Matthew 13 (Part 3) :44-52

Matthew chapter 13 over the past couple of weeks now here we've been dealing with the parables of the kingdom as they are given by our Lord Jesus we we we looked a couple of weeks ago at the parable of the sower where Jesus talked to us about the condition of people's hearts when they received the gospel last week we dealt with parables that talk about the condition or the character of the kingdom during that period of time while he is away and we talked about or we saw in those parables how we are told that there is going to be a time of of influence and corruption that is going to take place in the kingdom we saw that in several different parables now we're dealing with the final series of parables that are going to speak to us about the three people groups that Jesus is going to deal with when he returns at the time of his second coming or as he refers to it as the end of the age and I'm gonna read these verses first and then we'll we'll talk about them beginning at verse 44 in your Bible so pick it up in verse 44 if you would

stop there if you would please I know there's a few other verses we'll pick up a few more here today but let's just pray with what we have so far father open our hearts and give us understanding of the scriptures that we're looking at here today and guide us and direct us in their meaning for we ask it Lord in Jesus name three parables three people groups that's what these parables are about Jesus is outlining defining for us three different people groups that are involved or that will be dealt with if you will at his second coming we first have the parable of the treasure that the man finds in the field we then have the parable of the pearl your Bible may say the pearl of great price and then we finally have the parable of the net or the dragnet three parables three people groups who are they you're taking notes let me put them up on the screen for you so you can see them each of the parables the parable of the hidden treasure which is speaking of Israel and then you have the pair parable of the pearl of great price which is speaking of the church or the body of Christ and then you finally have the parable of the fishnet which is a parable speaking of those enduring through the time of the Great Tribulation I want to show you as we go through these parables some of you might be kind of cocking your head to the side because maybe you've heard some different translations from these parables we'll talk about those in just a little bit but let's first look at the first parable once again it's only one verse long and we'll see why this is talking about Israel Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that was 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 well let me first talk to you about what this parable means we've already come up against the field earlier when we dealt with the parable of the wheat and the weeds or the wheat and the tears and remember the field was the world so once again we see here that a field represents the world at large but the man in this parable is none other than Jesus and he goes and he finds a treasure and hides it again and then buys that field with everything he has literally sells everything gives everything so that he might buy that field well first of all how do we know that the treasure is Israel well this is one of those interesting times where knowing your Old Testament really comes in handy in interpreting the new sometimes people will kind of get a tendency to think about the Old Testament like well that's the Old Testament I really don't need that information I got the New Testament I'm just gonna I had someone tell me that actually years ago I got the New Testament I'll just study that and I'll be good to go well you know the Old Testament is full of incredible stuff that in some cases gives us the ability to unlock some of the insights of the New Testament and this is one of them how would you know that the treasure in the field is Israel unless you had read in the Old Testament that over and over and over again God calls Israel his treasure let me show you a couple of examples first of all from Exodus chapter 19 verse 5 God says now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant then out of all the nations which again is that picture of that field the world you will be my treasured possession and then in Psalm 135 verse 4 it says for the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own Israel to be his treasured possession your Bible may say special treasure which is just as accurately translated from that Hebrew word he Israel is the treasure of the Lord so we see this in the Old Testament now Jesus speaks this in this parabolic form of Israel and he speaks of himself who finds this treasure among all the nations of the world he finds Israel but what does he do it is interesting he says he hides it and then he gives everything sells all that he has so that he might buy not the treasure alone but the field remember the field represents the world well we know from the scripture that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the whole world Israel of course is in is a cutting you know is included in that redemptive and sacrificial work by Jesus but isn't it interesting that at this point in time Israel is a hidden treasure what that means is we're living in the church age right now you guys this is not the age of Israel this is the age of the church Jesus said to you and I you are the light of the world you are the salt of the earth this is your time