No Trash, Just Truth! - Proverbs 9:10 Ministries

Episode 117 - Do You Hear What I Hear - Make Way for The King! Part 5

December 13, 2021 Chris Paxson & Rose Spiller
No Trash, Just Truth! - Proverbs 9:10 Ministries
Episode 117 - Do You Hear What I Hear - Make Way for The King! Part 5
Show Notes Transcript

In this episode, we look at the parables of Jesus. Every one of Jesus' parables is about the Kingdom of God. They teach us different Truths about the Kingdom of God and what it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom. Additionally, the parables are meant to divide. While the entire theme of the Bible is God’s Redemptive plan for His people, there is a sub theme of division – the divide between the godly line and the ungodly line – the people who belong to God and the people who do not. We see it beginning in Genesis with the division between Cain and Seth and it continues all the way through all 66 books until Revelation with the division of the wicked and the righteous. The parables are part of that. The parables that Jesus told are meant to be understood by those who belong to God, but their meaning is hidden, even seeming foolish to those who do not belong to God. That’s what Jesus meant when He quoted Isaiah which said, “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”  Join us as we delve into what Jesus' parables teach us about the Kingdom of God and what they tell us about Jesus!

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Episode 117 – Do You Hear What I Hear

          Welcome Back. So, Chris, my husband tells me that I’m not a very good storyteller sometimes. He says I use pronouns like he, she, or they without ever defining who he, she, or they are; and I leave details out that make it hard to understand the point of the story. And he’s right. I confess, I leave much to be desired as a storyteller. But you know who is the perfect storyteller?

          I can guess that since we are talking “perfect” and we are doing a series about Jesus, the answer is Jesus. And you’re right, He is the perfect storyteller – that’s what the parables are – stories Jesus told to illustrate a point about the Kingdom of God. But you know, like your stories, He doesn’t spell everything out, either. But that’s intentional on His part, and He has a good reason for doing it. 

          He gives us that reason in Matthew 13, Luke 8 and Mark 4- they are all basically the same passage, and all have the heading of “The Purpose of the Parables.” Here’s what Mark 4:10 - 12 says, And when he(Jesus) was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”

          In this episode, we are going to look at some of Jesus’ parables and Biblical teachings that go along with the theme of that parable. Let’s start with another  teaching of Jesus that explains the explanation of the “Purpose of Parables”. We find it in Luke 12:51 – 53, Jesus says,“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

          So, in a nutshell, the parables are meant to divide. And that may sound harsh or strange since Jesus also talks a lot about unity. But, rest assured, He’s not contradicting Himself, This passage and others on division and the passages on unity are addressing 2 different things. First, the division. While the entire theme of the Bible is God’s Redemptive plan for His people, there is a sub theme of division – the divide between the godly line and the ungodly line – the people who belong to God and the people who do not. We see it beginning in Genesis with the division between Cain and Seth and it continues all the way through all 66 books until Revelation with the division of the wicked and the righteous. The parables are part of that. The parables that Jesus told are meant to be understood by those who belong to God, but their meaning is hidden, even seeming foolish to those who do not belong to God. That’s what Jesus meant when He quoted Isaiah which said, “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” Their hearts are dead, so they are unable to fully understand the things of God, but this says there is an intentional spiritual blindness on unbelievers to keep them from understanding the parables.

          And that might be really hard to hear, and seem “unfair” to our human ears, but the reality is that we are all spiritually blind unless and until the Holy Spirit opens our eyes. And we deserve that spiritual blindness because we have sinned against the Almighty God. And because of that, we are under God’s wrath and separated from Him. We are His enemies. As Colossians 1:21 says, “This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Why would God share the secrets to His Kingdom with His enemies? But because God is merciful, He chose a people to save for Himself. And for those He chose to save, He regenerated their hearts, brought us to Jesus, opened their eyes to Spiritual Truths, and made us His sons and daughters. We are no longer God’s enemies, but part of God’s family. And, because of that, He let’s us in on the teachings in Scripture, including the meaning of Jesus’ Parables. 

