Matthew

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Matthew 13:1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
Mat 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.
Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Mat 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:
Mat 13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
Mat 13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
Mat 13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 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.
Mat 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 those who seek the Lord for salvation, that seek the Lord just because He is God, to those who seek to find, to those who desire to know the Lord and live by His word, they shall understand. To those that only desire to find fault, to find a loop hole so that can enter heaven but keep their sin, to those that are only half hearted and do not really want God, they will not receive understanding. Those that want to understand and seek to understand will understand. In other words we really get from God what we want.

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

Many do not want to hear and do not seek to understand. The Pharisees for example came to hear Jesus to find occasion to accuse Him. For they were jealous of the crowds He attracted and wanted an excuse to tear down His ministry. They could hear all the parables they had time to hear but they would never understand.

Some people do not want to attend church. Most do not because they don't want to hear the words, "Repent, the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Some will attend those that have the best entertainment or those that put on the best shows. Some will only attend to hear those that make them feel good in their sins and still make them feel saved.

Yet there is a narrow way. Some will seek to know God and find His will for their lives. Some seek Him for His salvation and for understanding of His word. Those that really want to know who God His and to understand His word, are the ones who will understand.

Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 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.

Some Old Testament prophets would have given all they had to have been among the crowds listening to Jesus when He walked among men. Sometimes we fail to realize the great opportunity we have before us. We have access to the word of God and the very presence of God. Yet we settle for sixteenth of what
we could have. I'm not talking of material wealth as blessings of God. I'm speaking of things of much more value. The things of the Spirit and the deep things of God.

God gives us His salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Included in this salvation is forgiveness of sins, cleansing from sin, and being born again by God's spirit. Some stop there and do not keep seeking Him. We can seek Him and become set apart for His service losing our desire to seek anything in this life but be sanctified, set apart completely for all God has for us. Some stop there and do not keep seeking Him. He has for us a baptism greater than water baptism although water baptism is necessary because
it shows that we are acting by faith and obedience to His word when we are baptized in water showing openly our acceptance of Jesus Christ.

God has for those that believe and obey Him the power to overcome sin and serve Him by walking completely in the Spirit. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is given to those that obey Him holding back nothing. Having been cleansed from sin, God will baptize us completely in the Holy Spirit. We may experience speaking in an unknown tongue or prophesying when the Holy Spirit is poured out among us. Some may preach, some may teach, some may lay hands of the sick and they recover. These gifts are given to further the gospel so that others may be saved. Signs will confirm the word we preach and teach. Speaking in tongues is important because that is one gift that is individual and not just for service within the body of believers. It helps us pray in the will of God and worship in spirit and in truth. Yet some fail to seek God for these good things thinking that they were only for the first century Christians.

We have the written word also to keep us from being deceived and to show us who God is and how this great salvation has come down to us. Yet how many of us leave the bible laying on our coffee table and do not read it? If we don't study the word, we will fall prey to any false doctrine that comes down the pike sometimes by those claiming to represent Jesus Christ.

Mat 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 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.

This is one that may receive the word half heartedly and do not really want to live for God with all His heart. He doesn't build upon what He heard and so lets the enemy take it from his heart before it has a chance to grow and produce fruit.

Mat 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;
Mat 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.

This one likes the sound of the word he hears. He even receives the word with joy. The next day though when people start to criticize him for his new faith, the person is offended and gives up. The word has not taken root so it quickly dries up just like a seed planted upon stony ground. This may have been a very emotional person who can run, jump and shout for joy but the moment the trials come, he loses the joy. He lives by circumstances and his faith is mostly feelings rather than in the word itself. He has faith only when things are going good and he feels good.

Mat 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.

This is a good description of the church of Laodicea. Rich and increased with goods and has need of nothing so they think. They think to gain in godliness. The world chokes the true word of God and they think they are okay but are really poor, blind and without any spiritual clothing. The New Testament is full of warnings about the love for money, the love for the world and the god of mammon but we are ignoring it. We are listening to false preachers tell us that God really wants us to have all these things and we will
get all these things if we send money or sow seed into their ministries. Yet we need to open our eyes. The only ones getting rich are the ones we send our money to. The widow that sends in money every month is not getting rich. Hello. Wake up. The prosperity doctrine is a lie to fleece the flock of God.

Jesus teaches giving and it shall be given to us but He means necessary things to sustain us in this life until He returns. He means for us to have compassion on the poor and help those that cannot give. He means for us to send the gospel to those that can't pay us to give them the gospel. Give and it shall be given is to give to those that have not. We are fast losing our compassion on the poor thinking that God is not blessing them so we don't have to give to them. This is not what Jesus taught. Small local churches are dying not because God is not blessing them, it is because people are fleeing them for the rich entertaining churches that do not need anything.

There may be some that are apostate that are small churches but some are dying because they are poor and people are do not want to support them but rather give to the ones that already have an abundance. This is not compassion. The well to do churches should help the struggling inner city churches, not abandon them. Jesus told the rich man to sell all he has and give to the poor. We are not doing that. We are giving to the rich and making them richer.

