1. Matthew Chapter 13

2. Matthew 11:28-30
28 " Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
NASU
*****
Before we get into our lesson today, I wanted to read and
talk briefly about Matthew 11:28-30…
READ VERSES
I have heard a lot said about this passage, and recently,
I was thinking about it and something came to my
mind that I had not thought of before…
Notice He says to take HIS yoke and put it on,
and LEARN FROM HIM …
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3. The picture is to get into the yoke WITH Him!
And LEARN from Him while HE works!
You want to know how to live?
Get yoked up with Him and watch what He does and
how He does it and LEARN from Him!
Certainly, there’s a sense that we are working along side
of Him, but if we are yoked together WITH Him, we will
be able to get on board with what HE is doing and
the work will fit!
And… We will see WHAT He does, and how HE does it,
and we can attempt to mimic Him!
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4. Matthew 11:28-30
28 " Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
NASU
And so, that’s one reason, that it is very valuable to study
the Book of Matthew
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are like 4 Biographies
of the Life of Jesus as He was here on earth
And so we can learn a lot about Him as we study them
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5. Matthew Chapter 13
We are in the Book of Matthew Chapter 13, last time we
finished chapter 12 - We looked a verses 38-50
So, before we read the first part of Chapter 13, let’s look
briefly at what we talked about last time…
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6. Matthew 12:38
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
NASU
READ VERSE
We noted that the Scribes and Pharisees didn’t come
honestly looking to see if He was really the Christ, we could
see, looking back in chapter 12, they had evil motives
Also we noted that the crowds that came to see Him, most
of them came to see Him ONLY for the miracles, not
because they believed He was the Son of God!
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7. Matthew 12:39 & 40
39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth NASU
*******
And so, since the religious leaders had evil motives, and
the crowds just came for the miracles, Jesus responds…
READ VERSES
We talked about how even in our culture, people CRAVE
for something spectacular, or exciting
And even in the church there are many who crave something
spectacular or exciting, and they crave that MORE than
the ETERNAL truth of God’s Word
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8. Matthew 12:48-50
48 But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."
NASU
****
And then in verses 48-50…
READ VERSES
And we saw Jesus introducing a new concept…
To believe in Him and trust Him as your Savior, means
you also are IN the family of God!
You are a child of God Almighty!
And so, that was then end of Chapter 12
And we move on to Chapter 13
>>>>>>>>> Click for NEW...

9. Matthew Chapter 13 Before we read Chapter 13, I wanted to briefly
introduce it…
Chapter 13 is almost completely made up of parables.
And the parables are all what we would call “Kingdom
parables”
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10. Verses 3-23: The Sower Verses 24-30 & 36-43: The Tares
In verses 3-23: We have the Parable of The Sower…
...Jesus introduces it with the words:
“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom”
>>>>>>>>> Click for The Tares…
In verses & 36-43: We have the Parable of
The Tares…
“The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to”
>>>>>>>>> Click for Mustard Seed...

11. Verses 31 & 32: The Mustard Seed Verse 33: The Leaven
In verses 31 & 32: We have the Parable of
The Mustard Seed…
...Jesus introduces it with the words:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like”
>>>>>>>>> Click for The Leaven…
In verse 33: We have the Parable of The Leaven…
>>>>>>>>> Click for The Hidden Treasure...

12. Verse 44: The Hidden Treasure Verses 45 & 46: The Costly Pearl
In verse 44: We have the Parable of The Hidden Treasure…
...Jesus introduces it with the words:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like”
>>>>>>>>> Click for The Costly Pearl…
In verses 45 & 46: We have the Parable of
The Costly Pearl …
>>>>>>>>> Click for The Dragnet…
In verses 47-50: We have the Parable of The Dragnet…
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Verses 47-50:
The Dragnet

