Come Follow Me LDS- Matthew 13, Luke 8,13 Part 1
Mar 11, 2019
'Is Truth Fiction Or Non-Fiction?'
- Why parables are so powerful
- Why no one is a prophet in their own land
- When others have faith in us, we can do mighty works
Raw Trancript
all right in this episode we are going
to focus on Matthew 13 we want to ask
just one simple question here is truth
fiction or nonfiction think about it
here we go alright so setting the stage
Jesus has called all of the Twelve
Apostles he has instructed them and sent
them forth then he has given many other
teachings and now here in Matthew 13 we
get this blitz of parables I'm not going
to go into most of these in detail I
want to talk about parables from the
proverbial 30,000 foot level first and
talk about why he's doing this and why
this is so important and why parables
really are crucial to our learning and a
mirror reflection if you will of the
truth so Jesus goes out he has all of it
this crowd that has gathered around him
and he goes out on the shore out into a
boat a small boat and he sits in the
boat and begins to give these parables
out to everyone he starts off with this
parable and he says this is the parable
of the sower says a sore went forth to
sow and when he sowed some of the seeds
fell by the wayside so that's one group
of people and the fowls came and
devoured them up some fell upon stony
places where they had not much earth and
forthwith they sprung up because they
had no deepness of earth and when the
Sun was up they were scorched him
because they had no root they withered
away
and then third and some fell among
thorns and the thorns sprung up and
choked them but other fell into good
ground and brought for
fruit some an hundredfold some sixtyfold
and some thirtyfold 160 and 30 different
levels some people take the word the
gospel and they magnify it some more
than others I think one of the keys in
these parables is recognizing who we are
and where we stand in each of these
areas and it might be that it's not our
testimonies fully that are on the
wayside or in stony ground or or among
the thorns but maybe there's something
in our life that does stand in those
areas and I think that if we can stand
back and be aware of these issues that
makes us a lot more independent and a
lot more a lot stronger as these things
do come around in other words if I know
beforehand that okay these are the
experiences that people are going to go
through when the truth is presented to
them or to me then I can understand that
oh well this is this is one of the
things that happens to someone and
therefore maybe I can hang on a little
bit longer I can I can dig my roots in a
little bit deeper and then another thing
he says at the end of this parable that
I really like is he says what see those
that do go into deeper ground into into
better ground he says some bring forth
fruit or they all bring forth fruit but
some a hundredfold some sixty and some
thirty fold so we're all a little bit
different it's not just good and bad
it's not just okay I'm in the church
that makes everything good or I'm out of
it someone is out of the church for them
that's everything that's bad but I like
the fact that we can take a look at
those that are in good ground those that
are members of the church so I think is
what this is referring to there are
there's a lot of progress for each of us
to make within the church and so we
certainly don't want to be sitting back
on our laurels saying okay well we're
members of the church and baptized and
everything's hunky-dory right we want to
make sure that we are progressing and
that were serving those around us and
then in verse nine he says the following
who hath ears to hear let him hear
he's referring back to a prophecy that
Isaiah gives about the Prophet giving
parables it's also in Psalms and that
parables are a way to keep things dark
from those that aren't ready to hear it
or they don't want to hear it that's
what it says in Psalms the dark things
and it's a way to bring more
enlightenment to those that are ready to
receive more truth let's go over why
that's so important why parables are so
important here and why Jesus might use
these for the core of a lot of his
teaching first let's go back and ask the
question that I asked at the
introduction of this episode is truth
fiction or is it nonfiction and you need
to really think about that because the
natural answer because I've asked us
several times in classes I may be giving
a class and ask this and the natural
reaction is to say it's nonfiction of
course because fiction is fake and
nonfiction is real events but that's not
necessarily the case and in fact it's
not just not necessarily the case
but it may be that there is more truth
found in a bit of fiction now how can
that be well let's talk about that first
of all in a parable what you are doing
is you are taking an example that could
be of many other types of experiences
that have happened happened practical
things that have happened and real
knowledge of truths through experience
that have happened to thousands tens of
thousands hundreds millions of different
people in this case those that are
involved with agriculture they know what
this is and just as you might get from
the classics of stephen r.covey with i
think he calls it the law
of the farm or the law of the harvest
there are real truths there about wood
that you find within agriculture they're
great metaphors for life
they are great parables that can there
are great parables it can be put
together based on not something that's
happened once or twice but that has