to shine this is your season this is why we call this period of time we are now living in the church age okay but this church age is a time in which Israel where God had dealt with exclusively in the past has now been hidden the church is in the forefront of God's redemptive program but the church is going to be taken away the church is going to be caught up to be with the Lord we call that the rapture and when the rapture takes place the church age comes to an end and the time of Israel once again begins and it's referred to as the time of Jacob's trouble because it's the seven-year period of time that we call the Great Tribulation and that is that that that that last week if you will of Daniel which Daniel speaks of where the nation of Israel once again is brought to the forefront of God's redemptive program what it's going to be is a crucible a furnace of affliction for Israel but out of that furnace of affliction of the seven-year tribulation God will bring the nation of Israel his treasure to the forefront again so that during the Millennial Kingdom when Christ returns and reigns upon the earth it says in in the Bible that the nations of the earth will stream to Israel they will come to Jerusalem where the king will be enthroned and once again Israel will be the focus of the world and the peoples of the world will come to that place so so Jesus is telling us here that Israel is at this time a hidden treasure a hidden treasure which of course he gave everything in order to purchase along with the rest of the world now you may have heard a different translation for these verses it is not uncommon to hear someone interpret them as the man in the parable being a type of Christians or a symbol for Christians and that the treasure is the gospel and we find the gospel and we're excited about it and so forth and so on but the problem is if you're going to carry that kind of interpretation it has all kinds of theological problems to it. First of all, for starters, the gospel is not hidden. There's nothing hidden about it. It's right, just go to a football game in the NFL and there's some yo-yo standing in the, you know, upper thing of the, I shouldn't say yo-yo. He's an evangelist. What can I say? With a big sign, John 3.16, you know? I mean, they're all over the place. There's nothing hidden about it, you know? Secondly, technically, as the parable says, the man goes to find the treasure. We do not technically find Christ. He finds us. The fact of the matter is Jesus told us that no man can come to him unless he is drawn by his father. And so in that particular sense, it would be incorrect to say that we actually found Christ. He finds us. We respond appropriately to him and so forth, but he finds us. And thirdly, we do not buy our salvation. We do not give all that we have for our salvation. We may give all that we have for Christ after we're saved, but we're already saved at that point. So we do not pay. We do not buy our salvation. So this parable doesn't fit with us being the man and the gospel being the treasure. Again, Jesus is talking about Israel, his hidden treasure. Looking now at the second parable, we're going to come to the next people group. And it says in verse 45, again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. And when he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. You know, again, this parable has been commonly interpreted to say that the pearl is the gospel or my salvation. In fact, there's an old hymn. For those of you that are aware of the old hymns that actually has a line in it that says, I've found the pearl of great price, speaking of, you know, salvation. But once again, that messes things up. We have the same objections to that interpretation as we do the first parable being interpreted that way. We do not, again, find Jesus. We do not sell all that we have to possess him and so forth. If you're talking about somebody who has given everything, we're always got to talk about Jesus, right? He's the one who gave it all. He's the one who gave everything to have you. So this parable is about him and so forth, but the pearl that he gave everything to buy, this time it's not the treasure of Israel. The pearl is the church. The church, the body of Christ. And what's interesting about this, and I really like this picture of the church being seen as a pearl, because we see something in common with pearls. You know, when God uses an example, he always does it for a reason, and there's good reason to see it that way. A pearl is a beautiful, beautiful thing that is born out of adversity. You guys know how a pearl is formed. Really starts with a grain of sand kind of making its way into the inside of the oyster shell, becoming an irritant to the oyster to the point where it secretes this substance which eventually over time covers the grain of sand and forms a beautiful pearl. Very rare, very beautiful, but it is born out of irritation. It is born out of persecution. It is born out of adversity. And we as the body of Christ are the very same. We are born out of trouble. You know, in the book of Acts, it says that we must go through many trials to enter the kingdom of heaven. There are incredible references in the New Testament about the fact that suffering is our lot, is just what we are called to. Let me show you a couple of passages out of 1 Peter. Peter writes and he says this, If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. And look what he says here. These next words are important. To this you were called, right? Because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. You