The KingdomParables in Matthew:
A Prophetic Sketchof Church History?
Robert C. Newman
Biblical TheologicalSeminary
Hatfield,Pennsylvania
Abstract:
The seven parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13 are hereassumed to have been delivered by Jesus on one particular occasion, rather thanassembled by Matthew from Jesus=teaching at various times . Onlythe first, second and last of these parables are interpreted by Jesus, so weare left to speculate about the significance of parables 3, 4 and 5, 6. These are, however, obviously inpairs. The internalstructure of the seven suggests a chronological sequence: the first parable(Sower) is primarily about planting, the second (Wheat & Weeds) about planting,growth, and (looking forward to the) harvest, and the last (Dragnet) is aboutthe harvest. This suggests thatthe Mustard Seed and Leaven parables, which are obviously also about growth,are providing a message which is intended to be read as chronologicallyfollowing parables 1 and 2, with #2 sketching the complete chronologicaloverview. The fact that parables 1and 2 concern the planting of the good and bad seed, and that parables 2 and 7concern the harvest of good and bad, may indicate that (contra both traditionaland dispensational interpreters), that parables 3 and 4 should be taken asgrowth of good (3) and bad (4), rather than both the same sort of growth. What, then, are we to make of parables5 and 6, the hidden treasure and the valuable pearl? I would suggest that these show us the results in a societywhen the growth of the bad seed has had its full effect: to find the Gospel insuch a society, one must either stumble upon it by accident or be diligentlylooking for it. I conclude thatJesus=parables of the kingdom give us a sort of overview of the church age, not in astrict straight-line chronology from beginning to end, but in the form of thetypical history of the Gospel in any given society.
Introduction
The seven or eight parables in the 13th chapterof Matthew constitute the largest block of parables in the Gospels. They appear to have been given on oneoccasion. If we harmonize theseparables in Matthew with the accounts in Mark and Luke, then the occasionincluded at least one more parable not recorded in Matthew. These parables may be listed asfollows, with the parable peculiar to Mark and the eighth parable of thekingdom in Matthew given in italics:
The Sower (Mt 13:1-9), interpreted in 13:18-23 (parallels inMk 4 and Lk 8);
The Weeds (Mt 13:24-30), interpreted in 13:36-43 (noparallels);
The Growing Seed (Mk 4:26-29), no interpretation orparallels;
The Mustard Seed (Mt 13:31-32), no interpretation (also inMk 4 and Lk 13);
The Leaven (Mt 13:33), no interpretation (also in Lk 13);
The Hidden Treasure (Mt 13:44), no interpretation orparallels;
The Valuable Pearl (Mt 13:45-46), no interpretation orparallels;
The Dragnet (Mt 13:47-38), interpreted in 13:51-52 (noparallels);
New Treasures and Old (Mt 13:51-52), no interpretationsor parallels.
In recent New Testament studies, it has been common to seethe discourses of Jesus in Matthew as constructs of the evangelist rather thanof Jesus, the evangelist having assembled independently circulating oralsayings or extracts from various written sources. But for our passage at least, this doesnot seem to be consistent with a fair reading of Matthew=stext, where the narrative framework surrounding these parables is very explicit(my italics):
13:1ff B AThatsame day Jesus went out of the house andsat by the lake. Such large crowdsgathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the peoplestood on the shore. Then he toldthem many things in parables,saying...@
13:10-11 B AThedisciples came to him and asked, >Whydo you speak to the people in parables?= He replied...@
13:24 BAJesustold them another parable...@
13:31 BAHe toldthem another parable...@
13:33 BAHe toldthem still another parable...@
13:34-37 B AJesusspoke all these things to the crowd inparables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.... Then he left the crowd and went intothe house. His disciples came tohim and said, >Explainto us the parable of the weeds in the field.= He answered...@
13:51-52 B A>Have you understood all thesethings?=Jesus asked. >Yes,=they replied. He said to them...@
13:53 BAWhenJesus had finished these parables, hemoved on from there.@
Of course, it is possible that the single occasion narratedhere might have lasted more than one day, thus accounting for the varioussettings in which Jesus is speaking to the crowds or alone with his disciples.Yet this is not necessary; these various settings may result from Jesusbreaking away from the crowd for food or rest. It is also possible that Matthew used a narrative strategyof moving questions asked Jesus in the evening back to locations in thenarrative near the parables they concern. This is a more satisfactory technique for historical narration thaninventing whole scenes and discourses.
