As we come away from the Passover and the Days of Unleavened we find ourselves at the end of the spring Holydays with the feast of Pentecost.  But soon we will be looking ahead to the long days of summer. I was thinking about what the Holy Days picture and how they relate to the seasons of the year.  The spring Holy Days represent the part of God’s plan that has had an earthly fulfillment in the first coming of Jesus Christ and the start of the church.  The Fall Holy Days represents that part of the plan that is yet to be fulfilled centering on the return of Jesus Christ as a conquering King to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.  Once more, the bible uses the analogy of the spring and fall harvest to teach us aspects of God’s plan.  So as we are at this point of Pentecost, when the last of the previous earthy fulfillments are celebrated in the Holy Day season, what should we focus on as we go into summer? 
First of all we have two harvests, one representing the first fruits and one that represents the great harvest yet to come when all mankind will have an opportunity to learn what we know now.  But there is also the work of the church, starting on that first day of Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus Christ culminating in the return of Jesus Christ as represented by the fall Holy Days.  Then we have our own growth, starting with Baptism where we repent and receive the Holy Spirit represented by the spring Holy Days and then we grow in God’s righteous character before the Return of Christ where we are changed to Spirit represented by the Fall Holy Days.
We have three different ways to look at how the Holy Days relate to this life and to this world, and to this age.  So with this in mind I started to ponder what the summer should represent to us.  In the Agricultural calendar it represents the time of the year for fast and widespread growth.
Shouldn’t that be what’s on our mind as we head toward these long summer days?  As we prepare for the Kingdom of God, what are things we could be doing to best grow and follow Jesus Christ?  As this is the time given to the church to grow so she can prepare herself to marry and reign with our Lord and Savior, then what passages can we look to that were exclusively given to the church?  And if we could isolate these passages, which ones would be most applicable to focus on as we think about the fleeting time we have before His return?
As I thought about these I started to focus on the Kingdom Parables.  These were given to the church to remind us what is important to focus on before His return and warnings if we do not.  We can look at these themes and compare our growth cycle with those described in the Parables.
Today I am going to start a series on the readying ourselves for the Kingdom of God by looking at the Kingdom Parables scattered throughout the Gospels.  It’s a series that will run throughout the summer building on the sermon before as we to be about our Father’s business.  If we were to look at references to the Kingdom of God, what can we learn?  Are there clues that would help us pick out what we should be focusing on as we head into summer?
The title of the Series is
Gleaning from the Kingdom Parables before the Harvest
Why is it so important to study parables?  There are other sections of the bible which offer wisdom forthrightly and are very easy to understand.  Why should we spend time trying to glean from parables? 
I use the term glean because in this case it fits for two reasons.
First of all, the kingdom parables are ones we know.  We have picked over them time and time again.  There have been so many sermons on them that you might feel they have been picked clean.  So it is with this in mind that I use the term glean to combat this tendency and to really go through them looking for truth that has been left on the vine.
Secondly, in ancient times the way the poor were looked after was that farmers were instructed not to pick the fields completely clean but to leave a little for the poor to come and glean.  Since this was God’s instruction to take care of the poor, then God made sure that no matter how thin the leavings looked, there was always enough to go around.  Kind of like the loaves and the fishes.  And since God called the poor in spirit to reveal Himself to, it stands to reason that He would make sure there was plenty there to feed us and give us what we need to grow. 
Parables teach in a unique way
Parables have a way of teaching that direct instruction cannot.  Parables do not tell a truth as much as they help someone find the truth.  It takes you on a journey that you will remember because you search for the understanding in parables rather than trying to memorize information.  How many memorized scripture have you forgotten over your lifetime?  When you experience truth and understanding it is not forgotten.
How many times have we as parents, been frustrated by the mistakes that our kids make over and over?  You say something like, if I told you once I told you a thousand times, clean your room, do your homework, take out the trash, etc. etc.  You see, just because you know something to be true, doesn’t mean that you have internalized it and truly learned the lesson. 
When I was a child I touched a red hot burner once.  I was probably told not to do it but I don’t remember that.  I do, however, remember touching that burner; -- never again.
The other thing parables can do is cut through miss-understanding. How many times do people argue about what a scripture means?  You give one scripture to make a point and someone gives two more to counter that point.  But let’s take the Parable of the Good Samaritan for example.  You read that and there is no doubt about whom your neighbor is and how you should offer assistance when needed.  You experience the parable and you become a participant in it and so it stays with you. 
There a many Kingdom Parables we can look at.  I am going to start with the seven that are listed in Matthew 13 as they serve more as an introduction of the coming kingdom.  Later in the summer I will give other sermons looking at some of the other parables as we try to hone in on what manner of persons did God call into His kingdom.  For now we will stick with these seven.  Seven is the number of completion and will fit two messages nicely.  Turn over to Matthew 13.
Matthew 13 is a rather long section of Kingdom parables.  It is paralleled in Mark 4 and Luke 8.  In this section he lists the following parables
 
