Chapter 1: Introduction

revealing the mysteries, the parables of Yeshua.

Chapter 2: Understanding parables

We’re going to start this morning in Matthew 13. To you, it’s been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. And for this uh first day, and I say first day because we’re more than likely going to do more than one one go at this obviously um many parables and I’m going to try and fit as many as I can into uh a single gathering. Unfortunately, today we’re only going to be able to do the parable of the soar. The bulk of the lesson is going to be answering questions about parables themselves, the reasons behind why Yeshua spoke in them. So, let’s get started. What are parables?

Chapter 3: Purpose of parables

Parables are teaching tools used by Yeshua. Stories drawn from common life that reveal deeper spiritual truths. On the surface, they seem simple and sometimes even familiar. But within them lie layers of meaning designed to both reveal and conceal the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. They are not random stories. They follow the pattern of the Mishaw and the Hebrew scriptures, proverbs, riddles, prophetic allegorories that call the hearer to discern truth beneath the images portrayed in the parable. Yeshua’s parables press the listener beyond the obvious, forcing them to wrestle with what is being said. In this way, parable becomes a test of the heart. Those with ears to hear will seek understanding while those hardened will walk away unchanged and oftentimes confused by the parable itself.

Parables reveal the nature of Yahw, the mission of the Messiah, the calling of Israel, the inbreaking of the kingdom, and the necessity of a right response. They are anchored in Torah and the prophets, fulfilling the ancient ways while pointing forward to the renewed kingdom reality that Yeshua proclaimed. And his parable telling, him using parables was foretold. Psalm 78. Give ear, oh my people, to my law. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable and I will utter what? Go ahead, David. It said um I will utter dark sayings of old which we have heard and known and our fathers have told us. Oh, amen. Matthew 13, the disciples came to him and said, ‘Why do you speak to them

Chapter 4: The disciples’ question

in parables? I I found that to be an interesting opening question because put yourself in their shoes. They’re hearing Yeshua teaching these things and they know what it is he’s teaching them or because their eyes have been opened. We’re going to see that here in a moment. And so as he’s teaching, they’re coming to the realization that Yeshua isn’t being as clear with the people as he is with them in private. And so they asked, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it’s been given to you to know the mysteries.” And the word behind mysteries here is hidden truths. It’s been given to you to know the hidden truths of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him will be uh to him more will be given and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him.

Therefore I speak to them in parables because seeing they do not see and hearing that they do not hear nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says hearing you will hear and shall not understand and seeing you will see and not perceive. The hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes they have closed. lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears ears for they hear. For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. Okay. So, I asked the question, how can we how can you sum this up?

David, I said we’re probably not going to do a lot of discussion today, but how would you in a nutshell sum up what Yeshua said here uh to his fellows about speaking to the people in parables? So, I think there I think there’s two elements here. One has to do with the heart. Uh the heart of those that are hearing, whether they have the heart to hear um and whether you know they true desire to understand what God’s plan is, having a soft enough heart to listen and to follow that. And I think the other aspect is an aspect of of if you will revelation, right, of God opening their eyes to see these things. Uh we see that in the road to Emmas and other situations. we can think another lesson as well. Right. So I think it’s a combination of both those things. It’s what I see. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

Chapter 5: Spiritual receptivity

So before we even begin reading the parables, we need to understand Yeshua’s answer here and why he’s answered in the way that he did. If you recall from last week, we did the same thing in our lesson then. uh a question was asked or mumbling and grumbling was happening and Yeshua answered in a certain way that didn’t seem to fit and today we’re going to kind of do the same. We have to understand why he said what he said in his answer. I think that’s important going forward. When he gave the answer because it’s been given to you to know the mysteries of heaven. To me this sounds like a statement about different levels of spiritual reception. different levels of spiritual understanding. The disciples, the 12, had been granted insight and yet the crowds have not yet been granted insight. And I ask, why not yet?

Well, again, building from our discussion last week, if you recall, revelation, understanding, and wisdom is reserved for those who earnestly seek it. Yes, Yeshua was teaching them great things, the the people great things, but the hidden truths would only be discovered by those willing to seek his face like hidden treasure, which just happens to be another parable that we’ll get into another time. So he is out there teaching great things, but he’s not he’s not going to into great detail in explaining these great things. He’s purposely adding some mystery to the parables, to the allegorories, to the historical things he’s referencing. And he’s doing it for a reason. One might say that the entire Bible is written in such a way as to not be clear to the person who casually reads, but only becomes clear to that person who is digging for it like a treasure, who is earnestly seeking to understand him.

Only then are certain things revealed. I can certainly testify to that in my own life as I’m sure many of you others can as well where things that you had read casually many times in the past all of a sudden are starting to become clear to you. And so yes, the entire Bible can be uh viewed at in in that way. But here we’re talking about public speaking and Yeshua is doing the very same thing to those who are who are listening because within that group however large or small it was there are some who will seek to understand and others who won’t. Again, just like last week, Yeshua responds with something that doesn’t seem to fit when he answered them, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Well, it’s been given to you to know the mysteries of God, but not to them. For whoever has, and this is where it kind of gets into some confusion, for whoever has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance.

But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore, I speak to them in parables because seeing they don’t see and hearing they don’t hear, nor do they understand. So, that’s where it kind of gets kind of weird. How many times have you heard a pastor use this verse when talking about money or possessions, uh, wealth of some kind? I have many times. But that’s not what he’s talking about here, is it? I mean, it doesn’t fit the question. When you apply the question to it and try to fit it in context, you see that this principle is indeed about increase or loss. But the whoever has language here is not about money or stuff. It’s about spiritual receptivity. And when you apply that prism to what he’s saying there, then it becomes, I think, even a little bit more challenging than it does at first read.

