June 10, 2018

TOPIC: PARABLES OF GOD’S JUST KINGDOM

Devotional Reading: Psalm 78:1-8

Background: Matthew 13:24-43

Lesson Scripture: Matthew 13:24-33

GOLDEN TEXT

“Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to the burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” Matthew 13:30

Objectives

By the end of the lesson, class members should be able to:

• Explain the meaning of the good seed and weeds in the parable of the weeds and how we can identify them.

• dentify the deceptive and destructive attempts of the Devil to frustrate the expansion of God’s kingdom.

• Compare and contrast the status/fate of saints and sinners in this contemporary world and on the Judgment Day.

INTRODUCTION

Mrs Esther Okon is a children’s pastor. She is known to be gifted in teaching. Children always love to be in her class because of her interesting illustrations and display of appropriate visuals. Because of her skillfulness, she is popularly called “lya ewe” meaning, the mother of children. So, her car is always filled with all kinds: of images (wooden, metal, paper, and plastic of various shapes and colours), toys, fruits both fresh and dried. According to her, the use of visuals as teaching aids helps children to understand the lesson better than merely teaching without any representation.

A parable is a sort of extended metaphor or story, a comparison which illustrates spiritual truths with familiar objects. Jesus Christ, the Great Teacher, taught His people different parables about the kingdom of God. He spoke in parables because of the spiritual dullness of the people (Matthew 13: 10-15; Luke 8:4), and to fulfil the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah which says, “I will use parables when I speak to them; I will tell them things unknown since the creation of the world” (v. 14). Particularly, chapter 13 of the gospel of Matthew records 7 parables which teach and explain some lessons about the kingdom of God. Today’s lesson focuses on the fact that we shall all reap what we have sown, whether good or bad.

THE LESSON EXPLAINED

A. The Good Seeds and the Wheat Matthew 13:24-26

The parable of the weeds among the wheat is the second parable Jesus told in this chapter. He likened the kingdom of heaven to a man who sowed good seed on his field. While everyone was asleep at night, the enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. Because time will always show the true nature of everything, the two plants sprouted, and both the weeds and the wheat become recognisable. In Jesus’ explanation of the parable, the one who sowed good seed is the Son of Man, that is, Jesus Himself. The field is the world, the good seed sown are people of the kingdom, the weeds are people of the world, and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil.

The implication of this parable is that believers are kingdom people and are bound to live in this world with sinners and wicked people. However, we must live as citizens of heaven in the kingdom of this world, sprouting as good seeds with godly fruit of righteousness (1 John 2:15-17). Just as the wheat and weeds were distinct in their appearance, the world should be able to identify Christians by their fruits, which should be void of hypocrisy. We must ask for the grace to co-exist with evil in the world, especially in our immediate society and workplace while we maintain the goodness of the godly nature in us without being contaminated or corrupted in the world. Applying this grace must also be done with the understanding that our chief enemy who placed the weeds around us is the Devil. We must, therefore, resist him so that he will flee from us.

DISCUSSION TIME

1. How can we identify genuine Christians and hypocritical people or wicked ones around us?

2. Discuss some of the ways the Devil deceives and destroys God’s good plans and purposes for His people today and how to avoid such strategies.

B. The Harvest of Weeds and the Wheat Matthew 13:27-30

According to verse 27, the servants were shocked at the appearance of the weeds among the wheat and out of curiosity asked the master, “Sir, didn‘t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ The good seeds represent the righteous and the weeds are the evil or unrighteous people planted mischievously by the Devil. Obviously, the weed planted among the wheat was the handiwork of the enemy to destroy the good work of the owner of the field. The servant immediately sought permission to pull out the weeds but the master would rather allow both to grow to full maturity before separation. The reason for his decision was the fear of mistakenly uprooting the wheat alongside the weed. Then, while the weeds are tied in bundles to be burned, the wheat will be gathered for storage (v. 30).

This parable is meant to teach that the ‘children of the evil one’, which symbolise the weeds are destined for damnation with no opportunity to change their destiny. The phrase “while everyone else was asleep,” shows the determination of the enemy to frustrate the good plans and purpose of God for His people. Though the wheat and weeds would be allowed to grow together in the same field and under the same weather condition, they would not have equal fate. Ultimately while the weeds would be gathered in bundles and be burnt, the wheat would be stored safely in the barn for future use. The harvest refers to the end of age, which will be executed by angels (harvesters). The important lessons are:

• The good seed symbolise the righteous.

• The reaping of the unrighteous symbolises the judgment of God that will be meted out by fire, which will result in weeping.

• At the end of time, the co-existence of believers and unbelievers will end.

DISCUSSION TIME

1. What does the decision of the owner tell us about God? (1 Peter 3:9)

2. What moral lesson should we keep in mind in light of the separation of the righteous and evil?

C. The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast. Matthew 13:31-33

Jesus did not relent in His effort to make known the nature of the kingdom of heaven to the people. As He continued in His teaching, He used different analogies to illustrate and drive home His point for the sake of clarity. As it is seen in the passage, He told them another parable. Just like the parable of the weeds, Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to a man who planted a mustard seed in his field. The mustard seed, according to verse 32, is the smallest of all seeds but it usually turns out to be the biggest of all plants that its branches accommodate the birds of the air. Furthermore, Jesus described the kingdom of heaven and likened it to a woman who mixes some quantity of yeast until the whole dough of flour rises (v.33). The ancient equivalent of yeast was a lump of leavened dough saved from the previous baking of bread whereby a small quantity will easily make a large quantity of flour rise. Though the word yeast in the Scripture is most times used to mean corruption or evil that pervades the whole, it here represents the secret way the kingdom of God will spread. Jesus was particularly interested in making people understand the nature of His kingdom and what it takes to enter into it.

Some people, however, believe that these parables teach about the combination of the evil and righteousness in the church while others see it as a vivid image of the startling growth and spread of God’s kingdom. However, it is certain that this parable explains the small beginning of Christ’s kingdom, its gradual and unnoticeable growth in the individual and eventually the transforming power of the Gospel in individual lives and nations, which is God’s purpose and plan for the church. Even though the spread of the Gospel may seem slow, it will definitely spread through the world. In addition, the reference to birds perching on the tree may indicate that people of different social, ethnic, racial, economic and religious backgrounds will find rest in it.

DISCUSSION TIME

1.What truth do these parables reveal about the kingdom of God?

2. Discuss some hindrances to the spread of the Gospel and the roles of the Church in the spread of the Gospel.

3. Describe the different ways Christians can influence their communities for the sake of spreading the gospel message to unbelievers.