For All Who Believe / Matthew 13:44-58
The Evidence of a Transformed Life
It is really good to be together with you here this week. If you are a guest with us, welcome to the Well Community Church. I am really humbled that you would come, and I’m thankful for an opportunity to teach an inspired book—inspired by God, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.
We are continuing in our series through Matthew, and if you’re a guest, you’re catching us kind of mid-movie, if you will. We are finishing up a three-week mini-series in Matthew 13 on the kingdom parables that Jesus taught. “Kingdom” refers to the Kingdom of Heaven—the idea of His rule and reign on earth as He is currently ruling and reigning in heaven.
We’ve been talking a lot over the last several weeks, and I think making a lot of people nervous, truthfully, about this idea of what it means for us to bear fruit. We talked early on in chapter 13 about the parable of the sower who sows his seed. The seed is the word of the kingdom of God coming. Some falls on the road and is snatched away; some falls among the rocks, grows immediately, but withers when distress comes; some falls among the thorns and is choked out by the cares of this world; and some falls among the good soil, producing a hundred, sixty, and thirty-fold.
We’ve talked a lot about this idea of fruit-bearing. Part and parcel of the Christian life is the sense that as we connect to Jesus and give our lives to Him—as we authentically place our faith and trust in Him as the Savior—He begins to renovate our hearts. Some of you have experienced that. You have this sense of, “What used to be important to me, by the grace of God, isn’t. These used to be struggles for me, but now, by the grace of God, they’re not. I used to be this kind of person, but by the grace of God, I’m changed.” Welcome to the gospel. That’s what the gospel does; it begins to bear fruit in us.
But there is also that hard reality of holding the mirror up. For some people, that change happened ten years ago, but old habits were hard to break and you ended up back in that old life. The question then becomes: To what extent is my faith genuine? To what extent has the gospel changed and is still changing my life?
Last week, it got even more pointed because we talked about the parable of the wheat and the weeds. We said the problem with the wheat and the weeds is they look exactly alike for a while. One is going to produce fruit, and the other will not. The question we asked is, “Which are you?” The only thing worse than being a believer and thinking you’re not, is not being a believer but thinking you are.
We finished last week with the reality that we are created eternally to either live in the presence of God or apart from God in a place called heaven or hell. The doctrine of hell is not a fun doctrine. I wish it wasn’t in the Bible simply because it’s hard. It doesn’t in any way diminish the character or love of God; it’s just a difficult doctrine. But our willingness to accept a doctrine doesn’t make it true or not true based on how we feel. It is a reality of the Scriptures. So, we challenged folks to do a little evaluation. Let’s make sure we are followers of Jesus.
I’ve been really encouraged by the feedback because you’ve taken that to your life groups. Groups are having stimulating conversations about whether their faith is genuine and what fruit they are bearing. It’s caused a lot of people to find assurance of salvation.
I totally relate to that. I came to Christ at an FCA event a long time ago when I was in college. Probably two years later, I was in Denton, Texas, and I had just finished a Bible study where the pastor taught Daniel and Matthew together. It blew my mind at the sovereignty and awesomeness of God. I remember he gave us a break so he could have a Dr. Pepper—which was kind of his jam—and I walked out and sat on a tree stump. I was crying, and I said, “God, I’m fairly convinced that I put my faith in You back in the day, but if for some reason I’ve missed it—if my view of You then was too small and now I see more of You—I just want to make sure that we’re okay.”
We had a “come to Jesus” moment right there. Some of you are having those moments, and I affirm that. It’s not questioning assurance of salvation; it’s coming back to make sure our faith is authentic to begin with. Paul said in Corinthians that we should test ourselves and see if we are in the faith.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NASB)
Test yourselves [to see] if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you– unless indeed you fail the test?