For whoever has spiritual receptivity, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. An abundance of what? wisdom, knowledge and understanding. But whoever does not have spiritual receptivity, even what he has will be taken away from him. Less wisdom, less knowledge, less understanding. So when you apply that prism, then you kind of understand what Yeshua is saying a little bit more. If a person has a heart open to Yahw, they hunger for truth, they have spiritual humility, they will receive more. If a p person resists, and we talked about resistance last week, hardens their heart, remains indifferent, they will lose what little understanding they had. And we all know what this looks like. We all know what it looks like for a person to be indifferent about a truth that may be being presented to them.

I I’ve shared in other lessons times where I have sat across the table with a brother showing him what I believe to be irrefutable, absolutely easy to understand truth. And yet he remained indifferent because it didn’t fit within his current belief system. And so what Yeshua is saying here is saying that if that person is not open to the clear and irrefutable truths of scripture, then even the wisdom that he thinks he has, cuz that’s often what happens. That person who’s remaining indifferent, that person who is resisting in their mind, they are holding on to what they believe to be wisdom and understanding. yet it’ll be taken from them. So in simpler terms when Yeshua talks or his answer the way he did I speak to

Chapter 6: Fulfilled prophecy

them in parables because of this division because some who are here are ready for the mysteries and some are not. And again that can be applied to the entire Bible when anyone reads it. Now, there is a scripture that says that teaches us that the words of the Lord will not return void. And there’s truth to that. Anytime someone reads the Bible, I’m convinced something happens at some level. But the individual has to be willing to respond to that, whatever that is. And some are not ready for those mysteries, while some are. or when he gets to start to explaining why this division exists. Those who already have receptivity and openness will be given more insight. Those who lack it will lose even what they grasp. Therefore, I speak in parables because their condition is such that though they see, they don’t truly see. And though they hear, they don’t truly understand. They see it.

they they see what you’re saying, but it’s not reg registering into in their brain. It’s not the connections aren’t being made. And then he goes on to remind them that this was foretold. Matthew 13 14-15. And in in them, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled where it’s being foretold. Hearing you won’t hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see, not perceive. The hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes have closed less they should see. Again, this is one of those verses that like you I’ve read a hundred times. Some years ago, I was reading it and this stood out to me. They they have eyes to see, but they don’t perceive. They have ears to hear, but they don’t understand. Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears. lest they should understand with their hearts and turned so that I would heal them.

David, let me just ask you first read here. You’re looking at this. And it goes on to say that this prophecy exists about them having eyes and ears and yet not being able to see or hear. Hearts have grown dull. But then he says, “Lest.” What What’s another way for lest? until or yeah something that when there’s a change of heart when there’s a change of you know their condition if you will spiritual condition or their condition or their their relationship with God yeah or maybe otherwise would that be a good replacement for the word lest otherwise otherwise they should see or or or less they should see and turn and of course we know that that means repent and I would heal them. So what do we learn here? Seeing and understanding is what causes the heart to repent. Right?

When you really see something and you really grasp it and you really understand it, that causes the heart to repent, which then leads to healing. Again, personal ex example when I first began studying out the truth behind the food laws. Before that, I was a big bacon eater. I loved my catfish and my shrimp and my bacon. I loved all that stuff. But I started to look into the food laws. I studied them for a long time. And I studied the New Testament verses for a long time that I thought was teaching me that it was okay to have bacon. And when I first saw and I first understood what the Bible is actually saying, what did I do that day, wife? I literally walked into my kitchen and I started throwing things out that fast. Why? Because seeing and understanding is what causes the heart to repent, which then leads to healing. And this is what Yeshua came to do in part, right?

He he came to heal both physically and spiritually both their blindness uh but their blindness prevented their understanding thus preventing faith. We know the verse in Mark 6 where it says he could do no mighty things there. He could not do very many miracles there because of their unbelief because of their lack of faith. So healing was prevented because of the lack of repentance, because of the lack of faith. But Yeshua says, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see and your ears, for they hear. For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.” Imagine yourself being one of the 12 standing there listening to Yeshua say this to you. The heroes of your faith that you had grown up studying about, reading about in Torah school, these great men all desired to see what your eyes behold at this moment.

And yet they didn’t. to hear the words that are coming out of my mouth at this moment and yet didn’t hear it. And I I dare say that, and this is just my limited one man’s perspective, but I believe that you and I are living in such an hour today. I I believe that we are seeing things and hearing things that have been prophesied from old that are happening in our very day. It could be argued that what happened yesterday with the conflict between Israel and Iran is is prophecy being fulfilled. And and so in one sense we are in a point of history in a point in history where this generation may end up seeing and hearing things that up until now we’ve only been able to read about. We might be the generation that witnesses the second coming of Christ.

I mean, that’s when you sit down and think about it, it’s a little bit mindboggling that that that our generation may be the generation that sees the the skies rolled back like a scroll. It’s scary, but at the same time, it’s it’s um almost an honor to be a part of that possible generation. So even as I speak those words, you get a sense of what the men felt as Yeshua was speaking those words to them because they were standing in the epicenter of salvific history, witnessing everything that the prophets foretold and long to witness for themselves. And again, I ask, imagine the incredible humility, the overwhelming humility that they must have felt when Yeshua asked those words.

Chapter 7: The parable of the sower

So, let’s get into the parable of the swer. Matthew 13:1-9. On the same day, Yeshua went out of the house and sat by the sea, and a great multitudes were gathered together to him. So he got into a boat and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore. Then he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the ser went out to sew, and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places where they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some hundfold, some 60, some 30. He who has ears, let him hear.

