Please turn to Matthew 13. We will read the first seventeen verses. I will read in English first, and my brother will read in Chinese.
And on that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
And there were gathered unto Him great multitudes, so that He entered into a boat, and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach.
And He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went forth to sow;
And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them:
And others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked them:
And others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
He that hath ears, let him hear.And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?
And He answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith,By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand;
And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:
For this people’s heart is waxed gross,
And their ears are dull of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed;
Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And should turn again,
And I should heal them.But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not.
May we have a word of prayer?
Dear Lord, we thank Thee for gathering us together here this morning. We want to declare that we do gather together unto Thy name, because wherever Thy name is, there is Thy presence. We covet Thy presence more than anything else.
We thank Thee for being present with us this morning. What hast Thou to say to us? Speak; Thy servants hear. May Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, we want Thee to be glorified, and Thy people to be blessed. In Thy precious name we pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, we thank the Lord for gathering us together again this morning.
If you were there last weekend, you know the reason why we gather at this time. We do feel that the message—the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens—must be preached throughout the habitable world as a testimony to the nations. Then the end shall come.
I wonder if you have been wondering: Why is it that our Lord is still waiting? Has He not promised us? Before He left, He promised His disciples that He would come back and receive them unto Himself. When you come to the end of the Holy Bible, He says, “Behold, I come quickly.” But here we are, after twenty centuries, and the Lord seems to be delayed.
I have been burdened before the Lord, wondering why the Lord should be delayed. What is the reason for that? Of course, there is no reason with Him. Our Lord is ever ready. How He must have longed to come back immediately! The problem must be with us.
I think one of the main problems is that the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens has not been preached to all the nations. We know from history that, even at the very beginning, it was our Lord Jesus who preached the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens. His apostles also continued with such preaching.
But very soon, it seems as if that message of the gospel of the kingdom was gradually lost. Not only that: even the gospel of grace was not known. It was not until the sixteenth century that the Lord began to recover the gospel of grace—that we ought to be saved by grace, not by works.
But, so far as I understand, the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens was not recovered even then. It was not until the nineteenth century that some people began to preach the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens.
Even in our days, if you ask Christians, “What is the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens?” many of them do not understand. We only know free grace. If we continue in free grace alone, the result will be that we become very self-centered.
Everything is for me. God is for me. Christ is for me. Salvation is for me. It is me, me, me.
Brothers and sisters, no wonder our Lord Jesus is not able to come back. How can He receive us as His bride when we are totally different from Him? He was One who gave up Himself, and we are those who center upon ourselves.
I think the reason is because we forget the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens. When our Lord Jesus was on earth, this was the gospel that He was preaching. Today, it has become something unknown to us. Yet it is the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens that will prepare us for the second coming of the Lord.
We mentioned last weekend that when Jesus came the first time, He came as the King. The King has come, but He had no kingdom, because the kingdom on earth was the Roman Empire. Even in the Jewish nation, Herod the Idumean was on the throne.
The reason why our Lord came in the first place was that He was seeking for His people. When people believed on Him, He continued to disciple them, because it is only through discipleship that we will be changed and transformed to be conformed to His image.
Then, you remember Matthew 5. Our Lord Jesus went up into the mountain, and His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and gave us what we call the Sermon on the Mount.
What is the Sermon on the Mount? The Sermon on the Mount tells us the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. The Lord came to establish His kingdom upon the earth. What is that kingdom like? It is absolutely different from all the kingdoms on the earth, because it is the kingdom of the heavens.
In Matthew 5-7, He told us what the kingdom of heaven is. The kingdom of the heavens is nothing but the King Himself. His character is to characterize all His citizens. Whoever begins to have His character will be in the kingdom of heaven.
That is the reason why, when you come to Matthew 11, the Lord Jesus said:
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force.
We try to soften the word violence. We do not like that word. We think it is a bad word. But the word violence itself is neutral. It depends on how you use violence. If you do violence to other people, that is bad. But if you do violence to yourself, that is good.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, there was no one who did violence to Himself as our Lord Jesus did. He never lived for Himself; He lived for His Father. He denied Himself all the time: “Not My will, but Thine, be done.”
