LIFE OF CHRIST
A Harmony of the Gospels

LESSON  TWELVE

Parables
Parable is from parabole - denotes  "a placing beside".

Went out to sow

According to Dr. Thomason,  this statement is more literally true than would appear to a hasty reader.
The farmers in Palestine used to  “go forth”  to sow their seed,  the fields being at a considerable distance from their homes,  sometimes six or eight miles.

According to Jewish authorities, there was twofold sowing:

By the wayside

Dean Stanley,  approaching the plain of Gennesaret, says:  “A slight recess in the hillside,  close upon the plain,  disclosed at once,  in detail and with a conjunction which I remember nowhere else in Palestine,  every feature of the great parable:

He who has ears to hear,  let him hear

There are three categories of  "hearers" - Those who:

Why do you speak ... in parables?

Some have said Jesus spoke in parables so that the multitudes would understand His words.
But that is contrary to the reason Jesus gave the disciples in answer to their question: "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

The reason Jesus gave:

The parables of Jesus, like the pillar of cloud and fire

Parables serve the double purpose of  revealing and concealing

Matthew 13:13-15  (Amplified Bible)

Isaiah 6:9-11  (Amplified Bible)

Mark 4:33-34
And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone,  He explained all things to His disciples.    (NKJV)

Matthew 13:34, 35
All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables;  and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

The Mysteries of the Kingdom of  Heaven

Mysteries - from the Greek “musteria”
In classical Greek,  applied to certain religious celebrations to which persons were admitted by formal initiation,  and the precise character of which is unknown.

A mystery does not denote an  “unknowable”  thing,  but one which is withdrawn from knowledge or manifestation,  and which cannot be known without special manifestation of it.
Hence appropriate to the things of the kingdom of heaven,  which could be known only by revelation.

The word "mystery," in the Bible,  properly means a thing that is  "concealed,"  or that  "has been concealed."
It does not mean that the thing was  "incomprehensible,"  or even difficult to be understood.
The thing might be  "plain"  enough if revealed,  but it means simply that it  "had not been before made known."

Romans 16:25
Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations.    (NKJV)

Romans 11:25
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.    (NKJV)

Ephesians 3:3, 4, 9
... how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery  (as I have briefly written already,  by which,  when you read,  you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of  Christ) ... and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery,  which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ.   (NKJV)

Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?

The Parable of the Sower does not begin with  "The kingdom of heaven is like"
because it  describes how the kingdom begins.
It begins with the preaching of the Word,  the planting of the seed in the hearts of people.

10 mysteries of the Kingdom of  Heaven

The Scriptures themselves explain why the Kingdom of Heaven is  “mysterious,”  or hidden from understanding except through special revelation:

Now the parable is this

We are responsible for the care and cultivation of our own  field.

Some a hundredfold

From Adam Clark

It is significant that three-fourths of the hearts did not produce fruit (they were never truly born again)
And the hearts that were fruitful did not all produce "a hundredfold."
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright (c) 1992 by SP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Kingdom of  Heaven is like

Tares

Tares are the annual bearded darnel or rye grass that flourishes in wheat fields.

Roberts states that the counterpart of this nocturnal villainy may be found in India.
A man wishing to do his enemy an injury watches for the time when he shall have finished plowing his field,  and in the night he goes into the field and scatters  “pandinellu,”  or  “picpaddy.”
“This being of rapid growth springs up before the good seed,  and scatters itself  before the other can be reaped,  so that the poor owner of the field will be some years before he can rid the soil of the troublesome weed.”

An enemy has done it

From this parable we find,  concerning our Archenemy, Satan:

The Two Seeds

The Scriptures have this to say on the subject:

Ephesians 6:11
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil.    (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 2:8, 11
Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him ... lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.    (NKJV)

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan,  with all power,  signs,  and lying wonders,  and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish,  because they did not receive the love of the truth,  that they might be saved.  And for this reason God will send them strong delusion,  that they should believe the lie,  that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.    (NKJV)

James 4:7, 8
Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.     (NKJV)

Ephesians 4:26
"Be angry, and do not sin":  do not let the sun go down on your wrath,  nor give place to the devil.    (NKJV)

1 Peter 5:8-11
Be sober,  be vigilant;  because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion,  seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him,  steadfast in the faith,  knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  But may the God of all grace,  who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,  after you have suffered a while,  perfect,  establish,  strengthen, and settle you.  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.    (NKJV)

The Kingdom of  Heaven is like

Mark gives the most detailed account of this parable:

