Mathew - Chapter 13

1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 

• It was preceded by a meeting with the family.
• Now, apparently, he wanted to give space to everyone who wanted to meet him. He was looking for a suitable place to teach the masses.
• But he planned, as we shall see, to speak in parables.
• The question is whether he already had a class prepared or if he was speaking off the cuff.

2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 

• The interest was huge, practically unmanageable. The opportunity to pass on information to those present was limited.
• If there were, say, a thousand or several thousand people present, how many of them (besides the disciples) had a chance to hear Jesus clearly? If he was shouting and articulating clearly, maybe a hundred or two hundred of present?
• It also depended on the configuration of the shore - if it was flat, the second or third row didn't have much chance. If sloping, it was better. It also depended if the wind was blowing and/or the waves were roaring.
• The boat separated Jesus from the crowd, at least in the sense that they could not press in on Him.
• In the series The Chosen, when preaching to the five thousand, the disciples were placed among the crowd and Jesus' words were reproduced, passed on. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke from the stage.

3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out ⁽to sow.⁾.

• If we try to put ourselves in the shoes of one person in the crowd: I have come to hear a preacher whose teaching and supernatural powers are much talked about. I am anxiously awaiting what he will consider serious enough to bring up publicly. I have difficulty in catching his every word.
• He's starting to talk. But he's not talking directly. He speaks in parables. He starts by a sower.
• What did those present think? The sower was universally present and known. It was a farming company, everyone had the opportunity to be a sower or to see one. It wasn't a very hard job - the sower had the grain hanging on his chest and was systematically spreading it on the ground.
• The imaginations of everyone present "clicked", no one had a problem imagining the situation.

4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

• We find that it is not about the person of the sower, but about the sowing.
• Everyone knew that even with the best will, the sower was not 100% effective. It is not in his power to ensure that every seed is placed ideally. Especially if he sows at the edge of the field, some of the seed will fall outside the field, i.e. 'wrong'.
• These are seeds along the path. Along what path? More like on the path. There must be an access path around the field, and some of the sowing has gone to it, or rather onto it. There is no humus at all, the seed is unprotected, has nowhere to go, nowhere to hide and is easily and quickly consumed, i.e. disposed of. It has no chance at all to express itself. Perhaps there is also an even greater concentration of birds near the path than elsewhere.

5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,

• The field had its rocky sections where the humus layer was very thin. Not zero, but thin. The seed grew, but without the ability to take root to any great depth. All the roots remained only superficial, dependent on a thin layer of soil.

6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 

• Without roots buried in the deeper layers, the plant has nowhere to draw moisture from in the heat. The surface layer of humus does not hold enough water and dries out quickly. In a situation of increased need, it inevitably perishes from "thirst".

7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 

• There was plenty of soil, but there was also a lot of competition for light, nutrients and moisture. And the competition was significantly stronger and more aggressive than the plant itself.

8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold,somesixty,.some thirty... 

• One of the four grains turned out well. It fell into the soil, where it was protected and at the same time had enough of everything it needed to live.
• Thus, the process of transformation of the grain into an ear with multiple offspring could occur.
• The number of grains in an ear varies (Jesus must have had an idea, sometimes he counted them for interest, e.g. in his childhood) - in wheat and barley it is said to be from 30 to 60 grains, in corn it is said to be 500-800, perhaps even a thousand.

9 He who has ears, let himhim hear."

• What have listeners been able to take away from the story so far? It was a banality, a statement of chronically known facts: the efficiency of the sowing process is low, not all grains will root.
• However, the appeal He who has ears let himhear clearly shows that Jesus expects His hearers to look for deeper meanings in His words.
• Of course, we all physically do have ears, so Jesus wants to say: Those of you who are interested in the deeper meaning of what has been said and are willing and able to think about it, do so! There's something more to it.

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

• The disciples may seem to have "easily" understood the parables and only wonder why Jesus does not explain them to others.
• Rather, I think they were not much better at understanding than others. That they were just ashamed to admit that they didn't know what they were talking about either, and masked it with concern for others. Instead of Why do you speak to us in parables they just say why do you speak to them.
• Or they understand the meaning of the story and wonder why Jesus is hiding the meaning in secrets.
• However - how much could the disciples and the other listeners understand the parable? Was it real to get the meaning? The sower and the four kinds of soil are in the foreground. But what is Jesus trying to say? It's going to be about the harvest and the obstacles to its production.
• For those of us who know the interpretation, it is hard to dismiss this information with trying to come up with a "solution" in an unbiased way.