          And given all that you just said, Chris, it makes perfect sense that there is a great divide between believers and unbelievers. But how about Jesus’ teaching on unity? Well, obviously Jesus didn’t contradict Himself. When He says there needs to be unity, He is talking about within the community of believers – the church. And this falls right in with the topic of Jesus’ parables. As a way of fostering unity within the church, Jesus teaches His people principles and truths about the Kingdom of God which we, as believers, are now citizens of. As Jesus says to His disciples at the end of the Purpose of the Parable passage in Matthew 13:16 -17, “16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Okay, so let’s get started with looking at some of Jesus’ parables. We are going to look at the group of 7 parables that Jesus tells in Matthew 13. All 7 show us truths about the kingdom of God and all go right along with what we just talked about – the division between believers and unbelievers – sometimes even within the church

          This first parable of the group, is The Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13:3 – 9, but it’s also found in Mark and Luke’s Gospels as well.. Jesus tells this one loud to the crowd listening. Jesus says, “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” 

After He says this parable, His Apostles and other disciples come to Him to ask Him why Him why He was speaking in parables to the crowd. 

It was then that Jesus told His disciples the purpose of the parables that we read. And it is only to His disciples (the Apostles and disciples) that Jesus explains the parable of the sower, and tells them 6 more parables. Again, this is because the secrets to the Kingdom of God are for God’s own only.

Here’s how Jesus explains the parable of the sower. He says, and I’m quoting, “18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

          This parable definitely shows a divide between believers and unbelievers, but it also shows that the line between believers and unbelievers is not always as black and white as it may seem. The ground in this parable is a person’s spiritual condition and the seed is the Gospel message. First, the 2 obvious illustrations. Unbelievers are the ground that never accepts the Gospel message because they don’t understand it and Satan snatches it away. Believers are the ones who hear the Gospel, understand it, and bear the fruit of their salvation. There are other teachings in the Bible that backs both of these up. First, the unbeliever who has the Gospel message snatched away by Satan, so they never understand it. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “In their case the god of this world (meaning Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Unless and until a person is saved, they are enemies of God and kept from understanding God’s Word and Truths. Part of how God accomplishes this is by allowing Satan to blind unbelievers to the Gospel. That is what Jesus is illustrating in this parable.

          And for the believer, a regenerated heart is the good ground the Gospel falls on. Everyone – absolutely everyone – who God chose to save will at some point in their life come to Christ in sincere belief. And when we are brought to Jesus and saved, we get the Holy Spirit indwelling in us, sanctifying us. There will be fruit from that salvation. Jesus teaches this in Matthew 12: 33 – 35, Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil” And James backs this up in 2:26 says, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”

          Okay, now how about those in between – those whose status as believer or unbeliever isn’t so cut and dry – at least not to humans. Jesus says the seed that fell on rocky ground, immediately sprang up, but since the soil was so shallow, the sun scorched and killed them. Jesus explains that these are people who because they have no roots, when trials and persecutions come, they fall away. Sadly, this describes many who claim to be Christians today. These are the people who attend church or profess to be a Christian for what they can get out of God. This would be the Word of Faith movement in a nutshell. Believe and you will be showered with rewards and blessings. Yet Paul tells us in Romans 11:35, “Who has given a gift to (God) that he might be repaid?” God owes us nothing – absolutely nothing! And for those of us He has saved, if He never did anything for us, or never gave us anything else for our whole life, He will have given us more than we deserve.

          And, of course, we all know that God gives His children so much more than just salvation. He does pour blessings out on His children, but sometimes those blessings include persecution and trials. The point it that if you “following Jesus” for the perks you can get, you don’t truly belong to Jesus. And to your point, Chris, this is exactly why the Word of Faith movement is heresy, and its why the “teachers” in the Word of Faith are false teachers and dangerous. The last group, the, “seeds fell among thorns” where “the thorns grew up and choked them,” are similar to the seeds on the rocky ground. Jesus says these people are choked by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. They are similar in that they are not really believers, and they are “following Jesus” for selfish and ingenuine reasons. They may not be looking for what they can get out of God, per se, maybe they like going to church, like hanging out with Christians, maybe even like serving others and doing community work. But they aren’t willing to just be in the world. They are of the world, embracing all the worldly things. This immediately makes me think of those who water down the Truth of God to be more relevant and palpable to the world, or to make God fit in their box. A few examples would be those who see God as a benevolent old man who winks at sin, or those who go to church on Sunday, but engage in unethical business practices to get ahead. It can even be churches who ordain homosexuals as pastors. Eventually, their world view and Biblical Truth will crash.

