The Gospel According to

Jesus Christ The Gospel in Parables

Dane Smith Toffler

The Gospel According to

Jesus Christ

The Gospel in Parables

ii

Preface

In the series of booklets that I have written, I have used the writ-

ings of the prophets and the apostles extensively to support the

concepts taught, with very few references to the actual teachings

of Jesus Christ. It was my desire to devote a whole booklet to

His teachings, and this is that work.

Jesus taught primarily through the use of parables, which many

of His hearers did not understand. The purpose of this volume is

to help today’s people understand the meaning of Christ’s teach-

ings.

It is my prayer that the information contained in this booklet

will bridge the perceived gap between what Christ taught and

that which the apostles taught.

Dane Toffler

Linden, Virginia July 2009

© Contents copyright 2009 by Dane Smith Toffler

The Gospel According to

Jesus Christ

“And it came to pass afterward, that He went throughout everycity and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the

kingdom of God: and the twelve were with Him,” Luke 8:1, KJV.

A fter Jesus had been tempted by the devil in the wil-

derness, He came in the power of the Spirit to the

region of Galilee. Coming to Nazareth, the place where He

was brought up by Joseph and Mary, He attended the

synogogue on Sabbath, according to His regular custom.

It was the time for the reading of the Scripture, so He

stood up to read. He was given the scroll of Isaiah to read

from and He opened it to the following text:

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because the

LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the

meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to

proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the

prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the accept-

able year of the LORD” Isaiah 61:1,2, KJV.

Having finshed reading, He gave the scroll back to the at-

tendant and He sat down as they awaited His commen-

tary on the Scripture He had read. All the eyes of those

assembled were riveted on Him. He then proclaimed:

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““Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hear-

ing.”” Luke 4:21, RSV.

At first, the members of the synagogue were amazed and

in wonder regarding what they had heard so far. He had

read the Scripture with such authority and grace. But

then, it dawned on them that His last statement meant

that He attributed the passage to Himself. They said

amongst themselves:

“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called

Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and

Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?

Where then did this man get all this?” And they took of-

fense at him. ” Matthew 13:55-57, RSV.

Jesus had already worked many miracles in the region

and this crowd had heard the rumors. But, they could

not accept Him as the Messiah.

“And He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to Me

this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself; what we have

heard you did at Caper’na-um, do here also in your own

country.’”

And He said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is accept-

able in his own country. But in truth, I tell you, there

were many widows in Israel in the days of Eli’jah, when

the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when

there came a great famine over all the land; and Eli’jah was

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sent to none of them but only to Zar’ephath, in the land

of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were

many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Eli’sha;

and none of them was cleansed, but only Na’aman the

Syrian.”

When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled

with wrath.” Luke 4:23-28, RSV.

The people chased Him out of the synagogue and to the

brow of a hill where they intended to throw Him over,

but Christ passed miraculously through them and disap-

peared from their sight.

What Made Them So Angry?

He knew that the people of Nazareth would not accept

Him, but He came to report the facts to them. When it

was time for Him to interpret the Scripture He had read

aloud, He announced to them that He was the Messiah of

whom Isaiah spoke. This kindled their unbelief into a

fire. He then reminded them that a prophet is not ac-

cepted in His own country and this was not a new thing.

In the days of Elijah and Elisha, only the Sidonian widow

and Naaman the Syrian, both Gentiles, were the recipi-

ents of God’s power. The Jews of Nazareth were unwill-

ing to hear this and they sought to kill Him.

Christ had only begun His ministry and there were al-

ready more that disbelieved Him than those that believed.

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There would not be many believers until His death and

resurrection. The Israelites had a history of rejecting and

many times killing the ones sent to them by God and it

would be no different with His Son.

The quotation that Christ read from Isaiah showed that

the gospel message, the good or glad tidings, would only

be heard and believed by the poor and the meek, the bro-

ken-hearted ones, the slaves and the prisoners among

them. In His interpretation of the Scripture for the

Nazarenes He explained that more Gentiles would accept

the message than Jews.

This message blinded the people of Nazareth with rage

and they were deaf to its meaning for them. What Jesus

had spoken to them was a parable, a sort of riddle that

only believers would understand. His method of using

parables instead of speaking plainly was a source of con-

fusion even for His disciples:

Why Do You Speak in Parables?

“Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You

speak to them in parables?”

And He answered them, “To you it has been given to

know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them

it has not been given. For to him who has will more be

given, and he will have abundance; but from him who

has not, even what he has will be taken away.

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This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing

they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do

they understand. With them indeed is fulfilled the

prophecy of Isaiah which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but

never understand, and you shall indeed see but never per-

ceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their

ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with

their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for

Me to heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for

they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and right-

eous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it,

and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Matthew

13:10-17, RSV.

The word parable in Greek means “to cast alongside for

comparison”. A parable is a short, fictitious example

made of known or accepted concepts which is used for

comparison to a spiritual concept that is being taught.

Since spiritual concepts can only really be understood

spiritually, a parable is not always understood by the

hearers. If a person is influenced mostly by the spirit of

worldly wisdom, the parable will not make complete

sense. If, however, the person is influenced by wisdom of

the Spirit of God, the example or comparison made by

the parable will make much sense.

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The Kingdom of God in Parables

Many of the parables of Christ expand on the notion of

something called either the “kingdom of God” or the

“kingdom of heaven”. In Mark, Luke and John the phrase

“kindom of God” is used most often, but in Matthew the

phrase “kingdom of heaven” is used most often, because

Matthew’s gospel was written primarily for the Jews

who would have been offended by the use of God’s name

which they considered too holy to mention.

The kingdom here described is not so much a place as it

is a spiritual state of mind or being. Let us consider the

collection of parables in chapter thirteen of Matthew.

First, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer sowing seed and

how the seed grows depending on what kind of ground

it falls upon. That parable is followed by seven parables

that begin with the phrase “The kingdom of heaven is

like unto”. The things which the kingdom is likened to

are: a sower sowing good seed; the sowing of a single

mustard seed; leaven; a hidden treasure; a priceless pearl;

a fishing net; and a householder.

The Sower

In the stage-setting tale, the seed sown by the farmer does

not all fall on the tilled soil prepared for the seed. It falls

in three other places as well. Some seed falls by the road-

side, some on stony ground and some falls among the

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weeds and thorns. The ground in all cases represents the

hearts of individuals, the seed represents the truth of the

kingdom of heaven. The sower is the Son of Man or His

agents.

In this parable, our attention is drawn to the condition

of our hearts as the seed is being sown. Some hearts are

well-prepared to receive truth because throughout the

person’s life they have been taught to regard truth highly

and to accept the truth whenever it is presented. These

hearts also protect and nourish the truth as soon as it is

received. Like tilled soil, the ground of the heart garden

has been cleared of all stones and weeds that would

hamper the growth of the seed. The garden has also not

been prepared too close to the road where the precious

plants might be trampled.

But the seed in the parable doesn’t all fall within the

confines of the garden. Some people live too close to the

mainstream of worldly life and they don’t even notice the

truth when it is spoken. Some people have allowed them-

selves to become bitter and hard and their hearts are filled

with rocks and stones, so the seeds of truth can find

nowhere to root. Others have allowed the weeds and

thorns (such as being overwhelmed by the cares of this

life and the worldly desire to become rich) to get more

attention, which chokes out the truth when it is sown.

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So as Jesus begins His communication to the people and

His disciples He speaks of the effect of the Gospel as a

truth that He is attempting to plant in the soul of indi-

viduals and how the soil of people’s hearts affects the

growth of that seed.

The Wheat and the Tares

In the next parable, moving from one set of comparisons

to another, He speaks of Himself as the planter of the

good seed, but that there is another sower, an evil one

that plants bad seed. His assistants note that there are

weeds among the wheat and they want His permission to

uproot and destroy the weeds, but Jesus does not let

them do this work. He tells them to let the weeds grow

until the harvest.

Many have felt that the parable of the wheat and the tares

represented the people that can be found in a church, but

Jesus tells us that the field that is planted represents the

whole world. In the previous parable there were three

kinds of soil that produced bad growth and only one

kind of soil that produced the right results. If weeds are

allowed to take over a garden that is exactly what they

accomplish. This is the true ratio that we see in the world

today with evil outnumbering good on every side.

Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived tells us in Eccle-

siastes:

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“Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed

speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do

evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11, RSV.