11 And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has that not been given. 

• Jesus does not contradict their division into them and us. He agrees that there is a difference in understanding between the disciples and the other hearers.
• The sentence To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it that not been given raises many questions:
  • Does God really want other people not understand the meaning of what is being said and not get the information about how things work in Christ's kingdom?
  • If so, wouldn't it be easier not to tell them anything?
  • Yet Jesus welcomed the listeners and spoke to them willingly. Which is in a contradiction. Why tell someone something I don't want him to understand?
  • Does Jesus or God really want the hearers not understand? It could be understood in an extremely Calvinistic sense: They are predestined by God to reprobation and therefore no matter how I speak, they still won't understand because God is not unlocking their understanding.
  • Possibly more subtly worded: Don't be angry with them and don't blame them for not understanding anything. They haven't revealed it yet, so they can't.
  • I throw information around - then there is a spontaneous selection in the minds of the listeners into those who are given and therefore understand, and those who are not given and therefore understand nothing.
• What is sure is tha to understand the meaning of Christ's words, one needs revelation. In other words, he needs the Holy Spirit to touch his mind and remove the veil of misunderstanding (the human mind is naturally dull or hardened to the things of God because of sin). The disciples received this touch of the mind and were therefore more understanding than others. What Jesus is saying is: Your mind is already unblocked, theirs not yet.
• Generally, Jesus spoke in parables for two reasons:
  • He uses a parable as an illustrative simile in a situation where he wants the audience to understand the matter better (this is not the case here).
  • On the contrary, he uses the parable as a filter; his aim is to prevent superficial listeners from understanding. The meaning of the parable is available to those who desire understanding, who are willing to give it the time and effort.
  • Just as the woman with bleeding had to make her way to Christ through the crowd, so he who wants to understand must make his way through the pitfalls of the parable to make sense of the words.

12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 

• This is a well-known and "strange" principle or law. Jesus is telling us how things work in His kingdom.
• It is not said what "commodity" or wealth is being discussed - what one has and the other does not. We know from the context that it is the ability to understand the things of God including those that are not clear at first sight (secrets).
• What is its strangeness? It seems unfair. But is it really unfair? The alternative is levelling or a solidarity system.
  • Levelling means that "someone" (God) will manage that everyone has the same. He can do this in several ways: if resources are unlimited, he can put everyone on the level of the richest. If resources are limited, he will take from the "rich" and give to the "poor" (solidarity).
  • It is a "leftist" approach - to take from the rich and give to the poor. Communism was built on this concept, and today the leftist approach to the world or to economics is built on it: leftist parties desire to collect taxes to distribute as they see fit. Extremely unkind to say: I'll take money from the industrious and capable and give it to the lazy and incompetent.
  • This leftist approach is not necessarily wrong - Jesus himself taught us solidarity (Eph. 4:28 "Let him who stole steal no more, but rather let him labor and do good works with his hands, that he may have money to give to those who lack), God often calls for the rich to share their wealth, collecting taxes is okay in God's eyes, etc. (That our state is able to collect taxes from its citizens in a "bloodless way" is a great grace - anyone who has ever visited a dysfunctional African state will understand this.)
• But here it is clearly stated that In Christ's kingdom, redistribution or leveling of abilities is not used. Even "worse" - it is just the opposite, the differences will be artificially (by God Himself): magnified: One who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. How is that possible? And what does it mean specifically?
• We are still talking about parables. Jesus seems to be saying: Those who have already received some ability to understand spiritual things will, as a result, be able to receive (and apply to their lives) more and more information. Conversely, those who do not understand will sink further and further in their ignorance until they end up completely without understanding.
• This principle cannot be expanded beyond the topic at hand (the ability to understand spiritual truths). For example, the fact that the economically wealthy continue to get richer and the poor continue to get poorer is sometimes a reality, but it is certainly not a principle that God upholds.
• Similar principles naturally (not by God's initiative) operate in the area of status in society. It is a proven fact that whatever social environment a person comes from, that is the environment in which he or she will end up in the vast majority of cases: If someone is from the middle educated class, nine out of ten he will end up in the middle class. There is little penetration between classes: It is possible to "rise" outside one's class, but it is rarely successful. Teachers know this well: children from "bad families" do not have role models at home, no books, no support, no motivation to learn, etc.
• Returning to spiritual understanding, we see the working of this principle around us on a regular basis. People who are "interested" in God get some basic level of revelation from Him. They usually continue to use it and expand it - they grow spiritually.
• On the other hand, those who are indifferent to spiritual things, or who are only lukewarmly interested in them, gradually decline until they eventually lose their ability to hear God altogether.
• That this principle is applied in the kingdom of God we also know from the parable of the sackcloth.
• It's a kind of the death spiral and the life spiral. The spiral of life is spoken of in 2 Cor. 3:18, "But we all, who with unveiled face reflect as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord."

