May 15 Morning Verse of the Day

FRUITFUL HEARERS WITNESS OBEDIENTLY (4:21–23)

In the parable of the soils, Jesus used good soil to represent believers who hear the gospel, receive it, and consequently bear lasting fruit. Christians demonstrate spiritual life by repenting and turning from sin (Matt. 3:8) to live in obedience to God through the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). Paul delineated the elements of spiritual attitudes in his letter to the Galatians, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (5:22–23). The apostle similarly addressed the behavior of believers in his command to the Colossians: “Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10). Jesus Himself taught that those who abide in His love and submit to His Word will be fruitful (John 15:4–10). Though it can take many forms, spiritual fruit always consists of both joyful attitudes and acts of obedience to the Lord (cf. John 1:16; Eph. 1:3–8; 2:7–10; Phil. 1:11).
In this passage, the Lord’s specific emphasis was on the fruit that comes from being a faithful witness to Him. The parable of the soils focused on the recipients of the gospel, distinguishing between those who would ultimately reject the message and those who would genuinely embrace it. By contrast, these subsequent parables (in vv. 21–32) highlight the responsibility of the faithful hearer as an evangelist. As those who had received the gospel and accepted it, Jesus’ disciples would now be called to bear fruit by obediently proclaiming the message of salvation to others (cf. Rom. 1:13; Col. 1:3–6).
The Lord used a simple analogy to make this point. He was saying to them, “A lamp is not to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?” Terracotta lamps consisted of a small pitcher or saucer with a handle on one end. The pitcher would be filled with oil and a floating wick would be placed atop the oil. In order to maximize their radiance, lamps were set on lampstands or on shelves protruding from the wall, where their glow could radiate throughout the room unobstructed. For obvious reasons, no one would place a lamp under a basket or under a bed, thereby negating its purpose.
The point of Jesus’ analogy is clear: Those who have received the light of the gospel are not to conceal it; rather they are to let is shine for others to see. Throughout Scripture, light is variously used as a metaphor for truth (Pss. 36:9; 119:105, 130; Prov. 6:23; Acts 26:23; Eph. 5:9; 1 Thess. 5:5), holiness (Rom. 13:12), and spiritual life in Christ (John 1:4). In this analogy, however, Jesus used light to illustrate the message of the gospel. Faithful hearers have an obligation, beyond heeding the gospel themselves, to proclaim it to the world of sinners. Those who have been transformed by the good news are themselves to present that truth to others (cf. Rom. 1:8; 16:19; 1 Thess. 1:8). As Jesus explained in the Sermon on the Mount,

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 5:14–16)

The Lord’s words served as a mandate for the disciples, who may have wondered if the proclamation of the gospel was still part of Jesus’ strategy for reaching the world. Though Jesus had earlier gone throughout Galilee plainly preaching the gospel (cf. Mark 1:14, 38), He was now speaking in parables. As He told His disciples, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven” (4:11–12). As noted earlier, Jesus’ parables were an act of divine judgment against the obstinate unbelief of the people, including the outlandish claim made by the religious leaders that He was empowered by Satan (3:22; cf. John 10:20). Recognizing the finality of their rejection, Jesus cut them off from any further truth by speaking to them in unexplained riddles and enigmas.
Perhaps the disciples, observing the shift in Jesus’ preaching strategy, wondered if they were also to obscure the gospel message as a judgment on Israel’s unbelief. That was not what the Lord planned for them to do. In a short time, He would send them out in pairs to preach the gospel (Mark 6:7–13; cf. Luke 9:1–6). Such was part of the preparation for their full commissioning after His resurrection (Matt. 28:18–20). As Jesus told His disciples before He ascended, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
That the Lord did not intend for the gospel to be permanently obscured is made clear from verse 22. As the Lord told His disciples, “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.” In other words, there was an occasion when the truth was hidden and obscured from some obstinate rejecters; there was coming an era when the hidden things were to be revealed, and the secret things disclosed to the world. That era of unveiling mysteries would commence with the preaching ministry of the apostles (starting while Jesus was still with them—cf. Matt. 10:26), continue on the other side of the Great Commission, and last until His return (Matt. 24:14).
Jesus’ words in verse 22 may have also included an admonition about the reality of spiritual hypocrisy. In Luke 12:1–2, Jesus used this same expression as a warning against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” In the parable of the soils, Jesus described two types of people who initially respond enthusiastically to the gospel but later prove to be false converts. The Lord compared those individuals to soil that was either rocky or infested with thorns. As the disciples considered their evangelistic task, they may have wondered how they would be able to distinguish between spiritual hypocrites and genuine believers. Jesus’ words assured them that, given enough time, the truth would come to light. In the short term, false converts might be undetected, but eventually the hidden reality of their hearts would become evident.
Whatever the response to their gospel proclamation, the disciples were to faithfully disseminate the message. The seed of saving faith in their hearts was to produce the fruit of gospel witness. That evangelistic mandate did not end with the apostles. It began with them and has fallen on all believers, in every generation of church history. Christians are called to eagerly “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called [them] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Jesus’ statement, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear,” repeated the truth of Mark 4:9 and underscored the importance of what He had just said. It was imperative that the disciples carefully consider the implications of being a diligent and, therefore, fruitful hearer.

