The Dispensations / Part 3

Series – December 2017 – Grace & Truth Magazine

The Dispensations / Part Two
Seven Parables About The Kingdom Of Heaven

The Background To A New Work
The Gospel of the King, “Son of David and Son of Abraham” (Mt. 1:1 NKJV ), was written by Matthew, who was also named Levi. While he was working as a tax collector, he became a disciple when he met the Lord Jesus (9:9), who later called him to be one of the Twelve. Right from the beginning, Matthew’s gospel shows that the people of God were not ready to receive their promised King.

At the time, Herod the Great ruled, and the Romans occupied Israel. Herod did his utmost to please the Roman rulers, but he was paranoid – always afraid of possible competitors. When he heard from the wise men who came from the East that a Jewish king was born, Herod found out from the Jewish scribes where the Messiah was supposed to be born and tried to kill the baby Jesus.

About 30 years later God sent John the Baptist to be the Messiah’s forerunner, to prepare God’s people to receive their King. After an intense investigation, the religious leaders rejected John’s ministry, but many people from various groups of society responded to his preaching and repented. John baptized them.

Afterward, the Lord Jesus, who did not need to repent, identified with these disciples through His own baptism (3:16-17). At that occasion God opened the heavens and proclaimed His delight in the King, the Son of God, the true Messiah or Anointed One (consider Acts 10:38). Immediately after this declaration, Satan tempted Jesus during forty days in the wilderness before God sent the Lord to begin His public ministry. Humanly speaking, His ministry was a great success (Mt. 4); yet the Lord knew the hearts and that He would be rejected as several prophets had foretold. Therefore He trained His disciples accordingly (Mt. 5-7).

Matthew 8-9 briefly summarizes the Lord’s public ministry and miracles, demonstrating that He was the Messiah of whom the prophets had spoken. God confirmed that Jesus was the promised Messiah by the many miracles and signs He gave Him to perform (see Acts 2:22). The rabbis taught that only the promised Messiah would be able to heal lepers, give sight to the blind – even people born blind – or cast out a dumb demon. And this is exactly what happened! However, after further investigation the leaders decided that they could not accept Him, and they soon plotted His execution (Mt. 12:14).

Around the same time the Lord healed a demon-possessed man who was not able to see or speak. Nobody could force the demon to leave this man. The Lord Jesus accomplished for this man the tremendous miracle of deliverance and healing, which proved that He was the Messiah (v.23). The Jewish leaders who taught that only Messiah could do something like this now attributed this miracle to Beelzebul, or Satan (v.24), even though it was so remarkable that the multitudes wondered whether Jesus was God’s Messiah (vv.22-23).

All this shows the ongoing battle between God and Satan, as the Lord not only refuted their arguments but also proved that the whole nation under these leaders had become guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which cannot be forgiven. As a result, in 70 AD the whole religious system, once given by God but perverted by His rebellious people, was destroyed (vv.31-45). Nevertheless, God had prepared a remnant in Israel of faithful disciples among whom He would work something new (11:20-30). This is the background of Matthew 13, which introduces a new work.

A New Work
The rejection by His own people must have been hard for the Lord Jesus to accept, at least from a human perspective, but He committed the whole situation to His Father knowing that God’s plans would be fulfilled (see Isa. 49:4-13). He showed the religious leaders their error and folly and left them to God’s further dealings in discipline (Mt. 12:25-45), while He identified with the believing remnant that existed among the people (vv.46-50). In this context Jesus left the house in which He had taught the disciples and went to the seashore where He sat down to teach the multitudes in parables (13:1-3).

The Lord changed His approach because of His rejection. Earlier He had performed all kinds of miracles for everybody, proving that He was the promised Messiah. After His rejection, however, He performed miracles only to those who expressed faith in Him. Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah (see later) to indicate that His approach had changed according to God’s governmental dealings with Israel. Speaking in parables1, He was hiding the truth from the masses while explaining it to true disciples at that time and to sincere followers ever since (Mt. 13:10-23,34-36,38,52).

The Lord Jesus presented Himself in the first parable as the Sower who started a new work. The new thing was that His disciples would also get involved, then and all through the time that Messiah is rejected by His own people, until His nation again calls on Him (23:39). This parable and the following ones deal with several issues the disciples needed to understand so they would know how to act during the absence of the King.

Furthermore, these and other passages show that while Christ would be absent from His people and this earth, He would build His Assembly (16:16-18). He would take people from among the Jews and Gentiles and put them together in one flock and one body (Jn. 10:16; Eph. 2:11-22). In other words, the disciples would have work to do while the Master was still with them on earth, but the actual building of His Church began after His death, resurrection and exaltation, and after the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). It will be completed at the rapture of the Church (1 Th. 4:14-18). About seven years later the Lord will appear in glory on this earth (Mt. 25:31-46). Three disciples received a preview and foretaste on the Mount of Transfiguration of His coming glory, which confirmed many Old Testament prophecies (17:1-13; 2 Pet. 1:16-18).

