If this does not help, let her dig seven ditches and burn some cuttings of such that is not yet three years old. Then let her take in her hand a cup of wine and let them lead her away from that ditch. Have her sit down over it and say to her, arise from your flocks. Then move her from this ditch to that ditch, one after another, never again say to her, arise from your flocks.⁷⁴⁷

So after twelve years of going through all of these procedures she had given up on doctors. By the time she gets to Jesus, people surround Him. He’s on His way to help the daughter of Jairus, the most important man in the community. What are the odds that He will interrupt an urgent mission with the synagogue leader to help the likes of her? Very few. But, what are the odds that she will survive if she doesn’t take a chance? Fewer still. So she takes a chance.

Risky decision. Because people surround Jesus, to touch Him she will have to defile others. But, what choice does she have? She has no money, no influence, no friends, and no solutions. She hoped He’d respond, but she didn’t know if He would. All she knew was that He was good. That’s faith.

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. Her part in the healing was very small. All she did was extend her arm through the crowd.⁷⁴⁸  She thought, “If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.” The verb thought is imperfect. She kept on thinking to herself. So, before Jesus had a chance to react, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched the tassels, or tzitzit, on the edge of His robe (Matthew 9:21; Mark 5:27-28). She was in a state of ritual impurity because of her bleeding. The fact that she approached Him from behind tells us that she was sensitive to the awkward situation this might be for Yeshua as a rabbi. It was commonly understood in that day that any woman should keep her distance from a rabbi. This was undoubtedly magnified by her ritual uncleanness due to her bleeding (Leviticus 15:25-27).

The detail that she touched the holiest part of His garment, the tzitzit on the edge of His robe, is very important for several reasons. First, it tells us that although Jesus spoke about some of the dangers of the Oral Law (to see link click Ei – The Oral Law), He Himself was Torah observant and wore tzitzit on the edge of His robe. The LORD said to Moses His servant: Speak to the Israelites and say to them, “Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will remember all the commands of ADONAI, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourself by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all My commands and will be consecrated to your God. I AM the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I AM ADONAI your God” (Numbers 15:37-39). There can be no doubt that He looked like the traditional Jew of His day. Second, the fact that this woman reached out to touch the Messiah’s outer garment shows her own faith. But, more than that, by specifically touching His tzitzit, she was basically saying that it would be the Word of God (that the tassels represent) that she would have received healing.⁷⁴⁹ Third, she touched His tassels which made Him ceremonially unclean. But we must understand that being unclean is not a sin. Yeshua was born fully human, which made Him unclean. Messiah was contact with uncleanness His entire life because that is the human condition.

Healing begins when we do something. Healing begins when we reach out. Healing begins when we take a step toward God in faith. Immediately after touching His tassels, her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering (Mt 9:20b; Mk 5:29; Lk 8:44). Normally the impure defiles the pure (see Haggai 2:11-13, also see Talmund, Taharot). But, in this case the opposite happened; the purity of Jesus and of His tziziyot remained uncompromised, while the woman’s impurity was instantly removed.⁷⁵⁰

Let me be very clear about something. ADONAI still heals today. But, there are no guarantees. God’s thoughts and ways are not our thoughts and ways. Sometimes you can have all the faith in the world, but are not healed. It’s not that you lack faith, it’s merely that God, for His perfect reasons, has not chosen to heal you. And you won’t be able to figure it out. It’s not a logical thing. Rabbi Sha’ul prayed three times that his thorn in the flesh would be removed and ADONAI chose to leave it with him (Second Corinthians 12:7-9). You would think if God were going to heal anybody it would be him. But, no. All of us must bow our will to the Son of Righteousness.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked: Who touched My clothes? Jesus knew that He had been touched in that way, and He knew who had touched Him. The purpose of the question was to get the attention of His apostles to build their faith in Him. His apostles were surprised to His sensitivity to the crowd, “What do you mean: Who touched My clothes? A large crowd is almost crushing You (Mark 5:24b, 30-31; Luke 8:42b and 45)! The woman had cowered away because she knew that she had made the Master unclean with her touch.

He said: Someone touched Me; I know that power has gone out from Me. Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it but they all denied it, then He saw her. And the Jewish woman responded to His searching eyes. Seeing that she could not go unnoticed, she came trembling with fear and fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed, literally, what was done. Once again the verb is in the perfect tense, indicating that it was a complete and a permanent cure (Mark 5:32-33; Luke 8:45a-47). All that was in preparation for what was to follow.

Then Jesus corrected her theology. He turned and said to her: Daughter. For the first time she got a glimpse of His breathtaking sympathy, delicately expressed in the very first word. He said: Thugater, meaning daughter, to a mature woman, probably not much, if at all younger than Himself. Our Lord spoke to her not as a man to a woman, but, as a father to his child. Take heart, your faith has healed you. The verb translated healed is actually sozo, meaning to save, and is used at times for the healing of the body as well as the soul. It is in the perfect tense, assuring her of a permanent cure.⁷⁵¹

Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. And the woman was healed at the moment she touched Him (Mattityahu 9:22; Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48). But it was not works, or touching Him, that healed her. It was her faith. Without faith she could have done all the touching she wanted to and nothing would have happened. The power came from the Master, not His clothing. The means was her faith, not her touch.

Maybe all you have is a crazy hunch and high hope. You have nothing to give. But, you are hurting. And all you have to offer God is your hurt. Maybe that has kept you from coming to Him. Oh, you’ve taken a step or two in His direction but then you saw the other people around Him. They seemed so clean, so neat, so trim and fit in their faith. And when you saw them, they blocked your view of Him. So you stepped back.

If that describes you, look carefully at the one whom Jesus commended for having faith. It wasn’t the wealthy giver. It wasn’t the loyal follower. It wasn’t the acclaimed teacher. It was the shame-struck, penniless outcast – a defiled woman who had been bleeding for twelve years – who clutched onto her hunch that He could heal her and her hope that He would. Which, by the way, isn’t a bad definition of faith. A conviction that He can and a hope that He will.⁷⁵²

Within the providence of God, the delay was long enough for Jairus’ little girl to die. In addition, some messengers came at the most opportune moment, attracting attention away from the Jewish woman. While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader, and said to him,“Your daughter died. You don’t need to bother the rabbi anymore.” Jairus probably kept close to the Lord Jesus during the healing of the woman, and while his heart went out to her in her distress, and rejoiced in her healing, yet his heart was crushed when he found out that his little girl was dead. Overhearing what they said, Jesus told Jairus: Don’t be afraid; just believe and she will be healed (Mark 5:35-36; Luke 8:49-50). After Christ’s official rejection by the Sanhedrin (see Eh – Jesus Officially Rejected by the Sanhedrin), Jesus no longer performed miracles for the sake of the masses.

His miracles were for the training of His apostles. Therefore, when He arrived at the house of Jairus, He did not let anyone go in with Him except Peter, John and James (Mattityahu 9:23a; Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51).

Jesus saw the flute (or reed pipe) players and the noisy crowd. Meanwhile, all the people were crying and mourning for her (Matthew 9:23b; Mark 5:38; Luke 8:52a). The Oral Laws of Jewish mourning include the need for mourners to assist the grieving family. Specifically, it states that “even the poorest in Israel should hire no less than two flutes and one wailing woman” in such cases (Tractate Ketuvot 4:4).⁷⁵³ The intense mourning period of Shiva (Hebrew for “seven”) marks the days immediately after the burial, which had not started because the funeral had not even taken place yet.

At that emotionally charged moment, Yeshua made a shocking announcement. He went in and said to them: Why all this commotion? Stop wailing. The child is not dead but asleep. The Bible does not teach soul sleep. Only believers fall “asleep” because they will wake up in heaven. Here, the Lord meant that the little girl was not dead to stay dead; therefore, He spoke of death as sleeping. But the crowd laughed at Him because they thought that she would stay dead (Matthew 9:24; Mark 5:39-40a; Luke 8;52). The verb laughed is imperfect, they continued to laugh and mock Him over and over again.

After the incredulous crowd had been thrown outside, He took the child’s father, mother and the disciples who were with Him, and went in where the child was. For the apostles, the purpose was to learn the lesson of faith in the Messiah, and the parents learned that He would perform miracles in response to personal need on the basis of faith. But He took her by the hand (obviously not concerned about any possible defilement) and the Great Physician said to her: Talitha koum! Which means: My child, I say to you, get up (Matthew 9:25; Mark 5:40b-41; Luke 8:54)! Once again, Jesus exerted His power in such a way as to confirm His divine nature. He is the Red Heifer, without fault or defect, who delivers us from death through the water of purification (see the commentary on Numbers Df – The Red Heifer).

Immediately her spirit returned, and she stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). When you hear of someone raising the dead today, why does it always seem to be in some remote country? Why not in a morgue near you? If the local church is to be equipped with all the spiritual gifts to function properly, and if the gift of healing is still a viable gift today why aren’t people raising the dead in your church? Aren’t all the gifts needed for the congregations of God to function? Of course they are! Could you imagine someone saying that they didn’t need all the gifts to function properly? Could you envision anyone saying that their messianic synagogue didn’t need, say, the gift of teaching or leadership? Raising the dead is the litmus test for those who claim the gift of healing today. Healing lower back pain is one thing, raising the dead is quite another.

Then the Great Physician told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were completely astonished, but Jesus gave them strict orders not to let anyone know about it (Mark 5:42-43; Luke 8:55-56). That was never true prior to His official rejection by the Sanhedrin (see En – Four Drastic Changes in Christ’s Ministry). Nevertheless, unable to control their enthusiasm for Christ’s healing ministry, news of this spread through all that region of Galilee (Matthew 9:26). Jesus also raised the widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17), and Lazarus (John 11:1-44) to life. He is the only One who can create life.

Lord, I see that Jairus and this woman had one priceless thing in common – they both came to You in trust. I realize this is one of the basic lessons of faith. If I want to believe in You, I must come to You. I must bring my problems, my needs, and my life to You. I realize I may sometimes feel unworthy as that woman did, but help me to come anyway.⁷⁵⁴

Jesus Heals Two Demon Possessed Men
Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39

Jesus heals two demon possessed men DIG: After the legion left him, how did the man feel? What question do you think bothered the people of the town the most? Why did they want Christ to leave them alone? Why did Jesus want the healed man to return to his home?

REFLECT: If you could just be free of one thing, what would it be? Encountering the living Messiah can be unsettling. Yet, with the uneasiness can come healing and restoration in His Name. Would you rather ask Yeshua to leave you alone because you don’t want to deal with your problems, or do you need Him more than anything?

After setting sail from Capernaum, the wonders did not end after sundown. For the first time we have a detailed description of the demonic state. This is the second of four separate occasions we see Jesus ministering to Gentiles in the Gospels. Jesus will show that He is not subservient to Satan, but much stronger than the devil. The Lord healed two demonized men before dawn following the storm on the Lake. These miracles performed by Jesus in the presence of His talmidim would help to strengthen their faith.

They sailed across the lake to the region of the Gadarenes, which is across the Sea from Galilee (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26). The region of Gadarenes was a little north of the river Jabbok (see my commentary on Genesis, to see link click Hv –Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau). Matthew tells us that He arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes (Mattityahu 8:28a). The Greek side of Lake Kinneret was divided into three regions – Gerasa, Gadara, and Gergesa – so that the same region might reasonably have been named for all three. While the Bible does not specifically name the exact town, it was probably the small town of Gerasa for just south of it there are steep cliffs that fit the geographical setting here. A herd of terrified pigs running toward this cliff could not have been able to stop quickly enough, and would have inevitably been hurled down into the Lake below.

The whole country around where Jesus and His apostles landed is lined with limestone caves used as tombs for the dead. This story becomes even more bizarre and frightening when it is seen as happening in the shadows of the night. The rabbis taught that the evil spirits particularly lived in lonely, desolate places, and also among the tombs. They also believed that it was primarily at night that the demons haunted the burying places.

When the Lord and His apostles left Capernaum in the evening by boat to the other side, their destination was the small town of Gerasa that was on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. But, even allowing for the delay by the storm, the passage was only six miles away and could not have taken the whole night to get there. So, if we suppose that the Savior and His talmidim landed at Gerasa before sunrise, when perhaps the silvery moon was shedding her pale light on the weird scene, it would be early in the morning after sunrise when all the people of Gerasa began to plead with Jesus to leave them (Mt 8:34; Mk 5:17; Lk 8:37a). It would also allow sufficient time for the miracles that took place on that same day back in Capernaum after His return. Therefore, all the circumstances lead us to conclude that the healing of the demoniac took place at night.⁷³⁶

They had scarcely landed when the blood-curdling cries of raging lunacy and human distress sounded from the tombs nearby. In the dim light of the moon they saw two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs to meet Jesus. Matthew tells us that two men came out from the tombs (Mattityahu 8:28b), but Mark and Luke chose to focus on the more dominant of the two men (Luke 8:27a; Mark 5:2-3a). It is important to note that Yeshua never blamed anyone for having a disease or by being controlled by a demon. He recognized that they were victims of powers beyond their control and needed deliverance, not encouragement or condemnation.

They were so violent that no one could pass that way. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. It is clear that the foul and polluted nature of such tombs, with all their grisly and terrifying associations, would tend to aggravate the nature of his condition. Known for his violent behavior, no one was strong enough to subdue him anymore. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but with seeming supernatural power, he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet (Matthew 8:28b; Mark 5:3b-4; Luke 8:27b). This man, who had long been afflicted, was beyond any help that mere human beings could afford him. This was a spiritual battle.⁷³⁷

Night and day among the graves and in the hills he would cry out with a loud shriek and cut himself with stones so his whole body was covered with scars (Mark 5:5). While the power of the evil one is real, demonic activity seems to vary at different times in biblical history. It would come as no surprise that, with the coming of Christ, the appearance of demons would increase as the Adversary opposed all that ADONAI is trying to accomplish through the Lord.

With irresistible power the demonized were drawn to Yeshua as He reached the shore. When the demon saw Christ from a distance, the man he possessed ran and fell on his knees (Greek: proskuneo, meaning to kiss the face or worship) at the feet of the Lord (Mark 5:6; Luke 8:28a). At first it might have seemed like he had hostile intentions. The onrush of the screaming maniac must have tried the newly recovered confidence of the Twelve. We can only imagine their surprise when, approaching, he threw himself at the feet of Yeshua. The fact that the man saw Jesus from a distance would not lead him to worship Him. But, as he drew closer, the spiritual dynamic changed. The demons inside the man recognized the Messiah as the Son of God! So the demoniac, being in a hopeless position, destined to be damned for all eternity, one of the allies of the Destroyer of Souls, bent his knee to the Son of God. Some today don’t believe that Yeshua Ha’Meshiach is the Son of God, but, the demons do!

This is that which Rabbi Sha’ul was speaking when he referred to the universal worship of our Lord Jesus, including the demons. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Philippians 2:10). Even now they are bending the knee to Him. In the last analysis, it was not the demoniac who fell on his knees at the feet of the Deliverer. He was under the control of many demons, which were the source of the reverence paid to the Son of God.

Being controlled by them he shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with us, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” By their question: Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time (Mattityahu 8:29; Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28b)? They acknowledged that they knew there was a divinely appointed time, not yet come, when He would indeed judge them and punish them with eternal damnation after the thousand-year Millennial Kingdom. But, it was too early for that appointed time, and yet they sensed that Messiah was not going to allow their current evil work to continue.

It is clear that Jesus made more than one attempt to heal this man. He had used the usual method – an authoritative order to the demon to come out. On this occasion it was not successful. For Jesus had commanded the [demons] to come out of the man! Many times the demons had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demons into solitary places (Mark 5:8; Luke 8:29).

Next, Jesus asked him: What is your name (Mark 5:9a; Luke 8:30)? The verb is imperfect, meaning He kept on asking him. Christ used the standard approach by merely asking the demon’s name. The implication here is that the demon only responded after repeated questioning. This is the only incident in the gospels in which Jesus communicated with a demon.

The evidence of how completely possessed this man felt is seen by the way he spoke. Sometimes he used the singular, as if he himself were speaking; sometimes he used the plural, as if all the demons in him were speaking. He was so convinced that the demons were in him, that he felt they were speaking through him. When asked his name, one of the demons replied, “My name is Legion,” because so many demons had gone into him (Mark 5:9b; Luke 8:30).⁷³⁸ The word legion is the name for a company of Roman soldiers consisting of about 6,000 men. The word legion was used like the word mob. It seems that not only had one demon taken up residence in that unfortunate man, but also a mob had done so.⁷³⁹ This shows just how much stronger Jesus is than Satan.

They knew very well that they were about to be ordered out of the men whose bodies they had taken up residence, so they came up with a solution themselves. And they begged Yeshua repeatedly not to order them out of the area and into the Abyss (Mark 5:10; Luke 8:31). The Abyss is mentioned prominently in the book of Revelation (see my commentary on Revelation Fb – Satan Bound for a Thousand Years).

In desperation the demons looked around for a way of escape and saw a large herd of about two thousand pigs feeding there on the nearby hillside (Matthew 8:30; Mark 5:11; Luke 8:32a). This shows that the number of demons was very large. These Gentiles raised pigs for the meat markets in the Decapolis, or ten Gentile cities, in that region.

The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and He gave them permission. He said to them: Go! They were powerless to resist His command so the evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs (Mattityahu 8:31-32a; Mark 5:12-13a; Luke 8:32b-33a). Unable to destroy the man, they destroyed the pigs. This is the deviled ham story!