          Jesus says in Matthew 12:24 – 26, “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” To use a cliché, where the rubber meets the road – this is exactly what happens when something we may feel or believe contradicts what God’s Word says. How do we respond? Someone who does not truly belong to Jesus will water Scripture down to make Jesus’ Words fit their beliefs. If, however, we are truly a believer, then we should (and hopefully, we will) heed the words of Paul in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” 

And just to wrap up with how this parable pertains to the Kingdom of God, is that it shows that not everyone who claims to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God, actually is. But for those of us that are, God will sanctify us and gift us to bear fruit for the Kingdom. 

And our responsibility as citizens of the Kingdom of God is to spread the seed – the Gospel – to everyone – and let God worry about sorting out what kind of ground it falls on. Jesus ends this parable with “He who has ears, let him hear.” Jesus is saying we are never to change the Gospel message. While we may tailor our delivery for our audience, the actual Gospel message should never change or be altered in any way. For those who have been regenerated, they need to hear, and will understand and accept, Biblical Truth – we don’t need to water anything down or sugar coat it. In fact, we are commanded not to. 

And for those who haven’t been regenerated, well, as we saw, no matter what, they won’t respond to the Gospel. Okay, moving on. Right after this parable, Jesus tells another one to His disciples that emphasizes this point further. It’s in Matthew 13:24 – 30. And, like the parable of the sower, it’s also found in Mark and Luke. Here’s what it says,“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

          Let’s start with the explanation Jesus gives of this parable in Matthew 13:37 - 43, ““The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

          Just like in the parable of the sower, Jesus is showing us that right now, within the Kingdom of God on earth, in other words, the visible church, there are unbelievers mixed in with believers. Even the church who is preaching the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ and immersing its people in the Bible may have those in their midst who aren’t real believers. This started in Jesus’ time with Judas Iscariot, has continued throughout history ever since, and will continue to be the case until Jesus comes back. And while we are to call out false teaching and not allow it in our church, it is not for us to judge those in our church’s saved status. That is for Jesus to do, not us! In fact, if we try to sort the weeds and wheat ourselves, we could be doing more harm than good. In the words of Augustine, “Those who are weeds today, may be wheat tomorrow.”

          After the parable of the sower and the parable of the weeds, Jesus tells 2 short parables about a mustard seed and leaven. Matthew 13:31 – 33 says,“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

          Mustard seeds are not actually the smallest of seeds, but they would have been the smallest of seeds used by Jesus’ original audience. Jesus’ point is that like the little, seemingly insignificant mustard seed, God’s kingdom starts out very small with humble beginnings – remember the King and Kingdom came to earth as a baby born in a stable. But, like the mustard tree that grows from the seed, the kingdom of God becomes so large that no one can ignore it. 

It's the same with the parable of the leaven. A little bit of leaven causes a whole batch of dough to rise. Matthew Henry reminds us that yeast “works silently and insensibly, yet strongly and irresistibly.” The kingdom of God works in the same way. Again, it shows the small, humble beginnings of the Kingdom of God on earth. But also, sometimes it may seem like we, as God’s people, are a small group. You only have to turn on the tv to get the impression that evil is winning the day. It seems that those opposed to God are redefining everything while Biblical Truth and values are being ridiculed and drowned out. But as early church father, John Chrysostom comments, “The leaven, though it is buried, is not destroyed. Little by little it transmutes the whole lump into its own condition. This happens with the gospel”

          And this teaching ties in with the previous parables we talked about. The ungodly will always be amongst the godly trying to corrupt and pollute them. Jesus tells us this in the previous chapter of Matthew – Matthew 12:11 – 12 where he also talks about leaven, but that it can have the opposite effect, too. He says, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

          And the point is that leaven spreads and has a huge effect on whatever it is added to. When that leaven is the solid, Biblical teaching of the Gospel, no matter what the earthly circumstances are, the Gospel will spread and transform people. But in the same way, when that leaven is false teaching and heresy (like the Pharisees and Sadducees were spouting) then it can poison a lot of people and block them from the Truth.

