Talk: Matthew 13-14 Scripture Reading

Join me today as we start reading through the New Testament starting with Matthew Chapter 13-14. It is very important for Christians to read the bible. It Helps guide us in our lives and connects us with God.

In 2 Timothy 3:16 TPT, it says, "God has transmitted his very substance into every Scripture, for it is God-breathed. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness."

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

Today we will be reading from Matthew 13 and 14 in the Passion Translation.

I'll be reading through it without saying the verse numbers,

Only saying the chapter numbers.

This will make for a smoother hearing.

Let's start with prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for today.

Thank you for being with us and thank you that you came down to earth to live as one of us and to take our sins to the cross.

I just pray as we continue to read through your word that something new will come out of it for us each time.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

Matthew chapter 13.

Later that day Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeshore to teach the people.

Soon there were so many people surrounding him that he had to teach sitting in a boat,

While the large crowd stood on the shore.

He taught them many things by using stories,

Parables to illustrate spiritual truths,

Saying,

Consider this.

There was a farmer who went out to sow seeds.

As he cast his seeds some fell along the beaten path and the birds came and ate them.

Others fell under gravel that had no topsoil.

They quickly shot up,

But when the days grew hot they were scorched and withered because they had insufficient roots.

Others fell among the thorns,

So when they sprouted the thorns choked them,

But other seeds fell on good rich soil that kept producing a good harvest.

Some yielded 30,

Some 60,

And some even 100 times as much as he had planted.

If you are able to understand this,

Then you need to respond.

Then his disciples approached Jesus and asked him,

Why do you always speak to the people in these hard-to-understand parables?

He explained,

You've been given the intimate experience of insight into the hidden mysteries of the realm of heaven's kingdom,

But they have not.

For anyone who listens with an open heart will receive progressively more revelation until he has more than enough,

And those who don't listen with an open teachable heart,

Even the understanding that they think they have will be taken from them.

That's why I teach the people using parables,

Because they think they're looking for truth,

Yet because their hearts are unteachable they never discover it.

Although they will listen to me,

They never fully perceive the message I speak.

The prophecy of Isaiah describes them perfectly.

Although they listen carefully to everything I speak,

They don't understand a thing I say.

They look and pretend to see,

But the eyes of their hearts are closed.

Their minds are dull and slow to perceive.

Their ears are plugged in their heart of hearing,

And they have deliberately shut their eyes to the truth.

Otherwise,

They would open their eyes to see,

And often their ears to hear,

And open their minds to understand.

Then they would turn to me,

And I would instantly heal them.

But blissful are your eyes,

For they see.

Delighted are your ears,

For they are open to hear all things.

Many prophets and godly people yearn to see these days of miracles that you've been favored to see.

They would have given everything to hear the revelation you've been favored to hear.

Now you are ready to hear the explanation of the parable of the sower.

What was sown along the path represents the one who listens to the message of the kingdom,

But doesn't understand it.

The adversary then comes and snatches away what was sown into his heart.

The one sown on gravel represents the person who gladly hears the kingdom message,

But his experience remains shallow.

Shortly after he hears it,

Troubles and persecutions come because of the kingdom message he received.

Then he quickly falls away,

For the truth didn't sink deeply into his heart.

The one sown among the thorns represents one who receives the message,

But all of life's busy distractions,

His divided heart,

And his ambitions of wealth result in suffocating the kingdom message,

And it becomes fruitless.

But what was sown on good rich soil represents the one who hears and fully embraces the message of the kingdom.

Their lives bear good fruit.

Some yield a harvest of 30,

60,

Even 100 times as many as he has sown.

Then Jesus taught them another parable.

Heaven's kingdom can be compared to a farmer who planted good seeds in his field,

But when everyone was asleep,

An enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and ran away.

When the wheat sprouted and bore grain,

The weeds also appeared.

So the farmer's hired hands came to him and said,

Sir,

Wasn't that good seed that you sowed in the field?

Where did all these weeds come from?

He answered,

This has to be the work of an enemy.

They replied,

Do you want us to go and gather up all the weeds?

No,

He said.

If you pull out the weeds,

You might uproot the wheat at the same time.

Let them both grow together until the harvest.

At that time,

I'll tell my harvesters to gather the weeds first and tie them all in bundles to be burned.

Then they will harvest the wheat and put it into my barn.

Then Jesus taught them another parable.

Heaven's kingdom can be compared to a tiny mustard seed that a man takes and plants in his field.

Although the smallest of all the seeds,

It eventually grows into the greatest of garden plants,

Becoming a tree for birds to come and build their nests in it branches.

Then he taught them another parable.

Heaven's kingdom can be compared to yeast that a woman takes and blends into three measures of flour,

Then waits until all the dough rises.

When Jesus addressed the crowds,

He always spoke in allegories.

He never spoke about using parables.

He did this to fill the prophecy.

I will speak to you in allegories.

I will reveal secrets that have been concealed since before the foundation of the world.

Jesus left the crowds and went inside the house where he was staying.

Then his disciples approached him and asked,

Please explain the deeper meaning of the parable of the weeds growing in the field of wheat.

He answered,

The man who sowed his field with good seed is the son of man and the field is the world.

The good seeds I sow are the children of the kingdom realm.

The weeds are the children of the evil one and the enemy who sows them is the devil.

The harvest points to the end of this age and the harvesters are God's messengers.

As the weeds are bundled up and thrown into the fire,

So it will be at the close of the age.

The son of man will send his messengers and they will uproot everything out of his kingdom.