"I have seen," says Dr. Thomson, "this plant on the rich plain of Akkar as tall as the horse and his rider.  It has occurred to me on former visits that the mustard-tree of the parable probably grew at this spot, or possibly at Tabiga,  near Capernaum,  for the water in both is somewhat similar,  and so are the vegetable productions.  To furnish an adequate basis for the proverb,  it is necessary to suppose that a variety of it was cultivated in the time of our Savior,  which grew to an enormous size,  and shot forth large branches,  so that the fowls of the air could lodge in the branches of it.  It may have been perennial, and have grown to a considerable tree;  and there are traditions in the country of such so large that a man could climb into them;  and after having seen  "red pepper"  bushes grow on year after year,  into tall shrubs,  and the  "castor-bean"  line the brooks about Damascus like the willows and the poplars,  I can readily credit the existence of mustard-trees large enough to meet all the demands of our Lord's parable."  - "The Land and the Book," vol. ii. p. 101.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

Birds nested in its branches

In this parable series,  birds are agents of evil  (Matt 13:4,19),  as they are frequently in Scripture (Jeremiah 5:26-27; Rev 18:2).  History confirms the fact that from the smallest beginning,  the church made astounding growth through the proclamation of  Christ's message.  Yet such unusual growth has provided roosting places for those who are enemies of God,  who seek the shade and fruit of the tree for their own interests  (even nations like to be called "Christian").
(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)

Luke 13:19 - Amplified Bible
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the wild birds found shelter and roosted and nested in its branches.

The Kingdom of  Heaven is like

Leaven

The usual leaven among the Jews consisted of dough in a high state of fermentation,  though the lees of wine were sometimes employed.
The property of leaven is to change,  or assimilate to its own nature,  the meal or dough with which it is mixed.
It is as our modern  “yeast”  which is a living organism,  and indicates an inward growth.

A Woman Hid 3 Measures of Meal

Genesis 18:1-8
(1) Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of  Mamre,  as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.  (2)  So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,  (3)  and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.  (4)  Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.  (5)  And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant."
They said, "Do as you have said."

Leaven in the Old Testament is generally symbolic of evil:

In the New Testament it refers to:

The mustard seed illustrates the false outward expansion of the kingdom
The leaven illustrates the inward development of false doctrine and false living.

The Kingdom of  Heaven is like

Hidden in a field
The possession of wealth often became a source of great perplexity because of its insecurity.
Every man being his own banker,  ingenuity was taxed to devise some plan of concealment,  or to find some place where money,  jewels,  and other valuables may remain free from molestation or suspicion.
Sometimes these treasures are hidden in secret closets in the house,  or in vaults under the house;  sometimes buried in the field,  in a spot unknown to all save the owner.  It not so infrequently happened that the owner went away and died before the time of his intended return,  his secret dying with him.
Times of war and pestilence carried off great numbers,  who left treasures concealed,  no one knows where.  There are,  no doubt,  deposits of immense value thus buried.
A man who discovers the place where treasure is hid keeps the discovery to himself,  buys the field,  and the treasure is then his own.

Phil 2:5-9
... Christ Jesus ... made Himself of no reputation,  taking the form of a bondservant,  and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man,  He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.     (NKJV)
Acts 20:28
... the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.     (NKJV)

The Kingdom of  Heaven is like

In the parable of the hidden treasure, the Kingdom is like the Treasure that was hidden
In the parable of the pearl, the Kingdom is like the Merchant that was seeking
In both, the man (Jesus, the Son of Man) gave up all that he had to purchase that which was most valuable to him.

Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.   (NKJV)

1 Corinthians 6:20
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.   (NKJV)

THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  DRAW-NET	Top Previous Section

The Kingdom of  Heaven is like

Dragnet

The word often rendered  “net”  signifies a large drag-net that draws everything after it,  suffering nothing to escape,  as distinguished from a  “casting-net”  in Mark 1:16.

Have you understood all these things?

The Amplified translates this:

The word for  “all”  is  “panta”  which is literally “altogether.”

Here we have the wonderful and fearsome story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

2 Thess 2:7-11
(7)  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;  only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  (8)  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.  (9)  The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,  (10)  and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.    (NKJV)

John 3:16-18
(16)  For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ( unique) Son, so that whoever believes in  (trusts in, clings to, relies on)  Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
(17)  For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world,  but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
(18)   He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment;  for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation];  but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]    (AMP)

He that hath an ear - let him hear

For more discussion on the parables of Jesus, see The Teachings in Topical Studies.