Through congregation, let us turn in God's holy word to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13, and we'll begin reading at verse 10, and we'll read through verse 17. Comes in the context of Jesus. sitting by the sea, and the multitudes gathered around, and he got into a boat, and as the multitude stood on the shore, he began to speak to them in parables. And we have the parable of the sower, which we hope to look at in a couple weeks, when we look at the first of a few parables that we want to look at for over the next several months. But I want to begin with verse 10 because the disciples are asking an important question about why Jesus teaches in parables, and hopefully that will give us an understanding of parables for the sermon this day. Let us hear God's word, Matthew 13, verse 10. And the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? He answered and said unto them, because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him will, him more will be given, and he will have abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive, for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For surely I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. Amen, may God bless the reading of his precious and infallible word. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, Our theme this morning will be why parables? Maybe first of all I can explain to you why I would like to go through a series of sermons on parables. In the past we have looked at various New Testament epistles such as Hebrews and Galatians. We have seen the redemptive work of Christ through the Gospels, in particular through remembering the redemptive work of Christ year by year. In the Old Testament, we looked at prophecies such as Daniel. We looked at prophets such as Elijah and Elisha. And in Elisha, we saw many also similarities to the miracles of Jesus. And although the law and prayer highlight some of Jesus' teaching ministry, one area that we haven't heard much of are the parables of Jesus. And these parables of Jesus hold valuable gospel instruction from the word of God and really get to the heart of the veiled glory of God in Jesus Christ and his ministry. And we'd like to pray that the Holy Spirit will unveil that glory and that we would know, see, hear, and know Jesus in truth and to grow in that knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so As we do so, we recognize that the disciples are coming and asking Jesus not why a series of sermons on parables, but why do you speak to them, the multitudes, in parables? And we recognize that this question, this question comes in the midst of the parable of the sower, which we hope to look at next, but it also ties into the parable of the sower, so I will draw a little bit from it again when we do look at the parable of the sower, but I want to ask ourself then a couple questions as we understand parables. First of all, what are parables? We could define parable as it's broadly defined as it could even be a proverb or a riddle, an allegory or some kind of metaphor that's used or simply an illustration to make a comparison. But what we need to specifically see about Jesus' parables, his story parables, is that it's an extended metaphor, it's an extended comparison that contains a story. And so he's telling the people things like, the kingdom of heaven is like, and then gives a parable to illustrate it and compare it. And so many have said, that parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings. But I would argue that, although that is true, that it doesn't fully describe Jesus' parables. Jesus' parables are real earthly life situations. They're not some kind of fiction or fables that you might get from veggie tales, nor are they allegories like you would get from something like John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. These real life pictures and situations are that which moral and spiritual truths are taught. And sometimes they are also declarations of a verdict of God. So for example, if it's a real life picture of a story, a truth that is taught, it's going to produce a response. It's going to draw out of us a response. And that's why Jesus often says, he who has an ear to hear, let him hear. Let him understand and let him now apply this to his own life. Other times they are to, as I pointed out, declare a verdict. For example, the prodigal son. Sometimes we think about this all being about the prodigal son who is lost and then is found. Well, those three parables in Luke 15 are dealing with those things which were lost but now are found that produces great joy. It's a joy of finding a lost sheep, or that lost coin, or the joy that the father has with the return of the prodigal son. And that joy wasn't evident in the Pharisees, nor was it evident in the older son. And Jesus is declaring to the Pharisees, you are the man. I'm declaring a verdict. that you don't have joy in lost sinners coming to God. That's the point of those laws. It's declaring a verdict. But as these parables and these real life illustrations are either instructing to provoke a response or declaring a verdict, this is the word of God. the word of the Lord Jesus in his instruction. And these parables are not just simply illustrations, is what I want to point out. And as we properly interpret Jesus' parables, we need to recognize that they're not just illustrations like a pastor would make to drive home a point. Jesus used illustrations, too, to drive home a point. He'd maybe say something like, well, no one