1. Parable of the Sower
2. Parable of the Tares
3. Parable of the Mustard Seed

4. Parable of Leaven
5. Parable of the Hidden Treasure
6. The Pearl of great Price
7. Parable of the Fishing Nets.
 
Throughout the series we will look at themes covering the establishment of the church and its growth.  We will look to our personal growth as well as the nature of the Kingdom of God.  We will also look at our attitude and approach toward the coming kingdom.  Lastly we will look at what happens if we quit or allow ourselves to fall short.  Today we are going to cover the first three and save the final four for next time.
Parables are a mystery from the world but not the church
As I stated earlier, Parables are unique in that they hold truth that is understood in a special way and sometimes are intended for a specific audience.  Now this is hard to understand when listening to the message of many Christian denominations today.  They spend a lot of time trying to convince a unbelieving world in turning their lives to Christ.  In Matthew 13 we see this clearly explained.
Matthew 13:10-11   10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  11 He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
So why would Jesus purposely mask the meaning of the parables that he told to the multitude.  Christian churches around the world teach that now is the time to receive the testimony and gospel of Jesus Christ. They teach that if you don’t accept Christ in this life you are doomed.
Near the end of this group of Parables it reaffirms these were not given to the world to understand.
Matthew 13:34-35   34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to 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 kept secret from the foundation of the world."
Turn to Mark 4 and let’s pick up the story in verse 10.  Now after going through all of these parables, Jesus is alone with His disciples.
Mark 4:10-12   10 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  11 And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,  12 "so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.' "
Notice here that Jesus is purposely not giving the people what they need to understand and come to repentance in this life.   How does that play out with the Christian message we see in the world today that you have this limited time to seek Christ or else you are doomed.  In Mathew’s account he goes on to say in verse 15 of chapter 13.
Matthew 13:15   15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.'
He is speaking of God’s people from the Old Testament.  He is speaking of the children of Israel, who, as a people turned their collective backs on God and His way of life.  Once upon a time God would send prophets to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and told them of their transgression and challenged them to put off the false gods who cannot save them; to forsake the belief that in idols they can find hope and prosperity.    Sometimes the people heeded that that call but for only a time.  They would repent, they would obey, then they would revert back to the old ways of sin.
Now the Savior has come in their midst and instead of telling them what would cause them to turn back to God, he gives them parables that have the truth cloaked in a mystery that even His disciples cannot understand. 
Why?
Blaming the Jews has become a global past time.  For centuries the battle between Christians and Jews raged.  It stated with the Jewish persecution of the “Way” as Christianity was known to the Romans.  But later, many in the Christian community taught that the Jews rejected Christ and therefore were blinded to the truth.  The persecution of the Jews by the Christians is what led to the changing of the Sabbath and festivals of God, and the wholesale make-over of Christianity. 
Did Jesus mask the truth only to the Jew’s and everyone else could understand?  Was it because the Pharisee’s rejected Him or that Israel had turned its back long ago?  The problems with these assertions are many.  Although many in the Jewish leadership did reject Christ these people were not among them.  These people followed Jesus around.  Second, Jesus spoke directly to this crowd.  Its not like they just overheard him talking to someone else.  He spoke directly to the Jews and in a way they could not understand.  Lastly the Gospel was preached first to the remnant of Israel in Judea because those were God’s people.  He would not preach to the world before He preached to His own people. Remember what Paul said in Romans 1:16
Romans 1:16   16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
These parables were taught again and again and there are simplistic lessons that one can learn even if they don’t know the real spiritual meaning, but to those whose eyes and ears have been opened.  They understood. That is why Jesus told the crowd during these parables
Mark 4:9   9 And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
The plan was always to mask the truth except for the elect of Christ who’s eyes and ears would be opened.  It’s not because those people who could not understand were doomed, we understand that, but that prophecy would be fulfilled and that everything has a time and place.
Paul talked about the restoration of Israel that Isaiah and the prophets foretold.  It’s just that this would not be that time although some were called.  Remember on the first Day of Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ how thousands were called and their ears, eyes and hearts were open to the truth.  Many of these people were no doubt among those that listen to Jesus give these parables.  Maybe these understood at their first hearing and maybe they understood them later.  God has a perfect time and place to reveal Himself to the world.
So with this as a foundation, let’s go through the first of these parables to see what they have to tell us.
1. Parable of the Sower
 
