Matthew 13:31-33
The Parable of the mustard seed
& The Parable of the leaven
31" Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."
33 "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. "
The parable of the Mustard seed
Definition of The Kingdom of Heaven:
All of those who claim to be Christians, whether genuinely saved, or not. It is a picture of the Churchs, different doctrines, beliefs, denominations, etc...
I) The Tree
sinapi
mustard, the name of a plant which in oriental countries grows from a very small seed and attains to the height of a tree, 10 feet (3 m) and more; hence a very small quantity of a thing is likened to a mustard seed, and also a thing which grows to a remarkable size
The Growth of Christianity
It began with one.... Jesus
Isaiah 53:1-3 "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Jesus added the apostles who then began to multiply
The Sowing of the seed
Matthew 10:2-4 "2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
From twelve to Seventy
Luke 10:1 "1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come"
From Seventy to One hundred Twenty
Acts 1:13-15 "And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) "
To Thousands
Acts 2:41 "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. "
To Multitudes
Acts 5:14 "And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) "
Indeed the church that began as something small has grown to a remarkable size.
The inhabitants of the tree ( The Birds or fowls)
32 "Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."
Who are these birds?
Birds eat from the trees, the fruit. They build their nest in the tree. Yet they do nothing to promote its growth health or life. It takes from the tree and uses the tree.
Parable of the sower
"4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: "
"19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. "
Mark 4:15 "And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts."
The parable of the Sower also deals with the Kingdom of heaven and in it the birds or fowl are the "wicked one"
I see no reason since Jesus did not explain otherwise that these fowl are still representative of the wicked one. Lets consider this!!
When the church was beginning there was the influence of evil.
Mark 1:13 Jesus is tempted by Satan "And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him."
When there was twelve ther was an influence of evil.
Luke 22:3 " Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. "
As the church began to grow so did the influence of the wicked one within the church. That is why we have numerous warnings against false doctrines and false teachers.
Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."
Matthew 24:11 "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many."
24:24 " For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
2 Peter 2:1 "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."
1 John 4:1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
Jesus has given us a picture of how the kingdom of heaven has grown mightily but as a result of that growth the evil one is able to not just fly in and out, but build nest (lodge or live) within the church.
The second Parable
The Leaven
33 "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. "
We know what the kingdom of heaven is, but what is this leaven?
Unleavened bread is bread without what?
yeast, what does yeast do? it expands
Is leaven good or bad?
Lets look.
Leaven is the greek word; zume (dzoo’-may) which is a metaphore of inveterate mental and moral corruption, viewed in its tendency to infect others
Examples:
Matthew 16:6 "Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."
verse 12 he explains it "Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."
leaven is compared to false doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducces (those outside the Christian Church)
In first Corinthians Paul writes to them concerning their attitude toward open sin within the church (they gloried in it) 5:6-8 "6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
leaven is malice and wickedness within the Christian church
Paul writes to the Galatian church concerning those who are teaching false doctrine within the new Christian church (the Judaizers) who teach salvation by works.
5:7,8 "7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. 9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."
leaven is compared to the way false teachings spread through out the church.
There is nothing good about leaven in this parable
Jesus gives us this picture of how the kingdom of Heaven can be affected by a small amount of wickedness. It was hidden in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened. The church today is filled with false teachers, and false doctrines. It has permeated the whole church. We have denominations preaching salvation by works. We have groups whose man made doctrine takes precedent over that which is of God. We have prosperity churches who teach God wants you to be rich! We have false prophets and healers who are in it for the profit. We have social clubs dressed up as churches whose requirement is not faith in Christ but how much you can put in the collection plate. We have those who are looking for a way to avoid paying taxes and care nothing for the things of God.
We have two parables dealing with the kingdom of heaven. Both showing us along with the growth of Christianity comes the work of evil within the church.
For those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
In the words of 1 John 4:1 " Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
