Matt 13 Parables

[-James-]

Ooh, an old one! I'll give my view of the the Sower Parble, but I'll start with Romans 15:50-

Romans

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep “rest“, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Flesh and blood is our body and natural “inward” state of being, and it is corrupt, and corruption cannot inherit incorruption, and herein lies the mystery of Christ, and the kingdom of God. We will be changed inwardly, and in a single moment will we understand; in the twinkling of an eye we shall be raised from the dead in Spirit through love. We’re already dead in our bodies and inward reality, but when we embrace God’s spirit (Love) as Christ did, we will be made new (Born again) and be changed from the inside out; the kingdom of heaven is the result of such a change. “Behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand” But, this is what Jesus says about being changed in heart. (Important and not always easy)


Parable of the Sower (I used Luke)


“A sower (Christ) went out to sow his seed: (Love) and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it."

(Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil “doubt“, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.)



“And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture."

(They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation “Trial” fall away.)



"And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it."

(That which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares “Worries” and riches “Greed” and pleasures of this life “unchanged heart“, and bring no fruit to perfection.) Many revel in the darkness of heart, and this is that false type of pleasure Jesus was speaking of, Imo.



"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.”

(That on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, “sincere and loving” having heard the word, ”Love” keep it, “ believe in it” and bring forth fruit with patience. “Allow it to mature within“) The amount of fruit produced depends on how well you allow love to mature within self.



Romans continued…

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, (Love) and this mortal must put on immortality. (Spirit) So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting[/U]? (Inner torment) O grave, where is thy victory? (Life everlasting) [U]The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”



(Jesus showed us the way through his life, teachings, and spirit; he was faithful until death, and he defeated that which we are called to conquer in ourselves; we do this by fully embracing his “undying” spirit of love)



1 Corinthians 13

“So faith, (in God’s spirit) hope, (That we will change) love (Which is the light and life of Christ) abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

We are fighting against our inward negatives, i.e. anger, bitterness, self pity, envy, doubt, greed, hate, jealousy, intolorance, pride, fear etc (sin)

Love conquers these things; it is God that conquers these things when we embrace his spirit, and Christ made the way known. (Salvation from inner torment) The way maker for all people.


That's my current view

[-James-]

My bad the "Romans" quote's are actually 1 Corinthians. 15:50-.

[-James-]

Originally Posted by Bandit

anyone else who loves the teachings of Jesus jump in anytime. that is what these parables were taught for and why Jesus came. for EVERYONE.

PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED



31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

I personally think the mustard seed represents the the very same seed in the parable of the sower. If it is infact Love, then this would make sense. How many people choose love over anger, and resentment, and jealousy, etc. Most hide behind these negative spirits for protection, be it from pride, or a harmful word, or a disagreement. These negative spirits are natural defense mechanisms. (This is the "Natural" or unchanged man)

It (Love) is the least in the spiritual realm of man, as we don't embrace it like we ought. We rarely love ourselves, and others the way Christ told us to. If we loved, and had enough faith in it, then we would find the greatest shelter of all.The field represents mankinds inward being, and as each individual allows God's word (Love) to grow, it becomes the greatest of all spirits providing shelter for those who find its grace. The birds of the air represent those who have been born again in spirit, and have found shelter in it. (This is the "spiritual" or changed man) The tree represents the love of God or "Christ", Imo.

33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

(I think this represents the bread of life) "Love" is like yeast, once it is added it increases when conditions are right. Yeast needs sugar, and love needs Heart.

34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

A BURIED TREASURE
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

I think this represents the seeker of truth, and what happens when he hears, and understands the word. He embraces it (Hides it). All he was before hand (The spiritual negatives) are then slowly cast away until he has fully recieved the treasure.

THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Same with this one. The seeker (Merchant) understood the word, which is the pearl. He embraces it, and slowly casts away the old man to recieve the new in "Christ".


These are my thoughts on these parables. It makes sense to me, but I'd love to hear other views. They are not always easy to interperate. It took me an hour just to get my thoughts out on them, lol!


James

[wil]

Originally Posted by -James-

They are not always easy to interperate. It took me an hour just to get my thoughts out on them

Looks like time well spent. I think one is quite successful when one sees love everywhere one looks.

[mee]

The wheat and the weeds. In another illustration Jesus likened himself to a sower of fine seed, and the seed to "sons of the kingdom." Another sower, an enemy who sows weeds in the field, is the Devil. Here Jesus was evidently foretelling an apostasy to come, when, in and among the Christian congregation, there would be men falsely claiming to be servants of God and attempting to defile the congregation and to draw away the disciples.—Mt 13:24-30, 36-43; compare Ac 20:29; 2Co 11:12-15; 2Th 2:3-9; 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 4:3, 4; 2Pe 2:1-3. yes it all happened just as Jesus said it would.

