THE GOSPELS

In this section:

MATTHEW 13, LUKE 8, MARK 4

This section of scripture is a parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 13, Luke 8, and Mark 4. For us to be accurate in interpreting what Jesus means by the parable, it is necessary to compare all the biblical accounts of the same event. To get the contextual flow, we will start from the parallel account in Luke, where we read that Jesus,

"1... began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. ... 4 When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:" (Luke 8:1-4)

This parable that Jesus spoke has to do with proclaiming and preaching the arrival of Messiah in his Old Covenant period, and has to do with His kingdom (which is His reign, and rule) being announced to Israel. As we come into the flow of the historical context here, we recognize that His reign was rejected by most of Israel at this time of Christ's pre-cross ministry, but, we must also recognize that Jesus knew the rejection was going to happen all along, so the details of the kingdom of God in Matthew, (also called the "kingdom of Heaven" in Matthew, as it is also called in Mark, Luke, and John, and also called the kingdom of God's "beloved Son" in the New Covenant scripture of Colossians 1:13) are details that Jesus taught that have to do with a fuller realization of the kingdom that comes in the future under the New Covenant in His blood, (cf. Romans 5:9, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14; 1:20 etc.). Additionally, the kingdom is spiritual. It is spiritual now, even though we reside in flesh and blood. Though we are in flesh, we worship and serve our King in spirit and truth. Additionally, our future inheritance of the kingdom of God after death, expresses the spiritual in an even fuller way, as Paul the apostle explains,

"Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." 1 Corinthians 15:50 (cf. Ephesians 5:5, 2 Peter 1:11)

All who are born again spiritually in the crucified and resurrected Christ Jesus, enter His kingdom and reign in the New Covenant respect while living on earth. In other words, all the called out ones of the body of Christ exist in the reign and rule of Christ, who, as King, is both (Despotes) Master of the universe, and (Kurios) Lord of His church in the fullness of His Godhead. All Christians are in God's rule and reign in respect to the kingdom of His beloved Son, the God-man Christ Jesus. These facts are very important, and this is why it so vital for us to understand that the Greek word for kingdom, means reign and rule. When we, who are Once Saved In Eternal Spiritual Salvation, die, then we inherit the kingdom of God in its more glorious respect than how we perceive it now, where we will live in a glorified heavenly realm of Christ's reign and rule. Right now, we are experiencing the reign and rule of Christ in a spiritual sense, and a Lordship/obedience sense while looking forward to the fulfillment of our inheritance of the kingdom of God in our resurrected and glorified state, where we will be with the resurrected Christ forever and ever. Our old earthly, cursed, flesh and blood that is reproduced from Adam and Eve, cannot inherit that aspect of God's rule and reign, as it is a spiritual realm that we enter into after our current flesh dies.

It is important to understand that these same principles concerning salvation, and the spiritual kingdom, also apply to Israelites. Israelites must be born again under the New Covenant to enter the kingdom of God. Even though they are descendants of Jacob, they will only inherit the afterlife kingdom of God, if they have a change in their flesh-and-blood that is reproduced from Jacob. The newer covenant, ironically enough for Old Covenant Israel according to the flesh, is the covenant that God predetermined to come in foreknowledge of Old Covenant Israel's rejection of the kingdom. According to God's mysterious plan, Israel had to reject Messiah. Messiah gave the general call to Israel in announcing and proclaiming the kingdom. Jesus said to follow Him as Messiah and receive Him in His kingdom reign. Yet, Jesus knew all along that He must be, and would be, rejected anyway, and He knew that God's purpose for the rejection was to establish the New Covenant. Jesus taught this on so many occasions. He would explain what apparently His students could not understand,

"He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again." (Mark 8:31)

In Acts, we find Peter explaining that the above was the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. Peter proclaims these facts in his first sermon to the Israelites who were still looking to the old obsolete covenant. The context is that Peter is preaching shortly after Christ rose from the dead. He is giving Israel the revelation from God that they need to hear at this time, and so he says,

"22 Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. ... 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah--this Jesus whom you crucified." (Acts 2:22-36)

All of the ministry of Messiah (in coming to be tempted by the Devil, yet, overcoming, to do miracles, to announce the arrival of the Messianic promise to the Lost sheep of the house of Israel, and then finally, to be rejected in execution to be raised up from the dead to be seated in His royal position at the right hand of the Father) was instituted according to God's previously ordained plan that Old Covenant Israelites had not recognized. A little later, after the New Covenant was established, Peter, John, and their companions, worshipped God, saying this,

"24... 'O Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ... The Kings of the earth took their stand and rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.' 27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur." (Acts 4:24-28)

In this prayer of worship, we find the important details reiterated concerning the fact that all of what happened to Messiah by Israel was predestined to occur by God's very "hand" in solidly firm, hard, determinism (cf. Acts 4:28). God used the ultimate sin of mankind, in God's sovereign predetermination, to institute the ultimate good-works Covenant of forgiveness. The very rejection of the kingdom is what was instrumental in establishing the New Covenant kingdom of Christ forever. So, today, we recognize that God had planned (determined) this to happen all along. In our contextual analysis, we recognize something very important, when we notice that Jesus,

"... began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God, and a large crowd gathers, and He begins speaking to them by way of a parable," (Matthew 13:1-4),

We recognize what is so key for us to understand today; namely, Christ's immediate audience, that is gathered there, does not understand this mysterious plan that we see so clearly today according to New Covenant revelation. In the parallel passage, in Luke 8, Jesus calls the aspects of the kingdom of God that He was proclaiming, preaching, and He says there that He is describing in parables, "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" (cf. Luke 8:10).