13. So you can see that each of the parables is about the
Kingdom of Heaven
And so that’s why we call them “Kingdom Parables”
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14. Now, I want to say a little about parables first before we
take a look at these parables…
I have heard a Bible teacher say; “Don’t make a parable
crawl on all fours”
In other words, don’t try to read too much into a parable,
and make it say things that it just doesn’t say
I have heard some amazing things taught from parables
I have heard things that were so ridiculous, that they really
were laughable if you stopped and thought about it
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15. So, we are just going to see the simple or main lesson,
even though there may be many lessons in the parable
Also, we are blessed to have Jesus’ disciples there when
He told the parables
Because they were just like us!
Sometimes they didn’t understand and they asked Him what
He meant, and then He explained it to them!
So when there is a parable, first look to see if it is
explained…
...And if it is LISTEN TO THE EXPLAINATION!
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16. Chapter 13, verses 1-23 Let’s turn to and read chapter 13, verses 1-23
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17. 1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
Matthew 13:1 & 2
1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
NASU
READ VERSES
So, the scene is this…
Jesus is getting very popular because of the miracles He
has been doing, and now wherever He goes, LARGE
CROWDS come to see Him
So, as it says in Mark chapter 4, Jesus got into a boat
BECAUSE of the large crowd that had gathered
And He teaches in parables
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18. 1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
Matthew 13:1 & 2
1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
NASU
And this is one of the parables that is explained, so
in a minute, we will look at the explanation…
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19. “He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:9
“He who has ears, let him hear.”
NASU
Before we look at the explanation, notice how Jesus
finished the parable…
READ VERSE
Probably almost everyone heard Jesus talking…
...But only a few, probably really HEARD what He said
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20. “He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:9
“He who has ears, let him hear.”
NASU
Sometimes when I am talking to my boys, they are hearing
my words…
...But they really don’t HEAR a thing I say!
Do you know what I mean?
And I think what Jesus is saying is, whoever really wants
to learn…
LISTEN UP!
So Here’s the Explanation of the Parable…
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21. The parable of the sower:
Luke 8:11
"Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.
NASU
The Parable of the Sower can also be found in
Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:4-15
>>>>>>>>> Click for Luke verse...
READ VERSE
So, Luke is very clear… The seed in the parable is the
Word of God
And so, the Sower, could be first of all Jesus, and then
anyone after that who proclaims the word of God (And
specifically The Gospel [The Good News of the Kingdom])
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22. Matthew 13:18 & 19
18 "Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
NASU
READ VERSES
If you want to see just how hard the devil works to keep
people from God…
Just look at what Jesus says here…
The moment someone hears and it is not understood,
immediately the devil goes to work at confusing them, and
getting the Word away from them
You can be sure he works overtime in trying to keep
people from hearing The Good News of Jesus!
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23. Matthew 13:20 & 21
20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
NASU
READ VERSES
There are those who hear the Good News of Jesus, and
seem to be all excited about it, but it doesn’t sink into their
hearts
It LOOKS as if they have believed in Jesus on the outside,
but inside it is just an emotional experience
I have seen someone seem to receive the Gospel even
with tears! And then later it seems to be all forgotten
And I think many will rely on that experience and consider
themselves saved, and ignore any further calls to believe
in Jesus
And they may even go to the grave and never really receive
Him
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24. Matthew 13:22
And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
NASU
READ VERSE
And then there are those who hear, but the things of this
world make them forget what they have heard
And notice, both what the world would consider
bad and good things happen and draw them away…
I have known people who hear the Gospel, and devastating
events seem to draw them away
And I have known people who hear the Gospel, and
prosperity, is what seems to draw them away
And, really I think prosperity, rather than adversity, is more
often what draws people away
And notice, you can tell, because there is no fruit
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25. Matthew 13:22
"And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
NASU
READ VERSE
And then there are some who will really HEAR the Gospel
and respond to it and Trust Jesus as Savior
And how will you know?
They will bear fruit!
Remember how in chapter 12, verse 33 Jesus said you
will know about someone by the fruit they produce?
I think the fact that he mentioned fruit twice in this parable…
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26. Matthew 13:22
"And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
NASU
1) The one who’s soil is choked by worry, and deceitfulness
of wealth, is UNFRUITFUL
2) And the one who has fertile soil, BEARS FRUIT
I think this also helps us better understand the parable
Parables were used to help THE PEOPLE Jesus was
teaching understand
And so, this parable is not from God’s perspective, it is
from man’s - In other words these different soil types are
what man sees
Only God can see what’s in a person’s heart, and He
KNOWS whether or not a person will ever trust His Son
as Savior
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27. Matthew 13:22
"And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
NASU
But from MAN’S perspective, it may SEEM as though one
has trusted Jesus, and then over time it may become
evident that they really haven’t
So, again just like Jesus said in Matthew 12:33, you will
know the reality of a person’s acceptance of the Gospel
by the fruit they produce
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28. “He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:9
“He who has ears, let him hear.”
NASU
And then going back to Jesus’ last statement in
the parable…
READ VERSE
When the sower goes out and sows seed, those who have
“ears to hear” (a fertile heart) will hear and will bear fruit
And just a little more about this idea of “ears to hear”…
Sometimes when Jesus told a parable, some of the hearers
seemed to think He was crazy, or the parable just made them
mad and they rejected it
But some understood it and it helped their understanding…
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29. “He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:9
“He who has ears, let him hear.”
NASU
When we hear the Word of God and it doesn’t make sense,
or may even seem to contradict itself…
We must remember God’s Word is ALWAYS TRUE and
ACCURATE!
We must keep that in mind and then realize the problem is
not with God’s Word, but with our understanding of it
And we then can seek to understand it better
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