In Matthew 13:3-43 we read: "And he (Jesus) spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls (demons) came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (See Revelations 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22;) And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you 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 more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.(John 10:27) For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous (not evil) men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower (Jesus). When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. (How many will be offended and fall away when they find out there really is no rapture?) He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy (the devil) came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants (angels) of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares (Revelation 18:2)? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants (angels) said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up (now)? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest (The end of the world): and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first (not the "raptured" church) the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them (The Lake of Fire): but gather the wheat (those written in the Lamb's book of Life) into my barn (Heaven). Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman (Revelation 17 & 18) took, and hid in three (Revelation 16:19) measures of meal, till the whole (Revelation 18:4) was leavened. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake He not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world (Revelation 14:7-20); and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world (Revelation 16:7). The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." (See Revelations 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22;)
In Matthew 13: 44-53 we read: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence."
Matthew Chapter 13 contains eight parables. In the first four parables we see they have six common elements in them that help us to interpret all of the individual parables. The common elements are: (1) they are all about "the kingdom of heaven," (2) “a man,” Jesus, (3) “a field,” the world, (4) “seed,” the Word of G-d or its effect, (5) "growth or spreading," church growth, and (6) "the presence of evil," weeds, birds of the air, and yeast (1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:7, 2 Corinthians 11:13, Galatians 1:7). Jesus gave the first four parables to the "multitude" - while He told the last four only to His twelve disciples in private. Jesus uses all of these parables as prophecies about what will happen until His return. These first four parables describe the outward characteristics of His church, the working of the mystery of sin arising in His own church, and the extent to which the Evil One is allowed to carry on his opposition. The remaining four parables illustrate the inner characteristics of His true church. After the eighth parable, Matthew makes another concluding statement, ". . . when Jesus had finished these parables, . . . He departed from there".
What does the mustard seed represent?
The mustard seed was the smallest seed known at the time. The Greek word used for "seed" and "seeds" is the word "sperma." The usage of the word refers to intentionally planted seeds that are supposed to produce something worthwhile. When grown, a mustard seed can reach anywhere from 4 to 10 feet high. In John 12:24 Jesus told us: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit". The mustard tree is to remain rooted in Jesus Christ. The King James Version says “it is the greatest among all herbs,” growing far reaching branches beyond natural explanation. The birds’ of the air in this parable come from the Greek word “orneon,” signifying ”to perceive, to hear.” A tree, whose large branches offer a sanctuary for birds, was a familiar Old Testament symbol for a mighty kingdom which gave shelter to the nations - Ezekiel 31:2-6; Daniel: 4:10, 21-22).
This parable of the mustard seed is teaching us that from a small beginning, the kingdom of G-d will grow until it extends itself to be the greatest kingdom on earth. Jesus Himself had an insignificant entrance into the world by human standards, and the church He founded is likewise a "little flock" (Luke 12:31-32), small and designed by G-d not to become a physically powerful organization that would make a spectacle of itself. The church was supposed to meet in homes not in huge man-made cathedrals or "churches". In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus says the way that leads to eternal life is difficult and narrow, and few find it. He reiterates in Matthew 20:16 that few are chosen. In Luke 10:2, when sending the seventy out, He says the laborers are few. Paul tell us in I Corinthians 1:26-29 that G-d calls the weak and the base of the world to put to shame the mighty and the noble. Jesus is referring to those chosen few who, upon their calling by G-d, voluntarily submit to G-d's dominion, the Kingdom of G-d .
We see this same thing in Daniel 2:31-36 (NASB) "You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. "The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. "You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. "Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone (Jesus) that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. "This was the dream; now we shall tell its interpretation before the king. Here the small stone from G-d was seen to break in pieces the large statue representing the kingdoms of the earth and, subsequently, grew to become a great mountain that towered over all that had gone before it. The truth of the matter is that the kingdom of G-d that has started out with small beginnings will grow to enormous proportions until it can be seen throughout the entire earth. We are even told when it will happen: Daniel 2:44 (NASB) "And in the days of those kings (Revelations 17:12, 18:3) the G-d of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (BCE 606), Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the young Jewish nobility carried off to Babylon. The four were chosen for their intellect and beauty to be trained as advisors to the Babylonian court. Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar, i.e., prince of Bel, or Bel protect the king!(not to be confused with the neo-Babylonian king, Belshazzar). Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given the Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Many of us have also been carried off to Babylon (Revelation 17 & 18).
What became of Jesus' true church? The original Mustard seed that became a tree ceased to be Jesus' true church when it divided the believers and perverted Jesus' doctrines and objectives, moving beyond Jesus' intended limits. It became a counterfeit of the true church, simply taking the name "Christian" and keeping man's doctrines rather than Jesus' teachings. The true church has been carried off to denominational Babylon and once again we the true believers must come out of the great whore and her harlot daughters so G-d can once again rededicate His own true church that will gather Jesus' believers only unto Him. It is a consistent characteristic of G-d's mustard tree (true church) to remain as a small herb, gathering together only unto Him and spiritually feeding the few who are chosen to hear Christ and become regenerated children of the Kingdom of G-d.