These are all important facts to understand as we continue in the context and come to the mysterious parable which Jesus spoke to the crowds of pre-cross Israelites who gathered around Him. Starting in Matthew 13:3, we read Jesus saying,

"3 ... 'A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds, fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear. ... 18 Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 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. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." (Matthew 13:3-23 ESV)

The following is the same passage, but with bracketed commentary and clarification that should be closely followed in a verse to verse reading, though it is difficult. Further explanation will be given afterward;

"3 ... 'A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds, [the seeds are the "word of the kingdom," verse 19] fell along the path [certain people, particularly within their "hearts," cf. v. 19] and the birds came and devoured them [seeds as "word of the kingdom,"]. 5 Other seeds [word of the kingdom,] fell on rocky ground [certain people], where they [seeds as "word of the kingdom,"] did not have much soil [certain people which are the same rocky ground people], and immediately they [seeds as "word of the kingdom,"] sprang up [crops], since they [crops] had no depth of soil [certain people], 6 but when the sun rose they [crops] were scorched. And since they [crops] had no root, they [crops] withered away. 7 Other seeds ["word of the kingdom,"] fell among thorns, [which are cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches, verse 22] and the thorns grew up [among certain people as briar ridden soil] and choked them [crops]. 8 Other seeds ["word of the kingdom,"] fell on good soil [certain people] and produced grain [good fruit producing crops], some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty [which are varying degrees of good fruits]. 9 He who has ears, let him hear. ... 18 Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown [seed as the "word of the kingdom,"] in his heart ["in" the Israelite person's heart]. This [word of the kingdom] is what was sown along the path [people]. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground [certain people], this [rocky ground person of sparse soil] is the one who hears the word ["word of the kingdom," as seed] and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself [There is no rooting in him as sparse, hard, rocky, soiled ground], but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word ["word of the kingdom," as seed], immediately he falls away [He as rock ground to begin with, has a "withered" crop in the end]. 22 As for what was sown [seeds as "word of the kingdom,"] among thorns, this [ground] is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word [seedlings], and it proves unfruitful [does not produce a fruit bearing crop]. 23 As for what was sown [seed as "word of the kingdom,"] on good soil [people who are effectually called and so are saved, in that they fully embrace, in the miracle of saving faith, the "word of the kingdom,"], this is the one who hears the word and understands it [understanding is divine revelation and not contingent upon intelligence]. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." (Matthew 13:3-23 ESV emph. mine)

According to the typical NEST interpretation, this passage is used with its parallel passage in Luke, (which we are also about to examine). The Luke account is used for the NEST because that is where we find Jesus saying that some Old Covenant Israelites believed that the Messianic kingdom must have come. They believed that the Messianic kingdom must have come, but only for a short period of time. Then in time of their testing, they fell away from believing that the Messianic kingdom had really come as the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies. Consequently, they fell away from believing that Jesus was the authentic Messiah-king. Using the passages together, loss of a supposed state of previous spiritual salvation is suggested as supporting the NEST. Let us read the Luke account now, where Jesus gives the explanation of the parable,

"9 His students began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. 10 And He said, 'To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. 12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." (Luke 8:5-15 emph. mine)

What the NEST asserts is that Jesus is talking about the gospel of salvation in the New Covenant (and the saved people in the New Covenant) that was established in the cross and resurrection, rather than the actual concern of His teaching, which is the fact that the Messianic kingdom is at hand according to the ancient prophecies, and is being announced. To understand this correctly, we must continue to be mindful of the fact that the kingdom message is referred to as "the kingdom of heaven," and "the kingdom of God." Jesus, and His students, are going about announcing, proclaiming, preaching, and describing in parables, to Old Covenant people who are called, "the Lost sheep of the House of Israel." Jesus stated clearly in Matthew 15,

"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24)

He told His students to announce that the kingdom was at hand in this Old Covenant period, using the same language, where He commissioned them to be primary apostles, saying,

"6 ... go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 10:6)

Those who approach this contextual parable from the philosophy of the NEST, wrongly assert that Jesus is talking about those who are eternally spiritually saved according to the New Covenant in His blood. Jesus says that some believe for a while, and then fall away, which according to the NEST must mean that Jesus is talking about any born again Christian being able to believe for a while in actual New Covenant salvation, and then, while in salvation, deciding not to believe in Christ as Lord and Savior later on. The consequence supposedly being, that the New Covenant saints, who are said to do this, forfeit their eternal life of "never perishing" according to the definition of "eternal life" in John 3:15-16; and so, they are damned forever in hell.

The NEST, is wrong, and so we continue to analyze this further to understand why the NEST is wrong, and to understand the passage better ourselves.