13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

• Jesus affirms that what is said refers to the capacity for spiritual understanding, which the hearers (unlike the disciples) lack.
• They too receive the same visual and acoustic information - but the "unenlightened" listeners are unable to decipher it.
• There are two ways to understand this approach of God: 'Calvinistically or Arminianically'.
  • Either God has predestined some people to simply not understand and accept the gospel.
  • Or (more likely) some people have deliberately rejected the gospel and thus set themselves on a path of gradually hardening their own hearts to the point of complete inertia.
• This is the aforementioned "death or destruction spiral" that God warns of in Heb. 3:7-8 (Ps. 95:7-8) "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 'If you hear his voice today, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion on the day of temptation in the wilderness.'"
• Summarized: The reason I speak in parables is so that those who reject me will not have access to my information.
• Maybe more: I don't have the opportunity to speak to everyone individually. It could happen that those who do not want to understand would eventually understand; and vice versa, those who want to understand would not be able to understand.
• That is why I speak to people in a general and easily encrypted way, and then the Holy Spirit takes care of the understanding individually.

14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.

• Gr. anaplérún "to fill (a measure) / fill (a gap)"; 
• This is a quotation from Isaiah 6:9n And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed 

15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.'

• We see that the "Arminian" interpretation was true: The people themselves are to blame for their own lack of understanding - the excess of prosperity has led to spiritual laziness and disinterest - and these are then the cause of spiritual lack of understanding and rejection of Christ.
• To people:
  • heart has grown dull, An obese person is satisfied, poorly mobile to "lazy". The fat heart is satisfied with itself and unable to react adequately because of an excess of sensations. A person overindulged in pleasure will not appreciate the taste of the good bread Jesus offers.
  • ears they can barely hear, Inability to hear spiritual impulses.
  • eyes they have closed Deliberate disinterest or refusal. (Eyes, unlike ears, can be closed purposefully).
• lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears
• This lack of interest sets off a sequence of disasters ending in hell: When important information is not let in, the heart has nothing to understand, then he has nothing to react to (can't turn around) and therefore God has no reason to do anything for such a person.

16 But blessed are your eyes, are for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 

• Therefore, be very glad that you do not belong to this inert group, that you have the ability of spiritual understanding - it is a great grace, a great happiness and a gift.

17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, didnot see it, did and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 

• Moreover, you, my disciples, are living in extraordinary times: My (God's) coming to earth is a unique historical event on which the eyes of all men and women of God of all times have been fixed. They all wanted to see it, they longed to be a part of it - and it was not fulfilled for them. It was for you.

18 "Hear then ⁽the parable of the sower:⁾.

• In this case, Jesus Himself does the reinterpretation of the parable. If the grace of understanding was given to anyone else in the listening "crowd" (which is likely), it was revealed to them by the Spirit.
• Moreover, the disciples also did not make "secrets" with the information they obtained - but made it publicly available. We can see that belief is not related to the sufficiency or lack of information - everyone has the same information, and everyone has enough to believe.

19 Ke 19 When anyone hears the word the kingdom the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 

• Takže k jednotlivým případům z našeho podobenství.
• First: the seed sown along the road and then eaten by birds.
• By seed is ment  the word about the kingdom .. That is, the information that "enrollment" in the kingdom of God is already open; whoever wants to can enter.
• Jesus (or his disciples, or all Christians) sows these words among his hearers.
• The problem is that some of the audience do not understand The meaning will escape them.
• In everyday life, situations like this are common. We leak the information that tickets for a concert of our favourite band have already gone on sale - and before we know it, it's sold out. Not that we didn't hear them, but we didn't catch it. We didn't take anything from it. We just didn't go for tickets.
• The birds are the picture of the Evilit means the Devil. The devil makes every effort to keep the information about the possibility of entering Christ's kingdom hidden from us, so that we do not perceive it and arrange ourselves according to it. For if we do, we will slip out of the devil's bondage.
• If the devil in Egypt had succeeded in keeping the Israelites from being informed of the possibility of salvation through the blood of the lamb, they would still be in slaverey today.
• In Noah's contemporaries the devil's work was successful, and so no one was interested in entering the ark.
• The words the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart., shows that the problem was not that the word did not reach the man - he undoubtedly heard and understood it (it reached his heart). The problem was that he didn't deduce anything from the information, he didn't act on it. And so the information about the kingdom was relegated to things of no interest or forgotten altogether.
• During the safety training, the person did not pay attention - he heard the information about the location of the lifeboats, but did not pay attention to it. When the boat starts to sink, he can not find his way to the boats.

20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,

• We are at the interpretation of the second kind of soil - rocky ground. There is soil there, but not much - it is shallow and it is impossible to get deeper.
• hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,: Man records the information of enrollment in the kingdom of God. He will be very interested, excited. He's thrown in the direction it points. In our case, he probably believes, starts going to church, gets baptized. All is well, then.

21yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while , and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

• temporary
• or.: is offended and falls away (Gr. scandalizetai);
• Everything is fine until some problems occur - here they are mentioned tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word. So it is not exclusively about persecution from outside (as is the case in many Muslim and communist) countries of the world, but also about tribulation.
• Tribulation are worries, troubles or problems of all kinds. You could say that as long as Christianity is easy, one sticks to it. As soon as it becomes difficult, he abandons it.
• This is because his interest was only superficial - he didn't go deep, he didn't have roots. Therefore, when there was a lack of moisture in the surface layer, the believer had nowhere to draw from. His roots did not go back to Christ - he only drew from feelings. He had not established a personal relationship with Christ.
• It is important not to make promises when preaching the gospel to people: I have experienced evangelism where the speaker promised prosperity after conversion in the sense of - since I became a Christian, I wear designer clothes and drive a Mercedes. I prayed for a Mercedes and got a Mercedes. I have never been sick again, etc. Such a message can be attractive and people can hear it. But it will only last until they lose their jobs or get sick. Then they are insulted, offended and drop out.
• It is used with the eventual word offend and dropped (gr. skandalizetai). They say to each other: This is a scandal, Christianity doesn't work. I'm out of here.
• Our Master he never promised anyone anything, never enticed anyone. Rather, he warned and discouraged people: Count the load, weigh it again, the road is really narrow, etc.
• When we do not paint Christianity rosy for people, they are not surprised by difficulties and trials: I see, these are the trials you warned us about, they say when the difficulties begin.
• To lure people to the gospel and not tell them about the difficulties it brings is unfair.
• We don't have to promise everyone a martyr's death right away (Jesus didn't do that either), but not glossing over the difficulty of the journey is fair and necessary.
• Deep roots mean that I am a Christian because of Christ Himself, my roots go back to Him. If the reason for my Christianity is anything else (e.g., a mere desire to solve my problems), there is no reason to stay with Christianity when I have difficulties.

22 As for what was sown among thorns, ^[of^] is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

• These are people who hear and register the Gospel, plan to become Christians or will become Christians. (More likely the latter, since the plant is obviously growing).
• But some things will prevent the plant from growing successfully. These are:
  • the cares of ^[of^] worldA: It's about people who have too much to do.
    • The cares or worries of this age are obviously not meant negatively - it's not that they are only apparent worries, they admit too much worry, they are oversensitive or anything like that. They really do worry. Living in this world brings worry, there's nothing you can do about it.
  • the deceitfulness of richesThis is obviously already a negative thing. Deceitfulness is always of the bad. Wealth is given excessive and undue attention. Wealth in itself is not evil, the problem is precisely that the pursuit of it draws people away from the really important things.
• Choke the wordThe plant has no living space between the thorns (nowhere to develop, nowhere to grow) , no moisture and no nutrients - everything is consumed by the thorns. In our case, man is too busy dealing with worries or business and has no space, energy or time left for the things of God.
• It proves unfruitful.and therefore will not produce a crop. A harvest of good works is expected from Christians. If they are overwhelmed with worry or striving to get rich, there will be no more good works.
• These are two absolutely common models - The world is full of former or nominal Christians, completely overwhelmed by troubles or overloaded with work or business.
• What is the way out of this model? After all, there will always be worries, and money is fine.

23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. Heindeed bears fruit and yields,somein one case a hundredfold,.in another sixty, and in another thirty."..“ 

• gr.: + does;
• There can be no doubt that the harvest is the goal. The goal is not the salvation of the seed, but the harvest.
• Different people have different harvests - and that's okay. People are different, circumstances are different - God does not assume or require that everyone's production be the same.
• This is not meant negatively - it is not a rebuke to those who produced "only" thirty grains. The harvest came in, and that is the main thing.
• What is the harvest of Christians? Good works. Sometimes other Christians
• Even thirty times is an impressive number - that one small grain has the potential to grow thirty more is miraculously remarkable.
• In the same way, even the "smallest" Christian has the potential for great fruit. There are just a few things to watch out for:
  • seek to understand and implement the gospel we have heard in our lives
  • not to let it be taken, stolen, snatched
  • to be a Christian "for Christ's sake", to establish a relationship with Christ himself (deep root)
  • then we are able to overcome periods of tribulation or persecution
  • not to be distracted by worries
  • not to be seduced by the pursuit of wealth

24 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of ⁽heaven may be compared⁾ to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 

• gr: it has been likened;
• If it's a parable, it's in a series. Jesus is trying to explain other aspects of his kingdom.
• He speaks to all men, not just the disciples (the reasons have already been discussed and will be). The interpretation of some is then given in private to the disciples)
• We stay in agriculture: the farmer sows. The seed is of good quality.
• Interpretation will follow, but not immediately.

