The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…
Matthew 13:31-35; 44-52
September 17, 2006
Introduction
As we go through the book of Matthew, we’ve had opportunity to witness Jesus in action, particularly in how He taught about the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven.
And over the last few weeks we’ve looked at how Jesus used parables to communicate to those around Him.
Parables were a tool Jesus used to bring truth and teach lessons to people, and he used them all the time.
In fact, although we aren’t focusing on that aspect today, we find a reference to His use of them here in our Scripture passage, Matthew 13, starting in verse 31 (page 691 of the Bibles in the seats).
In verses 34-35 we find the following –
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
"I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."
One of the more unique things about the gospel according to Matthew is that Matthew quotes Jesus using the phrase “kingdom of heaven” more than any of the other gospel authors.
Well, just what is the kingdom of heaven? I want to give you what I think is the best, most concise definition that I could find, and I’ve put it in your note-taking guide.
“The kingdom of heaven” is God ruling in the lives of his people.—New Century Version Dictionary
I really like that definition, because it just puts it at the bottom line, making it easier to understand for us.
It’s not about the time we’ll spend in heaven, it’s about the time we spend on earth, and that’s critically important, because if we don’t realize that, then we run the risk of becoming so heavenly minded that we’re of no earthly good.
Although that’s really only a risk if you’re heavenly minded to begin with!
I’ve mentioned a few times that we should be people who anticipate out time in heaven, but we also need to be people who reflect that anticipation to those who need Jesus.
The idea of my time with you this morning is just to go through five parables Jesus uses to describe the kingdom and those in it, and my hope is that in all of this, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for the kingdom.
As we go through this passage, I’m going to go it in reverse order, because I want to do something a bit different as we close, okay?
Just hang with me, and you’ll be okay. I want to start off by looking how Jesus ends this section. In verses 51-52 Jesus says that…
Those who teach about the kingdom are like…
…treasure collectors.
Verses 51-52 –
51 "Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked.
"Yes," they replied.
52 He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."
Why do I say treasure collectors? Because I couldn’t think of anything else. Not really. I didn’t want to just say “treasure hunters” because that might seem greedy.
But a collector generally likes to show off his or her collection. They’ve scraped and scrounged for it, and they want others to see the fruits of their labor.
Jesus equates these treasure collectors with those who teach the Word of God.
Sunday School and Wednesday night teachers, those who lead small groups, and yes, pastors, we have an obligation to seek to bring new treasures to our charges as well as the old, timeless teachings and principles of Scripture.
Just in case you didn’t know, pizza is my favorite food of all time. In my opinion, it’s very hard to go wrong with pizza, unless you make it with any kind of “fruit” toppings, or it’s one of those cold pizzas made with a pastry crust with cream cheese and kiwis for toppings. But I digress.
To me, pizza is good.
But even I can get tired of pizza, if that’s all I eat for a while. It takes a lot for that to happen, but it can, and it has, especially when I worked at Pizza Hut in Brookings.
So occasionally I would change things up and have spaghetti and (gasp!) a salad. And the change was good! I found out that I actually like salad sometimes.
You throw enough ketchup on something and you can make anything taste good, right?
What I’m saying here is that oftentimes we who are in positions where we present the Word of God to people tend to keep serving the same old thing.
The lesson: Scripture is alive and fresh, so we need to present it that way.
Is what you’ve been teaching all this time good? Probably.
But if we don’t change things up a bit once in a while, it can get old and stale, and our people will not enjoy it as much as they could with a little variety from time to time.
Which is why next week, I’ll be preaching in Swahili – which isn’t easy, since the only Swahili I’ve ever heard was on an episode of Star Trek, when Lt. Uhura had her memory erased and she lapsed back into her native language.
So I’ll be listening to language tapes all this week…
But today my hope is bring something out of this passage that you will enlightening even if you’ve read it many times before.
And in doing that, I want us to look at four ways Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven, and here’s the first one:
The Kingdom of Heaven is like…
…a net.
Verses 47-50 –
47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Yowza. Two weeks ago we looked at the parable of the weeds, which was a parable about judgment, and here’s another one.
Folks, there is just no getting around the fact that not everyone is going to heaven. Jesus makes it very clear all through the gospels.
And in this parable He’s saying it again. At the end of the age, there will be a sorting out of people as they approach their final destiny.
And Jesus says the process will be like sorting fish – keeping the right kind of fish and throwing out the wrong kind.
Like separating walleye from carp – or lutefisk.
The lesson here is that the kingdom will only be made up of those who truly belong to Christ.
The kingdom of heaven is like a net. But the kingdom of heaven is also like…
…treasure.
Verses 44-46 –
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
I’m combining these because they are so similar and give the same basic message:
The kingdom is of such great value that one should be willing to give up all he has in order to gain it.
The lesson is that the kingdom is worth everything I have and everything I have to go through in order to possess it.