And the whole herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the Sea of Galilee and were drowned in the water (Matthew 8:32b; Mark 5:13b; Luke 8:33b). Some have raised a moral question regarding Yeshua because He allowed the demons to enter the pigs, destroying the harmless animals together with their owner’s property. But, God has permitted demonic expression with its evil consequences since the garden of Eden. Job asked why, and ADONAI indicated that His dealings with Satanic powers are not to be understood fully by us at this time (Job 40-41). The pigs mass suicide proved that the demons truly left the man as well as his condition described below.⁷⁴⁰

Having witnessed such an amazing event, those tending the pigs ran off and reported everything in the town and countryside, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. With such an astounding testimony, it was not surprising that the whole town went out to see what had happened (Matthew 8:33; Mark 5:14; Luke 8:34).

There was a great stir in the town. When the people went out to see what had happened, they could hardly believe their eyes. They saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting at Jesus’ feet. He was dressed and in his right mind. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured, and told them about the pigs as well (Mark 5:15a-5:16; Luke 8:35a-36). Doctor Luke added the word cured to his account. The Greek word esothe, or saved, is a favorite word of Luke’s to describe the healing-salvation that Messiah brings. The man had not simply been cured of his demon-possession but of everything that separated him from God. A wild man became a docile, quiet, self-assured person.⁷⁴¹ There is no indication here that suggests that the response of the people was due to their financial concern over the loss of so many pigs. Though they were probably present, the owners of the pigs are never mentioned. The issue was not the demons, the pigs, or the two men. The issue was Jesus Christ.

We would suppose that the sight of the transformed demoniacs would have filled the people with joy and gratitude to Yeshua. But, quite the contrary, the people of Gerasa didn’t even give Messiah the reluctant reverence shown by the demons.⁷⁴² They didn’t seem the least bit interested in finding out who He was, or why He had come to their town. They wanted nothing to do with Him and all the people of the region of Gerasa began to plead with Jesus to leave them (Mattityahu 8:34; Mark 5:17; Luke 8:37a). At first they went out to see what had happened, but when they came to the Lord and observed the man in his right mind, they were overcome with fear (Mark 5:15b; Luke 8:35b). Not angry, not resentful – but scared.

The unholy people had come face-to-face with the holy God and they were terrified. Sinners who know they are in the presence of ADONAI can only see their sin (see my commentary on Isaiah Bq – I Am a Man of Unclean Lips), which results in fear.

We are not told exactly what the people from the town thought of Messiah. We only know that they had a peek at the supernatural and it caused them to panic. They saw the One who could control demons, who could control animals, and who could restore shattered minds to sanity – and they wanted nothing to do with Him. Here we see the first opposition to Jesus in the gospels. The people did not ridicule or attempt to persecute this Stranger in their midst; they simply wanted nothing to do with Him. The Lord’s return to Galilee was the only course left to Him.

In great contrast to the attitude of those people, the worst of the two men who had been demon-possessed wanted to become a disciple of the Lord. As Jesus was getting back into the boat to return to Capernaum, the man who had been demon-possessed begged and kept on begging to go with Him (Mark 5:18; Luke 8:37b-38a). He was so grateful for his deliverance and so drawn to Christ that he could not bear to be separated from Him – a perfectly natural reaction. But, the Prince of Life had other plans for that man.

Yeshua did not let him, but sent him away because He was not accepting Gentile disciples at that time (Luke 8:38b). He said: Go home to your own people and tell them how the Lord has had mercy on you. The verbs are in the perfect tense, indicating a completed action with continuing results. After the Meshiach’s official rejection by the Sanhedrin, He changed the focus of His ministry (see En – Four Drastic Changes in Christ’s Ministry) and said: Go and tell them how much the Lord has done for you (Mark 5:19; Luke 8:39a) because the prohibition against telling anyone did not apply to Gentiles.

The former demoniac was to become an evangelist and missionary to his own people, a living testimony that the One whom they had rejected nonetheless loved and sought to redeem them. So the man went away and began to tell everyone in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed (Mark 5:20; Luke 8:39b). Later, we will see the results of this man’s ministry in the feeding of the four thousand (see Fu – Jesus Heals a Deaf Mute and Feeds the Four Thousand).

When all the people of Gerasa pleaded with Jesus to leave them, their attitude may puzzle us at first until we realize that sometimes we have the same reaction. ADONAI has shown His power and love in our lives many times, yet there are times when we still respond by turning our hearts away from Him. In these times, we too are asking Yeshua to leave.

The Lord wants us to experience cleansing and freedom from sins such as anger, lust, deception and self-centeredness. Through His love, God will bring these areas to light in our lives and show us more clearly our need to change these areas and be healed. As our eyes are opened, we can then decide whether we will allow Christ to make us whole or whether we will resist His work in our hearts. The same Son that hardens clay . . . melts wax.

Fear is the single most important factor that causes us to turn our hearts away from God; fear of change or fear of the unknown can paralyze us. We can become so comfortable with our lives just as they are, with all their sins and problems, that we forget God’s desire that we become one with Him in Jesus Christ. The Savior of sinners died on the cross to release us from our fears. He wants to bring us to the fullness of the relationship that we should have with Him. Let us hold on to the truth that God has a great plan for our lives.

Lord Jesus, You have destroyed the power of darkness and all the chains that hold us in bondage. Send Your Holy Spirit to enlighten my mind and show me the fullness of life that You offer to all of Your children. Amen. He is faithful.⁷⁴³

Jesus Calms the Storm
Matthew 8:18, 23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25

Jesus calms the storm DIG: Why were the talmidim afraid during the storm? What does this experience reveal about them? Why do you think Jesus calmed the storm? What were the Twelve’s attitudes about Messiah after He calmed the storm?

REFLECT: Do you have the tendency to remain afraid rather than ask Yeshua for help? Why? In what ways can you identify with the fearful apostles? What is the purpose of “life storms” we experience? How have you reacted to one of the “life storms” you’ve experienced? Why? How has God proven Himself faithful to you during a difficult time? What does the passage teach you about Christ? How could you use this event from Jesus’ life to encourage someone who is experiencing a troubling time?

Following the declaration of the new form of God’s Kingdom program, a whole new set of miracles occurred. The miracles will now serve as a training ground for His apostles.

And that same evening, Messiah gave orders to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to a less inhabited area (Matthew 8:18; Mark 4:35a). What a day it had been. It was a life-changing day for the Lord and mankind. First, He was accused of being demon possessed and rejected by the Great Sanhedrin (to see link click Ek – It is only by Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons, that This Fellow Drives Out Demons). Secondly, the Meshiach pronounced a judgment on that particular Jewish generation (see Eo – The Sign of the Prophet Jonah). Thirdly, the Good Shepherd began speaking to the people in parables (see Er – That Same Day He Spoke To Them In Parables). Fourthly, Christ’s own family tried to come and take Him home by force (see Ey – Jesus’ Mother and Brothers). And finally, as evening came, our Savior got into a boat to cross over to the other side of the Kinneret. What a day!

When evening came, Jesus said to His apostles: Let us go over to the other side of the lake (Mark 4:35b; Luke 8:22a). They were on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, and a trip over to the eastern shore would be a delightful and refreshing change for the weary Rabbi from Galilee. He needed to escape and relax.

Jesus got into the boat just as He did previously, and His talmidim followed Him. The words, just as He did, refer back to Es – The Public Parables of the Kingdom by the Sea, and link Yeshua’s teaching in a boat with His miracle-work in a boat here.⁷²⁷ The Lord needed to be alone with the Twelve to start their training. So, leaving the daily pressure of the crowd behind, they set sail. The Greek word for boat is ploion, referring to a large fishing boat commonly used by fishermen such as Peter, James and John. The Sea of Galilee was just over 600 feet below sea level, near the northern end of the Jordan River. Mount Hermon raises 9,200 feet to the north, and strong northerly winds often plummet down the upper Jordan valley with great force. When those winds meet the warmer air over the Galilee basin, the high hills and narrow valley act like wind tunnels causing the water beneath them to churn violently. The fact that the winds come so quickly and with little warning makes the storms all the more dangerous. There were also other boats, carrying those who wanted to remain with Christ, who tagged along behind (Mattityahu 8:23; Mark 4:36; Luke 8:22b)

After His exhausting day, Jesus fell asleep in the stern of the boat on the cushion (the Greek definite article is used: proskephalaion) as they sailed. Apparently, it was the only cushion on board, and Messiah used it as a pillow for His head. Interestingly enough, this is the only place in the Gospels where Yeshua is seen sleeping.⁷²⁸ The Lord slept in the position that any distinguished guest would have taken. There was a little seat in the back of the boat where a leather cushion was placed. The helmsman stood a little further forward on the deck, though near the stern, in order to have a better look ahead.⁷²⁹ Moonlight furnished all the visibility needed for sailing the vessel across the tranquil lake. So just before we see one of His most breathtaking displays of Messiah’s deity, we see a touching picture of His humanity (Mt 8:24a; Mark 4:38a).

But, this peaceful scene changed suddenly. The northeasterly breeze stiffened and along the horizon of the lake to the north and east the clouds thickened. The sky rapidly grew darker and darker and without warning a furious storm came up on the Sea of Galilee. All they could do was quickly adjust their sails and seek to weather the gale. With every moment, however, the storm became so great that the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. The verb is in the imperfect tense, meaning that the waves were repeatedly breaking over the boat. The storm was so strong that Matthew uses an unusual word normally associated with an earthquake (Greek seismos) to describe it. Again and again the boat was buried amid the foam of the breakers. The boat was filling up with water faster than they could bail it out. They were in great danger; nevertheless, our Savior lay asleep in back of the boat.(Matthew 8:24b; Mark 4:37; Luke 8:23). Yeshua was still Master of nature even if He were sleeping.⁷³⁰

Christ slept so soundly that not even the tossing of the boat, the noise of the wind, nor the Twelve could wake Him. The Lord was probably soaked to the skin while lying on the hard planks with only a cushion for His head.⁷³¹ The panic-stricken apostles went and woke Him, saying:Teacher, save us! Though they called Him Teacher, they did not yet understand His teaching. We’re going to drown (Mattityahu 8:25; Mark 4:38b; Luke 8:24)! Yet their urgent cry revealed a lack of faith in some sense. These expert fishermen were afraid they were going to drown and the fact that it was at night made it all the more frightening. But, we cannot be too critical of them. At least they got into the boat with Yeshua and followed His calling, which is more than most people are willing to do. Thus, the purpose of the storm was to bring them to dependence on the Lord.

The twelve Jewish apostles knew the Psalms. Many times they had heard and repeated the words of Ethan the Ezrahite, “ADONAI Elohei-Tzva’ot! Who is as mighty as You, Yah? Your faithfulness surrounds you. You control the raging sea; when its waves rear up, you calm them” (Psalm 89:8-9 CJB). They had sung: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we are unafraid, even if the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, even if its waters rage and foam, and mountains shake at its turbulence (Psalm 46:1-3 CJB).

They knew all too well the regal and reassuring words of the psalmist. Those who go down to the sea in ships, plying their trade on the great ocean, saw the works of ADONAI, His wonders in the deep. For at His word the storm-wind arose, lifting up towering waves. The sailors were raised up to the sky, then plunged into the depths. At the danger, their courage failed them, they reeled and staggered like drunk men, and all their skill was swallowed up. In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and He rescued them from their distress. He silenced the storm and stilled its waves, and they rejoiced as the sea grew calm. Then He brought them safely to their desired port (Psalm 107:23-30 CJB). It was a literal fulfillment of those verses that the miracle-working Rabbi was about to accomplish on the Sea of Galilee.

He got up, rebuked, or muzzled, the wind and said to the raging waves: Quiet! Be still. The Greek word phimoo, or be still, means to close the mouth with a muzzle, and is used of muzzling an ox and of Jesus silencing (muzzling) the Pharisees. The verb is a perfect imperative, in other words it was if He was saying, “Be muzzled and stay that way.” Then the storm subsided and it was completely calm (Matthew 8:26b; Mark 4:39; Luke 8:24b). Two miracles had taken place; the wind ceased and the sea was completely calm. Even with the wind stopping immediately, such a large body of water, as the Sea of Galilee would not become completely calm in an instant unless it was a miracle of God. He said to His apostles: Why are you afraid? So little trust you have (Matthew 8:26a CJB; Mark 4:40; Luke 8:25a)? It was as if Jesus was saying, “Haven’t you seen enough of My power and experienced enough of My love to know that you are perfectly safe with Me?” Nevertheless, it was a teachable moment for the growing apostles, as they are reminded that He is the miracle-working Messiah. They were to have faith in Him instead of being in subjection to the prince of this world (John 12:31). Jesus was able to muzzle him!

At the age of twenty-seven, the famous painter Rembrandt painted the seascape Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee based on these passages. With its distinctive contrast of light and shadow, Rembrandt’s painting shows a small boat threatened with destruction in a furious storm. As the apostles struggle against the wind and waves, the Lord is undisturbed. The most unusual aspect, however, is the presence in the boat of a thirteenth passenger who art experts say resembles Rembrandt himself. We could also put ourselves in this story and discover, just as Yeshua’s apostles did, that to each person who trusts in Jesus Christ, He reveals His presence, compassion, and control in every storm of life.⁷³²

The men were both terrified and amazed at the same time. Although they had experienced the healing and teaching ministry of Yeshua, the apostles were shocked and they asked each other: Who is this person? Even the winds and the waves obey Him (Mattityahu 8:27; Mark 4:41; Luke 8:25b)! Of course the real answer is that this would not be the work of any mere man or even a gifted rabbi. Once again, Yeshua unveiled His eternal power to confirm that He is the promised Messiah sent from the Father. The apostles, meanwhile, learned yet another valuable lesson. Undoubtedly, their faith grew in new ways from having gone through the storm with Jesus.⁷³³

We can’t be too hard on the talmidim since all believers can relate from their own experience of knowing ADONAI’s power and love . . . yet trusting in them in times of crisis do not always go hand-in-hand. Our sin nature and weaknesses are so much a part of us that even after we have seen the Lord doing marvelous things in our lives, we still fall into doubt. Faith needs strengthening, as the talmidim ultimately came to understand. “Increase our faith,” they pleaded of Yeshua (Luke 17:5). And sometimes we cry out with the father of the boy with a demon, saying: I do believe; I want to believe. Please help me overcome my unbelief (Mk 9:24).⁷³⁴

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series of articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

Now, on a morning I entered my Study, and I sat me down to read a book by a Learned Man on The Uniformity of Nature. And I thought much about the Reasons Why the Heat that Burneth a person on one day doth not Freeze him on the next, and why the Sun which Riseth in the East a part of the Time doth not Rise in the West the Remainder of the Time, and why the Law of Gravitation which sometimes pulleth the Apple Down doth not sometimes Hurl it Up.

And these Studies prove a Weariness to the Flesh, so that I opened my window for Fresh Air. And immediately there flew in a Woodpecker. And no sooner was he in than he wished to be out. And he circled Twice and Thrice about my Ceiling, and then flew swiftly toward another Window that was not open, and Struck it with all his Force, so that he Fell to the floor and lay there as if he were Dead. And I Rose and Stood, and looked down at him. And I touched him not, but it was revealed to me that in his Aching Red Head he was thinking thoughts like these:

Behold, hitherto have I flown wherever there was Transparent Space, and have Struck Nothing. But, I have been Knocked Down and well-nigh Killed while flying through Space in which I would see plainly. Yea, and beyond were Trees and the Free Air of Spring. Never again shall I trust in the Uniformity of Nature; and the ways of the Lord are not equal.

Then I left him, and I opened my windows from the top downward and he rose and flew straight at one of them, and was gone.

And I, who am but very little wiser than he, meditated concerning those I have known who suddenly come Up Against a new experience that they are unable to Catalogue among their Theories of Life, where something which they see not, riseth up before them and layeth low, so that they cry out in their anguish that the Lord hath forgotten to be Gracious, and that His Mercy is clean gone forever. For I have heard them think aloud even as I heard the woodpecker with the Aching Red Head.

Now the Uniformity of Nature is the Reality of God. Yet hath God’s ways that are not as the ways of His creatures. So I besought my God that He would give me Grace to Trust Him when I fly through what seemeth Clear Space and come Up against Something.⁷³⁵

The Parable of the Householder
Matthew 13: 51-53

The parable of the householder DIG: How does this parable couple with the parable of the Dragnet? What does each parable represent? How so? How much of the Kingdom of Heaven did the apostles really understand? What was still a mystery to them? What did Yeshua teach them about the messianic Kingdom? What was something old? What will be new? What flow of thought do you see in the nine parables that we have studied?

REFLECT: Of the nine parables, from which one did you learn the most? Why? Which one applies to your life the most right now? Why? Which one motivates you to change the way you look at things? Why?

The one main point of the parable of the householder is that some aspects of the mystery Kingdom have similarities with other facets of God’s Kingdom, while other aspects are new and not found elsewhere.

The fourth couplet is made up of the parables of the Dragnet (saved and lost) and the Householder (old and new), where we see some comparisons between life now and life in the future the messianic Kingdom. Jesus is no longer in front of a crowd by the Sea of Galilee, but alone with His talmidim in Peter’s house.

In summary, then, Jesus asked: Have you understood what I have been saying about the mystery Kingdom of Heaven in these parables? “Yes,” they replied (Matthew 13:51). But, from what they later said and did, we know that their understanding was far from perfect. In reality, however, Jesus did not expect them to know everything right at that time. This is called progressive revelation. The Dispensation of Grace was a mystery to the righteous of the TaNaKh, and they had to be taught slowly and systematically. They were spiritual babies, and just as we do not expect babies to know everything the moment they are born, neither did Jesus expect the Twelve to understand the Kingdom fully at that time. So, on the level at which they were able to understand at that time – they understood.

