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July 27, 2008
A Pair of a Pair of Parables
Matthew 13: 31-33 & 44-46
delivered on July 27th, 2008
In the past two weeks we have been looking at and seeking guidance from the longer and more developed parables in Matthew 13. Today we are going to look at 4 of the shorter parables in that chapter.
As we begin our delightful excursion into God’s word this morning, I would like to remind you of two things.
1. When Jesus spoke these words they were prophecies. The phenomena that these parables describe were just beginning to occur. In these parables Jesus was prophecieing how the kingdom of God on earth would grow until it became a part of the kingdom of God in heaven or in eternity.
2. The term “the Kingdom of Heaven” is Jesus’ term for the message that Jesus gave and the Salvation and forgiveness of sins that Jesus procured for us on the cross.
I think you can easily see that by subject matter these 4 parables are divided into 2 pairs. The parables of the Mustard seed and the Leaven describe the effects of the kingdom, (the message and work of Jesus) while the parables of the treasure and the pearl describe the responses that people will have to the Message and work of Jesus.
Some of you have noticed that many of Jesus’ parables could be described as agricultural parables, in that they refer to actions involved in the planting and growing of crops. In Jesus’ day and time, most people were involved in agriculture and all were close enough to fields to observe the methods and actions of growing and harvesting crops.
The first of our parables today is one of those agricultural parables. For the past two Sundays, we have been dealing with parables that described the planting of wheat or similar crops. This parable of the Mustard seed or mustard bush describes the phenomenon of amazing growth. While the growth of a wheat seed into a stalk or several stalks of wheat is something to be observed with awe, and while the growth of a kernel of corn into a tall corn stalk is magnificent, the growth of the mustard seed into a large, 10 foot tall bush or shrub is way beyond what you would have expected. A mustard seed is the smallest of the seeds that a Galilean or Judean farmer would plant. And yet it yielded the largest plant.
What Jesus was prophecieing in this parable was that his message and death and resurrection were a small seed that would grow into something huge. He was telling his apostles and others who would believe in and follow him that they were just the small beginnings of something that would have global implications.
But this little parable deals with more than just the growth of the kingdom of God on earth. It also describes its effect on some of the people around the world.
Jesus said that the mustard plant was so large that birds would make nests in its branches. In the teachings of Jewish Rabbis, the gentiles were sometimes described as birds.
In this detail Jesus was predicting that the kingdom of God on earth would offer shelter and refuge for people of many nations other than Israel. Within 100 years of the day on which these words were spoken, there were more gentile Christians than there were Jewish Christians and gentiles have been in an ever increasing majority ever since.
We live in an age where this parable has become a reality. Christianity has become one of the major religions of this world. People from all over the world have come to Christ and his church. But Jesus has not yet returned. We are to still be planting those tiny seeds of faith in our children and their children and in people around the world. The Gospel of the Salvation of Jesus still needs to be planted and to grow some more.
The second parable we are looking at this morning describes another aspect of the growth of the kingdom of God.
Jesus said that the kingdom of God, was like leaven. Leaven is that starter dough that you mix into the ingredients of bread dough to make it rise and to change the character of the other ingredients. It actually has a form of mold within it that begins a fermentation process.
In Judiasm, Leaven had become a symbol for corruption. During the Passover celebration Jewish families get rid of all the leaven in their homes so they can celebrate the Passover properly. So it is rather surprising that Jesus would use a symbol of corruption for his kingdom.
He was of course trying to describe the kind of changes that his gospel, his kingdom would bring into the nations and the people of this world. The gospel has a way of changing lives and cultures. Jesus was saying that this movement that began with the preaching and death and resurrection of one person would become an incredible life changing and world changing force. And it has.
There is a story about a woman who was being ridiculed because she said she believed that Jesus had actually changed water into wine. When asked how she could believe such a thing she said, “My Husband used to spend most of his pay check in the bar. I had a hard time feeding my children with what was left. Then my husband became a Christian and stopped spending all our money in the bar and we now have plenty of food to eat. In my family, Jesus turned whiskey into bread and meat, so I don’t think turning water into wine would be very difficult for him.
Some of you have known changes like this in your lives or in the lives of people you know or love. Thanks be to God for his life changing Word.
But some in this world see God’s kingdom as a corrupting influence. In some places, Christians have been considered enemies of the state. In some contexts we have been considered weak or weak minded. In some times we have been considered to be corruptors of youth.
Maybe Jesus used leaven as a symbol for his kingdom because the changes it would bring would not always be welcome in this world.
The last two parables we will look at deal with the value of the Christ’s kingdom and show us the proper response to it.
Both the parables of the treasure and the Pearl portray the kingdom of Heaven even in its earthly form as of immense value. The difference in the two parables lies in the status of the ones who find the kingdom.
In the parable of the Treasure, the one who finds it is presumably a tenant farmer who has no higher aspirations than paying the rent and taking care of his family. Then one day as he is working in his rented field, he finds a valuable treasure. In Palestine this was not unheard of. Palestine or Israel is a land that has often been invaded and residents have often had to flee for their lives. Sometimes they could not take their treasures with them so they hid them hoping to someday return and recover them. This man found such a treasure. So he went and gathered all the possessions he had accrued from his entire lifetime and sold them so he could buy that field and claim that treasure.
This parable is not a morality parable, it is not intended to encourage us to hide treasures from their rightful owners until we cam claim them as ours. The parable simply demonstrates the normal response to something as valuable as the kingdom of God that comes to us through the words and deeds of Jesus.
The parable of the pearl merchant and collector is similar to the parable of the Treasure. It also offers some local flavor. Israel or Palestine was in those days on several important trade routes. Palestine is a land bridge between Africa and Europe and Asia. Merchants caravans carrying valuable and rare commodities were not uncommon. Here we have one of these merchants who is searching for the perfect pearl. He is not just surviving with no higher aspirations like the guy who found the treasure. This man is a searcher. He is searching for something of great value. And when he finds it, he is willing to sell all his other pearls and everything else he has to buy that one pearl.
The focus of these two parables is on the value of the prize and the willingness of the finder to sacrifice everything to possess it.
How much do you value what Christ has done for you? Do you value his death and forgiveness as being of greater value than anything else in your life?
Some of us were searching for what we found in Christ. Some of us stumbled on it. It was in our homes as we were growing up. Some of us had to spend some time and effort searching before Christ found us.
What God has done for us in Christ is like a tiny seed that grows to something huge that offers shelter to those who land in it.
What God has done for us in Christ is like leaven, it may at times be suspected of being moldy, but it has changed the world and it can still change lives and societies.
What God has done for us in Christ is of more value than all of our accomplishments or possessions all put together. We should treat this great gift with care, reverence, and honor. It is the most precious thing we will ever have. It is with us in this life in all good and bad times. And it will take us into God’s marvelous eternal kingdom.
Next Sunday we will gather here to honor our Lord’s sacrifice for us by eating and drinking His Holy Supper. I would like you to prepare yourselves this week by asking yourself if you really value Christ’s salvation as your greatest possession, and if so, what you can do to demonstrate that to others and to God.
Posted by faithpres at July 27, 2008 02:30 PM