The Parables and Miracles of Jesus the Christ

By James D. Quiggle

The need for specialized books on the gospels is apparent when one considers the variety of their contents. The four gospels are similar to the Greek bíos (“a life,” a kind of biography), but in the format of the Old Testament historical narratives. As such they give us a selective history of the person, life, and works of Jesus the Christ. Within that history are the stories Jesus told and the miracles he performed. Focusing the study on the parables Jesus told and miracles he worked allows the Bible student to become prepared for the study of the gospels as a whole.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James D. Quiggle
• Release date: May 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463961049

James D. Quiggle

James D. Quiggle was born in 1952 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He grew up in Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. In the early 1970s he joined the United States Air Force. At his first permanent assignment in Indian Springs, Nevada in a small Baptist church, the pastor introduced him to Jesus and soon after he was saved. Over the next ten years those he met in churches from the East Coast to the West Coast, mature Christian men, poured themselves into mentoring him. In the 1970s he was gifted with the Scofield Bible Course from Moody Bible Institute. As he completed his studies his spiritual gift of teaching became even more apparent. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bethany Bible College during the 1980s while still in the Air Force. Between 2006–2008, after his career in the Air Force and with his children grown up, he decided to continue his education. He enrolled in Bethany Divinity College and Seminary and earned a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theological Studies.As an extension of his spiritual gift of teaching, he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to begin writing books. James Quiggle is now a Christian author with over fifty commentaries on Bible books and doctrines. He is an editor for the Evangelical Dispensational Quarterly Journal published by Scofield Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary.He continues to write and has a vibrant teaching ministry through social media.

Book preview

The Parables and Miracles

of

Jesus The Christ

BOOKS BY JAMES D. QUIGGLE

DOCTRINAL SERIES

Biblical Homosexuality

A Biblical Response to Same-gender Marriage

Marriage and Family: A Biblical Perspective

Adam and Eve, a Biography and Theology

Angelology, a True History of Angels

Biblical Essays

Biblical Essays II

Biblical Essays III

First Steps, Becoming a Follower of Jesus Christ

Thirty-six Essentials of the Christian Faith

Christian Living and Doctrine

Spiritual Gifts

Why Christians Should Not Tithe

Antichrist, His Genealogy, Kingdom, and Religion

Dispensational Eschatology, An Explanation and Defense of the Doctrine

Understanding Dispensational Theology

The Literal Hermeneutic, Explained and Illustrated

God’s Choices, Doctrines of Foreordination, Election, Predestination

God Became Incarnate

Life, Death, Eternity

COMMENTARY SERIES

The Old Testament:

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Judges

A Private Commentary on the Book of Ruth

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Esther

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Song of Solomon

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Daniel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jonah

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Haggai

The New Testament:

The Gospels

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Matthew’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Mark’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1–12

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 13–21

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John’s Gospel

The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ

The Christmas Story, As Told By God

The Parables and Miracles of Jesus the Christ

Pauline Letters

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Ephesians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philippians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Colossians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Thessalonians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philemon

General Letters

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Hebrews

A Private Commentary on the Bible: James

A Private Commentary on the Bible: 1 Peter

A Private Commentary on the Bible: 2 Peter

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John’s Epistles

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jude

Revelation

The Epistle of Jesus to the Church

REFERENCE SERIES

Old and New Testament Chronology

Also in individual volumes:

Old Testament Chronology

New Testament Chronology

Translation of Select Bible Books (Old And New Testament)

Dictionary of Doctrinal Words

TRACT SERIES

How Can I Know I am A Christian?

Now That I am A Christian

A Human Person: Is the Unborn Life a Person?

What is a Pastor?

Thirty-Six Essentials of the Christian Faith

Visit me at https://www.facebook.com/BooksOfQ

The Parables and Miracles

of

Jesus the Christ

James D. Quiggle

Copyright Page

The Parables and Miracles of Jesus the Christ.