The Messiah would soon instruct His talmidim to ask the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His harvest field (Matthew 9:38) – to proclaim the coming harvest of salvation and judgment. They were to warn people of it and tell them how they could be saved, and also how to escape the torment of hell while they could. Almost immediately we will see the Savior of Sinners begin teaching and training His men for this vital ministry (to see link click Fm – The Training of the Twelve by King Messiah).

Based on their affirmative response, He said to them: Therefore, every Torah-teacher who has been instructed about the kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old (Matthew 13:52). Some aspects of the mystery form of the Kingdom are taken from previous and existing facets of God’s Kingdom. In other words, during the messianic Kingdom, some things will remain the same as they are now. We will recognize our friends and family who were believers, we will have fellowship with them, we will have meaningful spiritual ministry, and we will worship the Lord. However, there will be other aspects that are brand new: We will have our resurrection bodies, Satan will be bound, King David will be ruling from Tziyon, but, first and foremost, Jesus Christ will be ruling and reigning from the Temple in the City.

When Yeshua finished these parables it was after sundown, He moved on from Capernaum (Matthew 13:53). He got into a boat with His apostles to cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

The nine parables we have looked at develop a basic flow of thought: (1) The Parable of the Soils (Et) teaches that there will be a sowing of the Gospel throughout the Church Age. (2) The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself (Eu) teaches that Gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own. (3) The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Ev) teaches that the true sowing will be imitated by a false counter-sowing. (4) The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Ew) teaches that the visible Church will assume abnormal outer growth. (5) The Parable of the Leaven (Ex) teaches that the doctrine of the visible church will be corrupted. (6) The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Fb) teaches that even with the doctrinal corruption, a remnant will be saved out of Isra’el. (7) The Parable of the Pearl (Fc) teaches that the Gentiles of the invisible universal Church will also come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Both Jews and Gentiles together, the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl form the invisible universal Church. (8) The Parable of the Dragnet (Fd) teaches that the Church Age will end with the judgment of the Gentiles; the unrighteous will be excluded from the messianic Kingdom and the righteous will be taken in. (9) The parable of the householder (Fe) teaches that some aspects of the mystery Kingdom have similarities with other facets of God’s Kingdom, as other aspects are new and not found elsewhere.⁷²⁶

The Parable of the Dragnet
Matthew 13: 47-50

The parable of the dragnet DIG: How does this parable couple with the parable of the Householder? What does each parable represent? How so? How is the dragnet used? What does the parable of the net teach about the messianic Kingdom? Who are the good fish? Who are the bad?

REFLECT: How are you personally affected when you read about the different aspects of hell? How does it motivate you? Why? Who do you need to pray for?

The one main point of the parable of the dragnet is that the Dispensation of Grace will end with the judgment of the Gentiles; the unrighteous will be excluded from the Messianic Kingdom and the righteous will be taken in.

The fourth couplet is made up of the parables of the Dragnet (saved and lost) and the Householder (old and new), where we see some comparisons between life now and life in the future messianic Kingdom. Jesus is no longer in front of a crowd by the Sea of Galilee, but alone with His talmidim in Peter’s house.

This parable makes three points. First, the mystery Kingdom will end by the judgment of the Gentiles, symbolized by the sea (Dani’el 7; Revelation 13 and 17). Second, the righteous will be brought into the messianic Kingdom. And the third point is that the unrighteous will be excluded. What Yeshua said in parabolic form here is spelled out in detail in Matthew 25:31-36 (see my commentary on Revelation, to see link click Fc – The Sheep and the Goats). The unrighteous Gentiles will be excluded from the Messianic Kingdom and will be judged at the great white throne judgment.⁷²¹

The examples the Rabbi from Galilee uses to illustrate God’s judgment on unbelievers was a common one to His hearers. It was especially familiar to those who lived near the Sea of Galilee, including several of the talmidim. Still inside the house, Jesus taught: Once again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was let down into the Sea of Galilee and caught all kinds of fish (Matthew 13:47). The comparison of the kingdom of Heaven to a fishing scene reminds us of the calling of the disciples to fish for people (Mattityahu 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:9 and 10b). The focus seems to be on catching people for salvation rather than, as in Jeremiah 16:18, for punishment. But, since the apostle’s fishing ministry belongs to the establishment of God’s Kingdom, this parable adds the thought that there is a negative as well as a positive aspect to it.

On the Sea of Galilee three basic methods of fishing were used, and all three continue to be used today. The first was hook and line, which was used to catch one fish at a time. That was the type of fishing the Lord told Peter to do when the Twelve and Jesus Himself needed to pay the two-drachma Temple tax (Mt 17:24-27).

The other two kinds of fishing involved nets. One net was small, one-man casting net that Peter and his brother Andrew were taking turns with when Yeshua called them to fish for people (Matthew 4:18-19). It was folded and carried over the fisherman’s shoulder as he waded in shallow water looking for a school of fish. When the fish came near, he would hold the center cord in one hand and with the other hand throw the net so that it opened into a large circle and come down over the fish. The fisherman then pulled the cord, which was attached to the center of the net and drew it around the fish like a sack. After the net had been pulled closed, the fisherman would haul his catch to shore.

The second type of net referred to here is taken from the Greek word sagene, a very large dragnet. It required a team of fishermen to operate and sometimes covered as much as a half square mile. The dragnet was pulled into a giant circle around the fish, between two boats out in deep water or by one boat working from the shore. If from shore, one end of the net would be firmly moored to something immovable while the other was attached to the boat, which would make a large circle out into the water and come back to the starting place. In either case, floats were attached to the top of the net and weights to the bottom, forming a wall of net from the surface to the bottom of the lake.

Because the dragnet permitted nothing to escape, all sorts of things beside the desirable fish were caught. It swept everything into its path – weeds, things dropped from boats, all kinds of sea life, and all kinds of fish. When the net was full, it would take a sizeable number of fishermen several hours to drag it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in containers, but threw the bad away. The fish to be carried to a distant market would be put in containers with water to keep the fish alive, and those that were to be sold nearby were placed in dry baskets.⁷²² But they threw the bad away (Matthew 13:48). The dragnet is cast over a wide cross-section of people, and while the message saves some, it will leave others unconvinced. Those who have failed to respond to it are presumably among the bad fish of this parable.

This is how it will be at the end of the sinking ship that is this age. The parable of the Wheat and the Weeds pictures the coexistence of believer and unbelievers in the mystery Kingdom, and this parable illustrates their separation as the mystery Kingdom ends. The righteous will enter into the messianic Kingdom, while the unrighteous will be excluded. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous – believers to eternal life and unbelievers to eternal damnation (Matthew 14:49). It is important to note that the wicked are separated from among, literally out of the middle of, the righteous. The phrase draws our attention to the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, which makes a similar point that until the final judgment there can be no separate existence for the invisible universal Church; the wicked will be in the middle of them, like the wolves among the sheep (see my commentary on Jude Ah – Godless People Have Slipped In Among You).⁷²³

The Lord is not giving a full description of the last days because you can’t press the details of a parable, but is concentrating on the judgment of unbelievers. He is speaking of judgment in general, with special focus on what is referred to as the judgment at the great white throne (see my commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment).

And throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 14:50). Perhaps no doctrine is harder to accept emotionally than the doctrine of hell. Nevertheless, hell is mentioned too often in the Bible to deny or ignore it. Messiah spoke more of hell than any of the prophets or the apostles did. He emphasized it from the beginning of His earthly ministry to the end. He spoke more about hell than love. More than all other teachers in the Scriptures combined, Yeshua warned us of hell, promising no escape for those who turn their backs on His loving offer of eternal life with Him.

From God’s Word we learn four basic truths about hell. First, hell is a place of constant torment, misery, and pain. The torment is often portrayed as darkness (Matthew 22:13) where no light can penetrate, and nothing can be seen. Throughout eternity (and eternity is a long, long time) the damned will never see light again. Hell’s torment is also pictured as a burning like fire that will never go away and cannot be extinguished (Mark 9:43) and from which they will never find relief. Hell could not be other than a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Secondly, hell will involve the torment of both the body and soul. When unbelievers die their soul goes out from the presence of Ha’Shem into everlasting torment. At the second resurrection (see my commentary on Revelation Fn – The Second Resurrection), all the bodies of the damned will be raised, and those resurrected bodies will join their souls in hell’s torment (Mattityahu 10:28; John 5:29; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:11-15). Just as believers’ resurrected bodies will be able to enjoy the glories of heaven forever, unbelievers’ resurrected bodies will be made to endure the torments of hell without being destroyed. The Lord spoke of hell as a place where the worms that eat them do not die (Mark 9:48). When physical bodies are buried and begin to decay, the worms can attack them only as long as the flesh lasts. Once devoured, the body can experience no more harm. But, the resurrected bodies of the damned will never be consumed, and the hellish worms that feed on them will likewise never die.

Thirdly, the torments of hell will be experienced in varying degrees. For everyone in hell the suffering will be severe and unending, but some will experience greater torment than others. Someone who disregards the Torah of Moshe is put to death without mercy on the word of two or three witnesses, says the writer to the Hebrews. Think how much worse will be the punishment deserved by someone who has trampled underfoot the Son of god; who has treated as something common the blood of the [New] Covenant that made Him holy; and who has insulted the Ruach, the giver of God’s grace (Hebrews 10:28-29 CJB)? Those who willfully reject Yeshua ben David and trample, as it were, on the sacrifice He made for them with His own blood will receive much greater punishment than those who had only the light of the TaNaKh (Matthew 11:22-23; Luke 12:47-48).

Fourthly, the torment of hell will be everlasting. Nothing will be so horrifying about hell as its endlessness. Christ uses the same word to describe the perpetuation of hell as the perpetuation of heaven. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life (Matthew 25:46). Apart from any love, in pitch-black darkness for eternity, it will be a place of complete and utter hopelessness. Forever. Although ADONAI originally designed hell for the Adversary and his fallen angels, people who choose to follow the devil’s way instead of God’s way will also suffer the same fate as the Enemy of souls.⁷²⁴

The nine parables we have looked at develop a basic flow of thought: (1) The Parable of the Soils (Et) teaches that there will be a sowing of the Gospel throughout the Church Age. (2) The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself (Eu) teaches that Gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own. (3) The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Ev) teaches that the true sowing will be imitated by a false counter-sowing. (4) The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Ew) teaches that the visible Church will assume abnormal outer growth. (5) The Parable of the Leaven (Ex) teaches that the doctrine of the visible church will be corrupted. (6) The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Fb) teaches that even with the doctrinal corruption, a remnant will be saved out of Isra’el. (7) The Parable of the Pearl (Fc) teaches that the Gentiles of the invisible universal Church will also come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Both Jews and Gentiles together, the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl form the invisible universal Church. (8) The Parable of the Dragnet (Fd) teaches that the Church Age will end with the judgment of the Gentiles; the unrighteous will be excluded from the messianic Kingdom and the righteous will be taken in.⁷²⁵

The Parable of the Pearl
Matthew 13: 45-46

The parable of the pearl DIG: How does this parable couple with the parable of the Hidden Treasure? Whom does each parable represent? How so? Where do we find that in the Scriptures? With what emotion and energy should it be pursued? If the parables were given so that the faithful could understand them, what prevented Messiah’s talmidim from fully understanding the parable of the Pearl when they first heard it? How did Yeshua expose some assumptions on the part of His Jewish listeners.

REFLECT: Have you ever made an investment without first counting the cost? How does that relate to spiritual matters? Are you all-in, or are you hedging your bet?

The one major point of the parable of the Pearl is that Gentiles will also come to a saving knowledge of the Messiah and are grafted into the invisible universal Church.

The third couplet is comprised of the parables of the Hidden Treasure (Isra’el) and the Pearl (Gentiles), which show that the dividing wall of hostility has been torn down by the Messiah (Ephesians 2:14 HCSB) and Jews and Gentiles together form the invisible universal Church. Jesus is no longer in front of a crowd by the Sea of Galilee, but alone with His talmidim in Peter’s house.

While the Bible reveals that the parable of the Hidden Treasure represents Isra’el, it does not state exactly what the pearl represents. However, when it is used symbolically, the implication is that it represents the Gentiles for two reasons. First, it would provide the resulting contrast with the Jews in the previous parable, because the mystery Kingdom includes both Jews and Gentiles. Secondly, the pearl originates in the sea, a common symbol of the goyim (Dani’el 7:23; Revelation 17:1 and 15).⁷¹⁸

Continuing His teaching in the house, Jesus taught another parable, saying: Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When He found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it (Mt 13:45-46). Obviously the merchant considered that particular pearl to have been worth more than all his other pearls combined, because they would have been included in the sale of all he had.

At the time Yeshua gave the Twelve these parables in the house of Peter, they didn’t fully understand their meaning any more than they understood why Christ had to die on the cross. Especially such mysteries as the Gentiles being grafted into the nourishing olive tree of Isra’el (Romans 11:17-25). In fact, Messiah had to explain the parable of the Weeds to them. But, the parables had valuable insights nonetheless because after Christ had ascended to the Father they would remember His words and would more fully understand them at that time. For example, after Jesus had cleared the Temple Courts at the beginning of His ministry the Jews asked for a sign to prove His authority to do such a thing. Jesus answered them: Destroy this Temple, and I will raise it again in three days. They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the Temple He had spoken of was His body. After He was raised from the dead, His talmidim recalled what He had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken (John 2:13-22).

This parable makes two sub points. First, the wounds of Christ purchased the Gentiles of the invisible universal Church. Secondly, they are formed by gradual accretion, the process by which a pearl develops when a foreign substance falls into the oyster. The oyster begins covering this speck, and covering it, and covering it, until it gradually becomes a pearl. One of the primary purposes of the Church is to call out from among the Gentiles a people for His name until the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled (see my commentary on Revelation, to see link click An – The Times of the Gentiles). This is indeed pictured by this parable.⁷¹⁹

In relating His parables, Yeshua exposed some assumptions on the part of His Jewish listeners. The rabbis teach that all Isra’el has a share in the world to come. They believed they were destined to gain entrance in the kingdom of Heaven just because they were Jewish. These parables cautioned them not to take the Kingdom for granted. Only those who perceive its immeasurable value and are willing to sacrifice everything will enter. Note that the man who found the treasure sold all he owned out of sheer joy (Matthew 13:44; also see Philippians 3:7-8). That is how it is with salvation. To the unregenerate mind, the thought of yielding everything to Yeshua ha-Meshiach is absurd. A believing heart, however, surrenders to the Savior of Sinners with great joy. The splendid freedom from sin and the unending blessings of eternal life (see Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer) far surpass the cost of surrender to God’s authority.

He went away and sold everything he had. Does this parable teach that sinners must stop sinning before coming to Christ? No. What they do mean is that saving faith retains no privileges. Jesus wants all of you. Saving faith clings to no favorite sins, no treasured possessions, no secret pleasures. It is unconditional surrender, a willingness to do anything the Lord asks. Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 6:23). But, that doesn’t mean there is no cost. Yeshua has already paid the ransom with His blood. The paradox is this: salvation is both free and costly. Clearly, a new believer does not fully understand all the consequences of the lordship of Messiah at the moment of faith (see Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith). The true believer, however, has a desire to surrender. That is what separates true trust from a phony profession. True faith is humble, submissive and obedient. As spiritual understanding grows, that obedience grows deeper and every child of the Kingdom demonstrates an eagerness to please our Savior by abandoning everything to His lordship. It’s the unavoidable expression of the new creation (Second Corinthians 5:17).

The parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl are a clear warning those who would commit without counting the cost first. The Master cautioned the fickle multitudes to count the cost carefully before following Him (Luke 14:28-33). Wise investors usually do not put all their money into a single investment. But, that’s exactly what the men in these two parables did. The first man sold everything and bought one field, and the second man sold everything and bought one pearl. But, they had counted the cost, they knew what they bought was worth the supreme investment. Once more, this is a perfect illustration of saving faith. Those who truly believe in the Lord do not hedge their bets. Knowing the cost of discipleship, the true believer makes a commitment and gives everything to Jesus Christ.⁷²⁰

The nine parables we have looked at develop a basic flow of thought: (1) The Parable of the Soils (Et) teaches that there will be a sowing of the Gospel throughout the Church Age. (2) The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself (Eu) teaches that the Gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own. (3) The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Ev) teaches that the true sowing will be imitated by a false counter-sowing. (4) The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Ew) teaches that the visible Church will assume abnormal outer growth. (5) The Parable of the Leaven (Ex) teaches that the doctrine of the visible church will be corrupted. (6) The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Fb) teaches that even with the doctrinal corruption, a remnant will be saved out of Isra’el. (7) The Parable of the Pearl (Fc) teaches that the Gentiles of the invisible universal Church will also come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Both Jews and Gentiles together, the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl form the invisible universal Church.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
Matthew 13: 44

The parable of the hidden treasure DIG: How does this parable couple with the parable of the Pearl? Whom does each parable represent? How so? Where do we find that in the Scriptures? Did the man who found the treasure do something immoral when he bought the field knowing that it contained a hidden treasure? Why? Why not? How do we know ADONAI is not finished with Isra’el? What flow of thought do you see in the six parables studied so far?

REFLECT: When we put our faith in Yeshua Ha’Meshiach, a spiritual eureka moment arrives. Have you shared that moment with a Jewish friend?

The one main point of the parable of the Hidden Treasure is that even with the doctrinal corruption,
a remnant will be saved out of Isra’el.

