Jesus
answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
Insights:
We conclude our journey through the kingdom parables found in Matthew
thirteen today. I pray you have been
encouraged by these sermons and blogs. I
know that personally I had a great deal of joy plunging the depths of this
chapter in my sermon preparation times. Let’s
look at a final thought review of these parables. The first six parables were spoken in couplet
form. In other words, the first two
dealt with the subject of the nature of
the kingdom. The second two dealt with
the subject of the power of the kingdom.
The next two dealt with the subject of the personal appropriation
of the kingdom. I am greatly indebted to
John MacArthur in regards to these descriptors and outline of the
parables. He was a primary source for my
sermon preparation for these messages.
The final parable is what we have examined this week and it was the
climactic point Jesus was driving home to the disciples. That final point was judgment is coming and
coming much more quickly than you think.
I am so grateful that the Lord Jesus did not desire for us to go through
this mysterious church age form of the kingdom ignorant as to what was going on
around us. You will recall that Jesus
called it a mystery because no Old Testament writer had seen or spoken about
this time period in which we live. They thought
the first and second coming of Jesus was one event. Jesus, however, seeing perfectly His Father’s
plan, knew there was going to be this time period and desired to enlighten His
disciples as to its nature, power, personal appropriation and future
judgment. He did this so that we would
not be so taken aback when we saw the evils of this world all around us. He shared these truths to encourage us to
know that we win in the end and that Jesus’ kingdom is powerful and will
grow. He also wanted us to know that we
each, individually, needed to express faith in Jesus for our salvation. In other words, no one else’s faith is going
to save us. We need to personally receive
Jesus as our Lord and Savior and we must do it before His judgment comes.
Questions:
- Do you better understand the urgency of your task now
that you have gone through these kingdom parables?
- Is there anything hindering your proclamation of the
gospel now that you understand these parables?
Prayer: Father, thank
You that You are the God of Truth and You do not wish for Your children to be
ignorant of the realities of this present mystery form of the kingdom. Now that You have dispensed this truth, let
me be courageous in telling others of this reality and may Your name be brought
glory. Amen.
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