MacArthur, J. (2015). Mark 1–8 (pp. 212–215). Moody Publishers.

21–23 Mark’s statement erchetai ho lychnos (lit., “does the lamp come …”) is unusual, for erchetai normally has a personal subject. This construction, together with Mark’s use of the definite article (ho), has suggested to some that the lamp here refers to Jesus himself (cf. Lane, 165–66; Cranfield, 164; Hooker, 133). The other possible interpretation is that the lamp refers to the message of the kingdom of God, the coming of which Jesus has been proclaiming (cf. France, 208). Both interpretations fit the context, since Jesus and the kingdom have appeared now in a veiled or hidden manner but will be fully revealed in the future. The two ideas are in fact very close since, as Lane, 166, points out, “the secret of the Kingdom of God … is present in the person of Jesus.” Furthermore, the return of the Son of Man in glory is associated with the consummation of the kingdom (13:26–27).
The purpose of the lamp (lychnos) is to be put on a lampstand and not under a bowl (modios) or a bed. A lychnos is a clay lamp filled with oil. A modios is a grain measure holding about two gallons. The bed (klinē) could be a bed or a dining couch. In Matthew the saying appears in the Sermon on the Mount and refers to the good deeds Jesus’ disciples should shine on the world. Here, as the following proverbs explain, the point is that the present hiddenness of Jesus and the kingdom will not always be. Hidden things are meant to be brought into the open (v. 22). It is not made explicit who the revealer is (God, Jesus, the disciples?) or when the revelation will take place. The revealer and revelation could be the glorious return of Christ and the consummation of the kingdom, or the disciples and their proclamation of the gospel following Jesus’ death and resurrection. The latter fits well with Jesus’ command to his disciples in 9:9 that his glory, revealed at the transfiguration, should not be proclaimed “until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” In either case, the statement balances the secrecy motif that runs throughout Mark’s gospel. Though at present Jesus guards his identity and privately explains the secret of the kingdom of God to his disciples, this hiddenness is temporary and is simply the means by which God is accomplishing his salvific purpose. The time will come when all such mysteries will be revealed and the glory of Christ and the kingdom will be evident to all.
As with the parables, such teaching requires spiritual discernment, so the exhortation of 4:9 is repeated: “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” (v. 23).

Wessel, W. W., & Strauss, M. L. (2010). Mark. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew–Mark (Revised Edition) (Vol. 9, pp. 759–760). Zondervan.

When the World Seems to Be Winning | Ligonier Ministries

How should we respond when we feel as though wickedness in the world and compromise in the church are prevailing over the kingdom of God? In Matthew 13:24–43, Jesus teaches on the nature of the kingdom of God—or, as Matthew more characteristically says, “the kingdom of heaven.” He does so by presenting three parables to help us understand how this kingdom grows: the parable of the weeds, the parable of the mustard seed, and the parable of the leaven. And as we will see, these truths about how the kingdom grows provide encouragement and perspective to the people of God in difficult days.

Christ’s Teaching About the Kingdom

The subject of the kingdom is significant in the teaching and work of our Lord. In fact, the first statement of His public ministry was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). In saying this, Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom was at hand because the King had come. It is the King who brings the kingdom and rules over the kingdom, and it is the King who reminds us of the blessing we find in the kingdom.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus twice speaks about the kingdom: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” and “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3, 10). In these passages, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom for the afflicted, for the struggling, and for the weak. He comes to the people with encouragement, bringing a word of blessing to those who are struggling: “The kingdom is coming.”

Throughout His ministry, Jesus returns to the subject of the kingdom from different angles and in different ways. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He instructed them to pray for the kingdom: “Your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). He also issued a warning about the kingdom: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). In the Sermon on the Mount, He taught, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).

Jesus also told His disciples, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 13:11). This means that the reality of the kingdom of heaven is not immediately obvious to everyone. We must be taught about it. We must be led into it. These truths about the kingdom must be revealed to us, and in these three parables in Matthew 13, Jesus tells us about this kingdom and how it grows.

As Christians, we long to see the Word of God and the truth of Christ spread. We often think about how we can serve the Lord, how we make Him known, and how we can be effective in proclaiming His Word to the world. As we consider these questions, we would do well to recognize the point of these parables. In them, Jesus teaches that the kingdom does not grow in exactly the way we might think it should grow.

We’ve all likely had an experience in our lives where we’ve thought, “Why is the Lord doing things this way?” We’re too pious to say it out loud, but we might even secretly think, “I would’ve had a better plan.” That is precisely the situation that Jesus addresses in these parables.