The third couplet is comprised of the parables of the Hidden Treasure (Isra’el) and the Pearl (Gentiles), which show the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down (Ephesians 2:14-18) and Jews and Gentiles together form the invisible universal Church. Jesus is no longer in front of a crowd by the Sea of Galilee, but alone with His talmidim in Peter’s house.

In 1867 on a farm in South Africa, fifteen-year-old Erasmus Jacobs saw a stone glistening in the sun. The shining rock was eventually reported to a neighbor, who wanted to buy it from the family. Not knowing its value, Erasmus’ mother told the neighbor, “You can keep the stone, if you want it.” Eventually, a mineralogist determined the stone to be a 21.25-carat diamond and obviously had great value. It became known as the “Eureka Diamond” because the Greek word eureka means I found it. Soon the field near the Jacobs farm soared in value. Underneath the land was one of the richest diamond deposits ever discovered. Messiah said that the value of being part of God’s Kingdom is like a treasure.⁷¹⁴

Still inside the house (to see link click Ez – The Private Parables of the Kingdom in the House), Jesus continued to teach, saying: The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. In the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds Explained, Yeshua had already interpreted the field to mean the world. And the TaNaKh tells us that when a treasure is used symbolically it refers to Isra’el: Now if you obey me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession (Exodus 19:5). For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. ADONAI your God has chosen you to be His own unique treasure out of all the peoples on the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 14:2 CJB). For the LORD has chosen Jacob to be His own, Isra’el to be His treasured possession (Psalm 135:4).

This parable teaches that there will be a remnant that will be saved out of Isra’el, there will be Jews coming to the Messiah during the period of the mystery Kingdom. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. According to halakhah, if the treasure is unmarked and found on public land, it belongs to the finder. If it is marked, the owner must be sought out. If the find is natural (a gold nugget or diamond) or unmarked on private land, it belongs to the owner of the land; that’s why the finder bought that field – to become the new owner.

But, the parable seems to imply that the finder bought that field at the “pre-treasure” price, and that if the owner had known the treasure was there, he wouldn’t have sold the field at that price. This raises an ethical question: is the finder obligated either by halakhah or morality (if indeed that is different) to notify the owner of the treasure before buying the field? No. Property always has the potential beyond what owners know; only ADONAI knows everything. An owner can investigate the opportunities offered by what he owns, and others are not obligated to occupy their time with increasing his knowledge. In other words, the owner is responsible to know the condition of his own property. So, if I learn that your land has oil under it, I don’t need to inform you of that fact when I offer to buy it, since ownership should motivate you more than me to find this out for yourself. The seller of this piece of land received a fair price for his land with the potential he knew about it; as is often the case, the new owner bought it because he perceived additional potential.⁷¹⁵

The treasure does not come into His possession, only the place where the treasure is. By His death Jesus purchased the whole world, and Isra’el is the treasure in the world. As a result, many Jews will become believers in Yeshua ha-Meshiach during the Dispensation of Grace (see my commentary on Hebrews Bp – The Dispensation of Grace).⁷¹⁶

Actually, Isra’el is buried throughout the world. The largest population of Jews is not in Isra’el but is in New York City. And Jewish people are scattered throughout the world. But, ADONAI is not through with Isra’el as a nation. Rabbi Sha’ul wrote: In that case, I say, is it that God has rejected His people? Heaven forbid! For I myself am a son of Isra’el, from the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people, whom He has chosen in advance . . . (Romans 11:1-2a).

Zechariah wrote: And I will pour out on the house of David and on those living in Yerushalayim a spirit of grace and prayer; and they will look to Me, whom they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son; they will be in bitterness on His behalf like the bitterness for a firstborn son (see my commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ).

The prophet Jeremiah in many passages speaks of the regathering of the people of Isra’el and of Ha’Shem bringing them back to their own Land. That time is still future. When God regathers them, it will be by miracles so great that they will even forget their miraculous deliverance from Egypt that has been celebrated longer than any religious holiday (see my commentary on Isaiah Dd – The Wolf Will Live With the Lamb). YHVH is not through with the nation of Isra’el, and this parable makes that fact very clear.⁷¹⁷

The nine parables we have looked at develop a basic flow of thought: (1) The Parable of the Soils (Et) teaches that there will be a sowing of the Gospel throughout the Church Age. (2) The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself (Eu) teaches that gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own. (3) The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Ev) teaches that the true sowing will be imitated by a false counter-sowing. (4) The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Ew) teaches that the visible Church will assume abnormal outer growth. (5) The Parable of the Leaven (Ex) teaches that the doctrine of the visible church will be corrupted. (6) The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Fb) teaches that even with the doctrinal corruption, a remnant will be saved out of Isra’el.

The Parable of the Weeds Explained
Matthew 13: 36-43

The parable of the weeds explained DIG: Who is the farmer in this parable and also in Matthew 13:24-30? What does the wheat represent? The weeds? The enemy? The harvest? How do these parables relate to our responsibility in the congregations of God regarding wheat and weeds? What do these parables teach about purity in the congregations of God? Divine patience? Human accountability?

REFLECT: In this parable and also in Matthew 13:24-30, how can minimizing sin harm your church or messianic synagogue? How can it even hurt other believers? How can it hurt unbelievers? What is the harvest field like where ADONAI has placed you? What kind of spiritual food are you eating?

Sometime that evening when they were finally alone, Yeshua’s apostles came to Him and said: Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field (Mattityahu 13:36). They had probably been thinking about it all day. Why would the evil weeds be allowed to coexist with the good wheat? Had the farmer done as the owner’s servants had suggested, and had all the weeds immediately been pulled out and destroyed, the Twelve would have easily understood. But, they were puzzled about the farmer’s reaction because the Dispensation of Grace and the end of the age was a mystery to them. His explanation began simply enough.

The Players: The farmer is Jesus Christ Himself. He answered: The one who scattered the good seed is the Son of Man (Matthew 13:37). That is the title that Christ used more than any other to refer to Himself. It beautifully identified Him as He fully participated in human life as the perfect Man, the last Adam (First Corinthians 15:45-47), and the sinless representative of the human race. It was also a title clearly understood by Jews as referring to the Messiah (Dani’el 7:13; Luke 22:69). The  title is used of Yeshua by others only twice in the New Covenant, once by Rabbi Sha’ul (Acts 7:56) and once by Yochanan (Revelation 14:14).

The field is the world, not the Church or the Jewish people (Mattityahu 13:38a). By implication the farmer – the Son of Man – owns the field. He holds the title deed to it (see my commentary on Revelation, to see link click Ce – The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David Has Triumphed). He is its kosher King,  and He cultivates His crop there. What does He scatter? And the good seed stands for believers, or the people of the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:38b). Those with the truth of the Good News will be scattered throughout His field, the world.

The Adversary is the enemy. The weeds are the people of the evil one (Matthew 13:38c), and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The weeds are the unbelievers. The phrase people of the evil one is similar to the terminology the Lord used in John 8:44 when He rebuked the Pharisees by saying: You belong to your father, the devil. In addition, First John 3:10 indicates that all who are not the children of God are children of the devil. The Ancient Serpent will also spread his followers throughout the world and often his people will appear to be real believers as well. There is a worldly belief today that all of humanity is related – that we are all brothers and sisters. And while we are all created in the image of God, nothing could be further from the truth. There are two families in the world. You are either in the family of God or the family of Satan.

There is no middle ground.

The Plot: The meaning of the parable should be clear. The Son of Man – Jesus – scattered the children of His Kingdom in the world. The Enemy of souls – the great dragon – ruined the purity of the crop, mingling his children with those the Son of Man scattered. These unbelieving children of the tempter live together with believers in the world side by side. In the final judgment God will separate the wheat from the weeds.

The Plan: The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. The judgment at the end of the mystery Kingdom age will separate them (Jesus is using terms that John the Baptist used). Let both grow together until the harvest because the essential character of each scattering will only be certain at that time. Then I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn” (Matthew 13:39-40).

How will the harvesters know the wheat from the weeds? The issue, as always, is the spiritual fruit they produce. Initially, weeds may look like wheat. But, in the end, weeds cannot produce wheat kernels. The mature grain visibly sets wheat apart from weeds. It is the same in the spiritual realm. The people of the evil one can imitate the children of God’s Kingdom, but, they cannot produce true righteousness. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them (Mattityahu 7:18 and 20).

The final judgment will separate the good wheat from the evil weeds. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age (Matthew 13:40 and 7:19). The Son of Man (see Gl – The Son of Man Has No Place to Lay His Head) will send out His angels, and they will weed out of his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil by disobeying His Word (Mt 13:41). The judgment at the end of the age will separate the good wheat for the Messianic Kingdom, but the evil weeds will be excluded.⁷¹²

They will throw them into the blazing furnace (Matthew 13:42a). Fire causes the greatest pain known to mankind, and the blazing furnace into which sinners are thrown represents the excruciating torment of hell, which is the destiny of every unbeliever. The fire of hell never goes out (Mark 9:44), is eternal (Mattityahu 25:41), and is finally seen as a fiery lake of burning sulfur (Revelation 19:20c). The punishment is so fearsome that Jesus describes it as a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42b). Hell will not be a place, as some jokingly envision, where the ungodly will continue to do their thing while the godly do theirs in heaven. It’s not a “to each his own” thing. Hell will have no friendships, no fellowship, no camaraderie, no comfort, and no hope. The great dragon will not be king of hell, but its number one prisoner. There will be no pleasure in hell of any kind, only torment day and night forever and ever (Rev 20:10).

Jesus’ last words of explanation are positive, beautiful and hopeful. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father (Mattityahu 13:43a). When the Son of Man returns with His angels, they will not only perfectly separate out the wicked for eternal punishment but also the righteous for eternal blessing. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matthew 24:31). Then comes the long-anticipated and long-postponed thousand year reign of Yeshua Ha’Meshiach on the earth from Jerusalem.

Least anyone fails to take seriously these truths that are both terrifying and superb, Christ adds: Whoever has ears, let them hear (Matthew 13:43b). People who are unsure about their relationship to ADONAI should ask themselves if they are wheat or merely a counterfeit weed that only looks like wheat, if they are a child of God or a child of the deceiver. Friend, if you do not belong to God, you can believe in, trust in, and have faith in God because He is in the business of making wheat out of weeds, believers out of sinners.

Those of us who are sure that we are children of God should hear what the Chief Shepherd says here so that our attitude toward the world might be the loving, merciful, compassionate attitude of our Lord – who has called us to witness rather than condemn, to love rather than hate, to show mercy rather than judgment. In that way we prove ourselves blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky (Philippians 2:15).⁷¹³

The Private Parables of the Kingdom in the House

From the very day of His official rejection by the Pharisees and the nation of Isra’el, Jesus spoke in parables to the masses. Those of faith would understand the parables and those of no faith would not. Yeshua finished His parables by the Sea of Galilee (to see link click Es – The Public Parables of the Kingdom by the Sea), and went into the house of Simon Peter who lived in Capernaum. At some point His family showed up because they were concerned about Him (see Ey – Jesus’ Mother and Brothers). In the evening, when He was finally alone with His own talmidim, He explained everything (Mark 4:34). For the masses the purpose was to hide the truth, for the faithful, the purpose was to illustrate the truth.⁷¹¹

If the Twelve had faith, why did they need the parables explained to them? This is what the gift of teaching is all about. If the things of God didn’t have to be taught or explained, there would be no need for the gift of teaching. This is the difference. For the faithful, once it was explained, they understood it and believed it (see Ft – The Faith of a Canaanite Woman). But, for the faithless, even after it was taught, they wouldn’t understand it, or even if it were possible for them to understand, they wouldn’t have believed it.

After He had left the most of the large crowd down by the seashore and entered the house of Peter. Later that evening after sundown, His apostles would ask Him about this parable (Mark 7:17). They were faithful men who needed to be taught. Is it no less true for us today? That is why the gift of teaching is needed in the congregations of God.

After the introductory parable of the Soils, there are four other couplets of parables. The first set of couplets were given by the Sea of Galilee to the Twelve and the large crowd made up of believers and unbelievers, and the second set of couplets are given to the apostles in the house of Peter in Capernaum. The third couplet is comprised of the parables of the Hidden Treasure (Isra’el) and the Pearl of Great Price (Gentiles), which show the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down (Ephesians 2:14-18) and Jews and Gentiles together form the invisible universal Church. The fourth couplet is made up of the parables of the Dragnet (saved and lost) and the Householder (old and new), where we see some comparisons between life now and life in the future the messianic Kingdom.

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21

Jesus’ mother and brothers DIG: What did the crowd expect? In light of the growing controversy, why might Jesus’ mother and brothers be eager to speak with Him (see Mark 3:20-21)? What did the Lord say is the basis for a family relationship with Him? How do we know these were the Nazarene’s own brothers and sisters from the same womb, and not His cousins? Is doing ADONAI’s will an action or a belief (see Luke 6:46 and John 6:29)? What seven areas does the Roman Catholic Church elevate Mary over Jesus?

REFLECT: From your life this week, would others see you as a “brother or sister” of Yeshua, or a distant relative that no one wants to talk about at family gatherings? Why? Life can get crazy busy at times. How do you get near to Jesus in the midst of your crowded life?

After finishing His parables by the Sea (to see link click Es – The Public Parables of the Kingdom by the Sea), Messiah returned to Peter’s house in Capernaum with His talmidim. At some point it was announced to Him that His mother and half-brothers were standing outside of the house wanting to see Him privately. The family had already been living in a suburb of Capernaum for some time. Joseph, the husband of Mary and the stepfather of Jesus, had already passed away. But again a smaller crowd gathered in the house. It was so packed and demanding that Christ and His apostles were not even able to eat (Mark 3:20).

Jesus had four half-brothers (also see Fj – Isn’t This the Carpenter’s Son? Aren’t His Brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Jude?), and several half-sisters, who are not named (Matthew 13:55-56). These brothers were friendly toward Him earlier in His ministry (John 2:12); but, after the Galilean Rabbi was rejected in Nazareth (see Ch – The Spirit of the LORD is One Me) they seemed to distance themselves from His claims. Later on they ridiculed Him, calling Him the “Secret Messiah” (John 7:5).

At the present time they were unbelieving and indifferent, not to say hostile, or at least ready to interfere with Christ’s work in favor of some kind of quiet and respectable life for sake of the family. They had been forced to move from Nazareth on His account and now the Pharisees and Torah-teachers from Jerusalem were present in Capernaum and the might of the Sanhedrin was against Him. Miryam wanted to be close to her Son, and it was their responsibility to take care of their mother after Joseph had died. They probably felt that they had better interfere now, or else the fanatical zeal of this brother of theirs might force them and their mother to face the inconvenience and difficulty of another move.

They had doubtless heard of the slander that was spoken about Him by the Pharisees and the Torah-teacher’s who came down from Jerusalem. They said that Beelzebub possessed him! By the prince of demons He is driving out demons (Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15; John 7:20). When the Lord’s family heard that He was so engrossed by His work that He even failed to take care for His physical needs, that they went to take charge of Him. This probably meant they decided to take Him back to Nazareth. They were intending to take Him by force against His will, for they said: He is out of His mind (Mark 3:21). The Meshiach’s own family realized something was very different. But, they misinterpreted His actions and thought that He needed to be protected from Himself. His zeal seemed to be bordering on insanity to them. Christ’s healing ministry begged for theories to explain it. Herod had his theory (Matthew 14:1-12), the Pharisees and Torah-teachers had theirs, and the family of Jesus had theirs.

Yeshua’s brothers and sisters had witnessed the intensity of His ministry and perhaps reasoned among themselves that His zeal bordered on fanaticism. The nervous tension was showing on His face. He looked tired. They probably convinced Mary to come along with them and bring her oldest Son home and let the excitement subside while He got some needed rest. So, the family all came to Peter’s house together. Surely He would be persuaded by the show of interest and solidarity on their part.⁷⁰⁶

After all, they were His own flesh and blood!

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, which was sitting around Him in a circle (the talmidim naturally forming the inner ring and other disciples behind them and partly mingled with them filling the house), His mother and brothers (adelphos) stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. But they were not able to get near Him because of the crowd (Matthew 12:46; Luke 8:19). So they sent someone in to call Him (Mark 3:31).

Then a certain one at the request of the family wedged his way in and interrupting the Lord said:Your mother and brothers (adelphos) are standing outside wanting to speak to You (Matthew 12:47; Mark 3:32; Luke 8:20). The arrival of Messiah’s mother and brothers and sisters gave Him the perfect opportunity to give Miryam the due worship that the Catholic Church teaches she deserves. But, He did nothing of the sort. On the contrary, He gave a graphic illustration of the need for a personal relationship with Him.

There must have been a stir in the room as the crowd was silent. What did they want? The situation was tense. Jesus had just emerged victorious over the dreaded Pharisees and Torah-teachers. But now His family, whether motivated by fear or affection, interrupted His ministry. What should He do about it? He replied to those sitting around Him: Who is My mother, and who are My brothers (adelphos) (Mark 3:33)? Context determines the use of the Greek word adelphos. Here the context is mother and brothers, or family.

Then the Anointed One looked at those seated in a circle around Him (see Ez – The Private Parables of the Kingdom in the House) and pointing to His apostles, He said: Here are My mother and My brothers (adelphos). For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother (adelphos) and sister (adelphe) and mother (Mattityahu 12:48-50; Mark 3:34-35). His words sent a double meaning their way. First, to direct His mother and brothers (adelphos) to focus on what matters most, hearing and obeying God’s Word, and second, to guide them to a true relationship with Him that surpassed any physical blood ties.

