The Gospel According to Jesus Christ The Gospel in Parables Dane Smith Toffler
Nov 18, 2014
The Gospel According to
Jesus Christ The Gospel in Parables
Dane Smith Toffler
The Gospel According to
Jesus Christ
The Gospel in Parables
ii
Preface
In the series of booklets that I have written, I have used the writ-
ings of the prophets and the apostles extensively to support the
concepts taught, with very few references to the actual teachings
of Jesus Christ. It was my desire to devote a whole booklet to
His teachings, and this is that work.
Jesus taught primarily through the use of parables, which many
of His hearers did not understand. The purpose of this volume is
to help today’s people understand the meaning of Christ’s teach-
ings.
It is my prayer that the information contained in this booklet
will bridge the perceived gap between what Christ taught and
that which the apostles taught.
Dane Toffler
Linden, Virginia July 2009
© Contents copyright 2009 by Dane Smith Toffler
The Gospel According to
Jesus Christ
“And it came to pass afterward, that He went throughout everycity and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the
kingdom of God: and the twelve were with Him,” Luke 8:1, KJV.
A fter Jesus had been tempted by the devil in the wil-
derness, He came in the power of the Spirit to the
region of Galilee. Coming to Nazareth, the place where He
was brought up by Joseph and Mary, He attended the
synogogue on Sabbath, according to His regular custom.
It was the time for the reading of the Scripture, so He
stood up to read. He was given the scroll of Isaiah to read
from and He opened it to the following text:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because the
LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the
meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the accept-
able year of the LORD” Isaiah 61:1,2, KJV.
Having finshed reading, He gave the scroll back to the at-
tendant and He sat down as they awaited His commen-
tary on the Scripture He had read. All the eyes of those
assembled were riveted on Him. He then proclaimed:
2
““Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hear-
ing.”” Luke 4:21, RSV.
At first, the members of the synagogue were amazed and
in wonder regarding what they had heard so far. He had
read the Scripture with such authority and grace. But
then, it dawned on them that His last statement meant
that He attributed the passage to Himself. They said
amongst themselves:
“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called
Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and
Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?
Where then did this man get all this?” And they took of-
fense at him. ” Matthew 13:55-57, RSV.
Jesus had already worked many miracles in the region
and this crowd had heard the rumors. But, they could
not accept Him as the Messiah.
“And He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to Me
this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself; what we have
heard you did at Caper’na-um, do here also in your own
country.’”
And He said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is accept-
able in his own country. But in truth, I tell you, there
were many widows in Israel in the days of Eli’jah, when
the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when
there came a great famine over all the land; and Eli’jah was
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sent to none of them but only to Zar’ephath, in the land
of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were
many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Eli’sha;
and none of them was cleansed, but only Na’aman the
Syrian.”
When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled
with wrath.” Luke 4:23-28, RSV.
The people chased Him out of the synagogue and to the
brow of a hill where they intended to throw Him over,
but Christ passed miraculously through them and disap-
peared from their sight.
What Made Them So Angry?
He knew that the people of Nazareth would not accept
Him, but He came to report the facts to them. When it
was time for Him to interpret the Scripture He had read
aloud, He announced to them that He was the Messiah of
whom Isaiah spoke. This kindled their unbelief into a
fire. He then reminded them that a prophet is not ac-
cepted in His own country and this was not a new thing.
In the days of Elijah and Elisha, only the Sidonian widow
and Naaman the Syrian, both Gentiles, were the recipi-
ents of God’s power. The Jews of Nazareth were unwill-
ing to hear this and they sought to kill Him.
Christ had only begun His ministry and there were al-
ready more that disbelieved Him than those that believed.
4
There would not be many believers until His death and
resurrection. The Israelites had a history of rejecting and
many times killing the ones sent to them by God and it
would be no different with His Son.
The quotation that Christ read from Isaiah showed that
the gospel message, the good or glad tidings, would only
be heard and believed by the poor and the meek, the bro-
ken-hearted ones, the slaves and the prisoners among
them. In His interpretation of the Scripture for the
Nazarenes He explained that more Gentiles would accept
the message than Jews.