Copyright © 2020 James D. Quiggle. All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

Revised 2021 to cross-reference parallel accounts of parables and miracles.

Unless otherwise noted Scripture translations are by James D. Quiggle.

Other Bible versions that may be cited or quoted are listed below. The ASV, ESV, KJV, HCSB, NASB, NKJV, and NIV were sourced from PC Study Bible®, version 5, release 5.2. Copyright © 1988–2008, by BibleSoft, Inc.

American Standard Version (ASV). Public Domain.

Authorized (King James) Version (KJV). Public Domain.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, by Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Lexham English Bible (LEB). Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.

New King James Version® (NKJV). Copyright © 1982, 1983 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV). Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, A Division of Good News Publishers, 1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, USA. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (YLT), by Robert Young, Originally Published In 1862, Edinburgh. Revised Edition 1887. Public Domain.

This digital edition of The Parables and Miracles of Jesus the Christ contains the same content as the print edition of this work.

Abbreviations

AD Anno Domini (In the year of the Lord [since Christ was born])

ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers

ASV American Standard Version

BC Bello Christo (Before Christ [was born])

BDT Baker’s Dictionary of Theology

ca. about (an approximate date) (Latin: circa)

cf. compare (Latin: confer)

EDT Evangelical Dictionary of Theology

e.g. for example (Latin: exempli gratia)

etc. and so forth, and so on (Latin: et cetera)

HCSB Holman Christian Standard Bible

Ibid in the same place (referring to the source cited in the previous entry) (Latin: ibidem)

i.e. that is (Latin: id est)

JDQT Author’s translation

KJV King James Version

NASB New American Standard Bible 1995 edition.

NIDNTT The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology

NIV New International Version

NKJV New King James Version

NPNF Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers

LXX Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament completed ca. 130 BC)

n. note (referring to a footnote or endnote in the work cited)

s. v. under the word (Latin: sub verbo)

