Christ's Parables and Our Responses (Mt. 13)

Here’s my sermon from this past Sunday - an introduction to the parables of Jesus. You can listen to the audio here. You should also download our podcast here.

Now brace yourself. I’m about to bring the controversy right here. I won’t be surprised if a few of you up and walk out. Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio. Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez. Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush. Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong. Ciara and Russell Wilson. Gisele and Tom Brady. We could go on. This kind of thing - power athletes dating big time celebrities - has been happening for awhile.

But for some reason, Travis Kelce starts dating Taylor Swift and EVERYBODY goes absolutely NUTS. Right? Now, if we really think it through, this isn’t that complicated to understand. It’s a perfect storm of anger directed toward the Chiefs who now always seem to win, coupled with an inexplicable hatred for an artist who ranks among the best-selling musicians of all-time.

Now to some, they look at this and see it as one of the best love stories ever. Right? Travis Kelce’s dedication to keep begging her for a date. Taylor doing all she can to come and support him every game. It’s driven ratings through the roof. Last week’s game was the highest-rated AFC championship of all time. An NPR interview this week said that the NFL has had its highest viewership of women ever. The Apex Marketing Group says Swift following the NFL has added “around $330 million in brand revenue to the Chiefs and the league.”

But to some people, this has been nothing short of a sports catastrophe. Angry men with beards have been caught, screaming at Swift entering stadiums, “You’re ruining the game!” 44 seconds of Taylor cheering for Travis over the course of a three-hour-game has led many a middle-aged dude - who clearly doesn’t have a teenage daughter - to lose his ever-freaking mind. Apparently, those guys want to see more shots of drunken dudes in subzero temperatures with their shirts off.

This relationship has been so polarizing. It’s led to arguments about American masculinity and gender equality. Conspiracy theories have even been born. Apparently this has been orchestrated by Ms. Swift to somehow control the Oval Office. Seriously? Who saw the relationship coming? I didn’t. But who saw this much division over… Taylor and Travis? Really?

So what does this have to do with this passage we just read? Well, today, we’re jumping into a group of parables taught by Jesus. And we’ll see more in Matthew. We see groups of people hear exactly the same stories. And their reactions are pretty much just as strong. They’re just as opposite. It’s every bit as polarizing. Lots of bad blood. Some people love them. And it makes them run after Jesus more. Others can’t stand it, and it makes them really, really angry. Jesus is ruining everything they have grown to love. They now want to kill Him. And they just. Can’t. Shake. It. Off.

Where We Find Ourselves in Matthew

We’ve been walking slowly through the gospel of Matthew over the last couple of years. And in the book, there’s an introduction found in chapters 1 and 2, where we see the beginning of Christ’s life and ministry. There is a conclusion in chapters 26 through 28 where we see the Lord go to the cross and then rise again from the grave. In between, though are five cycles of stories and sermons of Jesus. We just wrapped up the third round of narrative about Christ’s ministry.

Today, we jump into the third section of His teaching. And this sermon, this collection of Christ’s sayings, is almost entirely made up of parables. There are eight of them. But also within the chapter are two explanations of two of the parables. And there are also two explanations from Jesus - quoting from the Old Testament - as to why He uses those parables to begin with. 

There are again other parables in the book of Matthew. We’ve already seen some. We’ll definitely see more. But this is the highest concentration of them in the book. And today, as we kick off this chapter, I want to do something I’ve not done before. I want us to spend some time, talking about what parables are all about, and how we should rightly respond to them.

As the kids like to say, the TLDR is this: haters are gonna hate, so don’t be one of them. But here’s where we’re going to go. We’ll move from what parables even are to what their purpose really is. And then we’ll close by thinking about how we should apply Christ’s parables to our lives. Let’s jump in.    

The Genre of Parables

Let’s first think about this genre, of parables. In verses 1 through 3 of chapter 13, we see the Lord leaving that house where he was teaching and sitting around the Sea of Galilee. “Great crowds,” it says, “gathered about him,” so much that he “got into a boat and sat down.” He taught them there - as they stood on the shore. Specifically, verse 3 says that Christ “told them many things in parables.”