puts new wine into old wineskins. That's an illustration to drive home a point. Or various illustrations, as he calls himself, the vine, or the shepherd, or the door. These parables are more than that. The parables are unveiling the mysteries of the kingdom of God, the glory of Christ and his kingdom are being unveiled. And it's not that they're always providing clarity to those who hear it. That's the point. An illustration used by a pastor is to help provide clarity to the doctrine that is taught so you can better grasp it and understand it. But actually, many times, Jesus' parables actually create more confusion. They actually don't shed light and reveal self-evident truth in themselves without the explanation of Jesus. And many times, Jesus doesn't explain it to the crowds. He gives this parable of the sower in Matthew 13 here and doesn't even explain it to the multitude who are gathered there. And his disciples ask him, why are you teaching in parables after they had left? And then they ask him for the explanation and he explains it to them, but not to the crowds. And so Jesus has an intentional emphasis on these parables to sometimes even intentionally create a fog, as it were, or confusion, to veil a revealed truth, leaving the hearers wondering, what does this all mean? Driving them to search it out and to ask the questions, explain this to us, as the disciples did. Or other times, he does so to allow them to continue in their hardened heart and unbelief. And this is really the grace of God then that prompts the disciples to question, why parables? And what does this all mean? And we have to acknowledge that the disciples weren't asking this because this is the first time they ever witnessed any kind of teaching from any time in history about like parables. This isn't a new form of communication or instruction. There were parables in the Old Testament. We're just saying it's from Psalm 78 where he's going to open his mouth in parables. But we also find examples of parables being used already in Judges chapter 9. In Judges chapter 9, in the parable of the trees, Jotham, when Abimelech was made king and then to reveal his downfall, gives a parable of trees. In Samuel 12, we find there 2 Samuel 12, we find there Nathan confronting David with that illustration of that one guy took the only lamb and offered it. And what should we do with this guy? And David's like, oh, this real life situation as it were before him. He says, he says, that man needs to be prosecuted. And Nathan says, you da man. That was a parable. Ezekiel has several parables as well. And so rather, the disciples aren't asking if this is, why now this new form of teaching? Rather, the disciples are asking, why use this veiled form of revelation here, rather than making a plain, clear statement so that all the people could understand? Well. This is actually quite an effective tool for teaching. As God has ordained this and Jesus uses it, parables were very effective for Jesus to use as a teaching tool, but also to uncover hypocrisy. And Jesus is taking this teaching to a whole new level. At that level, the disciples were wondering why, why are parables used in this way? Why is this truth being veiled for the crowds? Why not just speak plainly? I trust sometimes, even in a classroom setting, when the teacher is just giving you information after information after information, bullet point after bullet point after bullet point, and you would just memorize it all, you would say, now I know it all, right? Well, my memory like that, if I memorize it all like that, the next day it's gone. But when the teacher asks you a probing question, with an illustration, and then gets you to understand the concepts of things, then all of the sudden, what is being taught, it makes sense, and you don't easily forget it. This is the point of Jesus' parables. But to those who don't get it, they don't get it. as we think about parables and what they are. And we need to understand the danger that could arise from preaching on the parables and reading the parables, trying to understand these parables. We need to understand that Scripture and the parables of Jesus are not left to our private interpretation. We can't just go and interpret them however we would like and make applications however we would like. We need to do so very intentional. What I mean by that is we need to understand the very context that this parable comes in. For example, the original audience. Here in Matthew 13, you had the crowds coming along the shore and Jesus going into the boat and teaching them. He's teaching them about how to enter into the kingdom of heaven. and what that all means. Now, if you go to Luke 15, for example, with the prodigal son, you have the Pharisees questioning him. And they're questioning whether Jesus should be sitting with these publicans and sinners. And therefore, the context helps you to understand the very main point of the parable. Because each parable of Jesus has a big idea, a main point, or what we call a central teaching. It can have several applications, but one main point is what he's trying to drive home. And so, for example, if you were preaching on the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, you wouldn't go and try to explain that doctrine from the parable of the sword, because that's not what Jesus was teaching about. And you can make all kinds of false doctrines because of this parable of the sower. For example, that seed that comes up and then it withers and dies, or it gets choked out by