The parable of the two sowers reveals that both kinds of

plants are allowed to grow until the harvest, which is in-

terpreted as the end of the world.

Like the weeds, the stones and the roadside of the previ-

ous parable, Jesus is showcasing the fact that God extends

to us free will: we may live where we like, we may

choose how we live our lives, we may choose our friends

and associates, we can decide the degree to which we be-

come hardened or influenced by the world. The Gospel is

not spread in a vacuum.

The Mustard Seed

Next, Christ likens the Kingdom of God to the growing

of a mustard seed:

“Another parable he put before them, saying, “The king-

dom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a

man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all

seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs

and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and

make nests in its branches.”” Matthew 13:31,32, RSV.

The Asian mustard seed was the smallest known seed to

His hearers and they also knew how large the shrub grew

in size from such a small beginning. Jesus here is telling

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the people that even though the Gospel had such a small

start in a remote corner of the known world, that it

would grow to encompass all lands and all people.

The Leaven in the Flour

Staying with this concept He next speaks about a woman

hiding leaven in three measures of meal and telling how

the leaven affects all the flour. The effect of leaven on

dough was well known by the people listening, but most

had difficulty realizing why Jesus had brought it up. The

Jews had been teaching the Law for centuries of genera-

tions, but had become an exclusive people despising the

Gentiles that shared the planet with them. They consid-

ered themselves chosen by God and different and better

than other peoples. As a result of their hardening of their

own hearts against the Gentiles, they were loathe to bring

them the tidings of salvation.

Jesus was telling them that the Gospel would go forward

to the ends of the earth even if they were not willing to

be the people that would carry the message.

The Treasure and the Pearl

The next two parables focus on the fact that the Gospel is

so precious to an individual that accepts it that he trades

or sells all that he has in order to obtain it.

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““The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a

field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy

he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in

search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great

value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Matthew 13:44-46, RSV.

Many receive the good news but do not appreciate its

true worth, they consider it similar to their other belong-

ings, just one thing among many. They certainly are not

willing to give up all to retain it and lose the rest.

This is to be understood in the context of being willing

to surrender all. The Lord does not require that we give

up all things for all time, but that we be willing to give

up what He asks when He asks. If we are too attached to

the things of this world, we will rebel when asked by

God to surrender them.

The subsequent parable in Matthew 13 deals with judg-

ment:

The Net

““Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was

thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;

when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and

sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So

it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out

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and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them

into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash

their teeth.” Matthew 13:47-50, RSV.

The judgment of the peoples of the world is based on

whether they accept or reject the Gospel or as it were,

citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Like the task done by the fishermen with the net, not all

that is netted is saved. That which is good is kept but

that which is bad is cast away. The message of the Gospel

comes to each person like the net takes in all. All must

come to judgment, none are exempt.

Jesus’ Question

At this juncture, Jesus is curious to know if the disciples

have truly understood His teaching to them and the peo-

ple. He had taken them aside twice and given them extra

instruction about two of the parables: of the sower and

of the wheat and the tares.

He wanted to know if they understood that His kingdom

is a kingdom of the heart, that the message of His king-

dom is the most precious truth of all and that a person

must be ready to give up all for its citizenship. Did they

understand that Satan was building his kingdom simul-

taneously and that he would have more followers than

Christ in each generation. Were they clear that judgment

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was inescapable and that each child of mankind must

choose Him as their savior in order to avoid punishment.

““Have you understood all this?”

They said to him, “Yes.”” Matthew 13:51, RSV.

Knowing better than they that their affirmative answer

was an incomplete affirmation, He accepts their answer

and says:

The Householder

“And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has

been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a house-

holder who brings out of his treasure what is new and

what is old.”” Matthew 13:52, RSV.

The Jewish scribes were the theologians of the people and

it was their task to instruct them in the meanings of the

scripture of the Old Testament. Jesus was telling the dis-

ciples that they would be sent as scribes to the people to

tell them things old and new. A householder was re-

sponsible for maintaining all the things of a household,

the old things as well as the new. The old had to be used

first and only then would the new be brought out for

use. The disciples would have to see and teach that the

spiritual matters of the Old Testament were clearly

taught and then add the newer spiritual pieces about

Christ’s kingdom so that the hearers understood the con-

nection between old and new. The responsibility would

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be theirs to define the new theology in all its glory and

beauty.