25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 

• gr.: add sowing
• ř. zizanion - a weed similar to wheat;
• An act of pure malice. An attempt to do harm. Irrational, but subtle. You'd expect the enemy to trample the field or set it on fire. But the enemy does not go into such an open confrontation - probably because he does not have the means for an open war.
• They therefore choose a much more sophisticated way of harassment.

26 So when the plants came up ⁽and bore grain,⁾then the weeds appeared also. 

• For quite a long time the presence of weeds was not noticeable. It only became apparent after a while.

27And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? ⁽How then does⁾ it have weeds?' 

• Legitimate wonder: where did the weeds come from?
• How is it possible that a perfectly good seed produced a mixture of plants?

28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 

• The reality is - there is an enemy, there is evil. It cannot be turned a blind eye to it, it cannot be ignored.
• The owner had the means to make order (weed out the weeds) immediately.

29 But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along . them.

• But even an owner with such power is not able to plough his fields without collateral damage.
• This is surprising information - there are things even God can't do.
• In the case of weeds, this is understandable - the root systems of both wheat and weeds are necessarily intertwined from the start of growth, and easy separation without damaging the crop is not possible.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" 

• The owner's solution is simple - he does not intervene against weeds until the harvest. Weeds certainly deprive the wheat of nutrients, light, water and space, but they cannot prevent it from growing and maturing.
• (If there were no "weeds" in the churches, things would certainly be easier, but weeds cannot kill the church).
• Weeds are not too different from wheat - they look similar, they work similarly, and they are also a pretty plant. There is only one difference between them - wheat produces a crop, weeds do not.
• From the perspective of looking into the church, this is a warning - the "weeds" cannot be known by anything other than the absence of a harvest. All other features are indistinguishable, a plant is a plant.

31 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

• Before we get to the interpretation of the parable of the weeds, let's hear a few more parables. All of them deal with the issue of the kingdom of God.
• It is again an agricultural parable, this time sowing mustard (a yellow plant familiar from our fields).

32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than ⁽all the⁾ garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." 

• [not meant absolutely, but was the smallest seed used by farmers];
• gr.: become 
• The contrast in size is emphasised - the seeds of mustard are tiny (certainly under a millimetre), while the adult plant can reportedly grow to the size of a shrub or small tree (black mustard is said to grow up to 2-3 metres).
• It doesn't sound like much to me, our mustard isn't even close to anything like that - either Jesus was talking about a different plant or their mustard had different properties.
• This does not change the meaning of the story - the contrast between the small seed and the large plant is universal in nature, especially noticeable, for example, in trees: the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), specifically the tree known as General Sherman in Sequoia National Park, California, USA is 84 m tall, has a volume of 1500 m3 of wood, with a seed about 0.5 cm long and weighs 5-10 mg.
• The interpretation of this parable is quite simple: Jesus wants to point out the smallness and insignificance of His kingdom in presence in contrast to its future greatness and significance.
• In other words: How small something appears in the present is no indication of its future significance.
• The kingdom of God was in its infancy in Jesus' day: a few disciples and followers of a traveling preacher in an insignificant Roman province at the "end of the world." Zero political and social significance.
• However, the future of Christ's kingdom is, as we now see and will see even more in the future, historical: it is the most significant, most history-making event of history. From a small "sect" in Israel, God gave birth to something that offers a path to salvation for all mankind
• At Christ's return an inconspicuous seed "flips" into a huge tree definitively and visibly.
• The birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.": It points to the ability of God's kingdom to save people. As birds find shelter and safety in the branches of a tree, so interested people can find their home in Christ's kingdom.

33 He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." 

• on measure is approx. 13 litres 
• The same principle of the parable - the contrast between the small and the large: Between a pinch of yeast that is able to fundamentally change the quality of almost forty litres of dough.
• Christ's kingdom is like leaven - subtle and small. But its impact on the world around us is surprisingly profound. Were it not Christianity, the quality of the world would be incomparably worse. Even if it doesn't seem like it, Christians positively impact the world in far-reaching ways.
• It is quite possible that if it were not for Christians as islands of positive deviance, as lights in the darkness, the world would be indigestible to the Lord and would have been destroyed long ago.

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; ^[indeed^] he said nothing to themwithout a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth ^[in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."^].‘

• Jesus has already quoted from Isaiah in this context: (6:9-10) And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed 
• This is not a quotation from Isaiah, but from Asaph's Psalm 78:2nn 2I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.. So it seems that the CSP inserted the word of Isaiah unjustifiably.
• But in the psalm, the context is different - the goal is for the hearers (the children) to understand, not to misunderstand.
• Matthew takes the verse somewhat out of context. Apparently, this was because Matthew was so "steeped" in the Word of God that biblical references kept "jumping out" at him - but the larger context did not occur to him at the time.

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." 

• The others ´parables they did not want to interpret , so probably they understood them.

37 He answered "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. . 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 

• Concise and clear explanations - each term is assigned its symbolic meaning.