[-James-]

Originally Posted by mee

The wheat and the weeds. In another illustration Jesus likened himself to a sower of fine seed, and the seed to "sons of the kingdom." Another sower, an enemy who sows weeds in the field, is the Devil. Here Jesus was evidently foretelling an apostasy to come, when, in and among the Christian congregation, there would be men falsely claiming to be servants of God and attempting to defile the congregation and to draw away the disciples.—Mt 13:24-30, 36-43; compare Ac 20:29; 2Co 11:12-15; 2Th 2:3-9; 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 4:3, 4; 2Pe 2:1-3. yes it all happened just as Jesus said it would.

I actually have a different view of this parable, but I can see clearly as to why you would view it this way, mee. In my mind, Christ is not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to God's Grace. It says in 1 Corinthians that knowledge will pass away, so whatever denomination or religion you are, it will pass away on an intellectual level, all that will remain is love, and the fruits thereof.


Our intolerant, and hateful, and bitter and even self righteous views towards those who do not share our Dogma are but the fruits of the wicked, and these are the “Children of the wicked one“, and they will be cast out of the inner man when he embraces God in heart. Likewise, acceptance, peace, serenity, inner freedom, joy, etc. these are the fruits of love, and are the children of the kingdom“.

In my mind all peoples can know God, and experience him on a personal level; it doesn’t matter what religion, or denomination, or even if one is an Atheist, because all our knowledge will pass away, and is partial, but Love will remain. That is the good news of the Gospel, Imo. Christ built the bridge that all men/woman can travel.

1 John 4:6-8 states this, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.“

This says to me that knowing God as love is what matters, and not our intellectual pursuits to understand him with only mind, or through religion only, as this is futile and unfruitful w/o the heart.

We come to know God with our hearts, minds and soul through Love. Religion is a great asset, though. Many come to God through this medium, so I’m not saying religion is bad, as I myself am a religious person. We need the church to help guide and show people who Christ is, and who God is, and what it takes to experience him on a personal level. It is good for fellowship, and for edifying. Yes, the church is specifically geared for this purpose.


"He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man (Christ the man) The field is the world; (Us) the good seed are the children of the kingdom; (Christ the spirit and his “Spiritual” fruits) but the tares are the children of the wicked one; (The spiritual fruits of the adversary, or that which is in conflict with love) The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; (This is in reference to being born again) and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares (Anger, bitterness, hate, violence, intolerance, resentment, etc.) are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world."

The end of the world simply is to say, the end of the natural “Sinful” man. To be born again in God’s spirit is the core of this parable, Imo. The devil is simply defined as God's adversary, i.e. that which opposes love. All sin derives from lack of love in both the spiritual sense and material sense. All virtue stems from love, and all immorality stems from lack of it.

Take into consideration that I am more liberal in my faith. (Obviously) but this is what makes sense to me.


James

[mee]

Originally Posted by -James-

We need the church to help guide and show people who Christ is, and who God is,






James

Yes i would agree with this ,the true church would be very faithful to christ and stick to his teachings . but as the bible tells us , Jesus himself said that men from among you yourselves will speak twisted things ,so it was to be expected to happen that false teachings would be planted in the congregations back then. and yes many false teachings have grown up around the Good true teachings but Jesus said ,let them grow up togeather .so the false teachings have taken over for many centuries ,but even though the weeds or false teachings are many, it does not make them true or part of true teligion .they are counterfiet. but Jesus in matthew 24;45-47 would be feeding the faithful ones with lots of good spiritual food . and he would even give them all his belongings.the good wheat would be hidden from view because of the weeds . but at the end of the day the weeds will come to their end and the wheat will be shining brightly.

[-James-]

Originally Posted by mee

Yes i would agree with this ,the true church would be very faithful to christ and stick to his teachings . but as the bible tells us , Jesus himself said that men from among you yourselves will speak twisted things ,so it was to be expected to happen that false teachings would be planted in the congregations back then. and yes many false teachings have grown up around the Good true teachings but Jesus said ,let them grow up togeather .so the false teachings have taken over for many centuries ,but even though the weeds or false teachings are many, it does not make them true or part of true teligion .they are counterfiet. but Jesus in matthew 24;45-47 would be feeding the faithful ones with lots of good spiritual food . and he would even give them all his belongings.the good wheat would be hidden from view because of the weeds . but at the end of the day the weeds will come to their end and the wheat will be shining brightly.

Just to confirm that we are somewhat on the same page, you believe that Christ is present, right? I see the variances in doctrine, mee. and I would even go so far as to say that many are false, BUT are they such because of blindness, or deliberation. Can the blind lead the blind? I submit that when Christ spoke of false teachers, he was speaking of those who would deliberately lead his sheep astray, not those who simply do not see his glory.

When it comes to the "weeds" in the church, I see your point and it makes a great deal of sense now that you explained it a bit further. Even so, the followers of these false doctrines are not the children of the wicked one by my estimation, and it is unfair to call them such. They are simply lost, Imo As I said before; can the blind lead the blind? On that same note, who is to say that we have not been tainted by false doctrine ourselves? We all want to believe that we understand, but the reality is that we understand only as much as we allow ourselves to.

