Canonical Reading Plan for Oct 7, Mat 13-14

Today’s readings are Mat 13-14.

Mat 13 relates six parables about the kingdom. They are related to each other and share the same theme. In each, the results of sharing the gospel are left in the hands of God.

In the parable of the sower, the sower is not God, as many believe, it is the church. The sower spreads seed (the gospel) everywhere. It's not up to him to make the seed germinate. In other words, it's not up to us to make sure people get saved.  We are to be faithful in telling everyone who will listen about Jesus, spreading the “seeds” everywhere we can. Some seed never takes root, some looks like it might, but it doesn't, and some seeds become healthy plants, producing more seeds. We share; God effects the change through the Holy Spirit.

In the parable of the weeds (Mat 13:24-30), Jesus is the sower. The seed He sows is the gospel. In those days, a landowner would send his servants into the fields to plant his seeds. He provided the seed, his servants did the work. Jesus sows gospel seeds through His bride, the church who is symbolised in the servants on our parable. The lesson in this parable is that it is not up to servants (a metaphor for believers) to remove the weeds. "Removing the weeds" is a symbol for judgment. The Son of Man (Jesus) will take care of judgment.  We are to sow the seeds that produce the plants. God is responsible for the outcome.

With the mustard seed (Mat 13:31-32), we see that God's kingdom will start out with a small movement and grow to become a vast, world-spanning blessing. The ministry of the gospel has a tiny, fragile beginning but thrives nearly everywhere today. Even the smallest seeds we sow can turn into a massive plant in the kingdom.

In Mat 13:33, a small bit of leaven (the gospel) will be used by the cook (God) to spread and permeate all the bread (Creation).

The treasure in the field seen in Mat 13:44 (the gospel) is the culmination of all the metaphors for spreading the gospel. The gospel is worth sacrificing everything for. It is a precious jewel (the pearl of great value) worth all we have. This should demonstrate to us that the gospel is the most valuable thing we as individuals or as the church collectively can produce. The church is here to plant the seeds of the most valuable plant the world will ever see, the gospel. Anything else the church may provide is either secondary or worthless. This makes the gospel a “pearl of great value” (Mat 13:45-46).

God will cast His net widely. In the end, the righteous will be separated from the evil.

Mt 14:1-12 reveals that the concept of resurrection is not entirely alien to the culture. Herod is convinced that Jesus is John the Baptist come back to life and performing miracles. While we learn that idea of resurrection is not unheard of, we also see that Herod hasn't a clue of who Jesus is or what He's been doing.

Jesus miraculously feeds approximately 20,000 people by multiplying the loaves and fishes (Mat 14:13-20). When the ancient Jews mention the number of men, they do not include family members who would likely have accompanied the men.

The message of the loaves and fishes is relatively simple. Jesus is the bread of life. He nourishes and sustains supernaturally. God had set the stage for this over a thousand years prior when He rained down manna on His people in the wilderness providing a type of bread to live on, "bread for life." The miracle of multiplication is also a response to the idea that Jesus is only another in a long line of prophets. He is far more. Moses brought them manna that lasted only a day. But Moses clearly did not create the manna, God did. Jesus multiplies the food in front of their eyes, then feeds them with enough left over to feed His disciples for quite some time.

The scenario in the boat (Mt 14:22-33) is significant for a few reasons. We see that Peter, in faith, actually walks on water! This is frequently overlooked in interpreting this story. Still, Peter's faith, like ours, is not yet fully developed. He gets distracted and begins to sink, but Jesus helps Him. The lesson is that Jesus is there when Peter walks on the water. But, He is there also when Peter fails to walk on the water. Another significant revelation occurs when the disciples worship Jesus and, for the first time, call Him "The Son of God."

These events set the scene for the broader ministry Jesus has when they come ashore and beings healing people in Gennesaret, one that emphasizes His Sonship.