All the lawless ones and everything that causes sin will be removed and they will be thrown into the fiery furnace where they will experience great sorrow and anguish.

Then the righteous will shine like the brightness of the sun in their father's kingdom realm.

If you're able to understand this,

Then you'd better respond.

Heaven's kingdom realm can be as illustrated like this.

A person discovered that there was a hidden treasure in a field.

Upon finding it,

He hid it again.

Because of uncovering such a treasure,

He was overjoyed and sold all he possessed to buy the entire field just so he could have the treasure.

Heaven's kingdom realm is also like a jewel merchant in search of rare pearls.

When he discovered one very precious and exquisite pearl,

He immediately gave up all he had in exchange for it.

Again,

Heaven's kingdom realm is like a fisherman who casts his large net into the lake,

Catching an assortment of fish.

When the net was filled,

The fishermen hauled it up on the shore and they all sat down to sort out their catch.

They collected the good in baskets and threw the bad away.

And so it will be at the close of the age.

The messengers will come and separate the evil from among the godly and throw them into the fiery furnace,

Where they will experience great sorrow and anguish.

Now,

Do you understand all of this?

Yes,

They replied.

He responded.

Every scholar of the scriptures who is instructed in the ways of heaven's kingdom realm is like a wealthy homeowner with his house filled with treasures,

Both new and old.

Right after Jesus taught the series of parables,

He left from there.

When Jesus arrived in his hometown of Nazareth,

He began teaching the people in the synagogue.

Everyone was dazed,

Overwhelmed with astonishment over the depth of revelation they were hearing.

They said to one another,

Where did this man get such great wisdom and miraculous powers?

Isn't he just the craftsman's son?

Isn't his mother named Mary and his four brothers Jacob,

Joseph,

Simon,

And Judah?

And now his sisters all live here in Nazareth?

From where then did he get all this revelation and power?

And all the people became offended and began to turn against him.

Jesus said,

There's only one place a prophet isn't honored,

His own hometown.

And their unbelief kept him from doing many mighty miracles in Nazareth.

Matthew chapter 14.

At that time,

Herod,

The Roman ruler over Galilee,

Heard reports about Jesus.

He told his officials,

This man has to be John the baptizer who has come back from the dead.

That's why he has this power to work miracles.

For Herod had earlier arrested John for confronting him about taking the wife of his brother Philip.

He had John thrown into prison and placed in chains because John had repeatedly said to him,

It's not legal or proper for you to be married to Heroditis,

Your sister-in-law.

So Herod wanted John dead,

But he was afraid of the crowds who flocked to John because they considered him to be a prophet.

During Herod's birthday celebration,

The daughter of Herodias danced before Herod and all his distinguished guests,

Which greatly pleased the king.

So he said to her in front of all of them,

I give you my oath,

Ask of me anything you wish and it will be yours.

Because she had been instructed by her mother,

She said,

I want the head of John the baptizer here on a platter.

This grieved the king,

But because of his oath in front of all the guests,

He had John beheaded in prison.

They brought in his head and displayed it to her on a platter,

And she then had it shown to her mother.

John's disciples went into the prison and carried his body away and buried it.

Then they left to find Jesus and tell him what had happened.

On hearing this,

Jesus slipped away privately by the boat to be alone.

But when the crowds discovered he had sailed away,

They emerged from all the nearby towns and followed him on foot.

So when Jesus landed,

He had a huge crowd waiting for him.

Seeing so many people,

His heart was deeply moved with compassion toward them.

So he healed all the sick who were in the crowd.

Later that afternoon,

The disciples came to Jesus and said,

It's going to be dark soon and the people are hungry,

But there's nothing to eat here in this desolate place.

You should send the crowds away to the nearby villages to buy themselves some food.

They don't need to leave,

Jesus responded.

You can give them something to eat.

They answered,

But all we have is five barley loaves and two fish.

Let me have them,

Jesus said.

Then he had everyone sit down on the grass,

And then he took the five loaves and the two fish.

He looked up into heaven,

Gave thanks to God,

And broke the bread into pieces.

He then gave it to his disciples,

Who in turn gave it to the crowds.

And everyone ate until they were satisfied,

For the food was multiplied in front of their eyes.

They picked up the leftovers and filled up 12 baskets full.

There were about 5,

000 men who were fed,

In addition to many women and children.

As soon as the people were fed,

Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat and to go to the other side of the lake while he stayed behind to dismiss the people.

After the crowds dispersed,

Jesus went up into the hills to pray,

And as night fell,

He was there praying alone.

But the disciples,

Who were now in the middle of the lake,

Ran into trouble,

For their boat was tossed about by the high winds and the heavy seas.

At about four o'clock in the morning,

Jesus came to them,

Walking on the waves.

When the disciples saw him walking on the water,

They were terrified and screamed,

Then Jesus said,

So Peter stepped out onto the water and began to walk towards Jesus.

But when he realized how high the waves were,

He became frightened and started to sink.

Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and lifted him up and said,

And the very moment they both stepped into the boat,

The raging winds ceased.

Then all the disciples bowed before him and worshipped Jesus.

They said in After they crossed over and landed at Gesenaret,

The people living there quickly recognized who he was.

They were quick to spread the news throughout the surrounding region that Jesus had come to them.

So they brought him all their sick,

Begging him to let them touch the fringe of his cloak.

And everyone who touched it was instantly healed.

Thank you for listening today,

And I hope you have an amazing day.

God bless.

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Thank you for this offering. I heard this scripture in a deeper way. 💝🙏