Matthew 13:10-11
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Matthew presents Jesus Christ as the promised King of Israel. God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham, the father of the Hebrew people, to make of him a great nation and to give them a land. He also made an everlasting covenant with David concerning his throne and the kingdom. Christ came to CONFIRM the promises God made to the Jewish fathers (Rom. 15:8). The book of Matthew was written by a Jewish apostle, to the Jews, about their Jewish Christ and His kingdom.
The term “kingdom of heaven” (KOH) is unique to Matthew and appears 32 times. The KOH is not talking about God’s kingdom in heaven but the God of heaven establishing His kingdom on the EARTH (Jer. 23:5; Dan. 2:44; Matt. 6:10). The gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 4:23; 24:14) is the good news that the promised kingdom was at hand. That the 12 apostles preached the gospel of the kingdom without believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Matt. 4:17; 16:21-22) proves it was a different message than the goospel of the grace of God that was later revealed to the apostle Paul (Acts 20:24; Gal. 1:11-12). The church which is the Body of Christ was a mystery hid in God until He first revealed it to Paul (Eph. 3:1-13) and has to do with His purpose for the heavenly places. Therefore, the book of Matthew is not written to or about the Body of Christ (neither are the other 3 Gospels). From beginning to end, Matthew is all about the “KINGDOM” (56x).
Christ did not come to establish a spiritual kingdom because that has always existed (Rom. 14:17). He came to establish His kingdom on the EARTH! Those who believe replacement theology have to “spiritualize” the literal promises God made to the nation of Israel. They accuse dispensationalists of making Christ out to be failure because we teach the kingdom was postponed and that it will be established later. Christ did not fail, His people did, and He knew they would. The prophetic calendar for Israel was interrupted and put on hold when the Lord revealed His eternal purpose (Eph. 3:11, not “Plan B”) concerning the Body of Christ. We are living in a parenthetical mystery age, and prophecy concerning Israel will resume after this age ends with the rapture of the Body of Christ. If you reject dispensational truth, you are making God out to be an unfaithful liar!
Matthew 13 records parables that Christ gave concerning the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.”
The first four have the theme of apparent failure due to the work of the enemy and explain why the kingdom would be delayed.
Outside the House to the Multitudes (vv.1-2, 34) – Apparent Failure
- The Sower (vv.3-9, 18-23) – ¼ receives the word of the kingdom and brings forth fruit
- The Tares (vv.24-30, 36-43) – Satan infiltrates with false brethren
- The Mustard Seed (vv.31-32) – Satan infiltrates with evil spirits
- The Hid Leaven (v.33) – Satan infiltrates with false doctrine (woman = Babylon)
The last four have the theme of a hidden purpose that will come out of the apparent failure and gives assurance that the kingdom will be established.
In the House to His Disciples (v.36) – Hidden Purpose
- Hid Treasure (v.44) – Christ buys the world to redeem Israel out of it
- The Pearl of Great Price (vv.45-46) – Redeemed Israel
- A Net (vv.47-50) – Separation of the just from the wicked in the kingdom
- An Householder (vv.51-52) – The disciples are responsible with the truth revealed (old = OT prophecy, new = mysteries of the kingdom)
Matthew 13:1-3
1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Christ gave these parables on “the same day” that He was being rejected in His threefold office as Prophet, Priest, and King (12:6, 24, 41-42). Some commentators find deep symbolism in the fact Christ departed from the house (they say represents Israel) and sat in a boat on the sea (they say represents the Gentiles). I think it simply means He went out of the house and sat in a boat in order to speak to the multitudes. He does not turn to the Gentiles until the book of Acts (13:46; 18:6; 28:28).
The words “parable” and parable” are found 65 times in the Bible (18x OT, 47x in the Gospels). A parable (means “something thrown alongside”) is a figure of speech in which a comparison is made (“likened,” “like”). They typically place a truth from nature alongside a spiritual one. It is commonly taught that parables were earthly stories with a heavenly meaning that Christ used to help people understand the truth, like sermon illustrations. However, Christ said that the reason He gave these parables was to hide the truth from the unbelieving Jews.
Matthew 13:10-17
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
In this passage Christ explains why He was speaking in parables. He did so in order to reveal mysteries (i.e., secrets, v.35) of the kingdom of heaven to His disciples (Mk. 4:34) but conceal it from the unbelieving Jews. God only gives more light to those who receive the light that they have (v.12). Note what Christ said in 13:13 (13 is the number of rebellion, see also Prov. 13:13).
It is possible to hear the truth many times and yet never really hear it, which is why Christ often said, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (v.9). God will only reveal His truth to those who sincerely BELIEVE His word (Matt. 11:25-27; 1 Cor. 2:9-10).
These parables are NOT about this present age and the mysteries of the kingdom are distinct from the mysteries that Christ revealed later through the apostle Paul concerning the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 4:1; 2 Cor. 12:7). They reveal mysteries of the KINGDOM (prophecy, from the foundation of the world, Matt. 25:34), not the BODY of Christ (mystery, before the foundation of the world, Eph. 1:4). Christ was instructing His disciples concerning the kingdom of heaven and they understood what He was teaching them (vv.51-52; compare 16:21-22; Lk. 18:31-34; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; Gal. 1:11-12).
Matthew 13:34-35
34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto 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 which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
It was prophesied that Christ would speak to His people in parables (Ps. 78:1-3). As the great Prophet (Deut. 18:18), He revealed mysteries of the prophesied kingdom that the prophets did not understand (vv.16-17). The mysteries of the kingdom concern the period of the King’s rejection and absence. They fit into the gap between the Messiah being cut off and the revelation of the mystery through Paul (Dan. 9:24-27). The doctrine in these parables was designed to prepare the disciples for His coming rejection and absence from them. They explain why the kingdom is not immediately set up (Lk. 19:11-14). They do not reveal this present mystery age but apply historically to the early Acts period and prophetically to the 70th week of Daniel.
