The Parables of the Kingdom of God [part 3]

      The Kingdom is further compared to a treasure which a man accidentally stumbles upon and a pearl of great price which a man pursues. Either case the Kingdom is something costly and of tremendous value, though some accidentally stumble over it and others seek and find it. In both cases the person recognizes it's great value.  At once he makes arrangements to acquire it. He sells everything he has and acquires the land containing the treasure or the pearl of great value.
       So it is with the Kingdom. In order to enjoy it's greater treasures and greater value it brings to our life, we have to part with the comparitively cheaper things which we have acquired in this world. This exchange is essential for enjoying the treasures and joys of the Kingdom of God. Those who acquire spiritual treasures do so sacrificing the worldly and sinful ones. The parting with the one to acquire the other; the pating of the lower to acquire the higher; the parting of the earthly to enjoy the heavenly; the parting of the temporal to enjoy the eternal is as natural as giving up smoking and junk food for a healthy life.

The Parables of the Kingdom of God [part 2]

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

13:31 He gave ⁴³  them another parable: ⁴⁴  “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed ⁴⁵  that a man took and sowed in his field. 13:32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, ⁴⁶  so that the wild birds ⁴⁷  come and nest in its branches.” ⁴⁸ 

https://net.bible.org/#!bible/Matthew+13:31

The mustard seed is the smallest of seed but grows into a large plant. It was one of the largest garden plant on which birds could perch and take rest. Similarly the kingdom of God also has a small and obscure beginning. But it keeps growing and attains greatness as the largest of Spiritual movement in the world. It will also provide shelter and home to many. What started with Jesus, the one man, has now now grown into the largest spiritual movement in the world. The Church, para-church organizations and individual believers find make their eternal home in the kingdom of their father, God. Now the Kingdom is still growing and this parable prophecy is being fulfilled already, finds partial fulfillment as recorded in the annals of history. By the time Jesus comes back this prophecy will be perfectly fulfilled. The theme of the parable: Kingdom grows from obscurity to significance.

The Parable of the Yeast

13:33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with ⁴⁹  three measures ⁵⁰  of flour until all the dough had risen.” ⁵¹ 

^{https://net.bible.org/#!bible/Matthew+13:31}

"The leaven permeates all the "wheaten meal" (aleurou) till the whole is leavened." - Robertson Word Pictures of The New Testament

The leaven or the yeast is a living organism. It permeats the dough and transforms it. Similarly, 
the Kingdom of God will permeate the world, it will spread like leaven in a dough. As it spreads it will transform it. The World as it is today with all it's scientific and technological advances, individual freedoms, education system, nationhood etc have been build on the foundation of the Gospel of Christ and the worldview it furnished the people. The reason why culturally Christian countries are much better and preferred than culturally Islamic, Buddhist or Hindu countries is because the leaven of the Gospel has had it's effect. Even Human rights charter and the reconciliation movements are backed by theologies which are derived from the bible. Peace and prosperity is made possible by the leaven of the Gospel, whose God commanded human flourishing and dominion over the creation under human stewardship. 

The leaven continues to spread and transform. The Gospel as it arrived in cannibalistic Oceania and headhunting tribes of the northeast India and the savages of Europe transformed them into civilized people. The work goes on. Civil rights movements and the non-violent Gandhian movement for Indian independent were all fully influenced by Christ and his teachings. It as the leaven of the Gospel spreads it is transforming communities, cultures and civilizations as Jesus taught in this parable. 















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The Parables of the Kingdom of God [part 1]

The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13 records a series of  parables pertaining to the Kingdom of God. They talk about different aspects of the Kingdom of God. Kingdom of God refers to God's rule among men. 

    The greek word for kingdom is 'basileia'. It indicate the exertion of God's rule, authority and sovereignty and not geography. 
[1]http://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/columns/indepth/15062-jesus-christ-and-the-kingdom-of-god

"So, then, from this brief study, we see that the expression “Kingdom of God” does not refer to heaven or the church or the heart or to moral reform or to a future realm. Rather it refers to the active, dynamic exercise of God’s rule, authority, dominion, and power in the world!" [1]

So these parables in Matthew 13 are regarding the rule, power, authority and dominion of God in this world. 