Matthew 13:1-9  NKJ On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  4 "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  5 "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  6 "But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  7 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  8 "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  9 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
 

In this parable is a lesson that we want to take to heart. On the face is how the word of God is received in this age.  Let’s read Jesus’s explanation of the parable first and then let’s look at an important lesson that might go unnoticed.
Jesus explains the Parable of the Sower
 
Matthew 13:18-23   18 " Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.  20 "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;  21 "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  22 "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  23 "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

So you can get an understanding of how different people react to the word of God even if He opens their eyes to see a glimpse.  Do they grow and maintain or do they wither and fade away.  That is why we read that many are called but few are chosen.  Years ago I remember hearing about how if someone left the church they were doomed.  You read this explanation and it gives some comfort when we think of those that have quit along the way.  It’s not that someone who left couldn’t have knowingly rejected God and disqualified themselves. But only God knows the heart and it is comforting to leave those thoughts to Him.
Warning for us hidden in the mystery
Years ago in the church the term Truth was used to describe when someone’s eyes were opened.   If you met someone at the Feast you might ask them when they came into the truth.  We understood that God had revealed His majestic plan to a people to do a work and to be a work here on earth before His son would return to bring the Kingdom of God to this earth.  We were alone with that knowledge and we labored to share that Good News with who-ever would listen.  We did not speak in parables, but plainly.
But after so many decades in the church it is easy to have our hearts grow dull.  Just like the children of Israel we can grow weary of the special calling we have been given.  Our ears can grow dull of hearing and our hearts can become hard and our eyes can close to the truth we have been called into.
If we are to remain fresh we need to look at the truth we have been given with new eyes and rediscover the wonderful plan of God for this world.  If we allow ourselves to grow dull and no longer hunger and thirst for the Word of God, then we too might find ourselves no longer understanding the truth of God.  Is the ground around us fertile and deep? Or are we surrounded by thorns or rocky soil.  If we diligently seek Him while He may be found we will find him and the soil of our faith will be rich to grow and have that increase of a hundred fold.
Even though the parable is a mystery to this world, our eyes have been open as long as we have the Holy Spirit and we can see the truth that is hidden from the world in these stories.  Like detectives we can sift through the parables and reconstruct the truth that has been revealed to us.  Gleaning from what each parable contains like clues can point us to the Kingdom of God.
In this section in Matthew 13 is our first clue on what is important to focus on as we move into summer.
Our Eyes have been opened to see the plan of God for a purpose. 
Back in verse 12 of Matt 13 we see a warning given to those that can see.
Matthew 13:12-14   12 "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  13 "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  14 "And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;
When Jesus explains the Parable of the Sower to His disciples he tells them that the word of God will come to all kinds of people.  Some will accept it but not have the support they need to sustain themselves.  Others will receive it but will be choked out by the worries of this life.  Luke 8:15 records that for those with a noble and good heart, by persevering produce a crop.  Mark 4 says a crop 30, 60, 100 times what is sown.
You see, we have been called to grow.  We have been called to produce righteousness by being transformed into the image of God.  It is not enough that we simply hang on till Christ comes.  That would be like the servant who buried his talent so he could give it back to Christ at His return.
2. Parable of the Tares  
In a similar parable about seeds and growing, Jesus warns about weeds that will grow in amongst the crop. 
 