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament

TWOT Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament

v. verse

vv. verses

WSDNT Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament

Contents

Preface

The Interpretation of a Parable

The Parables in Matthew’s Gospel

Matthew 5:14–16

Matthew 7:7–11

Matthew 7:24–27

Matthew 9:16

Matthew 9:17

Matthew 11:16–19

Matthew 12:43–45

Matthew 13 Parables

Matthew 13:3–23

Matthew 13:24–30

Matthew 13:31–32

Matthew 13:33

Matthew 13:44

Matthew 13:45–46

Matthew 13:47–50

Matthew 13:52

Matthew 18:12–14

Matthew 18:23–35

Matthew 20:1–6

Matthew 21:28–32

Matthew 21:33–45

Matthew 22:2–14

Matthew 24:32–35, 37–39, 40–42

Matthew 24:45–51

Matthew 25:1–13

Matthew 25:14–30

The Parables In Mark’s Gospel

Mark 2:21–22

Mark 4:3–9

Mark 4:26–29

Mark 13:33–37

The Parables In Luke’s Gospel

Luke 5:36–39

Luke 6:39–40

Luke 6:47–49

Luke 7:41–50

Luke 10:30–37

Luke 11:5–13

Luke 12:16–21

Luke 12:35–40

Luke 12:42–48

Luke 13:6–9

Luke 14:7–11

Luke 14:16–24

Luke 14:28–30

Luke 14:31–33

Luke 15:1–7

Luke 15:8–10

Luke 15:11–32

Luke 16:1–13

Luke 16:19–31

Luke 17:7–10

Luke 18:1–8

Luke 18:9–14

Luke 19:11–27

Luke 20:9–16

Luke 21:29–32

The Parables In John’s Gospel

John 10:1–10

The Interpretation of Miracles

The Miracles in Matthew’s Gospel

Matthew 4:23–24

Matthew 8:2–3

Matthew 8:5–13

Matthew 8:14–15

Matthew 8:16

Matthew 8:23–27

Matthew 8:28–32

Matthew 9:2–7

Matthew 9:20–22

Matthew 9:18–26

Matthew 9:27–31

Matthew 9:32–33

Matthew 12:9–13

Matthew 12:22

Matthew 14:13–21

Matthew 14:24–33

Matthew 14:34–36

Matthew 15:21–28

Matthew 15:29–31

Matthew 15:32–38

Matthew 17:14–18

Matthew 17:24–27

Matthew 20:29–34

Matthew 21:18–20

Matthew 27:51–54

The Miracles in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 1:23–26

Mark 1:30–31

Mark 1:32–34

Mark 1:40–42

Mark 2:1–12

Mark 3:1–5

Mark 4:35–39

Mark 5:1–20

Mark 5:21–24, 35–43

Mark 5:25–34

Mark 6:30–44

Mark 6:47–52

Mark 6:53–56

Mark 7:24–30

Mark 7:31–37

Mark 8:22–26

Mark 9:14–29

Mark 10:46–52

Mark 11:20–21

Mark 12:1–9

The Miracles In Luke’s Gospel

Luke 4:28–30

Luke 4:33–35

Luke 4:38–39

Luke 4:40–41

Luke 5:1–8

Luke 5:12–13

Luke 5:18–25

Luke 6:6–10

Luke 7:1–10

Luke 7:11–17

Luke 8:22–25

Luke 8:26–33

Luke 8:43–48

Luke 8:40–42, 49–56

Luke 9:10–17

Luke 9:37–42

Luke 13:10–13

Luke 14:1–6

Luke 17:11–19

Luke 18:35–43

Luke 22:47–51

The Miracles In John’s Gospel

John 2:1–10

John 4:46–53

John 5:1–9

John 6:1–13

John 6:16–21

John 9:1–7

John 11:32–44

John 21:1–6

Appendix: The Forty-Six Parables of Jesus

Appendix: The Forty-Five Miracles of Jesus

Sources

Preface

The need for specialized books on the gospels is apparent when one considers the variety of their contents. The four gospels are similar to the Greek bíos (a life, a kind of biography), but in the format of the Old Testament historical narratives. As such they give us a selective history of the person, life, and works of Jesus the Christ. Within that history are the stories Jesus told and the miracles he performed. Focusing the study on the parables Jesus told and miracles he worked allows the Bible student to become prepared for the study of the gospels as a whole.

I have previously written and published individual commentaries on the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John.

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Matthew’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Mark’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1–12

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 13–21

(The two volumes on John’s Gospel are also available in a one volume print edition.)

The translation and exposition of the parables and miracles from Matthew, Mark, and John are extracts from those individual commentaries, lightly edited to the present purpose.

The translation and comments on the parables and miracles in Luke’s gospel were done specifically for this book.

The order in which the parables and miracles appear in this book is generally chronological in the life of Jesus Christ. Parallel passages are not shown, but are considered in the exposition when they supply additional information.

The exact number of parables and miracles is gently argued by Bible students, as is whether or not some passages are parables or narrative (e.g., the rich man and Lazarus). The source for the identification, number, and order of parables and miracles is Hollingsworth and Quiggle, New Testament Chronology.

The Interpretation of a Parable

Introduction

A parable is a story—a word picture or an illustration—told to teach a single point. A parable is, in effect, an extended figure of speech. To interpret a parable, one must first understand the nature of a figure of speech. [All sections except, The Purpose of Using Parables, are from Quiggle, The Literal Hermeneutic.]

The original languages in which the Scriptures were written were not a divine language, but the common language of the cultures in which they were written. The Bible was written in the every-day language of the people, which included the use of symbols, idioms, and slang as illustrations: figures of speech.

A figure of speech is a comparison (by example or analogy) of one thing with another that clarifies some aspect of the thing being illustrated by the figure of speech.

The Literal Hermeneutic

The proper interpretation of a figure of speech comes out of the appropriate use of what is known as the Literal hermeneutic (hermeneutic: method of interpretation). The meaning of literal interpretation has been and still is subject to misinterpretation and caricature. Here is what literal interpretation means:

The literal hermeneutic understands the words and language used by the human authors of the Bible in the normal and plain sense of words and language as used in everyday conversation and writing.