If we want to be in the kingdom of heaven, we must have the same character. We must learn to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. That is what violence means.
The violent seize upon it. When you think of the word seize, it is a very strong word. In other words, if you do not try to seize it, you miss it. It is something you receive freely; it is free, because God will give you grace to overcome yourself. But, on the other hand, within yourself you must have that will to seize upon it. It is as if you said, “Lord, I will not let You go.”
I remember a story about a sister. One day, she had a controversy with the Lord. The Lord was demanding something of her, but she did not want to give it up. Do you know what she prayed? She said, “Lord, be patient with me. I will turn around, but be patient with me.”
In other words, she had that sense of seizing upon the kingdom. The Lord says that he who does violence to himself—he who denies himself, lays down himself, and allows the will of God to go through him or through her—proves that he is living today in the kingdom of heaven.
The demand is high, but the supply is higher. This is what we have covered during the last two days.
This morning, we would like to come to the second peak in the Gospel, and that is Matthew 13. When you come to the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, it is very, very simple. Brothers and sisters, it is man who makes things complicated. So far as God and His truth are concerned, it is very simple.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit.” “Blessed are the pure in heart.” “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” These are very simple, but how we complicate everything.
When the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens is preached, it becomes a very complicated thing. Why is this so? It is because of our weaknesses, and it is because of the work of the enemy.
When our Lord Jesus was preaching and doing wonders, and when He healed the blind and the deaf, it was a demonstration of the power of the kingdom of heaven. But the Pharisees opposed the Lord Jesus. They said that our Lord cast out demons through the ruler of demons.
For that reason, in Matthew 12, the Lord Jesus said:
And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.
Because of the resistance of this world, our Lord Jesus began to use parables. He used to speak plainly to the people, but now He changed His way of speaking. In Matthew 13, when He spoke to the people, He began to speak in parables.
The beauty of a parable is this: to those who do not believe, it is just a story. But to those who have believed in Him, it makes truth simple. It makes it so clear and so simple.
In Matthew 13, we call these the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, because this is what our Lord Jesus Himself said. Why has the kingdom of heaven become a mystery? We have already said that, when you read Matthew 5-7, it is so clear. Why does it suddenly become a mystery? It is because of man’s unbelief, and because the devil, the enemy, is working.
Whenever the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens is preached, there is not only resistance from unbelief; the enemy also works in the same field and tries to mix up the whole thing. That is why these are called the parables of the kingdom of heaven.
The first parable is the basic one. In my fellowship with brothers and sisters, I find that whenever we leave Matthew 13, we have a big problem, because in our mind there is only the church.
Whenever you read Matthew 13 with the word church in your mind, you will be confused. Why? Because the church is the body of Christ. Every member in that body has the life of Christ in him. But when you read these parables, you find that the enemy has his sons there too. How can you explain that as the church?
It is because even our very concept of the church is so wrong that we make such a mistake. What do the parables of the kingdom of heaven—the mysteries—refer to? They refer to Christianity, or Christendom.
When the gospel is preached and people misunderstand, the enemy begins to sow his seed in it. That becomes Christianity, or Christendom.
In the first parable, our Lord spoke to the people. He said that there was a sower going out to sow. Who is the sower? It is evident that He is our Lord Himself. What are His seeds? The seeds are the truth of the kingdom of heaven.
When He sowed the seed, there were four different kinds of soil. The soil here is our heart. When the gospel of the kingdom of heaven is preached, it reaches the hearts of the people. But there are four different kinds of hearts.
The first kind of heart is like the wayside. It is a place where there is much traffic. Many people walk upon it, so it is hardened ground. Much communication with the world will harden your heart.
When the gospel of the kingdom is preached, such a person hears it, but there is no entrance for it within him. It falls outside. Then the birds come and snatch the seed away. Our Lord Jesus said that the birds here refer to the devil.
The second kind of heart is very shallow ground. There is stone underneath it, with only a thin layer of earth. When the seed falls upon it, it seems able to spring up very quickly. But because there is no root, when the sun shines, it is dried up.
