In Matthew 13:1-52 we have the unveiling of the kingdom’s mysteries. This unveiling is given in the seven parables recorded in this chapter.
In 13:1-23 we have with the parable of the sower the preliminary work of the kingdom. Verse 3 says, “Behold, the sower went out to sow.” The sower is the Lord Himself (v. 37), and the seeds (v. 4) are the word of the kingdom (v. 19) with the Lord in this word as life. Seed fell beside the way (v. 4), on rocky places (v. 5), on thorns (v. 7), and on good ground (v. 8). The wayside signifies the heart that is hardened by worldly traffic and does not open to understand the word of the kingdom (v. 19). The rocky places signify the heart that is shallow in receiving the word of the kingdom because of the things hidden in such a heart (vv. 20-21). The thorns signify the anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches, which choke the word from growing in the heart and cause it to become unfruitful (v. 22). The good ground signifies the good heart, a heart that gives every inch of its ground to receive the word so that it may grow, bear fruit, and produce even a hundredfold (v. 23).
In 13:24-30 and 36-43 we see the establishment of the kingdom and its false constituents. Verses 24 and 25 say, “The kingdom of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field. But while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares amidst the wheat and went away.” The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man (v. 37), the field is the world, the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one (v. 38). Both the tares and the wheat grow in the field; that is, the false believers and the true ones live in the world. The kingdom of the heavens was established with the sons of the kingdom, the wheat, but the sons of the evil one, the tares, grew up to alter the situation. Hence, a difference has arisen between the kingdom of the heavens and its outward appearance. Whereas the sons of the kingdom constitute the kingdom, the sons of the evil one have formed the outward appearance of the kingdom, which today is called Christendom.
In verse 33 we have a parable concerning the inward corruption of the outward appearance of the kingdom: “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened.” Leaven in Scripture signifies evil things (1 Cor. 5:6, 8) and evil doctrines (Matt. 16:6, 11-12). The meal here, for making the meal offering (Lev. 2:1), signifies Christ as food for God and man. Three measures is the quantity needed to make a full meal (Gen. 18:6). The church, as the practical kingdom of the heavens, with Christ-the unleavened fine flour-as its contents, should be unleavened bread (1 Cor. 5:7-8). However, the Catholic Church, which was fully and officially formed in the sixth century and which is signified here by the woman, took many pagan practices, heretical doctrines, and evil matters and mixed them with the teachings concerning Christ to leaven the whole content of Christianity. Hence, the hiding of leaven in three measures of meal signifies that the Catholic Church has fully leavened in a hidden way all the teachings concerning Christ. This became the inward corrupted content of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens.
In 13:44 we see the kingdom hidden in the God-created world: “The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid, and in his joy goes and sells all, whatever he has, and buys that field.” The field is the earth, which signifies the world created by God for His kingdom. The treasure hidden in the field must consist of gold or precious stone, the materials for the building of the church and the New Jerusalem (1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 21:18-20). Since the church is the practical kingdom today and the New Jerusalem will be the kingdom in manifestation in the coming age, so the treasure hidden in the field signifies the kingdom hidden in the God-created world. The man who finds this treasure is Christ. He found the kingdom in chapters 4:12 to 12:23, hid it in 12:24 to 13:43, and in His joy went to the cross in 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19; and 26:1 to 27:52 to sell all He had to buy the field-to redeem the created and lost earth-for the kingdom.
In 13:45 and 46 we have the church produced out of the Satan-corrupted world: “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all, whatever he had, and bought it.” The merchant here is Christ, who was seeking the church for His kingdom. After finding it in 16:18 and 18:17, He went to the cross and sold all He had and bought it for the kingdom. The pearl, produced in the death waters (the world filled with death) by the living oyster (the living Christ), wounded by a little rock (the sinner), and secreting its life juice around the wounding rock (the believer), is also the material for the building of the New Jerusalem. Because the pearl comes out of the sea, which signifies the world corrupted by Satan (Isa. 57:20; Rev. 17:15), it must refer to the church, which is mainly constituted of regenerated believers from the Gentile world and which is of great value.
Finally, in 13:47-50 we see the eternal gospel and its result. This parable corresponds to 25:32-46. The net in verse 47 does not signify the gospel of grace, which is preached in the church age, but signifies the eternal gospel, which will be preached to the Gentile world in the great tribulation (Rev. 14:6-7). The sea signifies the Gentile world, and “every kind” signifies all the Gentiles (Matt. 25:32). The “good” in verse 48 are the sheep, and the “corrupt” are the goats. The “furnace of fire” in verse 50 is the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10, 15).
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