The “Hidden” Parables

Each of these stories is about an unseen object or quality. We don’t need to look too hard to see the valuable lessons that Jesus taught…

The Hidden Leaven (Matthew 13:33-35)

• Anyone who has ever baked understands how leaven seems so insignificant, but also how necessary it is to the process. The finished product is much, much larger than it ever could be without the catalyst. What is the secret ingredient in the kingdom of heaven?

The Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44)

• Who hasn’t dreamed of finding buried treasure? Are you willing to part with all your worldly possessions that you might own a piece of heaven?

The Hidden Bargain (Matthew 13:45-46)

• Like the man who found buried treasure, this merchant discovers a choice pearl. His business was pearls. He was looking for quality merchandise. And when he found the object of his search, he determined that he must add it to his inventory. Would you recognize the most valuable pearl that God has to offer?

The Hidden Harvest (Matthew 13:47-50)

• When the gospel net goes out, not everyone is carried along in it. And not everyone who is carried along in it is kept eternally. Like it or not, the end of the world will be a time of separating the good from the bad, the just from the wicked.

The Hidden Truth (Matthew 13:51-53)

• What’s in your bag? Do you have something old and proven? Do you have something new and exciting?

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The Parable Of The Tares

A very common misunderstanding and misapplication surrounding the story of the enemy who sowed tares in another man’s field is that the church (churches) will necessarily be a mixture of saved and unsaved folks and any attempt to maintain a regenerate membership is counter-productive. The correct understanding is quite plain…

Matthew 13:24-32, Matthew 13:36-43

• “The field is the world” (v. 38).
• The good seed are the children of the kingdom.
• He that sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
• The tares are the children of the wicked one.
• The enemy that sowed them is the devil.
• The harvest is the end of the world.
• The reapers are the angels.
• “So shall it be in the end of this world” (v. 40).

Meditation Points:

1. This is NOT about allowing unsaved people to take part in church functions.
2. This IS about whether Christians should live in communes and about whether Christians should kill the unsaved. (The answer to both is “No”.)
3. For an extended passage on the subject of Christians cooperating with non-Christians in religious matters, please read 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 and 2 Corinthians 7:1.
4. Again notice that the “kingdom of heaven” is already on earth interacting with the wicked one. See also that it extends on through the day of judgment.

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Little Stories With Big Lessons

Mention the word “parables” and many people immediately think of Jesus. His stories are quite simple; but their truths are eternal…

Mark 4:21-34; Luke 8:16-18

• Does one light a lamp and then hide it under a bed or in a basket? Of course not.
• Would you like to be treated the way that you treat others?  If not, then change your ways.
• The kingdom of God is like the farmer who doesn’t understand plant biology but harvests crops nonetheless. Do you now how God works?
• The kingdom of God starts small and grows into something quite large.
• Mark 4:24 says, “Take heed WHAT you hear…”
• Luke 8:18 says, “Take heed HOW you hear…”

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Parables

Start here. “Don’t you know this parable? How then will you know all parables?” (Jesus, Mark 4:11). Either this parable is easy to understand or it is key to understanding other parables? Or both.

Mark 4:1-25; Matthew 13:1-23; Luke 8:4-18

• This parable of the sower carries with it Jesus’ infallible interpretation. How can one go wrong?
• This parable is about the kingdom of God (Mark 4:11), or the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:11).
• The parable speaks of people who easily forget the word of God and never believe (the wayside hearers), people who get all excited for a while after they have heard the word of God (the stony ground hearers), people who make some changes to their lives for a longer but not eternal period of time (the thorny ground hearers), and people who hear the word of God and understand it and become fruitfully obedient (the good ground hearers).
• Will we find these four types in heaven or on earth? Well, on earth, of course. Therefore the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, exists on earth and in time.
• Jesus adds the thought that spiritual truth and light cannot be hidden, by design.

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