the thorns, shows that, you know, we could be born again, but, but if we don't bear forth fruit, then ultimately we will be rejected by God and cast out. And so therefore, you know, you have to persevere to the end, because that's up to you to bear that fruit. Well, that's not what Jesus is teaching in the parable of the sower. We'll look at that next time. But you get my point. We have to be very careful as to how we instruct and teach from these parables. We need to have the big idea and the main point in mind. And we need to be faithful to the text. We need to make sure that we don't make applications that Jesus isn't intending to make. nor should we allegorize parables. They aren't allegories like Pilgrim's Progress, as I pointed out earlier. And there have been some very fanciful allegories that come out of these parables. I'll just give you an illustration of one. We know the parable of the Good Samaritan quite well in our minds, I'm sure. And this man, that man that was going down to Jerusalem, and the allegory goes like this, that was Adam. That's a picture of Adam. And that's what Jesus is trying to show, that he's going from Jerusalem, really the heavenly city of peace, from which Adam fell. It's like paradise. And he fell out of paradise. And Jericho is going off into the world. And it signifies Adam's mortality. And these robbers are the devils and the angels, the serpent that stripped Adam of his immortality and beat him by persuading him to sin and left him half dead. And now this priest and Levite, the ministry of the Old Testament, come by and they just walk right by. And the Samaritan is now Christ himself. He comes and he bandages up his wounds by binding the restraint of sin, and gives oil, the comfort of good hope, and wine, exhortation to work with the fervency of the Spirit. And the inn is the church, and the next day is the day after Jesus' resurrection. And those two coins are the promise of life and the life to come. And the innkeeper himself was the Apostle Paul. Well, that's an allegorization of the Good Samaritan. And yet, that's where some people go with the parables. And that is not what Jesus meant at all. The main point needs to be clearly articulated and fanciful interpretations and applications need to be avoided. and you can hold me to account to that as I go through the parables. And yet, that main point needs to be translated and applied in our context to demand a response of Jesus' parables and his instruction today, and also to expose when it's calling us and declaring to us that we are the man. I need to be faithful to God's Word and Jesus' purpose in parables. What then is Jesus' purpose in using parables? Well, Jesus answers this question of the disciples, doesn't he? He answers this question by saying, because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. So the very first purpose of Jesus using this miracle is he tells, he answers the disciples' question with this. Because it's been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. These mysteries that have been kept secret but now I am revealing them to you. This is God's gracious revelation. It's God's gracious revelation of himself, of his love, of his mercy, and of his grace. Think about the father welcoming home the prodigal son and what that testifies of the father's love and of his mercy and of his grace. Think about the justice of God. The justice of God by the wheat and the tares and that the wheat will be gathered in and that the tares will be burned. Think about how much of it speaks about the purpose of God and his kingdom. This is all a self-revelation of God and it's a self-revelation of his kingdom. They teach about how to enter into his kingdom, the parable of the sower, through the word of God and through faith. Growing in the kingdom, think of that in Matthew 13, of the parables of the mustard seed, and how that tree just grew and grew, and how that leaven just spread and spread in the parable of the leaven, the growing of his kingdom. And living in his kingdom, as I pointed out, the Good Samaritan, or the one who is forgiven much. These are all how to live in God's kingdom. And so God is revealing himself and revealing his kingdom. And it's a gracious revelation. And it's gracious according to his electing purpose into his kingdom. Notice what he says. Not only are the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven being revealed, But he says it's according to his electing purpose, his gracious electing purpose. He tells his disciples, because it has been given to you to know. For you to know. It's God who's causing the disciples to know. They are disciples because Jesus chose them to be his disciples. And they are understanding these things because God gave them the understanding. In verse 51 of Matthew 13 here, Jesus says to them, after he goes through several more parables, he says, have you understood these things? And they said to him, yes, Lord, we understood. This is because God caused them to understand through the instruction and the explanation of Jesus. And it all is grounded in God's cause of choosing his disciples. Jesus says to his disciples in John 15 verse 16, you did not choose me, but I chose you. This is God's gracious way of revealing himself to the disciples. And now The disciples have this word, and they write it down in the words of Scripture by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and God has set us apart to hear that word. He's revealing it also to us. The disciples, they still struggled with