The Parables of Jesus – Part I, The Wise Builder

The comparisons here are fairly obvious. First, the wise man is the one who both listens to God and obeys Him. He’s likened to a man who builds his life on a firm foundation, secure in God and His plan and purpose. Then when the problems, circumstances, opposition and pressures of life come to bear, he’s able to understand them, benefit from them and stand firm in his relationship with God. Notice the consistency of Jesus’ story. Even when you build your life on the secure foundation of relationship with God, trouble still comes.

http://www.voiceofonecrying.com/parables_of_jesus_PartI.htm

The Parables of Jesus – Part 2, New Cloth and New Wine

The illustration is obvious. The old is still incompatible with the new. However, in this case, Jesus makes it clear that the new message can only be successfully deposited in the old heart that has been reconditioned and is soft, pliable and ready to extend itself to new limits as the revelation of the kingdom continues to grow. The new message of the kingdom is going to experience expansion and change as it distances itself from the old dried out, inflexible Jewish system. And those who receive it must be ready and able to withstand the pressures caused by the agitation and violence of that process. The new wine would destroy those trapped in their rigid, religious ways. And to them, the new message it pictures would be lost to them forever.
http://www.voiceofonecrying.com/parables_of_jesus__part_2.htm

The Parables of Jesus – Part 3, The Two Debtors

Luke 7:36-50

This brings us to verse 36 where Jesus is invited to the Pharisee’s house. We now need to follow the events as they unfold. As Jesus reclines at the table, a woman with the reputation of being a sinner comes into the house with a container of expensive perfume (verse 37). She then proceeds to wet Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipe them with her hair, kiss them affectionately and anoint them with the perfume (verse 38). And as the Pharisee watches, he thinks to himself, if this Man were really a prophet, then He’d know what kind of woman this is and wouldn’t allow her to even touch Him (verse 39).
Now, I love this next part. In his religious self-righteousness, the Pharisee (we now find out his name is Simon) thinks Jesus should be able to discern the heart of this woman who is touching Him. And He has! The problem is that Jesus’ discernment doesn’t agree with Simon’s religious opinion. Jesus recognizes her true repentance. Simon knows nothing about repentance, and sees a woman known to him only by her questionable morality. Jesus then turns the tables on Simon and does with him what Simon thought He should be doing with the woman – He reveals Simon’s unrepentant heart with the parable of the two debtors..............................................................

In other words, Simon’s social and religious position was what mattered most to him. What other men thought about him was more important than what God thought. The only reason Simon invited Jesus into his house was because he thought it would make him look good. Here was this teacher that everyone was so excited about, and He was at Simon’s house. This is typical religious B.S. Simon wanted to be able to brag about who he had lunch with when he got together with his religious buddies. Repentance was the last thing on his mind. No, that’s not right. Repentance never even entered his mind!
http://www.voiceofonecrying.com/parables_of_jesus_Part%203.htm

The Parables of Jesus – Part 4, The Sower, Seed and Four Types of Soil

So, what happens to the seed sown among thorns? What happens when the message of truth tries to coexist with the things of the world? Jesus tells us in this parable the truth gets pushed aside by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. In the text, "care" is merimna, a word used to describe a distraction, especially one that causes anxiety. In other words, merimna is used to illustrate the things people commonly worry about. Never mind that Jesus says we’re not supposed to worry about what we have or don’t have; but, instead, we’re to learn to be content, trust Him and keep our priorities straight (Matthew 6:25-34).....................................

So, there you have it, the parable of the sower, the seed and the different types of soil. Jesus describes the four possibilities of what can happen when people hear the Word. Three of them are bad. Three of them are a condemnation of religion and the wrong choices people make. The first possibility is that those who hear the Word don’t take it seriously and fail to consider it carefully. Then religion comes immediately to systematically steal the Word away by replacing it with religious deception. And most people quickly embrace the easier, more enticing message that promises them what their flesh craves.

The second possibility is a continuation of the first. Those who follow religion never develop any stability in God, because religion says it’s not possible. They never learn to experience God for themselves, never gain any real spiritual maturity and aren’t able to stand firm in the face of opposition. They continually compromise truth to protect their own interests. When situations arise that call on them to suffer, sacrifice or humble themselves, they resist and move on.

The third possibility then follows. They’re solidly entrenched in the world and the world’s system. They give lip service to God, but what they really want is to gratify their flesh. They pretend to want God, but only if they can have the world too. So they coexist with the world and the world wins – they can produce none of the character of God in their lives.
http://www.voiceofonecrying.com/parables_of_jesus_Part_4.htm

The Parables of Jesus – Part 5, The Tares

So, if you’re participating in institutional religion and are following the majority opinion, you’re probably headed in the wrong direction. There really are children of the evil one and children of the kingdom coexisting together in this age. The point Jesus makes here is that we should all recognize the fact that this is the reality of the time we live in and carefully consider it, because it’s very important. Heaven or hell hangs in the balance.