Understanding words in their plain and normal sense means all words in all languages have a semantic content and range that reflects the historical-cultural background of the original writer and reader.

Understanding words in their plain and normal sense means that languages also communicate meaning through well-defined rules of vocabulary, grammar, and syntax.

Understanding words in their plain and normal sense means recognizing all language includes idioms, slang, figures of speech, and symbols specific to that language and the historical-cultural circumstances of original writer and reader, and that these must be interpreted for the modern reader in terms of his or her language.

Understanding idioms, slang, figures of speech, and symbols in the plain and normal sense of language means an idiom, slang, figure of speech, or symbol is based on something literal and is intended by the writer or speaker to communicate something literal. And the corollary: A symbol is not intended to communicate the literal thing on which it is based.

Understanding the biblical use of words, figures of speech, idioms, slang, and symbols means recognizing the biblical authors sometimes used and invested these parts of language with specific theological or spiritual meanings, and that the Holy Spirit maintained the consistency of those meanings among the several human authors.

If an interpretation invests an author’s words, figures of speech, idioms, slang, or symbols with a meaning other than the plain and normal meaning of their use in the language in which he is communicating, then it is not a literal interpretation, but is an allegorical or spiritual interpretation: an abstract distortion of the meaning of the text dependent on the interpreter’s imagination, not the biblical writer’s truth-intention.

Considering the above propositions, a literal hermeneutic determines the biblical author’s intended meaning (his truth-intention) through the normal and plain sense of the words and language he used. To discover the author’s truth-intention the literal method applies historical, cultural, contextual, grammatical, lexical, syntactical, theological, genre, and doctrinal analysis to the author’s text.

Figures of Speech

The interpretation of figures of speech is guided by five unbreakable, unalterable, unchanging rules:

A figure of speech is a comparison (by example or analogy) of one thing with another that clarifies some aspect of the thing being illustrated by the figure of speech.

A figure of speech does not teach doctrine. A figure of speech clarifies what is being taught for the purpose of helping the understanding.

Exception: a parable is designed to teach one thing.

A figure of speech clarifies one aspect, not all aspects, of the thing being illustrated.

A figure of speech is based in something literal and is intended to teach something literal.

A figure of speech does not teach the literal thing on which it is based.

Let us look at the figure of speech, raining cats and dogs. This figure of speech is thought to have come from one of five historical circumstances [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-rai1.htm]. Of these, here are two that illustrate the point figures of speech are based in something literal. One, in the days before modern sanitation, a heavy rain would wash the carcasses of dogs and cats down the streets. Two, a heavy rain would wash out cats and dogs hiding in thatched roofs or cause them to jump out of the thatch, thus giving the appearance of raining cats and dogs. Whichever is correct, the figurative meaning is a heavy rain.

Biblical figures, symbols, etc., communicate literal ideas and concepts. For example, a literal fire can cause damage, destruction, or purification (as in smelting ore to remove impurities). Fire used as symbol communicates literal destruction (Isaiah 5:24), judgment (Isaiah 66:16; Revelation 20:15), or cleansing (Isaiah 6:6–7). At Revelation 1:14 Jesus’ eyes are as a flame of fire. The grammatical value of as signifies a simile, which in turn indicates the use of fire has a symbolic value, which in turn is meant to communicate something literal. Fire is associated with cleansing and with judgment. Believers are cleansed by judgment (e.g., Revelation 2:18), but unbelievers are punished (e.g., Revelation 19:11–12).

A figure of speech, symbol, etc., is not in and of itself literal, e.g., it is raining cats and dogs, but the figure, whether a simile, metaphor, or personification, communicates something literal: a literal heavy rain. An example of a biblical figure of speech is turned the world upside down, Acts 17:6, to express the radical changes Christianity brought to the established social and religious order. The literal method seeks to understand how the Bible defines and uses each particular symbol or figure of speech, slang term or idiom, to communicate a real and literal meaning.

The Parable

A parable is a story—a word picture or an illustration—told to teach a single point. A parable is usually built with something literal (a farmer sowing seed, a man giving a banquet), but may also use figures of speech, idioms, slang, symbols, or types. Like a symbol, a parable is always based in something literal and always teaches something literal. Bear in mind, no parable is intended to describe every aspect of doctrine, but only to illustrate one point.

Before trying to interpret a parable, look for the reason for telling the parable, and there you will usually find the one, single, main point the parable is teaching. And do not try to interpret all the parts that were used to build the parable. The parts are the cart and horse that carries the one main point.

Whenever any interpreter seeks an elaboration of meaning in a parable, and commences to find meaning in far more points than the parable can hope to make, that interpreter has returned to the reprehensible method of allegorizing the parables. [Ramm, Protestant, 279.]

An example, what is the point of Nathan’s parable in 2 Samuel 12:1–4? The parable is a rich man stealing a poor man’s lamb to feed his guest. It is to teach David God had given him many wives to satisfy his sexual needs? Is the detail of the meal a euphemism for sexual intercourse? Do the rich man’s many lambs represent all the women in David’s kingdom? No, no, and no. (All these have been suggested.)

The point of Nathan’s parable is found in the reason for the parable: David had committed sin: murder and adultery, 2 Samuel 12:9, Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. That is the context. That is the reason for the parable.

The point of the parable is now easy to determine: to convict David of his sin against God. David got the point, Psalm 51:4, Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. The title attached to this Psalm is, A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. The titles of the psalms have been handed down to us in the Hebrew text, variously indicating authorship, occasion, musical notations, etc. There is little reason to doubt the author and occasion for Psalm 51

Another example, the parable of Luke 14:15–24. Why did Jesus tell this parable? Jesus is responding to the remark, 14:15, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God! What is the one main point? The one main point of the parable is to answer the question, who will be in the kingdom of God.

A third example. The parable of the soils uses the event of a literal farmer sowing literal seeds. The method of sowing is a literal method known as broadcast sowing. The kinds of surfaces the seeds land on were the kinds of surfaces seeds landed on when broadcast sown. The things affecting the future growth are just those kind of things—hard-packed surfaces, little soil, thorns, good soil—are just the kinds of things that affect the growth of seeds.

The Lord defines the seed being sown as the Word of God (Luke 8:11). Is the point of the parable go plant a Bible in the dirt in order to evangelize the lost? No. The symbolism is simple: the seed sown represents the gospel preached. What happens to the Word preached is represented by the response of each kind of surface onto which the seed falls, thus representing the person’s response to hearing the gospel.

The point of the parable of the four soils is, what happens when the seed is sown? The message is not how the soils represent different kinds of persons. The message is not about preaching, or evangelism, or the work of Satan opposing the Gospel. The message is about human response to God’s message. The final verse, Matthew 13:9, The person having ears, let him hear, makes the point. In context, the message is Israel’s continued rejection of the messianic king. The application to the future of the kingdom is how the world responds to the message of salvation.

A parable is like an arrow: it is aimed at one point. A parable teaches one thing. The many details, both literal and symbolic, are the cart and horse that carry the one point the parable is designed to teach.

The number of parables in the Gospels depends on who is counting. I count forty-seven [Hollingsworth, Chronology, Appendix 24]. The context of each parable depends on where in the ministry of Christ the parable is preached (chronological context) and in which Gospel the parable is found (genre context).

The Purpose of Using Parables

The parables were designed to present truth to those of faith and hide truth from those without faith. This harsh reality sounds unjust to modern ears. But throughout the Bible we find God responds to faith, not to no-faith.

Isaiah 6:8–13 (ESV). And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I! Send me. And he said, Go, and say to this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. Then I said, How long, O Lord? And he said: Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.

