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JESUS AND HIS PARABLES (IV)
MONDAY, JUNE 2
Matthew 13:44-53

Philippians 3:7-8

 

“…the kingdom of heaven is like

unto treasure hid in a field…”

 

JESUS AND HIS PARABLES (IV)
 
The parable of the hidden treasure tells us that the kingdom of God as found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a thing most precious. A person who finds it would be willing to sell all that he has in order to obtain it. This was Paul’s experience (Phil 3:7-8).
 
The parable of the pearl of great price tells us that the Gospel of the kingdom is of infinite value. It is like a pearl merchant who, in search of good pearls, finds one that is unique, and sells all his other pearls to buy it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is thus incomparable.
 
The parable of the good and bad fishes is similar to the parable of the wheat and tares. It tells us that the church visible comprises both true and false believers. The Gospel net ought to be cast far and wide, and will inevitably bring in all kinds of people, some sincere, others not. There are those who are found in church, but they are there not because of Christ, but for wicked reasons. At the end of the world, God will send His angels to separate the wicked from the righteous, and He will cast the wicked into the lake of fire.
 
The disciples understood Jesus’ parables after He had explained to them their meaning. Having learnt those wonderful truths about the kingdom of God, they were duty-bound to teach them to others also (cf. 2 Tim 2:2). But they were not to teach as the scribes who had nothing new and fresh to say. Christian teachers ought to dig into the treasury of God’s Word to bring up “things new and old.”
 
On “things new and old,” Calvin commented, “teachers are like heads of families who take care not only to have enough for themselves but to have a store laid up to feed others. They do not live from hand to mouth, but have an eye to the future. The meaning is then: The doctors of the Church should be taught by long meditation, so that as need arises they may minister doctrine to the Church from God’s Word as from a storehouse. …by which they wisely and aptly accommodate the teaching to the grasp of each individual.”
 
THOUGHT: The parables of Jesus are incomparable.

PRAYER: “Thy Word is like a Garden, Lord.”

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