Further on in the chapter, in verse 34, Matthew again says that Jesus talked to the “crowds in parables.” He even says, “Indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.” Did that mean Jesus only went around talking in odd stories that left some raging and some praising? No. We’ve already heard him talk more plainly. As D.A. Carson explains, this doesn’t mean He used nothing but parables. It means He didn’t do much without them. Christ utilized them a lot in His preaching. Why? We’ll get to that. But first of all, what are parables anyhow?

To put it most simply, parables involve a comparison. Something known, something relatable is or is like something else. They’re stories that point to truth. Klyde Snodgrass describes a parable this way: it is an “expanded analogy used to convince and persuade.” They’re meant to get behind and around our defenses - to help us see how things really are - and move us to do something about it. That’s why Eugene Peterson calls parables “subversive.” He says they sound ordinary. They’re completely secular. People walked away thinking about them until suddenly they exploded in their hearts. Sometimes they even realized the story was about them!

This is Christ’s go-to method of teaching we see in the gospels. If you’ve ever heard the definition - “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning” - it’s not exactly true. Yes, these stories point to a whole other world. But they’re also meant to impact the one we’re in right now.

That’s a bit about what parables are. But how do we understand them? Last week, I mentioned the movie Titanic. Do you ever watch movies with people who like to talk and talk throughout? You’re sitting there, and someone says, “I think the big boat represents the economy. The wind and waves and cold temps are the market forces pounding against the nation. The iceberg is the Great Depression. The elites are one political party. The commoners are another.” And they go on and on. And finally, you lose it, and you shout out, “Dude! It’s about love, man! Just love. That’s all. Love.”

What we can’t do, when we’re trying to read parables, is turn them into allegories - where every character or object has some hidden, esoteric meaning. Some of the church fathers did this. Take for example, Augustine’s take on the Good Samaritan. The man represents Adam. Jerusalem is heaven. The robbers are the devil. Them stripping and beating him is them getting us to sin, taking away our mortality. The inn is the church. The innkeeper is Paul. What? “Dude! It’s about love. Love, man. For your neighbor, that is. And really the neighbors you might expect. That’s all. That’s the point.” Plus, of course, how you love - it reveals what’s going on in your heart.

We can’t go down that road. Not the one to Jericho, but the allegorical one. No. That’s because parables almost always have just one main point. Next week - this won’t spoil the sermon - Jeff is going to talk about the Parable of the Soils. There’s talk about the trials of this life - and the pleasures of this world. There is all of this imagery that could take us down rabbit trails. But the big question is this: what are you going to do with His word? What kind of soil are you?

Parables usually have one point. To get to that point, we have to understand what the images meant back in that day. We should look out for details that surprise - like the fact that the hero, the good neighbor, of that Samaritan parable was the Samaritan - who happened to be considered an enemy of Israel.

We have to look at the context - either the verses that surround or the circumstances back in that day. And as my professor, Bob Stein, used to say, we should note the main characters in the story. And what comes at the end. What we hear in the dialogue. And what gets the most space. Those are all ways to help us discern the main point. As we walk through chapter 13 and continue on  in Matthew, these are all things that will help us to hear what the Lord wants us to hear.

The Purpose of Parables

Let’s turn second to the purpose of parables. Why does Jesus use them so much? What are they all about? We can answer this in two ways. They reveal a separation. And they point to restoration. Let’s take one at a time.

One novel I loved this past year is The Little Liar by Mitch Albom. It’s this charming, engaging story - set during WWII - that illustrates the power of truth and the glory of redemption. At the beginning there’s a story, within this bigger story, of the Truth, walking on earth, trying to get people to listen. But nobody would hear. So Parable walks up, and asks what’s wrong. Truth responds, “Everyone hates me. They turn away as soon as they see me coming.” Parable then says, “Well, look at you. You’re stark naked. Of course, they run. They’re scared of you.”

And Parable who is clothed in several colorful robes, hands one to Truth, and says, “Here. Put this on and try again.” And she does, and this time Truth, as Albom puts it, is “welcomed warmly - by the same people who had once run away.”