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As a first consideration in understanding why the NEST is wrong, it is important to recognize that the text clearly states that Jesus is teaching Old Covenant Israelites concerning the kingdom, reign, and rule of Messiah according to the Davidic promise that is at hand. It is important to focus upon, and keep in mind the Old Covenant, pre-cross, context of this passage. Jesus is simply doing as He has been directing all along in His pre-cross earthly ministry. He,

"1 ... began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. ... 4 When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:" (Luke 8:1-4)

The large crowd, of Old Covenant Israelites, is there from the various cities. Jesus goes on to explain to them the different ways various Israelites in that age (like various types of soil) will receive the message of the arrival of the promised Messianic kingdom in a parable that nobody is supposed to understand except for the students of Jesus, and additionally, the students will only understand the parable after Jesus explains the mystery to them later on (cf. Luke 8:10). The parable itself, explains how various types Old Covenant Israelites receive the proclamation and preaching of the Old Covenant kingdom of God that Jesus and his primary missionaries (apostles) are going about announcing at this time. In verse 19, Jesus explains that what He is talking about, in terms of being received or rejected, is the,

"word of the kingdom" (Matthew 13:19)

In the parallel passage in Luke 8 Jesus calls it,

"the mysteries of the kingdom of God," (Luke 8:10)

In Mark 4, He calls it,

"the mystery of the kingdom of God." (Mark 4:11)

The point is that the whole parable has to do with Old Covenant Israel, and it has to do with how each kind of Israelite responds, according to various categorical ways, to the Messianic kingdom announcement that Jesus and His primary apostles were heralding from village to village at this time. This is the "word of the kingdom" that Jesus is describing as being received, and rejected in numerous ways. It is very important to realize that this parable has to do with proclaiming and preaching the arrival of Messiah to those Israelite people in his Old Covenant period. It has to do with His kingdom, reign, and rule, being announced in that particular age, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

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This leads us to a second consideration, and that is that we must recognize that the NEST is using an Old Covenant teaching, concerning Messiah's arrival and reign, to pre-cross Israel. This is an important consideration, in that all people who are actually born again through Christ in His New Covenant, are secure in Christ, which means, then, that the NEST interpretation must necessarily be teaching a form of insecurity that is outside of Christ and His New Covenant which was established in His blood on the cross, resurrection from the dead, and giving of the seal of the Holy Spirit to those who are truly saved. The glaring problem for the NEST is that no person who is eternally spiritually saved exists outside the New Covenant. One of the greatest passages on being Once Saved In Eternal Spiritual Salvation, according to the New Covenant that we are under, is one that really sums up this point well, where we read the marvelous words of Post Old Covenant Peter, who writes as an apostle of Christ while in Christ's New Covenant, stating,

"1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who ... are elect 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the setting apart work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you," (1 Peter 1:1-4)

God's elect people in the New Covenant period are set apart by the Spirit of God to, obey Christ, and, be sprinkled with the blood of His covenant. Further, God causes all who are truly saved, or will be truly saved, to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why?--so that we will necessarily obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and will not fade away, kept, retained, secured, and waiting in heaven for us who are saved because we who are saved, are once saved in eternal spiritual salvation. This New Covenant work describes true spiritual salvation. These facts are why it is so important to recognize that people are not born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ in an Old Covenant that is outside the New Covenant. While in His pre-cross, Old Covenant ministry, Jesus taught on this great necessity for entering His kingdom through being born again by His Holy Spirit. Jesus describes the great necessity that Nicodemus, the Jewish leader, did not understand,

"3 Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?' 5 Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.' 9 Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can these things be?' 10 Jesus answered and said to him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that everyone who is believing in Him will have eternal life." (John 3:3-15)

Jesus is prophetically saying that one must be born of the Spirit to see, and enter, the kingdom of God, yet, when He said this, He had not yet been "lifted up" (John 3:14). He had not yet been crucified and resurrected. The living hope, that Peter identifies, is what comes through the sprinkling of Christ's blood and His resurrection. Additionally, Jesus makes an allusion to the fact that the things He is explaining are heavenly things. They are heavenly things that come from the One Who ascended into heaven; in fact, the same One Who has descended from heaven, which is Jesus, and so, Jesus is revealing a mystery to Nicodemus concerning the soon coming fact, that when Jesus is "lifted up" (cf. John 3:14), on the cross to establish the New Covenant, everyone who believes in Him in the New Covenant will have eternal life in the New Covenant. Nicodemus apparently did not understand what Jesus was talking about, (cf. John 3:10), as most Israelites did not understand much of what Jesus was talking about when He taught in His pre-cross ministry. The main point is that this dialogue that Jesus had with Nicodemus demonstrates why it is so important for us to realize that the New Covenant is the connection to entering the eternal kingdom of Christ and God.

Jesus was sent to announce the Messianic kingdom to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but Jesus knew that there were many details that must take place for its complete establishment. One of which, was that He must be rejected by the very lost people of the house of Israel to whom He was announcing the kingdom of God and heaven. If Jesus was initially received by the Jews, then there would have been no lifting up, no crucifixion, and no resurrection. If there is no crucifixion and resurrection, then there is no New Covenant. If there is no New Covenant, then there is no rebirth unto the living hope of eternal spiritual salvation. If there is no rebirth unto the living hope of eternal spiritual salvation, then we would all still be in our sins, (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:17). If we are still in our sins, then we are still in the domain of darkness, (cf. Colossians 1:13). If we are still in the domain of darkness, then we are not in the eternal spiritual kingdom of God, heaven, and Christ, (cf. Colossians 1:12-14). This eternal life is eternal spiritual life that occurs for all who are in the kingdom of Christ in His New Covenant reign.