40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, ⁽so will it⁾be at the close of the age. 

• In the harvest, everything that has grown in the field is pulled up. There is no longer any danger of damage to the crop.
• Only now comes the phase of sorting for crops and weeds.
• The weeds are destroyed - they are useless.

41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,

• gr.: Lawlessness
• The gathering of the weeds is from the kingdom of God, so presumably from the church? On the other hand, Jesus explains that the field = the world, not the church.
• The interpretation can therefore be twofold:
  • God does not intervene against evil in this world, He lets it "run rampant" because simply eliminating evil people without "harming" others is not possible. At the end of the ages (Jesus' return, or rather later at the final judgment) this planet will be completely "plowed over" so that the fear of collateral damage will no longer be in place. Unbelievers (not washed in the blood of Christ) will be eliminated.
  • Or they talk about evil people only looking or pretending to be Christians. They are left in the church until Christ returns, only then are they unmasked and eliminated.
• Other interesting insights from the parable:
  • The sons of the evil are described as those who causes of sin and all law-breakers, That is, as people who don't care about God and his views, they aren ´t interested in them. Thus they negatively affect their surroundings.
  • The devil is working in the world and in the church. He supports them in their activities.
  • God sees to it that the good seed reaches the world - those who believe become God's children and bear a harvest of good works. The rest remain weeds that only "compete for resources."
  • The final harvest will be carried out by angels: So not only will they gather all the true believers from all the churches of the world at Christ's return and gather them to the Mount of Olives, but (probably later, at the final judgment) they will also gather all the others and cast them into hell after the judgment.

42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

• It is certainly an image of hell or a lake of fire. We may hope that it is a symbolic image, where the fire is the unceasing burning consciousness of final defeat. The idea that I have definitely missed something I shouldn't have missed is unbearable - weeping and gnashing of teeth. is then a perfect description of the resulting intractable despair.
• What is clearly good about our lives is that as long as we live, there is hope that we will eventually reach God. Even the thief on the cross reversed his fate at the last moment. But separation from God without the possibility of a second chance is already final and terrible, it is hell.

43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let himhear

• Hidden and inconspicuous things become obvious. At last, "who was right" will become apparent. Those who have steadfastly pursued goodness and justice in obscurity will be exalted. Many things will be different than we imagine - the inconspicuous will be lifted up and the crooked brought low. They will be shown for what they really are.

44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 

• After explaining one parable (at the request of the disciples), Jesus goes on to give more and more parables about other aspects of His kingdom.
• This parable is a short "one-sentence".
• The plot is not entirely simple: A man accidentally finds a treasure hidden in a foreign field. Maybe it was a worker who was cultivating someone else's field and came across the treasure while hoeing or plowing. When he discovered that it was a treasure of great value (e.g., a jar or box full of gold), he considered what to do next. If he simply took the treasure (or moved it to his field), it would be theft. If he reported the find to the owner of the field, he would legitimately appropriate the treasure. (Maybe he would have given the finder some finder's fee, maybe not).
• The only way to come by the treasure in a legitimate way was to buy the land.
• The hero of the story takes all his savings, all his possessions and buys the fields.
• It is a fradu against the original owner - he sells the field without knowing about the treasure.
• It's like stumbling upon oil on my neighbor's barren land. I'd buy it from him for a few bucks and then become a billionaire because of the oil I found. The law hasn't been broken, but as the original owner, I would feel morally justified in feeling that I had been ripped off.
• Such speculation on the basis of information available only to some is quite common: A councillor buys an inconspicuous plot of land that he knows will one day be crossed by a motorway. A professional philatelist buys an inconspicuous stamp for a few thousand from a novice, in which he recognizes the "Blue Maurice". Speculators will buy tickets for a final match to sell at a multiple profit, etc.
• But Jesus does not address this aspect; it is not his concern.
• Jesus says: The knowledge that there is an opportunity to enter the kingdom of God is so immensely valuable that it is worth trading everything for it. Entry into Christ's kingdom is the highest conceivable value. There is nothing that is not worth trading for entry.

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

• It's a very similar situation: a professional pearl dealer stumbles upon a piece of "his life", a pearl of extraordinary value.
• The joke is again that this exclusive pearl looks inconspicuous and no one else has realized its extraordinary value yet.
• Our trader had the knowledge to recognize her extraordinary nature. He captured the exact moment of importance the pearl's value was partially but not fully revealed. If its preciousness had been hidden perfectly, even he would not have discovered it. If it were in his eyes, no one would have sold it to him so cheaply.
• It is the same with information about the kingdom of God - people of prepared hearts will recognize it.
• So pearl is expensive but still available.
• By the time its extraordinariness becomes generally apparent, it will no longer be available.
• The trader takes advantage of this and buys it - it's not easy for him: The pearl is already expensive and the merchant has to sell all his possessions to get it. But he's happy to do it because he knows it will pay off.
• Entry into Christ's kingdom is already open - enrollment for those interested has already begun. Entry is not easy or cheap, but for now it is available to all. You'll have to give up some things, but you can get in.
• When Christ returns visibly and in power, everyone will suddenly want to go there - but by then the door will be closed.
• Noah offered tickets to his ship to his contemporaries for many decades. As soon as God slammed the door behind him and his family, the "presale was over."