Now that’s often how parables are explained. Right? They’re stories that make truths easier to understand. And there’s truth to that, certainly for some people. But for others, I’d argue that it’s more like Truth is handed a dirty, smelly coat. One that disgusts. One that distracts. And it actually makes people turn and run. As Eugene Peterson agains explains, parables don’t always make things easier. They can actually make things harder. Parables are pictures. That point to something greater, something deeper. But where people end up - as they listen - it goes two very different ways.

And isn’t that what Jesus is saying here? Look with me back at verses 13 through 17 again. And there, we see our first Old Testament reference.

Matthew 13:13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Matthew 13:14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

Matthew 13:15  For this people’s heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.’

Matthew 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

Matthew 13:17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The disciples ask that question, in verse 10: “Why you talking like this, Jesus?” And then Jesus answers them. And therein, He quotes from Isaiah 6. Do you know that story? Right at the beginning of that book, God calls that prophet. He tells Him to go preach. Isaiah gets this vision. He sees the Lord high and lifted up.

Glorious angels are flying all around Him, crying, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” The temple is filled with smoke. The ground shakes under his feet. And Isaiah is overwhelmed. He falls to His face. He cries out in desperation. “I’m a sinner. My mouth is dirty. I can’t be a prophet!” And an angel grabs a burning coal from the altar. And he flies up and touches his lips. His guilt has been atoned for. That’s what he tells the prophet.

Now he is good to go and preach. The Lord asks Isaiah to do just that. And the prophet responds with enthusiasm. But then in verses 9 and 10, we see these words we have here in Matthew. The Lord says to His prophet, “I’m going to send you to preach. But this is what’s going to happen. Their hearts will be hard. And they won’t listen to anything you’re going to say at all.

They don’t want to see. They don’t want to hear. They can’t understand. They don’t want to understand. And you’re just going to preach and preach make it all worse.” Imagine if that was the calling your were given! And this is what Isaiah goes and experiences.

Now Jesus stands in the line of prophets. But He’s the greatest of them all. And, of course, much more than that. But like them, like Isaiah, He comes preaching with parables. And like them, He experiences the exact same reactions. His words reveal a separation. And that’s the first purpose of these parables that we see right here.

Why does Jesus use them? To teach those who wanted to listen. For them things were made very clear. But also to frustrate those who would not. For them things made no sense at all. Either they heard them just as stories. Or what they heard made them really, really mad. And those are the same reactions we also see today.

Now some try to say that parables are just there to make things clear. Others say they’re just there to make people stumble. But the answer is really both, right? Some hear what Jesus says with joy. They raise their hands in praise. They weep. While others instead scratch their heads. Or raise their fists. They lash out.

But why’s that the case? Well, we have to hear Christ’s words in verses 11 and 12. And no doubt they go against everything we’re taught to believe here in the U.S. of A. Because they say so clearly that our vision and hearing rest in the sovereign will of God. Hear those words again:

Matthew 13:11 …“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Matthew 13:12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Why can some see and others can’t? Jesus says, speaking to those following Him, “To you it has been given… but to them it has not been given.” You who have -  you’ll get more. And as for them - whatever revelation they have - even that will be taken away. Here’s the reality of what this is saying. Whether we can see or not - or hear or not - is totally a gift of God’s free, sovereign grace.

Now in our world today, we’re all taught, we all breathe this idea, that we’re all morally good. And we just deserve good things. But in the church, it gets knocked down a notch, but biblically not nearly far enough. We convince ourselves that we’re morally neutral. We could choose God, seek His kingdom and His righteousness - or not. The choice is ours. But the biblical picture is quite different from that.

Instead, we’re actually all morally corrupt. We deserve nothing but hell. And that’s the way we’d continue to head, apart from God’s grace. But for believers, He overcomes our resistance. He unstops our ears. He removes the scales from our eyes. As Ephesians 2 puts it, we were “dead in the trespasses and sins.” We were “following the course of this world.” We were marching after the “prince of power of the air.” We were living the “passions of our flesh,” “carrying out the desires of the body and the mind.” We were “children of wrath.” “BUT GOD.”

Do you hear that? “BUT GOD.” Because of God’s rich mercy, because of His great love for us - verse 4 - even though we were dead, it says that He “made us alive together with Christ.” That’s verse 5. He caused us to be born again. He raised us from spiritual death.

And now we can see Christ’s glory. We delight in who He is. Now we can hear God’s word. We’re hungry for what He says. For that reason, we can hear these parables. And we don’t want to rage against them.