Thus far, Christ has taught us about the everlasting im-

portance of the Gospel and its effect on the hearts of

mankind, but the details have not yet been shared. These

details would have to be given to those who were spiri-

tually ready to accept them. The disciples were continu-

ing their training with Him, but still misunderstood

much of what He said.

Nicodemus

There was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, the

ruling council of the Jews. This man’s name was Ni-

codemus. He had asked around and found that Christ

and His disciples retreated to the Mount of Olives every

evening after their work in Jerusalem. There was a garden

at the base of the mountain near the press that was used

to make oil from the olives. This garden was called Geth-

semane. Under cover of darkness, that his meeting with

Jesus might be hidden, Nicodemus came to the garden.

Upon coming to Jesus he said:

“ ‘Rabbi, we have known that from God thou hast come–

a teacher, for no one these signs is able to do that thou

dost, if God may not be with him.’

15

Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Verily, verily, I say to

thee, If any one may not be born from above, he is not

able to see the reign of God;’” John 3:2,3, YLT.

Nicodemus was convinced in his heart that Jesus was of

God, but he was still entrenched in the teachings of the

rabbis. Rather than respond to what Nicodemus had said,

Christ told the Pharisee about the new birth that a man

must have to enter the kingdom of God. He must be born

from above.

Not understanding the drift of the Master’s teaching,

Nicodemus replied:

“‘How is a man able to be born, being old? is he able into

the womb of his mother a second time to enter, and to be

born?’

Jesus answered, ‘Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one

may not be born of water, and the Spirit, he is not able to

enter into the reign of God; that which hath been born of

the flesh is flesh, and that which hath been born of the

Spirit is spirit. ‘Thou mayest not wonder that I said to

thee, It behoveth you to be born from above;” John 3:4-7,

YLT.

In answer to Nicodemus’ second question, Jesus replies

that being born from above is not the same as a natural

birth. Being born from above is a spiritual birth separate

and distinct from the natural birth. He further explains:

16

“The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound

of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither

it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the

Spirit.”” John 3:8, RSV.

The one born from above will have a different form of

behavior than the same one born naturally and what

makes the behavior different will be the Spirit’s influence

which is likened to the influence of wind upon the leaves

and branches of a tree.

Being born from above or born-again is described as a ne-

cessity for seeing the kingdom of God. One must become

a new creation, different from how one began naturally.

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. One must

be born from above and be a child of the King to inherit

His kingdom.

Therefore, Jesus was teaching this religious ruler that the

keeping of the law taught by himself and his fellows was

not only not enough but could never be enough to gain

salvation. Based on what the Master was saying only a

new birth wrought by the Holy Spirit would be enough.

A man could not be saved by effort, he must be saved by

faith in this new birth.

Life and Death

In the cycle of things we know naturally, birth begins the

cycle, life continues the cycle and death ends the cycle. If

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I must be born again from above how does this fit into

the cycle I already understand? Is the new birth just

tacked on to the old birth or does something else inter-

vene to separate the old from the new?

The Prodigal Son

In Christ’s well-known parable of the prodigal son, the

youngest of two brothers insists on receiving his inheri-

tance early and then goes and spends it all up in riotous

living. He is reduced to eating pig fodder before he comes

to his senses. He returns to his father’s house where he is

not only accepted back, but a feast is thrown in his

honor. But, the elder brother objects to his father’s re-

ception of his brother. The father replies:

“It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your

brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is

found.’”” Luke 15:32, RSV.

Similarly, Jesus teaches the disciples:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and

believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life; he does not

come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

John 5:24, RSV.

The activities of the prodigal son in the parable who gave

himself over to riotous living are described as death, the

wages of sin. His faithful act of returning to his father

made the lost found and the dead alive.

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In the same fashion, a believer must die to sin first and

then become alive to righteousness. In common life: life

precedes death, but with eternal life: death precedes life.

Losing Life to Preserve It

Note the following quotes from Jesus:

“For whoever would save his life will lose it; and who-

ever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save

it.” Mark 8:35, RSV.

“Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever

loses his life will preserve it.” Luke 17:33, RSV.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls

into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it

bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he

who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal

life.” John 12:24,25, RSV.