A Deliberate Mess of Wheat and Weeds

In Matthew 13:27, the servants ask the master: “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?” The master in this parable represents Jesus, who is in charge of everything. What He wants to happen will happen. He has all power and authority, and He has sown good seed, His Word. This parable comes just after the parable of the sower, so the ideas of seed, sowing, and fruit are on Jesus’ mind. The question comes from the servants: “If you, the powerful master, have sown good seed, why do we see weeds coming up?”

There is an implicit criticism in the servants’ question. It’s as if they are saying: “You could have done better than this. Did you get the seed on sale? Is it a mixture of good seed and bad seed? It’s obvious when we look at the field that we don’t see beautiful, straight rows of wheat growing. Instead, we see wheat and weeds growing together. It’s a mess.”

I suspect that we all—in various ways and at various times—see life as a mess: Why is it going the way it’s going? Why couldn’t it be simpler? Why couldn’t it be better? If Jesus is in charge, why aren’t things more obviously successful in the advance of His kingdom? That’s the real crux of the issue. However, what the servants see as a mess is not a mess according to Jesus.

If you were to walk into my office, you’d think it was a mess. My wife will hardly look through the door. She just shakes her head and says, “How can you get anything done in that mess?” I answer: “I know what’s in every pile. It’s not my fault that there aren’t enough places on the shelves for books so that they have to be piled up all around. I grant that it’s a mess, but it’s an unintentional mess.”

By contrast, Jesus is saying here that the mess of this world is not unintentional; the mess of this world is deliberate. The evil one is opposing the advancement of God’s kingdom. There is a deliberate effort to undermine and subvert the growth of His kingdom. The enemy sowed weeds in the field when we weren’t watching, and we need to understand this reality. We face a spiritual battle in which the work of Christ is being opposed by the evil one. It is a mess. It is a struggle. But we shouldn’t be surprised. Jesus knew that this would happen. He knew there would be opposition.

When we look at the life of our Savior on the surface, we might say that His life was a mess. He faced great opposition. He apparently failed in His mission because He was arrested and executed. But Jesus is saying in these parables, “I am accomplishing My purpose.”

Christ’s Strategy for the Weeds

The servants, seeing the weeds among the wheat, come up with what seems like a good strategy: “Do you want us to go and gather them?” (Matt. 13:28). They ask whether they should go and pull out the weeds. After all, why not remove them while they’re still small? Why not help the wheat grow more effectively by removing the weeds?

One of the most difficult parts of child rearing, in my opinion, was taking my children out on Saturday mornings to pull weeds in the yard. They would come up with various tactics to try to evade that labor. It was good to see their strategic thinking, even though they employed that thinking to devise reasons to go back into the house for one thing after another. Similarly, the servants in this parable seek to employ strategic thinking to remove the weeds, reasoning: “Why shouldn’t the weeds be pulled up now? Why shouldn’t Jesus be in charge now?”

Throughout the history of the church, there have been those who wanted to advance the kingdom of Christ by taking dramatic action to suppress unbelief and untruth. Christians can sometimes be tempted to use coercion where they should use persuasion. At various times, the church has tried to force the advance of Christianity by using legal means to suppress unbelief, heresy, and false religion. By contrast, our Savior always gives us the example of being persuasive in helping people to see the truth.

Through this parable, Jesus tells us that this is not the time to pull up the weeds. It is dangerous to pull up the weeds because one must go tramping through the fields to do so, and some of the wheat can get stepped on in the process. When this happens, Christians unintentionally end up doing the evil one’s work: instead of helping the wheat to grow, they trample the wheat. Instead, Jesus’ advice is to let the weeds grow side by side with the wheat, and it will one day become clear that the wheat is different from the weeds. The day will come when the harvest is ready. When the harvest is gathered, then the separation of the weeds from the wheat can take place.

Thus, the growth of the kingdom, according to Jesus, happens in a mixed, messy, distressed world. And Jesus, in effect, says to us: “Don’t worry too much about it. I know what I’m doing. The good news is that the wheat will grow.”

A Call to Faithfulness in the Mess

In Matthew 13:35, Matthew quotes from the Old Testament to explain why Jesus spoke in parables. He quotes Psalm 78:2 specifically, saying:

I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.

Psalm 78 is one of the longer psalms in the Psalter, and it is about the history of Israel. Matthew’s quotation from the beginning of this psalm essentially communicates that the history of Israel is, in its own way, a parable. It is a story that illustrates something. Parables can consist of fictional stories, such as the story of the wheat and the weeds, or they can draw from a real historical story, as we find in Psalm 78 with the history of Israel. The point is that we derive a lesson from these stories that helps us understand truth.

Psalm 78 shows a repeated pattern in the life of God’s people. First, God gives blessing to His people. But then they become forgetful, negligent, and disobedient. As a result, God sends judgment on His people. When they repent, He sends His blessing, and the pattern begins again: His people become forgetful, leading to judgment, and so on. This pattern seems to take place not just in the history of Israel but also in the history of the church. When the church enjoys a time of great blessing, success, and growth, it often becomes negligent, disobedient, and presumptuous. As a result, the Lord sends some kind of judgment on His people that leads them back to repentance.