Imagine a husband and wife, heading to a children’s home in Eastern Europe. They’ve got four children they’ve chosen to adopt. They’ve been praying for them. They show up there to take them back into their new home. As they’re leaving, the leaders there shout, “There are another 200 kids here. How can you only take four? What’s wrong with you?” No one would say that. It would no doubt offend that couple quite a bit. Why would we say the same thing to God?

You might ask, “How is this fair? It seems like God is picking favorites. Lifting privileged people up. And pushing struggling people down.” But I’m not saying this is easy, but that definitely isn’t the case. The accent in these verses here is clearly the sovereignty of God. But it doesn’t diminish the responsibility of man at all. If any of us can hear, it’s only by God’s grace. But it’s still on us. There is a mystery here - compatibility - that we may not understand. We just have to trust, as it’s what His word so clearly says.

The Lord draws some people near, as they listen to His words. But He also allows most to keep going their own way. He lets His words hit and bounce off their cold, stubborn hearts. He doesn’t choose to overcome the resistance that’s there. But that’s on them. As they’re just getting what they want. The Lord uses these parables to cause a separation to emerge. Of those who recognize Him as King. And want to be in His Kingdom. And those who want to keep trying to rule their lives themselves. Something men and women have been chasing from the beginning.

Don’t be mistaken. No one’s barred from getting into the kingdom door. And no one’s dragged in kicking and screaming. No, the Lord gently, lovingly draws our hearts to His. So we want to hear from His word. And we want to learn from these parables. That is, if we’re in Christ. If we’re believers.

You might ask, “What if I read these parables and I just can’t understand?” Does that mean I’m damned? No. It’s not just that the crowds here couldn’t grasp it in their heads. It was primarily a thing of the heart. They didn’t want to. Are you humble - are you hungry - as you stand before His word? If so, let’s figure out what these parables mean - together, as a family. Why these parables? Why does Jesus use them? They first reveal a separation. Between those who will hear and those who just will not.

But let’s move on to a second reason why Jesus uses them - to point to restoration. To those who will listen, Jesus is making something clear. These parables point to restoration - to the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and the coming of the Kingdom. We’ve already seen one passage that Matthew says pointed ahead to Jesus. From Isaiah 6, that we saw in verses 14 and 15. But now look down in verses 34 and 35.

Matthew 13:34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.

Matthew 13:35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables;

I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

That He is speaking in these parables - that’s a fulfillment in and of itself. But this passage says the Lord here fulfills this Old Testament passage - specifically Psalm 78, and verse 2. Jesus says those words reached forward to Him. And the Lord is saying that He’s come, sharing these stories, pointing to the renewal of all things. Everything the Old Testament pointed to, truths that people couldn’t quite understand, are being focused on, and being cleared up, in Him.

Now if we had to time to read that Psalm, we’d hear Asaph, the Psalmist, walk through the history of Israel, “the righteous acts of God in redemption” on their behalf (Carson). And as Carson puts it,

“Jesus is presented as the one who is the supreme embodiment of Israel and her history, the one who fulfills all the patterns of the Old Testament regarding Israel.” (D.A. Carson)

That whole Psalm - like all the Psalms - points to Jesus. We’ve talked recently how the Bible speaks of a mystery. That’s now been revealed in Christ. Things that, as verse 35 says, were “hidden since the foundation of the world.” Not that God’s playing hide and seek. And the smart and the tough somehow figure it out. But rather that there were bread crumbs spread throughout history and images woven throughout Scripture, that until now, weren’t quite clear. The “secrets of the kingdom” as Jesus puts it in verse 11.

Now, in this King - and His Kingdom - we can understand - or at least some of us can. And that is a massive privilege. Hear Jesus in verses 16 and 17.

Matthew 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

Matthew 13:17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

What are the parables all about? The King is here. The Kingdom has come. And that’s what these parables further help us understand. Seven of the stories say either “the kingdom of heaven is like” or something really close. Only the first one doesn’t. But the context - and the explanation - make it clear. The Kingdom God’s people had always longed for. But couldn’t quite sort it out.