As believers, we are to stay focused on Jesus and God’s Word, witnessing the Gospel to as many as we can. God will expand His kingdom, nothing and no one can stop it. He will deal with the wicked, and those falsely claiming to be a believer. As Paul says in Romans 12:17 – 19, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 

After these 2 parables, Jesus tells 2 more parables that both illustrate the same thing. They are the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl of great value, and they are found in Matthew 13:44 – 46, 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

          Like you said, both of these parables are illustrating the same point about the Kingdom of God. In the first 2 parables, Jesus showed that until He returns, there will always be unbelievers mixed in with believers in the visible church, but that there is a distinct division between God’s people and the wicked. Then He told 2 parables showing that while the Kingdom of God was ushered into earth with humble beginnings, God has and will continue to grow it to its fullest. Now in these 2 parables, Jesus shows us what a believer’s reaction should be when they discover the incomparable value of the kingdom of God.

 Michael Green, the author of The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven says this about these parables, “These two little gems of parables go together. Both stress the incalculable value of the kingdom: it is worth any sacrifice. Both stress the cost of gaining it: it will cost all we have” 

John Calvin says we need the teaching of these 2 parables about the Kingdom of God being our biggest treasure because (and I’m quoting), “we are so captivated by the allurements of the world, that eternal life fades from our view; and in consequence of our carnality, the spiritual graces of God are far from being held by us in the estimation which they deserve.”

          So what was Jesus’ point in telling His disciples these parables? He is telling them that the Kingdom of God is beyond value – it is priceless. But not everyone realizes its value – remember the secrets are hidden from those who do not belong to God. But Jesus is telling His disciples – all His disciples - that God has given us ears to hear and eyes to see the kingdom of God and its value. And we are to pursue the Kingdom of God with an urgency, and at any earthly cost – just like those in the parables. It would have been important for the disciples at that time, to hear from Jesus that citizenship in the Kingdom of God was priceless and worth any sacrifice they, or we, would have to make. Remember, all of Jesus’ Apostles, and so many others throughout history, paid the price for their citizenship in the Kingdom of God with persecution, imprisonment, beatings, and death. Paul got this. He says in 2 Cor 4:17, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison”

          And we will throw one quick side note in about the parable of the field. Some wonder if the man who found the treasure and then covered it up and purchased it was unethical. Jesus’ original audience would not have thought there was any ethical dilemma at all because as D.A. Carson observes in his commentary, “Under rabbinic law if a workman came on a treasure in a field and lifted it out, it would belong to his master, the field’s owner; but here the man is careful not to lift the treasure out till he has bought the field. So the parable deals with neither the legality nor the morality of the situation … but with the value of the treasure, which is worth every sacrifice. 

And that brings us to the last parable in this group. Again, Jesus tells it just to His disciples. He says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Keeping with our Christmas theme, Jesus wraps these 7 parables up nicely for us!

Nothing in this parable is new teaching. Instead, it is reiterating everything Jesus has already told His disciples in the other 6 parables. The Visible Church, as long as it exists in the world, will be a mixture of the good with the bad, and is never free from corruption and pollution from within. But God is sovereign and will grow His Kingdom and be sure the Gospel message spreads. For those of us who belong to God, our citizenship in the Kingdom of God is worth far more than anything we have to sacrifice to endure on earth. But at the end of the age – when Jesus comes back, the mixing of the wicked and righteous will come to an end. The wheat and the weeds will be separated and the fish will be sorted. For those who belong to Jesus, they will go on to glory. For those who don’t, they will go to condemnation.