This message blinded the people of Nazareth with rage
and they were deaf to its meaning for them. What Jesus
had spoken to them was a parable, a sort of riddle that
only believers would understand. His method of using
parables instead of speaking plainly was a source of con-
fusion even for His disciples:
Why Do You Speak in Parables?
“Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You
speak to them in parables?”
And He answered them, “To you it has been given to
know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them
it has not been given. For to him who has will more be
given, and he will have abundance; but from him who
has not, even what he has will be taken away.
5
This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing
they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do
they understand. With them indeed is fulfilled the
prophecy of Isaiah which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but
never understand, and you shall indeed see but never per-
ceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their
ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with
their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for
Me to heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for
they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and right-
eous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Matthew
13:10-17, RSV.
The word parable in Greek means “to cast alongside for
comparison”. A parable is a short, fictitious example
made of known or accepted concepts which is used for
comparison to a spiritual concept that is being taught.
Since spiritual concepts can only really be understood
spiritually, a parable is not always understood by the
hearers. If a person is influenced mostly by the spirit of
worldly wisdom, the parable will not make complete
sense. If, however, the person is influenced by wisdom of
the Spirit of God, the example or comparison made by
the parable will make much sense.
6
The Kingdom of God in Parables
Many of the parables of Christ expand on the notion of
something called either the “kingdom of God” or the
“kingdom of heaven”. In Mark, Luke and John the phrase
“kindom of God” is used most often, but in Matthew the
phrase “kingdom of heaven” is used most often, because
Matthew’s gospel was written primarily for the Jews
who would have been offended by the use of God’s name
which they considered too holy to mention.
The kingdom here described is not so much a place as it
is a spiritual state of mind or being. Let us consider the
collection of parables in chapter thirteen of Matthew.
First, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer sowing seed and
how the seed grows depending on what kind of ground
it falls upon. That parable is followed by seven parables
that begin with the phrase “The kingdom of heaven is
like unto”. The things which the kingdom is likened to
are: a sower sowing good seed; the sowing of a single
mustard seed; leaven; a hidden treasure; a priceless pearl;
a fishing net; and a householder.
The Sower
In the stage-setting tale, the seed sown by the farmer does
not all fall on the tilled soil prepared for the seed. It falls
in three other places as well. Some seed falls by the road-
side, some on stony ground and some falls among the
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weeds and thorns. The ground in all cases represents the
hearts of individuals, the seed represents the truth of the
kingdom of heaven. The sower is the Son of Man or His
agents.
In this parable, our attention is drawn to the condition
of our hearts as the seed is being sown. Some hearts are
well-prepared to receive truth because throughout the
person’s life they have been taught to regard truth highly
and to accept the truth whenever it is presented. These
hearts also protect and nourish the truth as soon as it is
received. Like tilled soil, the ground of the heart garden
has been cleared of all stones and weeds that would
hamper the growth of the seed. The garden has also not
been prepared too close to the road where the precious
plants might be trampled.
But the seed in the parable doesn’t all fall within the
confines of the garden. Some people live too close to the
mainstream of worldly life and they don’t even notice the
truth when it is spoken. Some people have allowed them-
selves to become bitter and hard and their hearts are filled
with rocks and stones, so the seeds of truth can find
nowhere to root. Others have allowed the weeds and
thorns (such as being overwhelmed by the cares of this
life and the worldly desire to become rich) to get more
attention, which chokes out the truth when it is sown.
8
So as Jesus begins His communication to the people and
His disciples He speaks of the effect of the Gospel as a
truth that He is attempting to plant in the soul of indi-
viduals and how the soil of people’s hearts affects the
growth of that seed.
The Wheat and the Tares
In the next parable, moving from one set of comparisons
to another, He speaks of Himself as the planter of the
good seed, but that there is another sower, an evil one
that plants bad seed. His assistants note that there are
weeds among the wheat and they want His permission to
uproot and destroy the weeds, but Jesus does not let
them do this work. He tells them to let the weeds grow
until the harvest.
Many have felt that the parable of the wheat and the tares
represented the people that can be found in a church, but
Jesus tells us that the field that is planted represents the
whole world. In the previous parable there were three
kinds of soil that produced bad growth and only one
kind of soil that produced the right results. If weeds are
allowed to take over a garden that is exactly what they
accomplish. This is the true ratio that we see in the world
today with evil outnumbering good on every side.
Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived tells us in Eccle-
siastes:
9
“Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed
speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do
evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11, RSV.
The parable of the two sowers reveals that both kinds of
plants are allowed to grow until the harvest, which is in-
terpreted as the end of the world.
Like the weeds, the stones and the roadside of the previ-
ous parable, Jesus is showcasing the fact that God extends
to us free will: we may live where we like, we may
choose how we live our lives, we may choose our friends
and associates, we can decide the degree to which we be-
come hardened or influenced by the world. The Gospel is
not spread in a vacuum.
The Mustard Seed
Next, Christ likens the Kingdom of God to the growing
of a mustard seed:
“Another parable he put before them, saying, “The king-
dom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a
man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all
seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs
and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and
make nests in its branches.”” Matthew 13:31,32, RSV.
The Asian mustard seed was the smallest known seed to
His hearers and they also knew how large the shrub grew
in size from such a small beginning. Jesus here is telling
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the people that even though the Gospel had such a small
start in a remote corner of the known world, that it
would grow to encompass all lands and all people.
The Leaven in the Flour
Staying with this concept He next speaks about a woman
hiding leaven in three measures of meal and telling how
the leaven affects all the flour. The effect of leaven on
dough was well known by the people listening, but most
had difficulty realizing why Jesus had brought it up. The
Jews had been teaching the Law for centuries of genera-
tions, but had become an exclusive people despising the
Gentiles that shared the planet with them. They consid-
ered themselves chosen by God and different and better
than other peoples. As a result of their hardening of their
own hearts against the Gentiles, they were loathe to bring
them the tidings of salvation.
Jesus was telling them that the Gospel would go forward
to the ends of the earth even if they were not willing to
be the people that would carry the message.
The Treasure and the Pearl
The next two parables focus on the fact that the Gospel is
so precious to an individual that accepts it that he trades
or sells all that he has in order to obtain it.
11
““The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a
field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy
he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in
search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great
value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46, RSV.
Many receive the good news but do not appreciate its
true worth, they consider it similar to their other belong-
ings, just one thing among many. They certainly are not
willing to give up all to retain it and lose the rest.
This is to be understood in the context of being willing
to surrender all. The Lord does not require that we give
up all things for all time, but that we be willing to give
up what He asks when He asks. If we are too attached to
the things of this world, we will rebel when asked by
God to surrender them.
The subsequent parable in Matthew 13 deals with judg-
ment:
The Net
““Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was
thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;
when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and
sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So
it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out
12
and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them
into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash
their teeth.” Matthew 13:47-50, RSV.
The judgment of the peoples of the world is based on
whether they accept or reject the Gospel or as it were,
citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Like the task done by the fishermen with the net, not all
that is netted is saved. That which is good is kept but
that which is bad is cast away. The message of the Gospel
comes to each person like the net takes in all. All must
come to judgment, none are exempt.
Jesus’ Question
At this juncture, Jesus is curious to know if the disciples
have truly understood His teaching to them and the peo-
ple. He had taken them aside twice and given them extra
instruction about two of the parables: of the sower and
of the wheat and the tares.
He wanted to know if they understood that His kingdom
is a kingdom of the heart, that the message of His king-
dom is the most precious truth of all and that a person
must be ready to give up all for its citizenship. Did they
understand that Satan was building his kingdom simul-
taneously and that he would have more followers than
Christ in each generation. Were they clear that judgment
13
was inescapable and that each child of mankind must
choose Him as their savior in order to avoid punishment.
““Have you understood all this?”
They said to him, “Yes.”” Matthew 13:51, RSV.
Knowing better than they that their affirmative answer
was an incomplete affirmation, He accepts their answer
and says:
The Householder
“And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has
been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a house-
holder who brings out of his treasure what is new and
what is old.”” Matthew 13:52, RSV.
The Jewish scribes were the theologians of the people and
it was their task to instruct them in the meanings of the
scripture of the Old Testament. Jesus was telling the dis-
ciples that they would be sent as scribes to the people to
tell them things old and new. A householder was re-
sponsible for maintaining all the things of a household,
the old things as well as the new. The old had to be used
first and only then would the new be brought out for
use. The disciples would have to see and teach that the
spiritual matters of the Old Testament were clearly
taught and then add the newer spiritual pieces about
Christ’s kingdom so that the hearers understood the con-
nection between old and new. The responsibility would
14
be theirs to define the new theology in all its glory and
beauty.