The appeal to Psalm 78 in this context of the parable of the weeds powerfully reminds the church that though the growth of the kingdom appears to be a mess, we are not to contribute to the mess because “the good seed is the sons of the kingdom” (Matt. 13:38). The good seed represents the people whom God is saving. The people of the good seed will embrace the righteousness of the kingdom. They will seek to know and live according to the will of God. That is Jesus’ point. He is calling us to live within this mess and yet be found faithful. Even more, He gives us a reason not to be discouraged.

The Way the Kingdom Grows

It is interesting that while Jesus explains the meaning of the parable of the wheat and the weeds in great detail, He doesn’t explain the parable of the mustard seed or the parable of the leaven. I think that this is the case because their meaning is rather obvious. In them, He makes two points.

First, in the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus makes the point that even though the weeds and the wheat grow up together, even though the kingdom grows in a mixed world, we must remember that the kingdom grows. It starts as a tiny seed and eventually grows into a tree in which birds can plant their nests. Yes, weeds are growing, but don’t miss the fact that the kingdom is growing too. This kingdom started off small, in an obscure, unimportant place from the world’s perspective. Galilee wasn’t even the center of Israel, yet now the kingdom has grown so large that its branches stretch all over the world. The kingdom is growing from small to large.

Second, in the parable of the leaven, we see that the kingdom grows out. When making bread, only a little leaven must be added to the lump. It starts as a partial presence but becomes pervasive. The point here is not so much that it grows big but that it grows out; it permeates whatever surrounds it. That is not to say that everything becomes the kingdom, but rather that the kingdom grows everywhere. This is part of the excitement of the time in which we live. We have technological abilities to reach places that we would’ve thought completely unreachable previously. The leaven of the kingdom is reaching places that surprise us. And while we may be amazed, Jesus anticipated it.

In both parables, Jesus is saying: “In the midst of the mess, don’t fail to see the success. I’m accomplishing My purpose.” What is the great purpose of Jesus? Not one of His elect will be lost. He will gather all the sons and daughters of the kingdom into His Father’s house. That is an encouragement to us.

The Kingdom Will Shine Forth

When Jesus explains the parable of the weeds, He seals His teaching with a promise: though we live in a day of mixed growth as the kingdom slowly grows from small to large and slowly becomes pervasive, the day is coming when that growth will be complete. The day is coming when there will be a harvest. The day is coming when this process of growth will reach its end, and the kingdom will shine forth in its perfection. While the kingdom grows, we mustn’t lose heart. Instead, we must focus on that promise.

There will be a judgment at the end. That’s why the task to which Christ has called us is so serious. Jesus speaks more about hell than anyone else in the Scriptures. He’s serious about what is coming. He wants people to know that life is not to be taken lightly, that there will be a judgment, and that those who do not stand in the judgment will experience weeping and gnashing of teeth. It’s a terrible picture. But the encouragement is that in the day of harvest, the children of God will shine forth. As Jesus says, “The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43).

This promise should encourage us when we see the mess, when we have trouble seeing the success, when we see a world that seems so resistant and indifferent. The day is coming when the kingdom will shine forth and the sons and daughters of the kingdom will be moved from obscurity to glory. What was once small becomes large, what was once mixed becomes pure, what was once partial becomes pervasive, and most importantly, what was once evil becomes righteous and will shine in the glory of the Father’s kingdom.

Jesus points us to the Father in this process of the kingdom’s growth. No matter how messy it appears, let us never forget that it is our loving heavenly Father who is in charge. He is concerned about our well-being and will accomplish His purposes for our ultimate good.

Christ is growing His kingdom. He’s using strategies that may surprise us, but He will accomplish His purpose so that we will shine forth as righteous in our Father’s kingdom.

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15 APRIL (1860) | The parable of the sower

“A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 8:5–8
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Colossians 1:1–10

The ground was good; not that it was good by nature, but it had been made good by grace. God had ploughed it; he had stirred it up with the plough of conviction, and there it lay in ridge and furrow as it should be. And when the Gospel was preached, the heart received it, for the man said, “That’s just the Christ I want. Mercy!” said he, “it’s just what a needy sinner requires. A refuge! God help me to fly to it, for a refuge I sorely want.” The preaching of the gospel was the vital thing which gave comfort to this disturbed and ploughed soil. Down fell the seed; it sprung up. In some cases it produced a fervency of love, a largeness of heart, a devotedness of purpose, like seed which produced a hundredfold. The man became a mighty servant for God, he spent himself and was spent. He took his place in the vanguard of Christ’s army, stood in the hottest of the battle, and did deeds of daring which few could accomplish,—the seed produced a hundredfold. It fell in another heart of like character;—the man could not do the most, still he did much. He gave himself, just as he was, up to God, and in his business he had a word to say for the business of the world to come. In his daily walk, he quietly adorned the doctrine of God his Saviour,—he brought forth sixtyfold. Then it fell on another, whose abilities and talents were but small; he could not be a star, but he would be a glow-worm; he could not do as the greatest, but he was content to do something, even though it were the least. The seed had brought forth in him tenfold, perhaps twentyfold.

