We nearly got finished the whole of Matthew 13 today. There is one last section about Jesus’ reception or rejection at His home town of Nazareth, still to go. But today we finished the last 3 of the 7 parables (or are there really 8 ?). You’ll notice some similarities between Parables #5 and #6, because the person described goes and sells all that they have in order to buy a treasure of some sort. And there is a similarity between Parable #7 and Parable #2 (The parable of the wheat and the tares), and Parable #7 (the parable of the dragnet), each ending with almost word-for-word sayings......

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The next two parables in this series of 7 parables in this chapter are not explained by Jesus. Therefore, none of us can be dogmatic about their meaning. However, since we do have the whole of the Bible to glean from, it may be possible to see some parallels with these two parables in other places. Then, before He continues with parables #5-7, Matthew tells us how Jesus was actually fulfilling prophesy by speaking in parables. We already saw in Matthew 13:10-17 the reason Jesus spoke in parables, but here Jesus is seen like one of the......

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In this second parable in this series of seven parables, Jesus also gave His disciples the explanation to it. But before He gave the explanation, privately to His disciples, He told them two more parables (#3 The Parable of The Mustard Seed) and (#4 The Parable of The Leaven) in vv.31-33,  and quotes a reason why speaking in Parables fulfils Prophecy (vv.34-35). Once again, there is no need to speculate on the meaning of what is behind the Parable of The Wheat and The Tares, as Jesus Himself gave us His explanation. But one thing we......

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Last time we looked at Matt.13:1-17, in which Jesus gave the parable of the sower who went out to sow. But His disciples asked Him to explain the parable to them. He explained the parable only to His disciples, and this is recorded for us in Matt.13:18-23. Jesus described the types of ground that represent different people’s hearts. But we notice that each received and heard the Word of the Kingdom, and the only difference was whether or not each understood what he heard. We should be encouraged by the good ground hearer, as we don’t know how fruitful our sowing of......

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There seems to be a very clear transition between Matthew 12:46-50 and when you read the opening words of Matthew 13:1, which says that Jesus went out of the house and went and sat by the sea. Some also see here a spiritual reference to Him leaving the House of Israel and going to the Sea, which would represent the Gentiles. Who was the Sower that Jesus referred to? Could it be Himself? ‘He went out’ and ‘The Sower went out’! Why did Jesus speak to the multitudes in parables? Was it to help them understand......

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Well this is the second half of the psalm wich, that is composed of Ps.20 a Pre-Battle Song/Psalm, and Ps.21 the Post-Battle Victory Song/Psalm. And this concludes our Summer Season in The Psalms for this year. Next week we pick up our Matthew’s Gospel Series, with Matt.13 Part 1, on the Sower. Anyway, this Psalm has a lot of parallels with the Christian life, and the battles we face, but it is as expected totally fulfilled in King David’s greater Son, Jesus, who truly is most blessed forever, and who lives for ever and ever, and those who believe in and trust in Him, will also live......

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Psalms 20 and 21 form a pair of Psalms. Psalm 20 is a “Pre-Battle” song, and Psalm 21 is “Post-War” Victory celebration. But because no specifics are given, and the opening words of Psalm 20 say, “May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble…”, it is possible to apply this Psalm to a variety of situations. We know David was facing natural human enemies, whereas the battles we face are more spiritual (though sometimes coming in fleshly forms), David and ourselves are assured of Victory! Most likely this Psalm was written for David or on......

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WATCHLISTENDOWNLOAD Did you know that Ps.19 reveals two means of Revelation to us, known in theological terms as ‘General‘ and ‘Special‘ revelation. In the first 6 verses (vv.1-6), David spoke of the heavens and the earth giving Glory to God. But although there is ample evidence for there being a Creator, men have turned from the One True God (monotheism) to many gods of their own making (polytheism), as pointed out by Paul in Rom.1:18-23. So people require further revelation, which comes to us from God by His Word, in its many forms (See Ps.19:7-10), which is referred......

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In part 2 of this Psalm (vv.25-50) we see more evidence that David would have been speaking prophetically of Jesus, since even the Apostle Paul quoted some of these verses (see especially v.49) in Rom.15:9-13. Although the salvation and deliverances that David would have been primarily focusing on were temporal, we can see that his experiences would be a foreshadowing or a type of Christ’s Salvation that was to come. It is particularly amazing how David could foresee a day when The Nations or The Gentiles would come to the obedience of the LORD, just as Paul spoke......

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From the work of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word, there ought to be enough fuel to set our hearts on fire! That was the case of the two believers on The Road to Emmaus as the Risen Jesus spoke to them. It is also the case of others who had the Word of God burning within them, like Jeremiah or Ezekiel. And in the New Testament we meet Zacchaeus and the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume, whose lives were no doubt changed by meeting Jesus. He forgave them, and......

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