Before all this would happen, the Lord explained to His disciples many details of the seven parables (Mt. 13:16-17,18-23,36-50). He concluded with an eighth parable about a trained scribe, able to bring out of his treasure things new and old (v.52). Today the Lord desires us to be such trained disciples.

Overview Of The Seven Parables
When the Lord Jesus came to His people, they did not recognize Him as God’s promised Messiah; only a remnant of true believers accepted Him (Jn. 1:11-12). Yet He would accomplish His planned work despite much opposition and unbelief. Generally speaking, the parables show the efforts of the Wicked One against the Lord while He worked on earth, as He works now2 from heaven in relation to the Church, and when He will work in relation to Israel in the near future.3

Jesus presented the basics of His teachings about His new work in the first parable, the one of the Sower, in four parts. The seed is God’s Word (Lk. 8:11) sown by the Son of Man (Mt. 13:37) and displayed in its produce.

FOUR SOILS FOUR RESULTS

Walking Path Seeds eaten by the birds. Following religion, man-made rules and regulations, prevents the seed’s reception.

Field with rocky places In the soil with no depth of earth because of the rocks, the scattered seed cannot prosper.

Plot with thorns The seed produces initial fruit, but its growth is hindered or stopped by the thorns.

Good ground The good soil produces good fruit.

The Lord added a general statement to emphasize human responsibility: “He who has ears, let him hear!” (v.9 ESV). God’s sovereignty in plans and control never sets aside human responsibility, even though God alone controls both sides.

Remarkably, Matthew records declining results – 100, 60 and 30 fold – as he describes the succession of the dispensations and their developments under man’s responsibility. The Lord Jesus, who is the King, leaves the matters of the Kingdom4 in human hands while He is absent from this scene. This is a new element, for it was not known in the Old Testament (v.35).

Mark presents the Servant who calls and prepares His servants, with increasing results: 30, 60 and 100 fold (Mk. 4:8). In this connection, the second parable in Mark 4:26-29 about the seed is only recorded in this gospel. It is about a man who sowed, then slept and rose up, night and day, with the seed sprouting on its own, without his knowing how, until harvest time. Then he takes charge again. Truly we can see the Servant character of the Lord Jesus in this parable.

Luke emphasizes that the seed is the Word of God, which is perfect, producing 100 fold even though it is linked with the human responsibility of an honest and good heart along with perseverance (Lk. 8:8,15). Once more, the human side cannot entirely be detached from God’s sovereignty, but God’s Word distinguishes between the two.

Another point to note is that the Lord presented to the crowd three more parables. Given as parables two, three and four, they are about the seed sown by an enemy, the mustard seed and resulting tree, and the woman hiding leaven or yeast in the pure meal. Matthew concludes this section with a quote from the prophet Asaph, a psalmist, enabled by God to put things together with remarkable wisdom: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world” (Mt. 13:35; see Ps. 78:2).

After the Lord had presented the four parables above, He withdrew from the multitudes and went into “the house” together with His disciples (Mt. 13:36). There He explained to them the meaning of the first parable about the Sower and the four soils, answered the disciples’ questions and added details about future developments at the end of the age5 (vv.36-43).

The Lord gave more instructions about the first parable of the different soils and the true seed and in the light of the other parables. The second parable was about counterfeit seed, very similar in outward appearance but with very different results (vv.24-30). It describes the efforts of the Adversary – “an enemy” (v.28) – to corrupt, confuse and destroy, but God will not allow the good seed to go to waste. Through this parable Jesus instructed the disciples to wait on God instead of taking things into their own hands and try to change or improve6 the world.

The third parable is about the unnatural growth of the tiny mustard seed into a large tree, which in Scripture usually represents a powerful system. This parable illustrates the outward development of the kingdom of heaven as entrusted to man’s hands into a huge religious-political system, where forces of evil7 find a place to stay. After the death of the apostles, deceitful spirits and wrong doctrines penetrated God’s new testimony (1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Pet. 2:1; 1 Jn. 4:1), promoting an unequal yoke between the Church and the world.

In this context, the fourth parable describes the secret activities of a woman hiding leaven into three measures of pure wheat until all became leavened (Mt. 13:33). Leaven, or yeast, never represents something good; it always refers to evil, either in morals or doctrine. That is why it had to be removed before the Passover lamb could be sacrificed. The Lord foresaw the coming corruption and He equipped His disciples to face it, whether the leaven of religious hypocrisy, orthodoxy, or amalgamations (the mixing of right and wrong). In the intimacy of the house, the Lord gave the disciples details about these four parables, but in this outline we cannot discuss all the details.

Further Mysteries Revealed And Explained
Then He told them three more parables, the fifth, sixth and seventh, about the treasure in the field, the pearl in the sea, and the dragnet catching fish. The purpose of these last three parables was to equip the disciples – and us today – to enter into God’s thoughts concerning the “mysteries” of the kingdom of heaven, and to be able to know and apply the Scriptures as well-instructed disciples (consider vv.35,44,52).

