In Matthew 13, on the heels of a major shift marked by the Pharisees unpardonable accusation in chapter 12, we see Jesus begin to teach extensively in parables. In fact, toward the end of the chapter, Matthew describes Jesus' new teaching strategy as going so far as to "not speak to them without a parable" (verse 34). The reason is made clear right away. To His disciples “it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom” (verse 11), but to others, these same truths remain hidden. Don't mistake this for a softening of the message - Jesus isn't softening anything but making widening of the divide abundantly clear to His followers. And it's a sharp transition from the announcement of the kingdom to an explanation of the kingdom.
The parables address much of the disciples' confusion as they likely wrestled with why the kingdom was being presented so differently than they had expected. Even John just a couple chapters ago, presented his uncertainty to Jesus, asking for clarity.
I imagine the disciples wondered alongside John the Baptist, if Jesus is the Messiah, why is the world not being immediately transformed? Jesus answers to this question unfolds in three kingdom themes: four parables about growth, two about value, and one final parable about judgement and separation.
Before we examine the first set of growth parables, this would be a good time to better understand the word "parable"; both its meaning and purpose. Parable (para and ballō) literally means to throw alongside, to cast close, placing one thing by the side of another. We are familiar with a paralegal being someone who comes alongside a lawyer to provide legal help and a parachurch ministry coming alongside the church to aid in its mission. Think of a parable being a teaching aid cast alongside a core truth being taught. Like parallel lines running beside each other without merging, a parable places truth alongside everyday imagery. Jesus quickly provides three distinct purposes for this teaching method: revelation (verse 11), concealment (verse 11), and fulfillment (verse 35).
The Parable of the Sower sets the stage. The seed—the message of the good news—is unchanging, but the soils vary greatly. These four kinds of responses - four kinds of soil - to the Word of God are described as hardened, shallow, distracted, and fruitful. The result of the sowing is not dependent on the seed or the sower, but on the condition of the soil. This explains why many hear the gospel message but few respond in genuine faithfulness.
The following three parables go on to better describe the growth displayed in the kingdom. We don't just see good growth, but in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, we see good and evil existing together - and growing together - until the final judgement described as the "the time of harvest" (verse 30). Jesus makes it clear we are not to engage in the work of uprooting this evil in the kingdom for risk of bringing damage to the valuable, fruitful crop. And the growth of this good kingdom crop is described in the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven as beginning incredibly small and hidden, yet growing steadily and powerfully until it becomes "full grown" (verse 32) and "all leavened" (verse 33).
Jesus then shifts to the value of the kingdom. Its worth is far beyond any earthly value we can understand. Nothing compares to it. Receiving kingdom entrance is infinitely more valuable than every treasure a man can possibly accumulate in this lifetime.
Finally the parable of the Dragnet returns to a theme we see throughout the gospels and earlier in this chapter: judgement and separation. Separating wheat from tares (verse 30), separating goat from sheep (Matthew 25:31-26), and here with the dragnet, we see Jesus describing the separation of good fish from bad fish (verse 48). This current mixture of belief and unbelief in the kingdom of God will not last forever. Judgement is certain, and our role is to wait patiently and faithfully until the "end of the age" (verse 49), when "angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous" (verse 49).
Jesus closes this teaching discourse by making it clear to His disciples that they are being entrusted with both old and new truths - what was revealed in the past and what is now being revealed through Him. They new about a kingdom over which the Messiah would rule and reign, a kingdom that included righteousness, but they didn't expect this kingdom to include rejection and evil. They certainly didn't expect this kingdom to start so small it would be nearly imperceivable and grow into an unstoppable force. But now these things have been made clear to them and they are stuarts of this precious revelation. Yet even now, with the King present and these new truths being so clearly authenticated by His miraculous power, we see unbelief. In Nazareth, surrounded by childhood friends and family, Jesus' power and wisdom is received with offense. In the midst of abundant clarity, rejection persists.
What a clarifying picture of a kingdom that is present and inaugurated but not yet fully consummated - growing quietly with an unstoppable force that overcomes all resistance and all opposition. This kingdom will be forcefully opposed by many, treasured by few, and will reach a time at the end of the age when it will experience a great and final reaping. A humbling message for humanity. A message begging every follower of Jesus to transition their thinking from asking what is the kingdom? to asking how am I responding to it?