The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…

Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

July 28, 2002

 

[31] He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. [32] Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

[33] He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

 [44] "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

 [45] "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. [46] When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

 [47] "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. [48] When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. [49] This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous [50] and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 [51] "Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked.    "Yes," they replied.

[52] He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."  (Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, NIV[i])

 Introduction

 If it is true, and I think it is, that people speak about that which they’re most passionate, what do you talk about?  What are you most passionate about?  What really fires you up, gets the blood racing?

 Often when I listen to people passionate about something, I respond.  When I really catch someone’s passion, it can even change the way I think and act.  I have a friend who is passionate about preaching, a friend passionate about worship, and a friend passionate about neighborhood mission and outreach.  When I talk to these friends, I am challenged, I respond, and even change the way I act.

 Jesus spoke passionately about the Kingdom of Heaven , the good news of God’s Kingdom.  In fact, it was pretty much all he talked about.  When people encountered him and listened to his words, they rarely came away the same.

 As he walked and taught throughout the Palestine countryside, Jesus talked about the Kingdom of Heaven : it is like a mustard seed, it is like yeast; the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure, a pearl; it is like a net.  Using the things of everyday to describe His Father’s Kingdom, Jesus brought people face to face with their deepest need, and their only hope.

 This morning we come to the end of a short series on the 13^th chapter of Matthew, a chapter that begins Jesus’ parabolic teaching ministry.  Two weeks ago we looked at the parable of the sower and the soil.  Last week we learned about the parable of the wheat and the weeds.  Today we stand in the face of a flurry of short parables about the Kingdom of Heaven .           

 Parables of Growth[ii]: A Mustard Seed & Yeast

[31] He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. [32] Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

[33] He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed…like a bit of yeast.  Have you ever held a grain of yeast in your hand?  What about a mustard seed?  The Kingdom of heaven is like…a mustard seed, a bit of yeast.  These are tiny seeds, yes, but they have incredible impact once they’re allowed to do what they’re supposed to do, once they’re transformed.

These parables, parables of growth, offer hope.  They offer great growth, great results from small beginnings.  Jesus taught this parable originally to encourage the disciples in the face of the daunting prospect of spreading the Good News of God’s Kingdom.

By the time Matthew wrote this book, the disciples had faced some serious opposition.  It appeared they didn’t stand a chance against the forces that lined up against them.  But, as 1 Corinthians says, “God uses the foolish to shame the wise, the weak to shame the small.”

·        Mustard Seed: small seed, big Results

 A mustard seed grows into a mustard shrub.  Now, a mustard shrub is not much to look at.  It usually tops out at 8-10 feet, hardly similar to the great Cedars of Lebanon (which the nation of Israel liked to compare itself to).  So what could Jesus possibly mean by this comparison? 

 Maybe the best clue comes from the church as it has developed over the centuries.  Today’s church is indeed a far cry from where it began.  Today the church extends to most countries in the world; it has grand cathedrals, and even wields power.  But for the most part, the church manifests itself in modest ways—more a mustard shrub than a towering cedar.

 Perhaps one other lesson of the mustard seed and shrub is that Christians need to live expectantly, knowing that God brings great things out of small beginnings, but that we should not expect God to make us great, or his church great as the world sees greatness.  Do we really expect God to make us big according to his definition of big?  Do we live expectantly?

 ·        Kingdom of Heaven : Power of God transforms the small to bring life-changing results.

 ·        Yeast

Similar to the mustard seed, yeast is relatively small in comparison to the flour that it leavens.  The point of the yeast story, as it was with the mustard seed, is this: A minute amount transforms a large amount.  Thus is the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven . The power of God takes the small and uses it to transform, to impact, to bring hope.

    ·        Get out there!

 I think the yeast has a direct application to us as the church.  In the same way yeast can only do what it’s supposed to when mixed with raw dough, we cannot do what we’re supposed to unless we are out there, mixing with the sinners, going where they are, entering their world. 

 What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?  To be obedient to everything he taught, and follow his example.

 Do you remember what happened when Jesus called Matthew to be his disciple—Matthew the tax collector, Matthew the crooked, Matthew the playboy? Matthew didn’t get signed up for a Bible study class; he didn’t get deprogrammed of his sinful habits.  In fact, Matthew didn’t do anything but take Jesus home to be with his rowdy, drunken, gluttonous, party-loving pals.  Jesus went and took his disciples with him.

 That’s the model for us to follow.  That was Jesus and his disciples being yeast.

 In Jewish law, it was understood that Yeast was representative of sin and evil.  Jewish law stipulated that Jews not have any yeast in their homes—that’s where pita’s come from.  Pitas are Jewish flat bread, essentially, and their flat because Jews don’t use yeast.

 But in this parable, Jesus uses yeast in a positive way!  Do you think he was trying to get their attention?  Do you think he was trying to startle them into action?

 A mustard seed and a grain of yeast aren’t much.  But they grow, they transform.  Such is the Kingdom of God .  Its beginnings are small, but under the power of God, there are incredible results, amazing transformation.