At this point, our Savior clearly teaches here the spiritual nature of His Kingdom. It is to be a great spiritual family. They will do the will of the heavenly Father and are His true spiritual family. Yeshua’s own earthly family, even His own mother failed to understand Him (at least on this occasion). It is good to understand that His family did understand Him more perfectly later on, but that was only after His resurrection.

If Miryam had had the influence and authority over Christ that is claimed by the Church of Rome, He would not have answered her as He did, but would have immediately honored her request to see Him. Here again we have Scriptural evidence that Mary has nothing to do with the ministry of the Son of God as regards to salvation. In fact, He rejects all earthly relationships, and accepts only spiritual ones. The Pharisees claimed the right to enter the kingdom of Heaven merely on the basis of their physical ties back to Abraham. But, the point Jesus made was that only those who are the spiritual seed of Abraham would enter in.

Jesus’ words marked a radical turning point for Himself, and more significantly, for His mother. He was redefining the family. Biological ties, which predominate all through the Bible, are not the strongest ties for Yeshua or to those who follow Him. The kingdom of God is not biological, but spiritual. The Lord’s family isn’t built on bloodlines, biology, or genetics, but on the blood of Messiah and a shared commitment to God and His Word. The ties that bind God’s family together come from hearing and putting His words into practice.

Jesus was giving Mary the Gospel, the only path to blessedness. Shocking as it sounds, physically giving birth to the Messiah ultimately meant nothing if Mary never listened, believed in, and lived out the teachings of her Son. Her true calling in life – and the only bond with Him that matters – was to hear His words, believe in them and live by them. Her greatest calling was to follow the Savior of Sinners and cultivate the family resemblance by becoming like her Son. The one who takes to heart the words Christ spoke regarding His biological mother belongs to the only family in the world that truly matters as a full-fledged brother or sister or mother of Jesus. This is the most important family tree for us all.

Jesus knew He would end up on the cross being crucified in front of His mother. Mary, of course, was unaware of this until the end. So, throughout His life, Yeshua prepared her for that eventuality by changing her perception of herself from not only being His mother, but more importantly to being His disciple. So, what may be perceived as harsh or unkind words like: Why were you searching for Me? Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house (Luke 2:49)? Or possibly, Woman, why should that concern Me (John 2:4a CJB)? were actually words of kindness and compassion.⁷⁰⁷

When the Church began at the Festival of Shavu’ot, there was only one name given under heaven by which we must be saved, that of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Wherever we are directed to the Giver of Grace, Mary is never mentioned. Surely this silence is a rebuke to those who would build a system of salvation around her. God the Holy Spirit has given us all the record in the Scriptures that we need concerning Mary, and there is no record of anyone ever calling on Miryam for salvation. Nevertheless, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary is superior to Christ in seven different ways.

First, the Roman Catholic Church elevates Mary to a superior position over Christ. The Glories of Mary, written by Bishop Alphonse de Liguori in 1931 and revised in 1941, has become widely accepted as Catholic doctrine. It was indirectly a product of the Council of Trent, the 16^thcentury version of Vatican II, to counter the Protestant Reformation. Known today as the Baltimore Catechism, it is still widely used and has never been repudiated. In it, Miryam is given the place belonging to Christ, “And she is truly a mediatress of peace between sinners and God. Sinners receive pardon by . . . Mary alone” (The Glories of Mary, pages 82-83). But, the Bible declares:For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus (First Timothy 2:5).

Second, the Catholic Church glorifies Mary more than Christ. “Many things . . . are asked from God, and are not granted; however, [when] they are asked of Mary, they are obtained,” for “she . . . is even Queen of Hell, and Sovereign Mistress of the devils” (The Glories of Mary, pages 141 and 143). But, the Word of God says: In the name of Jesus Christ . . . for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 3:6 and 4:12). His name is far above all rule and authority, power, dominion, and every name . . . not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:21).

Third, the Roman Church believes that Mary is the gate to heaven instead of Christ. “Mary is called . . . the gate of heaven because no one can enter that blessed kingdom without passing through her” (The Glories of Mary, page 160). “The way of salvation is open to none otherwise than through Mary,” and since “our salvation is in the hands of Mary . . . [the one] who is protected by Mary will be saved, and [the one] who is not will be lost” (The Glories of Mary, pages 169 and 170). However, Christ said: I AM the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved (John 10:9a), and I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).

Fourth, the Catholic Church gives Mary the power of Christ. “All power is given to you in heaven and on earth,” so that “at the command of Mary all obey – even God . . . thus . . . God has placed the whole Church . . . under the domination of Mary” (The Glories of Mary, pages 180-181). Mary “is also the Advocate of the whole human race . . . for she can do what she wills with God” (The Glories of Mary, page 193). The Word of God, however, states: All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and He is the head of the body, the Church . . . so that in everything He might have the supremacy (Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2:9-11; Colossians 1:18). But if anybody does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (First John 2:1-2).

Sixth, the Catholic Church teaches that Mary is the peacemaker instead of Christ. “Mary is the peace-maker between sinners and God” (The Glories of Mary, page 197). “We often more quickly obtain what we ask by calling on the name Mary, than by invoking the name of Jesus.” “She . . . is our salvation, our life, our hope, our counsel, our refuge, our help” (The Glories of Mary, pages 254 and 257). However, thankfully, the Bible teaches: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:13-14a). And: Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive for whatever you ask in My name My Father will give you (John 16:23-24).

Seventh, the Roman Catholic Church gives Mary the glory that belongs to Christ. “The whole trinity, O Mary, gave you a name . . . above every other name, that at your name, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth” (The Glories of Mary, page 260). The Bible, however, answers this heresy when it says: Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, the at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:9-10).⁷⁰⁸

It is an understatement to say that not every Catholic believes in this doctrine of Mary, and there are many true believers who have been saved despite the teaching of Rome. My wife was saved out of the Catholic Church. However, it cannot be overstated that this still remains the official doctrine of the Catholic Church and continues to be taught in Catholic parochial schools and colleges around the world.

The Roman Catholic Church uses these verses to perpetuate the myth of the perpetual virginity of Mary. She was a virgin when the Holy Spirit impregnated her. But afterward she had normal sexual relations with her husband Joseph, and they had a family together. Whether the inspired gospel writers used the masculine adelphos for brother, or the feminine adelphe for sister, they both have the same root, and mean from the same womb.

The Roman Catholic Church attempts to explain these away as cousins, and therefore not children of Mary and Joseph at all. However, biblical Greek has a different word for cousin, which is anepsios. My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin (anepsios) of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10). It is true that there is another general Greek word for relative. Even Elizabeth your relative (suggenes) is going to have a child in her old age, and she was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month (Luke 1:36). But, neither of the words cousin or relative are used here. At best, it is bad scholarship; and at worst, it is a blatant attempt to twist the Scriptures to fit their preconceived theology.⁷⁰⁹

Messiah replied: My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice (Luke 8:21). Does Jesus have anything to say about dealing with difficult relatives? Is there an example of Christ bringing peace to a painful family? Yes, there is. His own. It may have surprised you to know that the Lord had a family at all. You may have not been aware that Messiah had brothers and sisters, or that His family was less than perfect. They were. If your family doesn’t appreciate you, take heart, neither did Yeshua’s.

Yet He didn’t try to control their behavior, nor did He let their behavior control His behavior. He didn’t demand that they all agree with Him. He didn’t sulk when they insulted Him. He didn’t make it His mission in life to please them.⁷¹⁰ They were sinners (yes even Mary), and they had the freedom to accept Him or reject Him just like everyone else.

The Parable of the Leaven
Matthew 13:33-35 and Mark 4:33-34

The parable of the leaven DIG: Who comprises the invisible universal Church? Why is it invisible? Why do messianic Jews think of leaven as being sin and not the gospel? What does three measures of flour represent? Why? What does the woman represent? Why? What does the summary statement and prophecy at the end of this file indicate about how and why Messiah used proverbs? What did Jesus and Rabbi Sha’ul say about leaven?

REFLECT: Where in your life or in your place of worship have you seen the leaven or mustard seed at work? What accountability do you have for yourself? How can you detect doctrinal corruption? Whose responsibility is it to detect it (see Acts 17:11)? How can you protect yourself against doctrinal error?

The one main point to the parable of the leaven
is that the doctrine of the visible church will be corrupted.

The second couplet is made up of the parables of the Mustard Seed (external) and the Leaven (internal), where we see the corruption of the visible church. Hence, we need to examine the difference between the visible church and the invisible universal Church. A false religious system will be introduced into the visible church and it will be a result in the internal corruption of church doctrine. It is a picture of “Christendom” (Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Protestants, Seven-Day Adventists, and Mormons) that we can see with our own eyes. Some people in the visible church are saved but most are not. But, the invisible universal Church, the Bride of Christ (John 3:29; Second Corinthians 11:2-3; Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7-8 and 21:9-10), is made up of true believers, or the body of Messiah (First Corinthians 10:15-17 and 12:27; Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 1:18), as we are placed in Him (to see link click Bw –What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith).

Because the apostles would be commissioned to proclaim the message of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth (Mattityahu 28:19-20), it would be easy for them to feel that the harvest depended on their efforts. The Lord of Life wanted to make it clear that although the visible church would grow tremendously, false doctrine would enter the congregations of God. There is indeed a narrow gate that leads to life, and the wide gate that leads to destruction (see Dw – The Narrow and Wide Gates). However, they should not be surprised or discouraged because Christ had forewarned them.

The Master, teaching in a boat by the sea told the crowd still another parable: The kingdom of Heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until the whole batch was leavened (Matthew 13:33).  There are those who interpret the leaven as the gospel; but nowhere – I repeat, nowhere, is leaven used as a principle of good. It is always a principle of evil. The word leaven occurs ninety-eight times in God’s Word – seventy-five times in the TaNaKh and twenty-three times in the B’rit Chadashah – and it is always used in an evil or sinful sense. In the Dispensation of the Torah it was forbidden in the offerings made to ADONAI (see my commentary on Exodus Fb – The Five Offerings of the Tabernacle: Christ, Our Sacrificial Offering).

Rest assured when messianic Jews hear or read the word leaven, they do not think of the gospel, they think of sin. That is why God would not even allow this symbol of sin to be eaten by the Jewish people during the festival of Pesach or to have it in their homes or to have it anywhere in the land of Israel. While the Passover itself was fulfilled by the death of the Meshiach, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is fulfilled by the sinlessness of His blood-offering (Hebrews 9:11 to 10:18). In that passage, His offering of sinless blood was for three things: first, for the cleansing of the heavenly Tabernacle; secondly, for the removal of the sins of the righteous of the TaNaKh (see my commentary of Revelation Fd – The Resurrection of the Righteous of the TaNaKh); and, thirdly, for the application of the blood to believers in the New Covenant.⁷⁰¹

In the B’rit Chadashah, Christ warned: Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Mt 16:6). And Rabbi Sha’ul spoke of the leaven of malice and wickedness (1 Cor 5:8). Remember that this parable is a picture of what happens to the doctrine of the visible church during the Dispensation of Grace (see my commentary on Hebrews Bp – The Dispensation of Grace). That is the interval between the birth of the invisible universal Church at the festival of Shavu’ot in Acts 2:1-47, and His return to set up His messianic Kingdom (see my commentary on Revelation Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon).

As a result, this parable teaches that the mixture of false doctrine into the visible church will finally lead to apostasy: The kingdom of Heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until the whole batch was leavened (Matthew 13:33). Yeshua ben David Himself asked the question: When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? The Greek construction here demands a negative answer. In other words, He is saying that when He does return the world will be in total apostasy. And Rabbi Sha’ul writing to a young man studying for the ministry, warns that the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine, they will gather around them a great number of [false] teachers to say what they want to hear (Second Timothy 4:3). Finally, the total apostasy of the visible church is revealed in John’s letter to the church of Laodicea (see my commentary on Revelation Bf – The Church of Laodicea).

The Gospel is represented by three measures of flour. How do we know this? Because flour is made out of grain or seed, and Jesus has already told us in the Parable of the Soils the seed represented God’s word.⁷⁰²

In this parable a woman mixed in three measures of flour. Often when a woman is used symbolically it always symbolizes a false religious system (Revelation 2:20 and 17:1-8). When the Bible uses symbols it always uses them consistently. The word leaven, when it is used symbolically is always a symbol of sin, especially the sin of false doctrine (Matthew 16:6; First Corinthians 5:6-7). The flour has some degree of leaven in it. The visible church, or the church that we see with our natural eyes, eventually split off into three major religions: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism. All three of these religions will contain some degree of false doctrine. So, there will be internal doctrinal corruption to some degree.⁷⁰³

Before Jesus interpreted the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, He spoke all these things to the crowd in parables, as much as they could understand; He did not say anything to them without using a parable. This was not an accident, but had been prophesied hundreds of years earlier. But, later that same day, when Messiah was alone with His own apostles, He explained everything (Matthew 13:34; Mark 4:34).

Asaph, a prophet and seer (Second Chronicles 29:30), wrote Psalm 78:2, from which Mattityahu quotes here: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world (Matthew 13:35). The rejection of His messiahship did not catch the Lord by surprise, and the postponement of the Kingdom was not a backup plan. The things hidden since the creation of the world related to the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, which Yeshua explained to His talmidim but not the unbelieving crowds nor pharisaic Judaism. To those who rejected Him, He spoke in parables; because though seeing, they [did] not see; though hearing they [did] not hear or understand (Matthew 13:13). God did not waver from His plan of redemption. Everything was exactly on schedule and according to what the prophets had foretold.⁷⁰⁴

We are going to look at nine parables that develop a basic flow of thought: (1) The Parable of the Soils (Et) teaches that there will be different responses to the scattering of the Gospel throughout the Church Age. (2) The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself (Eu) teaches that Gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own. (3) The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Ev) teaches that the true planting will be imitated by a false counter-planting. (4) The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Ew) teaches that the visible church will assume abnormal outer growth. (5) The Parable of the Leaven (Ex) teaches that the doctrine of the visible church will be corrupted.⁷⁰⁵

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Matthew 13:31-32 and Mark 4:30-32

The parable of the mustard seed DIG: What is abnormal about this growth? What religious movements, denominations or sects represent the birds today? Are most saved? Why or why not? What is the invisible universal Church? Are all saved? How do we know? How do the parables that we have seen so far develop into a basic flow of thought?

REFLECT: Why is it important to know the difference between the visible church and the invisible universal Church? Can you assume that just because someone is attending your church or messianic synagogue that he or she is a believer? Just because you sit in the garage, does that necessarily make you a car?

The one main point to the parable of the mustard seed
is that the visible church will grow abnormally.

The second couplet is made up of the parables of the Mustard Seed (external) and the Leaven (internal), where we see the corruption of the visible church. Because the apostles would be commissioned to proclaim the message of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth (Mt 28:19-20), it would be easy for them to feel that the harvest depended on their efforts. The Lord of the harvest wanted to make it clear that although the visible church would grow tremendously, false doctrine would enter the congregations of God. There is a narrow gate that leads to life, and the wide gate that leads to destruction (to see link click Dw – The Narrow and Wide Gates). But they should not be surprised or discouraged because Jesus had forewarned them.

The next two parables deal with the same theme, and that has to do with the visible church. Thus, we need to examine the difference between the visible church and invisible universal Church. A false religious system will be introduced into the visible church and it will result in the corruption of church doctrine. It is a picture of “Christendom” (Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Protestants, Seven-Day Adventists, and Mormons) that we can see with our own eyes. Some people in the visible church are saved, but, many are not. However, the invisible universal Church, the Bride of Christ (John 3:29; Second Corinthians 11:2-3; Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7-8 and 21:9-10), is made up of true believers, or the body of Messiah (First Corinthians 10:15-17 and 12:27; Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 1:18), as we are placed in Him (see Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith).

Again, He told them another parable: What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field (Matthew 13:31a; Mark 4:30-31a). This plant would have been very familiar to the Jews.

Which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground (Matthew 13:31b; Mark 4:31). The mustard seed was in fact the smallest of all the garden seeds known. Scientifically we know that there were smaller seeds; however, the mustard seed was the smallest seed Yeshua’s audience was familiar with. The black mustard seed is smaller than a grain seed, a grape seed, or a cucumber seed. In fact, it is smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. Of all the garden seeds, it is the smallest, with the greatest growth potential.⁶⁹⁸ The mustard seed normally reached six to eight feet in height, but it has been known to reach ten to twelve feet, and would blossom with yellow flowers. It is an herb and not a bush or a tree. The seeds were used to flavor meats or vegetables and were a favorite food of birds. The birds like linnets and finches, would not build their nests in the mustard plant, but would settle or rest upon it for a period of time.

In the time of Christ, the mustard seed was a proverbial saying illustrating something small (Mishnah Toboroth 8.8; Niddah5.2; B’rakhot 31a and Leviticus Rabbah 31:9). It was used by Rabbis to indicate the smallest amount, such as the least drop of blood, the least defilement, or the smallest remnant of sunglow in the sky.⁶⁹⁹ Later, when the talmidim could not drive a demon out from a man, they asked: Why couldn’t we drive it out? Yeshua replied: Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there, and it will move, Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants and while the mustard plant is always small, here it grows abnormally and becomes a tree (Matthew 13:32a; Mark 4:32a). Jesus’ audience knew the simile of the large tree whose wide-spreading branches afforded a perch for birds, was a familiar figure in Jewish Scriptures for a mighty kingdom that gave shelter to all nations (Ezeki’el 31:6 and Dani’el 4:12). The emphasis here is the greatness of the visible church when contrasted to its humble beginnings. In the Oriental mind-set this parable would be seen as showing a contrast, as opposed to progress. So, our Savior taught that there would be an abnormal growth of the mustard seed, thus an abnormal growth of the visible church into many great organizations, big churches, and large programs, all produced by human energy and not by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh.