Christ is saying that the life we are familiar with, our

common life, is no better than the life of the prodigal

when he was lost. We, too, are lost and we, too, are as

good as dead. This life of ours is not worth saving or re-

maining attached to. We must give it up before gaining

eternal life. Our lives must be surrendered.

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Surrender. How Often?

Is surrender a one-time event? Jesus says:

“And He said to all, “If any man would come after Me, let

him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow

Me.” Luke 9:23, RSV.

This surrender or denial of self must happen daily, but

with a finality for each day as is suggested by the taking

of one’s cross. He is speaking of the necessity of crucify-

ing self.

“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after

Me, cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27, RSV.

Eternal Life and Eternal Death

Regarding eternal life, Jesus said some astonishing things:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps My word, he

will never see death.”” John 8:51, RSV.

“Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you

believe this?”” John 11:26, RSV.

A believer that continues in relationship with Jesus,

abiding in Him, and He abiding in them, has within him

established a life principle that lasts forever. It is not even

interrupted by physical death, that which the Bible de-

scribes as a sleep. The life of the believer reaches through

the grave and beyond the grave. The death he will never

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see is the second death that happens only to the wicked

that are thrown into the lake of fire following the resur-

rection of the wicked.

“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all

who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come forth,

those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and

those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judg-

ment.” John 5:28,29, RSV.

Abiding

Jesus taught that where we spiritually dwell or abide is

important. He discussed it in terms of His own practice

and He told us where we should spiritually abide as well.

“If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not

believe Me; but if I do them, even though you do not be-

lieve Me, believe the works, that you may know and un-

derstand that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father.””

John 10:37,38, RSV.

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father

in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My

own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does

His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Fa-

ther in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the works

themselves.” John 14:10,11, RSV.

Jesus taught that He dwelt in the Father and that the Fa-

ther dwelt in Him. He taught that He did not do His

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own works or speak His own words, but that His works

and words were the works and words of His Father.

““I can do nothing on My own authority; as I hear, I

judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not My

own will but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 5:30,

RSV.

“Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son

can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees

the Father doing; for whatever He does, that the Son does

likewise.” John 5:19, RSV.

Jesus explained to His disciples that their relationship to

Him must be like His relationship with His Father:

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear

fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can

you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the

branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that

bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

John 15:4,5, RSV.

Just as Christ did only His father’s works and spoke

only His father’s words and judged only according to the

will of His father, so we should only do the works of

Christ, speak the words of Christ and judge according to

the will of Christ.

This, of course, goes against the natural grain of man’s

will, where he would rather do his own works, speak his

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own words and make his own judgments. Our wills

must be submerged in the will of Christ.

Our desire to do things our own way is pictured in the

parable as the branch that is disconnected from the vine.

The outcome of the disconnected branch is that it with-

ers and dies.

Christ is telling us that we must give up our own view

and have it replaced with His. The life we live must be

His life not our own. We must be willing to be com-

pletely out of the way so that Christ can have His way at

all times. The branch of the vine has no life of its own, it

can only borrow life from the vine. We are always only

the branch and never the vine.

The Two Masters

Approching this another way He said:

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate

the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the

one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and

mammon.”” Luke 16:13, RSV.

Here Christ reminds us that we are never more than ser-

vants. That we will serve in life only one master fully.

We may try to serve two masters but we will not be suc-

cessful. The two masters he mentions are God and mam-

mon. While mammon usually means riches, here it is per-

sonified in the sense of inner confidence (i.e. serving self).

23

We are often driven to make decisions based on our feel-

ings, emotions, passions, desires, lusts, etc. We feel that,

for the most part, we have enough of an understanding of

right and wrong to choose correctly. But, these feelings of

ours come from a corrupt heart that we were born with,

a heart described by the Bible as full of deception and

desperately wicked. Without realizing it we have be-

comes servants of this wicked heart and it is difficult

therefore to serve the Lord in all things because we are at

variance with His will. Jesus warns us that if we try to

serve both masters we will end up loving one and despis-

ing the other. The danger is that we will despise Christ

and love our own way rather than the other way around.

What We Care About

Jesus, in his sermon on the mountain, had His hearers

take a look at the things they were most concerned about:

““Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,

what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about

your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than

food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap

nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds

them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to

his span of life?