In as much as this parable is about the receptivity of the human heart, we cannot afford to miss the obvious lesson here in this one verse. Behold, a swer went to sew. And as he sowed, the serowed. Why did the serow? Because the serer was a ser. He was a sewer doing what sers do. And what do sers do, my love? Seeds. They plant seeds. That’s what sers do. It was an intentional act and not just something that he decided to do one day. He didn’t just wake up one day and decide, I don’t know, plant some seeds today. No, he was a swer. That’s what he did. A farmer planting seeds. And this is a huge lesson for the rest of us that I I’m afraid way too many believers simply ignore. What am I what do I mean by this? Well, we all know the verse in Matthew 28. Yeshua spoke to them in the final day here before he rose up into heaven, giving them what would be their final in-person command.

That all authority has been given to me in heaven on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe or obey all things that I have commanded you, and surely I’ll be with you to the end of the age. One might say, well, Ed, that’s the he’s talking to the guys there. Well, no, he’s not. If they’re going to go and make disciples of all nations and then teach them to obey all things that they have been commanded, then wouldn’t that include this final command? Well, of course it would. So, they’re going to go and make disciples and then teach those disciples that they made to make disciples, right? And I’m afraid that there’s just too many believers who simply don’t obey this verse. Too many believers who don’t observe it. The parable teaches that the seeds went everywhere.

The wayside, the stony places, the thorns, the good ground. And why? Why are they going everywhere? They’re going everywhere because they’re being broadcasted. We know this word, right? Broadcast. We hear it when it comes to the television or the radio waves. Broadcasting. But it’s actually a biblical term. That’s right. Broadcasting was when someone would have a a handful of seeds and wave his hand spreading out the seeds. broadcasting the seeds onto the ground. Well, there’s again there’s lessons here for us. Broadcasting is the method of scattering seed widely and evenly over the surface of the ground by hand or by mechanical means rather than planting the seeds in rows or holes. The term comes from the idea of casting broadly, meaning to spread out in all directions. It’s one of the oldest methods of sewing and was commonly practiced in ancient agricultural societies, including in this parable.

It’s a visual for our evangelism sharing widely, casting broadly and in all directions. It’s a command. And yet, how many of us really do any version of it at all? I’m blessed in one sense to have come from a conservative Christian church whose focus was on evangelism. From my very early years as a young believer, I was accustomed to walking up to total strangers on campus in Arizona State, inviting them to study the Bible with me, asking them spiritual questions. I’ve gone door knocking like the Jehovah’s Witnesses do. I’ve invited total strangers when I’m out eating breakfast at a restaurant or something like that. I know what that’s like to share my faith. And I’ve spent many hours studying the Bible with people and helping them come to a limited faith. But that’s not the case for everybody. And uh I say this because I truly believe that this command goes largely ignored.

Uh, and maybe the problem is people don’t know how to do it. People don’t know how to evangelize. And maybe that’s something that we can teach. Maybe that’s something that we can talk about in a future lesson. But I still want it to be impressed upon your heart, listener, viewer, that this is a command from Yeshua. It was his final command. And we need to open our mouths widely, evenly, broadly, in all directions to people that we’re talking to, people that we work with about what we’re seeing in our Bibles and what we’re learning about Yeshua. So, let’s get into the hearts. Some fell on the wayside. Okay, let’s start with that. I think we all know that this verse ultimately is about

Chapter 8: Wayside heart

hearts, right? So, let’s try and figure out what these hearts are for those that are that fell on the way side. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received the seed by the wayside. What does this mean? Well, any hearing of or reading of Yah’s holy word is a sewing. Whether it’s been read to you or you’re reading it yourself or you’re hearing it in a sermon even now as I speak and I’m reading the words from the holy scriptures. This is a sewing is a planting and it has the ability to produce fruit in you unless you don’t understand it. Wisdom is the principle thing in Proverbs 4. Therefore, get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. So, what is he saying here?

When he talks about these seeds who fell on the wayside, he’s talking about people who hear it, don’t understand it, but they’re not willing to put in the time and the effort to get the understanding, to get the knowledge of the Holy One, which thereby leads you to understanding. we’re not willing. Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge correctly. Understanding is the ability to perceive the nature or the meaning of something. In other words, together it gives one the ability not only to have knowledge but to know how to apply it and why it’s being applied and obeyed. So for that person who has a wayside heart and they don’t understand it, they don’t know how to apply it, they don’t know what it means for their life is wasted on them.

And again, you and I can both attest to the fact there have been people in our lives and maybe we ourselves who at one point had something spoken to us, heard something from a sermon on the radio or watched something on TV. For me, growing up, we I would catch Jimmy Swagger on the TV every now and then, and his vivaciousness got my attention. And the words that he read from the scriptures had some impact, but I didn’t know how to apply that. You didn’t know how to apply that. And so it was forgotten. It the word wasn’t sewn into your heart. I didn’t know how to use that information. And so in one sense it bounced right off. Deuteronomy 4, surely I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me that you should quote act according to them. What does that mean? That’s knowing how to apply them correctly in the land which you go to possess. Therefore, be careful to observe them.

For this is your wisdom and your understanding. What does that mean there, David? Therefore, be careful to observe them. For this is your wisdom and your understanding. Your wisdom and understanding is manifested or demonstrated through your obedience. Yeah. Yeah. So many people look at wisdom and understanding is as some ethereal thing that happens to you or that you get when the Bible is actually telling us that your wisdom and your understanding is directly tied to observing his statutes and his judgments and his commandments after you’ve applied them correctly. That’s a huge thing that so many people don’t understand. They want wisdom. They ask for wisdom and they might seek wisdom as its own little thing.

But if they’re seeking wisdom as its own little thing while ignoring obedience or ignoring the act of putting them to work in your life, let’s just go back one slide earlier where we talked about Yeshua’s final command of making disciples. If we ignore such commands because we don’t understand them, then we are not going to attain that wisdom and that understanding that we’re seeking. It’s just not going to happen. And that’s why I think Yeshua takes the time in this parable to draw all these things out. Now, you and I have the benefit of reading these words 2,000 years later and having the time to break them down and search the scriptures to better understand these things. They didn’t. It was do or die for them at that moment. Just as it is when you’re sharing your faith with somebody, you take the time to share your faith with someone and explain to them a few things.