happened over and over and over again
and you can take this practical
experience and bring it all together
into one little example and you have
this power behind it because this little
short story is an icon it's a symbol of
all of this experience from you know who
knows how many people and so a symbol is
a representation of a can be a
representation of a great truth and here
a parable is like a symbol and it is a
representation of a great truth even
though what he's bringing up here is
really a fictitious story I don't know
that he's really talking about some
solar because he's actually talking
about himself that went out and
sprinkled seeds on the wayside and on
stony places and among the thorns etc
he's bringing an example of a great
amount of truth of practical truth and
putting it into a short story and that's
very powerful and we can think about
that also in terms of say for example
the temple and other scriptures where
there is a narrative that has created a
drama that is created that is put
together and in the case of the
scriptures is inspired by all of this
practical truth is experiential truth
that has happened among individuals
prophets interaction with the Lord and
is all brought together into the
small little drama that is incredibly
profound because it is a representation
a symbol of of a very profound deep
amount of truth that is there and so
that is why we have for a symbolism in
the temple which is so powerful and
story that is so powerful in the
scriptures and in the temple that is why
we have certain stories that are
classics that because they have eternal
principles in them there are actually
eternal principles in a lot of safe
mythology a lot of eternal principles
that you would find in Aesop's fables
mother goose I've noticed in our
generations our generation and beyond
that these things are being lost
actually think of how powerful those
stories are that and the lessons that
are learned and now we're kind of trying
to turn them into even something
negative we're taking truths great
truths that have been repeated for
generations and generations and we're
turning them on their head and and and
dismissing them where these used to be a
big part of our culture and have been
for hundreds thousands of years these
stories that would be told to children
and end to adults and so those stories
are very very important they unify us on
certain truths and they bring to our
minds certain truths that have wisdom
within them and that through that wisdom
they show us consequences that's why I
think we have started to take those
stories away from our culture is because
it is
their consequences people don't like
consequences
people don't like responsibilities now
the first thing we go looking for but
those consequences and responsibilities
that's what those stories are about it's
teaching you hey not great to go out
into the forest as a kid all by yourself
and follow the breadcrumbs it's not too
smart to wander too far away have some
little bit of Independence but don't
don't travel too far away right there's
a lot of truths in these stories and
this is what Jesus is giving us here a
number of parables and I don't know that
they're original to him even they don't
need to be maybe some of them are maybe
all of them are I'm not sure I have seen
several examples of a few of these
parables actually in Egyptian ancient
Egyptian cultures as well because there
are eternal truths and that's why
they're powerful so one way to teach is
through story one way to teach truths is
through
stories that have been proven through
the test of time and so then the
disciples asked him they say why
speakest thou unto them in parables so
why are you doing this well based on the
background I just gave you here this
said this is his answer because it is
given unto you the disciples to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but
to them it is not given so that is the
first thing he goes to is the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven what does that
mean well we've discussed this
previously when you talk about the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
those are rooted in the temple they are
rooted in the council in heaven those
are the mysteries they are the eternal
truths that the gods if you will have
spoken of in the council's of heaven and
the providing the plan of salvation and
probably still in the council's of
heaven that they discuss those are the
mysteries and their cover they're
mysterious because they're sacred and
they're mysterious because we've talked
about veils but
they're veiled from us in a sense
there's a veil a metaphorical veil and a
non metaphorical veil actually between
us and those and and those truths that's
why they are mysteries and the more we
can pierce that veil the more we can see
and hear as Jesus talks about as Isaiah
had talked about as the Psalms have
talked about the more we can see in here
the message that is being brought
through those parables and if we are at
a level that is say at a three
spiritually we're going to receive a
message with those parables of a three
just like we will when we go through the
temple and if we're at a level of a five
we're going to receive a spiritual
message of a five through the parable
just like we would through the through
the temple or through or through another
part of the scriptures and the more we
can grow and progress spiritually the
more these truths in the profound the
the profundity of these of these
parables and and and scriptures and
temple experience the more we glean from
it and the more it enriches us so they
