OUTLINE:

A Year+ In Review
• 117 Parts: "The Gospel, Salvation, and Sanctification"
• "The 'Difficult' Passages":
o 4 Parts: "The Gospels" + "The Gospel Context"
o 6 Parts: "Believing"
o 30 Parts: "Grace and Works"

What Do We Learn After the Gospel, Proper?
What did Jesus teach after He taught the Gospel in its proposition form? In other words, after presenting the clearest possible facts about entrance into the Kingdom of God, what did He do?

The Gospel of Matthew at 50,000'
If Jesus' ministry were represented as a topological map, we would see a clearly articulated valley right down the middle of it. One side would be labeled "Propositional" and the other "Parable".

"His own did not receive Him"
Jesus was the Jewish Messiah prophesied of in the Old Testament. His own people, led by Jewish leaders, rejected Him first. They had the privilege of receiving Him, but as a people, they did not.

Jn 8:24
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

"His own did not receive Him"
Jesus was the Jewish Messiah prophesied of in the Old Testament. His own people, led by Jewish leaders, rejected Him first. They had the privilege of receiving Him, but as a people, they did not.

"His own did not receive Him"
God promised the Jews a Messiah. He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ. He clearly introduced Himself, through word and deed. And they rejected Him. Once their rejection was consummated, Jesus' teaching changed from "propositional" to "parable".

Understanding the Parables
Due to the nature of parables, being word pictures meant to reveal profound spiritual lessons, it is imperative that you first understand the context of the parable (speaker (Jesus), audience, cultural norms, time, place, and circumstance).

Understanding the Parables
"He who has ears, let him hear" (Mt 13:9). Since the Jewish rejectors were spiritually deaf, they could not "hear" the spiritual lessons encapsulated in Jesus' parables; however, the Apostles would've had the most acute sense of hearing. Therefore, it behooves us to understand the Apostles whom the Lord gave "hearing" to.

Understanding the Parables
Jesus taught His parables to unexceptional men. The apostles were the primary receivers of the parables, and yet there was absolutely nothing remarkable about them. We ought to be very encouraged by this! (Mt 11:25-26)

"Uneducated" Men Understood the Parables
The apostles, especially Jesus' inner circle (Peter, John, & James), were chosen specifically because they weren't educated. Jesus chose character, faith, and purity over intellect.

"Uneducated" Men Understood the Parables
Jesus' parables are unlocked, not by intellect, but by honest pursuit of the Truth. The Holy Spirit will reveal said truth to those with "ears" to hear with (Mt 13:9). The apostles prove this.

The Twofold Purpose of Jesus' Parables
• Hide the truth from self-righteous, intellectual unbelievers (e.g. the Pharisees)
• Reveal simple truths to those with childlike faith (e.g. the apostles)

The Encouraging Apostles
Satan's strategy is to make the apostles out to be superhuman and therefore relegate them unrelatable. However, in fact, they are the exact opposite! Jesus chose them knowing we'd be able to relate to them as fellow sinners who needed a Savior.