It has been suggested that the "Devil" is God's adversary. Now, I don't now that i believe in a literal devil, but I do believe in a spirit that oposses God's own. To me the children of the wicked one represents the spiritual "fruits" of that adversary. That being said, I also believe that the children of the kingdom is not refferring to Christ's adopted brothers and sisters, but rather Christ's spirit itself and the spiritual fruits, or "Children" thereof.

Those who know Christ in such a manner, understand the fruits of Christ's "Kingdom", just as I suspect you know to a degree.


James

[mee]

Originally Posted by -James-

Just to confirm that we are somewhat on the same page, you believe that Christ is present, right? I see the variances in doctrine, mee. and I would even go so far as to say that many are false, BUT are they such because of blindness, or deliberation. Can the blind lead the blind? I submit that when Christ spoke of false teachers, he was speaking of those who would deliberately lead his sheep astray, not those who simply do not see his glory.

When it comes to the "weeds" in the church, I see your point and it makes a great deal of sense now that you explained it a bit further. Even so, the followers of these false doctrines are not the children of the wicked one by my estimation, and it is unfair to call them such. They are simply lost, Imo As I said before; can the blind lead the blind? On that same note, who is to say that we have not been tainted by false doctrine ourselves? We all want to believe that we understand, but the reality is that we understand only as much as we allow ourselves to.

It has been suggested that the "Devil" is God's adversary. Now, I don't now that i believe in a literal devil, but I do believe in a spirit that oposses God's own. To me the children of the wicked one represents the spiritual "fruits" of that adversary. That being said, I also believe that the children of the kingdom is not refferring to Christ's adopted brothers and sisters, but rather Christ's spirit itself and the spiritual fruits, or "Children" thereof.

Those who know Christ in such a manner, understand the fruits of Christ's "Kingdom", just as I suspect you know to a degree.


James

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day deceived the people. Of those deceivers, Jesus said: "Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." (Matthew 15:14) so it seems that religious leaders are to blame. and following leaders that teach false doctrines will not be a good outcome .it is my belief as one of Jehovahs witnesses ,that the bible tells Gods people today to GET OUT OF FALSE RELIGION REVELATION 18;4 because false religion will very shortly come to its end when God destroys it . but maybe that is for another thread. yes i do think the devil is Gods adversary and the first prophecy in the bible at Genesis 3;15 has been an on going thing down through the centuries right up to this day

Satan

the Devil

Definition: The spirit creature who is the chief adversary of Jehovah God and of all who worship the true God. The name Satan was given to him because of his becoming a resister of Jehovah. Satan is also known as the Devil, because he is the foremost slanderer of God. Satan is described as the original serpent, evidently because of his using a serpent in Eden to deceive Eve, and for this reason "serpent" came to signify "deceiver." In the book of Revelation, the symbolism of a devouring dragon is also applied to Satan.

[-James-]

Originally Posted by mee

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day deceived the people. Of those deceivers, Jesus said: "Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." (Matthew 15:14) so it seems that religious leaders are to blame. and following leaders that teach false doctrines will not be a good outcome .it is my belief as one of Jehovahs witnesses ,that the bible tells Gods people today to GET OUT OF FALSE RELIGION REVELATION 18;4 because false religion will very shortly come to its end when God destroys it . but maybe that is for another thread. yes i do think the devil is Gods adversary and the first prophecy in the bible at Genesis 3;15 has been an on going thing down through the centuries right up to this day

I think all religion will come to an end and we will be left with a pure unadulterated faith in God. Mathew 15:14 makes sense in that if you're following a false religion, you are not experiencing Christ the way we were meant. The ditch does not represent the everlasting pit of hell, but rather the state of the unchanged, spiritually dead man.


Just my views, tho


James

[mee]

Originally Posted by -James-

I think all religion will come to an end and we will be left with a pure unadulterated faith in God.


Just my views, tho


James

yes ,the bible agrees with this , but it will be all false religion that will come to its end , but the pure worship of the most high Jehovah will be elavated , and the bible tells us that this will happen in the last days , and yes we are NOW in the last days.
And it must occur in the final part of the days [that] the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, and it will certainly be lifted up above the hills; and to it all the nations must stream. Isaiah 2;2yes this is elavated worship and this way does not lead us into a ditch or pit of confusion.
those who want to be instucted by Jehovah will be happy to go to this elavated worship of Jehovah. but many are heading for the ditch because they have listened to the wrong direction.
(Isaiah 9:16) And those who are leading this people on prove to be the ones causing [them] to wander; and those of them who are being led on, the ones who are being confused.....................yes false religious leaders have a lot to answer for .in fact they are the ...... man of lawlessness.
The "man" of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 is, therefore, not an individual, but a composite "man," a collective group., and this "man" was to continue after the apostles’ death and exist down until the time of the Lord’s presence...........and yes , the parousia or presence has been happening since 1914. this word parousia
is used 24 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures, frequently with regard to the presence of Christ in connection with his Messianic Kingdom .yes its all happening in this time of the end.i am glad to say that i am heading to Jehovahs mountain not into the ditch.