give us that 100 fold 60 fold 30 fold
that Jesus talked about in the parable
of the sower that's the way we are
spiritually also and we can receive
these truths from the same stories at a
level of a hundred 60 30 etc and he
follows that up in in verse 12 by saying
for whosoever hath to him shall be given
and he shall have more abundance but
whosoever hath not from him shall be
taken away even that he hath this is a
very very important practical principle
that we're going to go in later on when
we get to the parable of the talents
it's a truth that is being lost today I
believe and it's something that we need
to understand I think a little bit
better I know that I as I have grown to
understand this all the principle a
little bit more I've had a better
understanding
of life and a better understanding of
the gospel so what I will say at this
point about that is that there is a law
a spiritual and a physical law in place
that says when you have more when you
have more abundance you will be given
more and when you have less you will be
given less and so the idea is to move
yourself through your free agency and
your will to a point where you are in a
little life of more spiritual abundance
because the rewards are many fold we
return to you based on where you are in
your life spiritually and that is what
he's saying here if I'm going to give
you these parables and if you are more
enlightened spiritually you're going to
receive a much larger message a much
greater message but if you are not then
you're going to receive one one that's
much less it also goes back to the
higher in the lower law as I've spoken
of previously without the higher law the
lower law which is what the Pharisees
and the scribes and others are living
here it eats itself it it's Auto Fujii
with with the with the lower law if it
has nothing to look forward to if it is
not reaching for something of more
abundance spiritually it just eats
itself because it is only carnal and
that's what's happening with them they
hear this and they don't have a full
message of what these parables mean he
can also use them in a sense where he
can I don't know about attack but but in
a sense attack them or call to
repentance certain people without
speaking directly to them and we see
that in a number of the parables as he
as we'll see later in these in the
Gospels here and then in verse 15 he
says for this people's heart is waxed
gross because it's their heart is
hardened and their ears are dull of
hearing and their ears and their eyes
they have closed lest at any time they
should see with their eyes and hear with
their ears and should understand with
their heart and should be converted
and I should heal them there's your
healing their spiritual healing from
from the Savior this is what Joseph
Smith said about this and about these
parables here he said men are in the
habit when the truth is exhibited by the
servants of God of saying all is mystery
they have spoken in parables and
therefore are not to be understood and
so Joseph Smith backs up this principle
of saying that look the masses are not
typically going to see most of the truth
or perhaps any of the truth any of the
spiritual teachings of some of the
scriptures or they're going to turn it
into something just kind of a nebulous
feel-good self-help or something that
doesn't have that profundity behind it
right all of that truth and experience
that's that's behind it and then Jesus
goes over several very short parables
about likening the kingdom of God into a
mustard seed and many other things and
just showing how you know again he's
coming out he's now teaching about the
kingdom of God and he's saying this is
how this is gonna work these are some
examples that you can see around you I'm
gonna give you some temporal examples of
how spiritual things work and so he
likens the kingdom of God under a number
of these things so he's trying to build
a brand in a sense he's kind of building
the brand of the gospel and the fullness
of the church fullness of the priesthood
as he talks about what it is like the
church is like this it is like this you
know about this and this and this this
is what the church is like it's like
these things and so he's building up
this these parameters or this definition
of what the gospel is about and that's
what the church is going to be about and
then he ends the chapter here by going
back into his own country we'll go all
the way down to vist verse 54 and it
says that he had departed thence and
when he was coming to his own country he
taught them in their synagogues in so
much that they were astonished
there again they're astonished with what
he's saying and said whence hath this
man this wisdom so he's in his own
country they may know of they know of
him and yet they're asking where did he
get all of this wisdom from and where
all these mighty works coming from so it
seems based on what the authors of the
Gospels are saying here is that for the
first 30 years of Jesus's life there was
not a lot of miracles there there were
not a lot there was not a lot of
teaching of this type of doctrine from
him during this time it would seem right
because they're all astonished on what's
going over we do have the story of him
at the temple when he was 12 and they
were astonished at his doctrine then but
for whatever reason it seems like the
authors of the Gospels do not sense that
he was someone who had been bringing
these miracles and these teachings at
least not pervasively through through
the country until this time now when he
is 30 years old and in beginning the