FOR MEDITATION: Quantity of fruit is desirable, but quality of fruit is essential—fruit that has gone mouldy is useless. The Lord Jesus Christ is looking for fruit in quantity and fruit which lasts (John 15:5, 16).

SERMON NO. 308

Spurgeon, C. H., & Crosby, T. P. (1998). 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 1) (p. 112). Day One Publications.

FEBRUARY 1 | Genesis 33; Mark 4; Esther 9–10; Romans 4

THE SO-CALLED PARABLE OF THE SOWER (Mark 4:1–20) might better be called the parable of the soils, for the variable that gives the parable life and depth is the variation in the land onto which the seed is thrown.
Because Jesus provides the interpretation of his own story, its primary emphases should not be in doubt. The seed is the “word,” i.e., the word of God, which here is equivalent to the Gospel, the good news of the kingdom. Like a farmer scattering seed by hand in the ancient world, this word is scattered widely. Inevitably, some of the seed falls on ground that for one reason or another is inhospitable: perhaps it is the hard-packed dirt of the path, or perhaps birds come and eat the seed before it settles into the plowed ground and germinates, or perhaps it grows in the shadow of thornbushes that squeeze the life out of it, or perhaps it germinates in shallow soil with limestone bedrock just beneath the surface, such that the roots cannot go down very far to absorb the necessary moisture. The parallels with the way people hear the word are obvious. Some are hard and repel any entry of the word; others are soon distracted by the playthings Satan quickly casts up; others find that worries and wealth—the terrible Ws—squeeze out all concern for spiritual matters; still others hear the word with joy and seem to be the most promising of the crop, but never sink the deep roots necessary to sustain life. But thank God for the soil that produces fruit, sometimes even abundant fruit.
So much is clear enough. But two other features of this parable deserve reflection.
The first is that this parable, like many others, adjusts the commonly held perspective that when the Messiah came there would be a climactic and decisive break: the guilty and the dirty would all be condemned, and the righteous and the clean would enjoy a transforming rule. That is what the final kingdom would be like. But Jesus pictures the dawning of the kingdom a little differently. In the parable of the mustard seed (4:30–32), for example, the kingdom is like a tree that starts from small beginnings and grows into something substantial; here is growth, not apocalyptic climax. So also the parable of the sower: for the time being, the word is going to be scattered widely, and people will respond to it in different ways, with widely divergent yields.
The second is that not all of those who show initial signs of kingdom life actually take root and bear fruit. That truth deserves meditation and calls for self-examination.

Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 1, p. 58). Crossway Books.

HISTORY LOOKS DIFFERENT IN different cultures. I do not simply mean that different cultures interpret the same past differently (though that is often the case), but that the understanding of what history is may vary from culture to culture. Indeed, even within one culture there are often competing notions as to what history is.
This issue has become ever more complex during the past several decades, owing to the advance of postmodernism and its innovative ideas about what history is. As important as that debate is, I do not wish to explore it here. At the moment I am painting on a larger canvas.
Many ancient Greeks thought that history went around in circles. This does not mean that each cycle repeats itself exactly, but that there is an unending repetition of patterns, with no end, no ultimate climax, no telos. A great deal of contemporary naturalism thinks that our sun will finally burn out, and life on earth will come to an end. Some hold that the universe itself will eventually settle into a more or less even distribution of energy, and die; others think that somehow it will rejuvenate itself by collapsing and exploding again to repeat a cycle something like the present one. By contrast, in university history departments events on such a scale are irrelevant. History—whether this refers to what happened, or to our reconstruction of it—covers the period of human writing. Everything before that is “prehistoric.”
The Bible has its own perspectives on history, and some of them are nonnegotiable: if we lose sight of them or deny them, we can no longer understand the Bible on its own terms. Certainly the Bible sometimes retells “what happened” in parabolic categories (compare 2 Sam. 11 and 12), or in highly selective condensations (e.g., Acts 7), or in poetic form (Ps. 78). But more importantly, we cannot rightly understand the Bible unless we grasp several key elements of its sequence. On the largest scale, history begins at Creation and ends at the supreme telos, the final judgment and the new heaven and new earth. We are not simply going around in circles. In Galatians 3 (see vol. 1, meditation for September 27), Paul’s argument turns on the fact that the Mosaic Law came after the promises to Abraham. Somewhat similarly here (Romans 4), Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness before he was circumcised, so circumcision cannot be made a condition of righteousness. Under Semitic notions of sonship, Abraham becomes the father of all who believe, circumcised or not (4:1–12). Something similar can be said of Abraham’s relation to the Law of Moses (4:13–17). The sequence of the biblical history is critical.

Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 2, p. 58). Crossway Books.

