The Righteous Will Shine Like the Sun [Matthew 13]

 

Thursday, January 15, 2009 [Matthew 13, NASB]

36Then He left the crowds and went into the house And His disciples came to Him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."

37And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38and 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; 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40"So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41"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, 42and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 43"Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears, let him hear.

 44"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 
45
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,

 46and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

 

In this chapter Jesus begins to speak in parables to the people about the kingdom of heaven.  The parables were stories about something in life that they could relate to with spiritual truths woven into the story.  The disciples didn't understand why He was speaking to the people in parables.  He told them "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." He then quotes Isaiah again who describes this people's heart as having grown callous and their ears hard of hearing. Because of the state of their hearts Jesus is talking about things they do understand, like wheat, fish, pearls, etc. and engaging their minds so that they ponder the spiritual truths He is giving them, instead of outright rejecting them.

So what do we learn from the parable about the wheat and the weeds?  The kingdom of heaven is here in the world where the Son of Man has sown the sons of the kingdom and the enemy has sown his sons.  They are living together until the end of the age when the "Son of Man will send out His angels and gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin and those guilty of lawlessness" and they will be thrown into the blazing furnace. (Holman CSB).  Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father.

This kingdom is the treasure worth seeking.  Sell everything and buy that field.  Place all that you have on this fine pearl.  You will shine like the sun in your Father's kingdom if you are indeed a son of the kingdom.

May all the things of this world grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace for us today.


Verna McCrillis, 1/15/2009
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