Mathew 13 Lesson

THE GREAT COMMISSION

Jesus has given His followers a call to action known as, "The Great Commission."

• “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Mathew 28:19-20.

This directive from Jesus commands all of us to do our part in sharing the Gospel.

We will not always be successful in our efforts, and that is ok.

Our job is to try!

The character is in the trying.

JESUS WARNED HIS DISCIPLES THEY WOULD BE REJECTED

Jesus knew that His disciples were going to face adversity and rejection in their efforts to share the Gospel.

And that is ok.

Jesus was rejected, His Apostles were rejected, and we will be rejected also.

Rejected comes with the territory for Christians.

HANDLING REJECTION – JESUS’ EXAMPLE

As Jesus talked to His disciples about evangelizing, He was honest and transparent about the hardships and rejection that they would face along the way.

The same thing is true for us.

Many of our efforts to share the Gospel will not be successful.

This can be discouraging!

And yet, we must keep trying, we must keep working for the Lord!

The best way to do that is to learn from the example of Jesus and try our best to emulate His behaviors.

Nobody understands rejection better than Jesus. 

He preached about peace and love, but those feelings of goodwill were not reciprocated.

Jesus was:

1. Beaten,
2. Spat upon,
3. Cursed at,
4. Rejected by His closest friends when He needed them most,
5. And finally, nailed to a cross. 

Yet despite the awful way He was treated, Jesus did not grow bitter, and He was not vindictive.

Amazingly, shortly before His death, Jesus made the following plea to His Father:

• “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” – Luke 23:34.

There are many things that we can learn from Jesus.

How to handle rejection is one of them!

Jesus did not retaliate. He kept glorifying His Father and serving others until the very end of His time on Earth.

That is the example that we are to follow.

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

In the Parable of the Sower (Mathew 13:3-9), Jesus talks about four possible outcomes that His disciples will face as they share the Gospel:

1. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.”  Jesus refers to this as, “The one on whom seed was sown beside the road.” – Mathew 13:19,
2. “The man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”  Jesus refers to this as, “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places.” – Mathew 13:20,
3. “The man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”  Jesus refers to this as, “The one on whom seed was sown among the thorns.” – Mathew 13:22,
4. “The man who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”  Jesus refers to this as, “The one on whom seed was sown on the good soil.” – Mathew 13:23.

Option #4 is the successful outcome that we all must strive for. 

But we cannot succeed unless we are willing to also fail.

Rejection comes with the territory for Christians.

CONCLUSION

As we follow the command that Jesus gave us in The Great Commission to share the Gospel, there are three things that we need to consider:

1. We are not in it alone.  What we plant, others will water.  It is God that will provide the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
2. Jesus is always with us.  Jesus made us this promise in Mathew 28:20when He said, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
3. It is not the size of the seed that will determine its future growth.  Sometimes, it is the smallest gestures that have the greatest impact!   We should never underestimate what God can do with a simple gesture such as writing a note or paying somebody a visit. In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus said, “The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full-grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” - Mathew 13:31-32.  Small seeds can accomplish remarkable things with God’s help!

One thing that we can count on as we work to glorify God and serve others is that our efforts, even with the best of intentions, will often be met with rejection.

This should not surprise us.

Rejection is a part of life for Christians.

Jesus was rejected.

His Apostles were rejected.

And we will be rejected too!

What matters is that we keep on trying and going about the work of the Lord, because some of our efforts will be successful!

In The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he wrote:

• “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” – Galatians 6:9.

We will end today’s lesson with those inspired words.