Thus far, Christ has taught us about the everlasting im-
portance of the Gospel and its effect on the hearts of
mankind, but the details have not yet been shared. These
details would have to be given to those who were spiri-
tually ready to accept them. The disciples were continu-
ing their training with Him, but still misunderstood
much of what He said.
Nicodemus
There was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, the
ruling council of the Jews. This man’s name was Ni-
codemus. He had asked around and found that Christ
and His disciples retreated to the Mount of Olives every
evening after their work in Jerusalem. There was a garden
at the base of the mountain near the press that was used
to make oil from the olives. This garden was called Geth-
semane. Under cover of darkness, that his meeting with
Jesus might be hidden, Nicodemus came to the garden.
Upon coming to Jesus he said:
“ ‘Rabbi, we have known that from God thou hast come–
a teacher, for no one these signs is able to do that thou
dost, if God may not be with him.’
15
Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Verily, verily, I say to
thee, If any one may not be born from above, he is not
able to see the reign of God;’” John 3:2,3, YLT.
Nicodemus was convinced in his heart that Jesus was of
God, but he was still entrenched in the teachings of the
rabbis. Rather than respond to what Nicodemus had said,
Christ told the Pharisee about the new birth that a man
must have to enter the kingdom of God. He must be born
from above.
Not understanding the drift of the Master’s teaching,
Nicodemus replied:
“‘How is a man able to be born, being old? is he able into
the womb of his mother a second time to enter, and to be
born?’
Jesus answered, ‘Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one
may not be born of water, and the Spirit, he is not able to
enter into the reign of God; that which hath been born of
the flesh is flesh, and that which hath been born of the
Spirit is spirit. ‘Thou mayest not wonder that I said to
thee, It behoveth you to be born from above;” John 3:4-7,
YLT.
In answer to Nicodemus’ second question, Jesus replies
that being born from above is not the same as a natural
birth. Being born from above is a spiritual birth separate
and distinct from the natural birth. He further explains:
16
“The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound
of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither
it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the
Spirit.”” John 3:8, RSV.
The one born from above will have a different form of
behavior than the same one born naturally and what
makes the behavior different will be the Spirit’s influence
which is likened to the influence of wind upon the leaves
and branches of a tree.
Being born from above or born-again is described as a ne-
cessity for seeing the kingdom of God. One must become
a new creation, different from how one began naturally.
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. One must
be born from above and be a child of the King to inherit
His kingdom.
Therefore, Jesus was teaching this religious ruler that the
keeping of the law taught by himself and his fellows was
not only not enough but could never be enough to gain
salvation. Based on what the Master was saying only a
new birth wrought by the Holy Spirit would be enough.
A man could not be saved by effort, he must be saved by
faith in this new birth.
Life and Death
In the cycle of things we know naturally, birth begins the
cycle, life continues the cycle and death ends the cycle. If
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I must be born again from above how does this fit into
the cycle I already understand? Is the new birth just
tacked on to the old birth or does something else inter-
vene to separate the old from the new?
The Prodigal Son
In Christ’s well-known parable of the prodigal son, the
youngest of two brothers insists on receiving his inheri-
tance early and then goes and spends it all up in riotous
living. He is reduced to eating pig fodder before he comes
to his senses. He returns to his father’s house where he is
not only accepted back, but a feast is thrown in his
honor. But, the elder brother objects to his father’s re-
ception of his brother. The father replies:
“It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your
brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is
found.’”” Luke 15:32, RSV.
Similarly, Jesus teaches the disciples:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and
believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life; he does not
come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
John 5:24, RSV.
The activities of the prodigal son in the parable who gave
himself over to riotous living are described as death, the
wages of sin. His faithful act of returning to his father
made the lost found and the dead alive.
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In the same fashion, a believer must die to sin first and
then become alive to righteousness. In common life: life
precedes death, but with eternal life: death precedes life.
Losing Life to Preserve It
Note the following quotes from Jesus:
“For whoever would save his life will lose it; and who-
ever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save
it.” Mark 8:35, RSV.
“Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life will preserve it.” Luke 17:33, RSV.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls
into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it
bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he
who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal
life.” John 12:24,25, RSV.
Christ is saying that the life we are familiar with, our
common life, is no better than the life of the prodigal
when he was lost. We, too, are lost and we, too, are as
good as dead. This life of ours is not worth saving or re-
maining attached to. We must give it up before gaining
eternal life. Our lives must be surrendered.
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Surrender. How Often?
Is surrender a one-time event? Jesus says:
“And He said to all, “If any man would come after Me, let
him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow
Me.” Luke 9:23, RSV.
This surrender or denial of self must happen daily, but
with a finality for each day as is suggested by the taking
of one’s cross. He is speaking of the necessity of crucify-
ing self.
“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after
Me, cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27, RSV.
Eternal Life and Eternal Death
Regarding eternal life, Jesus said some astonishing things:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps My word, he
will never see death.”” John 8:51, RSV.
“Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you
believe this?”” John 11:26, RSV.
A believer that continues in relationship with Jesus,
abiding in Him, and He abiding in them, has within him
established a life principle that lasts forever. It is not even
interrupted by physical death, that which the Bible de-
scribes as a sleep. The life of the believer reaches through
the grave and beyond the grave. The death he will never
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see is the second death that happens only to the wicked
that are thrown into the lake of fire following the resur-
rection of the wicked.
“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all
who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come forth,
those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and
those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judg-
ment.” John 5:28,29, RSV.
Abiding
Jesus taught that where we spiritually dwell or abide is
important. He discussed it in terms of His own practice
and He told us where we should spiritually abide as well.
“If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not
believe Me; but if I do them, even though you do not be-
lieve Me, believe the works, that you may know and un-
derstand that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father.””
John 10:37,38, RSV.
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father
in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My
own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does
His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Fa-
ther in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the works
themselves.” John 14:10,11, RSV.
Jesus taught that He dwelt in the Father and that the Fa-
ther dwelt in Him. He taught that He did not do His
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own works or speak His own words, but that His works
and words were the works and words of His Father.
““I can do nothing on My own authority; as I hear, I
judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not My
own will but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 5:30,
RSV.
“Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son
can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees
the Father doing; for whatever He does, that the Son does
likewise.” John 5:19, RSV.
Jesus explained to His disciples that their relationship to
Him must be like His relationship with His Father:
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can
you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the
branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that
bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4,5, RSV.
Just as Christ did only His father’s works and spoke
only His father’s words and judged only according to the
will of His father, so we should only do the works of
Christ, speak the words of Christ and judge according to
the will of Christ.
This, of course, goes against the natural grain of man’s
will, where he would rather do his own works, speak his
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own words and make his own judgments. Our wills
must be submerged in the will of Christ.
Our desire to do things our own way is pictured in the
parable as the branch that is disconnected from the vine.
The outcome of the disconnected branch is that it with-
ers and dies.
Christ is telling us that we must give up our own view
and have it replaced with His. The life we live must be
His life not our own. We must be willing to be com-
pletely out of the way so that Christ can have His way at
all times. The branch of the vine has no life of its own, it
can only borrow life from the vine. We are always only
the branch and never the vine.
The Two Masters
Approching this another way He said:
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon.”” Luke 16:13, RSV.
Here Christ reminds us that we are never more than ser-
vants. That we will serve in life only one master fully.
We may try to serve two masters but we will not be suc-
cessful. The two masters he mentions are God and mam-
mon. While mammon usually means riches, here it is per-
sonified in the sense of inner confidence (i.e. serving self).
23
We are often driven to make decisions based on our feel-
ings, emotions, passions, desires, lusts, etc. We feel that,
for the most part, we have enough of an understanding of
right and wrong to choose correctly. But, these feelings of
ours come from a corrupt heart that we were born with,
a heart described by the Bible as full of deception and
desperately wicked. Without realizing it we have be-
comes servants of this wicked heart and it is difficult
therefore to serve the Lord in all things because we are at
variance with His will. Jesus warns us that if we try to
serve both masters we will end up loving one and despis-
ing the other. The danger is that we will despise Christ
and love our own way rather than the other way around.
