The Kingdom Of Heaven Parables in Matthew 13.

[Ezra]

4 hours ago, Retrobyter said:

The "Body of Christ" is the "Body of the JEWISH Messiah."

Christ is now far more than Jewish Messiah.  He is now the Lord Jesus Christ -- King of kings and Lord of Lords and Savior of the world.  The Jews blew it.

[Marilyn C]

16 hours ago, Retrobyter said:

Shabbat shalom, Marilyn.

But, don't you see? The Matthew 13 parables ARE about this "rulership of God through Israel on earth in the Millennium" (and BEYOND)! Don't think that these parables are about or for today! They are not about the "church" or about "heaven"; they are about His COMING Kingdom! The ONLY one of the parables that might be about this current time period would be the FIRST parable, the parable about the Sower, but then the MESSAGE that is sown by the Sower is "the good news about the Kingdom," not some nebulous, general, Christian message! That good news is what was heralded by "John the Baptist" and then by Yeshua` IMMEDIATELY at the beginning of His offer of the Kingdom!

That good news was COMMON and ALREADY KNOWN by the Jews! It wasn't something that John or Yeshua` had to teach!

Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
KJV

"REPENT" (change your mind 180 degrees) and "BELIEVE" what you already know! (And, "at hand" means "within your grasp," NOT already "IN hand," btw.) Thus, it was already heard and known in a general way, like some people "know" fairy tales, not really believing that they could be a part of one. It's like Martha was saying to Yeshua` about the resurrection:

John 11:21-27
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. (HEAD knowledge!)
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth IN ME, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ (the MESSIAH), the Son of God, which should come into the world.
KJV

The rest of the Jews and children of Israel, like Martha, had to be shaken out of their "pie in the sky by and by" mode!

So, what was this "gospel of the kingdom of God?" Well, the word "gospel" is only found in the English versions of the NEW Testament, not the OLD, and yet, the children of Israel only knew the OT or the Tanakh [Torah + Navi'iym (Prophets) + Ketuviym (Writings)]. So, the best way for us to investigate this is to use passages of Scripture that use the word "gospel" in the NT that QUOTE the OT. Here's one:

Romans 10:15
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
KJV

So, we just need to look up the OT passage that is being quoted to see what was translated as "gospel" in the NT. To cut to the chase, this passage was quoted (by Paul) from Isaiah 52:7.

Isaiah 52:7
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation (deliverance or rescue); that saith unto Zion, THY GOD REIGNETH!
KJV

THIS is what the childen of Israel knew about the "good news about the Kingdom."

Hi Retrobyter,

As I said before I agree with you.

Marilyn.

[Marilyn C]

10 hours ago, Flsnookman said:

Hi Marilyn C 

The fish in my avatar is called a snook, a common snook as there are 4 species here. Sadly big sugar thinks money is more important than silly fish or birds or people but that's a whole other story  http://riverscoalition.org/.  Snook are very heavily regulated now and to keep one it must be between 28" and 32". They are my favorite fish to eat and great fighters.  Also i'm Dave, nice to know ya!

 

Self righteous works no matter how humbly performed can not save anyone. Only Jesus saves. We who are saved are made to be the righteousness of God through Christ. That said since Jesus is a jew and He was speaking these parables to a group consisting of mostly jews His message was for them. That was before the cross, since then we are told in a few places that there is now no difference between jew and gentile. 

Hi Flsnookman,

Oh I just realised that your `name` has `snook` in it. Yes we have lots of regulations here too. Never heard of `snook,` so am going to look it up. Nice to know you too, Dave.

Yes, in the Body of Christ there is no difference between Jew & Gentile, however that does not do away with the earthly nation of Israel & God`s promise to them to be rulers over the nations. That is a whole other great topic that would be good to look into on another thread.

regards, Marilyn. 

[Marilyn C]

8 hours ago, Retrobyter said:

Shalom, Marilyn.

Good. Then, all we need is to merge the two into one. The "Body of Christ" is the "Body of the JEWISH Messiah." We become "Jews" in the sense that we have been "circumcised" in the heart, in the breath!

 

Thus, the goal is not to make Jews a part of the "Church" (as some think should happen); rather, the goal is to make Gentiles part of the COMMONWEALTH, the CITIZENSHIP, of Israel! The TWO ("TWAIN")  become ONE in the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua`!

 

Hi Retrobyter,

Glad we agree on some point. However you have moved on to a teaching that I do not agree with - that the Gentiles are part of the Commonwealth of Israel. Now this is a whole big topic that really needs its own thread, thus I will not discuss it here.

regards, Marilyn. 

BTW I will not let this thread go off any further into that subject - re: Ezra`s comment to you.

Edited September 25, 2016 by Marilyn C

[Marilyn C]

3 hours ago, Ezra said:

Christ is now far more than Jewish Messiah.  He is now the Lord Jesus Christ -- King of kings and Lord of Lords and Savior of the world.  The Jews blew it.

