Requiem For John

Matthew 14:1-14

Matthew doesn’t record what Jesus said when He heard the news of John’s death. Only that He withdrew to a solitary place.

We aren’t privy to Jesus’ thoughts. We don’t have the eulogy John’s disciples gave at his burial. Nor do we know John’s final wishes.

We suspect a man who wore camel’s hair and leather wouldn’t care much for a big funeral. And as blunt as John was, we’re fairly certain he wouldn’t want a lot of flowery speeches. But we might safely say:

The angel Gabriel announced his birth! John was a miracle baby, the son of a priest. His mother Elizabeth and Jesus’ mother were cousins. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. He was a prophet. His special mission was to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus! He had a very successful ministry. His name became a household word. Thousands repented at his preaching! He baptized our Lord! Jesus once alleged that nobody who ever lived was greater than John! He was fearless! He confronted religious leaders and called them to repentance. He preached repentance to a king. Yet, he was human. He had his moments of doubt. But he took his questions to Jesus and died in faith and for his faith. John has gone to his well-deserved reward!

Maybe these thoughts were in Jesus’ mind as He reflected on the wonderful and impactful life of His boyhood friend - this Elijah of God!

Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us footprints in the sands of time…

Nazareth Syndrome

Matthew 13:53-58

Jesus comes back to his hometown! At first everyone is amazed at His wisdom and wowed by the miracles. No tickertape parade but it sure looks like everyone in Nazareth will soon believe in Him.

Then something strange happens - They took offense at Him!

To them, things just didn’t add up. They were asking, isn’t this the carpenter’s son? We know His mother Mary. In fact, we know all His brothers and sisters.

How did they get sidetracked on their way to faith? Jesus seems to express dismay more than offer explanation - Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor!

Let’s just call it a syndrome, since it still doesn’t make sense today when people reject Jesus...get off on a detour of doubt!

Overlook the Teacher’s marvelous insight! Ignore the miracles! Focus instead on some distracting questions and then make no effort to follow the trail of evidence that leads to faith.

Well, whatever the causes of doubt and disbelief, here’s the result - And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith!

The Nazareth Syndrome!

The symptoms that converge are lack of faith in Jesus and the absence of His power.

It’s not a good town in which to live.

Sell Everything

Matthew 13:44-52

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.

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

At first glance, both of these little parables seem to be saying the same thing - the kingdom of heaven is worth everything we have. The men in both stories sell everything, right?

But take a closer look! Maybe the Teacher isn’t just repeating Himself.

In the first parable - the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure…

In the second - the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking...

Interesting! In the first parable the kingdom is the valuable find – a treasure! In the second, the kingdom is searching for value – a merchant looking!

There’s a sense in which the kingdom came looking for us. Right? We surely didn’t have the power to bring the kingdom down from heaven. That’s God’s initiative! Jesus brings the kingdom to earth!

Maybe, Jesus is the searching merchant and we the pearl of great price in His eyes. He comes looking for us and gives everything to purchase us.

If so, could we be the one in the first parable who finds what was formerly hidden? Willing to joyfully sell out to possess the treasure of the kingdom of heaven!

Covert Operation

Matthew 13:31-43

It’s happening again! The Teacher is speaking to the crowds only in parables. Another covert operation! Code name - Hidden Truth!

He spoke all these things to the crowd in parables, and he did not say anything to them without using a parable!

As before, the Teacher reserves full disclosure of the truth for His students alone. Why? They’re the only ones who really want to know!!!

Then He left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable…”

Pardon me, if I suspect things aren’t much different today - even among those who claim to believe in Jesus!

A recent Barna Group poll surveyed Christians in American with shocking results: Half don’t believe Satan exists. A third think Jesus sinned while on earth. Twenty five percent reject the Bible as accurate in all the principles it teaches.

Americans are increasingly comfortable picking and choosing what they deem to be helpful and accurate…and have become comfortable discarding the rest of the teachings in the Bible. (George Barna)

One more example of this from the parables: Jesus taught the kingdom would spread almost imperceptively, like yeast in bread, and mature gradually as a small mustard seed develops into a larger plant.

But have you noticed how often we selectively ignore the Teacher’s principles and opt instead for more sophisticated worldly marketing techniques to promote Christianity?

Elaborate campaigns, showy displays, militant political action and in-your-face public advertisement, to name a few.

To be good students of Jesus we must not only seek the Teacher’s answers, but trust them enough to be guided by them.

Spiritual Horticulture

Matthew 13:18-30

Remember what happened after Jesus gave the parable about a farmer sowing seeds into different kinds of soil? The crowds went home. His students stayed on - seeking answers.

Now they alone receive the truth hidden in the parable. To them - and no one else - the Teacher says, Listen then to what the parable of the sower means.

They find out the parable wasn’t a class on Agricultural Science. If anything it was Spiritual Horticulture 101! They learn the farmer's seed was the message of the kingdom and the soil types were human hearts!

In fact, in this parable the Teacher displays an amazing ability to reduce the human response to God’s message to four soil types: pathway, rocky, thorny, and good.

Pathway Soil - those who don’t receive the message at all.

Rocky Soil – people who quickly accept it but without a survivable commitment.

Thorny Soil – a degree of allegiance but are too focused on things of this world.

Good Soil – people for whom the message of Jesus is a priority.

Which soil type describes a good student of Jesus? One whose main concern is producing the fruit of Christ likeness?

The one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Good Students

Matthew 13:10-17

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"

Did you notice who’s still with the Teacher after the crowd leaves? Asking for more information? Seeking clarification?

Only His students! That’s what the word disciple means – a student, a learner, a pupil, an apprentice, a follower!

Matthew says large crowds heard Jesus teaching in parables. Where are they now? No questions for the Teacher?

For them class is over. The bell rang. They went home!

But His students did what good students do. They sought to remain in the presence of the Teacher. This decision put them in the perfect position to receive His blessing and wisdom.

He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them…This is why I speak to them in parables…But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.”

The Teacher only shares the secrets of the kingdom with His students! Those who really want to know and grow in His presence.

We see here what it takes to be a good student in the University of Jesus. Never leave the company of the Teacher! Relentlessly seek His counsel and guidance. Ask questions!

The decisive question?

Am I a good student, staying close and paying attention to the Teacher or largely going about my life without Him?

Genius At Work

Matthew 13:1-9

This is the genius of Jesus! First, He has incomparable power to discern spiritual truth. Second, He possesses a unique ability to observe and analyze human behavior.

And most important to His students, the Teacher has the intellect to organize and communicate His wisdom in easily understandable ways.

This is the genius of His parables! They brilliantly unite spiritual insights with everyday things. Truths are memorable as the Teacher ties them to common things already firmly embedded in our minds.

Uncomplicated little parables, yet there is truth concealed in them. Hidden to all but real students who rely on the Teacher for their meaning!

Marvel! This is Genius at work! That’s why He’s the Teacher!

Jesus taught many parables that day, but Matthew records only one of them. It is a simple story about a farmer. But for inquiring students there’s more to the story, as we shall see later.

Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

He who has ears, let him hear."