What We Care About
Jesus, in his sermon on the mountain, had His hearers
take a look at the things they were most concerned about:
““Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,
what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about
your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than
food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to
his span of life?
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And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor
spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today
is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he
not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’
or ’What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For
the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Fa-
ther knows that you need them all.” Matthew 6:25-32,
RSV.
Christ is very aware of how we let the concerns of this
life overtake us and overwhelm us. He understands that
we feel too busy and overburdened to have much of a
consecrated religious life. He perceives we are content to
have the priests, the ministers, the pastors, and the mis-
sionaries do all of that. He comprehends that we are more
concerned with work and school, shopping and playing,
resting and being entertained.
What Jesus Recommends
Here then, is His prescription for our situation:
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and
all these things shall be yours as well.” Matthew 6:33,
RSV.
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God, being a good father, knows what we need and will
give us what we need in due time, but first we must
consider His Kingdom and His Righteousness.
The following interchange happened with the Pharisees:
“And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of
God cometh, He answered them and said, The kingdom
of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they
say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is
within you.” Luke 17:20,21, ASV.
The kingdom of God must be found in our hearts,
within us. I should not be seeking a future kingdom of
God but a present one. Others should see me as a citizen
of that kingdom today, because of the way I behave and
the way that I love others. This not something I can
muster up by an act of my will, that is why I must seek
this kingdom through my relationship with God for I
will not find it naturally residing within me.
The other half of Jesus’ prescription is to seek His
righteousness. In other words, I should not be looking for
a way to be righteous myself. I must borrow His
righteousness instead. He is willing to give me both His
kingdom and His righteousness, but I must not be
striving to have my own version of either. I have no
kingdom and I have no righteousness without His gifting
me with His.
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The Lord promises that if I seek first His kingdom and
His righteousness, all that I need will be taken care of by
God. By comparing us with the flowers and the sparrows
and the grass, He shows us that they are given what they
need and tells us that we need not worry about clothes or
food or belongings any more than any other part of His
creation. Let Him be concerned with that so we can seek
His kingdom and His righteousness.
Jesus also said:
“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the
food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man
will give to you; for on Him has God the Father set His
seal.”” John 6:27, RSV.
Jesus has been given all power in heaven and earth and
God has set His seal of approval on Him. He will give us
the spiritual food we need which is more important than
physical food.
“But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God.’”” Matthew 4:4, RSV.
““Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who
asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who
knocks it will be opened.
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Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will
give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a
serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father who is in heaven give good things to those who
ask Him!” Matthew 7:7-11, RSV.
““Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteous-
ness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6, RSV.
What “Good News” Did Jesus Pray For?
After the Last Supper, Jesus and the disciples walked to
Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives and there
He prayed for them and for us. Listen to what He prayed:
“And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the
world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them
in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be
one, even as we are one.
While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which
thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of
them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture
might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to thee; and
these things I speak in the world, that they may have my
joy fulfilled in themselves.
I have given them thy word; and the world has hated
them because they are not of the world, even as I am not
of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldst take them
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out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from
the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not
of the world.
Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. As thou
didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the
world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they
also may be consecrated in truth.
“I do not pray for these only, but also for those who be-
lieve in me through their word, that they may all be one;
even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also
may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me.
The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them,
that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and
thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that
the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast
loved them even as thou hast loved me.
Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me,
may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which
thou hast given me in thy love for me before the founda-
tion of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not
known thee, but I have known thee; and these know that
thou hast sent me.” John 17:11-25, RSV.
It is the desire of Christ and His Father that we would be
one with Them and that They would be one with us.
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He has left us in the world, not alone, but with the com-
fort and aid of the Holy Spirit. Christ Himself acts as our
Advocate with the Father.
God sent Him into the world and now He sends us into
the world. Not to be worldly but to gather more children
for Him from the world.
Let us then go boldly into the world and by His power
reconcile as many as possible to His Father, for they have
given us this privilege of being partakers of the reconcil-
iation and givers of the Good News of reconciliation to
the world.
Let us abide in Them as They abide in us. Let us be one!
Bible Versions Used
ASV: American Standard Version
KJV: King James Version
RSV: Revised Standard Version
Dby: Darby’s Translation
YLT: Young’s Literal Translation