I. Israel Restored In The Millennium. II. Matthew 13:36-52.

I. Israel Restored In The Millennium. 

 A. A great body of Old Testament prophecy is concerned with the restoration of the nation to the land since the covenants could not be fulfilled apart from this regathering. That this regathering is associated with the second advent is observed from the words of the Lord: 

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect (Deu 14:2) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other [Matt. 24:30-31].

B. This regathering is a major subject of the prophetic message as the following passages will show.

1. You shall be gathered one by one [Isa. 27:12]. 

2. I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by my name [Isa. 43:5-7]. 

3. And it shall come to pass, after I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land [Jer. 12:15]. 

4. I will bring them again to this land [Jer. 24:6]. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country of which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers [Ezek. 20:42]. When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely there [Ezek. 28:25-26]. 

5. And I that am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt will yet make you to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast [Hosea 12:9]. 

6. For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem [Joel 3:1]. 

7. And I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine there; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, says the Lord your God [Amos 9:14-15]. 

8. In that day, says the Lord, will I assemble her that halts, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted [Micah 4:6]. 

9. At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord [Zeph. 3:20]. 

10. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them [Zech. 10:10]. 

C. Therefore, this hope, which is a dominant theme throughout the prophetic Scriptures, will come to fulfillment at the second advent of Christ, which will occur at the end of the Tribulation, when Christ returns to earth from Heaven.

II. Matthew 13:36-52. Overview. 

The next four parables were spoken not to the multitudes, but to the disciples, and they reveal the present age from the divine standpoint rather than in its manifestation to the world.

III. Matthew 13:36-52. A transition in Yeshua’s Parables.

A. Parables Spoken To The Disciples. 

Matthew 13:36. Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

B. Parables Explained To The Disciples. 

1. Hidden treasure and the expensive pearl, The fifth and sixth parables reveal what accrues to God through the kingdom in this present age. In the “Parable of the Treasure Hidden in the Field” (13:44), Yeshua revealed that a multitude from Israel will become God’s purchased possession through this present age.

2.  In the “Parable of the Merchant Looking for Fine Pearls” (13:45-46), Messiah revealed that God will obtain a treasure not only from the nation Israel but from the Gentiles as well. We understand this because a pearl comes out of the sea, and quite frequently in Scripture the sea represents Gentile nations. Therefore, we see that a treasure from among the Gentiles becomes God’s by purchase.

3. The dragnet. The seventh parable (vv. 47-50) reveals that this mystery age of the kingdom will conclude in a judgment separating the righteous from the unrighteous. The net drawn up from the sea brings all kinds of fish, some useful and some useless. Through this parable Christ taught that the age will end in a judgment to determine who enters the future millennial kingdom and who is excluded.

4. Righteousness is a prerequisite for entrance “into the kingdom.” The righteous are taken into it, but the unrighteous are excluded. The destiny of the wicked is not the blessing of the kingdom, but rather the judgment of eternal fire. This same truth, concerning the judgment prior to the institution of the millennial kingdom, is taught in Matthew 25:1-30, where Christ predicted judgment on the nation Israel, and in verses 31-46 where He described judgment on living Gentiles. The judgment predicted here is not a judgment on the dead but on the living, and it will take place at the time of Christ’s second advent to the earth.

5. The householder (vs 51-52), (per, “The Coming Kingdom,” Dr. Andrew M. Woods, Th. M., J. D., Ph. D.)

 Matt 13-52,  “51 Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

a. This parable teaches that the kingdom mysteries in these parables found in Matt 13 must be considered alongside Old Testament kingdom truth if one is to understand the totality of God’s kingdom agenda. In other words, to gain a complete perspective on the outworking of God’s kingdom program, the Matt 13 parables must be studied alongside Old Testament kingdom truth in order to comprehend the course of the present age involving the coexistence of good and evil prior to the ultimate establishment of Christ’s earthly kingdom. Only by augmenting these mystery age teachings found in Matt 13, along side what they already knew about the “earthly kingdom of God” from the Old Testament, would they be able to understand all that God is doing and will do.

b. In summary, the parable of the householder in verses 51-52 is the concluding parable, in which Yeshua was saying that the disciples were responsible to teach these new truths, as well as the old truths of the Old Testament. 

C.  As John The Baptist, Yeshua and the disciples were announcing “the kingdom is at hand” (Mt 3:2; 4:17; 10:7), they were saying that the kingdom is “near,” and “not here.” Jews had been taught in the Temple and Synagogues all of the details of the kingdom, and did not need to have them repeated. As is seen in the New Testament discussions of the “kingdom of God” (2 Sam 7:8-16), there was no need to explain again  the details of the earthly Kingdom of God in the New Testament.  Jews had been taught that Israel must set a king over them whom God chose as their king (Deu 17:15). The life that Yeshua lived proved that it was He, whom God has chosen as Israel’s king, as was prophesied in Old Testament Scripture. Sadly, Israel rejected “God’s chosen king,” Yeshua (Matt 12:22-24). 

D.  The purpose of  Matthew, (per “Thy Kingdom Come,” Dr. John F. Walvoord, Th. D.”)

1. The purpose of the Gospel of  Matthew was to demonstrate that Yeshua was the promised Messiah of the Old Testament, that He fulfilled the requirements of being the promised King who would be a descendant of David, and that His life and ministry fully support the conclusion that He is the prophesied Messiah of Israel.

2. The gospel of Matthew, accordingly, presents Christ’s royal genealogy and the early recognition that He was indeed the King of the Jews. These historical materials are followed by the Sermon on the Mount, stating the moral principles of the kingdom, given more extensively in Matthew than in the other gospels. The theme is continued by presenting the sayings and the miracles of Christ as His credentials prophesied in the Old Testament.

3. Having laid this broad base, Matthew then proceeds to account for the fact that Christ did not bring in His prophesied kingdom at His first coming. The growing rejection of Christ, His denunciation of the unbelief of the Jews, and His revelation of truth relating to the period between the two advents (Mt 13) serve to support this point.

4. Beginning in Matthew 14, the growing line of rejection leads to the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24 and 25, describing the course of the age between the two advents, with special reference to the great tribulation just preceding His second coming to the earth. Having set forth the rejection of Christ in the context of ultimate glorification, the gospel of Matthew then records the facts of His death, resurrection, and post-resurrection ministry.

5. As a whole, the gospel is not properly designated as an apologetic for the Christian faith (i.e., individual salvation). Rather, it was designed to explain to the Jews, whom had expected the Messiah when He came to be a conquering king, why instead Christ suffered and died, and why there was the resulting postponement of His triumph to His second coming. 

E. The synoptic gospels vs the gospel of John.

1. The synoptic gospels are the first three books of the Bible (Matthew, Mark and Luke; they “see together with a common view.” The word “synoptic”   literally means “together sight). These gospels tell of the mystery age of God’s Heavenly Kingdom, as it is described in those gospels (through the use of the parables), and relate to that age on earth when Yeshua is not present, but has ascended to heaven. The Gospel of John does not address the mystery age or the parables that describe the things that will take place during the mystery age (when Yeshua is absent from the earth). 

2. The synoptic gospels relate to the salvation of Israel, but the Gospel of John relates to individual salvation. In essence, the synoptic gospels explain how the Kingdom of God (on earth) is being offered to Israel, and what Israel must do to receive the earthly Kingdom of God (accept Yeshua as God’s chosen King, Deu 17:15). As opposed to what Israel must do to  receive the Kingdom (as described in the synoptic gospels), the Gospel of John explains what individuals must do to enter the earthly kingdom of God (a new birth through belief in Christ; John 3:3; 3:16).