The treasure in the field relates to the rights the Lord has on the whole earth, because He is the Creator and Redeemer who rightfully owns the field (read Rev. 4-5). When the time has come He will publicly claim the field as His, for the whole world belongs to Him (Mt. 13:38,44). Notice the past and present tense: The work is past, but the treasure is present. In the parable of the pearl we learn that, within the framework of God’s redemptive work and based on His counsel from before the world’s foundation, the Merchant found something of extraordinary value. Here the past tense is linked to God’s eternal counsel.

Let’s also understand that God’s counsel as to the Church is from before the world’s foundation (Eph. 1:4), worked out in time as based on the redemptive work of the Lamb (1 Pet. 1:20). It is distinct from God’s plans for and in connection with Israel, which are from the world’s foundation. Whether from before the world’s foundation, as relating to the Church of the living God (Eph. 1:4), or from it (Mt. 13:35, 25:34; Rev. 17:8 and other passages), both plans required that the work of redemption be accomplished first.

Finally, the parable of the dragnet anticipates developments that will take place toward the end of the age as it describes the ultimate separation between good and evil. The stumbling blocks represent causes, workers of unrighteousness, or other hindrances which will be removed; whereas true disciples and overcomers will be honored (Mt. 13:40-43).

We should not put ecclesiastical, or Church, matters on the same level with kingdom matters. As to the first, separation from evil is required for the believers, together with self-judgment. This does not mean that we can impose the principle of separation from evil on the world in which we live in an effort to improve it, for example. In connection to the kingdom, God will deal with this world when the time has come and when He sends out His angels (vv.41,49).

After these instructions the Lord Jesus asked the disciples whether they had understood everything, and they answered, “Yes” (v.51). This led to an eighth parable about a scribe who became a trained disciple for the kingdom of heaven (v.52). The Lord compared such a disciple with a householder who owned a treasure of old and new things to use for the benefit of others. In the apostle Paul we have an example of such a master of the house, a good steward through whom we can learn many things (see 1 Cor. 11:1; 2 Cor. 12:2; 2 Tim. 2:1-2, 3:14; plus other Scriptures).

Summary Of Matthew 13 And A Few Comparisons
It is a wonderful privilege and a great challenge to be instructed in the things of God. The Lord Jesus presented these parables after He had been rejected by His earthly people, showing that God’s plans must and will be fulfilled. The seven parables about the kingdom of heaven divide into a group of four and one of three. The group of four can be subdivided in two sets of two:

• The Sower with various results sets the stage (first parable), and the counterfeiter with his work (second parable), and
• There is outward growth (third parable) and inward development (fourth parable).
• The last three of the seven parables about the kingdom describe things that are more difficult to grasp, emphasizing the value these things have for the Lord, the King:
• The treasure (fifth parable),
• The pearl of great price (sixth parable), and
• The good fish or “the righteous ones” (seventh parable).

These are for the King, whereas the evil and wicked ones will be removed and judged (vv.47-50).

In closing we suggest that series of sevens in Scripture are often interconnected, but this does not mean that all serve the same purpose. The connection between the seven parables of the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 13) with the messages of the Lord to the seven churches (Rev. 2-3) is more obvious than their relationship with the seven days of creation or the seven Feasts of the LORD. Yet, some links exist there as well.

This is food for further thought. Meditation with prayer on these Scriptures will lead us to admire God’s wisdom and bring praise, worship and honor to Him. All this will help us to be doers of the Word, not merely hearers (Jas. 1:22). Praise His name!

END NOTES
1. The word “parable” means “something thrown alongside” and is often used to illustrate or clarify an important truth, for which reason the term “similitude” is sometimes used. Also note that a parable or a picture illustrates something that the New Testament later teaches as
2. The Lord definitely defeated Satan on the cross (Col. 2:15). Yet God allows the enemy to continue his opposition, for Satan cannot do anything else. This is part of God’s ultimate control and ways that lead to fulfilling His plans (Rom. 11:33-36).
3. After that, Satan will be bound for 1,000 years and have no influence on earth. After the 1,000 years he will be released for a short time and then be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20). These are God’s dealings and part of His ways (see previous endnote).
4. Matthew speaks of the kingdom of God when emphasizing moral issues, but he often uses the term “kingdom of heaven.” These are essentially the same, but according to Jewish customs, the latter term avoids mentioning the name of God
5. The New Testament gives further light later on as to the details of the events that will take place after the rapture of the Church.
6. The believers are living in this world to be a testimony to it, but not with the purpose to improve it. This world lies in the wicked one (1 Jn. 5:18-19) and is of him (3:12). True overcomers can survive in it (2:13-14), but no one can improve it.
7. The birds of the air represent forces of evil as linked with “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:3).

By Alfred Bouter

Look for the conclusion of this Series next month.