We propose, then, to take the parables as they stand inMatthew. We will also assumethat the reader is not expected to go find the parallel passage in Mark andinsert its unique parable in the proper place among the others in order tounderstand the parables in Matthew. Thus we here consider only the Matthew parables.
It also appears likely that the last parable in Matthew 13is not intended to be a part of the seven-parable kingdom sequence, but a finalexhortation to the disciples to meditate on the kingdom teachings. As they do so they will continue tofind new truths therein. It is, infact, something of this sort that we are seeking to do here, to see if there isnot an overarching structure to this parable group that has hitherto beenoverlooked.
The Interpreted Parables of the Kingdom
This leaves us with seven parables to consider B those listed above in regular rather than italic type. Of these, three are interpreted by Jesus and four are not. Since it is safer methodology to startfrom the known and move to the unknown, let us look first at the interpretedparables. These are the first,second and last of the seven parables, so they form a sort of interpretive inclusio around the other four.
The Sower
Jesus=story of the sower pictures the usual method of planting grain by casting seedabroad while walking through a field. We are not told whether the plowing precedes or follows the sowing. As is typical of the terrain and thesmall farm plots in Israel at NT times, some of the seed falls on variousunsatisfactory soils were it does not produce grain, while other seed falls ongood soil.[3]
Jesus gives us a detailed explanation of the story, showingit to be an allegorical type of parable Bthat is, one in which several of the features are independently figurative sothat an explanation is necessary to catch the meaning. The overall picture is that Athe message of the kingdom@ will encounter varied receptions inthe different sorts of people that hear it, rather than everyone jumping on thekingdom bandwagon, as the disciples probably expected. At the least, many will jump off again.
The Weeds
Jesus=second parable is a story parable, with more of a plot. After a landowner has sown wheat seedin his field, an enemy comes at night and spitefully scatters weed seed on topof it. Later on in the growingseason B presumably the delay is because bothplants are similar grasses B the farmhands notice the weeds growingwith the wheat. Though they wantto uproot the weeds right away, the owner won=tlet them for fear of uprooting some of the wheat. Both are to grow together until the harvest.
Jesus=interpretation identifies the two planters as himself and the devil, the twokinds of seeds as his followers and Satan=s. Rather than have his servants on earthtry to get rid of all the bad guys, Jesus tells us that the angels will do soat the end of the age.
The Dragnet
The seventh of Jesus=parables of the kingdom continues the harvest theme from the parable of theWeeds, but now we are shown a fish harvest. The fishermen appear to be using a dragnet or seine, a longnet that is only a few feet wide, with weights on one long side and floats onthe other. The net is set out toenclose a section of water with both ends on shore. The net is wide enough to reach from the surface to the lakebottom. Everything larger than thenet mesh is trapped; it is then brought ashore as the net is hauled in. The fishermen finally separate thegood, marketable fish from the worthless ones.
Jesus sketches the meaning of this parable by noting thatdrawing the net represents the end of the age, the fishermen are angels and thegood and bad fish are the righteous and wicked.
These three interpreted parables, taken together, reveal achronological sequence, beginning with the planting of the Akingdom message@and culminating in the harvest at the end of the age. Planting, growth, harvest and separation are all significantthemes. The presence of thischronological sequence raises the possibility that the whole seven-parable setmight be chronological, since the other four are bracketed by these three.
The Uninterpreted Parables of the Kingdom
Within this bracket formed by the interpreted parables, wefind four parables which Jesus leaves uninterpreted. What do these four mean? Not surprisingly, there has been more diversity of opinionhere even among Bible-believing scholars than was the case with the otherthree. Nevertheless we can makesome uncontroversial statements about them.
First of all, these four parables form two pairs. The first pair, the parables of theMustard Seed and Leaven, are clearly about growth. The second pair, the parables of the Hidden Treasure and theValuable Pearl, are clearly about finding, buying, and giving up everything topossess.