It’s kind of a do- or die moment for them as well. If they don’t respond ultimately to the call, as we discussed last week, Yeshua is going to remind them of every time in their life where they had someone like you or someone like me, try to teach them something, try to show them something, try to plant something in their hearts, and they simply rejected it. So then what is Yeshua saying here? How many individuals have you seen make a profession of faith in the churches only to later fall away from it? A moment ago I talked about my church being big on evangelism and we were. And in that time, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve personally studied the Bible with and help them come to faith only to walk them watch them walk away 6 months later, a year later, 5 years later. They claimed faith in Yeshua, but they didn’t truly understand who he was and why they were following him beyond getting to heaven.

Too many people sign up for some level of faith, some church, because of the prospect of heaven, which fear is a good motivator. I’m not I’m not saying it’s not, but because they didn’t understand truly who he was and why they were following him beyond that ticket to heaven, they didn’t last. was talking to brother Snow on the phone a few days ago. We talked about this last statement here. The fact that many believers, most believers cannot answer the question, why did Yeshua have to die to provide salvation? Why death? He’s God. He can do whatever he wants. He can snap his finger and provide salvation. So why death? Uh, I couldn’t answer this question for most of my Christian life. My response to that might have been, “Well, but to save me from my sins or because he had to be this spotless lamb.” Well, yeah, true. That’s fine. All those things are good.

But explain to me, Ed, why did Yeshua have to die to provide salvation? Most people can’t do that. And if you can’t do that because of what you understand biblically, then it it could be argued that you yourself are building on sinking sand. So this wayside story is a big deal and there are a lot of lessons here for us

Chapter 9: Stony ground heart

to learn. Evil men do not understand justice. Why am I picking this verse? Well, because again, when you think about the entirety of the scriptures and all the things there that are there for our understanding, again, it could be argued that the entire Bible is about the story of justice. Whose justice? Ours. We don’t deserve life. We don’t deserve salvation. We don’t deserve these things. And yet, something was done on our behalf to provide it. So evil men don’t understand this. They don’t understand justice. But those who seek the Lord do and they understand it. And guess what? They would understand the answer to the question I just posed about why Yeshua had to die. Why? Because they sought it out. Evil men don’t understand justice. Okay. stony places. Some fell on stony places where they did not have much earth and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.

When the sun was up, they were scorched and because they had no root, they withered away. Okay. Yeshua goes on to explain the meaning of that part of the parable when he said, “He who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, he immediately for uh stumbles. He immediately forgets. So I wanted to talk briefly about this. He had no depth of earth is kind of the same thing as saying he has no root in himself. What does that mean David? Do you think the the root is what holds the tree? what’s provides the nourish nourishment. It’s what allows it to continue to survive.

If you have if there’s no depth of earth and you know if the root is not deep enough in yourself and having that desire to like you said to to deepen your understanding it’s yeah not going to survive. Yeah. So, I mean, anytime we hear the word root in scriptures, we automatically think of Yeshua. But the root here isn’t Yeshua. Nor is it even knowledge or wisdom. It’s a heart issue. But again, this is one of those verses that I’ve read so many times. But when you stop, slow down, and you really get into this, Yeshua says the man had no or woman had no root in him or herself. They receive the word with joy and we see that all the time, right? But there’s something about him or herself that prevents this seed from having any real life. It endures only for a while. So there’s this is a heart issue that Yeshua is talking again and again building from our discussion from last week.

This person receives the word of the kingdom with joy because to him or to her it sounds great, right? We talked about this last week. It was a good idea. It was reasonable. It was smart at the moment. It’s a family thing. All my family members are quote unquote disciples or members of this church. It’s a friendship thing. All my friends are doing it. And maybe you felt a little pressure to do it yourself. And you did. You took that step, that step of faith. You thought, but the joy faded quickly. And now what? That momentary joy that you felt by doing this thing that joining this church, making this confession, being baptized, all because it’s something you’re supposed to do. It’s a family thing. It’s a friendship thing. When all that excitement dissipates and it will, now what? No one ever taught you that to be a believer, God has expectations for you to obey.

And because you didn’t arrive here because you were seeking him, now you’re questioning why you’re doing this at all. I mean, the concerts at church are cool, but is that the only reason I’m here? And so many thousands of people, dare say millions of people around the world enter into some church for the reasons mentioned above. There is no root in themselves. their heart, their inside their heart, they weren’t truly seeking him. They were seeking an experience. And once the joy of that initial experience is gone, you’re now asking why you’re doing this at all. Ezekiel 33, as for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses. They speak to one another, which is kind of a cool story right there, right? Which which means what?

The father’s listening to the things these people are saying beside the walls and the doors, the houses, they’re listen. He’s listening and he’s conveying what he’s hearing to the prophet. Everyone saying to his brother, “Please come and hear what the word uh is that comes from the Lord.” So they come to you as a people do. They sit before you as my people and they hear your words, but they don’t do them. Their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed, you are to them as I think I remember my NIV saying something like a fine speaking person, a fine speaking guy who has pleasant voice who can play well on an instrument for they hear your words but they don’t do them. And this again can be argued defines many if not most people in most Christian denominations who go and quote unquote sit before the Lord at church claiming to be his people as they do.

They hear the words being spoken to them. They show much love but at the end of the day they’re pursuing their own gain. They’re not obeying. Why? Because there is no root in themselves. So Yeshua’s words here though they sound poetic very deep and stinging one might even say stinging words. He goes on to say, “Some fell among the thorns. Thorns sprang up and choked them.”

