The setting (or context) of this parable is interesting. Jesus has been teaching, as usual, the message of God. The first twelve verses of this chapter were delivered to “an innumerable multitude of people” who were gathering around Him to hear His teaching. As a matter of perspective, when Jesus fed the 5000 men with the loaves and fishes, that was a lot of people, but not an innumerable crowd. This was obviously even more than that, maybe many more. Imagine if you had been in that company of people, having the opportunity to listen to the Messiah as He was teaching words from God.

Right in the midst of His comments, a man from the crowd interrupts the spiritual feast to ask Jesus to mediate a financial dispute between him and his brother (verse 13). Christ quickly points out to him that He didn’t come into the world to handle such matters and then states clearly that they all needed to beware of covetousness, “for one’s life does not consist of the abundance of the things he possesses” (verse 15).

Jesus then delivers a parable about a successful farmer, from an earthly perspective, whose value system was out of touch with one who wanted to serve God. His crops were plentiful, so much so that he would have to build bigger facilities just to store them. He was essentially set for life. But he died that very night, leaving all of his material possessions to others.

The farmer indicates nothing to tell us he had a relationship with God, the one from whom all blessings flow (James 1:17). There is nothing that would lead us to believe he planned to use any of his possessions to bless others. Someone has said that the man obviously had “I” disease, for he only spoke of himself and what he had accomplished and what he would do for himself. He used the words “I” and “my” ten times in his short speech.

He was prepared to live a long time and to “eat, drink and be merry” for many years. But he wasn’t prepared to die. Which preparation is more important, really? And do we realize that is true in our own lives as clearly as we can see it about this man? Christ called this one a fool for failing to think beyond the material things he owned.

He concludes this parable by saying this: “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” That was said for the man who was mad at his brother and for the others who were there in that “innumerable multitude.” And it has been preserved in the Bible for us today to learn from, as well.

--Roger Hillis

Our Savior concluded the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount, with the parable of the builders. It is found in Matthew 7:21-29 and a similar parable is located at Luke 6:46-49.

Two men each built a house. One built on a solid foundation of rock while the other build his house on sand. When faced with storms and floods and winds, one house stood the test. The other collapsed and was ruined.

The Lord tells us that the one who built on a rock foundation is the person who “hears these sayings of Mine, and does them.” He is called wise and the children often sing a song, “The wise man built his house upon the rock.” His house withstood the tests and trials of life.

But, as our children can tell us, “The foolish man built his house upon the sand.” When the storms of life came along, his house was poorly constructed and it was destroyed. This is the person who “hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them,” according to Jesus.

What a simple story to illustrate an important spiritual truth. The fact is that there are really only two categories of people in the world. Wise and foolish. Saved and lost. Righteous and unrighteous. The obedient and the disobedient. The good and the evil. Those who are going to heaven and those who will go to hell.

We would like to think there is some middle ground, some who are mostly obedient and will probably be saved and some who do a few wrong things and may or may not be saved, but it’s kind of “iffy.” To the Lord, everyone is either a believer or an unbeliever. And He clearly knows the difference.

And we can recognize the difference also, based on what Jesus said. The wise, saved ones are those who hear the message of the gospel and obey it. The foolish, lost ones are those who hear the word of God and do not obey it.

Human beings want to come up with all kinds of loopholes, exceptions, extraordinary situations, imaginary ideas and doctrines and commandments of men to try to get some of those foolish ones into heaven. The Lord will tell them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).

Hear God’s word and obey it. It really is that simple. Be a wise builder.

--Roger Hillis

Found in Matthew 13:24-30, this parable of Christ is only one of two stories that Jesus explained to His disciples (the explanation is found in verses 36-43).. Several modern versions of the New Testament refer to this as the parable of the weeds, while many still use the more specific term, tares.

According to W.E. Vine, the word, tares, comes from a Greek word, zizanion, and is defined: “is a kind of darnel, the commonest of the four species, being the bearded, growing in the grain fields, as tall as wheat and barley, and resembling wheat in appearance. It was credited among the Jews as being degenerate wheat… The seeds are poisonous to man and herbivorous animals, producing sleepiness, nausea, convulsions and even death.” (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, page 1133).

