Chapter 13
Matthew 13:1-2
1 The same day went Jesus
out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2 And great multitudes were
gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole
multitude stood on the shore.
“The
same day” indicates no loss of time between chapters 12 and 13, and perhaps
from 11 to 13. In turn, that indicates that all these activities took place in
the same approximate area.
Jesus
went to the seashore and the crowd followed Him. The crowd was so large that Jesus boarded a
boat while the crowd gathered on the shore.
Matthew 13:3-9
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables,
saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side,
and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much
earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and
because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung
up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth
fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
It was while He was in the
boat that Jesus began his sermon in parables. Each parable was given, and later
Jesus explained each to His Apostles. I
must point out that while the term disciples may apply to Jesus’ Apostles, the
title Apostles does not always apply to Jesus’ complete compliment of
disciples.
The first parable concerned a
sower. The sower went out to scatter
seed. In today’s farming that would be
no-tile farming. There is no mention of breaking up or plowing the soul/soil.
While the sower scattered the
seeds, he scattered some seeds by side of the road. The birds came and eat
them.
Other seeds fell on “stony
places” (Gr. petroodee-petrwdh), ground full of rocks. Few plants could grow there. When they began to sprout, they died due to
the lack of soil.
Some seeds fell among
thorns. Do you understand that plants
struggle to live? When the thorny
plants sprung up, they choked the sower’s seeds. Beneath the soil, there is a struggle for
plant food.
However, some seed fell on
good soil. It germinated and “brought
forth” (Gr. edidou-edidou) good results.
Some of the seeds planted in good soil produced more then others, but
all produced.
Many in the Church today want
a 100 fold return on their monetary investment.
Nowhere in the Bible do we find that all followers received a 100 fold
return. Also the Bible never speaks of
money as being an investment. Giving a “weekly” tithe is foreign to the
biblical text.
That points to the fact of
greed within what is perceived to be the Church. Some teach that if you are less than a
millionaire or have less than perfect health, you are not truly following
Christ. That teaching is absolutely
false.
Then Christ says, “Whoever
has ears to hear, let him hear.” That
may have great spiritual implications.
God’s Kingdom operates on a single principle. Those who are His hear from God and respond
appropriately! That’s it! If you speak or act without hearing, you are
speaking or acting presumptuously.
Matthew 13:10-15
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why
speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given
unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not
given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he
shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away
even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they
seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias,
which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye
shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their
ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time
they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
The preceding sermon was
spoken to the crowds and to Scribes and Pharisees. But, now Christ speaks only to His
Apostles. He does not address all those
in the crowd.
His close disciples, the
Apostles, came to Him and asked, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
Jesus replied, “Because it is
given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is
not given.”
All people are not meant to
understand spiritual matters. Parables
are not “earthy stories with a heavenly meaning.” Jesus’ parables are spiritual stories with
meaning only for His called ones!
Jesus continued, “For whoever
has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whoever does
not have, from him shall be taken away even that he has.”
Verse 12 relates to
understanding things of the Spirit. It
should be interpreted, “For whoever has the Spirit of God, to him shall be
given understanding, and he shall have super-abundant understanding, but whoever
does not have God’s Spirit, from him shall be taken away whatever understanding
he has.”
God does not cast his pearls
before swine! He does not present
spiritual truth to an unregenerate heart.
Then Jesus told His
Apostles, “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they see not;
and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled,
‘By hearing you shall hear, and not understand, and seeing you shall see, and
not perceive!’” (Isaiah 6:9)
Jesus spoke in parables to hide the truth from the Jews
of that day, not to reveal it. Their
hearts had “waxed gross” (Gr. epachunthee-epacunqh), or become callused.
They were hard of hearing, and their eyes they had dimmed to the
truth.
Parables prevented them from understanding and being spiritually
healed. That prepared the way for the
Gentiles to come to Christ.
Mark 4:12
That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not
understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be
forgiven them.
Where was their free will?
Free will has nothing to do
with understanding God’s truth!
Jesus told those with
unrepentant hearts, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John
5:40).
Later, He told the crowd, “No
man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John
6:44a).
Our unregenerate “freewill”
has no part in salvation!
Allow me to tell you the best
kept spiritual secret in the world. Dead men don’t make decisions!
Those that are dead in
trespasses and sins cannot seek life in Christ at the time and place of their
choosing!
Christianity is not man
seeking God! Christianity is God seeking
man!
Matthew 13:16-17
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your
ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and
righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen
them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
However, some eyes have
been opened to the truth of Jesus Christ.
The Apostles were blessed because their eyes and ears were opened to see
and hear. God chose them in Christ! If you understand spiritual matters, it is not due to your intelligence and
personal wisdom, instead it is
because God chose you in Christ!