The fact of the matter is the darnel of this age will not tolerate truth. Paul nailed it in his second letter to Timothy. This is II Timothy 4:3-4.
"The time will come when people will not endure sound instruction, but, with itching ears they will gather to themselves a considerable number of teachers, all specifically chosen because their teaching satisfies the flesh and perpetuates the errors commonly held. And they will reject the truth to wander in the fabricated reason that comes from the minds of men."

And lest there be any doubt in your own mind, Jesus has just made it clear in both the parable of the sower and of the tares that this fabricated reason from the minds of men is the religion called Christianity and the sponsor and main influence behind this religion is the devil himself. And He’s still not finished illustrating this point, as we’ll see in the next paper.
http://www.voiceofonecrying.com/parables_of_jesus_part%205.htm

The Parables of Jesus – Part 6, The Mustard Seed, The Leaven, The Hidden Treasure and The Pearl of Great Cost
The Mustard Seed

The Mustard Seed
Religious idolatry today may not involve the obvious idols of more ancient religions carved from wood or stone. Contemporary religion has its own idols: idols more sophisticated and appropriate to the age, wealth, possessions, big buildings, influence, fame, wrong doctrine, a worldly lifestyle that caters to the whims of the flesh, exciting entertainment, maybe some signs and wonders (along with the old forms and rituals to satisfy the traditionalists). And how do they justify them? They do it by mixing half-truth with The Truth. It’s the same deceptive shell game started by Satan in the garden and continued through the ages by his emissaries, demons sent to promote religion, distort truth and deceive the weak and unsuspecting, the proud and insolent, the ignorant and unconcerned.

And to emphasize and re-emphasize his point, John repeats something three times. In Revelation 18:2 he tells us symbolic Babylon is: (1) "the habitation of demons"; (2) "a dungeon for every loathsome spirit"; and (3)"a prison for every filthy and hateful bird". Is there any doubt the symbolism used here by John is the same as that used by Jesus in the parables of the sower, the tares and the mustard seed? I don’t see how there could be. These "birds" are demons. Their agenda is to promote religion. And when symbolic Babylon is destroyed, when the religions of the world go away for all time and eternity, every creature in heaven will rejoice! (Revelation 19:1-6)

The Leaven
.....In this parable fermented dough (dough mixed with yeast) illustrates truth mixed with error - a condition common to all the examples given above and an extension or re-emphasis of this same principle as it was illustrated in the previous parable of the mustard seed. I’d better go back and read that one over again. Sometimes these long sentences confuse me. The program of demons is to mix truth with error to create deception. The kingdom of heaven is not all error, just like leaven is not all yeast, but dough with yeast mixed in. Therefore, the religious institutions that exist today (including all the ones that have been formed since Jesus’ day) that make up the kingdom of heaven all share this one common characteristic – the truth they have is mixed with error...............................

Like the parable of the mustard seed, which Jesus uses to illustrate the pervasiveness of demonic influence throughout the kingdom of heaven; Jesus uses leaven to illustrate the prevalence of error, extending to the furthest reaches of the kingdom. And just to make sure we understand where this error comes from, He uses the woman to illustrate the reality that this error comes out of the false religions of the world dominated by demons. Jesus could not have been any clearer if He had drawn us a complete diagram with pictures and detailed footnotes.

The Hidden Treasure
The price Jesus pays for His treasure is "all he has" (Philippians 2:5-, and as Jesus points out in this parable, there is joy in the payment of it (Hebrews 12:2). And when payment was made, the man buys the entire field where the treasure is hidden. Jesus paid for the whole world with the payment of Himself (I John 2:2).

This, again, is an illustration of a principle that has been mentioned several times before. The Satanic principle embraced by the religious crowd is this: the majority is always right. However, the truth borne out in Scripture over and over again is: the majority is always wrong, and only a small minority is right. The same fact illustrated by the aforementioned "few" who follow the narrow road to life and the "many" who follow the broad road to destruction. This parable simply illustrates in a different way what Jesus has already illustrated in the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven, which is that the kingdom of heaven is dominated by religious deception. His treasure will remain hidden until He returns to take it out of His field once and for all (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).

The Pearl of Great Price
Obviously, this parable is very similar to the hidden treasure, but not altogether. Again, the man is Jesus. The purchase price is the same – "all he had". The valuable pearl represents the same thing as the hidden treasure, true believers. The main difference is that here the pearl is purchased, instead of the place where the pearl was found. In the previous parable true believers are concealed. The religious system doesn’t recognize them; they’re relatively unknown in the world. In this parable the pearl becomes the man’s prized possession; this is Jesus’ way of giving the assurance that even though the world is oblivious to them, He’s not.........

The parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl of great price when compared to one another simply give us the same information, but from a different perspective. In the first, true believers are hidden, concealed from the world; but in the second they are Jesus’ precious possession and the object of His attention.
http://www.voiceofonecrying.com/Parables%20of%20Jesus-Part%206.htm

The Parables of Jesus – Part 7, The Unforgiving Servant and The Good Samaritan

The Unforgiving Servant

Now for the application, the human king is God the Father and those who handled His affairs are believers. The one in the parable who had the debt he was unable to pay illustrates all of us who are wise enough to understand that we, too, have a debt to God impossible to repay. Our only hope is to be forgiven that great debt. And in His gracious mercy, God is willing to forgive. However, as Jesus has already told us (Matthew 6:12, 14-15), and as He illustrates in this parable, there is a catch. The Father’s willingness to forgive our sin against Him is always predicated on our own willingness to forgive those who sin against us. In order to walk with God certain realities are required. You can fake it and fool some of the people some of the time. But you can’t fool God..............................................................

And finally the promise "where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in their midst." (Verse 20) This is not "where two or three are gathered in a building with My name on it to do what they have decided to do, there I am in their midst." As I’ve pointed out before in several articles, the idiom "in My name" means "as a representation of all that I am". When people gather together to focus on the will and purpose of God, to do what He requires (remember, the emphasis here is on forgiveness), He promises to be there. When they gather to do their religious thing, to participate in their rituals and traditions, someone might show up from the spirit realm, but it won’t be God.

The Good Samaritan

What’s the point? What Jesus was telling this man and what, I’m sure, he understood, was that he had no intentions of doing what he himself had said was necessary. Why? Because, like the priest and the Levite, his religion was more important to him than compassion, and his efforts to achieve his own self-righteousness had absolutely nothing to do with helping others, they had more to do with him helping himself. And, in fact, in this religious, elitist culture it was quite acceptable when those efforts came at the expense of others (sounds familiar). Like the priest and the Levite in the story, this guy was dead in the water. He had no chance. Why? He had no intention of doing what he knew the Law required – because his religion did not require it!

Let me make this one observation, and then I’m finished. The parables of The Unforgiving Servant and The Good Samaritan are connected in their meaning. The fate of the unforgiving servant illustrates the necessity of spiritual reality. The failure of the priest and Levite (and the religion expert) shows how those who are committed to religion choose pretense over reality. It’s interesting to notice that one of the best references in Scripture teaching us about spiritual reality is found in Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4:23-24.

"The time will come, in fact it is already here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in reality; because the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is a Spirit (invisible, but real) and those who worship Him must worship Him both in spirit and in reality."

And I can’t mention the word "worship" (proskuneo) without reminding you that the act of worship has nothing to do with getting together in a group and singing sappy songs about God. Worship is an individual act of submission, where you acknowledge God’s authority over your life and await His instruction, with the intent of being obedient when it comes. Reality is doing what God requires, no excuses, and no avoidance. It’s the only proof you have that your submission and loyalty to Him are real. And in the absence of that, all you really have is religion.
http://www.voiceofonecrying.com/Parables%20of%20Jesus_Part%207.htm

The Parables of Jesus, Part 8 – The Minas

The point made in the parable, as well as the two references above, is that when we’re careful to apply what we hear, the result is spiritual growth. When we place no real importance on it, the opportunity for growth is lost, as are the potential for future opportunities in diminishing degree. In fact, this failure is much more serious than lost opportunities. Paul makes it clear the result of such failure is a downward spiral towards spiritual blindness and spiritual darkness (Romans 1:18-32).................................................

So, why does Jesus tell us in Mark 4:24 to give careful consideration to what we hear? Because it should be obvious to us by now that He holds us strictly accountable for what He gives us. He expects us to use it and grow. And it’s just as obvious from this parable and many other places that there are consequences if we don’t. And here I have to make the application: being a true disciple of Jesus is more than simply not rejecting Him; it’s an active commitment to serve Him and grow. Participating in religious programs and perpetuating religious institutions has nothing to do with being a disciple. Doing nothing, except an occasional act of lip service, is not being a disciple. Spiritual growth through real, personal experiences with God is the key. And I’m bound to ruffle a few feathers here, but opportunities for spiritual growth are not found in the pursuit of religion. They’re only found in the personal, individual pursuit of God Himself.

http://www.voiceofonecrying.com/Parables%20of%20Jesus_Part%208.htm

The Mustard Seed
Religious idolatry today may not involve the obvious idols of more ancient religions carved from wood or stone. Contemporary religion has its own idols: idols more sophisticated and appropriate to the age, wealth, possessions, big buildings, influence, fame, wrong doctrine, a worldly lifestyle that caters to the whims of the flesh, exciting entertainment, maybe some signs and wonders (along with the old forms and rituals to satisfy the traditionalists). And how do they justify them? They do it by mixing half-truth with The Truth. It’s the same deceptive shell game started by Satan in the garden and continued through the ages by his emissaries, demons sent to promote religion, distort truth and deceive the weak and unsuspecting, the proud and insolent, the ignorant and unconcerned.