Epaggelia

The Mustard Seed, Leaven, Treasure & Pearl Merchant, Matthew 13:31-35 & 44-50

The Kingdom of Heaven on earth has many virtues, be careful to value them with faith in the points Jesus makes concerning the reign of God in Christians. His Kingdom belongs to people who suffer for righteousness sake, Mat. 5:10. Unless a person has righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of Pharisees, we can not enter the Kingdom, Mt. 5:20. It is possible that the Kingdom can contain evil people, which God’s angels will purge out, Mt. 13:41. The Kingdom can be taken from a person and given to a different person, Matthew 21:43. The Kingdom of God is spiritual in a physical world, Luke 17:20-21. Please read Romans 14:17 !

The Mustard Seed may be small, but it grows into a plant that is larger than you would expect. God’s reign starts small but grows larger than you can imagine.

The Leaven is indeed small, but it affects the whole of any loaf it lives in. God’s reign is alive and well, though unseen, His power is active!

The Hidden Treasure is so valuable that it can motivate a person to make great sacrifices to buy the whole of the field the treasure is hidden in, he is purchasing the field, not the treasure because God’s reign is still His.

The Merchant sacrificed everything he had, in order to purchase the one single solitary pearl of great price. The reign of God in Jesus motivated him to give all his self, time & effort to gain each and every single individual that was priceless to him. That is why he died on a cross to save you and me.

Jesus made statements about the Kingdom which help us understand the nature of the reign of God. His dominion is not physical, it is spiritual power over the hearts of men & women who…

…want to grow like a mustard seed.

…want to affect the world, wherein we live like leaven.

…want to submit to His power, not our own, like the hidden treasure we guard in our hearts, 1st Peter 1:4-5, Jude v1 & Proverbs 4:23.

…want to follow Jesus because of the price he paid for us & others.

The Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37

This is the most popular, well-known parable in the Bible in our society today, yet most people miss the point; No one is acceptable to God if they do not love God by showing compassion to their fellowman, Mt. 25:31-46. More Christians will miss heaven because of their selfishness rather than their false-doctrine! God ordained & blessed the priesthood, but condemned them for their hypocrisy, we must make sure that Christ’s priesthood (the church) makes compassionate sacrifices a priority!

This parable is prefaced and concluded with two questions:

1. How do you understand what is written in the law? For a Christian today, we must ask ourselves: How do you live the law of Christ, Galatians 6:2-5
2. Which of the three people in the parable do you think was a neighbor of the man who fell into the hands of robbers? 

Name 7 things the Samaritan had:

1. __________________________

2. __________________________

3. __________________________

4. __________________________

5. __________________________

6. __________________________

7. __________________________

Why does God inextricably link love for him with love for our fellow-man?

What is pure religion? (James 1:27)

The Strong Man’s House

Mark 3:20-30 & Matthew 12:43-45

In Mark 2:5, Jesus had ‘forgiven sins’, and in Mark 3:5-6, Jesus healed on the sabbath day, engendering such hatred from the Pharisees that they were already working with the Herodians to find a way to assassinate Jesus. Now public masses were crowding Jesus for teaching and miracles, but his critics were even found amongst his ‘own people’, see Matthew 12:46-50. 

Who do you think Mark is referring to “his own people”? (see Mat. 12:46-50)

According to Mt. 12:43-45, how would our generation keep demonic interests, activity and temptations away from our house/body?

Who accused Jesus of having an evil spirit to cast out demons? _______________

What kind of kingdom do you think Jesus referred to in Mk. 3:24?

How did Jesus teach against the false accusation of his demon possession? 

Luke 11:17-21

If formally educated people in the Law of Moses can see a genuine miracle, why could they not have taken the view from Acts 5:39, “We do not want to be found fighting against God”?

How did they blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?

What did Jesus say about forgiving any other type of sin?

Can people today commit a sin that can never be forgiven? (Hebrews 6:4-6)

 Light & Bushel / Sheep & Goats,  Luke 8:16-18 / Matthew 25:31-46

“I was a stranger, and you didn’t welcome me”

Jesus used both of these parables to teach on the nature and principle of God’s judgment.

If a person hid a lit lamp, what would he lose_________________________________ .

What role does light play in 1st John 2:8-10

Whoever __________ their brother  & sister ___________ in the light…

Jesus believed that people will know whose disciples we are by what? ____________  for 

___________________________, John 13:34-35. 

If a person didn’t feed the hungry and/or didn’t encourage the incarcerated, what would he lose?

