The teaching is repeated multiple times in several ways. Jesus was trying to get the point across. The point about heaven being the ultimate prize. Read: Matthew 13:45-46 Notes: Pearls were highly prized in ancient times.The prize of heaven is high and Jesus was trying to prove his point of the worth of getting there, no matter the high cost. Discuss with[...]
Treasure is mentioned a lot in scripture. Where we are supposed to hide our treasures, what should be considered treasure. Treasure was obviously an important thing in the days of Jesus. Well treasures are still important. We each have our own treasures and there's also those adventuring treasure hunters of the world. Read: Matthew 13:44 Notes: The ultimate[...]
Who doesn't love some fresh bread? Jesus is the bread of life, right? Ya know, not the kale of life. Anyway, this one little verse packs a punch of a parable. A lot of the time the leaven is referred to as an influence that would be negative. Jesus is changing the analogy though. Read: Matthew 13:33 Notes: Leaven is yeastSometimes leaven is referring to corru[...]
Don't start listening to some people who argue about seed sizes. That's truly not the point of this parable. Focus on the whole picture. Again Jesus is using agricultural terminology so that the people would have the ability to grasp what he's talking about. It's a simple analogy but an affective one. Read: Matthew 13:31-32 Notes: Smallest seed to the larges[...]
Wheat is a prominent crop throughout scripture. Nehemiah's family worked in the wheat field. Boaz and Ruth found each other in the wheat. The major and minor prophets discuss wheat. So Jesus wasn't going to not use it as a lesson. He's again using what the people around him would know so that they could understand his message. Read: Matthew 13:24-30 Notes:[...]
The amount of times that Jesus uses gardening and agriculture for teaching purposes does make me nerd out a little. But the truth is that this is what the people he was teaching would understand. He spoke their language. Farmers, fisherman, and a culture that wasn't using a grocery store. They could relate to his stories because Jesus spoke to them like this. Read:[...]
Today's parable is squished into a larger story so I'd actually encourage you to read the whole section Matthew 12:22-32. Jesus heals a man that's not only blind and mute, but also demon-oppressed. The Pharisees are trying to speak out against Jesus so they claim he's from Beelzebul. This name is translated as lord of the flies and flies were usually found on manure. Beel[...]