In the gospel of John, Jesus explained some important details about His kingdom to the Gentile ruler, Pontius Pilate. The details Christ shares give much deeper revelation than what those Old covenant Jews thought the Messianic promise to David was supposed to mean. Jesus gives more of the spiritual mystery of His kingdom to Pilate, saying,

"36 My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.' 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, 'So You are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.'" (John 18:36-37)

Christ was revealing that His kingdom has servants, but in respect to this pre-cross time frame, which, in this instance, was contextually a few hours before crucifixion, Christ is teaching that His servants are of another world. Certainly, Messiah as King of kings and Lord of lords was standing there in humbleness, but He was rejected by Israel as the Messianic king of the promise. The reason that Jesus said this about His kingdom is because the New Covenant had not yet been established. If Christ's kingdom would have been "of" that "realm" before He established the New Covenant, then His servants would be fighting to keep Him from being handed over to the Jews. Later, though, in the establishment of the New Covenant, the apostles take up the theme by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is through the apostles that we get fuller details of the spiritual kingdom that came under the New Covenant. In the apostle's New Covenant explanations we see the transfer, where by the Spirit, all who according to God's great mercy have been caused to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (cf. 1 Peter 1:4). This is why Paul explains after Christ's crucifixion, and resurrection, what happens to all who are born again in respect to Christ's kingdom reign under His spiritual New Covenant. First, Paul gives us the details of the regenerating action; saying in Ephesians,

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins … when we were dead in our transgressions, [God] made us alive together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:1 & 5)

That life that Paul is talking about is the rebirth. Paul repeats it in Colossians,

"When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions" (Colossians 2:13)

This is regeneration; it is being born again according to the New Covenant work of Christ, in Christ, through Christ; where Christ is our all in all. The pre-cross Pharisee, Nicodemus, met with Jesus in the night and got a lecture on this, but he did not understand what Jesus was talking about. Now, in New Covenant Colossians, we read of the great kingdom connection where finer points of the mystery are revealed to all of us in the New Covenant church of Christ,

"giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the set apart ones in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:12-14)

Right here in Colossians 1:12-14 is the description of the great transfer in the New Covenant. It is a spiritual transfer, and it happens to all who are saved. It is really clear in Colossians; when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our transgressions (cf. Colossians 2:13). All who have been saved in past generations, and are saved now, have been sovereignly "qualified" by God to share in the inheritance of the set apart ones, in Light (cf. Colossians 1:12). This qualification occurs because God rescued all of us who are saved from the domain of darkness, and transferred all of us who are saved to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, (cf. Colossians 1:13-14). This is the gospel that saves once in the past. It is the same gospel that secures salvation now. It is the same gospel, that, all who are saved, will glory in trillions upon trillions of millennia from now. The revelations of the mysteries of Christ Jesus and His New Covenant have come, and so now we understand more fully. The only way anyone is made alive is "together with Him." This point is the fundamental key to the mystery of the Christ-covenant. Listen very carefully as Paul gives us the foundation of it all in this same Colossians epistle, where he says,

"24 ... in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. 25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His set apart ones, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:24-27)

Christ, the eternal King of the eternal kingdom, is in you now under the New Covenant, if indeed you have received Him through faith. Christ is not walking around among Israelites announcing the kingdom with expectation of His rejection, and crucifixion, anymore. Now Christ is spiritually reigning in His people as Lord, Master, Boss, King and Savior. This is the good news, but the news continues to manifest itself in a better way, because when we die, we remain in Christ's kingdom, yet we will experience it in a fuller way, where we will all be with our King in His perfect, glorified kingdom realm; enjoying sinless perfection, and perfect obedience, forever and ever. It is, after all, the blessing of being Once Saved In Eternal Spiritual Salvation (OSIESS).

Now getting back to the pre-cross ministry, in our second consideration here, we see that Paul's statement, that this mystery was hidden from past ages and generations, was also hidden to that generation of Israelites who rejected Messiah, as we read in 1 Corinthians,

"7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;" (1 Corinthians 2:7-8)

These are important details we have covered in this section because we are seeing that Jesus taught many mysterious things to the Old Covenant Israelites that would be fulfilled later on when He established His New Covenant. Additionally, many revelations concerning His kingdom were not yet shared by Him. Some of the things He shared, He would only explain so that His students would understand. Other additional revelations concerning the kingdom were given to His apostles over the following years directly after His resurrection. Once we have gotten a fuller picture of all of these details in this second consideration, we must see the fuller picture as a principle in the interpretation of Scriptural doctrine (hermeneutic). The working principle is that we, with the completion of the canon of scripture, understand a little bit more concerning God's will in previously leaving certain mysteries unexplained to large groups of Israelites, and then the aspect of His will in giving additional insights to select others (disciples as apostles), and then as time went on, He also gave progressive revelations to others. We find this type of principle here in the parable we have been analyzing. Just as Nicodemus did not understand certain teachings concerning the kingdom, neither did the people that Jesus told His parable to, and they were not supposed to, as we read,

"10 As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, 'To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12 so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might turn and be forgiven. 13 And He said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?'" (Mark 4:10-13)

So this is our second consideration: we must recognize that the NEST is using an Old Covenant teaching concerning Messiah's arrival and reign to Israel, to build a belief in insecurity in the New Covenant.