This parable of the fish being sorted should make us think of another teaching of Jesus in Matthew 25 titled, “The Final Judgement.” I’ll abridge the passage. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

And this brings it all back to Jesus and Paul’s words as to why we aren’t to take vengeance on evil or wicked people. God’s got it covered. In these parables, Jesus makes it clear to His disciples, that the King and the Kingdom are secure and in control. Okay, Chris, we have time for a few more parables. Let’s do the parable of the unforgiving servant found in Matthew 18:23 – 35. I’ll start reading. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 

I’ll continue. “28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Chris, here’s a story I found on the Reformed Baptist Blog. “If somebody killed your child, could you ever forgive him? By God’s grace the raging desire for revenge might eventually die down within our hearts, but most of us would probably prefer never to see that person again nor to help him in any way.

Yet that was not the reaction of Walter Everett, a Methodist pastor in Hartford, Connecticut. When Michael Carlucci was convicted of manslaughter for shooting Everett’s son, the bereaved father set an example that challenges all of us who claim Christ as Savior. Walter said he forgave Michael because people “won’t be able to understand why Jesus came and what Jesus is all about unless we forgive.” Was that mere rhetoric? Not in the least! Michael became a believer while in jail, and when he was released and wanted to be married, Walter performed the ceremony.

          That story shows that this man understood Jesus’ parable. Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant after a series of teachings He gives to His disciples. Chapter 18 of Matthew opens with the disciples asking Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom of God. They were probably looking for a qualification list or something like that that they could aspire to. But Jesus answers that only those who humble themselves and faith like a child will enter the Kingdom. Definitely not the answer they expected. Jesus then goes on telling them to resist the temptation of sin at all costs – even if it means cutting a foot or hand off that is causing you to sin. Hyperbole on Jesus’ part, but He was making a point.

          After this, Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep. We won’t be able to go into this one deeply, but basically, Jesus says that if a shepherd has 100 sheep and one goes astray, he will leave the 99 to bring that 1 back. And there will be rejoicing when he does. The point of this parable is that none that God has chosen to save will be lost. Even if someone backslides, if they are one of the elect, Jesus will bring them back at some point. This is also a directive to the church to do what is necessary to bring a sinning church member back into the fold of the church. After this, Jesus teaches how to handle a brother or sister sinning against you – first, go one on one to the person and try to resolve the problem, then if that doesn’t work, bring in one or two trusted people to help, then if the issue still isn’t resolved, take it to the church. If the person won’t listen to the church leaders, they are to be excommunicated. After this, Peter asks Jesus how many times he needed to forgive a brother who sins against him. Jesus answers mysteriously 77 times. Then he launches into the parable of the unforgiving servant.

          So how are all of these related? Jesus starts by telling His followers that they need to humble themselves God and rid themselves of any sin that is clinging to them. Once they are  dependent, humble, and not immersed in sin, they will be able to be church leaders and execute church discipline – which is what the parable of the lost sheep and the guide to resolving conflict are about. The goal of church discipline is always to bring the brother or sister to repentance and to restore them to the congregation. So in light of that, Peter’s question makes sense. He is saying, okay, I get what we need to do for a brother (or sister) who sins against us. But what if someone is a repeat offender, or a repeat, repeat offender. How many times do we have to do all of this before we brush the dust off of our sandals and walk away.

          And that might be a reasonable question Peter asks given that part of the instructions Jesus gave His Apostles in Matthew 10 was “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” But remember, Jesus said that He came to cause division between believers and unbelievers, but unity between brothers and sisters of Christ. So Jesus’ words to His Apostles about shaking the dust off your feet and leaving that town – in other words, throwing your hands up and being “done” with someone is only meant when dealing with unbelievers. But between believers, there is to be unity and unlimited forgiveness (hence the 77 times)

          D.A. Carson says this about Peter asking Jesus if he should forgive a brother 7 times. “In rabbinic discussion the consensus was that a brother might be forgiven a repeated sin three times; on the fourth, there is no forgiveness. Peter, thinking himself big-hearted, volunteers “seven times” in answer to his own question—a larger figure often used, among other things, as a “round number” So Peter thinks he is showing Jesus he gets all the teaching Jesus just gave them. They were to exceed what the Pharisees were practicing. Peter probably thought 7 times was showing incredible humility, grace and obedience to God. But after Jesus tells him, he hasn’t grasped the teaching as well as he thought because forgiveness to a brother or sister is to be unlimited, Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant.