As a matter of fact, the three interpreted parables welooked at previously can also be seen as forming two pairs B by having one of the parables do double-duty. Thus the seven parables of the kingdom provide us with fourpairs, as follows:
Sower/Weeds - planting of the good and bad
Weeds/Dragnet - harvesting of the good and bad
Mustard Seed/Leaven - growth
Treasure/Pearl - finding, buying, giving up all
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
Turning now to the paired parables of the mustard seed andthe leaven, Jesus here gives us two pictures of growth, which thus expand on atheme mentioned in the first two parables. In the first of these, a mustard plant, starting from a verysmall seed, grows to become a very large herb Bin fact a small tree Blarge enough that birds come and nestin its branches. In the otherpicture, a woman mixes a little sourdough in a large batch of flour, andeventually the whole batch is leavened.
Interpreters have debated the significance of these twoparables. The traditional view hasbeen that both picture the growth of the kingdom (the church) over the ages asit has spread throughout the world. A minority view, held by manydispensationalists, is that both picture the growth of apostasy in the church.[7]
In favor of the traditional view, note that both parablesstart with the phrase Athekingdom of heaven is like@and the object in one case is Aamustard seed@ and inthe other Aleaven.@ Thus it sounds like the mustard seedand the leaven each represent the kingdom. The force of this argument is seriously weakened when it isrealized from rabbinical parables that the opening phrase Athis is like@often refers to the whole story to follow, not just the next word.[8] This would seem to be the case in twoother of the kingdom parables we are here considering. In the Weeds, the object of Athe kingdom of heaven is like@ is Aaman who sowed good seed,@but Jesus explains that this man is himself, the Son of Man, rather than thekingdom as such. In the Dragnet,the object is the net, which is surely not identical to the kingdom. A similar feature also occurs in theparable of the Children in the Marketplace (Matt 11:16-19; Lk 7:31-35), where Athis generation@is not the children who suggest the various games (these are John and Jesus)but rather the children who refuse to play either wedding or funeral.
Against the traditional view is the fact that B unless this parable is anexception B the figurative use of leaven is alwaysnegative, e.g., in the Old Testament sacrificial system, and in Jesus= and Paul=sremarks about leaven (Matt 16:6, 11, 12; 1 Cor 5:7-8). These usages imply that the growth ofthe leaven is something bad, as the dispensationalists suggest.
But rather than going with either the traditional ordispensational view of these parables, it seems to me that a mediating positionmakes better sense. Since parablesone and two picture the planting of the good and the bad, and parables two andseven picture the harvesting of the good and the bad, why not take parablesthree and four to picture the growing of both the good and bad? Thisallows us to give full weight to the fact that leaven has a negative figurativesense, and yet does not require us to force a bad sense on the growth of themustard seed. For the growth ofthe mustard plant is not Aunnatural,@ as some have suggested. Rather, the mustard seed is anexcellent illustration of something that starts very small and grows to berather large B like theWest European proverbial expressions regarding acorn to oak. And in doing so, the mustard plant isnot diseased or malformed, it is just doing what God made it to do.
Moving on to consider the birds nesting in the branches, itmay well be that they are intended to have a sinister significance, even if thegrowth of the mustard plant is not. In this very sequence of kingdom parables, the birds in the parable ofthe Sower represent Atheevil one.@ And back in the Old Testament, theallegorical dream Joseph interprets for the baker (Gen 40:16-19) also has birdswith an ominous meaning.
The birds may also be doing something more than this in ourparable of the Mustard Seed. Forthe Old Testament sometimes uses the picture of a tree with birds nesting in itto represent an empire (e.g., Ezk 31:6; Dan 4:12) Bthe birds presumably representing various dependents. Perhaps Jesus=picture is intended to suggest that the kingdom of heaven will grow to become amodest earthly kingdom. Thearrival of the birds may even prepare the way for the next parable, that of theLeaven.
The Treasure and the Pearl
Turning to our last pair, Jesus now gives us two pictures offinding. In the first, we areprobably to imagine a day-laborer or tenant farmer out plowing a field, whenthe plowshare strikes something hard. As he struggles to move the obstruction, he finds it is a clay pot, notthe stone he had expected. Pullingout the pot, he sees it is filled with treasure, perhaps silver coins, gold, oreven jewels. He knows that if heshows up in the village with all this wealth, there will be questions where itcame from, and when the owner of the land learns where he found it, he willclaim right of ownership, and the laborer will be lucky if he getsanything. So he puts the pot backin the ground, goes home and considers his resources. He is barely able, by selling everything he has, to puttogether enough money to buy the land from its owner. Having bought it, he can Afind@ the pot again Bafter a suitable delay Band then have clear right to its treasure.