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This leads to a third consideration which has to do with the detail recorded in the parallel account in Luke concerning those Israelites who believe for awhile; as we read Jesus explaining,

"12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved." (Luke 8:12)

What this means is that there are Israelites who, in God's sovereignty, were somewhat metaphorically cosmically robbed by the devil, in that the devil came and stole the word of the Messianic kingdom from their heart, so that they would not believe that their Messiah king had come, and be saved. Continuing, we read Jesus going on to explain the next point,

"13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away." (Luke 8:13 emph. mine)

Since Jesus describes the various soils as people ("those" cf, Luke 8:12) which is made clearer in Matthew, and, that the seed is sown in their hearts according to verse 19, we recognize that the rocky soil is the person with the hardened heart. These rocky soil Israelites reject the Messianic kingdom that Jesus is proclaiming. This type of person "will not believe and be saved" either, though they received the initial proclamation "in joy" that the Messianic kingdom had come. It is really easy to understand how this pre-cross Israelite was responding this way. What happens, according to Jesus, is that there are kinds of pre-cross Israelites who receive the news that the promised Messiah has come according to the Davidic covenant at the time "when they hear," and so it is at that point, which is a point of "joy" at the prospect of there finally being the Messianic rule and reign in their midst, that they, as Mark says,

"when they hear the word [of the announcement of the kingdom of God, heaven, Messiah], immediately receive it with joy." (Mark 4:16)

This type of person receives quickly in psychological exuberance at the prospect of a Messianic kingdom, but, they do not believe in supernatural spiritual rooting as a miracle work of God--the rooting that endures as a matter of salvation. They can not, because, as Jesus already establishes; they exist as rock. The effect is analogous to what happens to some people who are sold a product by a salesman who announces everything to them that they want to hear that has to do with the product. They receive the news with joy in an initial kind of belief in the product according to their own expectations. But, then later, after analyzing the product based upon further details that they want to hear, they find out that there are huge facts concerning the product that they do not like; things they do not agree with, and so they reject the product altogether. In like manner, certain Israelites received the kingdom announcement for a time. They believed it according to their own expectations. They believed it, but they believed it in the natural way that people believe certain things for awhile, but since the belief was not supernatural as God's gift in the effectual call of His cosmic rescue, those rocky soil Jews fell by the wayside when the testing came to reveal whether they had saving faith. What is really important concerning this, and also a demonstration of how scripture interprets scripture, when we look at Mark's account, we see the extremely important detail of the absence of the much needed anchoring attribute in such people that is only found in truly saved people. We see that their problem is that "they have no firm root in themselves," as Mark says,

"16 In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places [which is the rocky "heart" according to Matthew 13:19], who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away." (Mark 4:16-17)

These Israelite hearers have "no firm root in themselves;" they never did have firm root in themselves; and they never will have firm root in their hard, calcified, rocky soil hearts. They have not had the work done to them that God promised he would do in His Ezekial prophecy concerning all the Israelites He will save;

"26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." (Ezekial 36:26-27)

According to Jesus, there are people who believe in an unsaving manner. Their problem is that their hardened hearts are what is in themselves, so the root can not possibly be there. This is so key to our understanding, because those hardened hearted people are as the great Scottish expositor John Gill says in commenting upon this passage,

"... their hearts remain like a rock, unbroken by the word; but with a flash of natural affection, which quickly goes off."

So, Mark makes it clear that it is only "when they hear the word," that, it is at that initial point of enthusiasm of which so many false conversions reflect, that they "immediately receive it with joy," onto the rock. Without the supernatural move of the Holy Spirit giving them a heart of flesh for the metaphoric roots to take hold in salvation, this type of Israelite gives an immediate shallow rooted assent to news of a Messiah that seems plausible at the moment, but since the root is not there in themselves, because it can not be there in their lost rock-hardened hearts, the belief is made manifest as a carnal persuasion that is destined to fade away at the first testing. This type of initial belief that comes because of seeing a miracle, because of national fervor, by hatred for Roman rule over their lives, in hopes of a Messianic deliverer, or by some other carnal persuasion, is the same kind of fleeting "natural affection" of non-saving belief that is spoken of in John 2 just before Jesus had His meeting with Nicodemus to discuss being born again, and entering the Messianic kingdom of God. The context is that Jesus (the Messiah of the Messianic kingdom) just healed a man, and this action really impresses the Israelite crowds;

"23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed [ejpivsteusan, pisteuo] in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting [ejpivsteuen, pisteuo] Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man." (John 2:23-25)

It is important to take notice that the same Greek word used to describe the Israelites believing in Christ's name because of seeing the signs, is the same Greek word used to describe that Jesus, on His part, did not entrust Himself to those same Israelites. The reason is because Jesus knew what was in man. If there is no firm root of true saving faith that comes from God's effectual call, then Jesus does not believe in these superficial believing Jews. It is as William MacDonald words so well in his insight on this passage from "The Believer's Bible Commentary,"

"As a result of the signs which Jesus performed in Jerusalem at the Passover, many believed in His name. This does not necessarily mean that they actually committed their lives to Him in simple trust; rather they professed to accept Him. ... Although many believed in Him, yet Jesus did not believe (same word in Greek) in them. That is, He did not commit Himself to them. He realized that they were coming to Him out of curiosity. They were looking for something sensational and spectacular. He knew all men--their thoughts and their motives. He knew why they acted the way they did. ... He had full knowledge of what was in man and why man behaved as he did."--W. MacDonald (see footnote 1)

The point is that there was a natural belief among Old Testament Israelites that was based upon seeing miracles, and hoping that the Messianic kingdom had arrived to free Israelites from the Roman oppression, but Jesus knew what was in people, and so He knew what kind of heart, and what kind of rooting, was really there. This is what we see both in John 2:23-25, and in Christ's insights in His parable we are studying in Matthew 13. There are other examples in the Bible of unsaving belief that is just as deficient as the examples we have been studying. The same kind of deficient belief of the unsaved is demonstrated in the kind of belief that the demons have, where we read James describing the belief in its deficiency,

