Title: Learn from parables / Matthew 13:10-18
Learn from the parable / Matthew 13:10-18
Key Verse: “The disciples came to Jesus and said, Why are you speaking to them in parables?” (verse 10).
Word: There is a moving hymn that I heard at the wedding of a blind young man and a pianist sister. “The most beautiful scenery in the world, the scenery where everything returns to its original place… .” This is a metaphor for the beauty of a bride giving up everything and becoming a servant of love for her blind husband and returning to a low place but 'in place'.
Jesus spoke a lot in parables. Typical examples are the parable of the good shepherd, the parable of the prodigal son, the parable of the vine, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the parable of the ten virgins, and the parable of the sower in the text. Why does Jesus speak in parables? The Lord answers: “It was granted to you to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to them” (verse 11).
This is for two reasons. One is to make the meaning easier to understand. If you know the truth through parables, you will be moved and remembered for a long time. The other is to keep you from knowing. Only open people will know, and hard people will not know (Matthew 13:13). I hope that you will become a blessed person who hears the word of the parable, understands it, and comes to obedience (Matthew 13:16, Psalm 1:1-2).
The Bible is the Word of God written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Everywhere in every book, Christ is found and the kingdom of God is being witnessed. Luther says: “The Bible is like the baby Jesus lying in a manger.” But even more remarkable, Jesus taught through parables about the most important truth: Christ Himself and the kingdom of heaven. So theologians also say that to understand the parable correctly is to understand Jesus. Because the heart of the parable is Jesus Christ. The most important thing in your life of faith is meeting Jesus. Events, sufferings, churches, the Word… . You must meet Jesus through anything. “All knowledge before knowing Christ was futile.” (Im Eo-dang) Not only knowledge but also everything without Jesus is chaos, darkness, and emptiness.
Colonel Irwin, one of the first lunar landers in history, concludes when reporting his achievements: “The greatest day in human history is not the day man arrived on the moon, but the day the Son of God came to earth.”
I hope that you will be able to meet Jesus anew as my Christ and Lord God through the parables that the Lord is teaching today. Only then will the problems of life begin to be solved one by one. The Lord says “He who has ears, let him hear!” “Therefore… Hear the parable!”
Prayer: Lord, help our hearts become good fields like fertile soil so that we can live a life that bears the abundant fruit of the Word. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer