MAY 07 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#14 “ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you understood all these things?’” (Matthew 13:51)

MAY 07  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#14 “ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you understood all these things?’”  (Matthew 13:51)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, my prayer today is very simple, forgive me of all my shortcomings, cleanse me of all unrighteousness, and create in me a clean heart O God!!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus lets us know that it is important to Him that we “understand” His Teachings because once again Jesus Teaches His Lesson and to make sure that we “know” exactly what He wants us to “learn”,  Jesus sits down and explains His parables point by point so that our “understanding” is complete. There is a deeper Lesson being Taught by “how” Jesus is “Teaching” than the extremely important “what” He is “Teaching” with His parables and that deeper Lesson is that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is demonstrating that when something is important enough to “Teach” then it is important enough to extend every effort to make sure the Lesson is “learned” and “Understanding is the key to learning”!!! Jesus again and again through this passage introduces these deep “Spiritual Truths of God” then stops and “Explains” in detail the meaning of the parables because each parable is a “Revelation” of God Himself and outlines the “detailed” Plan of God for mankind. Jesus had just Taught the “multitudes”  four very important parables (1) the sower and the soils, (2) The tares and the wheat, (3) the mustard seed, and (4) the leaven, and now Jesus takes His disciples aside privately and explains to them the meaning of these 4 parables and then adds 4 more parables. That there can be no mistake in what Jesus is trying to Teach His disciples, He uses very specific and plain terminology in each of the parables and because they are the same topic in each parable we can “understand” that Jesus is Teaching His disciples the mystery of the “kingdom of heaven” for Jesus specifically states these Truths of God in each parable: (Parable 1) The sower and the soil ———“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart…” (Matthew 13:18-19) (Parable 2) The tares among the wheat ——— “He who sows the seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels, therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in fire, so it will be at the end of the age.” (Matthew 13:37-40) (Parable 3) The mustard seed ——— “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed…when it is grown…becomes a tree…and birds nest in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32) (Parable 4) The leaven ——— “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven…” (Matthew 13:33)  and then 4 new parables: (Parable 5) The hidden treasure ——— “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found…and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44) (Parable 6) The pearl of great price ——— “Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45) (Parable 7) The dragnet ——— “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels come forth, separate the wicked from the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. (Matthew 13:47-50) and lastly (Parable 8) The householder ——— “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matthew 13:52) It cannot be mistaken after these very plain and specific “Teachings of Jesus” that His Lessons are intended for His disciples to know that Jesus is the Son of Man, sent by God to Teach about the  great treasures of the ”Kingdom of Heaven” for believers and the “impending judgement” of those that reject God!  Jesus used the terms “enemy”, “wicked one”, “wicked”, and “devil” so that we will know that there is serious opposition to our knowing and seeking God that we will have to face while in the world. Jesus also made it clear that how we live our daily lives will eventually be judged by God and He will send His angels from heaven to “separate” the “good” according to God’s Standard from the “bad” and that everyone will be judged “at the end of the age”. The “Good” according to God’s Standards will be taken up into the “kingdom of heaven” and the “bad” will be “burned in the fire”! There is no confusion as to the “eternal consequences” of punishment associated with those that choose to live  a “wicked life” and Jesus makes it equally clear the “eternal consequences” of those that follow God and live a “righteous” life. After giving all these specifics of the “kingdom of heaven”, Jesus then point blank asks — JQ#14 “Have you understood all these things?” (Matthew 13:51) There’s nothing left for us to do at this point except to give Jesus the honest answer that He deserves for going the extra mile to make it clear what His Lessons are trying to Teach us … so, have you “understood all these things?”