THE NET AND THE SCRIBE

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Matthew 13:47-52

We come now to the last two of the eight parables in Matthew 13. The first of these is: THE PARABLE OF THE NET 47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Whatever else the net means it seems that again Jesus wants to make certain that we understand that there will be a sorting and He will be in charge of that procedure. We don't have to do any sorting whatsoever. In fact, we believe it's clear that you and we cannot do anything with respect to the ultimate results of who are the wicked and who are the righteous.

NOTE the term "wicked" that Jesus seems to use frequently. He isn't speaking of a vile, despicable person, but it seems that "wicked" is used of those who do not hear or welcome the words of Jesus and do not practice them.

The primary issue here for me is that the parable of the net teaches us that there will be an accounting at the end. Also, NOTE that everyone will be caught in the net for the final accounting.

Next, we come to a parable that has been so easily overlooked. I've never even noticed it until recently. It is: THE PARABLE OF THE SCRIBE 51 "Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied. 52 He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."

NOTE Jesus is referring to a person who is a teacher of the law-one who knows the law well. Then, this one who is conversant with the law is taught the message of the Kingdom of heaven. A person in this position is like the owner of a house who is able to share with his guests new things (things of the Kingdom) as well as the old things (the Law). In fact, what we're discovering is that walking with Jesus in the Kingdom lifestyle brings something new and fresh every day. Personally, my learning curve isn't a curve anymore; it's perpendicular! It's the most thrilling adventure ever! So, do everything you can do to come along on this journey with Jesus. You won't be disappointed at all.

A VALUABLE TREASURE AND PEARL

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Matthew 13:44-46

This is one of the most fascinating observations about how people actually receive the message of the Kingdom. Jesus offers two ways:
FIRST—44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

SECOND—45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

THE FIRST IS BY SURPRISE—Here is a person, not particularly looking for it, yet finds a treasure hidden in a field. He is overjoyed with his discovery. He hides it again. Then sells all that he has to buy the land where it is!

THE SECOND IS BY SEARCHING—Here is a merchant who has been searching for fine pearls. He finds a fine pearl of great value. Then goes, sells all that he has to buy this valuable pearl!

Do you know people who are like these two? The one who by surprise discovers the Kingdom treasures—the one who never would have imagined being ‘caught dead’ sitting among a group of Jesus followers. This person, along with many onlookers, are quite surprised that he found such a valuable thing.

OR the one who by searching out truth or the meaning of life or whatever, finds himself delighted to have found a satisfaction that no one can take away, so he sold everything he had in order to buy it.

NOTE both have the same response. They each sell all they have and buy their new-found treasure! Now this has nothing to do with purchasing or performing well enough to gain a place in the Kingdom. However, it has everything to do with the comparable value of being with the King in the Kingdom rather than rocking along, living a life that is routine and predictable with all of the traditional comforts of life—all without the King and outside the realm of His Kingdom.

So, how do you value your relationship with the King and His Kingdom? Is it the most valuable, priceless, place to be, ever? Or, is it a convenient place to visit from time to time? This is the difference between being a spectator and a participant!

INTERPRETATION OF WHEAT & TARES

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Matthew 13:36-43

Matthew interrupts the series of the parables of the Kingdom by inserting what Jesus said concerning the wheat and the tares (false wheat): 36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." 37 He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

NOTE that it is Jesus-the Son of Man-Who is the Sower of the good seed and the devil is the sower of the seed that is called the tares-false wheat. Also note the devil isn't sowing a seed that is much different than the wheat. In other words, he is not sowing seeds that might grow into fruit trees. The devil is sowing seed that looks so similar to the wheat that it can be hard to tell the difference at a glance. The devil is the great counterfeiter of all that God is doing.

Jesus is the sower. So, how does He do this through us? FIRST-Jesus works in us through Incarnation. He lives His life in us. You want to be able to see Jesus at work in and through you. So you are to take on being like Jesus in everything you do!

SECOND-Jesus works through us through the process of Infiltration. Here you are able to see Jesus going along with you. In this way you are a part of God's movement-His Kingdom on earth.

THIRD-Jesus works in and through us through a universal Invitation. That universal invitation is attractive to others. The Kingdom movement is one of attraction, not promotion. The invitation is triggered by a question on the heart of each follower of Jesus: "What can I do to help?"

THINK ABOUT IT IN THESE FOUR WAYS: #1-Jesus is calling you today. a) You who are interested-Believe in Me-whosoever will. b) You who are believers-Follow Me. c) You who are followers-Make Disciples of Me. #2-Jesus believes those He calls are good enough-you can do it. #3-Jesus believes you can be like Him-to perpetuate His Kingdom. #4-Jesus empowers you by His presence as 2 or 3 gather together in His name.