Chapter 10: Thorny ground heart

Then he then he then he explains a little later on what this means. Now he who receives seed among the thorns is he who hears the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. Now again this is pretty self-explanatory external pressures and internal desires. I was pleasantly surprised to see in this verse that what was choked wasn’t the person. What was choked wasn’t the their faith. What was choked wasn’t their commitment or their dedication. What was choked, David? The word. Yeah, the word. The external pressures and the internal desires choked the word. So let’s break this down. The cares of this world. What are these? Anxieties, distractions, preoccupations with temporal concerns, family, work, health, social status, anything that pulls attention away from the things of God.

Now, how many of us can look at that list and say, “We’re free from all that.” None of us, right? Nope. We all have anxieties. We all have distractions. We all have preoccupations. We all have temporal concerns. We all have family. We all have work. We all have health issues. We’re all concerned about our social status. But not all of us allow those things to pull our attention away from him. And when you do, you’re allowing his word to be choked. What does that mean? How would you define that, David? For the for for the word to be choked to basically come up with different reasons, rationalizing on one way uh or another one is just setting it aside, not uh not allowing it to convict you, reach you, penetrate you. Yeah, I I I would say that’s exactly right. these all these things that we all deal with if we allow them will keep the word from having the impact that it should in our lives.

So what’s the solution? Going back to last week, there was a verse that we looked at in Luke 14:33 that you were to give up everything to follow him. And those who can’t or won’t give up everything to follow him cannot follow him. And what is what is our everything? Well, every time we hear something like that, we think our money or our possessions. But no, we also have to give up our anxieties and our distractions and our preoccupations and our temporal concerns, our family, our work, health, social, all these things. We give those things up. And when you truly have that in your heart and in your your your mind, then the thorns, the those thorns, because those what the thorns are, these are the thorns. They they won’t distract you. They won’t choke the word. You can juggle them all with faith because you know that these things you’ve already given up. Yes, they’re there.

Yes, the pressures are there, the distractions, all these things are there. They’re not going away, but you gave them up. They’re they you you laid them at the foot of the cross. They’re his. And therefore, the word doesn’t get choked. The deceitfulness of riches. Wealth is not neutral here. It’s called deceitful because it creates a false sense of security and power and self-sufficiency. Riches promise fulfillment but often lead the heart away from a dependence on Yah. And I think that’s true. I think that the more wealthy a person becomes, the more they forget the father and they have. And then it says choke the word. And the imagery here is obviously botanical. Just as thorns grow up and entangle a plant, competing life interests overwhelm the word, robbing it of power in your life and we can’t allow that to happen. And then he goes on to say he becomes unfruitful.

A person is not outwardly hostile or rebellious but nonproductive. The kingdom does not advance through him or her. There’s no lasting change. There’s no lasting transformation. No good works, no enduring faith. And again, I hate to keep referring back to my own past, but I I I’ve seen this in people’s lives. Unfortunately, I’ve seen people who claim faith, but really all they are is a drain on other people’s good hearts. They’re not productive themselves. Nothing happens because of their faith. They’re not serving in any way or shape or form. They’re not personally changing. They’re there. their names on the membership, but they are unfruitful. This is Eve’s sin, by the way, that we’re talking about here. The thorns, Eve’s sin, and obviously the biggest lie of Hassatan, right? Let’s look at First John 2 and see something very interesting here. Do not love the world or the things in the world.

Okay, let’s stop right there. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to remind myself of this verse. Those of you who know me know that I have a couple of things that I like. I like to collect pocketk knives. I like to collect watches. I’m a watch collector. I I love to go fishing every chance I can, even though I don’t get to do that very often. There’s certain things that I like, but I have to I’ve had to remind myself many times, Ed, do not love the world or the things in the world. You don’t need another watch. You don’t need another pocketk knife. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, what what does that leave out, David? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the father, but is of the world.

Again, thorns, and the world is passing away, and the lust of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever. Now, let’s look at Eve’s sin. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of it its fruit and ate. Do you see John’s words in the fall of man here, David? I’m not going to ask you to respond, but I want you who’s watching and those of you listening on Zoom, look at John’s words and then look at the fall of man, look at Eve and ask yourself, do you see John’s words in that story? And if you can’t, let’s look at it a little closer.

So the woman when the woman saw that the tree was good for food that’s lust for the flesh that it was pleasant to the eyes that that means desirable in the Hebrew that’s lust of the eyes and a tree in a tree desirable to make one wise that’s the pride of life she took of its fruit and ate So here, John is pointing us all the way back to Genesis and the fall of man as it pertains to the thorns that get in the way of our blessing, of our understanding of truth. We allow these things to get in the way. The lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life. These are these are thorns and we can’t we can’t

Chapter 11: Good ground heart

and then he finishes by saying others fell on good ground and yielded a crop some 100fold some 60 some 30. He who has an ear to ear let him hear. He goes on to explain it. He who receives seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it. who indeed bears fruit and produces some 100fold, some 60, some 30. I I found it interesting that he says, hears, understands, bears fruit. Almost as if the bearing fruit doesn’t happen unless you understand and hear, right? You’re not going to bear fruit unless you hear the word and understand the word. Which brings us all the way back not just to our starting point where we discussed the commandment to make disciples but also to last week’s focus on the importance of understanding and how together these two produce lasting fruit. What do I mean by this? Well, how is a person going to hear the word unless someone teaches them the word?

I think Paul said something about that, didn’t he? So, it’s all it all fits together here. So, you’re not going to be able to hear the word unless someone teaches you the word. And that person is not going to teach the word unless they’re obeying Yeshua’s command to go make disciples. And then that person understands. And then that person themselves bears fruit. So the person who’s doing the teaching is bearing the fruit. Now the fruit’s bearing fruit and that’s lasting fruit. I think that you know also that the bearing of the fruit is kind of a testament or manifestation that God’s commands are for good. They do have fruit. So when you obey them, the obedience brings to, you know, good fruit, which is what God’s intention is all along. Yeah. Yeah. Amen. So he says, “He who hears the word,” Well, all the soils that we’ve gone through, they’ve all heard the word, right? But hearing alone isn’t sufficient.