Morning, January 11 | “These have no root.”—Luke 8:13

My soul, examine thyself this morning by the light of this text. Thou hast received the word with joy; thy feelings have been stirred and a lively impression has been made; but, remember, that to receive the word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into thy very soul is quite another; superficial feeling is often joined to inward hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the word is not always a lasting one. In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon ground having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth; when the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by the hard stone and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green shoot aloft as high as it could, but having no inward moisture derived from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been making a fair show in the flesh without having a corresponding inner life? Good growth takes place upwards and downwards at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart. Let me dread a godliness as rapid in growth and as wanting in endurance as Jonah’s gourd; let me count the cost of being a follower of Jesus, above all let me feel the energy of his Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed in my soul. If my mind remains as obdurate as it was by nature, the sun of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help to cast the heat the more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will soon die, and my despair will be terrible; therefore, O heavenly Sower, plough me first, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield thee a bounteous harvest.

Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. Passmore & Alabaster.

December 25 | Entering the Kingdom from Different Circumstances

He goes and sells all that he has and buys that field … and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.—Matt. 13:44b, 46

There is no preset formula for turning from sin and by faith embracing Christ’s kingdom. A person does not have to perform certain rituals to become a Christian, and he or she can come from a variety of circumstances. In each parable referred to here, a man finds something of huge value and sacrifices all to possess it. But in the first parable the man was not even looking for anything, certainly not a valuable treasure. He came upon it quite by accident. In tending to his normal business, the man was working in a field or perhaps passing through on a trip. Finding the treasure was the furthest thing from his plans.

Similarly, people often encounter the gospel while pursuing their daily activities. As they are busily occupied with their job, family, or schooling, they hear a sermon, read a book, listen to a CD, or have a believer witness to them. Through the Spirit’s gracious power they realize the gospel’s infinite value and are drawn into God’s kingdom.

In contrast, the second parable portrays a man whose career was searching for a valuable commodity, which he eventually found. He’s the seeker who looks many places for life’s meaning. When not finding that which satisfies, he nevertheless perseveres, believing the truth can be found. He is like the Ethiopian whom Philip directed to Christ (Acts 8:26–39), or the God-fearing Cornelius who found salvation (Acts 10).

Whether “by accident” or deliberately, all who are in the right place can and do find God’s priceless kingdom.

ASK YOURSELF

On this Christmas Day, celebrate the gift of salvation that has brought ultimate worth and value—and energy and excitement—into your life experience. Thank Him enthusiastically for seeking you with purpose and precision, even while you weren’t particularly looking for Him.1   1  MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 368). Moody Publishers.

December 20 | Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.—Matt. 13:45–46

Pearls were the most highly valued gems in the ancient world, often purchased as investments, much like diamonds or precious metals are today. With pearls, a person could keep and conceal a great amount of wealth in a small space. The Jewish Talmud said the pearl was beyond the value of any set price, and that some ancients actually worshiped it.

Elsewhere the New Testament uses the pearl as a representation of something of immense value and worthy of protection. When the Lord warns believers not to throw pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6), He underscores the priceless value of the gospel and its corresponding truths, which unbelievers despise as worthless. The apostle John envisions the New Jerusalem as a glorious city with twelve gates of pearl, and more precisely “each one of the gates was a single pearl” (Rev. 21:21).

In this parable the merchant obviously considered the valuable pearl so precious and worth more than all his other pearls combined, because he no doubt included them in the sale of all his possessions, which he did to buy the one pearl. Jesus again illustrates the immense value of the kingdom of heaven and clearly implies that the merchant’s transaction was one involving his salvation. Purchasing the great pearl—the kingdom—represents obtaining God’s saving knowledge through trust in His Son, the Lord Jesus, and experiencing all the blessings which that relationship brings. It is another example of the greatest transaction any of us can make.

ASK YOURSELF

It’s really all about one thing, isn’t it—giving our hearts to Christ without limitation or restriction. Consider today how the rest of your life is lining up under the one priority of walking boldly with Jesus.1   1  MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 363). Moody Publishers.

December 19 | Parable of the Hidden Treasure

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.—Matt. 13:44

Palestine was a battleground for centuries; therefore families would commonly bury clothing, food, household valuables, money, and jewelry to protect them from plundering enemy soldiers. Josephus, the Jewish historian, wrote, “The gold and the silver and the rest of that most precious furniture which the Jews had and which the owners treasured underground was done to withstand the fortunes of war.” When the owners of such treasures died or departed the country, the valuables would be forever lost unless someone accidentally discovered them.

Given that history, this parable’s hidden treasure was probably long forgotten until the man found it as he passed through the field. The man was so joyful at his find that he was willing to sacrifice everything in order to possess it, the metaphor for God’s kingdom. That is the point of Jesus’ parable, not the ethics of what the man did, as some Christians wrongly suppose. Such observers think the man was unethical not to have told the field’s owner about the treasure, since it rightfully belonged to him.

