Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
The Parable of the Leaven
33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth,separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”
They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
In this era of breaking news I admit that I watch the state and county dashboard looking for the next update, breaking news, xyz number of new cases for the state of Texas, or Galveston County. Breaking news, a new stimulus package has been approved.
Matthew is called the church friendly gospel because it puts the church in a good light. Jesus doesn’t get as upset with the disciples as he does in say the gospel according to Mark. This passage we read together is a part of the third discourse in Matthew, often called the parabolic discourse. Jesus gives a lot of parables when he teaches so that he can use plain language for plain people making it easier for them to understand. He also spends a lot of time talking about the Kingdom of heaven, the kingdom is important to Jesus as a matter of fact in Matthew chapter 4 one of the first things he says after coming out of the wilderness is that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Something that is both already and not yet. The work of Jesus is done, but Jesus is also coming back again. The order of the kingdom has been set, but Christ coming in his final victory is on the way. Already and not yet, kind of like watching a blowout in the early part of the game, you know who is going to win in the end, it just hasn’t happened yet.
The order has been set but there are still some things to be done and Jesus is trying to explain it over and over, in Matthew chapter 13, he uses several examples talking about mustard seeds and yeast, merchants, fish on and on. The interesting thing is that there is some bad mixed in with the good we want to see in all these examples. A mustard seed is small, can almost be forgotten, leaven is representative of evil, oh yes the leaven during the Bible times was bread that was sat to the side and left to spoil, then they take that spoiled bread and mix it in with bread they are trying to break. Not enough leaven and the bread is no good. Too much leaven and everybody has food poisoning. The fish that are mentioned, the word literally means rotten in the Greek. Merchants don’t have a good reputation either, during the Bible times merchants had a reputation similar to used car salesmen now, all these parables have something in common, there is some bad mixed in with the good, and there is going to be some separation coming soon. I think about that when I look at today, there is some bad mixed in with the good, that is why we are still having a public health crisis as we speak in this country.
Bad mixed in with good, you can say that about a lot of things, this world is some bad mixed in with good, the church is some bad mixed in with some good. Sometimes though it will seem like the bad outweighs the good, that the good is so small that it can’t make a difference.
The good news is that God can take what little you have and do more with it than you ever could. God will provide the increase, you just have to use what little you have for him. That small amount of leaven in the text makes for three measures of bread. Three measures is over 10 gallons today, that is enough bread for 100-150 people. The mustard seed although small and sometimes forgotten can make a bush that can grow 10-15 feet tall. The things that the rest of the world may see as worthless has value to you and God and that is all that matters. The men in the text went fishing and pulled out a great haul. If God gave you the vision go forth with that vision even if the world around you seems against you. If you know God and you know your stuff it will be alright. Pearls were in held in high regard during the Bible times and now.
That hidden treasure is salvation, it may not be valuable in everybody else’s mind but it is important to us. We have to be like the scribes that Jesus mentioned as well. The scribes were people who knew the word of God. They had to because they would copy it. We ought to know our word as well. Spend time with the Lord, spend time with his word.
There will be some separation, the good news is that there is still time to turn your life over to Jesus. God loves you, God wants what is good for you.
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