Message Notes

INTERMEDIATE SUNDAY SCHOOL 8 OCTOBER 2023
STUDIES IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
Text: Matthew 13:34-43

Subject: The Parables taught by the Lord Jesus

INTRODUCTION

1. The Lord Jesus taught in many ways

a) By His life

b) By His works (miracles)

c) By Parables

2. An explanation why the Lord Jesus taught in Parables

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,
35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

Matthew 13:34-35

a) The prophecy of Isaiah 6:9-10

This was cited in Matthew 13:14-25

b) Prophecy mentioned again

i) This was cited in Matthew 13:35

ii) This was a text taken from Psalm 78:2

c) Prophecies

i) They were declared

ii) They were meant to be fulfilled

d) The prophets warned of:

i) Spiritual decline

ii) Spiritual dryness

e) If the people wanted to get well

i) They would have to make the effort

ii) If they were sick, they would need to come to the Lord for healing

iii) If they wanted to learn, they must make the effort to learn well

iv) They must seek to do their part in inquiring further what the Lord Jesus meant as He taught using Parables

The Parable of the Tares Explained

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Matthew 13:36-43

1. The Disciples sought the Lord Jesus for an explanation of the Parable of the Tares

2. The Lord Jesus then explained the Parable to them:

a) The good seed in the Parable of the Sower is a reference to the Word of God

b) The good seed in the Parable of the Tares is a reference to the sons of God

c) The Sower

This the Lord Jesus Christ Himself

d) The field
This is the world at large

e) The Tares
They are the sons of the wicked one

f) The enemy
The Devil

g) The harvest
The end of the age

h) The reapers
The angels of God

i) The Tares would be burned

ii) The Righteous ones would shine forth as the sun in God’s kingdom

OUR CHALLENGE

1. To take the trouble to learn

2. To become true sons of God

3. To be righteous

4. To shine brightly as the sun