| THE EIGHT PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN MATTHEW 13. Appendix 145 To The Companion Bible. |
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There
are eight Parables
in Matthew 13,
and not seven,
as is usually held.
For the Structure of the whole chapter, see page 1336 in The Companion Bible. The Parables themselves, apart from their respective contexts, may be thus exhibited:— |
|
Matthew
13:3-52 |
A | B | 3-9. The Sower. The seed sown broadcast, in public. |
To
the
multitudes "out of the house". |
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| C | 24-30. The Tares. Good and bad together. Separated at the end of the age. | |||||||||||||
| D | 31, 32. The Mustard Seed. One tree. | |||||||||||||
| E | 33. The Leaven. Hid in the meal. | |||||||||||||
| A | E | 44. The Treasure. Hid in a field. |
To
the
Disciples within the house. |
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| D | 45, 46. The Goodly Pearls. One pearl. | |||||||||||||
| C | 47-50. The Drag-net. Good and bad together. Separated at the end of the age. | |||||||||||||
| B | 52. The Scribe. The treasures shown to those in the house in private. | |||||||||||||
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The above Structures exhibits the eight Parables as a whole. But without disturbing these correspondences, the four spoken outside the house and the four spoken "within the house" have their own separate Structures (Introversions, like the Structure of the whole), corresponding one with the other:— |
| The first four, outside the house. (Apparent failure.) |
| A | F | The Sower. Three kinds of bad ground. | |||||
| G | The Tares. Grow till harvest | in the earth. | |||||
| G | The Mustard Seed. When it is grown | ||||||
| F | The Leaven. Three leavened measures. | ||||||
| The last four, within the house. (Hidden purpose.) |
| A | H | The Treasure in the field. | |||||
| J | The Goodly Pearls | in the sea. | |||||
| J | The Good and Bad Fish | ||||||
| H | The Treasure in the house. | ||||||
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The
Four Parables
outside the house,
spoken to the multitudes,
seem therefore
to call for an
exoteric
interpretation;
while the four spoken
within the house
call for an
esoteric
interpretation.
In this case, the first four would find their interpretation in the three proclamations of John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus, and "them that heard Him" (see Appendix 95); the Leaven and the Tares showing the secret cause of the failure which led to the postponement of the Kingdom, while the Mustard Tree would exhibit the external consequences. The latter four would find their interpretation in "the secrets of the kingdom of the heavens" (Appendix 114), showing that notwithstanding the apparent (outward) failure, God, all the while, has His hidden purpose concerning the Remnant, His peculiar treasure hidden: the earthly calling, in the field (which is the world), and "the heavenly calling", "in the house"; and the end of the age would exhibit the one "pearl of great price": the Remnant, according to the Election of Grace, on the one hand, and the "good and bad" receiving their awards, on the other. |
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