Stories of the Kingdom - The Gospels

In this Bible Story, Jesus tells parables on the kingdom of heaven, earthly stories with heavenly implications. And His disciples are greatly impacted by the seemingly backwards kingdom of God. This story is inspired by Matthew 13:24-30, 36-50. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Matthew 13:22 from the King James Version.

Episode 188: As Jesus continued to teach the crowds using parables, he began to teach them what God’s Kingdom was like. He tells them of evil farmers planting weeds in a good farmer’s field, teaching them about God’s goodness, God’s people, and evil planted by Satan. He taught them about the value of God’s Kingdom as more precious than the most valuable treasure of the finest pearl. And He taught them about God’s justice and how those who are unrighteous will be tossed aside like rotten fish at the end of the age.

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Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Again.

Speaker 1 (00:03):
The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hidden in
a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth,
and for joy therefore goeth and selleth all that he hath,
and buyeth that field. Matthew thirteen forty four. Dear God,
help me to realize that I have an enemy, Satan.

(00:27):
Help me to realize and recognize when he is planting
seeds of dissension, division, and chaos in the fields of
purpose in my life. As I acknowledge this truth, I
confess that I need your word to help illuminate and
decipher the weeds that Satan has planted, and the seeds

(00:49):
that You've called me to deposit into the soil of
my future. Like precious treasure. Your word will I keep
hidden in my heart because it is through these truths
that the key to eternal life and abundant life here
on earth is realized. I am committed to protecting your kingdom,

(01:13):
and nothing on this earth will make me compromise my
character to give up the treasure I found in You, Jesus.
In Jesus name, Amen, thanks for making prayer a priority
in your life. To hear the Bible Come to life.
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Speaker 4 (02:23):
Stories of the Kingdom. In our last story, Jesus spoke
about the four Soils. He spoke of what happens to
many different hearts when they come in contact with the
Word of God. Now we learn more from Jesus as
he proclaims truths about the greatness of God's kingdom inspired
by the Gospels.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Hello, I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
heard the Parable of the Soul, an illustration of how
different hearts receive and respond to the word of God.
Jesus described four types of soil, from the hard, unreceptive
ground to the good, healthy soil that produces an abundant crop.

(03:09):
Today we'll hear more about the Kingdom of God as
Jesus continues to teach in parables to show his followers
the glories of his eternal kingdom. So let's listen now
to God's word.

Speaker 4 (03:22):
Jesus was walking along the shores of the sea with
his disciples. A large crowd trailed behind him, waiting for
something miraculous to happen. Jesus, in the twelves spoke of
the Kingdom of Heaven. Ever since the parable of the
four soils, the disciples were curious for more examples on
the will and desires of God. So Jesus told more

(03:43):
stories filled with deep meaning. Jesus walked and spoke to
the people. At the corner of his eye, he could
see the Pharisees trailing next to the crowd. They whispered
amongst themselves and to the people. Jesus looked back to
them and then turned to his disciples and spoke, I
have told you that the Kingdom of Heaven is like
a farmer sowing good seeds in his fields. Here is

(04:06):
another story of a farmer. A farmer goes into the
field with his men to sow seeds. They toil and
work all day, planting seeds in good, fertile soil. After
a good day's work, the farmer and his men return
home to their beds. However, when the men were sleeping,
a neighboring farmer snuck in through the cover of night.

(04:28):
Under the black cold evening, the competing farmer planted weeds
among the wheat seeds. Weeks later, the grains sprouted forth,
tall and mighty, yet the weeds circled them. The farmer
and his men looked upon their field. It was filled
with beautiful grain and blighted weeds. Both existed with one another.

(04:49):
He clenched his teeth and said, this is the work
of my enemy. His workers turned to him and said, Master,
do you want us to uproot the weeds?

Speaker 1 (05:00):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (05:00):
The farmer said, if you uproot the weeds, you risk
uprooting the wheat as well. Let both of them grow together.
Then when we harvest, we can separate the weeds from
the grain. Afterwards we can burn the weeds. What does
the story mean? The disciples asked Jesus, they were craving
more wisdom. It satisfied their souls. Jesus and his disciples

(05:25):
kept walking, and he explained to them its meaning, saying,
the farmer is the son of Man. The field is
the world. He loves and pours into the good seed
of the children of God and the goodness of the Kingdom.
The one who sowed the weeds is the devil, and
his weeds are those that would seek to choke out
the goodness of the Kingdom of God. The disciples grew

(05:48):
worried as they heard Jesus speak. They had not considered
that there was an enemy seeking to choke out the
good work of God. Jesus sensed their worry and said,
the weeds and the grain were allowed to grow side
by side. This is the mercy of God. However, at
the end of the age, the weeds will be burned.