"The Lord says, 'this is a special invitation to all of you who don't have all the answers. Who struggle with life. Who are tired. Who are burned out. Who are bruised. Who struggle with grief. Come to me I will teach you how to trust. I will teach you how to learn. Walk with me, work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to trust and live with joy and freedom.'"

SO, we take on the characteristics of Jesus, because we seek to embrace His teachings and principles as a lifestyle. That's incarnation at its best! We allow Jesus to work through us to infiltrate the society around us. And, we become channels for Jesus to invite the world to Him through us. The wheat-kind of people get this privilege. Those who are tare-like will never know the joy of working that closely with Jesus.

So, in the Kingdom there are two kinds of crops-genuine wheat and weeds that are a counterfeit wheat. Don't worry yourself about sorting them out. It's really none of your business. Jesus will do all of the sorting out at the end. Just focus on being that genuine wheat and be responsive to the One who planted you-Jesus.

PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN

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Matthew 13:33

So, now we are at the 4th of 8 parables. 1. Sower-the Kingdom will now be characterized by a massive sowing-an invitation for all to receive the message of the Gospel-essentially Jesus and the Kingdom.

2. Wheat & Tares-the Kingdom will have many imitations that spring up all around the wheat. This is none of your business, just beware of it.

3. Mustard Seed-the Kingdom enjoys incredible growth. Don't be concerned or be discouraged with a small number at first. The Kingdom of God will grow immensely from very small to very great.

33 He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough."

So, the 4th parable is of the leaven. This parable illustrates that the Kingdom of God will be irreversible. Nothing and no one can stop it from spreading-not communism, fascism, racism, religiosity, cults, false religions, or churchianty. You see, when the Kingdom spreads it supersedes all sorts of movements and organizations. This is why to follow Jesus most effectively, we must be Kingdom people first and foremost. To be anything else is to be so much less! This is why your allegiance to a denomination or to a local church (a localized assembly in the name of Jesus) over the Kingdom is foolishness and will be proven to be so.

When you meet King Jesus personally, you must sign off as king of your personal Kingdom and submit to your new King-Jesus. We then move into 3 natural, action steps:

First-seek His kingdom and His righteousness (Jesus, Himself) before and above all others! You are now in partnership with Jesus.

Second-share in His kingdom with all of the other kids of the kingdom! You are now in fellowship with all other followers of Jesus.

Third-spread His kingdom everywhere by the sowing of seed-being salt & light where you are! You are now into discipleship of those Jesus brings your way.

I like to call these three steps the three "ships" in the night-partnership, fellowship and discipleship. Focus yourself on each one of these and you will be enjoying the blessings of the Kingdom.

You what's interesting? The movement of the Kingdom is going on, no matter what you think, say or do. Our primary responsibility is to see where Jesus is at work and go there. The movement of Jesus and the Kingdom is already in motion. The question is whether or not you will join it or start your own. Remember, it's irreversible! It cannot be stopped.

PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED

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Matthew 13:31-32

So far we know that the primary activity of the Kingdom is the sowing of the message of Jesus which is the gospel of the Kingdom. We also know that there will be genuine believers and imitation believers in the kingdom. AND NOW, the kingdom is described by another image-the mustard seed.

The 3rd of the 8 parables here in Matthew 13 is the parable of the mustard seed: 31 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches."

The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds of all-almost as small as a grain of pepper. When this seed grows, it grows into a large garden plant or a small tree. This is what is going to happen now in the kingdom. The kingdom of God is going to experience incredible growth!

This has nothing to do with the mega-churches of the USA. In fact, this is not speaking of the organized church at all. The organized church with its signed-in membership may grow locally, but has no chance of penetrating the culture or the marketplace. This is because the organized church tends to have a "holy" facility that must be used, filled and paid for. Therefore, it becomes a paramount thing to invite people to "come to church" and join it to make it a stronger entity in the community. Jesus' thinking always has to do with "going" not "coming" and the only "coming" is to "come" to Jesus, Himself.

The kingdom is a completely different thing. The kingdom of God or the kingdom of Jesus is where the King resides, where the King's presence is. The kingdom is invisible. You certainly don't expect a massive growth, but it occurs silently and covertly and it is the real thing. The kingdom can penetrate any culture and supersedes any organization, no matter how large or active it may be.

By the way, this is why throughout the book of the Acts of Jesus, there is a constant emphasis and demonstration of two themes-the person of Jesus and the kingdom of God. There is no talk of building the church. Well, there is, but it was Jesus Who said, "I will build My church!" What He wants from us is to BE THE CHURCH OF JESUS and to be the church of Jesus is to participate daily with the King, with the King's kids and to embrace the principles and teachings of the King and His Kingdom as a lifestyle.

So you can join a church built by man or join the Kingdom of God, which is the church (assembly or gathering) Jesus is building! You see, you basically can dilute yourself by taking a side-trip of distraction or remain focused on the good news of the Kingdom. Jesus chose the Kingdom over any other gathering or assembly. What will you do?