Matthew 13:24-30  24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;  25 "but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.  26 "But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.  27 "So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'  28 "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'  29 "But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.  30 'Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "
 
3. Parable of the mustard seed
The Parable of the Tares will be explained later but Jesus gives the next two parables back to back.  Continuing on to verse 31 Jesus gives the Parable of the Mustard Seed.
Matthew 13:31-32   31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,  32 "which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."
This Parable is designed to give us scope and perspective at the same time.  To understand the scope of this parable you have to look at your vegetable or herb garden.  The mustard seeds are little round seeds.  They are around 2-3 millimeters in size.  Different varieties grow in different ways from shrub like plants that cover a large area while other varieties can look like a small tree as well.  The point isn’t that a mustard tree towers over everything but that if you look at plants with small seeds, they grow into small plants.  The Lettuce and carrot seeds do not grow large but the Mustard seed does.  Some even view it as weed that quickly grows and takes over vast areas.  This is the scope of the plant in this parable.  It starts small and grows very large.
We also want to keep this in perspective.  The mustard seed, as small as it is, produces thousands of mustard seeds per plant.  With the grow and reproduction of this mighty seed we can understand why Jesus used this plant in his parable.
  We should be humbled to be a part of this growth so early on.  Before the whole world will know about the truth of God and His Kingdom, we know.  We are in the early stages of proclaiming this to the world.  It is an honor to be a part of this plan.
4. The Parable of leaven
Lastly to this crowd He gives the parable of leaven.
Matthew 13:33   33 Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."
Usually when we think about leaven our minds immediately go to sin.  But it does not always represent sin.  As a process of growth it can be used as an example about how something permeates something.  When Leaven is mixed with dough it goes into every part of it and works the whole loaf.  It does not just puff up one part.  It is the whole loaf of dough that becomes leavened.  It is this property that is likened to the kingdom of God.  It will spread throughout the whole earth. 
Habakkuk 2:14  14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
Continuing on with the story in verse 34
Matthew 13:34-36 34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to 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 kept secret from the foundation of the world."  36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." 
Jesus explains the Parable of the Tares
After Jesus finished these 4 parables the Disciples are alone with Jesus and so they ask what the parable of the Tares mean.  Mark 4 tells us that the explanation of the Parable of the Sower happened later after they were alone.  So the parables were given to the crowd but the explanations were only given to the disciples.  Continuing on in verse 37
Matthew 13:37-43   37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  38 "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  39 "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.  40 "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  41 "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,  42 "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  43 "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
 

Now some might wrongly assume this is talking about trying to stay on the right path in a world full of weeds.  But this is not talking about the world.  This is talking about those who have this one chance for salvation.  Those that have had their eyes open to the truth, but have decided that this is not for them.  But they still live among us and if we are not careful, they can bring us down with them.
Now there are those that have fallen away from the truth.  I am not making a judgment about them or anyone.  I cannot know who God has revealed Himself to and who He has not.  I do believe that in the end times, many who were once among our numbers will wake up and realize they have been on the wrong path and will turn back to God.  That is encouraging and that is my hope for all those that left.  But there have always been people in our midst that try to hold us back.  Some simply by always having a negative attitude, others by tearing others down while some by simply not agreeing with this way of life.  Whatever the reason, we have to be weary of them.  Help them if we can but not let ourselves be pulled under by them. 
Next time we will pick up with the last three in this section and introduce the next section. There is so much to glean from these passages that I hope you don’t read over them and say, oh I know this stuff.  Each time I read through these pages I find another nugget of understanding. Understand that leads to wisdom and works to build our faith until the return of Jesus Christ. 
Until Next time,