Heads Up

After Jesus had finished telling the parables of the kingdom in Matthew thirteen, He asked the disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” (Matthew 13.51). They answered, “Yes.” I find that answer amusing, since the parables of the kingdom have always been one of the most puzzling sections of the Word of God to most…

The last parable in Matthew 13 introduces a new life situation, fishing and fishermen, but it makes almost the same points as the parable of the wheat and tares growing up together until the harvest, when there is a gathering of both followed by a separation. In the last of these parables, a gathering of…

It is not surprising that the merchant in Matthew thirteen recognized the value of the special pearl, for he had been seeking pearls and had presumably learned their value (or lack of value) through his seeking. Nor is it surprising that the man who discovered the hidden treasure saw its value. He was not seeking…

A caricature of Calvinism takes issue with the doctrines of election and “irresistible” grace. It imagines a case in which a certain individual – we’ll call him Kirk – does not want to be saved. Kirk loves sin and never looks beyond it. Although he has heard the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith…

Jesus’ parables of the Weeds, Mustard Seed, and Leaven in Matthew 13.24-43 bring us to a final thought about Christians and the Church. As Christians, we must be on guard against Satan’s tactics. We are warned not only against his infusion of his own people into the Christian community but also against the visible Church’s…

Many commentators have divergent views when it comes to Jesus’ Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven (Matthew 13.31-33). Some see these tales as pictures of the steady growth and influence of the Church; however, it seems they alert us to two more strategies Satan uses to harm the Church in the period between…