The Importance of the New Testament Mysteries-7
Dr. Thomas Ice
ÒHave you understood
all these things?Ó They said to
Him, ÒYes.Ó And He said to them,
ÒTherefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is
like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and
old.Ó
—Matthew 13:51–52
Previously
we began a look at the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven or kingdom of God as
noted in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8.
I have also gone over the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1–23
in which the parables were called ÒmysteriesÓ of the kingdom of God. Therefore we learned that during the
interim period between the two comings of Jesus,[1]
the parable of the sower indicates there will be varied responses to the
proclamation of the message, which is the gospel.
There
are eight parables in Matthew 13 that teach new revelation regarding the
kingdom of God. The first one was
the parable of the sower teaching that there will be varied responses to the
gospel between the two coming of Christ.
I have already dealt with that one.
I think the eighth parable is a summary conclusion of the previous
parables. This means the six
parables sandwiched between the first and last parable provide the primary mysteries
about the kingdom of God that Jesus is disclosing.
Parable of the Householder
Since
the eighth parable is an explanatory conclusion parable it is important we
understand its meaning up front. The
householder passage is only found in MatthewÕs account. Stanley Toussaint notes, ÒThis parable,
strictly speaking, is not a parable of the kingdom.Ó[2] The parable of the householder (Matt.
13:51–52), speaks of the fact that; some aspects of ChristÕs teachings on
the kingdom are already known by the Disciples since they were revealed in the
Old Testament. This is the meaning
of the householder bringing out of his treasure things old. The new things brought out of his
treasure are a reference to the mysteries Christ is teaching in these
parables. ÒThe use of the neuter
adjectives ÔoldÕ or Ôwarn out thingsÕ and ÔnewÕ or Ôfresh thingsÕ is very
fitting in this connection,Ó[3]
observes Toussaint.
The
meaning is that the previous revelation concerning the kingdom has not changed
at all as represented by the old.
However, the old is to be combined with the new revelation relating to
the kingdom. The major point is
that IsraelÕs kingdom is being postponed until the return of Messiah because of
overall Jewish rejection in ChristÕs day.
This is an important point for believers to keep in mind in order to
understand the purpose of the current Church Age in which we live. Our purpose is to call out through the
global preaching of the gospel in order to find out who will makeup the Church,
the Body of Christ (Matt. 28:19–20) and to then make disciples of those who believe.
The ChurchÕs destiny is to reign with our Lord and Saviour in His
Millennial Kingdom after the Tribulation (Rev. 3:21). Our current Church Age is not the
kingdom, not even a spiritual form of it, nor an ÒalreadyÓ phase of the
Millennium. Today the LordÕs Body
is the Church!
Parable of the Seed and Tares
In
Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43 Jesus reveals the parable of the seed and
the tares. Once again, this parable
is only found in Matthew. ÒHe presented another
parable to them, saying, ÔThe kingdom of heaven may be
compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men were sleeping, his enemy
came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprang up and bore
grain, then the tares became evident also. And the slaves of the landowner came and
said to him, ÒSir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How
then does it have tares?Ó And he
said to them, ÒAn enemy has done this!Ó
And the slaves said to him, ÒDo you want us, then, to go and gather them
up?Ó But he said, ÒNo; lest while
you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the
harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ÔFirst
gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the
wheat into my barnÕÓÕÓ (Matt. 13:24–30).
This parable is
very clear, even before JesusÕ explanation in verses 36–43. First, we see that the seed is the word
of God, the gospel. Second, the
enemy is the devil who began his counter-sowing immediately after the field was
sown with the good seed. Third, the
landowner is the Lord who tells His servants to let both the good seed grow and
the tares grow until the harvest and then they will be able to separate the
good from the evil. Fourth, the
separation of the wheat from the tares will take place at the end of the age.
Later in Matthew
13 Jesus departs from the multitude with which He was speaking parables and
enters into a house. Jesus did not
explain the meaning of any parables while with the public. Once He enters the house, His disciples
say, ÒExplain to us the parable of the tares of the fieldÓ (Matt. 13:36). ÒAnd He answered and said, ÔThe one who
sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for
the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of
the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest
is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. Therefore just as the tares are gathered
up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His
angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those
who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that
place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as
the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hearÕÓ (Matt.
13:35–43).
ChristÕs
private explanation more clearly identifies the ÒwhoÓ, the Òmanner,Ó and the
ÒwhenÓ of the parable. The Son of
Man, Jesus, is the one who sows the good seed. The focus in this parable is on the
quality of the seed and not the soils.
The good seed is GodÕs Word about the kingdom, which would include the
gospel of grace. The emphasis is
upon it, not men, doing its work and producing good fruit. However, just a few days later, Jesus
said that the devil counter-sows bad seed into the field, which refers to the
world. Thus, the scope of what
Christ is talking about is not the church, but the entire world, since the
gospel will be proclaimed into the entire world. It is true that during most of the
inter-advent age Christendom[4]
will contain both true believers and false professors within its sphere. Because the world will include a mixture
of believers and unbelievers there will be a need to separate the two kinds
into two groups amounting to the saved and the lost. This will occur at the end of the
seven-year tribulation period, after Christ second coming during the separation
of the sheep (believers) and the goats (unbelievers) (Matt. 25:31–46).
The
mystery taught by this parable is that during the inter-advent age, there will
be a spreading of the good seed throughout the world. The good seed will yield its fruit of
those who come to trust Jesus Christ as their Saviour. At the same time, there will be a sowing
of a false message throughout the world as well. The false message is
called by Paul: Òthe mystery of lawlessness is already at workÓ (2
Thess. 2:7). A constant appeal in
the New Testament Epistles to the ChurchÕs leadership is to protect the flock
from the intrusions of the false message coming into the church. Therefore, as we are diligent to spread
the good news of the gospel, we are to be equally prepared to deal with the
false message of Satan among the flock.
Conclusion
We
see a summary of the parable of the good seed and the tares means the good seed
will spring to life of its own accord, inexplicably, the growth of the seed does
not depend on the sower but the quality of the seed, which is the Word of
God. Next, the sowing of the good
seed is to be followed by a false counter-sowing from the devil. The two seeds will be left alone in
order to see what kind of fruit they produce during the growing season. When the harvest time arrives, which is
parallel to the end of the age when God will judge mankind, the tares are
separated from the wheat and cast into the fire of judgment. The wheat is gathered and goes into the
Millennial Kingdom that will be established at that time in history. Maranatha!
(To Be Continued . . .)
ENDNOTES
[1] The period between ChristÕs two comings includes the current Church Age and the Tribulation. This will be referenced throughout these essays by the term Òthe inter-advent age.Ó Note: the Church Age will be the primary period making up the inter-advent age, but the Tribulation Period is also included since ChristÕs second coming will occur at the end of the Tribulation. The rapture of the Church, will take place at the end of the Church Age but before the beginning of the Tribulation, has not yet been introduced by Jesus at this point in His ministry. Jesus introduces the Rapture of the Church in the Upper Room Discourse in John 14:1–3 the night before His death.
[2] Stanley D. Toussaint, Behold The King: A Study of Matthew (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1980), p. 185.
[3] Toussaint, Behold The King, p. 185.
[4] Christendom is a broad term referring to all within the sphere of Christianity, including false professors, false views of Christianity, Christian cults, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, liberal Protestants, and true believers.