There was a large group on the seashore that day (Matthew 13). They'd obviously come to see and hear the great Yeshua - Jesus to you and me - speak. Maybe they'd get to see a miracle or perhaps they'd come for one themselves.
But it wasn't long until each and every Hebrew there knew what was taking place. It wasn't a sermon. Nor was it a healing session. No teaching was to take place. But something was happening. Something commonplace among them.
The Rabbi was separating the sheep from the goats.
Our Western mindset simply cannot allow us to think that Jesus would do anything but teach. He has a wealth of information and He must pass it out freely. That's really what the modern Greek mind thinks and consequently believes. But the Hebrew culture knew and accepted that Wisdom was never free. If you don't believe me, then I challenge you to read these three books: Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon and Ben Sirach. I could give you others as well. But once you digest these you'll have a better understanding of the PRICE/VALUE of Wisdom.
Think for a minute if you will. What exactly did Jesus say to the multitudes that day? He gave them seven very cryptic sayings, each designed to hold the hearer at bay. Note that the disciples had to ask for their meanings. Note also that Jesus said that the multitudes were not granted to know the mysteries, meaning they were forbidden from understanding. And too, note that these seven sayings were called mysteries. It irritates me greatly when expositors think they can look upon the mysteries of the kingdom and say on their own what they mean. The first and foremost reason that they can't is that they have no more information on the five that have no overt meaning listed. Are these expositors greater than the disciples? Are they more informed than the multitudes?
Take off your Reebok's for a little while and put on your first century sandals. Think about being there that day. Imagine...
You've been waiting a while, outside the house where the Rabbi was staying. Finally He appears and begins to speak in riddles; riddles about the kingdom of heaven. You thought He might teach, but no. Obviously, he's not doing that as you see puzzlement on others faces as well. Yet, He knows so much about this kingdom of heaven that He knows its secrets too, its mysteries. He continues while looking you in the eyes, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of meal until it was all leavened." You realize from the start that He is speaking in parables, but only half of the parable does He give. One part is missing. It's then you realize there is only one way to receive the other half; the explanation. Without it you know that there is no way to penetrate accurately the cryptic saying toward its meaning. The desire to have the other half, to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven grow in your mind and heart. But how badly do you want to know?
The hearer on the seashore that day - once they had heard the words of Jesus - had only two options. Their time there with Jesus wasn't a time of learning, but instead a time to make a choice; a time of discernment. You see, Jesus' use of the cryptic mysteries was not designed to teach anyone anything. He, Himself, said as much. Instead the enigmas were used to separate the crowd into two; those who wanted to know about the kingdom and those who were more interested in their own. Once Jesus had finished, each person had a decision to make. Follow and become a disciple (and receive the mysteries as the disciples did, as Matthew shows us) or return to their own kingdom.
Now some of you will say that this is too harsh. But what most don't understand is that 
Jesus' speech wasn't about Salvation, but instead about Discipleship. These are two very different entities. And no, I won't take up that argument here.
This understanding has huge implications for parable study today. I've yet to meet a bona fide scholar who will say, I don't understand the last five kingdom parables. But if you read and understand the words of Jesus here, that is the conclusion that one must accept.
The only way to interpret the parables properly is to have an explanation from Jesus Himself, or from one of His personal students (Matthew demonstrates this in the first half of ch. 13). And here's a clue: the proper interpretations for each kingdom parable are indeed available today. But just like then, they are not available for free.
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