understanding. even until the resurrection and on Pentecost. And they understood more and more. And Peter says this in 2 Peter 1. And we had a wonderful experience and time with Jesus as we understood his teaching, even saw him on the Mount to Transfiguration. But you, you have a more sure word, a certain word, a word that is confirmed. We have a prophetic word that's confirmed. sure testimony. Do you understand what a privilege it is to have God's gracious, divine revelation of the mysteries of His kingdom? Do you ever stand in amazement at the truth of the privileges we have? Sometimes young people begin to ask you, oh, well, what would have it been like or Oh man, I would even wish that I was able to sit by the seashore here in Matthew 13 and see Jesus on that boat, seeing him doing miracles in the surrounding areas and hearing this teaching. Then, then I would be sure to have believed. Or if only I was with the disciples on that Mount of Transfiguration. Well then, I would believe. Peter says, no. You have the word confirmed. It's sure, it's steadfast, and it's clear. More clear than the multitudes of that day who heard Jesus. We have the fullest, gracious, divine revelation of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven available to us in all of history. We have been born in a time that's more privileged than those who were instructed from Jesus' own mouth. And yet the point still remains. We are completely dependent on God to hear, to know, and to understand. Because all of these matters are mysteries. and they can't be perceived by unaided human reason. We need to have enlightened minds, else we cannot see the kingdom of God. Whether it's the disciples or whether it's us, it's all of God's pure, sovereign, electing purpose and grace. that we have this treasure in these parables. And to some, this grace is given, and to others, it's not. We should simply stand back and say and confess, amazing grace. What made us any different? It's God's gracious self-revelation. That's what Jesus wants us to know. But it's also a gracious, sovereign revelation. As I pointed out, it's according to God's electing purpose. Notice how this text, how Jesus says this in this text. To you it has been given. God is the cause to give it to you. But to them it has not been given, which is also God's will and his eternal sovereign purpose. And we may even begin to ask ourselves, is this even fair or right? Why wouldn't Jesus just tell the crowds clearly and plainly as the disciples? The disciples have the same question that might come into our minds. Jesus, after all, if you're not going to explain what you just told these crowds, why did you even tell them anything? What was the point of it? Is it even pointless for him to speak anymore in parables to the crowds if he's not going to explain the meaning to them and to be clear with them? Well, Jesus wants to illustrate And even though he clearly is stating that God is sovereign and giving to some and not to others, humans are 100% responsible. And here Jesus actually uses a proverb, a proverb, not another parable, but a proverb to highlight our human responsibility in verse 12. He says, for whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. You see, what Jesus is saying to them is, you can never be just standing still in the kingdom of heaven. You're either going to be gaining or losing. You're going to be advancing or declining. And the responsibility lies with you. And he's saying, according to heaven's rule, progress is made and assured in the blessings of the kingdom of heaven when it's alive and real in your heart and being exercised. And then you will have more. Maybe I can use an illustration to drive this proverb home. There was once a time in my own life where I was probably grade two or three when I started learning how to play the piano. And I could play OK. I didn't like it. I give it to our musicians who play so beautifully for us. I wish I would have kept it up myself when I was young, but I got to grade six about, and I run my finger through a V-belt pulley and just smashed it really, really bad. It was a great excuse for me to quit piano lessons and quit playing. And my mom couldn't get me back on that piano for anything after that. I could play then. And if I would have kept it up and kept practicing and kept playing more, I could probably play piano with the best of us here today. But I didn't. And guess what? Over time, you lose it. And now I got to really think if I can play, I can read, I can write. No, I can do a little better than that. But you get the point. If God has given you a gift and you exercise it and you use it to the best of your ability and exercise yourself in it, you're going to grow in it and you're going to have abundance in it. But if you have it and you give it up, you will lose it all. And that is dependent upon you and me, whether we're going to exercise it. And so what Jesus is doing is highlighting the very responsibility of man. And he doesn't just do it with this proverb, but he also does it right from the prophecy of Isaiah. In Isaiah he says, Sorry, Jesus goes on to say in verse 13 first, Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. They have been given all of these treasure of the Word of God. They've witnessed the miracles of God. They have seen it all. My people, my covenant people have had so many blessings, and yet they have forsaken it. They see, they hear, but they don't truly see, and they don't truly understand. And so what is prophesied by Isaiah is being