A man walked into a flower shop and asked for some potted red geraniums. “I’m sorry,” said the clerk “we are completely sold out of all of our potted geraniums. But I’d be more than happy to give you a deal on something else. Could you use African violets instead?” The customer replied sadly, “No, it was geraniums my wife told me to water while she was gone!
It’s amazing how quickly we can forget things that have been entrusted to our care. Without realizing it the situation changes and opportunities are forever lost.
Chapter 13 of Matthew is a crucial chapter in the story of Jesus. The rebellion against Jesus Christ is beginning to reach its peak. The big question now is, ”What happens in a kingdom in which the King has been rejected?” And the answer to that question is in Matthew 13. In this chapter, Christ begins to outline the ”mysteries of the kingdom” and explains what the ”kingdom of heaven” is like.
He does so with the use of parables. A parable has been described as ”a spiritual story with a physical meaning.” Or as I prefer, a parable is a story in which something familiar explains something unfamiliar.
Jesus was a master storyteller and He would use these parables, these illustrations, to explain the mysteries of life, and the mysteries of the kingdom, as is the case in Matthew 13.
