MATTHEW LESSON 27

     We will pickup in this lesson with Matthew 13:24  "Another
parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is
likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:"

     This is the second parable in Matthew 13. Here, is a farmer going
out to plant. Of course he plants  good seed, or else it would be a
waste of time to plant. We know that we reap what we sow, If we want
corn out of the field, we do not plant peas. The kingdom of heaven is
built with the seed of the Word being planted and growing.

     Matthew 13:25 "But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed
tares among the wheat, and went his way."

     This sentence is so sad. The wheat are the Christians; and this
means that right in the midst of even the church, the enemy sneaks in
and plants evil right  beside the good. Probably, unaware to the owner
of the land (pastor). You see, the farmer (God) would never plant
tares. This was an act of the old devil himself.

     Matthew 13:26 "But when the blade was sprung up, and brought
forth fruit, then appeared the tares also."

     You see, the Christians bring forth fruit in the midst of evil in
the world. We are not excused, just because we are surrounded by evil.

     Matthew 13:27 "So the servants of the householder came and said
unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence
then hath it tares?"

     To me, this is a perfect description of what the true believers
in Christ are asking about what is going on in the church today. Of
course, there are other meanings, as well.

     Matthew 13:28 "He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The
servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?"

     You see, there was recognition right off that the devil had been to the
field and sown these evil ones. Sometimes the person sitting on the
pew beside you in church is not really a believer, but has been placed
there by the devil to disrupt what is going on. These believers, here, are asking the Lord, should we throw them out of the church?

     Matthew 13:29 "But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the
tares, ye root up also the wheat with them."

     All through the Bible, the wheat stands for the true believers in
the Lord Jesus Christ. You know in a church, if you begin to throw the
enemy out, some of the true believers will be hurt and leave. It is
just best to leave them alone and feed them the unwatered down truth;
and they will either repent and be saved, or they will leave on their
own; because they cannot stand the truth.

     Matthew 13:30 "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in
the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together
first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the
wheat into my barn."

     If there is a point to be made about staying here on the earth
for the entire seven years of tribulation and the wrath of God, it
would be this Scripture here. You see, good and evil are here together
until the harvest. If you will carefully notice what it said to do, it
indicated that the unbelievers will be bound and wait to be burned.
The Christians will be gathered and taken to the Master's barn
{heaven}. You see, this Scripture occurs at the end of the Gentile age
when God decides that it is time to reap the harvest of the Christians
from the earth.  Truly anyone left here will be bound by the devil, and
will eventually wind up in a burning hell.  These reapers are the
angels God sends to get the job done for Him.  Angels are ministering
spirits directly under the command of God. We will read more about
this later in this lesson.

     Matthew 13:31  "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying,
The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man
took, and sowed in his field:"  Matthew 13:32 "Which indeed is the
least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among
herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and
lodge in the branches thereof."

     Have you ever seen an, "on-fire-for-God Christian", who was as
small as a grain of mustard seed? When he gets saved, he cannot be
quiet. The first thing you know, he has led hundreds to God. You
see, we are all grafted in the tree of life (Jesus) when we get saved.
Just one true believer can add mightily to that tree. He is the vine,
we are the branches. We do provide shelter for the lost of the world.

     Matthew 13:33  "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom
of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three
measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."

     Here, again, this was speaking of one Christian who was placed with
a bunch of nonbelievers. In this incident, I believe the Christian
did not witness with words, but by the exemplary life he, or she lived
in front of them. The nonbeliever was won to the Lord by wanting what
the Christian had.

     Matthew 13:34 "All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in
parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:" Matthew 13:35
"That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I
will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been
kept secret from the foundation of the world."

     You see, again, that Jesus spoke in parables so the worldly
people could not understand with their minds, and come to God not with
their hearts, but with their minds. These secrets, that Jesus was
revealing, were things of the dispensation of grace, not the law.

     Matthew 13:36 "Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into
the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us
the parable of the tares of the field."

     You see, at this time the disciples had not received the Spirit
(teacher), and they did not understand; because parables must be
understood by the Spirit. I personally believe it is necessary to be
baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, before we can truly understand.

     Matthew 13:37 "He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the
good seed is the Son of man;" Matthew 13:38 "The field is the world;
the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the
children of the wicked [one];"

     You see, Jesus is the Word. Believers in the Lord Jesus have to
grow in the midst of evil. We must be tried, or else the Lord would not
truly know if we belong to Him. You see, Satan's crowd is all around
us.

     Matthew 13:39 "The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the
harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels."

     You see, the devil is headed for a burning hell, and he would like
to see all of us go there with him. He brings every temptation known
to man to cause us to stumble and fall. Sometimes, we are unaware who
the enemy is. I tell the children in school, here, that the devil is not
easily recognized. Sometimes he lives in a physically beautiful girl,
or a handsome young man. We are nearing harvest time; the time when
the trumpet will blow and the Christians will be carried away to God's
barn (heaven). Angels are ministering spirits. We, Christians, have been
called to bring in the harvest.

     Matthew 13:40 "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in
the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world."  Matthew 13:41
"The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out
of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;"
Matthew 13:42 "And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall
be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

     This will be a time of trouble such as the world has never known
before. Just to know that we would be forever separated from Jesus
would be bad enough, but to burn forever would be horrible. Jesus is
the Judge. He decided which way we go. Truly though, it is our
decision to follow Him in truth, or not.

     Matthew 13:43 "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in
the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

     You see, it is beyond description what is waiting for the true
believer, who stays faithful to the end. It will be one eternal day with the
Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We will shine, because we will be
in the presence of the Light  (Jesus). Here, Jesus just said one more
time; don't turn away from God. Let that still quiet voice bring you
to the Lord. 

      In the next lesson, we will pick up in verse 44.

                  Matthew Questions 27

1.  What is the Kingdom of heaven likened unto?
2.  What is the kingdom of heaven built for?
3.  When the men slept, who planted?
4.  Who does the wheat represent?
5.  Who do the tares represent?
6.  What did the servants ask the householder?
7.  Are we to throw them out of the church?
8.  Why?
9.  What two things will happen to unbelievers, if you leave them
    alone?
10. What Scripture gives some precedence to the theory of staying on
    the earth all seven years of tribulation?
11. Where is the Masters barn?
12. Who are the reapers?
13. Who are ministering spirits?
14. What did the grain of mustard seed grow to be?
15. Who is the Tree of Life?
16. What did the woman hide in the measure of meal?
17. How did Jesus reveal the secrets that had been kept from the
    foundation of the earth?
18. Why did the disciples not understand the parables?
19. Why sowed the good seed?
20. Who are the good seed?
21. Who are the tares?
22. What is the harvest?
23. Where will the evil wind up?
24. Who is the Judge?
25. Why will the righteous shine?