Mat 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 is my goal and should be the goal of anyone who loves Jesus Christ and desires the truth. This does not necessarily refer to soul winning because we all have different gifts and callings. It may not necessarily mean good works as far as what the world thinks are good works. A little child who is poor and has not means in which to do great things can produce a hundredfold fruit by being obedient to what little they may know. On a personal level this means to be fruitful in the Lord. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance which is self-control. It is not how many healings we see when we lay hands on the sick, it is not how many souls we win to Christ that show our good fruit but it is our obedience to what light we have received, it is the fruits of the spirit within us and our love for the Lord that produces that hundredfold yield spoken of here.

Now, how do I know that? Because the gospel of Jesus Christ has to be the same for everyone. What applies to a big name evangelist must also apply to a small child. What applies to rich American Christians must also apply to the poor 3rd world Christian. What counts for the rich Christian is whether he or she is letting the thorns choke out the seed of the word or is he being obedient to God's word and does he love the Lord more than his riches? What counts for the poor persecuted Christian is that he is faithful and does not lose heart by those that come against him because of his faith and he is not offended in Christ.

To be obedient to the word is to live by the word and the light that has been revealed to us. If we are called to preach, we preach. If we are called to the mission field, we go and if we are called to teach toddlers, we teach toddlers. Our fruit is our obedience to the word and our love for the Lord. Our lives must reflect what we teach or preach.

One example may be this: A man is called to preach and he wins many souls to Christ by his obedience to God's calling. That is good but I believe if he has a wife who stands by him and labors hard to feed and clothe her family and those that visit them, she will be rewarded the same as he.

I don't believe by the way that God limits women to just help their husbands. What if a woman loves God and loves His word but doesn't have a husband to help? If God calls her to a teaching or preaching position, who am I to say that she can't do it? There are some great women teachers. They are just not to use their gift of teaching as an excuse to usurp authority over whoever is in authority. I believe the same would be true of a male who tried to usurp authority over another male who was in authority over a church body.
Paul evidently had trouble with women who thought that since God gave them the Holy Spirit and they could prophesy, that they could then rule over their husbands or take over authority in places where God placed someone else in authority. No one is to usurp authority that is not given to them.

Although I shy away from women pastors, there are some churches that have such a shortage of male pastors that they have to use women. Some of them do very well. It may not be the best but if they have that leadership ability that some men possess, who are we to say they can't. They are not usurping any authority over a male if there are no qualified males who can take on leadership and are not called of God to do so. We have to learn to work with what we have.

I think that in this modern age of women's lib, many resist that so much that they think all women who want to preach is in rebellion against godliness. Some women preachers are very liberal and have strayed from the word of God but not all of them have. I've known some women preachers that live very godly and preach godliness. Let us not throw the baby out with the bath water here.

I've heard a couple of male teachers say that most false doctrines are started by women preachers. When you examine the truth down through the centuries, you will find that most false doctrines have been started by men, not women. Let us not stereotype. Both men and women can preach false doctrine. Both men and women can teach the truth. There is supposed to be neither male nor female in Christ. We must obey our calling whether or not we are male or female. In Christ we are the same. Women do have a tendency to be
deceived and have to be careful but I've also known men who are easily deceived and women who have strong discernment.

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

The enemy will continue to do this until Jesus returns again. He will try to corrupt the church, steal the truth and sow discord among us.

Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 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?
Mat 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?
Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 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.

Let all church leaders read this passage. Let both grow together until the harvest. We are not to kill, persecute, torture and harm anyone who brings false doctrine. God has to do the reaping in His own time. We are not to harm anyone. We can stop them from preaching falsely within our own group but if they go out and gather their own followers, we have no right to harm them and try to forbid them to speak. Let God bring the judgment in those cases.

The reason I say this is because of reading church history. Those that burned heretics to the stake thinking they were doing God a service were actually the ones who were in the wrong in most cases. They were the ones who had strayed so far from the original word of God that they didn't recognize the truth when someone pointed it out to them.

We could be killing those that represent God Himself. Jesus Christ told us to go into all the world and make disciples, teaching them all things that He commanded. He never once gave any authority to the church to kill anyone for heresy. Why? Because in trying to root out the tares, we may harm wheat without realizing it.

The harvest is the end of this present world when the Lord Himself comes back with His saints with Him. That is when He will separate the wheat from the tares. We must not attempt to do this ahead of time.

This does not mean that we do not expose false teachers and warn against false doctrine. We may even have to name names at times to keep people from being deceived. However, we are never to persecute, kill or imprison someone for their doctrine. What if we are the ones preaching false doctrine?

The law of the land says that we have to imprison those that steal, kill and harm the innocent. That we know to be true. The church though has no authority from Jesus Christ to take over governments before the literal second coming of Christ. We are to concentrate on the gospel and bringing people to Christ so they can be "born again" by God's spirit and inherit eternal life. That is our only mission. We are not to take over the government and try to build a city of God by force. A heart has to be changed by the
power of the gospel. We can't force this on someone by having them baptized in water or accept a religion we call Christianity. They have to be born again and changed by the spirit of God from the inside before they are really Christians. Just accepting Christianity does not make one a Christian.

