Matthew
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Matthew 27:46
In the well-known poem, Cowper’s Grave, written by renown poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the thirteenth stanza elaborates on the scene of the cross and Jesus’ cry: “Deserted! God could separate from His own essence rather; And Adam's sins have swept between the righteous Son and Father: Yea, once, Immanuel's orphaned cry His universe hath shaken—It went up single, echoless, ‘My God, I am forsaken!’” Martin Luther actually set out to study this profound cry of Jesus. He studied for a long time, in solitude, without food, and in deep meditation. At last he rose from his chair and was heard to exclaim in amazement, “God forsaken of God; who can understand that?” Beloved, our familiarity with these words has robbed them of their stark tragedy. Truly, “God forsaken of God” is a concept so tragic and mysterious, how can we understand it?
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Describe an Eastern Wedding. The Lord took this well-known custom to illustrate an important spiritual truth (i.e. The kingdom of heaven is likened to...). Describe the bridesmaids – the foolish and the wise. The foolish took their lamps, but took no oil. The Lord said to them “I know you not.” The wise had oil in their vessels. The spiritual truth found in this parable is that one had the Holy Spirit, while the other did not.
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Matthew 22:1-14
The Lord’s earthly life is almost finished. He spoke this parable shortly before going to Gethsemane, the Judgment hall, and finally to the Cross. The parable is actually a dispensational outline of how God is dealing with men and women in this age. It is another parable of the kingdom of heaven. It has to do with the sphere of profession and portrays conditions in Christendom during our Lord’s absence.
The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, which made a marriage feast for his son (see Matthew 22:2):
1. The king is God.
2. The Son is Christ Himself.
3. The marriage is the union of believers with Christ.
4. The marriage supper is really the Gospel feast.
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Matthew 13:33-35
In this parable, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a woman hiding leaven in a meal. [Explain the kingdom of heaven]. The picture presented to us here is of a woman baking. She is seen inserting leaven into the meal. This is fine if her activities are confined to the kitchen. The issues here, however, are far wider, more complicated and much more important. This woman hid leaven in three measures of the meal. Eventually all the meal became leavened. This shows the history of the kingdom on into the Tribulation. The Lord compared this to conditions which would prevail in the kingdom of heaven.
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Matthew 1:18-25, Matthew 2:1, 12
The first Christmas was the sweetest, greatest, most profound, and stupendous event ever recorded. There are great days mentioned in the Bible, but none of them can ever compare with the birth of Christ. Some of these great days and events consist of: The Passover, the Red Sea, the water pouring from the rock, the crossing of the Jordan, the manna, and the day the sun and moon were stopped. These all pale in significance in comparison to the day God came to earth as a babe of Bethlehem. The world has mutilated Christ’s birthday and it has become a time for family reunion, a time of revelry, and a license for intemperance and indulgence. It has been commercialized beyond recognition.
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Matthew 13:44-46
The Introduction
These two parables present a very different picture to us than the preceding ones. As we review the preceding four we are inclined to ask, “Is the kingdom of heaven a failure?” The picture drawn by the Lord up to this point is a dismal one. What commenced as a magnificent and majestic movement gradually became corrupted as tares appeared among the wheat, as professors sheltered in the branches of the mustard tree, as the professing church hid the leaven in the meal which climaxed in the denial of the fundamentals of the faith. The result of all this is Christendom on the professing church in its present state of doctrinal chaos, worldliness, divisions and errors.
The question now naturally arises, “Is the kingdom of heaven a failure?”
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Matthew 13:1-23
The subject of the chapter is the beginning of a new revelation, the introduction to the mysteries of the kingdom. In the preceding chapters, Israel has refused her king. The Lord said to them as He turned from them nationally, “I have piped unto you, but you have not danced; I have mourned, but you have not lamented” (see Matthew 11:17). At this point in His ministry, the Lord introduced a new message. In Matthew 11:28 He says, “Come unto Me all ye that labor…” He no longer bids His disciples “to go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (see Matthew 10:6). The sphere of their service is expanded to the world.
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Matthew 13:47-50
This net is literally a “dragnet.” [Describe the “dragnet” as used by the fisherman.] This illustrates the work of the professing church today. The net is cast into the sea of humanity and great numbers of people, saved and lost, are gathered in from the waters of the nations. In the professing church today there are the professors and the possessors. Some examples include: the Andersons, Mary Angy, Terry Murphy, and Betty Bios. These individuals are examples of profession without possession. When the dragnet is full, the fishermen draw it in and commence to separate the good and the bad fish. Matthew 13:49 tells us, “So shall it be at the end of the world” or rather, the end of the age.
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Matthew 13:31-32
Explain the phrase, “the kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of heaven as illustrated in the seven parables of Matthew 13 is the sphere of Christian profession during this age. This particular parable illustrates what has taken place and is still taking place during the period between Pentecost and the Second Coming. This “mustard seed” was sown at Pentecost. From this small beginning it became a great tree, and the birds came and sheltered in its branches. This illustration is borrowed from the Old Testament (see Daniel 4).
[Show the growth of the “mustard seed,” which represents the Church, and the wheat and the tares:
Acts 1:15 (A.D. 58) - The number of names together was about one hundred and twenty.
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Mathew 1-2, Luke 1-2, and Acts 1:14
Mary, the Lord’s mother, is the most honored woman in the world. The first mention of her is found in Matt. 1:16, which says, “Mary, of whom was born Jesus.” [Note: it is no longer the word “begot” that is used, but it is “of whom.” This is in the feminine singular.] The meaning of Mary is trouble and sorrow - “Mara.” True to her name, Mary had many bitter experiences.
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