The Misunderstood Kingdom

This morning we’re going to read nearly a chapter of Matthew, and we have good reasons to do it.

The thirteenth chapter of Matthew is a masterpiece. They represent a complex braid of scenes and stories and bits of dialogue that, woven together nicely, paint a striking portrait of the misunderstood Kingdom of Christ.

It’s really a lovely piece of writing. And you can’t quite grasp the whole without seeing how the parts work together.

Now we began exploring this passage last week. If you weren’t here, that’s okay.

Here’s a quick summary of what we learned:

We explored why Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. We discovered that parables work a bit like fables when for his followers, and a bit like riddles for the crowds. In other words, parables are a tool in the hands of Jesus to accomplish the will of God. For those with hardened hearts, they hide the truth in plain sight. But for those whose eyes have been opened, parables reveal the hidden secrets of the kingdom.

We explored how Matthew’s writing illustrates that point nicely. We noted that Jesus leaves the crowds without understanding and leads his followers into the lake house in order to reveal the secrets of the kingdom. The audience shifts dramatically, from thousands on the beach to a few on the dusty lake house floor. So the sandy crowds and the dusty disciples operate as metaphors. And these scenes begin to shift our expectations about the kingdom, and illuminate the teachings of Jesus.

What we haven’t yet explored are the parables themselves.

Four stories, told in quick succession. Each of them seems to have something to say about the Kingdom. But how do they work together? And what do they mean? And how should they change the way we think and the way we live? That’s the work of this morning.

So I want to begin by reading each parable again, and then we’ll tackle the parables in turn. Because we covered a lot of this chapter last week, I’m going to jump over a few sections, so follow with me on the screen.

Matthew 13:3–9

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Matthew 13:18–23

“Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Matthew 13:24–30

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Matthew 13:31–33

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Matthew 13:36–43

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

We noticed last week that the disciples didn’t hesitate to ask the Teacher for help to understand his stories. So I can’t help but think that the best first step is to do the same. Let’s pray.

First Impressions

Okay. A few first impressions.

First - all of these stories revolve around situations that everybody understands. This is an agrarian society, which is a fancy way to say that most people work with their hands on farms and in fields. And it’s no exaggeration to say that every child in the crowd would be familiar with seeds sown and wheat fields, weeds and gardens, leaven and flour.

And I think that’s worth highlighting for a handful of reasons.

Because God is always in the business of teaching. And we’re rarely in the business of listening. How many times in the Psalms, or in the gospels, or in Paul’s writing, or in the Proverbs, does God’s word direct our attention to things we see every single day, with the basic expectation that we’ll have thought about them? Simple things, everyday things ought to point us to the profound, to the divine. We should see the flowers and think about God’s provision. We should see the fields and think about gospel opportunities. We should see the sun rising and reflect on God’s steadfast love. How much of your life is merely background? That’s a problem.

Because Jesus’ teaching is approachable. He expects and invites children, he addresses farmers and smiths and servants. Yes, he disrupts our expectations. Yes, he forces us to reconsider the scripture. But he does it simply, with words that everybody understands and ideas that everyone’s familiar with. I think that we should model this in our teaching. We should labor to understand so profoundly that we can articulate that understanding simply.

Jesus’ generation saw a wide chasm between the religious elite and the common people. The students of popular rabbis were expected to have the Torah memorized. From youth they were set apart from the crowds, driven with back-breaking discipline to know the law, to have answers for every theological question, to draw broad fences around the law and to abide by them, to rigorously avoid the unclean and associate only with the holy. They were, in a word, set apart from the common man. This was high society. And Jesus could have entered in to that society, engaged with this society, taught like they taught, held to their social distinction. But he didn’t. When we encounter the Pharisees in Jesus’ ministry, they’re coming to him. And that just seems like Jesus, doesn’t it? The Son of God stepped down, took on flesh, humbled himself, was born in a barn, son of a carpenter. That’s the inverse of the Pharisee’s model of ministry. And that’s what your ministry and service and faith should look like. If your ministry looks more like that of the Pharisees, rather than that of the Christ, you should make some changes because you’re in bad company.

Okay. With that said, let’s dive in to the first parable. Pick up at Matthew 13:3

Matthew 13:3–9

A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

There’s literally no guesswork here, because Jesus provides an interpretation, which we’ll read in a moment. But before that, a few notes.

