482
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
November; 1939
Insurance A LL L IN E S “S in ce 1900"
be discouraged at any seeming lack of success from his sowing. n . T h e M u s t a r d S e e d (31, 32) This parable reveals the outward de velopment of Christendom. Being the least of all seeds, the mustard seed had a small beginning, but its growth is tremendous, and that which should be an herb becomes a mighty tree, an abnormal thing, a monstrosity. Thus it becomes attractive to . the birds, and these, as we learn from the first para ble, are the agents of Satan. They find lodgement in the tree but are unchanged by it; instead, the tree is defiled and polluted by them. Bigness is not great ness, and Christendom, aiming at big ness, loses its greatness. HI. T he L eaven (33) This parable reveals the inner corrup tion of Christendom. Since the profess ing church adopted the false idea that her business is to convert the entire world, she insists that the leaven is a type of the gospel which is to spread until all the world is brought to the Lord. But it seems hardly possible that the Holy Spirit would, In this place, use leaven as a type of good when everywhere else in Scripture (over ninety times) He uses it as a type of evil. Christendom uses the leaven to make the gospel palatable to the world, which rejects the pure gospel of the grace of God. IV. T h e .T reasure (44) The “man” who found the treasure in the field and sold all he had to buy the field cannot be the sinner selling all he has to buy salvation; that idea is con trary to all teaching of the Bible. The “man” is the Lord Himself, the treas ure is the true Israel, and the field is the world. The “man’Moves Israel, buys the whole field for the sake of what is in it, but must give Himself to obtain it (cf. E?. 19:5; Psa. 135:4; Deut. 7:6-8; 14:2; 26:18). V. T he P earl (45, 46) The pearl is the true church, taken from the sea (nations), removed from them, and of great price (cf. Eph. 5:25; Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 5:21). It is complete when found; there are no divisions. In the Lord’s sight the true church is just one unit, a perfect whole (cf. Acts 20: 28; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 1:3; Col. 3:11). Points and Problems 1. The purpose of our Lord’s parables was twofold: First, He employed the parabolic method in order to conceal truth from those who had refused to hear and accept His message in its orig inal simple#and declarative form (Matt. 13:10, 11). In the following verses (12-15) He explains that the parabolic method of teaching was a judgment of God upon those who had rejected His simple message. It should not surprise
us then to find that today the teach ers who are most enthusiastic for the parables are often the men who have rejected the Lord’s simple message con cerning the kingdom as set forth in Old Testament prophecy. Having rejected the only possible key to their interpre tation, they are able to twist the para bles and make them say whatever they like. Second, for those who had already re ceived His instruction a s' to, the first principles of the kingdom, the parables served the purpose of revealing and illustrating the mysteries of that king dom. The principle is very clear: “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given”, (v. 12). If you already have the truth, then the parables will give you more truth. But if you have rejected the Lord’s simple declaration of truth, the parables will not only avail you nothing but they are likely to confuse you still further: “From him shall be taken away even that which he hath” (v. 12). From all this it should be obvious that in the teaching of Biblical truth we should never begin with the parables. 2. The nature of the Biblical parable has been much discussed. It seems clear that in every case the parable was probably an illustration invented to fit the truth which was to be illustrated. But while it is doubtless true that in His parables our Lord was not think ing of some particular incident that had happened, nevertheless it is also true that His parables represehted in -every instance things that could happen, and did often happen. It is important to see this because sometimes men have tried to get rid of the stern facts, of consciousness after death and of futurff retribution, by calling the story of the rich man and Lazarus “only a parable”! Now that story is not a parable, for our Lord refers to “a certain rich man” and a “certain beggar named Lazarus” (Lk. 16:19). But yielding the point for the sake of argument, even; if it should.be a parable, let us not forget that para bles are stories of things which could and did take place. Golden Text Illustration I s a ia h 55:3 I remember a man shut up in prison under a long sentence. He was so vio lent that he was put into a solitary cell. The chaplain had done all he could to bring him to* repentance; but one day he read to him this verse: “I will make an everlasting covenant with you.” | The man said, “I never heard of such a thing. Can God make a covenant with such a wretch as I am? Sir,, it WiH break my heart.” And it did break his heart, and lie became a new man in Christ Jesus un der the power of that amazing thought, that God Would enter into covenant with such a wretch as he was. —Charles Haddon Spurgeon. ,
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