Jesus was asked, in Matthew 13:10, "Why do you speak to them in parables. His answer parallels what YHWH said to Isaiah,

Matthew 13:11–17. Now answering he said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 On account of this I speak to them in parables, because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, the one saying, ‘In hearing you will hear and by no means understand, and seeing you will see and by no means perceive; 15 For the heart of this people has grown callous, and with the ears they heard dully, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with the eyes, and with the ears they should hear, and with the heart they should understand and return and I will heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous desired to see what you see, and did not see, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear.

God responds to faith. Parables instructed those of faith.

The Parables in Matthew’s Gospel

In one sense, the Four Gospels were written to leave the next generation of Christians a written record of what Jesus said and did. The oral record—all those believers who had seen and heard Jesus in person—was aging and would soon be gone. The Holy Spirit inspired the written record, even as Jesus had promised at John 14:26.

The Gospel According to Matthew is generally believed to have been written ca. AD 58–60, fitting the profile described above. I have come to believe it was written earlier as the primary source the apostles would use to evangelize their unbelieving Jewish brethren. Black proposes Matthew’s Gospel was probably written before AD 44, for use by the church in its primarily Jewish environment [Black, Why, 50–53]. This makes sense in what we know of the early history of the New Testament church, which in its first 15–17 years was primarily Jewish.

The first Gentiles began to be saved into the New Testament church after Cornelius the Roman Centurion, ca. 40–43. Paul conducted his first missionary journey into Gentile territory ca. AD 46, perhaps as late as AD 48. The council of Jerusalem was held AD 50. Luke’s Gospel was certainly written ca. AD 58–62 while Paul was captive in Governor Felix’s house, Acts 23:23 ff., and later Governor Festus. Mark’s Gospel was produced in Rome ca. AD 66–67, and Johns’ Gospel in Ephesus ca. AD 95–96.

Regardless of when Matthew’s Gospel was written, I believe he selected his particular group of parables with the intent of evangelizing his unsaved Jewish brethren. That historical fact is the basis for the interpretation.

The Parables

Matthew 5:14–16

Translation Matthew 5:14–16

14 You are the light of the world. A city is not able to be hidden setting upon a hill. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but upon the lampstand, and it shines for all those in the house. 16 Thus, let shine your light before men, so that they might see your good works and they should glorify your Father in the heavens."

Exposition

This is one of two parables associated with the Sermon on the Mount. The purpose of the sermon was threefold. First, the messianic king publishes the laws of his kingdom. Second, the king declares the rule for entry into the kingdom, which is not works, but righteousness of a different quality than that the scribes and Pharisees professed to possess (Matthew 5:20). Third, the king proclaims the moral and ethical rules members of the kingdom must practice as the normal and habitual course of their life.

The purpose of this parable was to illustrate the practical effect of living according to the rules of the kingdom. The key to this parable is the salt illustration in 5:13. Salt is a flavoring and a preservative. Bacteria will not grow in salt. Even so the morality and righteous need preserving in the world. The members of the kingdom preserve righteousness on the earth by their testimony in gospel proclamation and the manner in which they live their life. By being salt they hinder the corruption of sin and promote righteousness in sinners: if not by their testimony of salvation then by their righteous example and warning.

Now the parable. In Scripture light is a symbol of knowledge, wisdom (knowledge used in morally right ways for morally right ends), moral purity, holiness, righteousness, etc. As the light of the world believers possess and exhibit the light of God in their righteous behavior and gospel testimony. Their shining example is first likened to a city set atop a hill, thus always visible and visible from afar. The second example is a lamp in a house. The lamp the Bible speaks of was a shallow bowl (sometimes the bowl had a hard covering) filled with oil in which a wick was floated. The oil-filled dish with burning wick was the lamp, and it was set on a lampstand to give light throughout the house. When light is wanted the lamp is not put under a basket.

