 |  |
Structures of Matthew 13:
A | 1-9. The SOWER. | The sowing of the seed into
-\
four kinds of ground.
\
They (Israel) did not understand.
\
The first four parables
B | 24-30. The TARES. | Good and bad together.
\
spoken outside
Separated at the harvest (the end
\
of the age); the bad are cast into
} the house
a furnace of fire, there shall be
/ to great multitudes.
wailing and gnashing of teeth.
/
C | 31, 32. The MUSTARD TREE. | One Tree.
/
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.
\
B | 47-50. The DRAG NET. | Good and bad together.
\ The first four parables
Separated at the end
\
spoken inside
of the age; the bad are cast into
}
a furnace of fire, there shall be
/
the house
wailing and gnashing of teeth.
/
to the disciples.
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 Drag Net. The parable of the Sower is
balanced by that of the Scribe, and the Mustard Seed by the Pearl.
We now have 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 come after me is mightier than 1:" 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
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 see and hear;
the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear,