February, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
64
seed is the Word. The ground is the hearts of the listeners. Some people hear the Word o f God and then let evil thoughts snatch it away from them—like the birds eating the seed that fell by the wayside. Some people hear the Word and are afraid to do what God tells them—like the seed which had no root and therefore could not grow. Some people listen to the Word and then forget it because they are too busy doing unimportant things—like the weeds choking the seed. But when they receive the Word and understand it, they are like the good soil in which the seed grows and brings forth fruit. Golden Text Illustration At the great meeting concerning the restoration o f the Auld Brig at Ayr, Lord Rosebery said he did not intend to speak about Burns, as the last word on Burns had been said. What a contrast to One who lived much longer ago, for certainly the last word has not been said about Jesus I (See Isa. 9 :7; Rev. 7:12.) “In heaven they sing forever there, Worthy the Lamb for sinners slain, Worthy alone the crown to wear.” — S elected .
must approach them through the divinely given interpretation. Our Lord gave the key by interpreting two o f this group of parables (vs. 18, 36, and 51). The old theo logians were right in cautiously saying that parables illustrate doctrine, but are not to be used as the foundation of doctrine. Our doctrinal system should be based upon the clear statements o f the Word, and then the parables should be interpreted in ac cordance with the doctrine. Lesson Questions From what three perspectives must the seven parables in this chapter be studied in order to be correctly interpreted? Vs. 31, 32. What is unique about a mustard seed? What is the teaching of this parable? What indictment does it bring against the church? What should be the position of the church in the world (John 15:19, 20) ? V. 33. O f what is leaven symbolic in Scripture (Matt. 16:6-12; Mk. 8:15)? O f what is it symbolic in this parable ? What is the unregenerate world’s interpretation o f the parable o f the leaven? Why is this interpretation inconsistent ? V. 44. Identify the treasure (Ex. 19:5), the man who found the treasure (Psa. 135:4), and the field (Matt. 13:38). What did the Lord Jesus Christ offer as our pur chase price? How has false teaching in terpreted this parable? Indicate how such interpretation falls short o f scriptural facts. From the teaching o f the parable of the hid treasure, what should be our attitude toward the Jewish race (Rom. 11:25-28)? Vs. 45, 46. Does the parable of the pearl teach universal salvation? With what did Christ purchase the “pearl” (Acts 20:28) ? Vs. 47-50. O f what period in the world’s history are these verses descriptive? Ex plain the symbolism in this parable. What is God’s plan of getting the gospel to the world (Matt. 28:19, 20)? Vs. 51, 52. What was the duty of the scribes in Jesus’ time? If a scribe, through merely copying the Scriptures, found new treasures, what should be true o f those who study it as a rule o f life? A Story Jesus Told M atth ew 13 :l-8, 18-30 Memory Verse: “While the earth re- maineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” ( Gen. 8 :22). Approach : All the time that Jesus was teaching the people about the kingdom of
Scythian, bond or free, but all are one in Christ. The pearl is of great price—the price of the cross of Calvary, (cf. Eph. 5 :2, 25; Gal. 2:20). The pearl is complete when found. In God’s sight, the church is one organism, not many denominations. In His sight, there are no divisions in the true church, whatever there may appear to be in the sight of men (cf. Acts 20:28; Eph. 1:3; 1 Cor. 12:12, 13). V. T he D rag N et (47-50). This parable represents the end o f this age (v. 49). The net is cast into the sea, or the nations, and it gathers of every kind. Christendom is gathering a great host, good and bad. Not until the end of the age will there come a separation of these classes. VI. T he C onclusion of th e P arables (51, 52). There must be understanding of the parables before one can bring forth from the Old as well as the New Testament things fitted for the hearers. W e need these parables to give us understanding of the kingdom of heaven and the present course o f things. Points and Problems Since this lesson deals with certain well- known parables, it may be profitable to notice several points about the place of the parable in the New Testament. First, Christ is the one and only teacher of parables in the New Testament. The Epistles are rich in various literary forms, but the reader will find no parables there. Second, all o f our Lord’s parables are recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John has none o f them. The apparent ex ception of John 10:6 is a mistranslation. The Greek word is not parabole. Third, our Lord did not use the para bolic method in His earliest ministry. He begins to use parables only when the tide of Jewish opposition arises against His message. Fourth, in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, from which our lesson is taken, Christ speaks to the multitudes only in parables. “Without a parable spake he nothing unto them” (v. 34, R .V .). But the interpretations He gives to the dis ciples (v. 36). All these facts raise the question: Why did our Lord change to the parabolic method o f teaching the people? And it is interesting to note here that the dis ciples were perplexed about this very thing, for they came and said unto Him, “Why speakest thou unto them in para bles?” (v. 10). Now the answer o f Christ is very clear, although utterly at variance with popular opinion: “ Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the king dom of heaven, but to them it is not given . . . . Therefore speak I to them in para bles” (vs. 11-13). The parables o f this chapter, therefore, are in a most important sense a judgment of God upon unbelief. His message had been spoken in words so simple that none could misunderstand, yet the multitudes had not believed. Now He turns to a form o f teaching which will actually con ceal the truth from the unbelieving mind: Literally, “That hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand” (v. 14). Sixth, this does not mean that parables cannot be understood. But it does mean that they reveal truth only to those who are truly “ disciples” ; and that even disciples
Object Lesson S olving M ysteries
Objects: A mirror and a piece of paper on which you have printed backwards the following sentences: “God is love.” “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” “The trying of your faith worketh patience.” “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.’K “What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.” _ The writing can be done easily by using a carbon paper, the carbon side up, under _ the paper on which the writing is desired. Write with a sharpened stick, rather than with a pencil, as you do not want the writ ing to show on both sides. Lesson: When Christ was on earth, He often spoke in parables, such as we have studied in our Sunday-school lesson this morning. Later, He would take the dis ciples aside and tell them what He meant by each story. As a rule, the meaning of the parable was a mystery to them, until Christ had explained it. “What is a mystery?” you ask. I can explain what a mystery is more easily by telling about a few of them. There are often mysteries in our lives. Many people do not know why they are sick, or why they are not permitted to go on a cer tain trip. This piece o f paper has mysterious writing on it. It looks like a foreign lan guage. The letters are backwards and running the wrong way. In solving the mysteries o f life, we do not have Christ present in person to ex plain to us, as He did to the disciples, but we have the Bible, which makes all things clear. The Word of God is often spoken of as a mirror. As I hold this paper be fore the mirror, it becomes easy to read what is written: “ God is love.” “We know that all things work together for
heaven, and about how God had sent Him into the world to tell the people the way to heaven, He knew that only a few o f the many people who heard Him were r e a lly listening to and understanding what He said. L e s s o n S to r y : So Jesus told the
people a story to show them what sorts of persons they were. He told o f a man who went out to sow seed in a field. Some seed fell by the roadside and the birds ate it. Some seed fell in stony places where it could not go down deep enough into the earth to take root and grow. When the sun shone, the plants were scorched and withered up, Some seed fell among weeds which choked the little plants. Some seed fell on good ground and brought forth fruit. Still the people did not understand this story, so Jesus explained it to them. The
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