Christians are not to hide their status as members of the spiritual kingdom: being a disciple, practicing discipleship, and making disciples is not an option; it is the nature of a lamp to shine. To not shine is the same as losing one’s saltiness. The lamp of faith is to shine before men in such a way that men can see God in the good works of the members of the kingdom, and hear their testimony of saving faith in Christ. Whether sinners reject or applaud godly works and testimony, God is glorified.

(How does salt lose its saltiness? Salt in the ancient world was not always pure sodium chloride, as it is today. In the ancient world salt was mainly harvested from salt water evaporation, thus the sodium chloride was mixed with other minerals. It was possible for the sodium chloride to leach out. The minerals left behind were good for nothing.)

There is, in some minds, a question as to the source of the Christian’s light. The light of the Christian is Christ, but it is not a reflected light. Christ says an emphatic you are the light, and an emphatic your" light. Christ dwells within the saved soul. The light is Christ shining out through the believer in righteous thoughts, attitudes, words, and deeds. This light can be dimmed if the believer engages in acts of sin, or hides away his relationship with Christ by being silent or withdrawing from the world. Letting out the light within is a shared activity: Christ supplies the light, and the believer lets it shine by not putting it under the basket of sin, by not retreating from the top of the hill of testimony.

Matthew 7:7–11

Translation Matthew 7:7–11

7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. 8 Because everyone asking receives; and the one seeking finds; and to the one knocking it will be opened. 9 Or which man of you, whom his son will ask for bread, he will not give him a stone, will he? 10 Or also he will ask for a fish, he will not give him a serpent, will he? 11 If therefore you, being evil, know to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Father who is in the heavens will give good things to those asking him"

Exposition

In vv. 7–11 the point is that prayer is effective because answered by the believer’s wise and loving heavenly Father. This basic understanding of prayer is important in view of the escalating intensity of ask, seek, and knock. These verbs are present tense participles indicating habitual action: asking, seeking, knocking.

Prayer is not answered because of persistence, but because God loves his people. The persistence required reflects our needs, not God’s. People are inclined to give up when there is not an immediate response to their prayer. Prayer does not force or persuade God to act. God is sovereign, his timing is not ours, and the believer is to realize prayer is a God-ordained means to accomplish God’s will, not a lever to move God to act according to our will. Why some prayers are immediately answered and others not answered until much prayer over much time has passed between the believer and God is a question that cannot be answered, except by knowing the sovereignty of God works through man’s responsibility to infallibly accomplish God’s will.

The believer’s responsibility is to pray; God has made himself responsible to respond. Someone has noted God answers prayer in four ways.

No, I love you too much, meaning we have asked for something that is inappropriate or harmful to our welfare. In this instance one should cease to pray that prayer.

No, not yet, because the request is good, but the timing is not yet. In this instance prayer should continue.

Yes, but what took you so long to ask, meaning God’s timing in giving was waiting for the means by which it was to be given: our prayer.

Yes, and here is more, as God not only grants the request but adds to it as he knows is needful for our welfare, or for the person for whom we are interceding.

In one view of the passage, Asking may indicate one knows what to ask for, Seeking may indicate uncertainty, and Knocking may imply a closed door. However, the progression indicates the one praying knows what he/she is asking for, knows that as he seeks it he will find it, and that when he knocks the door will be opened. The one praying knows God answers prayer, and therefore is persistent in praying.

The three actions indicate the effectiveness of prayer. The verbs are in the present tense, indicating the importance of continuing action; in a word, persistence. Doors may be closed, but prayer opens them. The two examples of vv. 9–10, and the conclusion of v. 11, reinforce the point: God answers prayer because he is a wise and loving heavenly Father. Therefore pray and get answers.

See Luke 11:5–13. Matthew does not have Luke’s context, 11:5–8.

Matthew 7:24–27

Translation Matthew 7:24–27

24 "Everyone therefore, whoever hears these my words and does them, will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock, 25 and the rain came down and the floods came and the winds blew, and fell against the house, and the house did not fall, for its foundation was upon the rock. 26 And everyone hearing my words and not doing them, he will be like a foolish man who built his house on the