

They (Israel) did not understand.

The first



B 24-30. The TARES.  Good and bad together.

four



Separated at the harvest

(the end of the age); the bad 



are cast into a furnace of

fire, there shall be wailing 

the house



and gnashing of teeth.

to great



C 31,32. The MUSTARD TREE. One Tree.

multitudes.



D 33. The LEAVEN. Hid in three

measures of meal.



D 44. The TREASURE. Hid in a field.



C 45,46. GOODLY PEARLS. One pearl.

The last

B 47-50. The DRAG NET. Good and bad together. 

four

Separated at the end of 



the age; the bad are



cast into a furnace



of fire, there shall

the house



be wailing and

to the



gnashing of teeth.



They (disciples) did understand.

A 51,52. The SCRIBE. The treasure opened to those  

in the house.

The harmony that exists between the component parts of this structure is quite evident to all. If we can see

the disposition of any passage of Scripture, we are in possession of a help to its interpretation. Sometimes a

word may have more than one meaning, and the balance in favour of either rendering may be fairly equal. If we

can find its place in the structure, we shall often, by so doing, find its meaning also.

Look at the central pair of parables. The Leaven `hidden' in three measures of meal finds its corresponding

member in the Treasure `hidden' in the field. The parable of the Tares finds its complement in the parable of

the Drag Net. The parable of the Sower is balanced by that of the Scribe, and the Mustard Seed by the Pearl.

We have now considered the parables in their meaning and signification, and have also looked at the

contextual setting of these parables of the secrets of the kingdom, so far as their place in the Gospel of Matthew

is concerned. We must now examine the immediate cause of their utterance, and we shall then be ready to

consider each parable in detail.

Let us go back as far as the commencement of chapter 11. John the Baptist had said, `He that cometh after

me is mightier than I'. He had seen the heavens open; he had heard the voice of God saying, `This is My

beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased'. But in the course of time John, for his faithfulness, was cast into

prison, there to suffer not only agony of body, but of mind. Had he made a mistake? Why was he not liberated

if this one was the Messiah? Why was the kingdom not set up? So John sent two of his disciples, who said,

`Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?' For answer the Lord replied, `Go and show John

again those things which ye do hear and see; the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are

cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed

is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me'.

If the reader will turn to Isaiah 29:18,19; 35:5,6; and 42:1-7 he will see how this answer would tend to

confirm the languishing forerunner. Everything was being done by the Saviour according to the Word and will

of God, but unbelief was bringing this witness of the kingdom to a close, for a little further on, in Matthew

11:20, He began to `upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not'.

It is evident that if the mighty works were rejected, the gospel or good news that the kingdom of the heavens

had drawn nigh would be rejected also, and the cry, `Repent and believe', would go unheeded.

The Lord Jesus, however, knew that this opposition was to be overruled to the accomplishment of God's

ultimate purpose, and with the words, `Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight', He awaited the end.

It soon came, for in Matthew 12, we reach a climax. There the Lord Jesus is seen `greater than the Temple'