(06:08):
The disciples considered the cost of a cause that had
an enemy. It worried them. Was it worth the battle
to follow Jesus, they thought. Jesus nodded to himself. He
wanted to remind everyone to count the cost of following him.
Most people gathered by the water to follow Jesus. He
stopped walking with his disciples and climbed a small hill

(06:31):
for the crowd to hear him. The Kingdom of Heaven
is like buried treasure hidden in a vast and open field,
Jesus proclaimed. A man found the treasure, then covered it up.
He sold all he had to buy the field so
he could have the treasure for himself. It was nothing
for him to give up his belongings, since what he

(06:51):
gained was far greater than what he lost. The crowd
nodded an understanding. Jesus continued, saying, the Kingdom of Heaven
is like a merchant who was searching for fine pearls.
When he finally found the perfect pearl, it was nothing
for him to sell all he had so he could
have the pearl of great price. Jesus looked upon the

(07:13):
sea of faces below and smiled. He raised his hand
to the boats on the shore and said, the Kingdom
of Heaven is like a net that was thrown into
the sea to gather fish. When it was full, men
drew it in and counted the fish. Some of the
fish were good and others were rotten. So the men
preserved the good fish and throw away the rotten ones,

(07:34):
so it will be at the end of the age
the righteous will be preserved and the wicked will be
thrown away into the fiery furnace.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
In today's passage, the disciples are listening intently as Jesus
continues to teach them the secrets of the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is the reign and rule of
Christ in us. So he speaks in parables so that
those who know him can receive this truth and have
real understanding. Jesus told stories that his audience could relate to,

(08:07):
using terms and settings that were very familiar to them.
Though Jesus knows the most profound and complex mysteries of
the universe, Jesus met them as he meets us, right
where we are, speaking to us in words that we
can comprehend, often simple, but very clear. The next parable
he told them was about a farmer who planted seed

(08:29):
in good soil. This is the soil that should produce
a good crop. But while he wasn't looking, another farmer
scattered weeds among the seed and the good soil, and
so when the wheat sprang up, it grew among the weeds.
The servants asked the farmer if they could pull up
the weeds, but the farmer told them to let the
good and the bad grow together. At harvest time, the

(08:50):
weeds would be gathered up first and burned. Then the
good crop, the wheat, would be gathered and brought into
the barn. Jesus was telling us that there would be
among us agents of the enemy, the devil, that weeds
would crop up and choke out the word of God.
It was a warning to all disciples who need to
listen as we face opposition, and those who tried to

(09:13):
cancel out the message of the Gospel. This is all
a vision of a future reality when God's angels would
come to tear out the weeds destined for destruction. This
was judgment, but in the meantime there would be struggles
for those who accepted the word and sought to produce fruit.
Jesus was reminding them that there would be a cost

(09:36):
to following him, and that they should count the cost.
But then, as if to demonstrate that a proper accounting
of the costs would always prove worth the hardship for
the sake of God's kingdom, Jesus told two more parables,
one about a treasure buried in a field. The man
who found the treasure would gladly sell everything that he

(09:57):
had to buy the field and claim the true treasure.
In the same way, he compared the Kingdom of God
to a pearl of great value. When a man found
the pearl, he also gave up everything to get this
precious pearl. The lesson was clear. No cost could ever
equal the greatness of God's kingdom. Any suffering or hardship

(10:18):
pails in comparison to the wonders and the glories of
the Kingdom of God. Counting the cost isn't a matter
of deciding if it's worth it to follow Jesus. It's
about realizing that when we have even a basic understanding
of the riches of the Gospel, we will willingly give
up anything and everything to follow Jesus. No reserve, no retreats,

(10:41):
no regrets. Finally, Jesus drove home his point by telling
a parable about fishermen who pulled in their nets full
of fish, some good and some rotten. The good fish
were kept, while the rotten fish were tossed into a fire.
When we think about it and understand the meaning of
the words of Jesus, it's it's clear that the cost

(11:01):
of not following him is infinitely greater than any monetary
cost of following Jesus. Dear God, we thank you for
today's scripture and the stories that Jesus told in order
that we might understand who he is and why he came,
and how we can know him. Thank you for calling
us into your kingdom. May you rule and rain in

(11:21):
our hearts. May we be willing to pay any price,
count every cost, that we might follow you, because we
know it is worth it in Jesus' name. Amen, thank
you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the
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(11:43):
your life, just like over twenty million people have done
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at Jack Graham dot org. God bless you and we

(12:07):
look forward to joining you again the next time.