Reflections

‘Listen to another parable: there was a landowner who planted a vineyard…’ (Matthew 21:33-46)

Although Jesus parables ‘spoke’ to the people in terms that they were familiar with and in a way that they could understand, they did often vary in the manner of the detail within them. Some were fairly straightforward and to the point, whereas others contained lots of details within them, with each of these details having a significance. This parable is the latter of these.

As this story unfolds we learn so much about God; about His patience, His trust in us as human beings and His judgement. Here we find that God trusts us to carry out His will and His work and is patient with us when, because of our sinfulness, we fail to do so, but ultimately, if we continue in our sinful disobedience His judgement will be to give to someone else that task that He had called upon us to do. In terms of us living out our everyday lives of faith this is about as stern as it gets.

But if we look again at the parable we can add a caveat to this. To be called upon to play our part in the building up of God’s Kingdom is a wonderful privilege for us. Not only does it show the faith God has in us, but He will also provide us the means necessary to complete the task He has called us to, whilst at the same time allowing us free will to fulfil that task in the best way we see fit to do so. However, we are all answerable to God, and whilst we all make mistakes and at times behave in ways we should not, this parable warns us of the consequences of deliberate sinfulness.

Finally, this parable speaks to us of Jesus and contains one of the strongest and clearest claims in the Gospels as to Jesus true identity and mission, and the sacrifice that this would involves. Ultimately, however, Jesus would be cornerstone on which the Church, and ultimately our faith, would be established.

‘What do you think? There was a man who had two sons…’ (Matthew 21:28-32)

When we look at this parable we perhaps forget that in reality it is not in fact praising either of the two sons in the story – they are both imperfect in their own way. Yes, the one who eventually did as his Father asked does come out slightly better in the story, but what this story teaches us is that there are those who claim to obey God and live by His commandments, but don’t and those who would claim they are happy to go about life in their own way, but then look to God. However, it perhaps goes further than this.

At another level this parable teaches us that there are those whose promises turn out to be so much more than their ultimate actions. They give their word that they will say or do something yet when the time comes for that to be done they fail to do so. Then there are those who will promise very little but ultimately do so much more. As William Barclay once said, ‘promises can never take the place of performance and fine words are never a substitute for fine deeds…’ and in terms of our faith lives it means that our professed faith and our living out of that faith should be equal. No, we are not perfect and yes, we will make mistakes, but ideally we should be saying yes to our Lord and then seeking to act in accordance to His will wherever and whenever we can.

‘For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard…’ (Matthew 20:1-16)

For many this is one of the greatest parables that Jesus told and it certainly contains so much within it – enough for a series of sermons. Yet at the same time it teaches us some basic truths about God’s love for us in a simple and straightforward way.

Those listening to Jesus speak these words at the time may have detected a hint of a warning in what Jesus said. His disciples had been privileged to have been chosen by Jesus to follow Him and shared a relationship with Him that others did not. However, that didn’t make them special. The fact that they had this relationship with Jesus before others didn’t entitle them to any place of honour or any greater love – we are all precious and loved by the Lord equally, no matter when we come into a relationship with Him. A valuable lesson for us all today!

However, over and above this, what this parable teaches us is of the great comfort and compassion of God. No matter who we are, no matter our background, no matter when we confess the Lord as our Saviour – we are all equally loved by God and the generosity of that love is never ending. It is a love that is poured upon us freely day after day after day.

But this parable also teaches us another great truth that we often forget. We cannot earn God’s love nor do we deserve His comfort and compassion. What God gives to us is offered through love. We are not saved by our own merits, by what we do for God or His Church – salvation is not a reward given to us because of the way we try to live out our faith. It is offered through grace. Again another valuable lesson!

‘Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a King who wanted to settle his accounts with his servants…’ (Matthew 18:23-35)

Jesus told this parable in response to Peter’s question about how often he should forgive those who sinned against him. Peter thought he was doing well in suggesting that offering such forgiveness seven times was acceptable and perhaps justifiably so. Rabbinic teaching at the time, based on Scripture found in the opening chapters of Amos where God judges and condemns other nations, stated that you had to forgive someone on three occasions. Should a fourth offence occur, then punishment was justifiable. To forgive seven times – Peter must have thought he was doing good; however, Jesus response to Peter teaches us otherwise.

Over the years there has been much debate about the numbers given by Jesus in response to Peter and indeed different versions have different translations. However, what Jesus is saying here is quite simply that there should be no limit to the forgiveness we offer to those who sin against us. Of course such teaching might have been difficult for Peter and the others to understand and accept – as it still might be for many today. But in this parable Jesus goes to say why this is so.

Essentially, we need to forgive in order to be forgiven. Divine and human forgiveness go hand in hand and this is clearly illustrated in the parable. If we would come to God seeking His forgiveness for our sins and misdemeanours we must show that same forgiveness to others and James also warns of the consequences of not doing so, ‘…judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy…’ (James 2:13).

Through the sacrifice of His Son, God offers us forgiveness for all our sins – past, present and future. What this parable teaches us is that it is this same level of forgiveness we should offer others.

‘What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep…’ (Matthew 18:12-14)

This is one of the simplest and easiest to understand of all the parables Jesus ever told. That said, I wonder if we do stop to reflect on what it fully tells us about the love that God has for us.

Such is God’s love for us that He cares for us all as individuals. Every single one of us matters to the Lord and His love for all of us is such that He wants us all to know that love. It’s also a love that is patient and that will wait for us even when we wander from His path – indeed it is more than even this. God’s love is an active, seeking love that will search for us when we do wander and when He finds us He will rejoice. There will be no recriminations or regrets, God will simply welcome us back into His fold and embrace us with His caring protective love. What a wonderful picture and what a joy for us.