Mat 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:
Mat 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.
Mat 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.

Leaven represents evil. So we see that we have the gospel going forth but not all that come under the branches will be of the truth or obedient to the Lord in all things. There will be heretics, dissenters and those that believe in name only not in deed and in truth.

This continues the discussion of tares and wheat. Evil and good will dwell within the visible church until the harvest or end of the world when angels will gather up the tares into bundles. The the righteous shall shine forth like the sun. We are never to attempt this ahead of time by force. We must attempt to purge the leaven by teaching, preaching, correction, laboring and exhorting all believers and finding the lost while we are doing that. We are never to try to separate tares from wheat by physical force like the government has to do with law breakers. Go forth and teach Jesus says, being wise as serpents but harmless as doves.

Mat 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Mat 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.

That way it is hidden from those that rebel and do not really want the truth but it is revealed to those that desire to change their lives and live for God.

Mat 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.
Mat 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 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;
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 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;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 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.

Remember that God sends the angels to gather the ones that offend. We are not to attempt this ahead of time. That is the whole reason for the parable of the tares. Leave them alone Jesus said. We are not to physically harm any heretic or anyone we think is a heretic. The church in the Middle Ages was wrong when they killed people they thought were heretics. We must not do that again. What happened then can happen again if the false church rises to power. They ended up killing the innocent while the church itself was in apostasy and heresy. I believe Jesus put this parable in here to warn of that which came after 325 AD when Constantine liberated the church. We fight against heresy by teaching, preaching, and living in holiness and truth. We don't fight against them by brute force. Our weapons are not carnal but are supposed to be by the power of the Holy Spirit. The reason the church went into apostasy is because they no longer were being filled with the Holy Spirit. They had substituted the doctrines of men in place of the
word of God. Church tradition took the place of the word of God. Authority of men took the place of the power of the Holy Spirit.

Mat 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.

The kingdom of heaven here is the one that is within us as we become believers in Christ. We forsake our old life and our old ways and embrace this new and living way through faith in Jesus Christ.

The apostate church in the Middle Ages made the same mistake the Jews made in the days that Christ walked the earth. They were looking for a Messiah that would set up an earthly kingdom and free them from the Romans and rule the world from Jerusalem. The apostate church forgot to preach the gospel that would save individual souls and began to try to set up an all Christian world by force. Only Jesus will be able to set up a righteous government. We must wait on Him.

Mat 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Mat 13:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

That pearl of great price was indeed the salvation of God obtained by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and He power to take away our sins and give us the Holy Spirit.

Mat 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
Mat 13:48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
Mat 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
Mat 13:50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

We see that the good dwells along side of the bad until the harvest. We can't cast them out first or we will harm innocent wheat. This is what Jesus is teaching. Be harmless as doves but wise. We fight against evil by teaching and preaching under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We do not fight against evil with swords.

I'm saying this as a body of believers that some call the church. I'm not saying this as a country that has to defend itself against invaders and evil dictators. I believe it is okay to fight for one's country and such. Israel had to do that many times. As a nation we have to have law and order, police, and government until Jesus returns. The called out ones though, or believers in Christ are not to take over governments and create a church state. We are to preach the gospel of repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ as savior from sin. We are to teach about walking in the spirit and being obedient to the word. We are not to try to win converts by government or force. There is no way we can make someone become a "born again" Christian. God and only God can save the soul and change a life.

Mat 13:51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Mat 13:52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

We have to discern what is fulfilled in Christ and what is still to be kept. Christ brings in a New covenant and a new beginning having fulfilled all requirements of the law to insure one's salvation and eternal life. We now have all this treasure to study and keep that which still is in effect and get rid of all that is fulfilled and done away with.

Now salvation is through faith in Christ. It was made simple for a child to believe. Repent of sins and turn to Christ. We don't have to bring sacrifices and keep feast days to earn any salvation. We don't have to require circumcision or any ritual to make ourselves more holy. We are made holy only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Faith in what Jesus did on our behalf will sanctify us and make us holy as we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. We now can be completely baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Mat 13:53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
Mat 13:54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and
these mighty works?
Mat 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Mat 13:56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

We see that Jesus grew up among these people but did not start his ministry until the time appointed by God His Father. He had natural brothers born after the birth of Jesus. He had natural sisters. Mary and Joseph continued living a normal life and had other children. Jesus is the only one that had no earthly father only an earthly mother. He was born into such an ordinary family that they couldn't believe He was full of such wisdom.

Mat 13:57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
Mat 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Its strange how people will believe a stranger than one that lived among themselves. When the anti-christ arises many will believe in him and be deceived. He will not be ordinary but will be a popular celebrity full of false signs and lying wonders.

John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

Beware of those that promote their own name even if they claim to come in the name of Jesus.

Matthew 14