It grows so abnormally large, with such big branches that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches for shade (Mattityahu 13:32b). There will be an abnormal external growth until it becomes a monstrosity and a resting place for birds. The seed that becomes this enormous mustard plant is a picture of the visible church. Jesus said that understanding the parable of the Soils was the key in understanding all the other parables. Therefore, like the birds that snatched away the Gospel seed before it could be planted in the hearts of the lost in that first parable, here, the birds represent the agents of the Adversary. These birds represent unbelievers who sit in the congregations of God, various pseudo-Christian movements, various cults and other corruptions of the true Church.

We are going to look at nine parables that develop a basic flow of thought: (1) The Parable of the Soils (Et) teaches that there will be different responses to the scattering of the gospel throughout the Church Age. (2) The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself (Eu) teaches that gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own. (3) The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Ev) teaches that the true planting will be imitated by a false counter-planting. (4) The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Ew) teaches that the visible church will assume abnormal outer growth.⁷⁰⁰

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds
Matthew 13: 24-30

The one main point to the parable of the wheat and the weeds
is that the true planting will be imitated by a false counter-planting.

As part of the first couplet comprised of the parables of the Seed Growing by Itself (true) and the Wheat and the Weeds (false), we see the weeds scattered among the wheat. This parable teaches us that there would be a counterfeit planting alongside the true planting of the Word of God. As Christ continued to prepare His talmidim for their coming ministry of scattering the gospel seed to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20), He wanted them to be aware of the enemy and the counterfeit planting that would demonstrate a corruption of the visible church. There would be a distinct difference between the good wheat and the counterfeit darnel weeds.

Isra’el was supposed to be holy and set apart from all the other nations around them. When the children of Abraham were given the covenant with ADONAI at the foot of Mount Sinai by the hand of Moshe, 613 commandments were detailed in the Torah. There were commandments concerning distinction between clean and unclean food, childbirth, skin diseases, molds and bodily discharges. There were commandments about eating prohibited food, unlawful sexual relations, various commands regarding holy living, punishments for sin, regulations for priests, punishments for blasphemy, and covenant blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Namely, Isra’el was supposed to be a witness to the pagans around her. Why? So that the difference would be noticed by the goyim and they might inquire as to the reason behind those differences. Then Isra’el could point them to her God.

Today, believers are not supposed to live like the pagan world around us. Yochanan tells us: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world (First John 2:15-16). Yet sin, unheard of among believers only a generation ago, is now commonplace. If repentance, holiness of life, and submission to the lordship of Messiah are all optional, why should we expect believers to be any different than the lost? Who is to say that people might not be believers just because they live in stubborn rebellion against God? If one claims to be a believer, how do we really know (see my commentary on Jude, to see link click Ah – Godless People Have Secretly Slipped In Among You)?

The tragic result is that many people think it’s fairly normal for the children of God to live like the Adversary. There’s even a word for it – the “carnal believer.” Who knows how many people who are living like the devil have been lulled into a false sense of spiritual security by the suggestion that they are merely carnal? Yes, believers are born with a sin nature and continue to commit sins throughout their lifetime. But, living in a carnal state should not be a lifestyle of unbroken indifference or antagonism toward the things of YHVH.

Believers do not masquerade as children of the devil. The very reverse is true; the deceiver pretends to be an angel of light, and his servants imitate the children of righteousness (Second Corinthians 11:14-15). When the Bible acknowledges the difficulty of telling the sheep from the goats (see my commentary on Revelation Fc – The Sheep and the Goats), the point is not that believers may seem ungodly, but rather that the ungodly often appear to be righteous. Or put another way, the flock is supposed to be on the lookout for wolves in sheep’s clothing, not that tolerant sheep should act like wolves.⁶⁹³

Jesus told them another parable: The kingdom of Heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field. While everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and scattered weeds among the wheat, and went away (13:24-25). The weeds (or tares in the KJV) are from zizanion, a variety of darnel weed that produced useless seed instead of grain. It so closely resembled wheat that it was known as “bastard wheat.” It represents what is botanically known as the “bearded Darnel” (Lolium temulentum), a poisonous rye grass, very common in the Middle East. Until its seed is mature, it is nearly impossible to distinguish from the real wheat, even under the most careful scrutiny. Its roots creep underground and become intertwined with those of the good wheat. Because of the resemblance, scattering these darnel weeds over a neighbor’s good wheat seed was a common enough act that Rome made it a crime to do so. It was a devastating way to ruin an adversary, because it rendered his crop useless – and thus nullified his chief source of income.⁶⁹⁴

But, the parable gains in meaning if we bear in mind that according to the rabbis they teach that before the Flood all seeds were the same. But as a result of the Flood, the darnel weed became a degenerate kind of weed that sprang up from the good seed through the corruptness of the earth. Now, unfortunately, they are common to all fields; wholly indistinguishable from the wheat until the fruit appeared: noxious, poisonous, and requiring to be separated from the wheat, lest the good wheat not become useless.⁶⁹⁵

They will be allowed to grow side by side. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” “An enemy did this,” he replied. So the servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” “No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn”(13:26-30).

What can this parable mean? It is surprising that the crowd by the seashore did not ask, but they were probably more interested in seeing miracles and being fed than knowing the truth (John 6:26). The talmidim, however, did want to know. Matthew 13:36 says that after the Lord left the crowd and entered Peter’s house (see Ez – The Private Parables of the Kingdom in a House), the apostles said to Him in private: Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field (see Fa – The Parable of the Weeds Explained).

We are going to look at nine parables that develop a basic flow of thought: (1) The Parable of the Soils (Et) teaches us that there will be different responses to the scattering of the Gospel throughout the Church Age. (2) The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself (Eu) teaches that gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own. (3) The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Ev) teaches that the true planting will be imitated by a false counter-planting.⁶⁹⁶

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series of articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

Now while I was setting out the Roots which Keturah had bought from the one who made the Seed Catalogue, I found one root that Stuck up out of the Ground, and I laid hold upon it, and I said, Here is a Root that Beareth no Label. I wonder what it is. Behold, I know not, yet will I plant it, and see what Cometh up.

And Keturah answered and said, Knowest thou not what that is? It is a Dandelion that thou didst Dig up in making the Holes for the Flowers. And I was ashamed that I had not known it before. Nevertheless, I saw what it was, even while she was telling me. For I am not wholly Ignorant, albeit for the moment I knew not the root, what it was.

And I beheld the Dandelion root in my hand. And I looked at it, and beheld how Deep it had sunk into the Earth, and how firmly it had laid hold on the Soil with its one long Root, and I admired the way it had planned to Stay Put.

And I looked at the top, and though it seemed to have not life, yet there were Leaves Curled up and ready to push themselves forth, yea, and a Bud that was all but ready to lift its head above the ground as soon as the winter was past.

And I said to the Dandelion, Behold thou art a Plucky Plant. Thou sinkest thy Root to a Great Depth. Thou sendest up thy Hollow Stalk in the form of Construction the Strongest known to any Engineer. Thy White Ball of soft Down is the most Beautiful and Delicate thing in Nature; yea, and even thy Yellow Blossom is Marvelous, for every little yellow leaf is a flower. Moreover, it is not thy fault that folk call thee a Weed. If it were only Hard to make thee Grow, we would pay Good Money for thy Roots, and break our Backs setting thee out, and declare that a sight of thee, sprinkling thy gold over a green Lawn, was the Perfection of Gardening. Neither didst thou sin nor thy parents, yet art thou Despised and Rejected, and good folk Love thee Not.

And when I thought of these things, I could not find it in my heart to cut off a life so wonderful and so plucky; neither did I want it in my garden. However, I took it down to the Alley that runneth behind my house, and I planted it there. And I said, Now the Lord judge whether it be not better thou shouldst grow there than that the ground be cumbered by a Tin Can.

Yet I looked around and hastened back to the House lest my Neighbors should know that I had planted a Dandelion.

And who knoweth whether I did right or wrong? For if some great Blight should come upon the Dandelions in the Front Lawns of all peoples, then would they come and seek in my Alley, and beg a seed of my Dandelion.

For though I be chided for giving the Dandelion a Fighting Chance for its life, yet I have known those whose lives were as Weeds whom God Spared in His Mercy, and they Bloomed in Wonderful and Unexpected Goodness.⁶⁹⁷

The Parable of the Soils
Matthew 13:3b-23; Mark 4:3-25; Luke 8:5-18

The parable of the soils DIG: What does each type of soil in Jesus’ parable represent? What do the farmer and his seed represent? How might the parable help the apostles understand what was happening to their ministry? How does the quotation from Isaiah explain Mark 4:13 below? What had the talmidim seen that the prophets longed to see and hear? Since Yeshua is the lamp, what is He revealing?

REFLECT: How does the story of the seeds parallel our spiritual lives? How will our lives change when we begin to produce a crop – multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times more than was sown? What are some examples of what a believer like this might do? At different times in our lives our “soil type” may change. Which soil type currently represents your response to God and His Word? What tactics does the Adversary use to prevent us from hearing and understanding God’s Word? What thorns may be choking your ability to bear spiritual fruit? Are there rocks that need to be dug out? In what ways are you trying to nourish the spiritual “seed” God had planted in your life? What can you do to help the seed grow in others?

The one main point to the parable of the soils
is that there will be different responses to the scattering of the gospel throughout the Church Age.

The rabbi from Galilee started from the here and now to get to the there and then. He started from a thing that was happening at the moment on earth in order to lead people’s thoughts to heaven; He started from something that everyone could see to get to the things that were invisible. He started from something that everyone knew to get to something that they had never realized. That was the very essence of Yeshua’s teaching. He did not confuse people by starting with things that were strange or difficult or complicated; He started with the simplest of things that even a child could understand.⁶⁷⁹

The Lord used a familiar metaphor. Agriculture was the heart of Jewish life and everyone understood the scattering of seed and the process of growing crops. It is even likely that from where Christ taught, the multitude could see men sowing seed. The farmer would drape a bag of seed over his shoulder, and as he walked up and down the furrows, he would take handfuls of seed and scatter it. The seed would fall on four kinds of soil. Jesus said: A farmer went out to sow his seed (Matthew 13:3; Mark 4:3; Luke 8:5a).⁶⁸⁰

The hard soil: As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, it was trampled on, and the birds came and ate it up (Matthew 13:4; Mark 4:4; Luke 8:5b). Galilee was covered with fields. No fences or walls surrounded them, so the only boundaries were narrow paths. Farmers used the paths to walk between the fields, and travelers from all over used them. No doubt it was through such a path that Yeshua and His talmidim traveled as they went through the grainfields to pick some heads of grain to eat them (Mattityahu 12:1). The scattering of the seed caused some of it to fall on the paths. The soil along the path would naturally be packed down and extremely hard from all the walking. As a result, the traffic and the dry climate would make the soil so hard that any seeds that happen to fall on it could not penetrate nor take root. What the birds did not eat was trampled on. There is no question that the birds followed the farmer very closely!

The shallow soil: Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no moisture or root (Matthew 13:5-6; Mark 4:5-6; Luke 8:6). Rocky place did not refer to soil with rocks in it. Normally, farmers would get rid of most of the rocks in their fields before planting. But in Palestine, strata of limestone bedrock run through the Land. Sometimes the bedrock erupts so close to the surface that it lays only inches beneath the topsoil. When the seed is scattered on those shallow places, the roots work their way down to the rock only to be blocked. With the roots having nowhere to go, the fledgling plants produce impressive foliage, making them more noticeable than the surrounding foliage. But, when the sun came up, they would be the first to wither because their roots couldn’t go deep enough for any moisture. As a result, they would shrivel up and die before producing any fruit.

The weedy soil: Other seed fell among the weeds, which grew up with it and choked the plants so that they did not bear grain (Mattityahu  13:7; Mark 4:7; Lukk 8:7). This soil looked good. It was deep, rich, prepared, and fertile. When the farmer began to scatter his seed it looked unblemished and willing. Wherever the seed landed it began to grow, but, hidden under the topsoil, the weeds also sprouted up and eventually choked out the grain. Native weeds always have an advantage over farmed crops. The weeds flourish naturally, while planted crops need a lot of tender loving care. If the weeds get a foothold, however, they will dominate the ground. They grow faster and have stronger roots that soak up all the moisture. In the end, the good plants are choked out.

The good soil: Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times more than was sown. Then He called out: Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear (Matthew 13:8-9; Mark 4:8-9; Luke 8:8). This soil is soft, not like the hard soil along the path. It is deep, not like the shallow soil. And it is clean, not like the weed-infested soil. Here the seed explodes, and makes an incredible crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times more than was sown.

As soon as they were alone, the Twelve apostles wasted no time in asking Jesus two questions. First, what did this parable mean (Luke 8:9), and secondly, why did He speak to the people in parables (Mattityahu 13:10; Mark 4:10)? In answer to the first question He said to them: Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable (Mark 4:13)? A clear understanding of this parable would help them (and us) to understand how the other parables are to be interpreted.

Answering the second question He said: The mystery (Greek: musterion) of the kingdom of God has been given to you (Mark 4:11a GWT). A mystery in the Bible means something that was once hidden, but now is revealed. The verb, has been given to you, is in the perfect tense, speaking of a completed act with continuing results. Consequently, the talmidim had been given, as a permanent possession, the mystery of the kingdom of God. They were the first ones who possessed the mystery. It was for them to gradually come to a clear understanding of that truth. And unbeknownst to them at the time, it would take them until after the resurrection to fully understand it.

But to those on the outside of the faith, I speak in parables in order that, though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand (Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11b; Luke 8:10). This is the same principle as God hardening Pharaoh’s heart (see my commentary on Exodus Bu – I Will Bring One More Plague on Pharaoh), by forcing a decision that the king of Egypt did not want to make (Romans 9:14-18). Light that is resisted, blinds. At that time, the Pharisees were attempting to show that Yeshua was in league with Satan (to see link click El – Every Kingdom Divided Against Itself Will Be Ruined). In so doing, and by rejecting the Truth, they effectively blinded themselves. The parables blinded the ones who wickedly rejected the Messiah, and enlightened the ones who believed in Him.

This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. Otherwise they might turn and be forgiven (Matthew 13:13; Mark 4:12). Jesus’ audiences were not denied the opportunity to believe in Him. But, after persistently closing their minds to His message, they were excluded from any further understanding it by His use of parables. Yet, even the parables which veiled the truth, were meant to provoke thought, enlighten and potentially reveal it. The parables uniquely preserved people’s freedom to believe while demonstrating that, if such a decision is made, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).681 But, because the people looked to the Sanhedrin to make a decision about the validity of Christ’s messiahship and the Jewish Supreme Court having rejected Him, the majority of the people started to turn against the Son of God.

Isaiah perfectly described the faithless Jews of Yeshua’s day. The parables fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them (Mattityahu 13:14-15). Isaiah wrote during a time of devastating judgment against the southern kingdom of Judah. While Isaiah was preaching his message of doom, King Uzziah died and the nation was plunged into some of its darkest days it had ever seen (see my commentary on Isaiah Bo – In the Year King Uzziah Died).

The first fulfillment of Isaiah’s warning came in the judgment of the Babylonian Captivity, just as Isaiah had prophesied. The second fulfillment would be the destruction of Yerushalayim and the dispersion of the Jews throughout the world for more than twenty centuries. The Messiah’s parables were a similar form of judgment on unbelief. Those who would not accept His clear and simple teaching – such as those in the Sermon on the Mount – would not be able to understand His deeper teachings.

The spiritual gift of languages in the early messianic community was still another form of judgment on unbelievers (see my commentary on Isaiah Fm –  Foreign Lips and Strange Tongues God Will Speak to This People). Tongues were revealed in a surprising and dramatic way at Shavu’ot and continued to be demonstrated from time to time by the Twelve apostles as a witness against those who refused to believe. Yeshua first taught Israel in straightforward, clear teaching. Then, when Christ was rejected, He spoke to them in parables, which, without explanation, were no more than meaningless babbling riddles. Ultimately, the Good Shepherd spoke to them in unintelligible languages that could not be understood at all without translation.⁶⁸²

Speaking to His talmidim, Jesus said: But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. Not even the righteous of the TaNaKh were given the insights that the apostles and every believer since has been given the privilege of having. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it (Matthew 13:16-17, also see First Peter 1:10-12). Even for believers there divine illumination must be given, and that is promised to us if we search the Scriptures and rely upon the Ruach ha-Kodesh within us (First Corinthians 2:9-16; First John 2:20-27). We not only have God’s completed revelation in Scripture, but we also have the very Author of that Scripture living within us to explain, interpret, and apply its wonderful truths.

He said: Listen then to what the parable of the farmer means (Matthew 13:18). The seed is an appropriate metaphor for the Good News. It cannot be created – only reproduced. The parable does not imply that there is something wrong with the farmer or his method. Nor is anything wrong with the seed. The problem is the condition of the soil that exemplifies the human heart (Matthew 13:19). In other words, the heart is the spiritual equivalent of the soil receiving the farmer’s seed. All the soils in the parable are basically the same, whether hard, shallow, weedy or soft. And as such, each could produce a good crop if they were properly prepared. It’s the same with human hearts. We are all basically the same and capable of receiving the gospel if our hearts are properly prepared.

