Home » New Testament » Matthew »
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Proper 12A
Comments, Questions, and Observations Our text today closes with this beautiful description: to truly be instructed in God’s kingdom is to be able to share new treasures alongside old. Our faith isn’t just an “old-time religion” but a living one that continues to grow and have impact. Each generation adds to the treasures of heaven…
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Proper 10A
We have the benefit of Jesus’s own interpretation for this parable, though the parable itself is told to one group and the explanation is only given to the disciples. It shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus emphasises the nature of the ground onto which the sower throws the seeds because it reveals his heart: as the…
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Proper 12A
The lectionary has gathered for us here the rest of the parables about the Kingdom in Matthew 13. God’s Kingdom is like a mustard seed, yeast, a treasure that can be buried, and a pearl—all small things that have the potential to lead to big changes. The Kingdom of heaven is also like a net…
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Proper 11A
There are three parables that Jesus tells to the crowds and then explains to his disciples and all of them are in this chapter of Matthew. We considered the first one last week as we read about Jesus the sower of the seed of “the word of the Kingdom.” The last one is much shorter…
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Proper 10A
This week we transition to parables, Jesus’s stories that bend and challenge our understanding with essential truths shared through images that spark our imaginations. The parable of the sower and the seed is a teaching about how—or even if—we come to understand these things of God and his Kingdom. We begin with the sower, or…
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Proper 12A
Probably most of us have benefitted from mnemonic devices at some point. We might remember the primary colors in the visible light spectrum by remembering the name Roy G. Biv (which in turns gives us Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet). A strange one used by my junior high science teacher has nevertheless…
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Proper 11A
The “Parable of the Weeds” is part of a cluster of parables that has to do with God’s kingdom (and the Year A Lectionary is dealing with these various parables one at a time). It is also one of several that has to do with seeds and agriculture. Over and again Jesus’ point is that…
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Proper 10A
In between Jesus’ telling of this famous parable and his own point-by-point explanation of the parable’s meaning and symbolism there comes an eight-verse section that the Lectionary would have us skip but that contains some of the most intriguing material in this part of Matthew 13. Mainly what Jesus says there is that the seemingly…
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Proper 12A
In our seminary preaching classes, we familiarize our students with Paul Scott Wilson’s little mnemonic device to ensure sermon unity: The Tiny Dog Is Now Mine or TTDINM in which each of those letters is preceded by the word “One” as in “One Text,” “One Theme,” and so on with the “I” being “One Image.” …
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Proper 11A
The “Parable of the Weeds” is part of a cluster of parables that has to do with God’s kingdom (and the Year A Lectionary is dealing with these various parables one at a time). It is also one of several that has to do with seeds and agriculture. Over and again Jesus’ point is that…
Content related to Matthew 13