"19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." (James 2:19)

We also see unsaving temporary belief that comes from the unsaved, that is absent of Holy Spirit persuasion, being demonstrated in the profession of faith of the unsaved woman who followed Paul around announcing her demonically inspired profession of faith publicly;

"16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortunetelling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, 'These men are bondservants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.' 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment." (Acts 16:16-18)

The woman's statement of faith was a demonically inspired statement of faith, and yet the very statement was completely accurate;

"These men are bondservants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." (Acts 16:17)

In this example, we see a woman declaring the truth in a statement of faith, but her belief is not firm. It is not faith that the truly saved have in firm rooting, and sustained nourishment, in the fertile, prepared, soil heart that comes from the Holy Spirit. It is a type of belief that is grounded in the bitter root that comes from a demon. So, though the woman kept crying out that the apostles are proclaiming the way of salvation, and apparently believed what she was saying was correct, she evidently was not believing in that same way of salvation for herself. She is, like all false Christians. Rather than being truly saved once in eternal spiritual salvation, she is not actually Saved; she was lost.

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This all leads to a key point that we will consider, and that is that all the various unsaved soil types of people who reject the word of the kingdom of God, heaven, and Christ, that is being announced to Israel at the time, are actually being contrasted with the very important one soil type of person that represents those who are truly saved; as we read Jesus describing,

"23 As for what was sown [which is seed as "word of the kingdom,"] on good soil [people who are effectually called and so are saved, in that they fully embrace in saving faith, the "word of the kingdom,"], this is the one who hears the word and understands it [understanding as divine revelation that transcends shrewd intelligence]. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." (Matthew 13:23)

In Mark, we see details given this way,

"20 And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." (Mark 4:20)

In Luke, we see details given this way,

"15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." (Luke 8:15)

When we put together the composite picture from the full counsel of God from all three Gospels, we see that the good soil Israelites, who represent God's true elect remnant, are those who:

A) hear and understand the word of the kingdom, (Matthew 13:23);

B) hear the word of the kingdom and fully accept it, (Mark 4:20);

C) have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, (Luke 8: 15);

D) indeed bear fruit and yield, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty, (Matthew 13:23);

E) and they bear fruit with perseverance, (Luke 8:15);

These identifying markers express that these types of Israelites are true believers who know what they believe, and why; and are thoroughly convinced of the facts of their faith. They, as the parable representatives of all who are truly saved, have the firm root in their heart of true saving faith in Messiah and His kingdom, and so, when testing comes, they demonstrate that they are saved in that they do not fall away; they hold the word of the kingdom fast, and they bear fruit with perseverance that endures, and goes on forever. In other words, as people who are once saved in eternal spiritual salvation, they can not possibly lose their salvation!

The whole point that Jesus was making in His analogy concerning what it means to be of the elect who are the truly saved, as is manifested in being an endurer, can be explained for clarification by way of an illustration. Instead of an illustration that is describing types of soils, the following illustration is an illustration from the plant's perspective. In the example, there are two Palm trees that grow in Florida that are generally identical. One is called a Fox Tail Palm. The other is called a Queen Palm. Both trees are beautiful. They are known for their big thick green Palm branches that cascade out like tropical fountains. It is really amazing how much they look alike. At least, they look very similar above ground. One big difference between the two species, has to do with what is not seen. It is in their root structure, which is hidden beneath the ground. Both trees are popular, and people like to grow these Palms in their landscapes, gardens, and along roadways in Florida. But, in the Florida region, there is a potential problem that has to do with which Palm one chooses to plant. Florida is prone to having seasonal hurricanes, usually in the fall months. With seasonal hurricanes, comes hurricane-force gusts of wind. The test of these storms is where one of the biggest differences between the Fox tail Palm and the Queen Palm becomes evident. The Fox tail Palm has long sturdy roots that go deep into the ground, and so, typically, when a hurricane comes, the Fox tail Palm is able to withstand the brute force of the test--it survives in the end. It perseveres by its very nature. On the other hand, the Queen Palm has shallow roots. Consequently, Queen Palms have the notorious reputation of being blown over by hurricanes. They fall by the wayside in the test, and, while laying there, lost in their pretended royalty, the Queen Palm has its shallow, naked, lost roots exposed for all to see. This analogy is meant to help get across the way it is with the enduring good soil. The truly saved, are demonstrated as truly saved in the end, in that, they always, necessarily, must be saved, in that they have, and sustain, the firm root that only the truly saved can possess. All others that resemble the truly saved, are but mere look-alikes. Since they are only look-alikes, the same test that comes and exposes the authentic Christian, is the same test that exposes the look-alikes for what they really are--lost fakes. With all our considerations, then, we are compelled to recognize that the parable in Matthew 13, Luke 8, and Mark 4 that Jesus taught concerning the various types of Israelites as soils, does not remotely indicate that one can lose one's salvation after being saved, attain salvation by meritorious self effort, or keep it secure by humanistic means.
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FOOTNOTES:
(1) Believer's Bible Commentary, William MacDonald, John 2:23-25, pp. 1476-1477.