The Nature of Good Fruit
This whole fruit-bearing thing is an ongoing message in the ministry of Jesus. You can’t really read the Gospels without seeing Jesus bringing this up. It was familiar language that helped people understand the unfamiliar. In fact, the first message Jesus gave, back in Matthew 3, was a challenge to the religious leaders to bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Matthew 3:8-10 (NASB)
’Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ’The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
This begs a question we haven’t answered quite yet: What does fruit look like? I got some great emails this week asking exactly that. Let me tell you what it’s not. It’s not external religion. It’s not just being good or getting sober. Those are great things, but that’s not the fruit we’re talking about. It’s not religious behavior modification. It’s something much more profound.
In Matthew 9 and Matthew 12, Jesus quotes the same Old Testament passage from Hosea. Hosea is a book about a prophet told by God to marry a prostitute as a demonstration of God’s unfailing love to the unfaithful. In Hosea 6, Jesus quotes this:
Hosea 6:6 (NASB)
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
The word “loyalty” there is the Hebrew word hesed. It means God’s unending, covenantal, unchanging love. He says to the religious leaders twice, “Go and learn what it means that what I desire is a heart that is unfailing in your love for one another. I desire that more than sacrifice.” He’s saying, “I appreciate you guys bringing Me a tenth of your herb garden, but that’s not really what I’m into. What I’m into is your heart.”
This fruit comes from something deeper than just cleaning up your life or changing your music playlist. All of those things are superficial. There is a deeper, more profound change because when we trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit is sealed within us. We have the presence of the very Spirit of God leading us.
So what does that fruit look like? In Galatians 5, the apostle Paul gives us some practical pictures. He calls the bad fruit “deeds of the flesh” and the good fruit the “fruit of the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:16 (NASB)
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
That verb “walk” is present active imperative. “Present” means it’s always happening—right now and right now. “Active” means it’s something you need to do; you can’t put it in spiritual neutral. “Imperative” means it is a command. He says to walk by the Spirit because the flesh and Spirit are in opposition.
Galatians 5:17 (NASB)
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Do you feel that tension in your life? I do. I feel it all the time. Just this week, my daughter was at a volleyball game, and it didn’t go the way I wanted. I could feel the tension rising. That’s the flesh. That’s the battle we face. But if we are led by the Spirit, we are not under the law.
Galatians 5:18 (NASB)
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
What does the flesh look like? These are the indicators that you are not operating by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:19-21 (NASB)
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
When those things are present, you are operating by the flesh. But verse 22 gives us the opposite. If you are evaluating your life, this is what evidences the operation of the Spirit. It’s a “box set” of nine things that come together.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
It’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As a side note, the fruit is not for you. We often assume we need to bear fruit for ourselves, but the fruit is for others. I don’t bear the fruit of love just to love myself; I bear it so I can love others the way Christ loved me. If we all bring our good fruit to the table, we’re having a buffet—a buffet of love and joy and peace.
Ultimately, fruit authenticates our faith. Jesus said His Father is glorified when we bear much fruit and prove to be His disciples.
John 15:8 (NASB)
’My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and [so] prove to be My disciples.
This fruit is the work of the Holy Spirit, not your religious effort. It’s what God naturally does through you as you connect to Him. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches.
John 15:5 (NASB)
’I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
If you find yourself in a season where your fruit isn’t what it used to be, the answer is not to get religious. The answer is to get with Jesus.
The Treasure and the Pearl
Returning to Matthew 13, Jesus is speaking about the “mysteries of the kingdom.” Each of these parables has three movements: the familiar, which helps you understand the unfamiliar, and then a “shock” or a sucker punch. Starting in verse 44, we see the parable of the hidden treasure.
Matthew 13:44 (NASB)
’The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid [again]; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Those who recognize the beauty of Christ—who understand that He is not simply a prophet or a teacher, but the Savior of the world—realize He is awesome. When we see His superlative nature, it’s like finding a treasure in a field. You would sell everything to have that. You’ll give up your old life, your preferences, and your desires gladly because following Him is better than anything else.