          So let’s unpack this parable. The ESV Study Bible notes help put things into perspective. When you put the value of a Talent from the New Testament into today’s value, it would equal 20 years wages. If we use $30,000 / year as current wages, that would make a talent equal to $600,000. So the 10,000 talents the servant owed the king would today be equal to 6 billion dollars. Again, Jesus is using hyperbole to make a point. We are the servants who owed our King, God, the equivalent of 6 billion dollars – basically, meaning we owed a debt we could never have any chance to repay.

          And this, of course, is a reference to our sin against God causing separation from Him. A chasm we could never close on our own. God knew we were helpless to help ourselves and needed mercy, so King Jesus closed that gap and forgave our debt at no small cost to himself. Even to a rich king, 6 billion dollars would be an enormous amount of money to eat. Jesus forgiving our debt also came at an enormous cost – the cost of His leaving heaven, forsaking His glory, confining Himself to an earthly body, being mocked, spit at, beat, persecuted, and ultimately killed. That’s what our entrance into the Kingdom of God cost.

          And in light of that, anything a brother or sister in Christ does to us, no matter how awful, pales in comparison. Again, using the ESV study notes, a denari is a day’s wages. Putting it into today’s terms, someone working 8 hours, making $20 / hour would make $160 / day. The fellow servant (a brother or sister in Christ) owed the servant, who was just forgiven a 6 billion dollar debt, owed 100 denari, or $16,000 in today’s terms. The application seems obvious, but there are a few things to note. The original servant who owed 6 billion didn’t ask for debt forgiveness. He asked to more time to pay it back. He would have done that by working as an unpaid servant for the king. By completely forgiving the debt, the King was doing far more than the servant asked. He would have never been able to pay back that huge a debt. He would have spent the rest of his life as basically a slave and still would not have been able to put a dent in the debt he owed.

          And what is the servant’s response to receiving mercy and grace beyond what he could have ever expected and beyond what no one else would have ever done. His fellow servant asks for the same thing he initially did. He doesn’t ask for the debt to be forgiven, only for more time to pay it back. It should have immediately brought to mind what the King had done for him, but it doesn’t. Despite the incredible and insurmountable grace this servant received, he has not been transformed at all. Forget that he doesn’t pay the grace he received forward, he doesn’t even give his fellow servant the same thing he himself asked for – more time. Instead, he takes him by the throat and has him thrown into debtor’s prison. 

          When his fellow servants find out what he did, they tell the king, who calls him, “wicked.” The king expected the servant would have learned compassion and forgiveness based on his showing the servant incredible compassion and forgiveness, but he doesn’t. Instead, the servant shows no comprehension of understanding what the king did for him. So instead of treating the servant with grace and compassion, he treats him with justice. He throws him into debtor’s prison until he can pay the 6 billion dollars back – which is obviously never, so the servant will spend all his life in prison. 

          So again, while on the surface, this parable seems to be about how believers should forgive – and it is – it also again shows the divide between believers and unbelievers. Even after the servant received incredible grace and forgiveness – a symbol of the Gospel message – he couldn’t comprehend it and was therefore unchanged by it. And the reason he couldn’t comprehend it goes back to what we looked at earlier – those who have not had their heart regenerated are blinded to the truth of the Gospel and therefor unchanged by it. 

          So why does Jesus tell this parable on the heels of the teachings about church discipline and Peter’s question about how many times they need to forgive someone who has sinned against them? The answer is that in light of what those who belong to God have been given, there is nothing that a brother or sister can do that is too big or too bad for the church not to try and bring them back into the fold or for a fellow believer not to forgive them, no matter how many times they offend. Because we have been shown at what cost our forgiveness came, we, who are within the kingdom of God should consider it a privilege to pay that forgiveness forward and give the watching world a glimpse of Jesus. That’s why Paul says in Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

            Okay, let’s do one more. This one is from Matthew 20. It’s the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 