Why did the people who fed the hungry, answer the King’s questions with ignorance of having helped him? Because what they did in charity was not done to “score points” with God, but done out of love for the hungry. There are two big difference between sheep & goats

Sheep have better hearing than goats, they can tell the difference between their shepherd & someone different. John 10:4

Sheep eat  Grass, and goats will eat GarbageSee John 3:19

Christ’s Kingdom is prepared for ____________________________________, Mt. 25:34

Hell is prepared for the _______________ and his ____________________ . Mt. 25:41

Since Jesus refers to himself as a “King” in this judgment scene, how is that a problem for religious people that believe his kingdom is to come in the future after judgment?

How can you prove He is King of your life, right now?

Luke 14:1-11

To help appreciate the setting of this parable, note that most Jewish and eastern dinner tables were “U” shaped and low to the ground, with guests reclining, not sitting upright as westerners. An honored guest would be seated in the center, with those of less honor on both sides. The painting of “The Lord’s Supper” by L. daVinci (1495-98) is a figment of western imagination. But the certainty of Jesus coming to dinner amongst critics that wanted to lay a trap was real. Jesus deliberately healed on the Sabbath to confront criticism from the Pharisees. He was going to expose them, not vice-versa.

It may seem surprising that Proverbs 25:6-7 actually teaches the wisdom of this parable centuries before Jesus must make it clear to educated Jews. Even though Jesus had his most stinging rebukes and big disputes with the Pharisees, he still fellowshipped them! He loved them and showed them godliness in his instruction. If we want to be like Jesus, we must never shun hypocrites, but rather help them grow. The main reason most Christians leave the church is because hypocrites make them angry or depressed, but Christ would stay & insist on helping them grow in the grace & knowledge of his Father. Only after repeated rejection, would he “wipe the dust off his feet”, and/or make damning rebukes to their faces, but never behind their backs. 

What do you think is the main point of this parable? 

The following scriptures emphasize the importance of humility: Matthew 23:12, Luke 18:14, Philippians 2:3-4, James 4:10, 1st Peter 5:5-6 & John 13:1–17

There are three facts of life that should keep us in a humble frame of mind:

1. Our physical and/or bodily weaknesses
2. Our mental limitations
3. Our moral or ethical failures

Jesus practiced what he preached about humility and had to exemplify God’s servanthood even to the extent of going to the cross, read Luke 22:24-27. Matthew 23:6 states that Pharisees loved “chief seats”. What are some things in our modern western lifestyle that parallel a desire for so-called “chief seats”?

Is it possible that a person can become proud of their own humility?

When Jesus came into the world, he slept in a feeding trough, and when he died he willingly laid himself down on a cross, neither at his birth nor at his death could he find a more lowly place. The contrast of his life with our lives is to our shame.

New Wine with Old Wineskins or New Patch with Old Clothes

Matthew 9:16–17, Mark 2:21–22, Luke 5:36–38

The Pharisees were the people of the Law who did a lot of good things outwardly, but many were prideful & had very hardened hearts. The Pharisees were threatened by the popularity of Jesus and His ways that seemed to them to be against the law, even though we know that Jesus lived a perfect life and fulfilled the law, abolishing the old law on the cross, 1st Pet. 2:22, 2nd Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15.

People asked Jesus why the Pharisees were fasting but not the disciples of Jesus. Then Jesus answered them, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast” Mark 2:20. Matthew uses the word “mourn”, Mt. 9:15.

Jesus was telling the people that He was in their midst, the Savior of the world was standing in front of them, so their religious act of fasting was not as valuable as being with Him. Is this not a great message for us today? Jesus is inviting us into a relationship with Him, so why do we often worry about our religious practices more than simply being in a relationship with Christ? We have everything in Him, and our works will flow out of our gratitude and love for Him. Being a Christian does not mean that we are going to do everything right, sometimes we do sin (1st Jn. 1:10) In reality Jesus Christ gave us the new covenant in his blood, as the Logos (living word) He is our new wine. We can celebrate today that He gave His blood as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, He tore the veil. He removed our sins from the East to the West, He gives us grace upon grace. If we try to box the grace of the gospel into our legalized religious package, it will burst forth because grace cannot be hidden. Jesus breaks through all sin, all legalism, all old wineskins. Because of Jesus, He is freeing us from the same stumbling block of Pharisaic fake-christians today. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. 

Before the parable is told, what do you think the purpose of fasting was for the disciples in their question?

What do you think should be good reasons for fasting today?