Following on the heels of the parable of the sower, this parable shows us that there is more to be considered than just planting good seed. The Lord’s will, of course, is that the seed of the gospel of Christ would be planted in every heart and given opportunity to grow.

But the other side of the coin is that there is also a malevolent force to be dealt with, specifically, the work of the Devil. Satan is the “enemy” who sows tares (or weeds) into the hearts and lives of people as well.

In the parable, those who accept and obey the good seed are “the sons of the kingdom.” Those who receive and follow the tares are “the sons of the wicked one.” Those are the only two options, by the way. You cannot have it both ways, serving God on Sundays and the devil the rest of the week. If you live that way, you are a child of the devil.

At the harvest, which represents the Day of Judgment, the wheat and the weeds will be divided and the tares will be burned, which represents the eternal torment of hell.

One more point remains to be made. Jesus taught, in verse 38, that “the field is the world.” This shows us to breadth of the Lord’s commission to “preach the gospel to every creature.” We should tell everyone we meet about our Savior and the salvation that He offers to all of mankind.

--Roger Hillis

Christ’s parable of the sower is found in each of the synoptic gospels (Matthew 13; Mark 4; and Luke 8). It is not contained in the gospel of John.

We are blessed, in studying this parable, to have the Lord Himself explain it for us. In Luke 8, the parable itself is found in verses 5-8. Jesus’ explanation is in verses 11-15. Understanding how Christ interprets this parable should help us to be able to interpret other parables.

Jesus says plainly that “the seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). There are other passages where the same word picture is given with the word of God being compared to a seed.

The parable of the tares uses a similar illustration (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). So does the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32).

1 Corinthians 3:6-8 contains comparable language. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants in anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”

The apostle Peter employs a similar word picture in describing the process by which people are converted to Christ. “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:22-23).

The seed is sown in four different kinds of soil, representing four different hearts (or attitudes) of people who hear the gospel message. Each one brings forth a different result. Some prefer to call this the parable of the soils, but Jesus Himself calls it “the parable of the sower” (Matthew 13:18), so it’s probably best to stick with that.

--Roger Hillis

Parables were stories that Jesus told to help people who had good hearts to understand His teaching. Some have referred to parables as “earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.” When you study the parables, you should learn more about how to live so that God will be pleased with your life.

How to interpret the parables   

Here are four ideas for how to understand the parables better. These are not inflexible rules, simply suggestions for looking deeper into the meaning of these inspired stories.

1)  Find the central truth.

Overall, what was Jesus trying to teach? Parables always teach one main truth. There may be other lessons as well, but do not get too far away from the major thought of each parable.

2)  Read the verses before and after the parable.

As a matter of fact, that’s a good idea for any passage of scripture. The context sometimes explains the reason Jesus told that parable on that occasion. As an example, read Luke 15:1-2. Jesus answered the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees with three parables about God’s love for the lost

3)  Do not worry about the details.

Not every detail in a parable is important. Not everything represents something else that has a deep spiritual meaning. It is easy to get caught up in trying to define these specifics and sometimes this keeps us from knowing the major lesson Jesus was teaching.

4)  Two are interpreted by Jesus.

The parables of the sower and the tares are explained by Jesus. This leaves no room for misunderstanding. If we can examine how He explained those two parables, it should help us to understand and interpret correctly some of the others.

Purpose of the Parables

Why did Jesus use parables in His teaching? There are three reasons.

1)  To conceal the truth

Read Matthew 13:10-15. Some people were unworthy to receive God’s truth because of their attitude. They had closed their eyes, ears and hearts to God’s will. To them, the parables were just silly little stories with no meaning.

2)  To reveal the truth

Read Matthew 13:16-17; 34-35. Jesus told parables to draw a comparison between earthly things they could understand and spiritual lessons they would have difficulty with. To people with good hearts, parables would illustrate the truth.

3)  To preserve the truth

Everyone loves a good story. The parables would be easily remembered, along with the spiritual truths they teach.

 --Roger Hillis

Hello everyone. Lord willing, I plan to post a series of articles about the parables of Jesus, beginning on June 1. I trust you will find them interesting, challenging and helpful to your walk with God. Hope you will join us regularly.

--Roger Hillis