The Parables of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
The 13th Chapter of Matthew contains seven parables of Jesus which each begins with the words” The Kingdom of Heaven is like….” Two of these parables, the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the wheat and Tares were given separate treatment in the Lectionary. Todays text groups the remaining five, The Parable of the Mustard Seed, The Parable of the Leaven, The Parable of the Hidden Treasure, The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, and The Parable of the Dragnet. There are some similarities between some of the parables as well as some differences. But as a whole, they together give us a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us take a look into these five parables and try to discern what Jesus was teaching them, and us.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed takes a lesson from common experience. Unlike the mustard which gives flavor to meant and salads, the mustard tree was a common weed in Palestine. It was, therefore, considered a trash tree. This is unlike the Pearl of Great Price or the hidden treasure. No one would sell everything he had to buy a mustard tree. So why does Jesus tell the parable? At one level, one of the characteristics of the mustard was it’s tiny seeds. It is heard to believe that such a tiny sed could produce this large shrub which could give shelter to the great birds. One might summarize this with one of our proverbs: “Great things come from small beginnings. If this is followed here, it is an illustration of how the church would grow to great size by the work of the disciples and those who followed them. This will certainly preach. But I would like to bring out a little more in this parable. Although the mustard tree was useless to the Jews, it was quite useful for the birds. The birds built their nests there and raised their young. Generally speaking, most birds were unclean and useless to the Jews for food. The birds who nested in the mustard probably were. The Gentiles were likely held to be unclean as well. Could this be an allusion to the Gentiles coming to find rest in the tree. It was a different tree than the palms, figs, and olives which characterized Israel. But we are reminded that God told Peter to not call unclean that which God has cleansed. The inclusion of the Gentiles into the new Israel is a major theme in Matthew. Jews and Gentiles would be incorporated into a new tree.
The Parable of the Leaven has a twist in it as well. Leaven was often used as a metaphor for sin. One could use the action of leaven as a warning to not let little sins go unchecked, as they will become the gateway to greater sins. The Jews at Passover would carefully search for and remove all leaven in the house before the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were directly commanded by God to do so in the Book of Exodus. But leaven was useful as well when taken in its normal sense. It made bread tastier and fluffy. The Jews certainly enjoyed their leavened bread for most of the year. Unleavened bread was dry and tough. The purpose of it was to remind Israel that life was once hard. At the Passover, they remembered the bondage of their ancestors, and it was the grace of God who had delivered them from Egyptian slavery. The leavened bread reminded them that they had to prepare to leave quickly on Passover Night. There was no time for the bread to rise. The bitter herbs reminded them of the bitterness of slavery as well. The rest of the year, the leavened bread was received with thanksgiving and joy. Life could be harsh, so the taste of warm bread was a treat.
Jesus uses leaven in a positive way in this parable. It mirrors the mustard seed in that yeast is tiny. Compared to three measures of bread, it was a small ingredient. Usually a little dough was left unbaked so the yeast culture could grow. A piece of this old batch of dough was added to the new dough. The bread would be thoroughly mixed so the yeast could do its work. Soon the entire batch of dough rose and was ready to be baked. Like the mustard seed, one can see that great things would come from small beginnings. What is added is that a little of the old would be mixed in with the new to produce the final result. It would be one lump of Jew and Gentile together. If one follows the Parable of the Wheat and Tares as well as the dragnet, the Kingdom of Heaven would come into its fullness at the end of the age.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure again reinforces the idea of the hiddenness of the Kingdom. To the average person, all they saw was a plain field. It might have some value in itself, but its true value was hidden from sight. If they only knew the treasure the field contained! How this man discovered the treasure is not told. All we know is that he found it. He had to have this field, so he sold everything to buy it. No one else would have done this, but the man knew a secret. I just wonder how he contained his joy until he had the deed in hand. It is important not to press parables too hard. Jesus was not saying to keep the secret to one’s self. In fact Jesus says otherwise in both these seven parables and in all the Gospels. What the parable is teaching is that the Gospel was so valuable to him that he was willing to part with everything he had to obtain it. There is a cost to discipleship, sometimes a great cost. But the reward is worth the loss.
The Pearl of Great Price is like the former parable. Like that man, he in his course of acting like a merchant came across an extremely valuable pearl. What is different is that as a merchant, both buyer and seller know how valuable pearls were. The value in this case was out in the open. Yet, this merchant knew he had to have that pearl. I would suppose as a pearl merchant that he had many valuable pearls. He may have had other great possessions. He had to liquidate everything to get it. This shows the great value of the Kingdom. What I think this emphasizes is that there are a lot of teachers out there. There are a lot of good things. Yet one must sacrifice good things for the better.
The last parable is that of the dragnet. Fishing could be done one of two ways, with a hook and with a net. Jesus commanded Peter to cast a hook to bring up the coin to pay the taxes. But fishing with nets was more common. Large numbers of fish can be brough up with a net. The problem is that nets do not discriminate. There were a lot of trash fish brought up with the good. After bringing the net on board. The good fish had to be gathered and the bad thrown back. Net fishing was exhausting work. This is the way the disciples were to spread the Gospel. I have heard so many preachers who talk evangelism as though it was bait fishing with a hook. This says that we should use deception to win people to Jesus. However, we must realize that deception is the work of Satan and not God. The kind of fishing we are to do is net fish. Just preach the pure gospel to everyone and let come what may. God is in charge of the increase. And the angels will do the sorting too. We have a part in the growing of the Kingdom. The sower did not till the ground. Nor did he add fertilizer. He simple cast the seed everywhere. Not all of the soil would be conducive to bring forth fruit, but that was not his job. We are either called to plant or water, but God gives the increase.
To sum up the parables, we can conclude, first of all, there will be a kingdom. It was not a great kingdom as worldly people understand kingdoms. It would start mainly with Jesus and mostly common fisherman. Yet there was hidden treasure in the message. There was no splendor and glory yet, just hard work, discipleship, rejection and even cross-bearing. But the kingdom of Heaven will come in splendor. The kingdoms of this world are but common pearls in comparison. It was worth, as Luther notes, “Let goods and kindreds go, this mortal life also. The body they can kill….” All of this is rendered to dust in comparison.
The parables also tell us that we need to evangelize. This is summed up at the end of the Gospel. “when you have gone out (to the Gentiles), make disciples of all the Gentiles (nations), baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” This Gospel is not to be added to, nor diminished. It is to be as it has been said: “The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
The Gospel contains elements both old and new. Jesus grounds the Gospel squarely in the Scripture, what is called the Old Testament. There has been a tendency to diminish the Old Testament and relegate it to times past or to the Jews. But the LORD spoke those words as much as He did on the Sermon on the Mount. The “It has been said,” as far as it directly quotes the Old Testament stands alongside the words: “But I say unto you….” This is one treasure both old and new.
Last of all, we need to persist in our work and not grow discouraged. The church had humble beginnings, and great things came. And an even greater future awaits all of us, even if it looks like the church here (in the US) is in sharp decline and elsewhere suffering great persecution. So let us go on as good Christian soldiers unto victory.