But the man was not unethical. First, he obviously knew the owner was not aware of the treasure or he would have first offered it to him. Second, rabbinic law said finders could keep what they found. Third, had the man been dishonest, he would have gone off with the treasure without any thought of buying the field. But he realized that a field with treasure—the kingdom—was so valuable that he sold all else to obtain it. Nothing is more important for us than possessing that treasure also.

ASK YOURSELF

What treasures of the kingdom have you stumbled upon recently? When you see them, what are you motivated to forsake in order to more fully and consistently experience the power, joy, and freedom of living in pure fellowship with God?1   1  MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 362). Moody Publishers.

December 16 | The Mustard Seed, Part 2

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.—Matt. 13:31–32

A further lesson from this parable is that God’s kingdom will grow to become a blessing to the rest of the world. The tree that develops from the mustard seed symbolizes the kingdom, which in this age is Christ’s true church. The metaphor of birds nesting suggests the positive idea of providing protection and safety for others.

Daniel interpreted a vision with parallels to this parable: Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in which “there was a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great. The tree grew large and became strong and its height reached to the sky, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, and all living creatures fed themselves from it” (Dan. 4:10–12). As Daniel explained to the king (vv. 20–22), his empire (the tree) brought unrivaled advancement and prosperity to many areas of world endeavor: architecture, the arts, economics, and others. The birds and animals in the vision that benefited from the tree’s provisions were other world nations (cf. Ezek. 31:3–6).

For Jesus and His followers the parallel between the vision and the parable is obvious—God’s kingdom will grow from small beginnings into a huge tree and will provide shelter, protection, and blessing for the whole world. When believers are obedient to God and when nations seek to pattern their ways after His Word, they can bless everyone around.

ASK YOURSELF

How are you seeing this nesting, sheltering function of the kingdom at work in your church? What kind of excitement could ensue if individual Christians saw more clearly the potential blessing their efforts could produce? What are some of the possibilities?1   1  MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 359). Moody Publishers.

December 8 | Parable of the Sower: Main Elements

Hear then the parable of the sower … —Matt. 13:18

The Bible is God’s written Word, but His Son is the Living Word who gives Scripture life. Christ told the Jewish leaders, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39).

This parable centers on proclaiming the gospel and, perhaps more important, concerns the “heart soils” on which that truth, in seed form, falls as the sower preaches. Our Lord goes on to describe four such soils, representing four different hearts that hear the gospel.

Although every human heart is essentially hostile toward God (Rom. 8:7; Eph. 2:15–16), every one has the potential for redemption. If a heart does not respond savingly, it is because of its own sin and refusal to believe. Jesus declares, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37).

In a general sense, any of us who preaches or testifies to the gospel is a sower of God’s Word. This parable thus reminds us of the need to be faithful in truly presenting the gospel, given the wonderful results that can occur. As William Arnot wrote: “As every leaf of the forest and every ripple on the lake, which itself receives a sunbeam on its breast, may throw the sunbeam off again, and so spread the light around; in like manner, everyone, old or young, who receives Christ into his heart may and will publish with his life and lips that blessed name.”

ASK YOURSELF

How have you experienced one or more of the various soils’ responses to your sharing of gospel truth? What have you learned about the reasons why various people respond to Christ’s message of salvation in different ways?1   1  MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 351). Moody Publishers.

December 7 | Parables Reveal

But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.—Matt. 13:16–17

As believers, we can understand God’s profoundest revelation, whether parables or other teachings, because biblical writers have recorded them and the Spirit has illumined them for us (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9–10). When Christ finished explaining some parables to the apostles and asked if they understood them, they could honestly answer “Yes” (Matt. 13:51). That’s not because they were more intelligent than the educated yet unbelieving Jewish leaders, but because the apostles’ eyes and ears were opened to God’s truth by way of their belief.

In part, our Lord’s ministry was to provide understanding of His Word to His followers (see Mark 4:34). Right to the end of His time on earth, Jesus “explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27; cf. v. 45).

Not even the most faithful Old Testament believers had the insights to revelation that the disciples and every believer since have had.

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. (1 Peter 1:10–12)

ASK YOURSELF

The psalmist prayed, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law” (Ps. 119:18). Make this your heartfelt prayer today, knowing that God will delight in answering you.1   1  MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 350). Moody Publishers.

December 5 | Measuring Progress: Revealing and Concealing

For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.—Matt. 13:12

Just prior to this statement, Jesus told the disciples the twofold reason for His using parables: “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted” (Matt. 13:11). To believers, parables reveal kingdom truth; to unbelievers, they conceal it.

Those to whom God has sovereignly given eternal life through Christ are the true citizens of His kingdom. Of such persons Jesus says, “to him more shall be given.” Believers receive additional light of truth as they grow in obedience and maturity in the Lord. As believers remain faithful, God reveals more and more light until they “have an abundance.”

In contrast, false citizens of the kingdom, because of their unbelief, have whatever amount of divine truth that is nearby concealed from them. Thousands heard Jesus’ teachings (including the parables) and saw His miracles, but most did not recognize Him as Messiah or receive Him as Lord and Savior. Because such unbelievers refuse God’s light as it shines on them, He conceals it from them and they drift further into spiritual darkness.