Jesus is now here, teaching, sharing stories, making it clear. Or at least for some people. As we’ve already seen. And if that’s us, we’re deeply, deeply blessed.

Jesus is teaching us, through these images, about the Kingdom He has come to bring. He points to restoration. That was prophesied in the Old Testament. And is now being fulfilled in Him.

What They Mean For Us

I want to close with some more specific words of application. There are five things I want you to consider.

First, we should rejoice and praise that we’ve been allowed to see. Again, it’s only by His grace. It’s for His glory alone. If we see the beauty in these parables and in all the Scriptures, we’re blessed, as Jesus says, and we should thank Him. Do we realize the gift that are here in these pages, that are in these parables? We must. And that should drive us into our Bibles, into this gospel, with joy and excitement. And wonder and praise.

Second, we should share with, and pray for, those who can’t. The Lord calls us to go, sharing the good news of His kingdom. That He’s the King that we all so desperately want. And if anyone listens, it will be thanks to the sovereign work of our King. He uses us as means. But it’s by His grace alone. And for that reason, we have to pray, and pray hard, as we share. And we still are to share - like Isaiah, like Jesus. But entrusting the results of sharing to Him.

Third, we should brace for, and receive ridicule, with Jesus. As we go share His word, if we’re doing it faithfully, we’ll experience the same reactions as He did. A servant isn’t greater than his Master. If Jesus, suffered, so will we. That means we’re in the line of the prophets, too. And there’s a great reward ahead for us. We heard that back in chapter 5. It means we’re blessed. But we better brace for the pain we’ll have to endure.

Fourth, we should recognize and celebrate the glory of the Kingdom. As we read these parables, we learn about His reign. We learn about our King. There’s so much glory there. Yes, in the future. But even here and now. We should beg God to let us see all the glory that’s here in these pages. And revel and rejoice in His rule. He has come. He is coming. This amazing restoration of all things!

Fifth, we should realize and count the cost of ignoring these words. It’s no laughing matter to blow off what Christ says. It reveals that we’re in the company of the Pharisees. And all those who have resisted God’s works of redemption. I said earlier that Psalm 78 remembered how God had worked for His people. But it also recounts how they had stubbornly resisted it all. Don’t be among that number. Plead for His mercy. Beware of walking away, resisting, scoffing.

Isaiah’s Promised One

I mentioned how Jesus stands in the tradition of the prophets - proclaiming God’s word, giving these parables - and people mocked and killed Him the same. I also talked about Christ is the fulfillment of the prophets - of all they longed for - of that kingdom that they spoke about - long, long ago.

Look back at Isaiah 6 again. Following that section quoted here, where God warns him of how rough things will go, we see these words:

Isaiah 6:11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”

And he said:

“Until cities lie waste

without inhabitant,

and houses without people,

and the land is a desolate waste,

Isaiah 6:12 and the LORD removes people far away,

and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

Isaiah 6:13 And though a tenth remain in it,

it will be burned again,

like a terebinth or an oak,

whose stump remains

when it is felled.”

The holy seed is its stump.

Isaiah basically asks, “How long is this gonna go on? People spurning your rule  - and mocking your words?“ And God says, there will be a “stump,” there will be a “holy seed” that will remain. A remnant that will cling to Christ and listen to His words. Heirs of the line of Abraham who’d believe.

The Lord promised Isaiah that that would be the case. And that’s a promise that we cling to today. He has a people. Who hear His parables. And trust Him as King. And live for His Kingdom. And if we’re listening, if we’re struggling to trust, then that’s us. No matter how hard things get.

The Pictures and Their Point

Well, as I said, Jeff will jump into the first parable next week, and we’ll consider what kind of soil our hearts really are. And we’ll spend the next several weeks here in Matthew chapter 13. We’ll look at these pictures, and dig into what they mean.

We’ll seek to remind ourselves of the point. That the promises made in the Old Testament have been kept - they have been fulfilled - in Christ the King and in the Kingdom He brings. That point will divide people. Some will lash out. But some will draw near. For those of us who run to Christ and His word, though, it will fill us with hope. And it’ll make us want everyone to hear. And to keep praying - even if they never do.

Karis, we should listen to the parables of Jesus with a humble, hungry heart, realizing so many will struggle with, and rebel against them.