     The first two parables uses seed and how they behave. One of the important aspect of the seed is it's potential. Even though it is small it can over time give rise to a large tree like banyan tree. It has in it the code for growth transcribed in it's DNA. But for the seed to grow favourable conditions are necessary. The soil, climate, water and a sower are necessary. 

     Here the sower is Jesus and then everyone who preaches and publishes by any means the message of Jesus, the Gospel. The sowing may happen through literature including books, e-books, internet websites, tracks, magazines; audio including preaching, sharing, debates, lectures;  Videos including  you tube videos, movies, DVDs.

The focus of Jesus' first parable is the land in which the seed is sown. Here the land refers to people. 
       The pathway refers to people without understanding. From these Satan easily takes away the seed. Without understanding neither the importance of the message and content of it, people are prone to neglect it. Imagine a treasure trove containing ancient manuscripts. If the man possessing it does not understand it's worth or it's importance he will neglect it and treat it like any other piece of old crap. If a man who understands the importance of the manuscript gets hold of it, then reaches a museum and enters the halls of scholars for further research.    If we do not understand something we cannot determine it's importance. We are more prone to neglect it because of our lack of understanding. The same applies here. When the word is communicated certain people don't understand or perceive it's importance because of prejudice and other sins, Satan takes away the message from their mind. He keeps them focused on what they were  already pursuing. Thus the seed or word, the potential bearer of the kingdom of God does not have any effect on their life.

       The rocky soil refers to people with hardened heart, who have willfully allowed sin to take hold of them, who justify sin or trivialize sin and evil. These people receive the word with joy, but the Gospel message does not take root deeply. It grows a little and when difficulties, pressures and persecution comes, they perish spiritually. They give up the Gospel under pressure, in stead of their sin, in stead of their life. Their acceptance of the gospel was real but not sustained. 

       The thorny soil are those allow the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth to choke their Spiritual life. The worry about future, worry about security, worry about being accepted by society and family, valuing wealth and material possession above God's Gospel values and principles. They could not accept the radical claim of the message to abandon one self to God alone for everything. They find it difficult submit to God and allow him to run their life. They try to settle the issues of life their own way, thus they contradict the word of God. The word of God and the message of the Gospel dispels all worry and sets a person up to pursue God and his kingdom. They pursue wealth as against God's kingdom and his righteousness. The deceitfulness of wealth makes them think falsely that the more the money, the better the life and security. Their trust in money keeps them from trusting God. Thus they fail to live according to the teaching of Christ and bear fruit. Their failure to accept and live out the word of God, which they do understand makes them barren and unproductive spiritually. These people need to repent and trust God and entrust their lives to God, if anything spiritually good has to come out of them. 

       The good soil refers to people who understand, accept and live out the Gospel. They submit to the word of God and it's demands. They allow God to work on them and take away anything that is stopping them from living out the word and bearing fruit. These people bear fruit and a harvest and allow the potential seed of the word of God to bring out it's potential, power and effect into this world. This is how the kingdom of God grows. The rule of God extends through every obedient Child and it is hindered in people with lack of understanding, lack of strength and courage and lack of full trust and submission to God. 

       The next parable immediately following this, talks about two different types of seed. One is the good seed and the other is weed seed or darnel. The darnel looks similar to wheat in it's early stages of development. The agents of God sow wheat and when they are asleep, the enemy sows darnel among them. Gospel is preached and false gospel is also preached. People accept whatever they want and in the early stages of a true Christian man's spiritual life, he does not look much different from any other man. But as the days go by, the one who received the seed grows and bears good harvest and the one who accepted the darnel produces more weeds, useless for consumption. So in order not to hurt the good ones, the master of the field, God, commands his agents to allow both the seeds and the weeds to grow side by side so that what cannot be differentiated in the beginning can be separated at the time of harvest. The wheat will be stored in barns and the weeds will be destroyed by fire. The true Christian and follower of God will enter the presence of God and the unbeliever and follower of falsity, religious or irreligious will be consumed by fire of God's judgement. Thus the kingdom of God grows among the weeds of the enemy. We as believers have to wait till the end as some of the weeds may be saved and tranformed into wheat. Hold your judgement for God is at work. He will separate the weeds only at the end. He has allowed the weed to grow among the wheat so that the weed can know and seek the truth and become wheat, useful and effective in fulfilling the purposes of God.