Matthew 13:23

Matthew 13:23

In Matthew 13:23 Jesus said, "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." This is the last thing that Jesus had to say in the parable of the sower. Jesus told us that there are 4 different things that can happen to people when they hear the Word of God:

1. The Word of God can fall by the wayside.

2. It can be received into stony places.

3. It can be choked by thorns.

4. And the last and only positive result:

the Word of God can fall onto good ground.

Notice the three things that Jesus says happens when someone receives the Word of God into good ground:

1. Such a person hears the word of God.

2. Such a person understands the Word of God.

3. Such a person brings forth fruit.

The fact that they hear the Word of God is no different from the other cases. What is different is that they understand the Word of God, and then bring forth fruit. Why is it that some hear and understand the Word of God, and bring forth fruit; while others hear the Word of God but do not understand and do not become true believers in Jesus Christ? The reason they understand and become true believers is because the Word of God was received into "good" ground, but in the other cases the ground was not good.

This touches on the psychology of salvation. Salvation is entirely based upon the forgiveness of sins, but what is the inner thought process of those who come to know Christ as opposed to those who do not? Those who come to God through Christ do so as sinners who have come for the forgiveness of sins. But no one becomes a true believer with only the desire to be forgiven of their sins. The Gospel is not just an offer of fire insurance so that people can avoid going to hell. Along with the desire to be forgiven, someone who comes to Christ must also have the desire to do good and to become a servant of God.

This same idea is stated very clearly in John 3:19-21 that says, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, unless his deeds should be reproved. But he that does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."

Jesus said that these three things will happen: you hear the Word, then you understand, and then you bear fruit. True belief in Christ results in good works. The good works will take place just as naturally and just as certainly as seeds that grow when planted into good ground. Make sure that you give the proper place to the Word of God. Listen to it and receive it into good ground. The Word of God has the power to inspire you to do good deeds that otherwise you would not have done. Without God’s Word you will be less of a person than you otherwise could be.

In Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the tares. Tares are weeds and are in great contrast to the wheat that is planted in a field. The Bible says, “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 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 of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? from where then has it tares? He said unto them, An enemy has done this. The servants said unto him, Will you then that we go and gather them up? But he said, No; lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather you together first the weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

The parable of the wheat and the tares is also explained by Jesus. It is explained in Matthew 13:36-43. Jesus said that the field is the world. God is concerned about the entire world. He cares about every soul. Jesus said that the good seed are the children of the kingdom, and it is Jesus Himself who sows the good seed. When a person becomes a child of God, it is because Jesus visited that person and made them a child of God through the spiritual birth that only Jesus can give.

Jesus said in Matthew 13:38 that the tares are the children of the wicked one. If a person does not receive the spiritual birth from Jesus, then that person has been blinded by the wicked one. They have been deceived, and their soul in a spiritual sense is controlled by the wicked one. Jesus spoke about this to the Pharisees in John 8:44 when He said, "You are of your Father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Jesus makes it clear that in a spiritual sense there are two kinds of people in the world: the children of God and the children of the wicked one. Jesus also points out that believers and non-believers live in the world mixed together. The wheat and the tares grow up in the field together. It is impossible to separate the tares and the wheat now, because it is not God’s will to separate them just yet. Wherever you go in this world, whatever country or city, or whatever human organization you take part in, some of the people will be wheat and some tares. Some will be the children of God and some will be the children of the wicked one.

If you are a believer, be careful that you do not fall into the trap of thinking that you have to separate yourself from all of the tares all of the time. Do not make the mistake of trying to force the tares to view life the way that you do, or to live your life-style. Tares are tares, and not wheat. Christians who get involved in politics in the name of Christianity can easily make a lot of mistakes in this area. One political party is not more Christian than another or less Christian than another. You can be a believer and be a Democrat, and you can be a believer and be a Republican. The wheat and the tares grow up together in the field. There are both wheat and tares in any political party, just as there are both wheat and tares in any human organization. Even in these last days in churches and their related organizations there exist both wheat and tares.

According to Jesus, this world contains both the saved and the lost. That is one of the characteristics of this age in which we live. But it will not always be this way. The day will come when the wheat and the tares will be separated. It will be a day of great rejoicing for the wheat and a day of great sorrow and judgment for the tares. Jesus said in Matthew 13:40-43, "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and they who 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 has ears to hear, let him hear."

