Matthew 13 - January 13th, 2024

Hey good morning.

Welcome back to the daily bread devotional.

I'm so glad you're here.

Day 13, we're gonna be dive diving back into Matthew as we're journeying through the Gospel of Matthew together.

We'll be in chapter 13 today, so just invite you to go ahead and uh open up your scripture and get there and get ready and uh we will dive into chapter 13 in just a moment.

But uh for those of you who are maybe joining us for the first time this morning, we we're framing up our time with uh scripture really in a way to help us experience God and and and to help us carve out some space to encounter Him this morning, and so we're working through this acronym of bread, and so the B stands for breathe, and then we will read, encounter, apply, and lastly devote.

And so that'll be kind of our journey this morning as we work through uh Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

But before we get there, we just want to invite you to go ahead and have a pen or a pencil handy and uh find a quiet space.

I know a lot of you might be listening to this on a commute or or something like that, or maybe during a workout, but we'd really love for you to find a space, a quiet space to get alone with the Lord uh today and um and get ready to encounter him and hear from him this morning.

And so we'll dive into Matthew chapter 13, but first we will start with that first letter B, and we will simply breathe this morning.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

So take a few moments just to get still before the Lord.

I like to just plant my feet firmly on the floor and maybe have my hands, palms up surrender just as an act of saying uh that I'm open to the Holy Spirit.

I'm open to God this morning and inviting Him to come and uh meet with me.

It's just a sign of surrender, of letting go of everything that uh I have planned for today and have on my to-do list, and also ready to receive open-handed whatever God wants to give to me.

As you do that, just simply breathe in and out, just slowing down, focusing your heart's affection and your mind's attention on the Father this morning.

Deep breath in and out.

Maybe take one more big deep breath in and breathe out and ask the Holy Spirit to come and speak to you as we encounter God through his word this morning.

And now we'll move to the read portion of the morning where we slowly read through our assigned passage.

And what we're doing is we're just asking the Holy Spirit to speak to us, asking the Lord to speak to us, and maybe as He does, there's a scripture, verse that uh comes to the forefront to you, or maybe even challenges you this morning.

Just invite you to write that down or highlight that, make a note so that you can process that with the Lord in just a few moments.

But if you're ready, we'll turn to Matthew chapter 13 and read our assigned passage for today.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

Later that same day, Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.

A large crowd soon gathered around him, and so he got into a boat, and then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.

He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one.

Listen, a farmer went out to plant some seeds.

As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.

Other seeds fell on shallow soil with the underlying rock.

The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow, but the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died.

Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.

Still, other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as has been planted.

Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

His disciples came and asked him, Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?

He replied, You are permitted to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but others are not.

To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge.

But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.

That is why I use these parables, for they look, but they don't really see.

They hear, but they don't really listen or understand.

This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, When you hear what I say, you will not understand, and when you see what I do, you will not comprehend, for the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes, so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me, and let me heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears because they hear.

I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see, but they didn't see it.

And they long to hear what you hear, but they didn't hear it.

Now listen to the exclamation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds.

The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the kingdom and don't understand it.

Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.

The seed on the rocky soil, it represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.

But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long.

They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word.

The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.

And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much has been planted.

Here is another story Jesus told.

The farmer, workers went to him and said, Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds.

Where did they come from?

An enemy has done this, the farmer exclaimed.

Should we pull out the weeds?

They asked.

No, he replied.

Let both grow together until the harvest.

Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.

Here's another illustration Jesus used.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.

It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants.

It grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.

Jesus also used this illustration.

The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread.

Even though she put only a little yeast in, three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.

Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds.

In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables.

This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet.

I will speak to you in parables.

I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.

Then, leaving the crowds aside, Jesus went into the house.

His disciples said, Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.

Jesus replied, The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed.

The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the kingdom.

The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.

The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil.

The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.

Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their father's kingdom.

Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field.

In his excitement he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.

And when he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind.

When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.

That is the way it will be at the end of the world.

The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Do you understand all these things?

Yes, they said, We do.

And then he added, Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.

When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country.

He returned to Nazareth, his hometown.

And when he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, Where does he get his wisdom and the power to do miracles?

Then they scoffed, he's just the carpenter's son.

And we know Mary, his mother, and his brother James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.

All his sisters live right here among us.

Where did he learn all these things?

And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

And then Jesus told him, A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.

And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.

This is the word of the Lord.

And now we'll move into just a few moments where we seek to encounter God.

And so maybe over the next few minutes, just take a verse that stood out to you, something that you jotted down or highlighted and consider.

What is it that God might be saying to you this morning?

How does this verse make you feel?

How does it confront you?

What do you think it is that God is saying to you?

Maybe write a short reflection on that this morning.

And so as you're reflecting and thinking through and meditating, maybe begin to turn your focus outward and think how you might be able to practically live out whatever it is that God is communicating to you today.

And so spend a few moments just asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom and how you can apply this truth to your life today.

And this is simply where we just maybe write out a prayer and begin to pray that back to God.

A prayer of devotion in response to all that He has said to us this morning.

So just take a few moments to do that.

And uh pray that He gives you courage and boldness by the power of His Spirit to live out all that He is calling you to live today.