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MATTHEW 13:24-43

Contextually, the passage we will examine in this section is in the midst of Jesus telling various parables to Israelites. Coming into chapter 13, Jesus has just finished with the parable of the various types of soil that represented Israelites. In that parable, Jesus mentioned a type of Israelite who received Christ's seed of the announcement of the kingdom, and that type of Israelite received it like path worn soil. There was also the Israelite who received the announcement of the Messianic kingdom like soil that had briars growing all over it. There was also the Israelite who received the announcement like rocky soil. Then, finally there is the Israelite who receives like fertile, good soil. This last one is the one who is Once Saved In Eternal Spiritual Salvation. Jesus loved to teach in parables. His parables usually had to do with Israel receiving the kingdom, and conversely, His parables would also typically describe Israelites rejecting the kingdom. Our first passage under study, deals with a parable that Jesus told where He used the illustration of a master and his slaves. In Matthew 13, starting in verse 24, we read,

"24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' 29 But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn. ... 36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house And His students came to Him and said, 'Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.' 37 And He said, 'The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, [which is Jesus Himself] 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom [reign and rule] all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:24-42)

According to the typical NEST interpretation of Christ's parable concerning the future coming establishment of the Messianic Kingdom of heaven, if any person who is saved in New Covenant spiritual salvation, commits transgression of the Old Covenant Law, called "lawlessness" in verse 41, then that person will be thrown into eternal damnation in hell.

The NEST is wrong, and Jesus, in His full contextual point explains what He means, which, as we shall see, demonstrates the error of the NEST. In this parable of the kingdom of heaven's establishment in the coming New Covenant, with the wiping away of the inferior Old Covenant age, Jesus explains that He is the One Who sows good seed in the world, (Matthew 13:37-38). The good seed that Jesus sows are the truly saved, who He calls the "sons of the kingdom," in verse 38. The bad seed are called the "tares," and they are sown by the evil one, who is the devil, so they are "sons of the evil one," (Matthew 13:38-39).

Agriculturally, we must understand a few things about the tare plants of this parable. Tare plants are probably the bearded darnel of the Palestine region. The bearded darnel is also called the cheat plant. It looks a lot like rye grass, and because it is in the grass family it looks a lot like wheat as it is sprouting and growing up. It looks like wheat until the fruit of the true wheat comes forth and the tare and wheat are compared. At the time of distinction, when the grain is starting to show, which is shortly before harvest, the darnel is made evident as not being wheat. As the metaphoric type of people, the tares always were, and they always are, sons of the evil one. The tares are Not Actually Saved At Any Time (NASAAT). In other words, the devil sows unsaved Israelites in God's field. The important fact concerning this, is that the devil never has, and never does, sow saved people in God's field. Consequently, at the end of the age, (which is argued by theologians to be either the destruction of Israel and the temple in AD 70, or a future end of another age that the earth has yet to experience), the harvest of the truly saved will occur, which are the true wheat, (cf. Matthew 13:39). The true wheat have already started bearing the grain as Christians, and so we know that according to the parable, the harvest is near. Consequently, according to Jesus, the angels know that this grain producing wheat, is the truly elect. In the parable, the angels are essentially thinking, "Hey, let us get those weeds out of God's field. After all, the enemy has planted them there." The tares in Christ's parable are fakes. They are not God's children, and the angels know it. But, Jesus says that those wheat which are already being made evident by their fruits at the initial bearing of grain heads, are about to be ripe for the harvest time. Jesus knows there is a time for the harvest, and He also knows that He wants the tares to remain along with the wheat until the appointed time for gathering His elect, and for damning the unsaved who were placed in His field by the devil. In a short period of time, at the harvest, the angelic reapers will gather up all those fake wheat plants that the devil sowed in among the real "sons of the kingdom," and the angels will cast them away forever, (cf. Matthew 13:41). In the meantime, Jesus says that they need to wait a little longer and let the weeds, and the wheat, grow up together, because the end of the age has not yet come. To try and go out of the timing of God's plan is likened to going into a wheat field to start pulling up the weeds before the properly scheduled moment. The right timing, though, according to agricultural wisdom (which the parable expresses) is the harvest season. The tares, which some argue, contextually, to be rejecting Jews of the 40 year generation of the immediate age, are the devil's children who are "stumbling blocks," and are those who commit non-law living, (which is antinomianism) also called "lawlessness," and so they will be cast into eternal damnation, (cf. Matthew 13:41-42). Then the "righteous" who are made that way through the New Covenant work of the cross, and resurrection, will shine forth in the spiritual kingdom of their Father. God is their Father, because He adopts them through Jesus Christ according to Romans 8:15, Ephesians 1:5, Galatians 4:5 etc.. The righteous ones that are spoken of in Christ's parable are adopted in that they have their salvation positionally in the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Who is the firstborn of many brothers, (cf. Romans 8:29, Hebrews 2:11). Through Christ and His New Covenant, and only through Christ and His New Covenant, is anyone created into a child of God. Additionally, Christians, who are the true children of God, who are gathered unto God in glory, are not outlaws; they are not lawless antinomians, and the reason is because they a) abide in Christ (Galatians 6:2), Who is the living fulfillment of the Law (Matthew 5:17); and b) they abide by the Law of Christ under His New Covenant. On the other hand, all non-Christians are absent of the appropriated fulfillment of the the Law in Christ, and further, all non Christians disobey the law of God of the New Covenant, in lawlessness. The New Covenant Christian Law is this;

"This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." (1 John 3:23-24)