And that’s what I think Yeshua is trying to say. What did James say in chapter 1 verse 22? Don’t just hear the word and thus deceive yourselves but be doers of the word. Right? So all these soils heard but only one has grasped it and understood it and then bore the fruit of it, understands it. This means more than intellectual grasp. When you understand something, it’s more than just an intellectual grasp. It implies a heart level covenantal reception, which is just happens to be the exact opposite of Matthew 13:19, where the one who does not understand loses what was sown. Right? So, this is the this is the flip side of that coin. the person who hears it and understands it. It’s not just in your brain, but it’s a heart level event where it causes you to change. Who indeed bears fruit and produces. True understanding results in transformation.

As I just said, the measure of faithfulness is not merely reception, but fruit bearing. And you know who had a lot to say about fruit bearing? Yeshua did. And this is our this is our final verse here that we’re going to read and then we’ll get some discussion. John 15 1-8. I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away. And every branch that does bear fruit he prunes. What does that mean? He disciplines that it may bear more fruit. abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. So that’s a little litmus test, isn’t it? If you’re bearing much fruit, that’s almost a litmus test that you are abiding in him and him and you. And when I mean fruit, what do I mean by that?

Do I mean that that can be counted in heads and skulls on the number of people you’re converting? Well, not necessarily. Although that’s fruit. Bearing much fruit can mean many other things. How you’re using your talents, who you’re impacting with the things that the father give you, gave you, all those things bear fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, and he is cast out as a as a branch and withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they’re burned. If you abide in me, my words abide in you. My words, my words, my teaching, my commandments abide in you. You will ask whatever you desire and it shall be done for you. By this my father is glorified. So now it’s not just a litmus test. Now he’s saying that’s you bearing fruit glorifies the father. thus proving yourself to be his disciples, right? Because that’s what Yeshua did. He glorified the father.

So when we bear fruit because of our open good ground hearts, we’ve heard it, we’ve understood it, it bears fruit, and thus the father is glorified. And I’ll just say lastly here before we finish up. I understand what it means when Yeshua said, “Without me, you can do nothing.” I’ve been there. I’ve accomplished nothing many times in my life because I tried to do it on my own power. I tried to do it without him or not knowing him. And often times I wonder if the frustrations that are found within the Christian fellowships of the world are not because of this because they’re not rooted in the truth. And because they’re not rooted into the truth, they have troubles that they can’t explain. I couldn’t. But I digress. That wasn’t really part of my lesson. That was the parable of the swer.

Chapter 12: Discussion and concluding

So, I’m done yakking. Let’s get your thoughts, your opinions, your insights, your wisdom, and even your rebukes. If you think I’m wrong, I take them all as always. Anybody like to share? Brother Ed, I waited. I I I remembered your admonishment last time that I’m always quick to share. So, I wanted to wait to see if anybody else is going to do it first. I’m learning my lesson, but surely it uh uh brother Ed a wonderful teaching and I see how this connects to the to the earlier teaching um because many are called few are chosen. I think this applies to that. There’s a tie in. It’s funny that you mention um what was said in I believe that was first John, the first epistle of the the Apostle John. Um and going back to Eve’s transgression in the garden.

And what’s interesting about this in the tie-in that I see is from the beginning in the garden because after um Adam and Hava ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they were cut off from the tree of life, which I understand to be the Torah because you can’t partake of the devil’s table and of Yah’s table. You know when you said that for the most part when we’re talking about understanding of the word and understanding being opened up the one thing I always think about that that the master said is that to whom much is given much is required and that may be another reason why some people eyes are not open to the understanding because once you know what you should be doing and you return to your vomit it’s a big problem for as opposed to being blind to understanding, not falling in line with the proper execution of the word which is

given to you and having the opportunity at the second resurrection to accept Messiah and to be grafted in and to come into the fold hopefully. The last thing I’ll say is this. I I I I think about the movie The Book of Eli with Denzel Washington and he played the the role of a blind prophet and he carried a Bible around him and the the antagonist was always trying to get a hold of that Bible because he recognized the words. He understands the power of the scripture and when he’s finally able to grab a hold of it, he can’t read it because it’s in braille. Now, it’s I mean it’s open what the what the understanding is if you really read and you understand scripture what what it’s meant to say. And that’s what it appears to be in actuality. A lot of people can just pick it up because it’s a book, but they’re not given an understanding. And I know that it’s driven a lot of people crazy.

I know it’s driven a lot of people to go on archaeological hunts in order to either confirm or disavow things that are in the scriptures. But as I think you aptly pointed out, it is those who are earnestly seeking the father’s face and seek to walk in righteousness that the opening of the understanding happens gradually. Amen, brother. Thank you so much. Uh Luke, Luke number, was that Luke number two? That’s Luke number two, I think. Go ahead, Luke. Yeah. How you doing? All right. Yeah, thank you so much. Shabbat shalom, everybody. Yeah, this was an amazing teaching. you know, just about every teaching brings me back to Ephesians 2 2 1-9. And uh Yahw said that he will be gracious unto whom he will be gracious. And if you read Ephesians 2 1-9, basically Yahw is in charge of whose heart he’s go whose bubble he’s going to pop at that whatever moment in their life.

and speaking to the the sewing of the seed and how it falls on ground it and people get distracted with their lives. Are we treating it like a job? Like the job that we rely on in our daily lives to do we bring our personal life to work every day? No. If you do, you’re in trouble cuz you know you’re not going to get anything done. you get to work, you focus on your job, and you do what you got to do. Um, it’s like being it’s like having a job or being a soldier. And like I believe that it it comes down to uh trusting in Yahweh. I mean, Peter took his eyes off of Yahweh when they when they were on the water and Peter began to s sing. So, I mean, I don’t know. There’s there’s so much there’s so much here and you’ve definitely given me a new line of study and thank you. I’m excited. Amen. Thank you, Luke, as always. Appreciate your insights. Uh, brother Flowers, let’s hear from Ry. Shabbat shalom, everyone.

