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Bro. Bill Nichols
Many things unto them in parables. And he's gonna write down the first of the parables. He spoke many things unto them in parables. First parable. Behold, a sower went forth to sow. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside.
And the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell on stony places where they had not much earth. And forthwith, they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched.
And because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among the thorns. And the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Verse nine, who hath ears to hear, let him hear. At this point, we might ask the question, who has ears to hear? As you consider that question, I'm gonna give you my interpretation of the answer. Those that have ears to hear are those that are believers.
Those that do not have ears to hear are the non-believers hanging on in the ground. And the disciples came and said unto him, now, you notice they're no longer in the presence of the multitude, Jesus and the disciples alone.
And they say, and the disciples came and said unto him, why speakest thou unto them in parables? And so now Jesus is gonna answer. He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
But to them, it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away, even that which he hath. Now, I know that seems unfair, but rather than deal with that seemingly unfairness now, we're gonna wait until Mark's account when what is written is in clear focus.
But until then, you might do well to ponder that question of unfairness and ask this to yourself. Is God ever unfair? And now Jesus answers our original question. Why did he teach in parables? So he's gonna tell us.
Verse 13, therefore I speak to them in parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, by hearing you shall hear and not understand, and by seeing you shall see and not perceive, for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed.
I'm gonna read that last phrase again. Their eyes they have closed. They closed their eyes. They didn't see because they didn't want to see. The same is true for their ears. They didn't hear because they didn't want to hear.
If they had wanted to hear, they would have been in the first case of those that see. But since they don't want to see, they don't want to hear, they closed their eyes, they closed their ears, lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, should understand with their heart and be converted, and I should heal them.
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Well, why are your eyes blessed and why are your ears blessed? After all, Jesus is the one that controlled everything. Even though he made you be the one that wanted to hear, that wanted to see, and therefore you desired that, and it happened for you.
Verily I say unto you, that many prophets and religious men have desired to see those things which you see and are not seeing them, and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard. Now, Jesus has recited the parable of the sower.
He's now going to explain to his disciples the meaning of the parable. So we're gonna go through that as well. Verse 18. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then come the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.
That's he that received the seed by the wayside. He heard the word, but he didn't understand it. The devil came and snatched away the seed. But he that received the seed in stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it.
Yet he hath not rooted himself, but doerth for a while. For when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is avended. And now we have the third class. He also that receiveth the seed among the thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches.
Notice that says the deceitfulness of riches, not riches themselves. The care of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. Now, I don't have a way really to see what you say.
So maybe someone that is a co-host or has the ability to do that might answer this question. Does that imply that earlier that person had been fruitful?
We've got a yes here, Brother Bill, from Jeff.
Okay, so if, okay, from Jeff, we got a yes. That's kind of what I think. So if he had been fruitful, that means he was one of the elect, does it not? And if he's one of the elect, Jesus is not going to lose any of the elect.
I think what this describes is someone who heard the word, who allowed the world to interfere with the word, and for a season, he became unfruitful. There will be a time when he will be drawn back to the Lord and he will be fruitful again.
But that's just my opinion. And then we have the third class. He that receiveth the seed into good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth some a hundredfold, some 60, and some 30.
And there's another parable I'm going to read because Jesus is going to explain it later. And I want to make a point about the two of them together. Probably need to keep track of my time. I don't see it.
Oh yeah, I do. I've got plenty of time. Another parable put him forth unto them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while he slept, his enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares?
And he said unto them, an enemy hath done this. The servant said unto him, wilt thou then we go and gather them up? And he said, nay, lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them.
Let them both grow together until harvest. And in the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, gather ye unto them first the tares, bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.
I'm not gonna attempt to make any resolution to the understanding of that parable right now. Jesus is gonna do that a little bit later. So verse 31, he introduces another parable, the parable of the mustard seed.
I'm not gonna read that one. And then another parable about the kingdom is life until 11. And then I'm gonna get down to verse 34. And it's going to say this, the turning point of Jesus's ministry, this is it.
All these things speak Jesus unto the multitude in parables. And without a parable, speak ye not unto them. So at this point, everything that Jesus speaks to the multitude is in parables. That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of by the prophets saying, I will open thy mouth in parables.
I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Now, there's going to be things that are revealed at this time that the earlier prophets desired to look into and could not see.
Remember back a little earlier when we said, blessed are your ears for they hear things that the prophets desired to look into and couldn't see or couldn't hear. These are these things kept, these are these things kept secret from the foundation of the world.
Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And his disciples came unto him saying, declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. Now remember, only Jesus and the disciples are there, not the multitude, they're outside.
And he answered and said unto him, he that soweth the good seed is the son of man, the field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked one.
