The meaning of the parable of the wheat and weeds, along with the parables of the hidden treasure, pearl of great value, net, and storehouse

Posted on March 19, 2015 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

The meaning of the parable of the wheat and the weeds.

Jesus sent away the crowds and went into the house. His disciples asked him to explain the parable of the wheat and the weeds to them.

He answered “The Son of Man is the one who sows the good seed, the field is the world, and the sons of the kingdom are the good seed. The weeds are the sons of the Devil, who sowed them. The harvest represents the end of the age, while the harvesters are angels.”

“In the same way that the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will separate out every stumbling block and everyone who does not follow the Law of God. The angels will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then, all the godly people will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Anyone who has ears to hear should listen to this!”

MT 13:36-43

The parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great value.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure a man discovered that was buried in a field. After he found it, he covered it back up again, and in his joy he went and sold everything he had to buy that field.”

“Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant on a quest for fine pearls. When he found a pearl of great value, he went and sold everything he had so he could buy it.”

MT 13:44-46

The parable of the net.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It gathers up every kind of fish, and when it is full, the fishermen drag it ashore and put the good fish into containers but throw away the worthless ones.”

MT 13:47-48

The storeroom.

Jesus asked them “Have you understood what I have told you?”

“Yes,” they said.

“Therefore, every teacher of the Law who has been instructed in the nature of the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings new treasures as well as old out of his storeroom.”

Jesus left there after finishing these parables.

MT 13:51-53

The parable of the barren fig tree

Posted on March 19, 2015 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

“There once was a man who had a fig tree in his vineyard. He went to see if there was fruit on it, but there wasn’t any. He told his gardener to cut the tree down, explaining that in three years there hadn’t been any fruit on the tree. It was a waste of dirt.

The gardener asked him to give it another year. He promised to dig around it and fertilize it. He said ‘If it doesn’t bear fruit after that then it can be cut down.’”

LK 13:6-9

The parable of the growing seed.

Posted on March 19, 2015 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

“The kingdom of heaven is also like this; a man scatters seed, and without his knowledge or assistance the seed sprouts and grows over time. The soil makes the seed grow all by itself. First there was a leaf blade, then the heads of wheat formed, and finally the grain ripened. As soon the crop was ready, the man sent for the harvesters.”

MK 4:26-29

Using parables

Posted on March 19, 2015 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

Jesus gave the message of the Kingdom to the crowds only in parables, as they were able to hear. This fulfilled the prophecy which said “I will open my mouth in parables; I will declare things kept hidden from the beginning of the world.” However, he privately explained what he had said to his disciples.

MT 13:34-35, MK 4:33-34

The parable of the yeast

Posted on March 19, 2015 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman mixed into 50 pounds of flour until the yeast spread through all of it, making it all leavened.”

MT 13:33, LK 13:20-21

The parable of the mustard seed

Posted on March 19, 2015 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

“How can I explain what the kingdom of God is like? What can I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed sown in the ground. It is smaller than any other seed, but when grown, it is a huge tree, taller than any vegetable. It becomes a tree big enough for birds to make nests in its large branches.”

MT 13:31-32, MK 4:30-32, LK 13:18-19

The parable of the wheat and the weeds.

Posted on March 19, 2015 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

Jesus offered his listeners another parable. “The kingdom of heaven may be thought of as being like a farmer who sowed good wheat seed in his field. One night while he slept his enemy came and planted weeds in amongst the good wheat seed. Later the plants sprouted. The wheat and weeds had grown up together.

The man’s servants asked him ‘Didn’t you only sow wheat here? Then why are there weeds?’

‘This was done by an enemy!’ he said.

His servants asked him ‘Do you want us to pull out the weeds?’

‘No’ he said. ‘You might accidentally uproot the good wheat at the same time. Let them both grow together until harvest time. Then I will tell the reapers to sort out the weeds, tie them in bundles, and burn them, but put the wheat in the barn.'”

MT 13:24-30

The parable of the sower explained

Posted on March 18, 2015 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

Jesus said “Do you not understand this parable? Then how are you going to be able to understand any of them? The seed is the word of God. The sower is the one who shares it with others. The people along the path are those who have heard the message about the kingdom and don’t understand it. Satan has snatched away the words that were sown in their hearts so they would not believe and be saved.”

“As for the seed sown on rocky ground, this represents the people who hear the word and immediately receive it joyfully. However, because they are not rooted in their faith, they believe for a little while but stumble when troubles come because of the word.”

“Regarding the seed sown among thorns, these are the people who hear the word but are distracted and paralyzed by worry and greed, and the word is not able to take root in them and produce any fruit.”

“But the seed sown on good ground represents the people who hear the word with honest and open hearts. They understand it, welcome it, and through endurance are able to bear much fruit, even up to 100 times what was sown.”

MT 13:18-24, MK 4:13-20, LK 8:11-15

Why parables?

Posted on March 18, 2015 by betsybeadhead | 1 Comment

When Jesus was alone with his disciples, they came up and said to him “Why do you speak to people in parables? What does the parable of the sower mean?”

Jesus answered them “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been revealed to you but not to everyone. For them the information is transmitted in parables so that Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled. It says ‘They may listen but never understand, and they may look and never see. For people’s hearts have grown hard and their ears have grown deaf, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they might see, hear, and understand and turn back, and I would heal them.'”

MT 13:10-15, MK 4:10-12, LK 8:9-10.

The parable of the sower.

Posted on March 17, 2015 by betsybeadhead | 1 Comment

Jesus was again teaching beside the sea. He decided to teach while sitting in a boat in the water because a large crowd had gathered around him. The crowd stood on the shore to listen to him. They had come to hear him from every town.

He taught them many things using parables, including this one: “Think about the person who went out to sow his field. While he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path and birds came and ate it. Other seeds fell where there were more rocks then soil. The seed sprang up quickly, but then withered just as quickly in the sun because it didn’t have deep roots to gather moisture. Other seeds fell among the thornbushes and the thorns made it impossible for them to produce a crop. Yet other seeds fell on good ground and were able to produce 30, 60, even 100 times what was sown. Anyone who has ears should listen to this!”

MT 13:1-9, MK 4:1-9, LK 8:4-8