Hi Ezra,

Although you have written to Retro, I`ll just say that any further discussion on the topic of `the Body of Christ & Israel` needs to be on its own thread. I am keeping the topic here - `The parables of the kingdom of heaven in Matt. 13.`

regards, Marilyn.

[Marilyn C]

Parable 5. The Hidden Treasure. Israel is to be a holy nation that has access to God & the nations. They are to be a kingdom of priests.

 

`Again, the kingdom (rulership) of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found & hid; & for joy over it he goes & sells all that he has & buys that field.` (Matt. 13: 44)

 

Here we see that Jesus is again reminding the people of Israel of God`s promise to them that they would rule over the nations of the world. Jesus brings out a very specific & tender promise of God to Israel.

 

`Now therefore, if you (Israel) will indeed obey my voice & keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure  to me above all people; for all the earth is mine.

 

And you shall be a kingdom of priests & a holy nation.` These are the words which you (Moses) shall speak to the children of Israel.` (Ex. 19: 5 & 6)

 

Israel is God`s special treasure who will be  – a holy Priesthood.

 

Marilyn.

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2016 by Marilyn C

[Marilyn C]

Parable 6. The Pearl of Great Price. Israel is to be ruled by the wisest king.

 

`Again, the kingdom (rulership) of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went & sold all that he had & bought it.` (Matt. 13: 45 & 46)

 

Here we see that Jesus is again speaking to the people of Israel concerning the specific rulership promised. We know that God promised King David that his great Son would rule forever.

 

`The Lord said to King David .......`When your days are fulfilled & you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, & I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, & I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.` (2 Sam. 7: 12 & 13)

 

So how does that relate to `the Pearl of Great price?`

 

In the book of Job we are told that wisdom is greater than pearls.

`...the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.` (Job. 28: 18)

 

Then Jesus told the people that King Solomon had wisdom but that He Himself is greater than Solomon.

 

`The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation & condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; & indeed a greater then Solomon is here.` (Matt. 12: 42)

 

Thus we realise that it is by wisdom that kings rule, & wisdom is greater than pearls.

`I, wisdom, dwell with prudence......by me kings reign.` (Prov. 8: 12 – 15)

 

So we realise, that the Lord Jesus Christ is Israel`s wise king the `Pearl of great Price.`

 

[missmuffet]

I see here that the "Pearl Of Great Price" is eternal life, the incorruptible inheritance and the love of God Through Christ.

Question: "What is the meaning of the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price?"

Answer: Jesus had just finished explaining to the disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, and these two short parables are a continuance of His discussion of the “kingdom of heaven.” He expressed truths about the kingdom in three pairs of parables in Matthew 13: the seed and the sower (vv. 3-23) and the weeds in the field (vv. 24-30); the mustard seed (vv. 31-32) and the leaven (v. 33); and the hidden treasure (v. 44) and the pearl of great price (vv. 45-46).

The similarities of these two short parables make it clear they teach the same lesson—the kingdom of heaven is of inestimable value. Both parables involve a man who sold all he had to possess the kingdom. The treasure and the pearl represent Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers. And while we cannot pay for salvation by selling all our worldly goods, once we have found the prize, we are willing to give up everything to possess it. But what is attained in exchange is so much more valuable that it is comparable to trading an ounce of trash for a ton of diamonds (Philippians 3:7-9).

In both parables, the treasures are hidden, indicating that spiritual truth is missed by many and cannot be found by intelligence or power or worldly wisdom. Matthew 13:11-17 and 1 Corinthians 2:7-8, 14 make it clear that the mysteries of the kingdom are hidden from some who are unable to hear, see, and comprehend these truths. The disobedient reap the natural consequences of their unbelief—spiritual blindness. Those whose eyes are opened by the Spirit do discern spiritual truth, and they, like the men in the parable, understand its great value.

Notice that the merchant stopped seeking pearls when he found the pearl of great price. Eternal life, the incorruptible inheritance, and the love of God through Christ constitute the pearl which, once found, makes further searching unnecessary. Christ fulfills our greatest needs, satisfies our longings, makes us whole and clean before God, calms and quiets our hearts, and gives us hope for the future. The “great price,” of course, is that which was paid by Christ for our redemption. He emptied Himself of His glory, came to earth in the form of a lowly man and shed His precious blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

http://www.gotquestions.org/parable-treasure-pearl.html

[Marilyn C]

1 hour ago, missmuffet said:

 The “great price,” of course, is that which was paid by Christ for our redemption. He emptied Himself of His glory, came to earth in the form of a lowly man and shed His precious blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

 

Hi missmuffet,

That is a great truth. I was going to enlarge on that but you have said it.

Thank you, Marilyn.

[missmuffet]

43 minutes ago, Marilyn C said:

Hi missmuffet,

That is a great truth. I was going to enlarge on that but you have said it.

Thank you, Marilyn.

Thank you for your kind reply