• Perhaps it is still worth noting how the heroes of these two parables "came to their happiness":
  • The first one downright by chance - he went about his work and stumbled upon a treasure. Since there are no coincidences, it can be said that God placed the treasure in his path and he stumbled upon it in the course of his ordinary life. (Of course, his heart must have been prepared to recognize the treasure, but that's another chapter.)
  • The pearl dealer was a bit different - he had been dealing with pearls all his life. It could be the image of a man who sincerely seeks God - He explores and tries different religions and spiritual directions, meditates, goes to Mecca, and observes the Jewish Law. But then he meets Christ and realizes that "this is it." He abandons everything (Eastern religions, Islam, Judaism) and follows Christ uncompromisingly.

47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. ryb. 

• This is a trawl net that was spread between two boats or spread by one boat and then pulled ashore with long ropes.
• The network certainly occupies "non-selectively".

48When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat d own and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.

• The fishermen proceed logically and in the only possible way - they keep what is usable and throw away the rest.

49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

• We go on to describe the same aspect of Christ's kingdom as the tares in the field - again emphasizing that the kingdom of God takes people in unselectively; the sorting will take place only at Christ's return.
• Again, we can ask who are the ones included in the net and later thrown out - as far as churchgoers are concerned, this is extremely scary. Not only has their Christianity not been evaluated as genuine, but they are being evaluated as evil, un-righteous, and being thrown into hell. What kind of people are they? After all, who among Christians does not sin, who is not sometimes evil? For it is not perfection that God seeks in Christians, but uprightness.
• Apparently these are really false people whose Christianity has never been sincere, or who have purposely tried to do harm in the Church as the devil's fifth column.
• I must point out here that in my long Christian life I have not met anyone like this (or probably I have, but I don't know about it): I have experienced countless rifts, departures, misunderstandings, even church splits in the Church. But it seemed to me that everyone involved always "meant it." Even though they may have been very wrong, in my opinion, I never suspected that they were doing it on purpose, that they wanted to do harm, etc.
• The community of the church is diverse - and some people certainly don't act as peacemakers in the congregations: they are disruptive, conflicted, critical and always dissatisfied. Many also "drive." But I've never been fundamentally bothered (or perhaps more surprising) by this - I'm aware that we are all justified sinners and carry with us the burdens of our old lives. On the contrary, such a "wild" church has always suited me better than a "tidy" church where everyone is "nice" to each other.
• Many people fall away from the faith over time - but there is no question of such people, they have "eliminated" themselves.
• Given that we are still talking about people who have been caught in a fishing net, it is hard to infer that these are people fully from the world - they remain outside the net in the sea.
• We can only accept as fact that Christ will refuse to accept some "Christians" at the final judgment because He will judge their lives to be evil.
• Whether these people prayed the prayer of salvation or were baptized is probably not relevant at this point.
• So the conclusion of the parable is: Christianity is an even narrower path than we think. Getting to Christ requires maximum effort even after "conversion". By praying the prayer of salvation and being baptized, I may not yet be definitely "taken care of".
• It is largely a complex issue of the dispute between Calvinism and Arminianism: Both of these theological trends have undoubtedly strong Scriptures to support them, which creates a constant tension in our minds.
• It is discussed at length by David Pawson in the book Once Saved, Always Saved.

51 51He told them:"Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, ^["Yes."^].“

• If Jesus was going to explain something, He wanted the interpretation to be clear.
• The disciples answered in the affirmative - at that moment they seemed to understand the meaning of the parable.
• In the interpretation of each parable there is the problem of how much detail to go into in interpreting it. There is a danger of looking for meaning in minor details that were not intended as parables, but only to illustrate the story.

52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who ⁽has been trained⁾ for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." 