I’ll continue, 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

As we said, all the parables of Jesus are about the Kingdom of God. In this parable, we see how God deals with the citizens of the Kingdom – His children. First, a little context. In Biblical times, grapes were one of the most valuable commodities. And that is because of what you make out of grapes – wine. Vineyards and wine are reoccurring themes in Scripture that is equated with the goodness of God. When Noah got off the ark, the first thing he does after worshipping God is to plant a vineyard. Amos talks about God restoring to Israel the Promised Lands and their vineyards. He says, “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine.” Psalm 107 is all about the goodness of God. It says, “they sow fields and plant vineyardsand get a fruitful yield.” Ezekiel too, runs with this theme. Ezekiel 28:26 says, “They will live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.” And there are lots of other examples, but there’s just a few.

So it makes perfect sense that Jesus would use a vineyard for a parable. It would have triggered to the disciples that God is good to His children. And in contrast to vineyards as a symbol of God’s goodness to His people,  and again, showing the divide between those who belong to the Kingdom of God and those who don’t, the winepress of God is an instrument of His judgement and wrath on the wicked. Joel 3:14 says, “Come, go down;For the winepress is full, the vats overflow' For their wickedness is great.'” Revelation 14 tells of the Second Coming of Jesus and the punishment on the wicked. It says, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe." So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” 

And for literal context, anyone who knows about vineyards and wine making knows that grapes have a very short harvest time. Picking them at just the right time could make or break your wine. It wasn’t unusual for vineyard owners to hire day laborers to help with grape picking. And that’s what the vineyard owner does in this parable. After hiring the first round of laborers, he realizes he has more work that needs to be done and there are workers standing around, so he hires another round of workers. He does this a total of 4 times. It is only the first set of workers hired early in the morning that he promises to pay them a denarius, which was the going rate for a day’s work. To the second group, he says he will pay them what is right, and with the last 2 groups, he doesn’t promise any set wage.

At the end of the day, he pays all the workers a denarius – those who worked all day, and those who only worked a couple of hours. The humanness in us can probably understand why the guys hired first were upset and thought the vineyard owner was being unfair. When they complain, the master responds by basically telling them, He gave them what He had promised them. He is the master of the business and if he wants to be extra generous with some, that’s his business, not theirs. This is a fairly easy parable to interpret. God is the Almighty Creator, Master, and Sustainer of the Universe. And as God, He has the right to determine how much grace He wants to give to people. 

God is not obligated to give anyone grace, let alone the same grace to all people. The fact that He gives anyone any grace is amazing. And as we’ve seen before, if all God gave us was our salvation, it would be more than we deserve. Remember, this parable is about God’s dealings with His people. All of God’s people get what God has promised them - salvation. Yet it is also true that God gives some of His people more than others. But understand that since the only thing God “owes” us is His wrath, we aren’t in a position to complain about what God gives to us or gives to others. Just as the master of the vineyard wasn’t unjust in how he treated his laborers, God is never unjust. Klyne Snodgrass, author of Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus says this, “We worry about justice, but too often we dress up as justice what is in reality jealousy, or we use justice as a weapon to limit generosity.

And he is exactly right. We use “justice” as a mask for what is really jealousy. Jealousy over what others have – even other believers – is nothing new. Remember the Apostles asking Jesus about who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God? John and James requested to sit on Jesus’ right and left in heaven. When Jesus told Peter he would suffer and be killed because of Jesus, Peter wanted to know what was going to happen to John. It is easy to fall into thinking God somehow owes us something, especially when we see other believers being given material wealth, health, great families, children who are following the Lord, and other stuff. Jesus is reminding His disciples and us, that all we were really owed was justice. And if we got what we truly deserved – justice – we could never stand. Grace, by definition, is not owed, so we have no right to complain when it is shown to others as much as it is shown to us.

And finally, Jesus says, “16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”This shows that God does not distribute awards and blessings as one might expect. And we end this episode on parables with this encouraging thought, to those of us who have been given salvation, we will recognize that everything we have, even including our understanding of Jesus’ parables, is by God's grace alone.

And that’s a good place to end today. Have a blessed day everyone!