Dr Paul Allen

The Old Testament is filled with God’s prophets demonstrating, not just proclaiming, God’s message. When God wanted Jeremiah to understand the impending decay of Judah and Jerusalem, he had him buy a new linen loincloth and wear it without washing it. Later, God instructed Jeremiah to hide it for an extended period in the rocks next to the Euphrates River. After a long time, when God instructed him to, Jeremiah retrieved the rotten garment, which was now falling apart (Jer 13:1–8). After Jeremiah saw (and smelled) the result of the prolonged decay, he was prepared to fully hear and proclaim the message from God: “This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem. These evil people, who refuse to listen to me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, and who have followed other gods to serve and bow in worship—they will be like this underwear, of no use at all” (Jer 13:9–10). This was not an isolated incident. On another occasion,...

Matthew 13 is the “parables” chapter of the Gospel. In it, Jesus gives seven public parables (to the crowds), three private explanations (to his disciples), and two surprising statements on the purpose of parables. And in the midst of all of that, he also gives us two startling lessons about joy in God. What is joy in God — and what is it not? And how do we distinguish between true and false joy? What Parables Reveal and Hide The seven parables are easily organized into four groups: A parable about how we hear the word (the sower and the soils, Matthew 13:3–9) Two parables about the mixture of good and bad in this age, and their separation at the end of the age (the weeds, Matthew 13:24–30; the net, Matthew 13:47–50) Two parables about the slow but sure growth of the kingdom (mustard seed, Matthew 13:31–32; leaven, Matthew 13:33) Two parables about the value and worth of the kingdom (treasure in a field, Matthew 13:44; pearl of great price, Matthew 13:45) The purpose of these parables,...

The Way Jesus Answered What was so unusual and so attention-grabbing about Jesus’s teaching? Part of it was that once people began to challenge him and ask him questions, Jesus proved to be a masterful chess player. He simply refused to get caught in verbal or intellectual traps, and in fact, always managed to turn the heat back on the one who posed the challenge in the first place. And even then, he did it in a way that would not only win the argument but also spiritually challenge everyone listening. Let me show you an example. Matthew 22 recounts a time when Jesus was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem and a group of Jewish leaders approached him in order to challenge him. Now, this wasn’t an accidental meeting. These leaders had planned the whole thing; the story even starts by saying that the Pharisees “plotted how to entangle him in his words.”  They also wanted to do it publicly, so they walked up while Jesus was teaching in the temple, probably pushed through a crowd, and ...

Many professing evangelicals today believe the kingdom of God is strictly in the future, although there is no biblical foundation for that. This view robs the church of important teachings concerning the kingdom that are clearly set forth in the New Testament. In fact, the New Testament opens with John the Baptist's announcement of the kingdom: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2). The Old Testament prophets spoke of the kingdom to come at some point in the future, but at the time of John the Baptist, it was about to burst onto the scene. It was "at hand." If we examine John's message carefully, we see that his announcement of the kingdom contained urgent warnings: "Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees" (Matt. 3:10) and "His winnowing fork is in his hand" (Luke 3:17). Time was running out, and people were not ready. Christ came on the scene just a short time later with the same message: "The ti...

The Parables of the kingdom : a. The Sower ( Matt. 13:1-9 & 13:10-23) -  The point -  One’s response to the gospel shows one’s relationship to the kingdom. - In Matt.  13:19  calls the gospel “the word of the kingdom”. - Matt.  13:19  comments on those who hear the gospel and don’t respond, Matt. 13:20-22 comments on those who hear and respond positively (but not in saving faith), and Matt. 13:23  comments on those who hear and respond in saving faith; namely the message of the gospel produces fruit (though that “fruit” isn’t explained, but Matt. 13:18-23 suggest that it has something to do with  persevering in trial, as well as avoiding “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches“.   It would see to be some sort of vague “fruit” that is the natural product of saving faith; perseverance and righteousness.). b.  The Weeds (Matt. 13:24-29, 13:36-43) -  The point  ...