Finally, after thousands of years of prophecies and preparation, the Messiah, the ultimate prophet – the One who most clearly hears from God and speaks to us; the ultimate priest – the One who uniquely brings us closer to God and brings God closer to us; the ultimate king – the One who is ordained to rule over Israel and the nations forever and ever; the ultimate Savior of humanity had arrived on planet Earth!

Messiah Yeshua was doing great miracles, demonstrating to the Chosen People that He is the Seed of the Woman who would crush the head of the satanic serpent and undo all the horrific damage that originated in Eden. Messiah was proving that He is the healer and liberator of mankind. He was also teaching the Jewish people great truths.

Rabbi Yeshua used various methods to teach, one being parables. He particularly used parables when speaking to a mixed group made up of those who were willing to receive the truths He taught, and those who weren’t willing. This enabled Him to teach the willing, but not throw His pearls before the swine of those not committed to receive truth. He did this so that those who were loyal to Him and sought the truth would be given more, so that they would have an abundance of truth. But those who were not loyal to Him and weren’t really interested in the truth, would not be given more truth. And even the little truth they had would eventually be taken from them.

These parables teach us how the kingdom of Heaven operates. The kingdom of God is real. God is a great king and really rules the universe and is active on planet Earth. These parables help us understand what God is doing in this world, and why He is doing what He is doing. If we know understand these things, then we can line up our minds and attitudes so that our lives will be truly successful.

The first parable tells us that God wants human beings to know the truth that can save them from the real and ruinous forces of Satan, sin and death, but not all will respond to the truth when they hear it. And not all of those who do respond will endure to the end.

The Parable Of The Seed And The Sower

A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Israel’s greatest Rabbi interpreted this parable, so we know exactly what it means. When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. Satan and the demons are real, and one of the things they do is try to prevent people from hearing and acting on the good news about salvation through the Three-In-One God of Israel. In various ways they work on people so that they will not hear the Good News, or if they hear it, they ignore, reject, or not act on it. So, that is the first group of human beings, and the majority of human beings.

The other group of humans are those who respond to the Good News. Theirs is a better response than the first group. But not all those who respond to the Good News will continue to the end and produce results showing that they have been saved. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

In a fallen world that is satanically controlled and is in rebellion against God and is under a curse, we need to expect trouble and persecution. We must warn those we are proclaiming the Good News to that they can expect trouble and persecution; that it can’t be avoided and needs to be endured. We must not paint a rosy picture and tell them only the benefits of citizenship in the kingdom of Heaven and not the hardships that are involved.

That’s not fair to them. We owe it to them to help them count the cost of being one of Messiah’s followers.

If they act on the truth and later fall away, it means that they were never saved to begin with. It is the one who endures to the end who will be saved. It is the one who maintains his loyalty to the High King, the one who remains faithful to the High King’s Son, King Yeshua, who will be saved.

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

There will be those who will start well. They will confess that Yeshua is the resurrected Messiah, get baptized but then get distracted and forget they are here for a special purpose – to continue Messiah’s mission – proclaiming the Good News, teaching and helping. We need to understand that if God has saved us, we are saved for a purpose while we are on Earth. We need to stay focused on our mission. We won’t want to get off track and get caught up by all the distractions of the world. We want to be fully committed to Messiah and to His mission. We don’t want to forget that we are here to be God’s ambassadors, representative, servants, soldiers.

The final response is what we should very much want for ourselves and for others: But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. The live of this man, this woman, is truly successful. He is fruitful. He produces an abundant crop of wisdom, morality, service, witnessing to those who are without and building up Messiah’s community from within.

Sowing gospel seeds of truth that can rescue human beings from Satan, sin and death is one of the things that God is doing on Earth. All of God’s sons and daughters need to be doing the same thing – not just those with a gift of evangelism or paid professional staff. It is the duty of each one of us to declare to those around us the Good News that alone can save them.

When we do so, we can expect most to ignore the Good News; some to accept and act on the Good News, only to shortly fall away; others to stay longer but get distracted by other things so that their lives are not successful; and some to patiently and fruitfully endure to the end.

Which one are you right now? If you are not part of the fruitful group, I strongly encourage you to make the changes you need to and do everything necessary to become part of that blessed remnant.

The Parable Of The Wheat And The Weeds

Yeshua told them another parable: The kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” “An enemy did this”, he replied. The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” “No”, he answered, “because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn”.

Rabbi Yeshua gave us the interpretation for this parable too, so there is no need to guess what it means. The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

God is operating in the world, saving people, creating Messiah’s New Covenant Community made up of rescued Jews and Gentiles who will live forever with the Three-In-One God and the good angels. But the Adversary is also at work. He and his demonic allies are doing what they can to thwart God’s plans. One way the fallen angels oppose the Lord is by planting false believers, Christian and Messianic Jews in name only, in churches and Messianic synagogues, who say “Lord, Lord” but don’t do “Lord Lord”.