The enemy that sowed them is the devil and the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels. Now, all of this hasn't happened yet. Oh, the seed has been sown by the son of man and by the devil.
And we're all living together, we're all growing in the same field. The tares are growing, the wheat's growing, harvest time will come. Harvest time is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels.
And therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be at the end of this world. And the son of man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity and cast them into the furnace of fire.
And there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father, who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Now, that's the end of Matthew's account.
We're gonna go back to Mark's account. We're gonna leave out some of the things that we've already covered because they are formed over the same material, but we're gonna add some new things. So here we go.
Mark chapter three, verse 22. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, he hath beelzebub and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him and said unto them in parables, how can Satan cast out Satan?
Now we're gonna skip on down to chapter four, verse one. And he began again to teach by the seaside. Hang on just a second, I've got to take care of something. I'll be right back. Sorry. We're gonna skip to verse four, chapter one.
And he began again to teach by the seaside and there was gathered into him a great multitude so that he entered into a ship and set in the sea. And the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables and said unto them in his doctrine, hearken, behold, there went out a sower to sow.
Now he's gonna repeat the parable of the sower. We're gonna skip to verse 10. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the 12 asked him of the parable. And he said unto them, unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables, that seeing they may see and not perceive and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest at any time they should be converted and their sins forgiven them.
Now he goes on to explain just like he did before in Matthew the meaning of that parable. And then he says in verse 21, is a candle brought to be put under a bushel or under a bed and not set on a candlestick?
For there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested. Neither was anything kept in secret, but that should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And then he says the key that brings it all into focus.
And he said unto him, take heed what you hear. With what measure you meet, it shall be measured to you. And unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath to him shall be given. And he that hath not from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
Now, as we've commented earlier, that may seem unfair, but consider the question, hath what? What is it that he hath? Well, he hath heard. When you realize that he that hath heard is promised this, unto you that hear shall more be given.
It's the understanding of the Holy Scripture that is revealed to the reader by the Holy Spirit. That's what's front and center here. When we, that's those that have ears to hear, read the scripture with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, some understanding will be revealed.
Some will always be revealed because we're of that he that hath. And that will promise up, that will promote us or prompt us to further study. And to him, that's he that hath, more shall be given. It's not speaking of wealth.
It's not speaking of power, fame, or any other worldly thing. It's speaking of something much more precious. It's speaking of understanding the scripture. It's understanding God's written word. Now there's some other parables I'm not going to read.
I'm just going to kind of scroll through them. And I see two, three, four more parables. And then I get down to verse 33, is the verse I want to read. And with many such parables spake he the word unto them as they were able to hear it.
But without a parable spake he not unto them. And when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. Now I've got a couple of questions for you. It says all things. What it says here is that every parable that Jesus spoke to the multitude, he explained the meaning of to his disciples.
I've been wondering why. Why do you think Jesus explained all of his parables to his disciples, but only some of us to us? I remember reading a, or actually listening to a commentary by Chuck Missler, and he was dealing with this very passage.
And he said, they asked him to explain, the disciples asked Jesus to explain the parable of the tares. But there were several other parables there. I just, he said, I just wish they had asked to, for him to explain that.
Why do you think Jesus explained all of his parables to his disciples, and only some of them to us? And I will tell you what I think the answer is. And again, you bear this in mind, that this is just my opinion, and I may be wrong.
At the time Jesus was speaking to the disciples, they were not yet filled with the Holy Spirit. They were relying on Jesus to explain everything to them. By the time the scripture was written, we were all filled with the Holy Spirit to the capacity that the Lord wants us to be filled.
And he will give us enough understanding that we, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, might be able to decipher the parables for ourselves. And that will prompt us to study. It is a way to make people want to study more.
But that's just my opinion. That may be totally off base, but I don't know. Okay, now we are to Luke's account. And to today's lesson, I kind of did like Brother David does a lot, spend three-fourths of my time on background, and a fourth of the time on the lesson.
So we'll go a lot faster now as we go through Luke chapter 11, beginning at verse 14. The same story, but now in Luke. We've done it in Matthew, we've done it in Mark, now we're going through Luke. We are going to go a little more in detail through Luke, but we won't go on any more side ventures.
And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass when the devil was gone, the dumb spake, and the people wondered. Now that's a more astounding incident than we have background to imagine.
Why were they so awestrucken? Why did they wonder so much when this incident happened? The devil was cast out. They'd seen Jesus do casting out of demons before. What made this one different? Well, here's the reason.
In the established Jewish procedure for exorcism, or casting out devils, the first step was to demand that the demon identify himself. Well, the demon made the host dumb, so the host couldn't speak. So he couldn't name his demon.
