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JESUS AND HIS PARABLES (I)
FRIDAY, MAY 30
Matthew 13:1-23

Luke 8:4-18

 

“…he spake many things

unto them in parables…”

 

JESUS AND HIS PARABLES (I)
 
A parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” Jesus used common things or situations in human life to teach important spiritual truths about God and His kingdom. Jesus is the Teacher of teachers. He made use of simple illustrations to teach difficult concepts. By so teaching, difficult concepts are made simple and easy for people to understand.
 
The parable of the sower/seed/soil is one of the most preached parables of Jesus. It is also one of the few parables where Jesus explained its meaning. This parable seeks to teach what true faith is. The wayside refers to those who are totally void of faith. Stony and thorny places describe those who have false faith (cf. the “seemeth to have” of Luke 8:18). The good soil describes those who possess true faith. True faith is manifested by perseverance and fruitfulness: “he that received seed into the good ground is he that …in an honest and good heart …heareth the word, and understandeth (i.e. receives, keeps) it; which also beareth fruit … with patience” (Matt 13:23; Luke 8:15; Matt 13:23; Luke 8:15). The Apostle James, who heard Jesus, rightly taught in his epistle that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). True faith is a persevering faith that overcomes trials and temptations (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21), and will produce the fruit of the Spirit — “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” etc (Gal 5:22-23).
 
THOUGHT: The Church on earth is a mixed multitude of true and false believers.
PRAYER: Father, I want to be a believer who has Thy Word sown on fertile soil.

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