Again Jesus is teaching... this time by parables. This first one must be real important, he says, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?" Is there a key here to unlock what Jesus is saying in all the parables?"Take heed what you hear." - Jesus
(this is foundational to what we're doing)
Peace,
can't wait to start talking about this chapter with you all!
can't wait to start talking about this chapter with you all!
My spirit was encouraged by the parables in vs. 26-34. In the first one, the parable of the seed, I am encouraged and praise God that the Kingdom of God simply grows and takes over, even while we sleep and do nothing. It is God who brings the harvest, the Kingdom IS victorious...even when it is difficult to see with so much evil around us.
ReplyDeleteAnd the parable of the mustard seed stood out again. I think I always heard the accounts from the other gospels that made the focus that the mustard seed represented our personal faith. But here, it represents the Kingdom of God, how it grows mightily. Again for me, continues my personal revelation that following Jesus is not just about personal faith, it is about the Kingdom of God.
I found one thing to be very interesting. Through my life I've heard the Parable of the Sower dozens of times. I've heard that the seed among thorns is why we have to separate ourselves from the world. How bad company corrupts. How we need to avoid getting caught up in the worldly pursuits of sex, drugs and rock n' roll.
ReplyDeleteBut Jesus, in explaining the thorns, gave three things that make the seed unfruitful:
1) the worries of this life
2) the deceitfulness of wealth
3) the desires for other things
Only one of these things is specific. It is the deceitfulness of wealth. I've never heard a sermon given where the pastor warns against the deceitfulness of wealth. It's not wealth that's the issue, they'll say, it's when we let wealth become an idol.
But Jesus specifically points this out as an issue. Wealth is inherently given to this, more than anything else, apparently.
The first point is also interesting, it's saying the worries of this life can choke the seed. That's a very broad brush, but it's essentially saying our lives lived out in a way that is not oriented to the Kingdom is threatened with the thorns.