All people are either progressing or regressing spiritually—there is no such thing as remaining static. The longer that believers serve Christ, the more He reveals His truth and power to them. And the longer unbelievers reject what little knowledge they may have of the gospel, the less of God’s truth they will understand. It’s vitally important to be on the right side of the revealing/concealing equation.

ASK YOURSELF

When have you experienced the exponential blessing of seeing your small amount of knowledge and insight transformed into increasing quantities? What does this tell you about the value of even small strides in study and learning?1   1  MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 348). Moody Publishers.

December 3 | To Speak in Parables

He spoke many things to them in parables.—Matt. 13:3a

The parable was one of the staple teaching tools the Lord Jesus used to convey spiritual truth in an understandable way. The word parable contains the idea of placing something alongside something else to make a comparison. In this way, Jesus would place a moral truth alongside a physical example that people could more easily grasp. By this common form of Jewish teaching, He used a common object or practice to elucidate an intangible truth or principle.

From His earliest teaching sessions, Christ used graphic analogies to instruct on divine truth. He likened believers to salt and light in this world (Matt. 5:13–16), pointed to the example of the birds and flowers concerning life’s essentials (6:26–30), and said Christians must build on the rock-solid foundation of Scripture rather than the loose sand of human philosophy (7:24–27). These and other illustrations contain clear meanings. They resonate with listeners. And they served the purpose of setting the stage for Jesus’ use of full-fledged parables.

Parables and other symbolic and figurative communication methods, when correctly understood, are genuine friends of the student of God’s Word. They make abstract truths more concrete, interesting, easier to remember, and easier to apply to life. Those were always the goals our Lord envisioned as He related any parables, such as the series of kingdom parables.

ASK YOURSELF

What can we learn from Jesus’ teaching style to help us improve our own spiritual Communication, whether in formal lessons and sermons or simply in the ordinary vehicles of conversation?1   1  MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 346). Moody Publishers.

1 december (preached 2 december 1855) | Free-will—a slave

“And ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.” John 5:40

suggested further reading: John 6:60–65

It is certain that men will not come unto Christ, that they might have life. We might prove this from many texts of Scripture, but we will take one parable. You remember the parable where a certain king had a feast for his son, and invited a great number to come; the oxen and fatlings were killed, and he sent his messengers inviting many to the supper. Did they go to the feast? No; but they all, with one accord, began to make excuse. One said he had married a wife, and therefore he could not come, whereas he might have brought her with him. Another had bought a yoke of oxen, and went to prove them; but the feast was in the night-time and he could not prove his oxen in the dark. Another had bought a piece of land, and wanted to see it; but I should not think he went to see it with a lantern. So they all made excuses and would not come. Well the king was determined to have the feast; so he said, “Go into the highways and hedges,” and invite them—stop! Not invite—“compel them to come in;” for even the ragged fellows in the hedges would never have come unless they were compelled. Take another parable; a certain man had a vineyard; at the appointed season he sent one of his servants for his rent. What did they do to him? They beat that servant. He sent another; and they stoned him. He sent another and they killed him. And, at last, he said “I will send them my son, they will reverence him.” But what did they do? They said, “This is the heir, let us kill him, and cast him out of the vineyard.” So they did. It is the same with all men by nature. The Son of God came, yet men rejected him.

for meditation: When you thank God for your salvation, do you give him all the credit for your conversion as well (John 15:16)?

sermon no. 52¹

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¹  Spurgeon, C. H., & Crosby, T. P. (1998). 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 1) (p. 342). Day One Publications.

October 19 | Sour Grapes

What more could I have been?
(Isaiah 5:3, TLB)

Listen to this parable: “My well-beloved hath a vineyard. He fenced it, gathered out the stones, planted it with the choicest vine, built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine press; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes” (Isaiah 5:2). Next, God asks the question, “What more could I have done?”

You say, “What does it all mean?” The vineyard is a picture of the church. (See John 15:5.) We read, “He fenced it”—divine protection! David said, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalms 91:1–2). Then He “gathered out the stones.” He’s opened the way! The last stone was removed on Easter morning. Next, He “made a winepress”—that’s a picture of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts 1:8). Finally we read, “He planted it with the choicest vine.” What a picture of Jesus—your source, your strength, and your Savior.

Now after He did all this, what did He get back? Sour grapes! Have you met them? They’re smart enough to graduate, but foolish enough to say “no” to eternal life. They’re smart enough to split the atom, but foolish enough to reject the Sermon on the Mount. Have you accepted God’s gift of eternal life?

You may die unsaved, but you’ll never die unloved. Today God is asking you, “What more could I do?” Why don’t you give Him your life?¹

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¹  Gass, B. (1998). A Fresh Word For Today : 365 Insights For Daily Living (p. 292). Bridge-Logos Publishers.