MATTHEW LESSON 26

     We will begin this lesson in Matthew 13:1 "The same day went
Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side."  Matthew 13:2 "And
great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into
a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore."

       He had, probably, been resting in Peter's home, which was right
on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. This multitude of people had,
probably, been waiting for Jesus to appear again out of the house. He
was so pressed by the large number, that He cast out a little way from
the shore. His voice would carry well across the water, as well.

     Matthew 13:3 "And he spake many things unto them in parables,
saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;"  Matthew 13:4 "And when he
sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and
devoured them up:"

     In this chapter, we will see seven parables; and we will see why
Jesus spoke in parables. Parables are stories that have a deep hidden
spiritual message. In this particular message, He was speaking about
simple farming methods, so the educated would not discern what He was
saying. Jesus came to the common people. They would understand about
sowing seeds.  The explanation that Jesus gave was so excellent, that
I won't go into much detail about the meaning here.

     Matthew 13:5 "Some fell upon stony places, where they had not
much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness
of earth:" Matthew 13:6 "And when the sun was up, they were scorched;
and because they had no root, they withered away." Matthew 13:7 "And
some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:"
Matthew 13:8 "But other fell into good ground, and brought forth
fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."

     Jesus was describing the different types of people who hear the
message of God and the effect it has on them. As He explained it in a
few verses below, look at our church goers today, and you will be able
to recognize every one you know. The amazing thing, to me, about the
Bible is that it never goes out of date. It is just as current now, as
was thousands of years ago. The message is the same, because God never
changes.

     Matthew 13:9 "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

     This is an unusual statement, because we all have our two ears
hanging on the sides of our head. In some cases, that is the only use
(to decorate the head). You see, even though we hear with our physical
ears, it does  not mean that we receive the message in our inner being.
Jesus was saying, listen with your understanding and receive this
message in your hearts. Those of you who are capable (Christians)
receive the message that the world cannot understand. In other words,
He was going to tell us a secret that would help us understand Him
better.

     Matthew 13:10 "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why
speakest thou unto them in parables?"

     The disciples did not at first understand why Jesus did not just
say exactly what He meant. Jesus did not want these unbelievers
accepting the message with their minds. Jesus wants us to accept by
faith (not earthly knowledge) the things of God. This is the very
reason that Noah's Ark has not been found and photographed for the
whole world to see. God does not want our heads to believe; He wants
our hearts.

     Matthew 13:11 "He answered and said unto them, Because it is
given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to
them it is not given."

     Jesus revealed to the people He wanted to know the mysteries. I
have discovered  that we never fully understand the mysteries of God.
Every time I pick up the Bible and read a Scripture that I have read a
hundred times before, God will reveal something brand new to me. The
more we search the Scriptures, the more we understand, it seems. Some
unsaved person can read the Bible over and over and still not
understand. The Bible is a spiritual book, and can only be understood
through the spirit.

     Matthew 13:12 "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he
shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be
taken away even that he hath."

     To me, this Scripture above, is just saying, again, that if we have
the Spirit of God within us, our understanding will grow and grow. On
the other hand, if we reject the teacher (Holy Spirit), we won't even
be able to retain what we read with our physical eyes.

     Matthew 13:13 "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because
they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they
understand."

     Again here, Jesus was just explaining that a saved and unsaved
person can look at the same thing and get two totally different
messages. The unsaved's understanding has been darkened, so that they
do not understand.

     Matthew 13:14 "And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias,
which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and
seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:"

     God is the same God in the Old Testament as He is in the New
Testament. Isaiah was just saying the same thing, again.

     Matthew 13:15 "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and
[their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed;
lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes and hear with
[their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be
converted, and I should heal them."

     You see, above that these people had, on their own volition,
closed their eyes and ears to the truth. They had to take the scales
off their eyes and the stoppers out of their ears that they might see,
hear, and understand. It all comes about at conversion to Christ.

     Matthew 13:16 "But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and
your ears, for they hear."

     It is a blessing from God to be able to see, hear, and understand
the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit must be our teacher and our guide.
This is a free gift from God; to the blessed of God.

     Matthew 13:17 "For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and
righteous [men] have desired to see [those things] which ye see, and
have not seen [them]; and to hear [those things] which ye hear, and
have not heard [them]."

     You see, in the Old Testament there was a shadow covering the
truth. The way to the Holy place was not open to them. The temple's
curtain had not been torn. They understood only in part. They knew God
only through the priest in the temple. The great High Priest of all
eternity had not come to them yet.

     Matthew 13:18  "Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower."

     Jesus was going to show them how to understand this parable.

     Matthew 13:19 "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and
understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth
away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed
by the way side."

     You see, Jesus was saying when you receive the Lord, the old devil
will quickly try to tell you that you didn't get anything. The devil
will, also, bring numerous temptations to lure you away from Jesus. Your
troubles begin when you receive the Lord. The devil does not want you
to be able to stay with your new found faith.  This particular parable
indicates someone who was too shallow to keep the faith.

     Matthew 13:20 "But he that received the seed into stony places,
the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;"
Matthew 13:21 "Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a
while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the
word, by and by he is offended."

     You see, some people who receive the Lord are on fire for God,
then troubles come along, and they lose their faith. Unlike Job, who
stood against all the problems Satan could throw his way, these fell
at the first great problem that came, and went back into worldly
living.

     Matthew 13:22 "He also that received seed among the thorns is he
that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."

     I believe this parables has to do with ministers who play
favorites to those who are able to give large amounts to their
ministry. They preach to itching ears, so as not to offend the
wealthy in the congregation. They preach what the people want to hear,
instead of bringing the message God wants them to bring. Pretty soon they
become ineffective, and their message causes no one to repent and be
saved. So they are unfruitful.

     Matthew 13:23 "But he that received seed into the good ground is
he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth
fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty."

     This last verse is about the person who receives everything the
Lord offers, and then goes out to try to win everyone they come into
contact with. One of the main reasons there is a differences between
the number saved, is because of the size of the congregation ministered
to. The message is good in all three cases, because people are saved.
Some just minister to smaller crowds. This last one is the one we all
want to be. We must reap the harvest before it is too late. 

     We will continue with verse 24 in the next lesson.































                        Matthew 26 Questions

1.  In the first two verses, Jesus preached from where? Why?
2.  How did Jesus speak to them?
3.  Why?
4.  How many parables are in chapter 13?
5.  What is a parable?
6.  What kind of people did Jesus come to?
7.  Why did they spring up quickly?
8.  How can you recognize who our church goers of today are?
9.  Why is our Bible still current today?
10. In V-9, what is unusual?
11. What is Jesus sharing with us in the parables?
12. Jesus did not want them to understand with their ________?
13. What does Jesus want?
14. Can we ever fully understand?
15. How is the only way we can understand?
16. If we reject the Holy Ghost as a teacher, what will happen?
17. What is different about the saved and unsaved when studying a
    Scripture?
18. Who, in the Old Testament, prophesied about this?
19. What kind of eyes and ears are blessed?
20. Why had the Old Testament people not understood?
21. Who steals the truth from the new converts?
22. Are all your problems suddenly gone when you receive the Lord?
23. What is indicted by the stony places?
24. Who was the Old Testament character who withstood temptations and
    troubles of all kinds?
25. Who do the thorns represent?
26. What kind of sermons do they bring?
27. Verse 23, describes whom?
28. Why is there 30, 60, 100?