• or: scholars; Bible experts
• The turn of phrase is used has been trained for the kingdom of heaven (or the disciple of): That is, a person who has decided to enter the kingdom of Christ (be enrolled). However, this does not mean that he immediately becomes perfectly familiar with the conditions in this new environment. He is already a citizen, a member, unquestionably belongs to the kingdom, but he is still a disciple. He needs to learn first.
• This is understandable - when we start a new job or school, get married, move or even relocate to another country, we need a shorter or longer time to get used to the new environment, to understand how things work there. Why should it be any different with the kingdom of God? It's a kingdom where a good king rules and the citizens are believers - that's good information to enter and a good place to start. But every day there are a number of new situations that we have yet to learn how to deal with.
• When the Israelites left Egypt, they left "Pharaoh's property¹", they were given the Law - a manual for living in "the Lord's." When we leave the world and become citizens of "Christ" a new and challenging life begins. As in the parable of the good family in the Articles section.
• We see that in the Kingdom are also entering the scribes - that is, those who are subject to the Old Covenant.
• What actually does "a master of the house who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.""? He's probably recapitulating or taking stock of his assets. He is taking stock, laying out everything he has - some of his possessions he has had for a long time, e.g. he inherited them from his parents or earlier ancestors. Some he has acquired through his business, some is quite fresh, e.g. the profits from the last harvest. Some is made up of real estate, some of the farmer's money. He has all of it and uses it all appropriately. It is a "portfolio" of his assets.
• Of what is all this a picture? A picture of the Jew, the Old Testament believer, who has the riches of the Old Covenant and the history of God's people Israel and is newly encountering Christ. He places Christ's message of the kingdom of God in the context he already knows, comparing the old and the new. He finds that the old and the new point in the same direction - to the Creator God, the judging and loving God.
• Everything suddenly falls into place and a new direction takes shape in the life of the disciple.

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 

• gr.: And it happened when;
• We were first on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, perhaps somewhere not too far from Capernaum. Then, in the privacy of the house, Jesus explained what He had said.

54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said themselves: "Where . did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

• The home town is probably thought to be Nazareth - it is 30-40 km to the west.
• As we already know, the local authorities had no problem letting guests teach in the synagogues, in this case the famous native, now itinerant preacher Jesus.
• The astonishment of the people was great - the contrast between the "ordinary" Jesus they knew from their previous lives and the Jesus of today was stunning: He spoke with great wisdom and performed miracles.
• The question Whetre did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works was logical.

55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? . 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"

• In the context of Jesus' former ordinary life in a family carpentry business with a number of siblings, they could not explain Jesus' present transformation.
• Four brothers of Jesus and at least two sisters are named. Father Joseph is no longer named. We don't know how long he had been dead - surely after his death, Jesus was to take over the business as the eldest son, but he left on his mission. So the head of the family was probably James - if the brothers are named from the eldest.
• The eldest sibling sometimes seems to have been named after his father, which in Jesus' case was not allowed by God. So the secondborn could have been Joseph in addition to James.
• If Joseph and Mary had (including Jesus) say eight children (Jesus + 4 brothers + say three sisters) they could have had another sibling within 15-20 years after Jesus' birth. Sometime between then and Jesus' beginning his public ministry at age 30, Joseph died. Jesus was already an adult, but the younger children must have been quite young.
• It certainly wasn't easy for the family.

56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" took "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household."

• Astonishment is one thing, outrage is another. Astonishment at the fact that "the neighbor's boy made it to the rabbi - who would say that to him" is natural and there is nothing wrong with it.
• But to be offended is already something like, "What is this Jesus playing at? A few years ago he was still running around with a noodle on his nose, and now he wants to lecture us? I refuse to take this seriously. I'm not going to listen to this guy," etc.
• Jesus' statement is undoubtedly true: Many Christians have had the analogous experience of having their conversion to Christ taken more seriously by strangers than by their own family.
• I guess it's natural and there's nothing that can be done about it, but it's a pity.
• We have already read that even Mary and Jesus' siblings felt at some point in Jesus' ministry that they should intervene against Him
• On the other hand, things "worked out well" for Jesus' family in the end - though we only know explicitly that they believed in Jesus regarding his mother Mary and brother James (later a pillar of the church).

58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

• They were offended to their own detriment.
• This is very important information for us - Jesus clearly refused to impose himself. God does not perform miracles against human will.
• If the Nazarene sick did not seek Jesus, they were simply not helped.
• They had to tear their hair out - it's desperate to have help at your fingertips and miss it because of your own prejudices. To be a "wheelchair-bound" person in Nazareth and not ask for healing just because it would be beneath me to ask for help from someone I have known since childhood is a terrible situation.
• This is a general problem: God uses humans for His work - and humans are imperfect and ordinary. It takes humility to accept help from someone who doesn't fit or seems ordinary to me.
• An amazing example of such humility was the Syrian Naaman - to humble himself before the Israeli "dirty" prophet, who did not even speak to him properly, required a huge amount of humility from the famous warlord. But it paid off handsomely. The Ninevites were similarly humble towards Jonah.
• How desperate will be the weeping and gnashing of teeth when many find that they have rejected the salvation offered to them quite unnecessarily because of their prejudice or disinterest.

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1. It means "the farón's domain" or kingdom, in the sense how it used in Czech TV fairy tale series The Giant Mountains ↩︎