fulfilled, or what you might say, being filled up. He's saying, hearing, That was not God's fault that they became dull of hearing. That was not God's fault that they closed their eyes. That was not God's fault Because the hearts of the people had grown dull and they were hard of hearing. No, it was his people's fault. It was because the people had decided not to really see, not to really hear. And therefore, God addresses them and Jesus is addressing them by parables to expose that very truth. Yes, indeed, God hardens the heart of a Pharaoh, but then in the next chapter in Exodus, it talks about Pharaoh hardened his heart. You can't separate the two. Yes, God is 100% sovereign, and man is 100% responsible, and that tension always comes through, but we can never ever place the blame on God for not understanding and not truly seeing. You see, what Jesus is doing here is he's pointing out the purpose of these parables are to reveal judgment and salvation. The same sun that will melt a pot of wax, that same sun will harden a pot of clay. And that's what the gospel does. It's a saver of life unto life, or it's a saver of death unto death. That word, it opens the hearts of some to receive Christ, and it confirms others in their rebellion against Christ. And that's what the parables do. They become doors by which some enter into the glory of Christ's kingdom, and for others, it shuts them out from the blessings of the kingdom. And so when Jesus instructs us in parables and the gospel is preached, there's always a response. It's either a faith and repentance or the hardening of our hearts. We are 100% responsible. He who has a year to hear, let him hear. And in hearing, Jesus is saying these parables are blessed and you will be blessed by gospel revelation. Notice verse 16. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear. For assuredly, I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. What a blessing. What a blessing to be able to hear the gospel. What a blessing to be able to understand the gospel. And what a blessing to know this gospel. So many of the prophets and the righteous men of the Old Testament, they looked and tried to peer into what it would be like when the Son of Man would come in His glory and dwell among us and unveil this teaching that we might truly see. But they could not see it in full. They could hear it, and yet not in full. But you, he says, blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. What a great blessing the disciples could receive. They could meditate on these vivid images and the moving pictures and the real life situations of these parables and have hooks to hang the truths that Jesus was teaching them upon to be able to ask for more and more explanation, and to learn and to grow deeper into the instruction that Jesus had for them. What a blessing it was for them, but what a greater blessing it is even for us. We can have the parable. the questions of the disciples, the answers of Jesus, and the full gospel revelation given to us, oh, that we too would be blessed, that our eyes would see and that our ears would hear. You see, this gospel revelation through the parables of Jesus is Him, as it were, unveiling the mysteries of the kingdom, the revelation of God Himself. As we do so, and we recognize that God veils things, to create suspense, as it were, in our lives, so that we would want to dig deeper into them, and to draw out the truths of them, and be edified by them. Think of Proverbs 25, verse two. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter, Maybe can illustrate that proverb with an illustration as we close. God is giving us, as it were, a present, a gift to his church, all wrapped up in a parable. It's got a nice fancy wrapping with a bow on it, We have a parable. Children, how many of you would take the gift that your parents give you, all nicely wrapped up with a bow on it, and set it on your nightstand and look at it? Look, I have a gift. I have a gift. And you tell your friends, I have a gift. And you tell your other friend, I have a gift. Look at my gift. You aren't going to do that, are you? It's only going to take a matter of seconds, and you're tearing off the bow. You barely had time to read the card that may be on it, and you're ripping the paper off. Why? Because you want to get at the gift. You want to know what the gift is. You want to search out the matter. It's the same with the parables. Jesus is giving the gift. And it's His gracious blessing when His disciples are asking, what does this mean? And we dig into the word and Jesus' explanation so that we who have ears to hear would hear. And that it would be a savor of life unto life. The saver of death unto death would be just to put that gift on the shelf and say we don't need to go there. And I pray that not a one of us will do that with the gift of the parables that God has given us, amen. Let's pray. Lord, we give thanks for your word. The whole counsel of God that is given to us What a privilege we have to be instructed and counseled at the very feet of Jesus. And we pray, O Lord, that you would richly bless your parables that you have instructed your people with for centuries now, that we would Find grace to enter into your kingdom and grow in your kingdom and live as worthy subjects of your kingdom, to your honor and to your glory. Expose hearts of unbelief and hardness. Grant us grace to tear open the gifts that you have given to us and to find the gift and the treasures that you have left to us. For Christ's sake we pray, amen.