Welcome to Week 3 of this series, blogging through "Storyteller", the newest free Bible study from Sarah Koontz at livingbydesign.org.
Our week kicks off with Matthew 13: 33, 44 - 52, the parables of the yeast, the pearl, the hidden treasure, the storehouse, and the fishing net ...
Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Do you understand all these things?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
Then He added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”
These five parables are grouped together here because they all share a common theme - the Kingdom of God.
All five parables also highlight the importance of faithful and sacrifice in the life of the Believer. "Each parable gives insight into the kingdom and establishes an appropriate response to Christ’s teaching," (Sarah Koontz).
I won't go into detail about all five parables in this post, but I'll highlight a few things that stood out for me.
Firstly, the parable of the yeast, which is possibly Jesus' shortest parable ... In this parable, Jesus compares the kingdom to a small amount of yeast (Matthew13: 33).
At first when you mix yeast into bread dough, it isn’t very noticeable. But given time to prove, a small amount eventually produces a large result. In the same way, the Kingdom of God starts off small and seemingly inconspicuous, but it grows into something large and spectacular.
This notion of "small beginnings" would have surprised and likely dismayed Jesus’ listeners. They were hoping for a Messiah who would lead the Jewish people to a great military victory over the Romans, making them an independent nation, with the power of David’s kingdom and the wealth of Solomon’s.
This parable also doesn't describe a future golden age. Rather, it describes the Kingdom of God existing for many years before the return of Christ, and it describes a long, slow growth process.
What Jesus' listeners - and many of us anxious for change in this world - miss is the truth that the Kingdom of God isn't just a seed, and neither is it just a fully grown plant. It's the while story all at once — something small that grows into something incredibly vast and powerful.
The second parable I want to talk about is the parable of the fishing net (Matthew 13: 47 - 50).
This parable reminded me of last week's reading of the parable of the wheat and the weeds - the Kingdom of God gathers in both "good" and "bad" people. The message of the Gospel of Chist is given to both, and they live together and are given a chance to change and grow. However, only some of those who hear the Word become true Believers. Eventually, the time comes when judgment is made, and God keeps those who have accepted and followed His Son. He loves the "bad fish" ... He seeks them just as earnestly as He seeks those who choose Him, and He wants them to be saved. In His great mercy, Father God gives each person time to respond to His love, but eventually there is a day of judgment.
That's what the kingdom of God is like.
These parables end with the day of judgment, but they start long before then. When Jesus described the kingdom, He wasn't describing the world after His return, but rather, the world in this age, the age in which we hear the Gospel, choose to respond, and choose to be faithful.
Though trials will come our way, and the weeds will try to choke our faith and the sun will try to scorch our serving, we need to keep our eyes on the goal!! The worries of this life will challenge us, but we must not allow them to distract us. Through faith we enter the kingdom of God, and through faithfulness, we stay in the kingdom of God, and through faith, we bear fruit for the kingdom.
As Jesus teaches in the parable of the hidden treasure (Matthew 13: 44), "Christ’s Kingdom is the most valuable gift humankind has ever received," (Sarah Koontz).
But this great gift also implies a task and a responsibility, assigned to those who find it ... the task to grow our knowledge and understanding of the Kingdom, the Word, and the King; and the responsibility to share this Treasure with others - as many others as we can, "especially now that the day of His return is drawing near," (Hebrews 10: 25b NLT).
Please share your thoughts on these five Kingdom parables in the comments - I would love to hear which ones caught your attention.