Many of the things Christ
told His followers were the things that prophets of ancient days longed to
understand, but did not. The grace of
God that we now experience was hidden from OT prophets.
Matthew 13:18-23
18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and
understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which
was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20 But he that received the seed into stony places,
the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a
while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and
by he is offended.
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he
that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of
riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is
he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and
bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Now, Christ explains the
parable of the Sower, or soils. The
Sower and seed remain constant in the parable (Christ remains constant), while
the soils differ.
Please understand that
this parable has nothing to
do with money! The seed is the word. If you attempt to substitute money for the
word, you will prostitute the meaning of this parable and the word of God.
The seed sown along the
“way side” does not take root and does not bring forth fruit. When anybody just hears the word of God
without any corresponding action, the wicked one, Satan, comes to steal, kill,
and destroy. That is Satan’s job!
The seeds sown in stony
places represent those that hear the word, and accept it with great joy. But, they have no foundation to hold them in
times of trouble. That is a hard teaching. Many people go through the motions with no
true commitment.
“Anon (Gr. euthus-euquV), v. 20, means
immediately. Those who quickly receive
the basics of the word may not get to the deeper more fruitful understanding.
They endure for a limited
time. But, when their trust is challenged,
they are “offended” (Gr. skandalizetai- skandalizetai), or enticed to sin.
These folks may know the words to John 3:16 and not much else. They have no strength of teaching that the
Church offers. No person with any common
sense goes to war without a weapon. Our
weapon is the word of God. Using it
properly takes practice.
The seeds sown among thorns
represent the word of God heard by an individual who is worried about his/her
social, educational, or monetary standing.
He/She hears, but does not respond to God’s leading appropriately. In that situation, the word does not become
fruitful.
These “Christians” may be
able to quote many Bible verses, and serve as Church leaders, but they are
grounded in social religion, not Christian relationship. This is the most difficult group to bring to
Christ!
Lastly, the seed sown in good
soil represents one that hears, understands, and responds appropriately. Notice that even in good soil there are
differing degrees of production. Contrary
to many Charismatic teachers, all good
soil does not always bring
forth a hundredfold increase.
If your pastor is teaching
only the “hundredfold” increase in relation to monetary giving, he is
persecuting the Church by placing you under bondage!
In using the hundredfold
premise as if it applies to all Christians, any Pastor that preaches the
hundredfold return, but does not pastor the largest Church in the world comes
under his own condemnation.
In each case, the seed is
good, but the soil varies. Again, this
parable does not speak of money. It has NOTHING to do with your personal
tithing/giving. Such a teaching is
abusive!
As we read, the seed is
the word. Now, if you sow seed into a
soil, it then becomes the responsibility of that soil to bring forth a crop. If you have sown money into a certain
ministry, because a Preacher told you his ministry was “good soil,” it has
become that Preacher’s responsibility to give you an increase in whatever you
“sowed” into that ministry. If he fails
to return to you a hundred-fold increase, his ministry is poor soil!
If you give your
“hundredfold” preacher $100 and he does not eventually return to you $10,000,
his ministry is poor soil!
Are you sowing money into
a ministry hoping that your employer will provide a hundred-fold increase? That is anti-biblical.
The ministry into which
you “sowed” is responsible for any increase.
In addition, apple trees
beget apples! Orange trees beget
oranges. Money begets ….
Mark 4:26-28
26 And he said, So is the kingdom of
God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and
grow up, he knoweth not how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the
ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
Did the biblical farmer
plant seed, and then go to the market to get his increase? Absolutely not! The increase came from the very ground into
which he planted his seed!
The word is planted in the
hearts of men and they grow in Christ!
Have you planted any word lately?
1 Cor 3:6-7
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but
God that giveth the increase.
John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I
will in no wise cast out.
John 6:37 is interesting
in the light of Psalm 2:8---“Ask of
Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the
earth for Your possession” (NKJV).
Hebrews 13:5b
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Salvation is not based on
works, or working!
Matthew 13:24-30
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said
unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath
it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The
servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the
tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together
until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather
ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather
the wheat into my barn.
Now, we come to another
parable. This one is about another
farmer.
Remember, Jesus is still
talking to His inner circle.
This farmer sows good seed in
what we assume is good soil, but an enemy came along and sowed tares (Gr.
zizania-zizania),
or darnel in the farmer’s field. Darnel
is a rye grass type weed with a black heart (center). Winnowing, throwing the
grain into the air and letting the wind separate the wheat from the tares is
symbolic of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Wind.
Matthew 3:12
"His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His
threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the
chaff with unquenchable fire." (NKJ)
According to verse 29, there
is to be no separating the saved from unconverted until the end of the age
harvest. From our personal observation,
we know that it is difficult to tell which ones are wheat and which are
tares. Being “nice” is not a sign of salvation!