This is the second kind of heart. Emotionally, you are stirred. It seems as if you receive it, but because there is no depth of soil, the sun comes, persecutions come, difficulties come, and everything is gone.
Brothers and sisters, it is your heart. There is stone there—sin, or other people, or other things. When the kingdom of heaven is preached to you, you may be emotionally touched for a while, but very soon it is dried up.
Then there is the third type of heart. The seed falls into the ground, but unfortunately there are thorns there. When the seed begins to grow, the thorns overcome it. It cannot bear fruit.
Some people may hear the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. They seem to have received it, but then the thorns squeeze it, and it cannot bear fruit. That speaks of people who have the world in their hearts. The world is like thorns that squeeze the seed.
Thank God, there is the fourth kind of soil—the fourth kind of heart. That ground has been cultivated. The seed falls into it, grows, and bears fruit: a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold. That is the result of the preaching of the kingdom of heaven.
Then the Lord Jesus continued with the second parable. When you read Matthew 13, there is a progression. The first parable is the foundation, but in the second parable you see a difference.
The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field.
The seed here is not the truth of the kingdom of heaven. If you read Matthew 13:38, you find:
And the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one.
Between the first and second parables there is a progression. The seed our Lord Jesus sows is no longer the truth, but the sons of the kingdom. In other words, those people who have received the truth become the sons of the kingdom.
The field here is no longer the heart. The field is the world. Whenever the gospel of the kingdom of heaven is preached in the world, there are people who receive it, and the Lord sows them in that particular place. You are here in California. Do you think it is by accident that the Lord sowed you there? It is the Lord who put you there to be a witness and a testimony to Him.
But when the men slept, the enemy quietly came in and sowed his seed in the same field. Notice that the first sower is singular, but the men here are plural. Our Lord never sleeps. The men refer to those who work for the Lord.
When those who work for the Lord are sleeping, the enemy comes and sows tares in the same field. The tare outwardly looks like wheat. But when it begins to grow, the wheat, when ripened, bends down; the tare stands straight up.
The Lord knows all about it, but His people do not understand. They say, “Lord, You sowed only good seed. How then are there tares?” The Lord says that it is because, while they were sleeping, the enemy came and sowed.
The seed here is the sons of the devil. Therefore, you cannot apply this parable to the church. But this is exactly what has happened in Christianity. Wherever Christianity spreads, you have schools, hospitals, and other activities. It is the area of Christendom, and there you find a mixture.
If you want to try to divide them, it is impossible today. When you try to root out the tares, the wheat is so intertwined that it also will be rooted out. Christianity, or Christendom, will remain a mixture until the coming of the Lord.
There is no way to improve it. In history, some people tried to improve it. John Calvin tried to make Geneva the city of God, but it was impossible. The Lord said, “Leave it.” Toward the end, He will send His angels to divide them. The tares will be thrown into the lake of fire, and the wheat will enter into God’s kingdom.
That is the second parable. When the gospel of the kingdom of heaven is preached in the world, what a mixture results! What an outward change!
These first two parables our Lord Jesus explained Himself. If you really understand the Lord’s explanation, then you will be able to understand the following parables. The Lord follows with four more parables, two negative and two positive.
When you come to the third parable, the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof.
What is a mustard seed? If you turn to Luke 17:6, the Lord said:
If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye would say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou rooted up, and be thou planted in the sea; and it would obey you.
At that time, the Lord Jesus said that if your brother sins against you and repents, you must forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns and says, “I repent,” you still have to forgive him. The disciples said, “Lord, give us more faith.” So the Lord said that faith is like a mustard seed.
The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, but there is life there, so it will grow. Yet when the mustard seed grows, it is a plant; it is not a tree. Here you find that this mustard seed has grown abnormally: it becomes a tree.
What does it mean? When you read Genesis 1, you find that when God created the world, He created everything after its kind. The plants were after their kind; the birds were after their kind; the creatures of the sea were after their kind; and the animals on the land were after their kind.
In other words, when God created, He created different kinds—different species. Everything has its own kind. But whenever it goes out of its species, it becomes something abnormal. When anything abnormal happens, it is hated by the Lord.