and I are called to suffer in the steps of Jesus. You know, that's a pretty interesting verse, isn't it? We don't particularly like to talk about it that much. I don't know the last time I saw somebody put that up on their refrigerator as a promise verse that they were standing on necessarily, but it is a promise. It's your calling. It's your calling. Some people say to me, sometimes, Pastor Paul, I don't even know what my calling is. I don't know what God wants out of me. Well, there's several things I can give you right off the bat. There are specific callings, and that's what they're talking about. But there are general callings that we all have. We're called to holiness. We're called to purity. We're called to suffering. Yay, huh? Isn't everybody gonna get up now and do a little happy dance? I don't think so, probably, but you know what? It's what we're called to. But it's interesting, when you hear of people, when we hear of people suffering, we're usually appalled. Do you know what Peter said about that? Let me show you what else Peter said about suffering. Put this on the screen. Dear friends, he said, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you, but rather rejoice, he says, that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. Now listen, I want Saeed out of that prison as much as anybody. I want him to come home to his wife and to his two children as much as anyone. But listen, according to the scripture, we are not to look at this sort of a situation as some sort of isolated, weird, you know, thing that shouldn't be happening. It should be happening. Jesus told us it would happen. Peter said, when it does, don't be surprised when it happens. Don't think it's something strange. It's something normal. When you're living for Jesus, when you're really living for him, that's normal. The fact that you and I don't experience it on a regular basis is because we're kind of living in this pampered sort of a society in America, you know. But you know, things aren't moving real great in our direction here either. We can kind of see that maybe the end of some of our freedoms are coming down the pike here. And I don't know, I mean, I don't know when that sort of thing that's happening in Iran might actually happen in the United States. I don't know. Might not be in our lifetime, but the point is, we are not to look at those sorts of situations as isolated and as something that is weird or strange. It's normal. Finally, we come then to the parable of the net. Look in verse 47 in your Bible. It says, once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and it caught all kinds of fish. And when it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore and they sat down and they collected the good fish in the baskets, but they threw the bad away. And then Jesus doesn't leave us with any question here. He actually interprets it for us. He says, this then is how it will be at the end of the age. He said, the angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. By the way, this final separation is not going to happen to you. This isn't the church being separated. This is the people who've come out of the great tribulation. And here's why. First of all, you've already been separated if you're in Christ. You've already been set apart. You've already been sealed with the Holy Spirit. You have already been separated. In fact, that's why the Bible tells you and I to be separate from the world in our lifestyle because positionally speaking, we've already been separated from the world, set apart through Jesus Christ and our acceptance of him as our savior. So this isn't you and me getting separated. You know, when you read about the sheep and the goats and he's going to take the sheep on his right and the goats on his left, that's not you. That's not you. You're the church. The church is caught up to be with the Lord and there's never any question, never any need for that kind of separation. It's already happened. The sheep and the goats, the good fish and the bad fish, this is the separation of people who've come out of the great tribulation. And during that time of the great tribulation, many people who did not know Christ going into it will become believers. In fact, a multitude of people will come out of the great tribulation having washed their garments in the blood of the lamb. John, you'll remember in the book of Revelation is given a visual picture of all these saints. In fact, he says, then I saw this multitude of people. And the angel said, do you know who these is? And John's like, no. And the angel said, this is they who have come out of the great tribulation. They are those, a multitude of people who will give their lives to Christ. They didn't give their lives to Christ or they were lukewarm going into the tribulation. But once they got into it, they realized all this stuff was true. They came to Jesus in huge numbers. They were martyred for their faith They were martyred for their faith. They they they will give their lives Those who come to Christ during the tribulation will give their lives for Christ But not everybody during the tribulation is going to give their life Some of them will continue to resist And what that tells us is is the judgment doesn't always produce repentance every parent Knows that at least with some kids You punish them and it doesn't necessarily bring sorrow or repentance into their little hearts does it sometimes they just harden their heart further and That is what is basically Accompanied in this phrase