The Introductory and Concluding Parables of Matthew Thirteen -- By: Stanley D. Toussaint
Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 121:484 (Oct 1964)
Article: The Introductory and Concluding Parables of Matthew Thirteen
Author: Stanley D. Toussaint
BSac 121:484 (Oct 64) p. 351
The Introductory and Concluding Parables of Matthew Thirteen
[Stanley D. Toussaint, Assistant Professor, New Testament Literature and Exegesis, Dallas Theological Seminary.]
The first in the succession of eight parables found in Matthew 13 is the parable of the sower and the soils; the last is the parable of the householder and his treasure. This latter parable is universally understood as being a conclusion and application of the entire series. The parable of the sower is generally taken to be the first in the series of parables concerning the kingdom of heaven. However, the parable of the sower as it is employed in Matthew 13 is not a parable pertaining to the kingdom of heaven, and to take it as such is to miss its point. Rather, this first parable is to be considered as an introduction or preface to the kingdom parables of Matthew 13. Just as the parable of the householder is the conclusion to this series of parables, so the parable of the sower serves as a preface to those which follow.
The Theme of the Parables
The content of the kingdom parables in Matthew 13 revolves around a central theme revealed in verse eleven. When the disciples inquired as to the Lord’s purpose in speaking in parables, He replied, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matt 13:11). The discourse revolves around the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Here are new truths too profound for man to discover by his own intellect which are now being revealed by Christ. These particulars relate to God’s kingdom program, factors which had not been made known before (cf. vv. 17, 35).
BSac 121:484 (Oct 64) p. 352
The purpose of teaching these truths by means of parables is a twofold one—to conceal the truths of the kingdom and to reveal them. The concealment was directed toward Christ’s opposition and rejectors (vv. 12–15). The fact this discourse was given on a day of intensive resistance to Christ’s ministry confirms this interpretation (cf. v. 1). Those whose hearts were open to the witness of the Lord would discover in these parables the heavenly secrets He intended to unveil (vv. 11–12; cf. vv. 25–27).
The Sower an...
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