The unresponsive heart: The farmer scatters the seed along the path, which is the Word of God. Some people are like seed along the path, where the Word is scattered. As soon as they hear it, Satan, the evil one, comes and snatches away the Word that was planted in their heart so that they may not believe and be saved (Matthew 13:19; Mark 4:14-15; Luke 8:11-12). Those who fell along the path are those who never believed the gospel in the first place. The verb that was scattered is a perfect participle. The tense speaks of a completed work having continuous results. The act of scattering the seed of the Word had been completed, having a certain result. That being said, the Word of God was planted in their hearts and was starting, like seed, to germinate. But the Destroyer of souls takes it by deception before it has time to grow into a plant. The tempter’s greatest joy is to snatch away from God unbelievers whom we love and pray for.

The superficial heart: The second patch of soil covers unseen rocky ground and has no depth. Others, like seed sown on rocky ground refer to someone who hears the Word and at once receives it with joy. Superficial converts seem to accept the gospel with open arms and are overcome with enthusiasm. They can hardly wait to tell everyone about their newfound happiness. They are zealous in their Bible study and prayer. But since the soil of their heart is shallow they have no root. They seem to believe for a while but last only a short time because their feelings change but not their soul. The Savior’s life-giving Word cannot take root because just below the surface of their heart is bedrock that is even more difficult to penetrate than the hard soil along the path. There is no repentance, nor sorrow over sin, no recognition of their true spiritual condition, no brokenness and no humility, which is the first sign of true faith in Christ. When they hear the Good News it brings a religious experience but not salvation. Consequently, when affliction or persecution comes because of the Word, they quickly fall away (Mattityahu 13:20-21; Mark 4:16-17; Luke 8:13). They come as wolves in sheep’s clothing, and when threatened with the high cost of carrying their cross they are unwilling to pay the price. They build their religious houses on the sand of emotional experience and when the storms of affliction or persecution come, they collapse and wash away.⁶⁸³

The worldly heart: The third bit of soil is overrun with thorns and characterizes those who hear the Word, but are too worldly for it to take root and grow as they go on their way. They hear the Good News and make an empty profession of faith. But their first love is for the things of the world, and the worries about worldly things prevents them from seeing the need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They love riches and bow down to the altar of wealth. They become blinded by it and do not even realize that the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for possessions, prestige, position and other things has come in and choked out the Word, making it unfruitful (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:18-19; Luke 8:14). There are very few obstacles to salvation greater than the love of money. Rabbi Sha’ul warns us that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (First Timothy 6:10). And Yochanan also warns: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world (First John 2:15-16).

The enemies: The birds, the sun, and the weeds of this parable signify our enemies. The Adversary does everything he can to steal the seed of the Good News even before it can grow. Here’s an important lesson for any soul-winner. You will face resistance and hostility. There will be shallow, short-lived converts, and you will face double-minded people who want King Messiah but won’t let go of the world. The hardness of the path, the shallowness of the soil and the destructive nature of the weeds will frustrate your efforts to produce a good crop. But do not let your hearts be troubled (John 14:1a), the Lord of the harvest (Mattityahu 9:38) can break up even the hardest soil and get rid of the most stubborn weeds. Hard soil, shallow soil, or weedy soil may not always stay that way. ADONAI can till the soil of the most stubborn heart. One ancient Palestinian method of farming was to scatter the seed first, then plow it under. Sometimes that happens in evangelism. We scatter the seed, and just as it seems like the hovering birds are about to snatch it away, the Holy Spirit plows it under, so it can produce a huge harvest.⁶⁸⁴

The receptive heart: The fourth patch of ground on which seed has fallen is good soil. It is good not because it has a different basic composition than the other kinds of soil, but because it is suitably prepared. The receptive heart has been prepared by the Ruach and receptive to ADONAI (Yochanan 16:8-11). But others, like the seed falling on good soil refers to those with a noble and good heart, who hears the Word, understands it, accepts it and retains it because the Lord honors their faith and opens their spiritual minds and hearts. Yeshua told this to encourage His talmidim and all other disciples who witness in His name. Despite the hardness, shallowness and worldliness of most human hearts, there will always be those who are good soil, in which the gospel can take root and flourish. There will always be those whom the Holy Spirit has prepared to receive the Word with sincere, surrendered hearts. Ultimately, fruit-bearing is the characteristic of all true believers (Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 1:11; Colossians 1:6). The psalmist rejoiced that the believer who delights in God’s Word and meditates on it day and night is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers (Psalm 1:2-3). We are not saved because of fruit-bearing or by any other good work because we cannot bear any spiritual fruit until we are saved. But, we are saved for fruit-bearing. For we are God’s workmanship, Paul writes to us, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). This is the one who patiently produces a huge harvest, yielding thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown (Mattityahu 13:23; Mark 4:20; Luke 8:15; also see John 15:2-5).⁶⁸⁵

The fruit: Just as fruit-bearing is the whole point of agriculture, fruit-bearing is the ultimate test of salvation. Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every fruit tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them (Mt 7:17-20). If there is no spiritual fruit, or if the fruit is bad, it must be rotten. Or, looking at it from the metaphor of the field, if the soil doesn’t produce a crop, it is worthless, symbolic of an unredeemed heart. The good soil pictures the believer. The weedy soil and the shallow soil are pretenders. And the soil along the path makes no pretense and rejects the Good News.

Observe that not all the good soil is equally productive. Some bears quantities of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown. In other words, believers will not always bear as much fruit as they ought to or could. But, every believer is fruitful to some degree. We are sometimes disobedient and of course we still sin. Yet in the final analysis, Jesus says: by their fruit you will recognize them (Matthew 7:16). Whether it is thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown, their spiritual fruit sets them apart from the hard packed soil along the path, the superficial growth from the shallow soil, and the uselessness of the weedy soil. The fruit of a true believer is clearly evident – not something you have to hunt for. It stands out clearly from the rocky, weed infested, barren earth.⁶⁸⁶

Our Savior said to them: No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open (Mk 4:21-22; Lk 8:16-17). These verses consist of a common similitude from everyday life. An oil lamp is not lit in order to be hidden in a clay jar or placed under a bed. Rather, it is lit to be placed on a stand for everyone to see. The talmidim, to those who the mystery of the kingdom of God had been revealed, were given the responsibility of proclaiming the light, the gospel, to the world after the Son returned to the Father (see Mr – The Ascension of Jesus). And when they do, God’s Kingdom, which is hidden to unbelievers, will become known.

Therefore, if anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. The word if here is not the conditional particle ean which introduces a hypothetical condition (like he might hear or he might not), but ei, the particle of fulfilled condition. The point is, they had ears with which to hear. Therefore, they ought to use them. Consider carefully what you hear, He continued, with the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more (Mark 4:23-24; Luke 8:18a).

Expanding on the truth that Jesus’ parables were given to reveal truth to believers and conceal the truth from unresponsive, superficial and worldly hearts, He continued: Whoever has the gift of eternal life, received by trust in the Messiah, more will be given. Believers who live up to the light given them in Christ, will receive more and more light given in abundance. But the fate of unbelievers is just the opposite. Whoever does not have eternal life is lost and even the little speck of light that they think they have will be taken from them (Mattityahu 13:12; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18b). So, it is not enough to merely hear the Word. It is not enough to hear correct doctrine or theology. One must pay careful attention to how one hears God’s message. The Word must be heard with a noble and good heart, so that a faith results that will endure and produce a huge harvest, yielding thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was planted. Consequently, spiritually speaking, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.⁶⁸⁷

We are going to look at nine parables that develop a basic flow of thought: (1) The Parable of the Soils (Et) teaches us that there will be different responses to the scattering of the gospel throughout the Church Age.

Jesus, You are the patient Farmer in my life. Thank You. You’ve used others to place certain seeds in my path and sometimes I know I haven’t appreciated their work as I should have. Help me express gratitude when I sense that You are placing others in my life to serve You on my “farm.” Lord, do what you need to do to make my fields productive for You. I’m the farmer of my “farm,” but I belong to You.⁶⁸⁸

The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself
Mark 4: 26-29

The parable of the seed growing by itself DIG: How does this parable complement Et – the Parable of the Soils? To whom was this parable directed? Why was the Lord trying to ease their minds? How is the planting of an insignificant seed that results in a glorious wheat stalk like the planting of the Gospel seed that results in the kingdom of God?

REFLECT: Does the harvest depend on us? What is God’s part as far as the Kingdom of God is concerned? What is our part? Why does He allow us to scatter some seed? How do you do that? How does it make you feel when you realize you are a co-heir with Christ in the kingdom of God and will one day reign with Him? What does that say about what ADONAI thinks of you? How can that make a difference in your life today?

The one main point to the parable of the seed growing by itself
is that the Gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own.

The first couplet is comprised of the parables of the Seed Growing by Itself (true) and the Wheat and the Weeds (false), which demonstrate a true planting will be imitated by a false counter-planting. This parable teaches us that the mystery of regeneration does not depend on the farmer. This parable is a similitude because it takes an illustration from everyday life and Jesus uses it to make His point. It transfers knowledge based upon what is common to them. Because the apostles would be commissioned to proclaim the message of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth (Mattityahu 28:19-20), it would be easy for them to feel that the harvest depended on their efforts. The Lord of Life wanted to make it clear that any harvest produced would be the result of planting the seed and then allowing the life in the seed to reveal itself in due time by growth and fruit at the time of harvest.⁶⁸⁹

He also said: This is what the Kingdom of God is like. Once again the coming Kingdom is compared to the harvest. A farmer scatters seed on the ground. The inactivity of the farmer after the scattering is vividly depicted. His life is very ordered. He sleeps and works, day and night. But, without him taking any anxious thoughts or any active steps, the seed grows from tillering to booting, from booting to flowering, and from flowering to ripening – an unceasing process of growth. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how (Mark 4:26-27). The seed that was planted in accordance with the first parable will inexplicably regenerate and spring to life and produce eternal life in the believer. It has an inner power, an inner energy, so that it springs to life on its own accord.

This is the mystery of regeneration.

Forces of life and growth continue to elude our knowledge. Even today we don’t know too much about the growing of a seed into a plant, and then producing fruit? Who can explain the life in a seed that grows and multiplies? How could the essence of life lay dormant for four thousand years in the seeds found in an Egyptian tomb and still spring to life when planted? The mystery of life is the issue of the centuries.⁶⁹⁰

At the same time, how is it possible for a simple gospel seed, that Jesus died for our sins, that He was buried and rose again on the third day, to result in regeneration? How could something that happened over two thousand years ago cause a person to go from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light?

That is the mystery.

All the farmer can do is scatter the seed on prepared soil. The springing to life does not depend on him. All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head (Mark 4:28). When we hear people share their conversion experience, we may think that their faith happened all at once. But, their salvation frequently carries an extended backstory of spiritual pilgrimage before they made that decision. They needed time to reflect on the Good News. For them, coming to the Savior was a process. This is similar to the process of farming: Months of waiting come to an end and workers stream into the fields to help with the harvest. Our faith, like a crop, needs time to grow.⁶⁹¹

The farmer was merely planting the seed. The springing to life was a result of the seed. The earth, therefore, brings forth fruit automatically. But, the secret of the growth is in the seed itself. Just so, we plant the seed of God’s Word; the soil, namely the soul, receives it, God the Holy Spirit works on the heart of the sinner, uses the planted seed and causes it to germinate and grow. This is the way of things according to nature, and also the way of things according to the Dispensation of Grace (see my Commentary on Hebrews, to see link click Bp – The Dispensation of Grace).

As seedtime is followed in due time because the harvest has come, so will the present mystery of the Kingdom be followed by glories of the messianic Kingdom. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come (Mark 4:29). What a great contrast between the seemingly insignificance of the beginning with the end! As the stalk of wheat is the result of the seed, the end is implicit in the beginning. The infinitely great is active in the infinitely small. In the present, and indeed in secret, the outcome is already set in motion. Those to whom it has been given to understand, the mystery of the kingdom of God is already seen in its hidden and seemingly insignificant beginnings.

This unwavering assurance that God’s hour is approaching is a crucial element in the preaching of Yeshua. God’s hour is coming – no, even more – it has already begun. In Messiah’s beginning the end is already implied. He set His face like a flint (Isaiah 50:7; Luke 9:51) and nothing could stop Him. No doubts with regard to His mission, no scorn, no lack of faith, no impatience, can make the Savior of Sinners waver. We can have confidence that just as He created something out of nothing (Genesis 1:1), The King of kings is carrying out His beginnings to completion. All that is necessary for us to do is believe in Him in spite of all outward appearances.⁶⁹² Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ He promised?” But do not forget this one thing . . . the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (Second Peter 3:3-4a, 8a, 10a).

As far as the coming of the messianic Kingdom is concerned, God has His part and we have our part. As this parable makes clear, the gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own. That’s God’s part. He is all-powerful and stands outside of time. He can make something out of nothing (Genesis 1:1). But, God chose to have us help Him in this great work. Otherwise, He would not have trained the talmidim to keep scattering more seed after He had returned to the Father (see Et – The Parable of the Soils). Not because He needs our help or cannot accomplish His purposes on His own, but because He desires that we participate with Christ as co-heirs in that Kingdom (Romans 8:17) and reign with Him (Second Timothy 2:12). We merely need to be faithful with the spiritual gifts He has given us. When the harvest comes depends on God and not us. The inner energy is in the gospel seed, not us. But, like little children in the field with their Father, all He asks us to do is help Him scatter the seed of life. That’s our part.

We are going to look at nine parables that develop a basic flow of thought: (1) The Parable of the Soils (Et) teaches that there will be a sowing of the Gospel throughout the Church Age. (2) The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself (Eu) teaches that gospel seed will have an inner energy so that it will spring to life on its own.

The Public Parables of the Kingdom by the Sea
Matthew 13:1-3a; Mark 4:1-2; Luke 8:4

The parables that Jesus taught the masses by the sea were to hide the Kingdom from those who lacked faith, and to reveal the Kingdom to those who believed. The Lord declared: To those who have ears, let them hear. Those who trusted in Christ had spiritual ears to not only hear, but to understand what He was saying. The same day that Messiah was rejected by the Sanhedrin, He went out and sat by the Sea of Galilee. After spending some time teaching His talmidim, our Lord resumed His wider ministry among the people at various points along the seashore. The crowds were greater than ever. Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Mark’s source is generally conceded to be Peter, who was a fisherman and owned two types of boats: a rowboat that He kept ready for a quick escape from large crowds that might crush Him and a larger boat moored close to the shore where He sat and taught them many things in parables (Matthew 13:1-3a; Mark 4:1-2; Luke 8:4).

Christ spoke everything to them in parables. With a narrow strip of water between Himself and the large crowds, Yeshua taught them. The acoustics on a lakeshore are excellent. One can hear and understand someone’s voice from quite a distance. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah when he said: I will open My mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world (Mattityahu 13:34-35). He taught them. The verb taught is in the imperfect tense, speaking of continuous action. Even though our Lord’s words often fell on dull ears, hard hearts and unresponsive wills, He taught them.

After the introductory Parable of the Soils, there are four other couplets of parables. Two of those couplets were given by the Sea of Galilee to the Twelve and the crowd made up of believers and unbelievers. The first couplet is comprised of the parables of the Seed Growing by Itself (true) and the Wheat and the Weeds (false), which demonstrate a true planting will be imitated by a false counter-planting. The second couplet is made up of the parables of the Mustard Seed (external) and the Leaven (internal), where we see the corruption of the visible church.

That Same Day He Spoke To Them In Parables

DIG: What is a parable? Can the details of the parable be pressed? Why did Jesus start speaking in parables? Was it cruel or just? Arbitrary or deserved? What were the four reasons that the Messiah spoke in parables? What are the five aspects of the Kingdom of God? What are the four kinds of parables?

It is really important to understand the relationship between Matthew 12 and Matthew 13. It is because of the national rejection of the Messiah in Matthew 12 that Jesus begins to teach in parables in Matthew 13:1. He began to speak in parables on the very same day that He was rejected by the Sanhedrin. Yeshua stated that He would perform no more public miracles to try and convince Isra’el that He was the Son of God. Christ said His next sign would be the sign of Jonah (to see link click Eo – The Sign of the Prophet Jonah).

In Matthew 13:10-18 we learn the purpose of those parables. The apostles came to Him and asked: Why do you speak to the people in parables (Matthew 13:10)? That was the start of the change in Messiah’s ministry (see En – Four Drastic Changes in Christ’s Ministry). Before then, whenever He spoke to the masses, He spoke clearly. A good example of this is the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Matthew tells us that not only did the people understand what He had said, but they also understood the difference between His teaching and that of the Pharisees and Torah-teachers. After His rejection, however, Jesus began teaching the Jewish masses in parables. That surprised the Twelve because they knew that, up to that point, that Jesus had been teaching them clearly. Therefore, the talmidim wanted to know why Christ had begun speaking to them in parables.

Jesus replied: The knowledge of the mysteries (Greek: mysteria) of the kingdom of Heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has, will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand (Matthew 13:11-13). The words whoever has refers to believers. These are the true citizens of the Kingdom who have received the King. And whoever accepts salvation from God will be given more, and they will have an abundance. But, the fate of unbelievers will be just the opposite. Because of their unbelief, they do not have salvation, and even the light of God’s truth will be taken from them. They said “no” to the King of kings, and because they refused the divine light that shone on them, they will sink deeper and deeper into spiritual darkness.⁶⁷⁵

There were four reasons for Jesus teaching in parables. First, parables would illustrate the truth to those of faith. When Jesus started to teach in parables, He said: Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear (Matthew 13:9; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8b). In other words, “Whoever has spiritual ears, let them hear spiritual truth.” The parables taught spiritual truth. Whoever belongs to God hears what God says (John 8:47a). Second, parables would hide the truth from the masses that had rejected Him. Since the nation had rejected the light, no more light would be given. Instead of teaching them clearly in terms they could easily understand as He had before, then He taught them in parables that they could not understand. Third, parables fulfilled the words of the prophets. Jesus quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 that prophesied that the Messiah would speak to the apostate Jewish people in such a way that they would not be able to understand. Fourth, parables explained the mysteries of the kingdom of God, or God’s rule.