The shock here is that you could walk these fields every day and never see the treasure. The religious leaders were so familiar with the Scriptures, yet they never truly saw Jesus. As Jesus told them in John 5, they searched the Scriptures thinking they’d find eternal life, but failed to see that the Scriptures speak of Him.
John 5:39 (NASB)
’You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;
The second parable is the pearl of great value.
Matthew 13:45-46 (NASB)
’Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
If you are a merchant who buys and sells pearls for a living, and you find one so valuable that you sell your entire inventory to get it, how precious must that pearl be? The shock is the same: the religious leaders knew of Christ, but they didn’t estimate His value correctly. They weren’t willing to give up what they had.
Jim Elliot, the great missionary, once said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Following Jesus is the easiest business decision in history. Sell it all; He is worth it.
The Net and the Final Separation
In verse 47, we find the parable of the dragnet.
Matthew 13:47-48 (NASB)
’Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering [fish] of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good [fish] into containers, but the bad they threw away.
The word used for “net” here refers to a giant floating net, almost half a mile long, that gathers everything indiscriminately. Good fish, bad fish, big fish, small fish—everything is gathered together. The shock of this passage is the explanation of the end of the age.
Matthew 13:49-50 (NASB)
’So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This is eschatological—it’s about the end times. The day will come when Christ returns and gathers everyone. He will separate the wicked from the righteous, and the wicked will be thrown into the furnace. One scholar said that Matthew never tires of warning of the coming judgment. It’s on almost every page.
I know people get upset about this, but one of our campus pastors, Mark Snee, says, “Soft preaching produces hard hearts, but hard preaching produces soft hearts.” I think he’s right. We aren’t trying to scare people with hell; we’re trying to be honest with the Word of God so that hearts might be softened.
Jesus then asks His disciples if they understand.
Matthew 13:51 (NASB)
‘Have you understood all these things?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes.’
They say “yes,” which is probably a lie, but Jesus continues by telling them that every scribe who becomes a disciple brings out treasures both new and old—the Old Covenant and the New, the old things they knew and the new things they are learning about Him.
The Mirror of Unbelief
Matthew then does something interesting with the chronology. He records Jesus going to His hometown of Nazareth. Jesus began His ministry in the Galilee by teaching in Nazareth, and He ends it there as well.
If you look at Luke 4, Jesus’ first encounter in Nazareth started well when He read from Isaiah about preaching good news to the poor. But as soon as He mentioned God’s love for the Gentiles, the people were filled with rage. They tried to throw Him off a cliff.
Luke 4:18-19 (NASB)
‘THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.’
They tried to kill Him, but the Bible says He passed through their midst. I always imagine a bit of a “Jedi mind trick” there, but actually, according to Deuteronomy, they needed two or three witnesses to execute someone for heresy.
Deuteronomy 19:15-19 (NASB)
’A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. ’If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who will be [in office] in those days. ’The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness [and] he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.
Jesus likely walked slowly through the crowd, looking them in the eye, asking, “Who will testify?” Since He had done nothing wrong, no one stepped forward, because if they failed to prove the charge, they would be the ones thrown off the cliff. So He walked right through them and went to Capernaum.
Now, at the end of His Galilee ministry, He returns to Nazareth again.
Matthew 13:53-58 (NASB)
When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. He came to His hometown and [began] teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, ’Where [did] this man [get] this wisdom and [these] miraculous powers? ’Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ‘And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then [did] this man [get] all these things?’ And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his [own] household.’ And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
They were astonished by His wisdom, but then they got derogatory. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s boy? We know His mother and His brothers.” They took offense at Him. And the final note is haunting: He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
I think Matthew pulls this text in as a mirror for us. What about you? What do you believe? Do you believe He is who He says He is? Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear?
Jesus isn’t pushing for intellectual assent; He’s pushing for life change. The question isn’t whether you know the gospel, but whether the gospel has changed you. If we submit to Christ, He will renovate our hearts. Old things are laid aside; new things have come.
Do you believe? Let’s pray.