there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth How why would someone gnash their teeth? we're not talking about that thing you do at night when you grind your teeth and you're some your spouse reaches over and Slaps you or something says knock it off It's not what we're talking about Gnashing of teeth is a biblical reference to hatred and loathing That realizes it's caught and it can't get out From the situation that it's in there's gnashing of teeth. It is intense Hatred that is responding to a situation. It can't control There will be people during the time of the Great Tribulation. They will know Exactly what's going on and They will refuse to repent. They will refuse to follow God. They will know what's going on They will know in fact It says in the book of Revelation that people will cry out and they will say hide us from the judgment of the Lamb Because there will be Hailstones, you know, that'll be falling that during the tribulation It'll be big enough to kill people and there will be Earthquakes and there will be all kinds of things and people will run and hide though It says they'll run in in in caves and get under rocks and they'll try to protect themselves But they will know exactly what's going on and they will shake their fist at God and say how dare you and That is Who's going to be separated in The last day at the end of the age and that those are the ones in part that Jesus is referring to here in this parable when he says There will be a great net cast down as into a lake all the fish are pulled out and Then the fishermen sit down. Those are the angels and they will separate the good from the bad And the good of course are going to be with the Lord the bad of course as he says here and Reminds us this hard reality that is echoed in other parables and elsewhere in the New Testament that there awaits for those who reject Jesus Christ as Savior a Judgment a terrible judgment and I personally don't like being reminded of that for the sake of those who have rejected and whose hearts are hard, but it is a reality nonetheless and one that we have to maintain for true biblical honesty and It's and it's a It's a sad thing, but you know what the end of the age isn't yet. So we still have time to pray So let's not stop praying for our friends loved ones Family Who have not yet opened their heart to the gospel. Let's not stop praying. Don't don't stop praying for him Let's look at the last couple of verses. This is 51 and 52 that go along with these parables It says this is Jesus speaking. Have you understood all these things Jesus asked? Yes, they replied and they probably didn't understand all of it But some and he said to them therefore every teacher of the law Who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old so Jesus now having presented these last three parables that speak of these the well Actually, you know what having spoken all these parables that we've dealt with over the last three weeks starting with the parable of the sower And the wheat and the tares and and and now these three parables that we've dealt with here About these three people groups that God is going to deal with at the end of the age Jesus then turns to his disciples and he says have you understood these things? Yes, we have probably in part But later on they came to understand them Much more to the point where they wrote about them in the New Testament in the letters you know we have the Gospels and we have the letters the letters written by Paul and James and John and Peter and Jude and whoever wrote the book of Hebrews and What they're doing in those books is they are fulfilling what Jesus said they would do right here he said anyone who knows the Old Testament law and Who is also? instructed in the kingdom Can then be like a man who from his Storeroom brings forth old treasures as well as new treasures right, do you know that's exactly what the writers in the New Testament do and Probably nowhere better than the book of Hebrews I I love the book of Hebrews, even though I'm not I'm not convinced who wrote the thing A lot of people believe the Apostle Paul wrote it. I don't think so. I have my own opinion Knowing it or believing it won't get you to heaven. So I won't even bother telling you But it's just my opinion that's all it is but The point is that book is so powerful because I think Nowhere else. Is it better shown how? The old Treasures of the Old Testament are are brought out the new treasures of the kingdom are brought out and the writer of Hebrews weaves them together in this tapestry of Understanding that is just flat-out Amazing and you know when he begins his letter The first two verses of his letter serve as kind of an introduction To that process of weaving the old and the new together. Here's here's here's what he says. He says in the past God spoke to our forefathers through The prophets at many times and in various ways but in these last days He has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe and and he takes that statement as a as a kind of a platform and Then he spends the rest of that letter taking the old and the new and weaving it together in the most beautiful form of taking prophecies and information about the temple and and Melchizedek and and all these other things and weaving them together and and showing us this beautiful picture of the old and the new treasures come together in This syncretist sort of a perfect whole and it really is a beautiful sort of a thing you know and That's you know, it's one of the reasons frankly that we we teach