Uh, you know, before I came into the understanding that the Torah still apply to our lives, I used to always think of fruit as just doing good deeds and these parables that you just walked us through, I I now see it completely different. I see fruit is really the desire to obey. And then when you brought up John at the last moment, that just just screams out what I’m trying to say because he says in me when if you abide in me and I in you, the branch cannot bear fruit or this desire to obey of itself unless you abide in the vine which is Yeshua. Neither can you unless I you abide in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. You’re going to start to obey once you accept him into your heart because he’s going to change your desires. He’s going to give you the power to overcome the unwillingness to walk in obedience.

And I see that so often within the Christian churches. When you go there, what do they say? Well, we’re all just sinners and we can’t help ourselves. We’re all just going to sin. It’s like they’re saying that I often like to wonder like, what does your Messiah do for you? Cuz my Messiah is changing me. I used to walk in disobedience, but now I don’t even desire that no more. I desire to obey him because I know that that obedience, that’s how you glorify the father. When you think of Adam before he sinned, he was the perfect representative of an obedient creation. And we lost that with the fall. And so, I love these teachings with the of the seed and and all of that because I see it’s so different now from where I came from. And we used to just think it was good deeds and you know bringing people into the church and now I’m bearing fruit 100fold and a thousand. It’s it’s really about obedience. Yep.

Amen brother. Thank you so much Ray. Okay. Praythap. Pray praythap. I think I’m saying that right. Yes. Uh hi everybody. Uh I think this is my first uh meeting with you all. It’s really uh yeah blessing that I’m able to participate here. I have two questions Ed on this lesson. Um I think before that my grasping from this lesson is that it is stressing or reiterating how importance the obedience is uh from hearing and understanding and what we put into action as an obedience is very important. I I take as a a lesson and from this and my question is like if Jesus said that the Isaiah prophecy has been foretold has been fulfilled if it would be good if you have that reference probably I missed it uh where their hearts and eyes and ears has been uh not opened or it has been made shut.

Um I think while starting the parables when the disciples asks why are you talking in parables he says that their eyes are not awakened or not yet to see as per the Isaiah foretold. So I think it would be a good way that Isaiah prophecy is there pointing that can uh add to it. And uh the second question is like uh the parables are the mysteries of heaven. I mean the mysteries of a kingdom of heaven. So does this apply for all the parables uh which Jesus spoke? Because Jesus uh speaks parables in other places to a different uh a kind of a lawyer or a Pharisees and sadducees. So does everything comes under the mysteries? Uh just thought of asking in terms of par. Well, well, thank you, brother. If I if I understand you correctly, your your your first question was kind of an existential uh question that I did my best to answer in another lesson. Um what was the title of that lesson?

I’ll have to link it, but it was um it was the lesson on u the elect who is No, no. The the lesson was how can how can God condemn those people that he has blinded? That was the question that I sought out to answer in that discussion and I think we did a pretty good job of doing that. Um and again I may not be understanding your question altogether accurately but what I think you’re asking is u these people were intentionally blinded but the Bible tells us that they were intentionally blinded due to their uh rebellion. We see that way back in the early part of the of the Bible, I think Genesis as well. Um, where this blindness was was upon them and it was a corporate blindness so to speak, but not so much that the individual couldn’t respond if he or she was seeking to do so properly. Again, brother Baronson is of Jewish descent. He is proof of that. He’s with us today.

He is proof that even though a blindness is upon Israel, that the individual can initiate response. He or she can seek out the truth. and those things that we just saw that come as a result of that seeking opens up to them. Um, and so I think uh pray if you want to go look up that lesson and watch that that might do uh well with answering your question. Your second question was about the parables. Yes, as I said in the lesson, Jesus only spoke in parables when dealing with the crowds, but you could almost see the entire Bible from cover to cover as parabolic is one big parable that is only to be understood by those who are digging for it like they’re in a field looking for a treasure. So, I hope that answers your question. Uh, hini and I don’t I’m I’m never sure if I’m saying that word correctly, but Henni Heni, he’s saying though. Yes.

Yeah, I wanted to piggyback a little bit what David had had brought up, especially seeing how you got the name right now. Um, but um, and and point out there’s one odd thing about Christ parables. So I always interpreted Christ parables as his way of saying roundabout that I’m not wasting my words on people are not going to understand it. Um and or in uh we see it in other parts where uh you know don’t throw your pearls at pigs, right? Um but um as David pointed out uh disciplehip is is something that goes way back. Um and and so are parables. Um, so the the the Mishna has has a couple in there. Um, and see if this sounds somewhat familiar though. Um, so, uh, he, uh, it’s talking about disciplehip, right? Uh, he who is slow to hear and slow to lose. He who loss uh, his loss is offset by his gain. He who is quick to hear and slow to lose, he is a sage. and he who is slow to hear and quick to lose.

Uh this is the evil person. Um and then if we go to uh uh Gamaliel which was uh Paul’s teacher um he had a similar parable uh using fish there and uh he said there’s four types of fish and and parables typically will have when they’re talking in this realm have four uh they have four categories you know the the plus the minus and basically the the kind of neutral. Um, so he says there’s an unclean fish and this part I found kind of offensive, but uh it says this is the poor person uh who studies scripture. But if we go back, we find out that anyone that was a son of a poor parent was not deserving of Torah study. And that was a general overview or how they looked upon uh you know the poor at back then. And and if we remember Christ was about as poor as it gets if we look at his his uh pigeon offering or his two bird offering.

