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Parables of Heaven on Earth (Part 1)

A Kingdom of Parables

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 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. 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. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:10-13)

All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 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. (Matthew 13:34-35)

JESUS taught in parables. A parable is a figure of speech; it conveys truth about one thing in terms of another. Parables reveal truths about the spiritual realm in terms of the natural realm. The parables of Jesus teach about the kingdom of Heaven on Earth. You might say they are “downloads” of the mysteries of the kingdom.

There are those who are ready to receive the kingdom of Heaven on Earth and those who are not. Parables reveal the difference. Those who are ready to receive, believe and obey the words of Jesus will understand the parables, and the mysteries of the kingdom will be revealed to them. For those who are not willing, the kingdom will remain a mystery.

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; 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.” (Matthew 13:14-15)

We see a couple of vivid examples of this following the round of parables in Matthew 13. Jesus returned to His hometown, Nazareth, and began teaching in the synagogue. The people were amazed at all He said and did. “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty acts?” (Matthew 13:54). They were confused. They heard the wisdom Jesus spoke and saw that He performed powerful miracles but they did not understand where it came from. They recognized Him only as the carpenter’s son; they knew His mother, brothers and sisters — this could not be a prophet of God. So where did He get all these things? Matthew records, “So they were offended at Him” (v. 57). Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house” (v. 57) and did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief (v. 58).

In Matthew 14:1-2, we see Herod’s reaction to Jesus’ ministry. Not long before, he had beheaded John the Baptist. When he heard what Jesus was doing, he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”

These all saw and heard with their physical senses but they did not really see and hear. They had no understanding and they remained in their unbelief. That is why Jesus ends some of His parables with, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” for whoever has, to him more will be given.

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:16-17)

The parables of Jesus reveal things that were prophesied in the Old Testament. Saints of old heard and spoke of these things but did not live to see them fulfilled. As the author of Hebrews says, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). But what they saw only afar off is now revealed to us in the parables of Jesus and fulfilled in the kingdom of God — if we have the ears to hear.

The Kingdom of the Sower

Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matthew 13:3-9)

JESUS begins this parable with a call to see: “Behold.” That is, See! Here is a figure of earthly things, but look past that to an important spiritual truth. He ends with a call to hear: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Do not just hear the earthly example, listen for the truth in it that comes from heaven. Jesus then explains this parable to His disciples, who were still learning how to see in the spiritual realm and hear the sound of heaven.

Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 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. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 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. 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. 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. (Matthew 13:18-23)

The “seed” is the word of the kingdom — the good news that the kingdom of heaven is now here on earth. It is the call to repent and believe, to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seed is only part of the equation, however. There must also be good soil in which to sow if there is going to be a harvest of the kingdom. In this parable, there are four kinds of soil, and four kinds of results:

First, there are those who hear this good news but do not understand it because they do not receive it in the field of their heart but only along the wayside where the good soil has worn away. Because it cannot take root there, the devil soon comes and snatches it away. We cannot simply tack the kingdom of heaven alongside whatever else we are seeking in life. It must become our priority or else it will be snatched away, and everything else along with it.

There are also those who receive the seed and are happy about it, but there are stony places in their heart, just beneath the surface, where they are not willing to yield. Ultimately, the Word cannot be established in them because of their hardness. Their joy and faith soon fades away because they do not let the kingdom dig deep inside them.

Then there are those who receive the Word but their heart is full of distracting cares and the temptation to trust in riches. These things have such a stranglehold on them that they are unable to bring forth the good fruit of the kingdom. They do not learn to cast their cares on the Lord who cares for them. They do not make the kingdom of God their priority and therefore do not find all these other things taken care of. They are more like Martha, who was anxious and distracted by many things, instead of like Mary, who chose the “one thing,” the “better part” which cannot be taken away (Luke 10:41-42).

Finally, there are those who hear the word of the kingdom and give themselves over to it completely. They receive it with the whole heart, letting it deal with all the hard places inside them. The kingdom of God and His righteousness become their priority, the lens through which they view everything else, and everything else is brought into proper perspective. They begin to bring forth the fruit of heaven on earth and it becomes great blessing to others.

Jesus is sowing the word of the kingdom of Heaven on Earth. What kind of soil will you be?

© 2009 by Jeff Doles.
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