Christian wheat and
pretender tares grow together until the harvest. At the time of harvest they
will be separated. At the great
judgment, the wheat will be gathered to Christ, and the tares will be cast into
a fire.
Matthew 13:31-32
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.
Christ then offers another
parable. This one compares the kingdom
of heaven to a grain of mustard seed. In this parable a man sowed mustard
seeds.
A mustard seed is small, but
when it is grown, it is taller than a man can reach. It is also a favorite
roosting place for small birds. The
implication is that the smallest seed may grow to gain great significance in
Christ. Grace is a small but powerful seed.
Matthew 13:33 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.
The final parable in the
series concerns leaven. The kingdom of heaven is compared to leaven. It seems that a woman hid leaven in three
measures (12 gallons) of flour. However,
leaven does not sit quietly. It works
its way through the flour without human help. Finally all the meal was
leavened.
Some think of this as
comparing leaven to sin, but here the Bible compares leaven to the Kingdom of
heaven. The point is simple. Eventually, the kingdom will affect all
creation.
God’s plan unfolds as a
flower blooms. The full blossom does not
suddenly break forth. It blossoms
gradually until the affects are fully seen.
Have you been told that
all will one day be productive members of God’s Kingdom?
By “productive” I mean
worshipping.
Ps 86:9 All
nations (Heb. goyim-Gentiles) whom thou hast made shall come and worship before
thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
Matthew 13:34-35
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.
Jesus taught the multitude by
using parables; and here it says that he did not teach them without
parables. The reason he did it was to
fulfill prophecy. Psalm 78:2---“I
will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old.”
Matthew 13:36-43
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.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the
good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the
children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest
is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in
the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and
they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do
iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in
the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
When Jesus sent the crowds
away, and went into the house, His disciples came to him asking Him to tell
them what he meant in the parable of the tares of the field. This brings out an
important point.
Just because somebody
understands the words used in the Bible that does not mean he/she understands
the teaching. Knowing the words and the Word are different things.
Jesus told them that the One
sowing the good seed is the Christ! The
Sower is Christ Jesus. The field is the
world. The good seed are the children of
the Kingdom of God, The tares are the children of the wicked one.
Did you know that the wicked
one, Satan, has children? Any person who does not follow Christ Jesus is a
child of Satan! Prior to our salvation,
we were children of Satan!
This is a difficult
teaching. The enemy, Satan, sows his
followers among Christ’s followers. They
are Pretenders within the Church.
The harvest is the end of the
world {age} (Gr. aioonos- aiwnoV). This has
nothing to do with an end of the world. In dealing with this, we must understand
which age is being referenced.
The “age” Christ spoke about
was not the end of the age of law, which is the age in which He physically
lived on earth. It is also not the end
of the Church age, in which we now live.
It is the end of the age of peace following the last rebellion when God
becomes all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28).
The reapers are not members
of the Church. They are angels. The reaping will be done at the proper
harvest time.
Members of The Church who
work in the garden are called evangelist.
Non-evangelistic Church attendees are either babes in Christ, or
pretenders.
Each member of the Church has
a job in the garden of Christ. Be
faithful to your job.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7
6 I have planted, Apollos
watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that
planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
At the end of the last
rebellion, the tares will be gathered. Christ Jesus shall send His angels to
take away all that has offended Him. The
things (sins) that offend God shall be destroyed, rendered ineffective.
Revelation 20:14-15
14 And death and hell were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not
found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
When I said that all that
offends Christ will be burned, we must use the whole Counsel of God. You will notice that death and hell (Gr. O
hadees-O adhV)
{the grave} will suffer the second death, the lake of Fire.
The burning of the Lake of
Fire causes death to die. In causing
death to die, it cleanses those things that pollute life.
When life is taken away, the
result is death. When death is taken
away, the result is life.
The Lake of Fire is
brimstone, or sulfur. Sulfur is a purifying
agent.
The Lake of Fire is not
punitive. It is remedial.
The things that shall be cast
into a furnace of fire shall be purified.
Hebrews 12:29---“For our God
is a consuming fire.” He shall consume
all the sin that has polluted His Creation!
Those among mankind that
shall be cast into the fire to be purified shall suffer great discomfort and
anguish. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth as they are purified.
This is a matter of
cleansing. Jesus told His Apostles, “Now
ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). We today are cleansed through the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16), and the washing of the water of the word
(Ephesians 5:26).
Others shall be saved by
fire. 1 Corinthians 3:15---“If any man's work shall be burned, he shall
suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
We that now believe have been
through the fires. We have been purified in the spiritual fire. Pure gold shines. It reflects the light of righteousness of the
Son and the righteous Father. We are the
light of this age (Matt 5:14)! Christ closes this teaching by saying, “Whoever
has ears to hear, let him hear.” Many
cannot accept this teaching!
Matthew 13:44 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.