Who are the fowls/birds?
In Revelation 18:2 we read: "And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great (man's denominational religion) is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." In the above mustard seed comments - Jesus uses a shrub/tree coming from a seed (John 12:24) to represent kingdom growth, consistent with other tree/kingdom references (Ezekiel 17:23 and Daniel 4:11-21). With the seed’s growth, it attracts the presence of evil - depicted as birds (Matthew 13:4,19; Revelation 18:2) to infiltrate His church while taking advantage of its benefits. Birds are naturally attracted to the taste of the mustard seed. Matthew identifies the birds of the air as "the wicked one" (Matthew 13:4, 19). Mark connects them with "Satan" (Mark 4:4, 15), and Luke links them to "the devil" (Luke 8:5, 12). In Genesis 15:11, fowls also swooped down to steal Abraham's sacrifices, and he has to drive them away (see Deuteronomy 28:26). The end-time Babylon has become "a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird" (Revelation 18:2). In the parable, Jesus predicts the birds of the air would lodge in the branches. These "birds," demons led by "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2), have now totally infiltrated His church. Upon the unsuspecting early church, Satan moved quickly to implant his agents in it to teach false doctrines while appearing to be true Christians. Just as G-d permitted Satan to tempt Adam and Eve to lead them to sin and to attack Job intensely (Job 1:12; 2:6) and to sift Peter as wheat (Luke 22:31), He has allowed many antichrists to lodge within His church (I Corinthians 11:18-19). If you do not understand - then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in your heart. If you understand dear one - bind the devil and take back His church! (Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27)
Who are the good seed?
Children of the Kingdom. Some of which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Who does the Sower Represent?
The sower is Jesus Himself. He is the planter who came to atone for our sins so that we all might become fruitful. In this parable, people who do not understand are likened to a wayside. The word of G-d cannot penetrate into their hearts, they are blinded and the word of G-d is quickly stolen by the devil and his demons.. People who are not committed are likened to stony places because their good impulses are as shallow as a thin coat of earth that covers the surface of a rock. These people, even if the truth of the Good News intrigues them for a moment in their lives, are neither willing nor able to stay committed, nor to continue rooted in Jesus Christ. They turn back and fall to temptation after the first firey trial. When speaking of the seed falling amidst thorns, Jesus meant people burdened with earthly concerns, worries, fears, their jobs, their greed for gain or power, and/or their desires for earthly pleasures. Like weeds, all of their concerns of/for this world and/or the race to gain more illusory comforts has choked up everything good and holy in them. And, finally, people with hearts sensitive to the good news, ready to change their lives and put them in line with the teachings of Jesus, are likened to the good, rich earth.
What are the tares?
The tares are children of the wicked one (Matthew 23:15), disgraceful denominational leaders, whom the Lord calls the 'sons of perdition or the evil one' as opposed to the 'Sons of the Kingdom'. The history of the Denominational Church is full of events that could not and did not come from G-d, e.g., wars, burnings at the stake, inquisitions, torture, confusion, sexual fornications, denominations, heresies, man-made doctrines and schisms, religious persecutions, denominational hassles and intrigues, and other ungodly acts of denominational leaders. Seeing these terrible acts, many have left, or have forsaken and even ridiculed and mocked the very teachings of Jesus. The devil is the author of confusion, the accuser of the brethren and the sower of all acts of evil and darkness. The devil is real and comes as an angel of light and there are many real, evil persons who are or who are controlled by demons, who relentlessly and insidiously push and/or lead people towards all things evil, cunningly playing with human weaknesses and manipulating them. According to this parable, "But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares," i.e., the devil has had a chance to influence men and spread false doctrines and discord because the believers are not awake enough to keep vigil. (Wake up - dear one!) In Ephesians 6:12 we read: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]." Many people in the denominational churches, all who bear the name Christian, do not belong to the true Church of Jesus Christ. Is Christ divided? If not, why are they/you? Leave all those who would lead you astray!
What does leaven represent? Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:21.