Yeshua spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; He did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet, “I will open My mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world” (Matthew 13:34-35). These verses re-emphasize that Jesus changed the way He talked to the masses after His rejection. This restates the second purpose of the parables and that was to hide the truth from the unbelieving masses. Mattityahu again points out that the prophets spoke of Him. This restated the third purpose of the parables. This time Psalm 78:2 is quoted. By fulfilling the words of the prophets, Yeshua proved that He was indeed the Messiah that had been rejected.

The parallel account to this is found in Mark 4:33-34 where the same point is made: With many similar parables Yeshua spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when He was alone with His own talmidim, He explained everything to them. Here Mark adds that when Jesus was alone with His apostles He explained the meanings of each one of these particular parables because until He explained them – the parables were a mystery to them. This restated the first purpose of the parables in that they would illustrate the truth to those of faith. From Christ’s rejection by the Sanhedrin onward, this was the method He used consistently. However, whenever Jesus spoke to the masses He spoke in parables.

The purpose of the parables was, and is, to describe the kingdom of God, or God’s rule. Matthew uses the phrase: the kingdom of Heaven, while Mark and Luke use the phrase: the kingdom of God. Both phrases are synonymous. Matthew uses the kingdom of Heaven because he was speaking to a Jewish audience who avoided using the name of God. Even today, many Jews used ADONAI, or the LORD, instead of the word God. Orthodox Jews go even further, using the less personal name of Ha’Shem, which means the name. For some Jews their reverence for the name is so profound that they refuse to spell the whole word out, but spell it G-d or L-rd instead. There are five aspects of the kingdom of God.

The first aspect of the kingdom of God is that it is an eternal Kingdom that describes God’s sovereign rule over His creation. ADONAI is always in control, and nothing ever happens outside His will. Whatever takes place, happens because He either decrees it or allows it. His Kingdom is timeless because God is never out of control. It is also universal. No matter where things exist, everything is within the sovereign will and control of God (Psalm 10:16, 29:10, 74:12, 90:1-6, 83:11-15, 103:19-22, 145:10-13; Proverbs 21:11; Jeremiah 10:18; Lamentations 5:19; Dani’el 4:17, 25 and 32, Dani’el 6:27; Acts 17:24; First Chronicles 29:11-12).

The second aspect of the Kingdom of God is that it is a spiritual Kingdom. Before Pontius Pilate, Jesus said: My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place. You are a King, then! Said Pilate. Jesus answered: You are right in saying I am a King. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me (John 18:36-37). This spiritual Kingdom is composed of all believers who have experienced a new birth by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. Therefore, every person that has been born again by faith through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit is a member of the spiritual Kingdom. The true universal Church and the spiritual Kingdom are one and the same. This is the Kingdom of Mattityahu 6:33, where Jesus says: Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. It is also the kingdom of God in John 3:3-7, that Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus about when He said: No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again (Matthew 19:16, 23-24, John 8:12; Acts 8:12, 14:22, 19:8, 20:25, 28:23; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 1:13, 4:11; First Thessalonians 2:12; Second Thessalonians 1:5; First Corinthians 6:9-10, 4:20).

The third aspect of the kingdom of God was a theocratic Kingdom. This means God’s rule over one nation: Isra’el. Moses established it and the Torah served as its constitution. The theocratic Kingdom can be seen in two phases in human history. First, God ruled through the mediators of Moses, Joshua, and the judges, through Second Samuel. Second, God ruled through monarchs, from Saul, the first king of Isra’el, through Zedekiah, the last king of Isra’el. With the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, the theocratic Kingdom ended (from Genesis 20 to Second Chronicles 36), and the times of the Gentiles began (see my commentary on Revelation An – The Times of the Gentiles).

The fourth aspect of God’s kingdom is given two names: the messianic or millennial Kingdom. The Messianic Kingdom is the most common Jewish name because it emphasizes who the ruler will be. It was a major area of prophecy in the TaNaKh (Psalm 2:6-12, 72:1-17; Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-16; Jeremiah 23:5-6, 32:14-17; Ezeki’el 34:23, 37:24; Hosea 3:4-5; Micah 4:6-8, 5:2; Malachi 3:1-4). The Millennial Kingdom is the most common Gentile name because it emphasizes that it will last one thousand years. When the times of the Gentiles ends, the Messianic Kingdom will begin. It will be a literal, earthly Kingdom from which Jesus will rule and reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem because the basis for this Kingdom is God’s Covenant with David (Second Samuel 7:5-16; First Chronicles 17:10-16; Matthew 1:1 and Luke 1:32). This was the Kingdom proclaimed by John the Baptist (Mattityahu 3:2, 4:17, 10:5-7), and it was the Kingdom that was being offered by Jesus during His encounter with Nicodemus (see Bv – Jesus Teaches Nicodemus). The Lord continued to offer the Messianic Kingdom until He was accused of demon possession (see Eh – Jesus is Officially Rejected by the Sanhedrin).

The fifth aspect of the kingdom of God was a mystery Kingdom. After Christ’s offer of the Kingdom was rejected, from a human perspective, it was withdrawn for a time. Jesus needed to shed His blood for His Kingdom to be ushered in. It is important to understand that He would have had to die even if His offer of the Kingdom had been accepted by the nation because it could only come by blood. If the Jews had accepted Him as their King, the Romans would have viewed it as sedition. He would have been arrested, tried and crucified by the Romans just the same. The difference is that when He arose three days later He would have done away with the Roman Empire and established the messianic Kingdom. The issue was not if He were going to die; the issue was when the Kingdom would be established.

The Messianic Kingdom will be re-offered to the Jewish people during the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:14). However, at that time Isra’el will accept Jesus as the Messiah (see my commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). As a result of Isra’el’s acceptance, He will reign (Zechariah 14:1-15) and establish His Messianic Kingdom (Revelation 19:11-20:6).

But, since the Kingdom has been rejected, Christ’s new policy of speaking to the masses only in parables (Mattityahu 13:34-35) introduces a new aspect of God’s Kingdom called the mystery Kingdom. Paul said that he was given the privilege of announcing to the Gentiles the Good News of the Messiah’s unfathomable riches, and of letting everyone see how this secret plan is going to work out. God kept this mystery hidden for ages, but now it has been made clear to the people He has set apart for Himself (Ephesians 3:8b-9a; Colossians 1:25 CJB). Today most people think of a mystery as something that cannot be explained or known. But, a mystery in the Bible is something that was previously hidden, and now is revealed. The parables describe the mystery form of God’s Kingdom.

The mystery Kingdom begins with the rejection of Jesus by the Sanhedrin and continues until the Second Coming. He rules this Kingdom at the right hand of the Father (Rom 8:34; Heb 1:1-3, 12:2). The mystery Kingdom describes the conditions on the earth while the King is absent and in heaven. These mysteries reveal what the Kingdom of God is like. It is made up of both believers and unbelievers, Jews and Gentiles. That is, it reminds us of both the wheat and the weeds (see Ev – The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds).

The mystery Kingdom must be kept distinct from the other aspects of the Kingdom of God. First, the mystery Kingdom is not the same as the eternal Kingdom because the mystery Kingdom is limited to the time between the First and Second Coming. Second, it is not the same as the spiritual Kingdom because it is made up of believers only, whereas the mystery Kingdom will include both believers and unbelievers. Third, it is not the same as the theocratic Kingdom because it is no longer limited to one nation, the nation of Israel, but includes both Jews and Gentiles. Fourth, it is not the same as the Messianic Kingdom because the Messianic Kingdom was not a mystery. The TaNaKh describes the Messianic Kingdom in much detail (Isaiah 60:1-22, 66:1-24; Zechariah 14:16-21). Nor is the mystery Kingdom the Church because the Church is included within the scope of the mystery Kingdom, and it is much broader than the Church itself. It includes the Church Age from Acts 2 until the Rapture. It also includes the Great Tribulation. The time span of the mystery Kingdom starts with the rejection of the King in Matthew 12 until the acceptance of the King in the closing days of the Great Tribulation.⁶⁷⁶

A parable is a figure of speech with a moral or spiritual truth that is taught or illustrated from analogies from everyday life. It uses the principle of going from the known to the unknown. It goes from a figure to reality. The parables are designed to answer the question, “Now that the King has been rejected, what will the Kingdom of God be like until the Messianic Kingdom is established at the Second Coming?”

Contrasted with an allegory that is not based on reality (see the book Pilgrim’s Progress) where all the details are important, a parable makes one major point. Therefore, you should not press the details of any parable. You must discover the major point of the parable first. Once that is known, the details of the parable will fall into place. You must know the figure before you can understand the reality. The known must be clear before the unknown can be understood. You need to understand the literal figure first before you can understand the spiritual significance. So I will state the one major point at the beginning of each parable.

There are four different kinds of parables. There is a basic difference, for example, between the Good Samaritan (a story), on the one hand, and the Yeast in the Bread (a similitude), on the other hand, and both of these differ from the saying: You are the salt of the earth (a metaphor), or I AM sending you like sheep among the wolves (a simile). Yet, all these can be found from time to time in discussions or the parables.

The Good Samaritan is an example of a story parable. It is a story, pure and simple, with a beginning and an ending. It also has something of a plot. Other such story parables include the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, the Great Supper, the Laborers in the Vineyard, the Rich Man and Lazarus and the Ten Virgins. They transfer the truth from a specific incident that really happened.

A saying like: You are the salt of the earth, is really a metaphor. It uses figurative or symbolic language that compares two dissimilar things. When Yeshua said: I AM the gate, you can understand what He was trying to say, but, He obviously did not become a gate.⁶⁷⁷

A simile uses the term “as” or “like.” Jesus said: I AM sending you like sheep among the wolves (Matthew 10:16), or: Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand (Mattityahu 7:26).

When a simile is expanded from a simple explicit comparison into picture, we then have a similitude.⁶⁷⁸ The Yeast in the Bread, on the other hand, is more of a similitude. What is said of the yeast, the light put on a stand, or the mustard seed was always true of yeast, the light on a stand, or mustard seeds. Such parables are more like illustrations taken from everyday life that Yeshua used to make a point. They transfer from common knowledge based upon what people normally do.

As Arnold Fruchtenbaum discusses in his tape series on the Life of Christ, we will now look at nine parables that collectively develop a basic flow of thought.

Revelation, After the Rejection of King Messiah

The rejection of the Prophet from Galilee was the turning point in His ministry. King Messiah had authenticated His authority by the miracles only the Expected One could perform: Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy (Isaiah 35:5-6a). But, growing opposition to the Kosher King climaxed when the Jewish Supreme Court (to see link click Lg – The Great Sanhedrin) concluded that the Son of God was demon possessed (see Ek – It is only by Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons, that This Fellow Drives Out Demons). While their full rejection and execution of Him did not occur until later, the die was cast. Thus, the Meshiach turned His attention to His talmidim and began to teach along different lines.

The Queen of the South Will Rise at the Judgment
With This Generation and Condemn It
Matthew 12: 42-45

The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it DIG: How do the Ninevites and the Queen of the South condemn Jesus’ generation? A person who is reformed but neglectful of God’s presence is prey to even greater evil. How do Isra’el’s leaders exemplify this principle? How is Yeshua greater than Jonah? Than Solomon? How might the Pharisees have interpreted this?

REFLECT: What more does Messiah want besides a heart swept clean and put in order? Have you filled the spiritual void in your life? How? When? What happens when we are left with our own best thinking? What long-term changes have you seen in your life since you have been plugged into the power of the Holy Spirit?

After hearing Christ’s words of rebuke and judgment for blaspheming the Holy Spirit, some of the Pharisees and Torah-teachers tried to retake the offensive by saying to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You” (Matthew 12:38). That they answered the Lord’s biting denunciation by asking Him a superficially respectful question indicated that they were biting their tongues, as it were, determined to give the impression of civility while awaiting the best time to attack Him.

Jesus categorically refused to grant them a sign, but directed them back to two incidents in the TaNaKh. The first incident is the account of the prophet Jonah who was raised from the dead after being swallowed by a whale (see my commentary on Jonah, to see link click At – Jonah’s Prayer). The second incident that Jesus referred to here concerns Solomon. Jesus was greater than Jonah and greater than Solomon. The Queen of the South heard of Solomon and traveled from the ends of the earth to listen to his wisdom. Conversely, even though Messiah had come from heaven, the Pharisees and Torah-teachers would not listen to Him.⁶⁷²

The Queen of ancient Sheba, the country of Sabeans, was often called the Queen of the South, because her country was in lower Arabia, some 1,200 miles to the southeast of Isra’el. The Sabeans were an extremely prosperous people, having earned their wealth from highly productive agriculture and from the lucrative Mediterranean to India trade routes that passed through their land. Yet, the wealthy and well-known Queen of the South – who was a Gentile, a woman, a pagan, and an Arab – came to visit Solomon, the king of Isra’el, to learn about God’s wisdom from him and to pay him respect (First Kings 10:1-13).

To the people of ancient Palestine, the land of the South seemed to be at the ends of the earth. Joel speaks of it being a nation far away (Joel 3:8b), and Jeremiah referred to it as a distant land (Jeremiah 6:20a). Nevertheless, the Queen and her large entourage made the long and arduous trip across the Arabian Desert to hear the wisdom of Solomon, a man of God. She brought treasure upon treasure to the king, who was already wealthy beyond belief, as a statement of honor and gratitude for the godly wisdom he possessed.

Again, like with the sign of Jonah (see Eo – The Sign of the Prophet Jonah), Yeshua made a comparison to the rebellious Jews who rejected Him. It is as if He were saying, “That pagan woman brought great treasures to Solomon and sat at his feet to learn from him. But now when I, something greater than Solomon, came here to you, preaching not only wisdom but also salvation from sin and the way of eternal life, you refuse to listen. Consequently, this Gentile woman will rise at the judgment (see my commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment) with this self-righteous generation and condemn it” (Mattityahu 12:42). That pagan Queen did not have the Torah to guide her, nor did she actually even have an invitation, but, she came of her own free will to learn the truth of ADONAI from Solomon. That generation rejected God’s own Son; thus, one day they will stand condemned by the faith of the Gentile Ninevites and Sabeans.⁶⁷³

To show what their condition on earth would be if they persisted in unbelief, the Savior of Sinners compared them to a person who had found deliverance from a demon. When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it (Matthew 12:43). After he is delivered, he tried every conceivable natural means to clean up his life and put things in order. But, mere “religion” is never enough because he lacked the supernatural power of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. But, he thinks he’s cleaned up when the demon leaves him. Then what happens?

Then the evil spirit says, “I will return to the house I left.” Because there is a spiritual void there, Satan fills it. When the demon arrives, it finds the house unoccupied by any another evil spirit. The fact that the house was swept clean and put in order suggests that he really tried to put his spiritual life back on track. By the power of his own efforts he was temporarily free from that demon, but he did not fill that spiritual void with Christ (Mt 12:44). Friend, without the power of the Spirit in your life, you are spiritually incapable of effecting any lasting change. If you have a lamp in your house that’s not plugged in, it doesn’t matter what you do to the lamp – the light won’t come on. And it won’t come on until you put it into its power source. Well, the Ruach is our power source and without Him we are left to our own best thinking, which always comes up short.

Then the demon goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first (Matthew 12:45a). That is how it will be with this wicked generation (Matthew 12:45b). The point of this story is that this is how it will be with that wicked generation. Their light started with the preaching of John the Baptist to prepare them for the Messiah. In that way the nation was swept clean and put in order. But, they will end up worse than before. They had to pay tribute to Rome, but at least Rome allowed them to keep their national identity. Jerusalem was standing, the Temple was functioning and they had a semi-autonomous government with the Sanhedrin. But, by 70 AD they had no nation, no Temple, about a million had been crucified and they had been scattered throughout the nations of the world. The end result was that they were worse off than before.

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series of articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

Now it was The First Day of the Week, and I arose and washed myself and attired myself in Clean Raiment, and went to the House of God. And it came to pass that I sought in the Middle Drawer and I found therein a Clean Shirt that had been sent home from the Laundry. And the bosom thereof shone like polished Alabaster; and the Starch therein was so stiff that one might scarcely open the Buttonholes with a Screwdriver.

And before I could put it on I pulled out Various Pins that the Laundry had placed therein, and there were many Pins in the Shirt.

After I had pulled out Pins enough to hold the Solar System in place, I put the shirt on.

But I had overlooked One Pin.

And I went to Church, and I sat down; and I found that there remained a Pin in the Garment from which I had drawn so many Pins.

And I changed my Position so that the Pin no longer hurt me, and I forgot about it for a season. But when we had risen to Praise the Lord in Song, and had sat down again, behold the Pin hurt me again, and in quite another portion of mine Anatomy.

And later I found it still Elsewhere.

And when I had returned to my house I removed my Garments and I sought for the Pin and found it, and removed it; and it hurt me no more.

And I said to my soul, Take not overmuch Comfort in the faults thou hast removed; neither be thou self-righteous. Behold, while one Pin remaineth in the Shirt, did not it hurt thee in Twenty Places? Even so is one fault, which thou removest not. Therefore let no one cherish pride until they be perfect; and if the time come when they count themselves perfect, lo this belief is the one remaining Pin. Yea, and it is long like a Hatpin of self-righteousness; and see thou forget not to remove the Pins that remain.⁶⁷⁴