Jesus said, the kingdom of
heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field.
When a man finds the treasure, he hides it, and with joy sells all that
he has, and buys the field.
Jesus came to seek and to
save the lost (Luke 19:10). If you are
dead [in Christ], your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)
Our lives are hidden in
Christ until the day of redemption of the purchased possession (Ephesians
1:14). We are that purchased
possession. The day of His return is our
day our full redemption.
Matthew 13:45-46
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.
The kingdom of heaven is like
a merchant looking for beautiful pearls.
When he had finds an exquisite pearl, he sells all he has and buys that
single pearl. Notice that the Merchant
looks for the pearl. The pearl does not
seek the Merchant.
Again, Christ is the one that
is seeking and mankind is what He found.
Let’s examine it.
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
All Christians agree on that
one fact!
Isaiah said the same thing,
but added one more fact. Isaiah 53:6---“All we like sheep have
gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all.”
“The LORD laid on Him the
iniquity of us all.” That was
accomplished on the cross.
Jesus came to seek and to
save the lost (Luke 19:10). Salvation requires remission of our sins. Hebrews
9:22--- “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and
without shedding of blood is no remission.”
Under the Law {during the age
of the Law}, Christ was scourged and crucified, His blood was shed for the
remission of our sins. He looked down at
the representatives of humanity (both Jew and Gentile) around Him, and asked,
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
As the sins of the world were
placed upon Him---for the only time in His earthly life, Jesus cried out “My
God, My God!” (Matthew 27:46). All other
times in His earthly life, Jesus referred spoke of God being His “Father.” By clothed in our sins, He realized our place
outside of God’s benefits, and cried out as we would.
Then, Jesus said, “It is
finished!” He bowed His head, and gave
up the ghost (John 19:30). Notice that
He [voluntarily] gave up the Spirit.
Life was not taken from Him as when we die.
John 10:18
No man taketh it [His life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I
received of my Father.
When He said, “It is
finished,” He was telling us “It is completed or accomplished (Gr. Tetelestai-Tetelestai)!” The sin debt was paid in full!
At that moment in human
history, Jesus of Nazareth became the Savior of the world. He paid the full and complete price! Hebrews
10:10--“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all (Gr. ephapax-efapax).” Christ
Jesus died once for all sin, once for all time, and once for all people.
Did Jesus accomplish His
mission, or did He fail? In His day, His
success shall be evident to all!
Matthew 13:47-50
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net,
that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and
sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels
shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
The kingdom of heaven is like
a fish net that was cast into the sea, and gathered every kind of fish. When it was full, they drew to shore, and sat
down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw the bad fish away.
The end of the world or {age}
(Gr. aioonos-aiwnoV) will be like that. The angels shall come forth, and
separate the wicked from the just.
Matthew 13:51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye
understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Jesus asked, “Have you
understood all these things?
They answered, “Yes,
Lord.”
The fact is that they did
not understand that they did not understand the grace involved in the
parables. That message would be given to
Paul, not to the original Apostles.
It is my opinion that if
they had told Jesus that they did not fully understand, He would have opened
their eyes to God’s grace.
Matthew 13:52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every
scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that
is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
Then Jesus said, “Because
of that every scribe that is learned in things of the kingdom is like a man
that is a homeowner that brings new treasure out of standard words.”
Please notice that Jesus
qualifies His statement about the scribes.
They must be instructed “unto the kingdom of heaven.”
Most Jewish Scribes were
instructed in the things of Jewish tradition, but not unto the things of
heaven. Today, we find that the
denominational Pastors and Teachers are instructed in the traditions of their
denominations.
Matthew 13:53-58
53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he
departed thence.
54 And when he was come into his own country, he
taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said,
Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother
called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence
then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended
in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his
own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of
their unbelief.
When Jesus finished
explaining these parables, He left that area, and went back to his own country
(Nazareth in Galilee). There, He taught
in the synagogue, and they were astonished.
The people there wanted to
know, “How did this man become so learned? Isn’t this the carpenter's son?
Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brethren, James, Joseph, Simon, and
Judas? And aren’t his sisters with us? So, where did He learn all this new teaching?”
They were offended by him.
So, Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and
in his own house.”
He did not do many
miracles there, because of their unbelief.
Many who do not understand
the power of God teach that their lack of faith nullified Jesus’ power. Such a teaching is due to spiritual ignorance
or heresy!
Jesus did not give “that
which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine” (Matthew
7:6). Jesus was highly selective in
doing miracles, and teaching things of God’s Kingdom.
Notice that the people
there knew Jesus’ brothers and sisters.
By the way, the story that
Mary was an eternal virgin is completely bogus! The story of her resurrection
is also completely bogus! The Roman Catholic opinion that Mary is a co-mediator
with Christ Jesus is also a lie.