This commandment, with its two statutes, is the Christian Law that all the righteous keep. The righteous are only righteous through Christ's righteousness appropriated to them. All others are the unrighteous. The unrighteous do not keep the Christian Law. Therefor, we see that Jesus is talking about pulling up, and burning up, those who practice lawlessness, which are the same ones who are absent of the great law of the New Covenant that God writes on the hearts of all those whom He loves unto salvation under His New Covenant. This is expressed clearly in Jeremiah 31:33, where the prophecy concerning the inwardly inscribed Law of God is made to the house of Israel (approx. 605 BC), long before Christ came to establish it,

"'Behold, days are coming,' declares Jehovah, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,' declares Jehovah. '33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,' declares Jehovah, 'I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know Jehovah,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,' declares Jehovah, 'for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.'" Jeremiah 31:31-34

All of this makes more sense when we recognize that the righteous ones that Jesus is prophesying about, that "will shine forth as the sun," are only righteous through the blood actuated sacrificial atonement, and propitiation in Christ. The reason is because the blood of bulls and goats that were being sacrificed while Jesus was announcing the kingdom in His pre-cross, Old Covenant ministry, was blood that could not take away sins. Those sacrifices, rituals, and rules, under the Mosaic Law Covenant, (which is the Old Covenant, cf. 2 Corinthians 3, Hebrews 8) never made anyone righteous, as we read in Hebrews,

"14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are set apart. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 16 'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says Jehovah: I will put my laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them,' He then says, 17 'and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.' 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh," (Hebrews 10:14-20)

Notice the quote: in verse 14,

"by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are set apart." (Hebrews 10:14)

We must remember that this sacrifice that Jesus accomplished, happened later on, after this parable He preached in Matthew 13, because this was all according to His great plan. The main point is that God requires perfection, and those Israelites that Jesus told the parable to in the Old Covenant period, were not, and could not be perfect through the Old Covenant system that they were under. The perfection that is required is the perfect righteousness that God demands, and so in the next chapter in Hebrews, we see this clarified concerning all the set apart ones that Jesus is speaking of in His parable in Matthew 13. In Hebrews 11:40 we read,

"40... God had provided something better for us, ..." (Hebrews 11:40)

The identification of the pronoun, "us" here is the identification of New Covenant Hebrew Christians according to the crucifixion and resurrection by God's grace through faith. It is very important for our understanding of salvation of people in Israel, that we know that Israelite Christians are the "us" here. So, with that, as we read, it is imperative that we think of the passage this way;

"40... God had provided something better for us [Israelite Christians of the New Covenant], so that apart from us [Israelite Christians of the New Covenant] they ..." (Hebrews 11:40)

We need to know who "they" are at the end of verse 40. "They" here are all the set apart ones in the Old Covenant period. So, we are reading the doctrinal principle that apart from "us," New Covenant Hebrew people, they, Old Covenant Hebrew people,

"... would not be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:14-16, 39-40)

With all of this background and explanatory material out of the way, here is the flow of thought that we need to get in Hebrews;

a) by one offering in the establishment of the New Covenant, Messiah has perfected for all time those who are set apart;

which is the necessity of;

b) God had provided something better for us in the New Covenant, so that apart from us, those people under the Old Covenant who Jesus preached to, would not be made perfect.

Israelites who tried to hold onto the Old Covenant in Jerusalem during the years following the institution of the New Covenant in Christ's blood, were wiped away in 70 AD in a bloody horrifying massacre that Jesus warned them was going to happen. Subsequently, they serve as examples of those who are ripped away from Christ's true reign and rule in His kingdom. As such, they were rejectors of Messiah, and so they remained in their imperfection in death. The perfection that anyone must have to please God, is the righteousness that anyone must have to inherit the New Covenant kingdom of heaven, otherwise, what will be inherited as one's eternal state of being as someone who remains unrighteous outside of Christ's imputed righteousness, is damnation. Paul explains the great necessity of having righteousness imputed by the grace of the New Covenant in very easy to understand terms in Romans,

"21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, [during the Old Covenant] 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ [in His New Covenant] for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:21-26)

All the work that accomplishes the means for attaining the righteousness that God demands in salvation, is God's work that became manifested later after Jesus spoke His parables. It occurred at the proper time. It occurred at a time in the not to distant future from when Jesus spoke the parable of Matthew 13. Paul gives more details of the fulfillment of righteousness in 1 Corinthians, where he declares that the righteous requirement that God demands must come in the Christ-covenant that was established in the crucifixion and resurrection, as we read,

"30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption," (1 Corinthians 1:30)

Christ became to us, righteousness, and so Paul expounds later in His second epistle to the same Corinthian church, saying,

"21 He made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we would become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

Therefore, based upon the context of this Old Covenant, pre-cross teaching, in Christ's announcing of the coming entrance into the eternal spiritual kingdom of heaven, this passage does not remotely teach that one can lose one's eternal spiritual salvation, gain eternal spiritual salvation, or keep it secure through humanistic self effort. It states that the devil, plants, and in historic context, he plants evil, non-elect, non-saved, seeds in God's field of Old Covenant Israel. Further, the Devil's seeds grow. They grow as fake followers of Jesus, as per, in a metaphoric sense, their spiritual DNA, so to speak. They are without the Law of God written in their hearts, and so they practice the Messiah rejecting sin that is written in their hearts, in "lawlessness." They reject Christ, and so they are thrown in hell. The righteous ones in Christ go on as the truly saved in eternal spiritual salvation forever.