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And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the

lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor

spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not

arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today

is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he

not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’

or ’What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For

the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Fa-

ther knows that you need them all.” Matthew 6:25-32,

RSV.

Christ is very aware of how we let the concerns of this

life overtake us and overwhelm us. He understands that

we feel too busy and overburdened to have much of a

consecrated religious life. He perceives we are content to

have the priests, the ministers, the pastors, and the mis-

sionaries do all of that. He comprehends that we are more

concerned with work and school, shopping and playing,

resting and being entertained.

What Jesus Recommends

Here then, is His prescription for our situation:

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and

all these things shall be yours as well.” Matthew 6:33,

RSV.

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God, being a good father, knows what we need and will

give us what we need in due time, but first we must

consider His Kingdom and His Righteousness.

The following interchange happened with the Pharisees:

“And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of

God cometh, He answered them and said, The kingdom

of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they

say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is

within you.” Luke 17:20,21, ASV.

The kingdom of God must be found in our hearts,

within us. I should not be seeking a future kingdom of

God but a present one. Others should see me as a citizen

of that kingdom today, because of the way I behave and

the way that I love others. This not something I can

muster up by an act of my will, that is why I must seek

this kingdom through my relationship with God for I

will not find it naturally residing within me.

The other half of Jesus’ prescription is to seek His

righteousness. In other words, I should not be looking for

a way to be righteous myself. I must borrow His

righteousness instead. He is willing to give me both His

kingdom and His righteousness, but I must not be

striving to have my own version of either. I have no

kingdom and I have no righteousness without His gifting

me with His.

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The Lord promises that if I seek first His kingdom and

His righteousness, all that I need will be taken care of by

God. By comparing us with the flowers and the sparrows

and the grass, He shows us that they are given what they

need and tells us that we need not worry about clothes or

food or belongings any more than any other part of His

creation. Let Him be concerned with that so we can seek

His kingdom and His righteousness.

Jesus also said:

“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the

food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man

will give to you; for on Him has God the Father set His

seal.”” John 6:27, RSV.

Jesus has been given all power in heaven and earth and

God has set His seal of approval on Him. He will give us

the spiritual food we need which is more important than

physical food.

“But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by

bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the

mouth of God.’”” Matthew 4:4, RSV.

““Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find;

knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who

asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who

knocks it will be opened.

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Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will

give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a

serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give

good gifts to your children, how much more will your

Father who is in heaven give good things to those who

ask Him!” Matthew 7:7-11, RSV.

““Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteous-

ness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6, RSV.

What “Good News” Did Jesus Pray For?

After the Last Supper, Jesus and the disciples walked to

Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives and there

He prayed for them and for us. Listen to what He prayed:

“And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the

world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them

in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be

one, even as we are one.

While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which

thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of

them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture

might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to thee; and

these things I speak in the world, that they may have my

joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them thy word; and the world has hated

them because they are not of the world, even as I am not

of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldst take them

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out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from

the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not

of the world.

Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. As thou

didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the

world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they

also may be consecrated in truth.

“I do not pray for these only, but also for those who be-

lieve in me through their word, that they may all be one;

even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also

may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou

hast sent me.

The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them,

that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and

thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that

the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast

loved them even as thou hast loved me.

Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me,

may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which

thou hast given me in thy love for me before the founda-

tion of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not

known thee, but I have known thee; and these know that

thou hast sent me.” John 17:11-25, RSV.

It is the desire of Christ and His Father that we would be

one with Them and that They would be one with us.

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He has left us in the world, not alone, but with the com-

fort and aid of the Holy Spirit. Christ Himself acts as our

Advocate with the Father.

God sent Him into the world and now He sends us into

the world. Not to be worldly but to gather more children

for Him from the world.

Let us then go boldly into the world and by His power

reconcile as many as possible to His Father, for they have

given us this privilege of being partakers of the reconcil-

iation and givers of the Good News of reconciliation to

the world.

Let us abide in Them as They abide in us. Let us be one!

Bible Versions Used

ASV: American Standard Version

KJV: King James Version

RSV: Revised Standard Version

Dby: Darby’s Translation

YLT: Young’s Literal Translation