Folks, it’s my opinion that most believers have no idea what they’ve really got their hands on.
They get their fire insurance for heaven, but have no real love for the one who paid the ultimate price for that place in heaven.
And they miss out on the full and abundant life Jesus has for those who are sold out to Him. And not just for themselves, but also the enjoyment of fellowshipping with those who love Christ as well.
We don’t treasure it enough, and I think that if more believers would come to the point where they treasure Christ and His kingdom, we’d have an impact like the world has never seen.
What did Jesus say we’re supposed to be seeking? His kingdom and His righteousness.
And what’s the result of that? He’ll supply everything we need on earth – food, clothing, and everything else we need.
And just to let you know, I need help in this area at times, as well. I’m human, and I get distracted from my devotion to Christ and His kingdom.
My prayer for you and me is that I will be continually brought back to treasuring the kingdom.
The kingdom of heaven is like a net, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure, and now let’s look at the fact Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like…
…yeast.
Verse 33 –
33 He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
Some facts about yeast that I didn’t know:
> Yeast is a fungus.
> As little as two pounds of yeast starter can raise 500 pounds of bread dough.
> Too much yeast is hazardous to the health of Sea Monkeys. (Source: Captain’s Universe – www.captain.at/artemia-nyos-sea-monkeys.php)
Usually in Scripture, and particularly in the words of Jesus, yeast is a bad thing – Jesus uses it to describe evil and unclean things, particularly as contained in the teachings of the Pharisees.
But here, Jesus uses it as a symbol of growth. As yeast permeates a batch of dough, so the kingdom of heaven spreads through a person’s life. Or it may signify the growth of the kingdom by the inner working of the Holy Spirit (using God’s Word). (NIV Reflecting God Study Bible)
How many people here like fresh bread – straight out of the oven? I can’t get enough of that. I love letting butter just melt into that warm bread, or even peanut butter. Mmmm-mmmm. Mucho yummy.
One of the greatest sites while I was in high school was to come home and find my step-mom making bread from scratch.
And that dough would rise and rise, and it was pretty cool. Then she’d stick her hands in there and it would all collapse. And I knew that it was going to be a fine supper that night.
What made it rise? The yeast that had worked its way through the dough. A few fungi had a massive effect on the dough.
And it affected not only the rising, but also the taste and texture of the bread.
The lesson here is that we need to allow the kingdom to grow within us as we seek to allow it to grow around us.
Let the “yeast” of the kingdom work its magic in you.
The kingdom of heaven is like a net. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, and according to Jesus, the kingdom of heaven is like…
…a mustard seed.
Verses 31-32 –
31 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
Mustard seeds aren’t the smallest seeds in the world. But it was the smallest seed used by farmers and gardeners where Jesus lived, which is why Jesus said it was the smallest of “your” seeds.
And under the right conditions the mustard plant could reach 10-15 feet in height.
You can’t see it from here, but this is a mustard seed. I got it last night at the grocery store.
According to one website, it takes about 20,000 seeds to weigh an ounce.
To look at this seed, you wouldn’t think it could grow to a plant as tall as this sanctuary. But it does.
What’s that got to do with anything? It relates to the basic meaning of the parable: that though the kingdom of God would start off small, it would grow to be huge.
It started with Jesus, of course, and by the time He ascended to heaven, there were about 120 disciples, led by the remaining 11 apostles.
Now there are billions of people who call themselves Christians, but many more who don’t.
But one day, the kingdom of God will be revealed in all its glory, and it’ll be huge, both in numbers and in its impact around the world.
So here’s the lesson I want you to get from this parable: God’s plan for expanding the kingdom is still moving forward, and will ultimately come to glorious fruition.
Conclusion
I have something for you today. I have a mustard seed in a little communion cup.
I’m sorry I couldn’t get something a little fancier, but I didn’t get the idea until last night, so oh well…
Anyway, inside each little cup is one mustard seed. It’s covered with tape, so if you shake it, it’ll stick to the tape. That’s okay.
One of the fascinating things in my opinion about this little thing is that as small as these cups are, it’s still hard to see the seed at first.
As you leave today, my daughters will have these for you to take with you. Take one if only so that my daughters don’t feel bad after putting all that work into these, okay?
My hope is that you’ll stick it somewhere where you can see it occasionally, and that it would give you cause to pray that the kingdom would grow quickly and strongly, and that Aberdeen Wesleyan Church would embrace its part in it.
If you want, you can take the seed out and put it in something else. I don’t care. The container isn’t the issue – the seed is.
But just put it somewhere you can see it.
Folks, the kingdom of heaven is, in my opinion, something we don’t appreciate enough or take seriously enough.
I hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will use our time together today to deepen your appreciation and commitment to it.
Don’t just push these parables off as nice little similes that Jesus came up with. Take them to heart. Let the kingdom become an essential part of your being, affecting everything about you.
Let’s pray.