The third parable that Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 13 is in verses 31 and 32. The Bible says, "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 becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."

According to Jesus, there are two characteristics of the mustard plant which make it symbolic of the Kingdom of God.

1. The seeds of the mustard plant are very tiny.

2. The mustard plant can grow to be over 6 feet tall, which is very large compared to the tiny seed that it was in its beginning.

To the kingdoms of this world, the Word of God seems insignificant and unimportant. This is similar to the seed of the mustard plant being very small. The work of the great eternal God takes place when the Word of God is planted in the heart of a sinner. This work of God goes unnoticed by those who are involved in the struggles for riches and power in the kingdoms of this world. But the kingdoms of this world will pass away. God is now creating His eternal kingdom, one soul at a time. This kingdom of God will be the greatest of all kingdoms, and its members will serve God throughout all eternity. They will learn the secrets of the universe from the Author of the universe, and they will have an eternity to learn and to serve Him. Jesus is reminding us to not be discouraged by some of the things that go on in the kingdoms of this world. They are only temporary. His kingdom is the greatest of all, and it will last forever.

Jesus gave us a fourth parable in Matthew chapter 13 verse 33. It says, "Another parable spoke he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The leavening of bread is a process that gets the dough ready to be baked. The bread cannot be put into the oven, because it cannot be finished until the leavening is complete. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like that. God does not tell us when the kingdom of heaven will be ready. He does not give us a date, but He tells us not to worry. His processes are at work, and when He says it is finished, it will be finished.

In the fifth parable Jesus said in Matthew 13:44, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for the joy of it goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field." In this parable Jesus shows the great value of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus also tells us that if a person greatly desires to have the kingdom of heaven and reaches out for it, then that person shall come into possession of the kingdom of heaven. Those who greatly desire to become saved will be saved. “Seek and ye shall find.”

The sixth parable is similar to the fifth: emphasizing the great value of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said in Matthew 13:45 and 46, "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." In both of these parables, the person sold all that he had in order to obtain what was valued the most. These two parables are symbolic of the fact that no one can become a follower of Jesus and therefore a member of the kingdom of God unless they desire to serve Him with all of their heart, and unless they desire to serve God above all other things. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that no one can serve two masters; for either they will hate the one and love the other or else they will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Jesus taught the seventh parable in Matthew chapter 13, verses 47-50. He said, "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."

Of course, this parable presented an image that would have been very common to the disciples and others who lived in the region of the Sea of Galilee. The drawing in of a net and then the separation of the good fish from the bad fish is something that would have taken place every day on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The message of this parable is similar to that of the wheat and the tares. The emphasis in this parable is on the judgment that will come at the end of the age, when the final separation of good from evil will take place.

Jesus used some very strong words in revealing the final destiny of the wicked. He said that three things would ultimately happen to the wicked:

1. The wicked would be severed from the just.

2. They would be cast into the furnace of fire.

3. There would be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Today the evil and the good live on the earth on a very equal plane. Also, in some ways the blessings of God fall on both equally. It rains on both the evil and the just. But those who do not go with God will one day find themselves forever separated from all that is good, from all that is just, from all that is lovely, and from all that is peaceful. This separation from God and from all that is good will be one of the greatest torments of hell.

The third thing that will happen to the wicked is that which Jesus calls, "weeping and gnashing of teeth." This will evidently be some great torment of soul that the wicked will suffer when they can hide no longer from their sins or the consequences of them. Perhaps their lives will be replayed to them and they will be shown the opportunities that they were given to turn to God. Perhaps the pain and suffering that they caused others will be revealed to them. Perhaps the guilt of their evil deeds will gnaw at them over and over unrelentingly. Just think of the torment of soul that must belong to a person like Adolph Hitler because of all of the pain and murderous suffering that he caused. Perhaps he is made to feel the sorrow and suffering that he brought to each of his millions of victims. This would be just punishment and would be harder to endure than even the fires of hell. No wonder God said, "Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord."

There are people in the world today who are just as hungry for power, just as selfish, just as deceitful, and who have just as resolutely turned from God, as did Adolph Hitler. They can be found in any city, in any own neighborhood, in any workplace, and in many religious organizations. Everyone who is unsaved is headed for the destiny of eternal hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Perhaps that is why Jesus gave this parable last of all, in order to give one more warning for the unsaved to repent while they yet have time. Jesus came into the world to save that which is lost, and He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

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