THEOLOGY OF HUMAN HISTORY

MODULE MTH052 FRANKLIN IRIARTE A. MASTER OF THEOLOGY

In order to introduce ourselves in this chapter, we might set a context where we are
going to work. The context raises in Matthew 13 and it is about the age between Jesus´
comings. This set of parables are taught by Jesus after He declares himself the
fulfillment of Jesus prophecy. The set of teaching has a prophetic content related to
end of times and also teachings related to present times. But there is a mystery here,
Jesus is cooking something really special in his teachings. Within this chapters we
might find what is called “the key to story”, which is the great principle upon which
God acts to determine human events: JESUS IS IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYTHING.

Jesus started to disclose some deep and profound things to His disciples. This group
of followers that were chosen by Him, but Jesus also gave them the Holy Spirit, whom
through Him they could understand something beyond knowledge and investigation;
they knew something because God disclosed them these mysteries. What a privilege
is to be a disciple that is considered by Jesus as a special group of people worthy of
sharing some secrets. But knowing secrets it is also a huge responsibility. And this is
very important for this paper: the principle that lies beneath this whole situation is
that the truth must be acted upon in order to be retained. In other words, the
willingness to act on the truth they knew qualified them for more truth. Truth is a
powerful thing, and if we hear and act on it there is a powerful transformation. The
contrary is also true: if we don’t obey truth, it is taken away from you. That is why in
a determine time Jesus started to reveal and clarify more truth. In fact, He, again,
positions himself in the center of everything. Jesus is what the prophets spoke about.
The fulfillment of the time points to Him and from Him. JESUS is the ultimate
revelation of God toward mankind. Our part now, is act on this truth.

The first parable that Jesus referred was the parable of the sower. This parable
teaches something very important. We don’t have truth when we have it in our heads,
it is a truth when we acted on it. It is when it affects you and changes you. This truth
is the Gospel. A gospel that has the power to change you. This power is the ability to
accomplish; to set you free. This parable speaks of four kinds of heart conditions. The
first one is a heat immersed in a life that it thinks is a real life, not even considering
God for serious. The second heart is a heart with no roots on himself. In other words,
a shallow life. In church language, these are “seasonal” people. The third type of heart
is a busy heart. Finally, the fourth heart. This heart bears fruit.

This parable teaches something really deep: Salvation is seen when the fruit appears.
This parable is a word that seeks to look after the condition of our hearts.

The second parable is about wheat and weeds. In this parable the one that seed is
“the sons of the Kingdom”. In fact, the seed planted in the other parable now has
turned into a set of persons that are there because of the father. The seeds here are
not ideas but the people of God that operates as in the Kingdom of Heaven. Some of
the seed fell on good ground and brought forth fruit and transformed those
individuals so that they become sons of the Kingdom, and through the years we can
see how the Kingdom of God is spread around because of the mission of God and
through the Holy Spirit the disciples were empowered that in spite of persecution
they aimed to reach the known world so far. In this parable the field is the world,
because as children of God we are set here by Jesus. Because our mission is to go out.
Satan is the one that plants other seed that at the beginning looks the same but when
it grows even a child can tell that is not a good fruit. Jesus makes a beautiful
statement: “Let both grow together until the harvest”, it is a powerful statement
because it is based on the work of the Lord. But is also powerful because as christian
as we understand that we don’t have the power to change and purify anything
sometimes but wait in the Lord’s. In my personal view, a pastoral view, it is
impressive to read such an statement, because as pastors we tend to use other
mechanism to purify the church forgetting the real way to do it which is God´s way.

The third parable is related to the secrets, the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven. In
this case again, the sower is the Lord, the soil is the world, the field is the world,
society and the whole mankind. The seed is the mustard that represents a small start
with huge ending. That is why when you proclaim “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ”,
it doesn’t sound very impressive, in fact, it sounds non impressive and small; it seems
insignificant but when someone believes it see what it happens. It is the most
transforming, the most revolutionary thing that can occur to a person, because it is
the beginning of a radical change in his whole life. But the mustard is not really a tree
it doesn’t grow into a tree, so the growth is unnatural. Therefore, the church doesn’t
save anybody, the Lord does.

The fourth parable is the case of the Sneaky Housewife. The meal is a beautiful picture
of commonality of life. In the case of leaven the meaning is evil, it means the
corruption, breaks up that destroys everything. The woman represents the bad
leadership that allows hypocrisy in church.

The fifth parable is the Hidden Treasure one. The man in this parable and the field is
the world. The treasure is Israel.

Then wet have the sixth parable which is the Case of the Valuable Pearl. The man in
search of the pearl is Jesus. The pearl is the Church.

The seventh parable is the Case of the Great Dragnet. Jesus set his children and the
evildoers. These works would be shown by hypocrisy and evil manifestation. Only a
person would grow by Jesus´ love.