through the Old Testament around here too on Wednesday nights We're going through the Old Testament, you know, we've been talking here on Wednesday just this last couple of weeks about the tabernacle and we've been dealing with the furniture of the tabernacle, you know, the the Ark of the Covenant and the altar of incense and and the altar of burnt offering and and the bronze Basin or laver and all the other things they all have meaning they all have meaning to the New Testament They all point to Jesus So we look at these Old Testament pictures and types and things we see Christ we see this Fulfillment of the person of Jesus we got the old treasures and we got the new treasures We can see how they come together and it really is a beautiful sort of a picture so let me put the original slide that we started off with showing these three parables for those of you taking notes and and the Kind of the interpretation of them the parable of the hidden treasure Israel the treasure that Jesus Is is has hidden away for now but has been purchased along with the field of the world through his death on the cross the parable of the pearl of great price the body of Christ they who are born out of adversity and difficulty and and suffering which we are as we saw in the scriptures called to To deal with and so forth and then finally the parable of the fishnet Which is the gathering in the last days after the tribulation of all those who have gone through the Great Tribulation? time period and so forth and You know you look at these people groups and you ask yourself the question where do I fit here? Am I in the body of Christ? Am I in Christ? Or am I on the fence if Jesus sounded the trumpet that caught the church up tonight Would you be taken With the rest of the body of Christ or would you be left behind? Because you really truly hadn't given your heart to Christ. You really hadn't Accepted his work on the cross That's really the question that we need to ask because the time is you know is we're getting to the end here guys We we've been in the last days for 2,000 years Technically speaking this is called the last days ever since the beginning of the church It's also called the church age as I mentioned earlier, but now I believe we're in the last days of the last days. I Really truly believe we're winding it down and I I'm not even going to begin to set a date. That would be foolish to do All I'm saying is I think we're close and and there's a lot of other people in Christ who believe the same thing And there is going to be a trumpet sound and we are going to be called up to be with the Lord we are going to be taken away and caught up and The church will be removed from the earth and we will then enter into that period known as the period of the Great Tribulation The question is where will you be after that trumpet sounds? Where will you be? And that's a question every one of us needs to ask and And and people are so confused about what makes someone a Christian They're so confused and I can tell they're confused because when I talk to them, they just spew confusion Because there are you would be shocked to know how many people believe they are a Christian if you ask them Are you a Christian? Yep. I'm a Christian and then in the next question you say are your sins forgiven and they go I hope so and They don't see how the two relate Listen, listen to me carefully a Christian is someone who knows That their sins are forgiven because Jesus paid their price Paid their penalty and they've accepted what he did on the cross and now they know they don't wonder By faith they know and you ask someone like that. Do you know your sins are forgiven and they go? Oh, yeah Yeah, absolutely. My sins are totally wiped out really, how do you know that because Jesus died on the cross and he and the last thing he said was it is finished and That literally is a market term to mean paid in full done wiped out So that People is a Christian a Christian isn't somebody that goes to church Remember, we've already seen that in these parables. The kingdom of God is going to be inhabited by all kinds of people Who don't even believe? Okay But now the body of Christ is a different organization altogether The body of Christ is made up of the redeemed of the Lord those who have said of Jesus. I Need a Savior. I am a sinner I Need a Savior and you are that Savior and I accept what you did on the cross for me And I believe that because of what you did I am saved born again Gonna be with you for eternity not because I'm a good person. In fact, I'm the opposite of a good person I'm a bad person I'm a crummy person Right God doesn't save good people. He saves crummy people who want to be forgiven now So if that's you if you're a crummy person who wants to be forgiven of your sins, then you're a perfect candidate to come to Jesus and say Good best deal. I've had all day. I'll take it. Thank you very much. I want my sins forgiven I believe you paid the price of my sins on the cross That is so vitally important that Is what a Christian is? please remember a Christian is not someone who believes in God a Christian is not someone who just goes to church A Christian is not someone who carries around a Bible a Christian is not someone who listens to a Christian radio station on their car Radio a Christian is someone who says Jesus You died for me And I've embraced that And my sins are wiped out Because of you not because of me I'm still the same crummy dork I used to be but you love me so much you gave your life for me That's what a Christian is You You