fullness of the gospel here the fullness
of the priesthood in the church but he
goes back to his own country and they're
all astonished at him and they say isn't
this the carpenter's son isn't this
isn't his mother Mary and he talks about
his brothers James and Joseph and Simon
and Judas and his sisters even he's like
okay wait a minute this is one of our
own here and isn't it a funny thing that
we don't seem to want to believe things
that are the most practical to us
sometimes in other words things that
come from our own geographic area in
fact how many times do people come up
with the most miracle potion and it's
from some distant part of the world you
know it's from an island somewhere or
it's from you know the Far East or it's
from the valley of who knows what and
who knows where but not anywhere close
and it seems that the further away we
are from it the more credibility it has
right and that's Geographic and then it
also works that way with time so Joseph
Smith a couple hundred years ago I don't
think so right that's too close to me
Moses oh wait a minute now now we're
talking about you know what thirty five
hundred years ago thirty three hundred
years ago something like that hey that
works that's fine with me I can believe
in that that's far enough away from me
but here Jesus coming from his own in
his own country
and he tells us the principle here that
a prophet is not without honour save in
his own country so he doesn't have any
honor in his own country because they
all know him right they saw him growing
up they know that he came by and maybe
he was with Joseph and they came and
built something for somebody and you
know he slammed his thumb with a hammer
and bled and everything else and you
know he's a normal guy right but if
someone would have come from a distance
or if they want to believe in somebody
in the past that's a much easier thing
to do prophets in the past great
prophets today for some people it's not
so easy so that is a principle that's
also in place I think that principle
works from another way also and that is
let's say that you are a certain person
and you go away maybe you go on a
mission or maybe you move away somewhere
and you're in a completely different
environment number one it's a lot easier
for you to reestablish who you want to
be because you don't have the ties and
bonds of friendship
mostly friendship and maybe some
relations some family relationships as
well so you can just say go off and you
can be somebody completely different if
you choose it's it's a lot easier to do
that and so making maybe moving and
making that change we often some people
sometimes do that they move because of
that
and they wanted to change who they are
and so breaking the bonds of those that
friendship and maybe even some from some
family members they go off and they
change who they are because if they're
at a distance they they can receive it's
more it's easier for them to be accepted
for being different from people that
don't know him or her right from you and
and so that's one way that we we might
follow this principle here the other
thing that's difficult in this principle
is what if we came back and we've made
those changes and we are somebody
different and we've improved ourselves
greatly but let's say you were put back
into those circumstance and now the
expectations you know what I'm saying
the feedback these people remember who
you were before or who this person was
before and they're going to react more
to that persona into that person and so
now you've got a really difficult
situation is how do you step up and
commit yourself to being the new you and
to stand up for the principles that you
now believe in that's a hard thing to do
it's like in the last lesson with the
dry places where the man repents goes
off into the dry places for a while he's
kind of uncomfortable and he ends up
going right back to his comfortable
house or to his previous life and and
starts doing the same thing so none of
us are naturally none of us are
naturally honored in our own land
sometimes especially if we're trying to
really improve ourselves so again just
taking a step back and understanding
that might help us to work through that
type of a situation with those around us
and maybe we just need to be with other
people and in fact in the last verse
here verse 58 it says and he did not
many mighty works there because of their
unbelief
so again
very difficult thing for him to do
because just as we've learned previously
or faith was given to him the woman with
the issue of blood those that believe
that they could heal their daughter or
their servant or others there was a lot
of belief from those people but here and
now these people do not believe in him
they don't have the faith in him and he
can't work through that that's a great
lesson right he's like look if you don't
have faith then I cannot perform these
miracles and to some degree I know
that's true even with me if I am around
people that have faith in me I can do
mighty works much greater than I could
if the people around me don't believe in
me so there's a principle there that's
very practical I think for all of us and
that can be yes it can go all the way up
to something where there's a miracle
that is performed but there's a small
miracle in all of our daily lives that
happen within us when we are surrounded
by people that have faith in us and that
have a positive feedback about us make
sure that you watch part two of this
lesson where we focus on Luke 8 and Luke
13 I'll talk to you next time
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