The angels are one kind, and human beings are another kind. But when you come to Genesis 6, some of the angels married the women of mankind, and the result was abnormal. Whenever this happened, the Lord said that man had become flesh, and the Lord used the flood to wipe out all living things.
So God hates anything out of its kind. So far as the mustard seed—faith—is concerned, it is living. But when it grows upon this earth, it is still like a plant.
The Lord said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Those who believe in the Lord Jesus will grow. So far as the world is concerned, they are insignificant. They are like a plant.
But when growth becomes abnormal, the mustard seed becomes a tree. When that happens, the birds come and lodge in it. Who are these birds? In the first parable, the Lord explained that the birds refer to evil forces.
This is not the usual explanation in Christianity. On the contrary, Christianity often uses it to show how the church grows and becomes great in the world. We see the Roman Catholic Church and the influence of Christianity today. The bigger, the better.
Brothers and sisters, how different the concept of man is from the concept of God. This is why the third parable is often misunderstood. It tells us that this abnormal growth is not the will of God.
Then you find the fourth parable:
The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.
I believe this should be easy, because leaven in Scripture always speaks of something evil. In Old Testament times, when they offered sacrifices, there should be no leaven and no honey, but only salt. Leaven always speaks of something bad.
This is something we like naturally. If you eat bread without leaven, you do not like it. You want bread that has been leavened. But, brothers and sisters, spiritually speaking, leaven in Scripture always speaks of something bad.
In Matthew 16, when our Lord Jesus and His disciples went into a boat, the disciples had forgotten to take bread. Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
The disciples thought the Lord was referring to physical bread. But the leaven of the Pharisees is hypocrisy, and the leaven of the Sadducees is unbelief. These are leaven.
If you put leaven into three measures of meal, it will all be leavened. Three measures of meal are for the meal offering. The mustard seed speaks of truth, but leaven speaks of untruth. If truth grows abnormally, it becomes untrue. Leaven also speaks of experience, because it begins to leaven up.
On the truth side and on the experience side, you find that something is abnormal. These are the two parables that show us the negative side.
But the kingdom of heaven itself is real. In spite of all these difficulties, the Lord Jesus continued with two other parables. These two parables He spoke to His disciples, not to the world.
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Here you find that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure. A man finds it, and the man refers to our Lord Jesus. He came into this world and found that treasure—the reality of the kingdom of heaven.
What did He do? He hid it. In other words, it is unknown to the world. But for the sake of that treasure, He gave up everything to buy the field, which is the world. Today the kingdom of heaven is hidden, and yet it has been found by the Lord Himself.
The reason He sold everything to buy the field was for that treasure. One day, the whole earth will return to the Lord. But He paid a great price—not for the earth itself, but for that treasure. This shows us the positive side.
Then follows another parable:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls: and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
We often interpret the pearl as Christ. You find a famous hymn: “I have found a pearl of greatest price.” But the pearl in this parable refers to the reality of the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom is hidden, yet that Man—our Lord—has found it, and He went and sold everything to get it. This shows that the kingdom of heaven is so precious to the Lord.
The first parable, the treasure, speaks of truth. The second parable, the pearl, speaks of experience. Thank God, when the kingdom of heaven is preached to the nations, even though there may be abnormal growth, within it there is a reality. That is what the Lord is really after.
Then you find the last parable, the parable of the net. At the end of the age, God will send His angels to divide them. We cannot change Christianity; it will continue as it is until the end of the age.
The angels will come and divide. The wicked will be thrown into the furnace of fire, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That is the end of the parables.
Here in Matthew 13, you have seven parables. They are the parables of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. This is what it appears to be today.
Some people say there are eight parables, because the Lord said:
Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
What the scribe had was something old: the law. But now he has something new, which is grace upon grace. As you look into Christianity today, that is what the Lord is trying to tell us: that we may know how we should walk in these days.
Where is the straight path that leads us to life? By the grace of God, may we walk upon it.
Dear Lord, how we thank Thee for giving us these parables. Thou dost desire us to understand them, and not only to understand, but to follow Thee.
O dear Lord, we pray that Thy people may hear. May every one of us really press on, that we may be able to follow Thee to the very end and allow Thy kingdom to have its way. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.