The second picture is very similar, except the pearlmerchant is looking for histreasure. Being a specialist, heis able to recognize the difference between an exceptionally valuable pearl andone which is merely good. When oneday he sees the pearl of a lifetime, he sells everything he has to possessit. Here, too, we have a hidden treasure; though others see the pearl, they do notknow enough about pearls to recognize what a treasure it is when they see it.
Clearly, both parables are about finding, about findinggreat treasure, about recognizing its value, and about giving up everything tohave it. Though the finder=s joy is mentioned only in the firstparable, it is natural to understand the same in the second as well. In any case, both finders seem torealize they are getting a great bargain, worth far more than what they arepaying for it.
But what is the treasure? The traditional view is that it is the kingdom of heaven,the Gospel, Jesus, or heaven. A common dispensational view, bycontrast, is that the finder is Jesus, and the treasure is his people.[10] Some such interpreters make thetreasure found in the ground to be Israel (through a wordplay on the idea ofthe Aland@), and the pearl (grown in the sea) tobe the Gentiles (the nations of the world being sometimes pictured as the sea).
The major objection to the first alternative B seeing the treasure as the Gospel Bis that we as believers cannot buy our salvation. This, of course, is true. Yet Jesus clearly indicates that his followers must beprepared to give up everything to follow him. And we should be able to do this with joy because of theenormous value of the heavenly reward. In any case the treasure is worth far more than what is paid for it.
The major problem with the second alternative B seeing the treasure as God=speople B is injustifying how it can be that, while we were sinners, we were much in the wayof a treasure. And how Jesus, ingiving up his very life to ransom us, is paying a much smaller price than thevalue of the treasure. I think thetraditional view gets much the best of it here!
It is tempting to try and take these two parables asdepicting the finding of the good and the finding of the bad, but I cannotconvince myself that this is the way to go. Instead, I take them to picture two different ways in which people find Jesus and the Gospel. Some find him accidentally; they arelooking for no such thing. Others B like C. S. Lewis in his Pilgrim=s Regress and Surprised by Joy Bare searching for years for something which they finally recognize when theyencounter Jesus.
A Prophetic Sketch of Church History?
These seven parables of the kingdom appear to form asequence, starting with the proclamation of the Gospel to various sorts ofhearers and ending with the final separation of righteous and wicked at the endof the age. It is certainlyreasonable to inquire whether or not they are intended to give us some sort ofprophetic picture of church history.
I believe that a case can be made for this, though not inthe sense that each feature represents some particular incident in churchhistory. Consider the followinglist which I propose as lessons to be gleaned from the successive parables:
The Sower
1. Though theGospel is good news, not everyone is going to jump on the bandwagon, or stay on.
2. Some who hearwill not understand, nor make any positive response, nor even remember themessage.
3. Some willrespond eagerly but not really be saved; persecution will reveal their truecondition.
4. Others willbegin to grow, but this world will seem more important; they will never bearfruit.
5. But otherswill be saved, and that will be demonstrated by their lives.
The Weeds
1. Not only willthe followers of Jesus have to contend with the problems mentioned in theprevious parable, they will also find that competing gospels and falseChristians will show up. Thesefind their source in Satan.
2. Although (aswe learn elsewhere) we have a responsibility to exercise church discipline,such false believers and their gospels will continue till the end of theage. It will not be possible todestroy them without killing real believers as well.
3. Though suchfalse believers may lead many astray and seem to get away with much wickedness,there will be no escape when the Lord comes. Their fate will be terrible B burning, weeping, gnashing of teeth.
4. Though truebelievers seem to get lost in all the confusion of competing religions andfalse Christians, though their desire to be honest and do right may seem to gounnoticed, yet one day they will Ashineforth@ in God=s kingdom.
Mustard and Leaven
1. Despite asmall start, varied reception, and false believers, the church will commonlygrow until it begins to dominate the society into which it has been introduced.