Um and then uh so it says the unclean and and that that’s the one who studies scripture and that’s it. They don’t gain much from it or gain anything from it. Then um that then you have the clean fish and this is the wealthy son who studies scripture but h he has understanding. you have the fish from the Jordan and uh this is the disciple of the sage um who doesn’t know how to answer a question and this piggybacks what you were talking about before as far as getting out to disciple and then the fish from the great sea is the disciple of the sage who studies scripture um and knows how to answer and I I think that completely piggybacks literally how you you brought about a lot of your your things in it was excellent thanks again and uh good job with everybody. Amen. Thank you, Henny. Okay, Teresa. Shabbat shalom. Um just wanted to share a thought.

Uh but first of all, I want to thank Ed for your time that you spend probably daily to put together these lessons for us. Amen. And I ask that Yhovah bless you and keep you, you and your family. Thank you. So, um I love I love the analogy of trees and I love that you went back to Genesis because you have the tree of life who is in the midst of the garden and then you also have the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Mhm. So, the tree of life has one seed, one good seed that bears much good fruit. But we had Adam and Eve eat from the tree of good and evil. They ate from mixed seeds. We’re not supposed to mix seeds as it talks about in Genesis 1 in the creation of days. You’re not supposed to mix. You’re not supposed to mix of different kinds. And so it just reminds me that we need to be careful.

I need to be careful that we’re only taking um that we’re only taking um understanding from his Torah, from the Tanakh, from the Brit Haresa, and to be careful not to mix the things of this world, mix things of Talmud, mix things of Christianity, that we keep that seed seed, one seed that is throughout all the scripture and not to start mixing in other seeds. Amen. In other words, talk a note, right? Yes. Talk a note. Yes. Awesome. Thank you, Sister Teresa. Okay, David, I’m going to let you have the final words here. I think your hand is still up, but before you do that, uh I think Lori had her hand up. Uh but so if you guys don’t want to share anything, we’ll have David have the final word here and then we’ll we’ll call it a day. Uh I just put my hand up on behalf of another member that couldn’t find their feature. It’s okay. Thanks. Oh, okay. Okay. Go ahead, David.

I just wanted to say uh thanks again as always, Ed. Echo all the uh um expressions of gratitude that were that were made here earlier. Um, I think that one of the things that, you know, at least from my perspective on this parable, a lot of times it was a way for me to I looked at it. I looked at other people, if you will, and quote unquote evaluated them. This is, you know, this person’s by the wayside, this person is, you know, does have a very thin soil, etc. But the way I’m kind of as I’m meditating on this a little bit more, it is actually and and it actually also in the past I had this kind of perspective. It’s like you are a person is in either one of these phases and that’s it. But the way I kind of see it and understanding it’s actually more of a progression of faith, right? And you start be being on the way side which is you know and I’m applying it to my own life, right?

Being on the wayside for me was, you know, this God thing, this religion thing is is not in my radar, right? I’m totally it’s in a completely different universe doesn’t apply to me, right? That’s my wayside phase. And then uh the phase where it started, you know, I had a very thin uh layer of of faith, right? And I started to learn. And then as I grew in my faith then you know all the attacks of the world and the distractions etc until I got to the point where my heart and I’m I’m still getting there growing there uh where the soil is richer and it’s starting to produce fruit right so so I think we have to be recognize number one it doesn’t apply to others it applies to our own lives we need to understand where we are at in this progression of faith number one right and understanding ing also that it’s up to us.

It doesn’t only move, if you will, from from left to right or if you, you know, or if you you read in Hebrew from right to left, right? It’s not a a a progression like this. You can go backwards. You can go from a place of having great rich thought soil to the point where now all of a sudden, for whatever reason, you’re maybe getting complacent. you’re not really being persistent on things and uh you regress to the point where now the issues of the world start choking you, right? So you could fall backwards to the point maybe where you even lose your faith, right? So I think it’s very critical to understand where we’re at in that understanding uh you know that we need to we strive to progress along the way but also the the dangers of us falling back in that uh on that path. Um, so it was just uh just a thought that occurred to me that I thought I’d share.

Uh, and as I said, seeing myself in this situation of of progressing through the different types of soils. Darn it, David. I should have had that in my lesson. That’s good stuff. No, but I’m sorry. Just just just uh just I’m sorry. just to elaborate on that is that um we have to be careful also when we see a person in a particular phase that’s not like it’s the end of the story. If we see someone who’s in the thorn phase then we maybe can help them out and help them remove the thorns you know help them progress to the next level and vice versa. If someone is on the very thin soil, let’s help them in making that soil deeper. Right? So that that phase that you’re in is not a a final thing. You can progress and move to another phase with the help of God obviously and with the help of those that are around you. Right?

So, it’s kind of an overall um I don’t want to say, you know, metaphor or paradigm of how of the the progression of faith. And I I think that’s absolutely brill uh brilliant. It’s short for brilliant because it fits within Yeshua’s metaphor of the broadcaster, right? One season he broadcasts and those seeds fall on stony ground or rocky ground, but then guess what? Next season there’s another season coming around and he’s broadcast broadcasting that soil maybe different now. Exactly. Okay. So, I love that. I think that’s an absolutely amazing insight and I wish I had put it in my lesson, but thank you so much for finishing up with that insight is awesome. Okay guys, well listen, we had another great time together. We’re going to be doing another parable next week. Probably several other parables next week uh so we can get through them quickly.

But please keep uh Israel in your prayers and what’s going on in the world in your prayers. not just Israel, but the riots and stuff that’s all going on. Um, keep all that stuff in your prayers and have a fantastic Shabbat today and um, a restful weekend and we will see you guys next time. Shabbat shalom. Shabbat shalom. Shalom. Shabbat shalom. Thank you, Ed. Shabbat shalom. Shalom. Thank you, Ed. Shalom. Shalom. Appreciate it. Thank you, Ed.