Physically, leaven is a lump of old dough in a high state of fermentation, or a substance that causes dough to rise (yeast). Leaven or fermentation implies a process of corruption (Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 5:9). In the Old Testament, it is generally symbolic of sin and evil. In every instance that leaven appears in the Bible, it represents evil. Jesus' use of this symbol refers to the false doctrines of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and Herod (Matthew 16:6-12; Mark 8:15), and to later to all denominational corruptions of doctrine by those who place more importance on the traditions of men than on the Word of G-d. Paul uses leavening as a reason not to allow evil in the fellowship (I Corinthians 5:6-13). His reference to Christ's sinless sacrifice, and his statement that true believers are unleavened shows the typical significance of leaven. In Galatians 5:7-9, its diffusive quality describes the harmful effects of false doctrine. He calls leaven a persuasion, something that exerts a powerful and moving influence, which hinders people from obeying the truth. Such a thing, he declares, is not from Him who calls us. In the parable, the leaven adversely effects the progress of His true church. The leaven is hidden in the meal, representing the way Satan subtly strikes against the truth. Leaven is symbolic of denominational doctrines that confuse, lead astray, divide, disintegrate, break up, and corrupt. The leaven of the Pharisees was hypocritical ritual and/or formality. That of the Sadducees was unbelief and/or skepticism. Herod's was of shameful self-indulgence in worldly desires. The denominational leaven of those in Babylon who have distorted Jesus' truths down through the ages have always been due to greed, pride, control, and/or worldly desires (Revelation 18:3). Naturally yeast is used to metabolize the sugars in the dough, it forms carbon dioxide that puffs (pride) into tiny gas pockets all through the dough. The gas can't escape because of the elastic gluten in the flour, so these pockets of gas stay in the loaf. When the loaf finally goes into the oven, the gas expands even more as the temperature rises, until the dough finally bakes, holding the shape of those tiny gas pockets, now filled with (hot) air.
Who does the woman represent?
Whenever we find the symbol of a woman in the Bible, she represents a system of beliefs and practices that badly influence other people. Nations or political groups and religions or denominational churches all have specific man-made or demonic beliefs. All human-based belief systems go contrary to G-d because "the carnal mind is enmity against G-d" (Romans 8:7). What the woman does and how she acts determines what denominational belief system she is representing. The woman in the parable takes leaven and hides it in the meal (Matthew 13:33). Hid is translated from the Greek word enkrupto, from which comes the English word "encrypt." The root word, krupto, means "to conceal" or "to keep secret." Hence, this woman is surreptitiously placing her leaven or false doctrines into His ransomed church. She is an opponent of Christ (see many antichrists) and infuses His church with many divisions and corrupting ideas. Elsewhere she is called "Wickedness" (Zechariah 5:7-8), "Jezebel" (Revelation 2:20), and the "Babylon the great whore and her harlot daughters" (Revelation 17 &18).
What are the three measures of meal?
Most of the Jews listening to Jesus would have recognized the three measures of meal (an ephah) as the meal or grain offering (Leviticus 2) that was offered to G-d. This meal offering was never allowed to contain any leaven (Leviticus 2:5). The meal offering represents the offerer's pure service and loyalty to his fellowman and is typified in how Jesus Christ came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and give His life as a pure ransom for many (Matthew 20:25-28). The second great commandment of Matthew 22:36-39: is our pure love of one another. Thus, the three measures of meal can represent love, service, and loyalty to our brethren in His church. They also represent our body, soul and spirit all of which need to be totally free of any leaven. The whore mixes leaven (false denominational doctrines) into the one truth. Jesus warns us in this parable that false doctrines would be infused by stealth into His one church, and these evil beliefs would divide, confuse, corrupt, erode, and even destroy the love of the brethren. As these false denominational doctrines are allowed to grow, our mutual affection and loving concern that allow us to be in service to one another are all changed to hate, animosity, prejudice, pride, jealousy and discord.. The phrase "till all was leavened" is a terrible indication how bad it will get and how bad all the devil's doctrines and resulting divisive, insensitive, uncaring, self-absorbed, self-centered attitudes and beliefs would spread through the entire church system just as leaven spreads through entire bread dough. Now, G-d's people all need to leave Babylon and once again establish the true church that gathers believers only unto Jesus and therein "through love to serve one another" (Galatians 5:13). To hear Jesus and His Christ and to love one another again is the only antidote to all of the denominational leavening that not only poisons and divides all of the brethren but also creates all confusion, sickness, hate, discord and death.
What is the Treasure Hidden in the Field and/or the Pearl of Great Price?
Both the Pearl and the Treasure are intended to instruct us to prefer the Kingdom of Heaven to the whole world, and therefore to deny ourselves all selfish desires and all the lusts of the flesh, so nothing will prevent us from obtaining so valuable a possession. We need to be careful - for we are all so easily led astray - by the allurements and lusts of the world, that eternal life often fades from our view; and the true value of the Kingdom of Heaven is often forgotten. We need to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. The Kingdom of Heaven is the real treasure or pearl of great price, and by comparison to it all earthly goods are insignificant (or dung, as expressed by the Apostle Paul). However, a man cannot take possession of this "treasure or pearl" until he makes up his mind to really sacrifice everything: his earthly desires, his prejudices and unforgiveness, his spare time and quietness, as well as all of his goals, successes and the pleasures of this life. Otherwise he is like the rich young ruler who wants his earthly treasures more than his Heavenly treasures. In Matthew 16:26 we read: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
And with many such parables Jesus was speaking the word to them as they were able to hear it; and Jesus did not speak to them without a parable; but Jesus was explaining everything privately to His own disciples. (John 10:27) - if you want to know what Jesus really meant dear one, you need to privately hear Him!
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