‘What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them…’ (Matthew 15:10-20)

Many may not think of this as being a parable as such as it doesn’t appear to take the same format as the others and yet this was possibly one of the most disturbing things Jesus could have said to the Pharisees at the time. If we look through Leviticus we see many commandments associated with food and cleanliness, all of which were part of the various rituals and ceremonies that they adhered to in their obedience to the Torah. Yet what Jesus appeared to be saying here was that following the Torah to the letter was not enough and not pleasing to God. Imagine how they must have reacted to this. But what do we take from this parable?

If our faith was simply all about simply following a laid down set of instructions then it would too easy and in effect be meaningless, because at the end of the day anyone can go through the motions of following a ‘tick list’ without any really thought or emotion as to why they were doing so. However, if we think back to the Beatitudes – Blessed are the pure in heart… – that’s where our faith should begin and that is what Jesus is highlighting here. It’s not so much how we act and how we behave – but rather why we do so. We cannot call anyone one good just because they follow a set on instructions, but we can call them good if their hearts belong to good and it is this that guides them.

‘Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net which was cast into the sea…’ (Matthew 13:47-50)

If you ask any fisherman, even today, they will tell you that once you cast your net into the water and then haul it in, there is no telling what you might find in it.  You of course hope there will be fish, but there will almost certainly be other things in there too – a whole mixture of things as the parable suggests. What does this say to us today?

Over the years many have thought of the Church as being only for good people and those who are fully committed to Christ. Yet whilst we hope that all might seek to commit their lives fully to Christ, to look on the Church in this way suggests an exclusivity which should not exist and also suggests an element of being judgemental. The New Testament view of the Church is that it is completely inclusive – it is for all people – and what this parable teaches us is that if there is any judging to be done, it will be done by God at the end of time.

‘Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who was seeking goodly pearls…’ (Matthew 13:45-46)

As was the case with the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast, so this parable follows on nicely after the parable of the hidden treasure and in a sense augments that whilst adding another perspective.

In the ancient world pearls were highly sought after and prized, not just for their monetary value, but also for their sheer beauty and merchants would often travel and go to great lengths to acquire them. For many pearls were the most beautiful and loveliest thing that one could possess. Therefore, to compare the Kingdom of Heaven to a pearl is to effectively say that God’s Kingdom is the most beautiful thing that any of us could know. There may be other ‘pearls’ that we might come across as we journey through life – but none can compare to the Kingdom of Heaven. So much so that, as we saw in the previous parable, when the man found it he went off and sold everything he had so that he might possess it.

The difference here, of course, is that this man was actively searching for this pearl and the lesson for us is clear. Whether we discover the joy of God in our lives during our everyday lives or through actively seeking for something that we are aware is missing in our lives, the result is the same. There is nothing can compare to knowing the Lord in our life and taking our place in His Kingdom.

‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure…’ (Matthew 13:44)

At first glance this parable might seem strange to us and indeed that the man’s behaviour displayed traits of selfishness and greed. However, Jewish law at that time clearly stated that should a person find scattered produce or money then these would become the property of that person. A bit like finders keepers…

However, that aside, perhaps the real lesson for us here is that we have a man who, in his joy at what he had found, was willing to give up everything else in his possession to ensure that he could hold on to this new treasure. So the question we need to ask ourselves is this. What are we willing to give up, what sacrifices are we prepared to make, in order to ensure our place in the Kingdom of God? Or put another way; is there anything that we would find difficult to give up, any sacrifice that we would be unwilling to make?

However, there is also one other thing to consider here. When we look at this parable again it seems to suggest that the man found this treasure as he was going about his day to day business. He wasn’t look for it as such, he simply came upon it as he was going about his everyday life. So too God can be found as we go about our everyday lives. As we have seen in the last two short parables, His Spirit is at work at all times – and it can work in mysterious ways, leading people to the Kingdom in the most unexpected of ways at the most unexpected of times.

‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast…’ (Matthew 13:33-34)

This short parable follows on nicely from the one on the mustard seed and, indeed, many look at them together and think of them as one kind of extended parable, which is understandable. When we look at it initially the lesson seems obvious. In the same way that the introduction of yeast into the loaf mixture causes the dough to change significantly so the introduction of the Kingdom of God into our lives causes them to change in no less a significant way. However, there is more to it as the parable appears to offer different views on the nature of that transformation.

From one perspective the parable perhaps teaches us that all too often the work of the Kingdom is unseen. In the same way that we are unable to see the yeast at work in the dough, we know that it is there at work and that ultimately it will transform the bread. Likewise we are not always able to see the Kingdom at work in the world around us, but we know that it is at work drawing people closer to God. So when we consider the parable in this way if offers us some encouragement. At first glance and in the short term we might see no evidence of the Kingdom at work, but later on when we look back and reflect we can clearly see how the Holy Spirit has indeed been at work.

However there is also another view on this parable, that being, in the same way that the work of the yeast is clear to see, so too is the work of the Kingdom and, if only we would open our hearts as well as our eyes to all that is happening around us we would be aware of that just as clearly. So what then are we to take from this parable and does it matter which perspective ‘speaks’ most to us?

To answer the latter question first – no, it doesn’t matter because both perspectives are indeed true. What this parable teaches us is that there will always be times and individuals in history where it is abundantly clear that the Holy Spirit is working in a mighty way to build up the Kingdom of God. However, it also teaches us that the Holy Spirit is always with us and is always at work, transforming lives and leading people to God that they may take their place in His Kingdom.