He couldn't name the demon that inhabited him. Thus, casting out a demon that had struck his host dumb was denied to anyone but the Messiah. That's why they were so shocked that here was a man that was able to cast out a demon who did not first identify himself.
Only the Messiah could do that, they thought. And they were correct. But some of them, the Pharisees, said he cast out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of devils. The charge that they're making is that Jesus was possessed by Satan himself.
And others tempted him, sought of him a sign from heaven. A second group wanted Jesus to show them a sign from heaven. They were probably not sincere. They were probably not sincere in their request, because Luke linked them to the former group and noted that they were testing him.
But he, knowing the thought, said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And a house divided against a house falls. Jesus gave a twofold response here. First, we see here in this verse, was illogical.
He said it would be ridiculous for Satan to drive out his own demons, for then he'd be weakening his position in his kingdom. Verse 18, if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?
Because you say, I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. The second thing Jesus is doing is pointing out the double standard of those who are accusing him.
If their fellows drove out demons, they claimed it was done of the power of God. But if Jesus did it, they claimed it was of the power of the devil. They couldn't afford to say it was the power of God, because if they did, but if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you and everything has to change.
This was an admission of his power. Since Jesus cast out demons, it too must be by God's finger that is his power. Therefore, the kingdom of God has come to you. So at this point, if they admitted that Jesus cast out demons by the power of God, they had to admit that he was the Messiah.
And they had to admit that now was the time for the new high priest and a restructuring of the religion. Verse 21, when a strong man armeth, keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted and divided his spoils.
Jesus had invaded Satan's domain. You see, Satan had been given dominion over the earth. And now Jesus had come into his domain. Satan was strong. Jesus was stronger. Satan relied on his strength to preserve the earth in the condition he wanted it.
Jesus was stronger. Jesus destroyed his armor and his weapon and claimed his spoils. Colossians 2 .15, you don't need to go there, says this. And having spoiled the principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
And in John 12, verse 31, now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from earth, will draw all men unto me. And then 1 John 3, verse eight says, he that committeth sin is of the devil.
For the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. The point of the parable is that Jesus is stronger than Satan. Jesus is the stronger one.
And therefore he has the right to divide up the spoils. In this case, the spoils include the formerly demon-possessed people who no longer belong to Satan. A couple of other verses I'd just like to read.
He laid captivity captive. Wherefore he saith, when he ascendeth up on high, he laid captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. And he set prisoners free. Luke 4 .18 said, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, the recovering of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them that are bruised. Back to Luke 12, verse 23. He that is not with me is against me.
He that gathers not with me scatters. It's impossible to be neutral in this cosmic. We saw a couple of weeks ago, John asking Jesus, or telling Jesus, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name, and we forbade him because he followed not with us.
And Jesus said unto him, forbid him not, for he that is not against us is for us. It's either one or the other. You're for Jesus or you're against him. Verse 24. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh in dry places, seeking rest and finding none.
He saith, I will return to my house which I came out. This is a picture of a person delivered from a demon, but not yet filled with Jesus. It's a picture of a person that tries to be neutral. They say they're not for Satan, but they're also not for Jesus.
Jesus shows that this is impossible. Apparently, demons regard vacant places as opportunities. For some reason, they want to inhabit bodies. We can suppose this is the same reason why a vandal wants spray paint, or a violent man wants a gun.
A body is a weapon that a demon can use in his attack against God. It's implied that the house was unoccupied. The context of Luke 11, 25 seems to assume that the reason the demon could return to the house is because it was vacant.
Had Jesus been in the house, had the Holy Spirit been inhabiting the house, the demon couldn't have returned. But that may not be true either. That's just a man's opinion. Verse 25, and when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
Then he goeth and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. Jesus was referring to a man who was formerly demon-possessed, and making him a symbol of everyone who was demon-possessed.
It was vital that this man also accept what Jesus was saying about his being the Messiah, or he would end up in a condition worse than the first. If we empty our heart from evil without filling it with Jesus and his good, evil will again rush in and fill it.
And sometimes worse evil than before. Therefore, in answering those who accused him of working by the power of Satan, Jesus told them that he had not merely come to fight against evil, but to bring God's good into our heart.
He did not only come to empty the house, but to fill it with himself. Let us pray. Most gracious heavenly father, thank you for this day and thank you for this lesson. Bless us and keep us as we go forward into the service today.
Allow us to receive the message that brother David has prepared for us, and that you have prepared in him for us. And thank you for giving us a condition where our spirits are ready to receive your word.
Thank you for allowing us to be the good field so that when the seeds are planted, a crop will grow. Bless and keep us. In Jesus name we pray, amen.