 Parables of Joy--Treasure hidden in a field & Merchant of fine pearls

 [44] "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

[45] "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. [46] When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

 In ancient times people didn’t have access to banks.  Instead, they buried their most valuable possessions in their fields.  This was a generally safe practice, however, the downside was that if the owner of the field died, the field was turned into public land and the treasure forgotten.  Therefore, anyone who stumbled across buried treasure was entitled to keep it—finders, keepers! 

 In the parable, the man who discovered the treasure hidden in the field sold everything he owned just so that, in his joy, he could buy the field.

In the other short parable, the one about the pearl merchant, there was a similar reaction.  In those days, people bought and sold pearls for their beauty.  They were as yet unrecognized for their monetary value.  People wanted pearls simply to possess the beauty of a pearl.

 What is the point?  There are two lessons to be learned from these short parables.  The first is this:

 ·        The Gospel is demanding. 

 

Illustration: Diamond Explorer

Free grace isn’t free, but requires response.  We cannot sit on the fence—or try to serve to masters (Matthew 6:24 ).  Neither man would have gained the treasure had they refused to pay the price.  Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”(Matthew 6:19 -21).  These guys only had eyes for the treasure.  They didn’t care about their possessions.  All they wanted was to have the treasure.  You’ve heard me say it before, and you’ll likely hear me say it again: God never agreed to be a flavor we use to give zest to our lives.  God is only interested in those who make him their whole life.

 

     ·        Joy, NOT duty!  The second lesson from these parables is that joy, not duty, drives these men to act.  They didn’t sell everything and buy the treasure because they ought to, but because their hearts demanded it!  They were love struck!  They had come across the most valuable, most beautiful thing they had ever seen, and their hearts pounded with joy! 

 Friends, the Gospel is ‘Good News’!  The kingdom of heaven is the greatest hope, not burden, of the world.  We must proclaim the good news as good news.  Condemnation convinces few people.

 Friends, the Gospel of Jesus demands a personal response, a personal response of faith.  Like the characters in the parable, we must make a step of faith, an act of response to the message of Jesus Christ. 

Duty is not, and never has been part of the equation.  People have tried to warp the gospel message by suggesting that it is through good deeds that we are saved.  That only when we do certain things, or behave certain ways, or follow certain rules are we found acceptable to God.  That is blasphemy, heresy, and utter foolishness!

 The only way a person is saved is through the saving grace of Jesus.  The only way we are saved is because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross.  Our salvation is because of the cross.  It is the only thing that saves.

 Acts, deeds only come into play when we have made the choice to follow Jesus, to accept the good news of his sacrifice.  When Christ saves us our behavior changes.  Faith in Christ always manifests itself in acts of love. That’s how we know we are saved.  Are we becoming more loving of God and neighbor? 

 Parables of Consequence: Net and Weeds

 [47] "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. [48] When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. [49] This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous [50] and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 Illustration: Documentary about “7 Sisters”, the fishing boat

                   -Swordfish/tunaàgood

                   -Blue sharksàbad, thrown overboard

 In this final parable, a net scoops up all sorts of fish, both good and bad.  Then the fishermen sit down and keep the good fish in baskets, and throw the rest away.  The lesson from this parable is twofold:

 ·        Judgment belongs, not to the disciples, but to God. 

Experts dealt with the bad fish.  Like the harvesters in the parable of the weeds (last week), the harvesters were called in to sort out the weeds and the wheat.  Here the fishermen sort the good from the bad.  There is no mention of helpers, or laypeople.  Only those with expertise got to be involved in the sorting of the good and bad fish.

 Again, this is a reminder to us that it has never been, nor will it ever be our job to judge who’s in or out of the kingdom of heaven.  God does that.

·        Judgment will come.

“Mention of the final judgment reminds the hearers and readers of the parables that discipleship is not a game of ‘let’s pretend’; it’s a matter of life and death.”[iii]  The Bible is clear that one day Jesus will judge between the righteous and the unrighteous.  And while we cannot know who falls into which of those categories, it will happen. 

 

Illustration: Great Big Sea àConsequence free

 

Friends, there are consequences to our decisions. 

 Conclusion

 At the beginning of this message I spoke about how Jesus’ passion and purpose was the Kingdom of Heaven .  When he spoke about it, people changed.  “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…the Kingdom of Heaven is like…” Jesus proclaimed. 

 “It starts small but grows as I work in you to transform you, it demands a wholehearted, joyful response, leave the stuff of judgment to me.  You can be sure things will work out because I’m in control; my Kingdom always wins!” are Jesus’ passionate words to us.

 What are His words doing in you and to you today?  Amen.

 Notes and Bibliography

[i] All Scripture, unless otherwise noted, is taken from the New International Version of the Bible.

 

[ii]Richard Donovan’s “SermonWriter.com” ministry is intended to be a resource for ministers who occasionally find themselves snowed under by the rigors of ministry, and who need help with exegesis when preparing their sermon in the midst of the storm.  This week I have taken Richard up on his offer.  Much of the exegesis for this sermon has come from his work.  Although I have ordered it, worded it, and applied it in a manner exclusive to Zion Baptist Church , I take little credit for the exegesis.  

[iii] Brueggeman in Donovan, 6

 Tom and Christine Sine, Living on Purpose ( Grand Rapids , Michigan : Baker Books, 2002).