You’ve heard people foolishly explain that they are not a Christian because there are so many hypocrites in the Church? This explains why there are hypocrites in the Church. Messiah warned us that there would be. He also told us that we need to be very careful if we want to weed out the false believers from the true believers because we may not be able to discern who is sincere and who is insincere, who is struggling but still a believer and who is a false believer; and that if we are too aggressive, we can do a lot of damage. This doesn’t mean that we can’t exercise church discipline or excommunicate someone who has crossed an important theological or moral boundary – but we need to be very careful.

Questions to consider: Are you wheat or weed? Do you know you are a born-again son or daughter of God, or could you be a pseudo-Christian, a Christian, a Messianic Jew in name only?

The Parables Of The Mustard Seed And The Yeast

He told them another parable: The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches. He told them still another parable: The kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.

The way God is working in this world is by starting small and over time, ending big. In general, the Lord will not do dramatic miracles in front of skeptical crowds. He will not make a grand appearance like He did before the Jewish people when He came down on Mount Sinai with fire and earthquake and the sound of the shofar.

God is working slowly but surely through small, humble, steady ways that will grow bigger and stronger over time. The First Coming of the Messiah typifies this. Even though Yeshua is the Son of God and the King of Glory, and will rule mankind, He came humbly into this world. Yet, during His life the impact He made on the house of Israel grew, and over the centuries the impact He continues to make on Jews and Gentiles will continue to increase until the Second Coming, when the entire world will become part of His wonderful and eternal kingdom!

So, in the meantime, don’t be discouraged by smallness, by rejection, by lack of resources, by being part of a humble, persecuted minority. That’s the way God is operating. Slowly but surely He extending His rule over humanity. More Jews and Gentiles are being rescued from the dark kingdom and being added to the Lord’s kingdom, until His kingdom rules over all. Be understanding. Be patient. Be content.

The Parables Of The Treasure Hidden In A Field And The Merchant Looking For Fine Pearls

The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. God is active in this world. One of the things He is doing is offering human beings something very, very valuable. He is offering citizens of this dark, demonic kingdom citizenship in His real and wonderful kingdom. Citizenship in God’s Kingdom is so valuable it’s worth giving everything you have in order to obtain it.

Why? Because it only makes sense to sell the inferior to obtain the superior, and God’s kingdom is infinitely superior to anything we have on Earth. It’s perfect, not imperfect. It’s pure goodness, not a mixture of good and evil. It’s eternal, not temporary.

Grace is free but citizenship in the kingdom of God is not cheap! Becoming a citizen of the heavenly kingdom means putting God first. It means that God comes before anyone else and anything else. It mean making a commitment to serve the Three-In-One God. It means embracing Messiah’s mission. It means living in a way that pleases the holy and righteous God. It means denying self and picking up a cross. These things are not easy for us to do. In a sense, citizenship in God’s kingdom is expensive. There is a cost, and it’s a very high cost, but it’s a price worth paying since the benefits of citizenship in God’s kingdom are so much better than citizenship in this corrupt and doomed world.

Have you paid the price to buy citizenship in God’s real and wonderful kingdom? If not, what’s preventing you from buying your citizenship into this perfect and eternal kingdom? What on Earth could possibly be holding you back?

The Parable Of The Net And Fish

Once again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. How is God operating in the world? He is fishing for human beings. He is bringing people into Messiah’s Eternal, New Covenant Community. In the Church there will be believers and non-believers. There will be good fish – bass, pike and perch. But there will also be unkosher fish like dogfish, catfish, sharks, squids and eels.

It may be difficult for us to discern the good fish from the bad fish, the righteous from the wicked, the sincere from the insincere, the back-slidden believer from the apostate. Someone said that even when the differences become obvious, it’s not our job to destroy the wicked. That’s the Lord’s job. Too often the Church has acted like God – as judge, jury, and executioner. The Lord will be the judge at the end of this age when He sends His angels to separate the good from the bad and punish the wicked. Then the hypocrites and the God-rejecters and the Messiah-ignorers will be separated from those who fear the Three-in-One God.

The true sons and daughters of God will enter His everlasting and blessed realm but the wicked will be judged and rejected and sent to Gehenna, Hell, the Lake of Fire, from where there is no escape. The Lord will take care of the phoneys and all the unrighteous in His time and in His way, so don’t be discouraged.

Our responsibility is not to act like judge, jury and executioner but to make sure that we are good fish. Commit your life to the great fisher of men! Transfer your loyalties to King Messiah, and His Father, the High King. Then love and serve the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength. It will be worth it!

Parables that teach us how God works in this world and how we need to live to have successful lives. May the Lord so work in each one of us that we understand, remember and implement these important teachings into our lives!