2. After it hascome to dominance, people will begin to join the church for reasons other thanits message, e.g., for prestige, or for possible advancement.
3. False teachingwill then be able to do its work within the church far more effectively thanbefore, until it thoroughly permeates and transforms the institution.
Treasure and Pearl
1. When falseteaching has done its work in the church, the Gospel may become so obscured asto be very difficult to find.
2. Nevertheless,some will find it. Some will notbe looking for it but will find it by accident (God=sprovidence). Others will belooking for it, because God has put a longing in their hearts.
3. Both willrecognize its supreme value when they find it. They will be willing to give up everything to have and keepit, realizing that they have found an unbelievable bargain.
The Dragnet
1. Finally, theend of the age will come. Therewill be no escape from judgment then.
2. There will bea complete and accurate separation of wicked and righteous.
3. The fate ofthe wicked will be terrible Bburning, weeping, being thrown away.
These lessons Bgiven the truth of Christianity Bhave certainly characterized the movement of the Gospel as it has spread to thevarious nations of the world in the past two thousand years.
These parables do not BI think B give usa single linear movement from the first century to the coming of Christ. Instead, it appears that they provide asketch of how the Gospel will typically fare as it comes into a particularsociety or culture. It will meetvaried receptions from different sorts of people. Satan will quickly put together culturally appropriateheresies to limit the damage it will do to his kingdom. In spite of this, the Gospel and churchwill typically grow until they come to dominate the society. From then on, Satan will modify hisstrategy and seek to corrupt the church from within (without, presumably,giving up on competing religions). He will regularly be successful enough that the Gospel will become soobscured as to be difficult to find. Even so, God will make sure that some do find it.
This is certainly an apt description of how the Gospel hasactually fared over church history. The only nuances I would add are two. In some societies, Christianity will be destroyed so thatthe cycle does not carry through; of course, it may start over again later,when Christianity is reintroduced. In other societies, freedom of religion will be established so that nochurch is able to become the state religion (and so the corruption by successis somewhat diluted); in these, the history of Christianity will look likeseveral of these cycles superimposed and out of phase, with new groups formingas others become corrupt.
This, I think, is what Jesus is telling us in his sevenparables of the kingdom, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.
.e.g., Willoughby C. Allen, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on theGospel According to S. Matthew, 3rded. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1912), p. lxiv; Robert H. Gundry, Matthew:A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church under Persecution, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994),p. 250; Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 1-13, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1993), p. li; Barclay M.Newman and Philip C. Stine, A Translator=sHandbook on the Gospel of Matthew (London:United Bible Societies, 1988), p. 411.
.Unless otherwise indicated, quotations are from the New International Versionof the Bible.
.Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), p.82; Newman and Stine, Translator=sHandbook, p. 404.
.Newman and Stine, Translator=sHandbook, p. 452.
[5].The NIV=srendering Aperch@ is a little weak, probably becausemustard trees do not typically grow large enough for birds to build nests inthem. Yet Jesus may very well haveadded this peculiar feature to draw the attention of his hearers to this point.
.e.g., John Calvin, A Harmony of the Gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke, transl. T. H. L. Parker. 3 vols. (Grand Rapids:Eerdmans, 1972), 2:78-80; R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation ofMatthew=sGospel (Columbus, OH: Wartburg, 1943), pp.527-33; Alfred Plummer, An Exegetical Commentary on the GospelAccording to S. Matthew (New York:Scribners, 1909), p. 194; William Hendriksen, Exposition of the GospelAccording to Matthew (Grand Rapids, MI:Baker, 1973), pp. 565-68; H. N. Ridderbos, Matthew, transl. by Ray Togtman (Grand Rapids, MI:Zondervan, 1987), pp. 262-64.
.e.g., J. Vernon McGee, Matthew, 2 vols.(Pasadena, CA: Thru the Bible Books, 1973), 1:176-181.
.Keener, Bible Background Commentary, p.83 (on Matt 13:24); Newman and Stine, Translator=s Handbook, pp. 433-34, 437, 439.
.e.g., Calvin, 2:81-82; Lenski, 541-546.
.e.g., McGee, 1:181-185; Stanley D. Toussaint, Behold the King: A Study ofMatthew (Portland, OR: Multnomah, 1980), p.183-184.