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Parables Of The Kingdom
January 03, 2016
Jesus taught several parables regarding the kingdom of heaven , which is the kingdom of God. These parables of the kingdom helped those early Christians to understand the scope of what was about to take place. We look back and see that it was so -- the kingdom of heaven on earth started out small, with one man, and grew to a worldwide organism with believers constituting the body and Jesus Christ serving as its head. - Bernie Parsons
Parables of the Kingdom
by Bernie Parsons
Presented to Globe church of Christ on 01-03-2016
Presented to Load church of Christ on 01-10-2016
Jesus took great pains to explain the kingdom of God, about which He
preached. He wanted His disciples to have a clear idea of what was about
to take place, giving them several parables to this end.
Mark 4:26 "And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should
cast seed into the ground;
27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring
and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then
the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the
sickle, because the harvest is come."
The kingdom of God was about to explode forth upon the earth in a flurry
of growth. As we studied in the parable of the seed, our job is to
spread the seed everywhere. God will give the increase. Our purpose is
to see that the planted seed bears fruit.
Mark 4:30 "And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or
with what comparison shall we compare it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the
earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all
herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may
lodge under the shadow of it."
During the explosive growth of the ekklesia upon the earth, Jesus knew
that there would be imposters among the called out.
Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns,
or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree
bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree
bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast
into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
Jesus gave a parable to explain this concept to His followers.
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:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat,
and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then
appeared the tares also.
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?
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?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also
the wheat with them.
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."
The disciples inquired as to the meaning of the parable, and Jesus
explained it.
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.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the
Son of man;
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;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the
world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall
it be in the end of this world.
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;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of
their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
The imposters looked like the good seed, but when it grew and bore
fruit, it was obvious which were the good plants and which were the
weeds. God can tell the difference, although it may not be apparent to
us, and He will have His angels remove the offending plants.
Jesus also compared the kingdom of heaven to a buried treasure, or a
pearl of great value.
Matthew 13:44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in
a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof
goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking
goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all
that he had, and bought it.
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into
the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and
gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth,
and sever the wicked from among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth."
We see from these parables that the kingdom of heaven is priceless. It
is so valuable to those who find it, that they willingly give up all
that they possess in order to have a stake in it. The man who found the
buried treasure sold all his possessions in order to buy the field where
the treasure was buried. The merchant who dealt in pearls sold all of
his inventory to purchase the one fantastic pearl of great value.
Christians need to put everything about their old life behind them when
they find the kingdom of heaven.
Again, we see with the parable of the net that God’s angels will sort
the bad fish from the good. We often cannot tell the difference, but God
can.
Do we understand the immense value of the kingdom of God? Do we see that
it is worth more than all that we might otherwise possess? Nothing
compares to being in the kingdom of our God.
