Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath: “At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests… For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (verses 1-4 & 8).
Stretch Out Your Hand: “Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus” (verses 9-13).
Jesus and Beelzebul: “Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons” (verses 22-24).
The Parables – Mathew Chapter 13
A Parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels. Parables come from the Greek word parabole, which means “placing beside”—and thus a comparison or an illustration. Jesus’ parables were stories that were “cast alongside” a truth in order to illustrate that truth. His parables were teaching aids and can be thought of as extended analogies or inspired comparisons. A common description of a parable is that it is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
For a time in his ministry, Jesus relied heavily on parables. Its common use in the New Testament is for illustrative stories that Jesus drew from nature and human life. The Synoptic Gospels contain about 30 of these stories. John’s Gospel contains no parables but uses other figures of speech.
Jesus speaks in parables because of the spiritual dullness of the people: “This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving” (verses 13-14).
BIBLE STUDY OUTLINE Monday, March 6 – March 12, 2017
More on the Parables ( 13)
Herod’s Reaction to Jesus’ Ministry (14:1–12)
Jesus’ Withdrawals from Galilee (14:13—17:20):
To the Eastern Shore of the Sea of Galilee (14:13—15:20)
To Phoenicia (15:21–28)
To the Decapolis (15:29—16:12)
To Caesarea Philippi (16:13—17:20)