What’s described here is called broadcast sowing. It was basically the way to sow fields in ancient Palestine. It’s not difficult to imagine. Strapped to the sower’s shoulder is a sackcloth of grain, typically barley or wheat. As the sower paces through his field, he pulls handfuls of seed and scatters them broadly — to give ample opportunity for as many seeds as possible to plant roots in good soil.

The seeds which land on the path require no explanation. Casting seeds on the edge of a field would naturally lead to grain falling on beaten paths, and these would have no opportunity to bear fruit.

But the shallow soil that Jesus refers to is a common scenario in Galilee, where the bedrock is often close to the surface. Because the ground remains warm in these cases, seed would quickly sprout, but wither as soon as the temperature rose, as they hadn’t access to water.

In the case of the third soil, the problem isn’t so much the ground but the surroundings. Fertile soil draws all sorts of vegetation, some of which is hostile to the wheat or barley - as they’re competing for sunlight and moisture. In the case of thorns, these competing plants are soaking up moisture, casting shade, and literally choking the crops as a parasitic vine.

I’m just assuming that, like me, you’re not entirely aware of how much grain a well-rooted plant should yield. What you need to know is that 100 fold is a crazy huge harvest. This is actually represented in Genesis, wherein Isaac plants a harvest among the Philistines and the text remarks that at harvest he yielded 100 fold. It was such an extraordinary harvest that it’s one of a relatively small handful of events that Moses reflects on in Isaac’s life. But even thirty-fold is a really great year.

The Sower, Explained

Okay, so let’s move on to Jesus’ explanation of the story.

Matthew 13:18–23

“Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Okay. So at this point it’s important to pay attention to what Jesus says represents what. Because not a few readers step away confused.

The seed represents the word of the kingdom. It’s the gospel. And you shouldn’t have a hard time imagining what this seed-casting looks like. Because’s we’ve been watching Jesus’ ministry unfold. Gospel proclamation in every corner of the promised land. He’s been preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and we’ve reflected on that mission since chapter four of Matthew’s gospel — “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In fact, John’s message and Jesus’ message seem to be indistinguishable. They’re both preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. So we have two living, breathing examples that serve as real-life antecedents to this “sower.”

And just like Jesus and just like John, this sower is scattering the seed of the word generously. And it falls on all sort of hearts.

That’s the second relationship that Jesus establishes. Those who hear the word are represented by soil. This is where sometimes we get a bit confused. Because we like to think about the hearers as the plants. But that isn’t the story that Jesus tells. The seed is the word, and the rooted plant is the word maturing in fertile soil — in softened hearts, and the fruit produced is the result of the word, fully matured in fertile soil, fostering faithful works in the lives of God’s people. The word, rooted and active in the softened hearts of men, unrestrained by the temptations of the flesh, is what bears fruit. In this word picture, the crop is the word at work.

You’re not the wheat here, you’re the soil.

So the question becomes, what sort of soil am I? There are four types of soil mentioned.

In the first case, the soil is hardened. This, Jesus says, represents those who hear and don’t understand. And we can surmise, from the context of this passage, that the failure to understand doesn’t relate to the complexity of the message, but rather to the willfully blind eyes and the willfully stopped-up ears of those with hardened hearts.

In the second case, the soil seems to be fertile, but because of hardened, rocky ground beneath it cannot root. So as soon as the heat builds, it withers. Jesus explains that many will receive the word of the kingdom with joy, but that joy will be overcome by “tribulation and persecution.” As the word of God falls on many hearts like these, a joyful response and what seems to be rapid growth are illusory. Because the hardened bedrock beneath that apparently fertile soil is just as impenetrable as that beaten path we just discussed.

From an agricultural point of view, both the beaten path and the rocky ground are equally useless.

The third soil is fertile enough, and the seed develops strong roots. Yet the thorns surrounding that seed choke the crop so that it produces no fruit. Jesus says that these thorns represent “the cares of the world” and “the deceitfulness of riches.”

The point here is simple. Hearts that harbor the cares of this world don’t have room for the hope of the gospel.

Notice something. At face value, this isn’t heinous sin, or at lease it doesn’t seem so to me. This doesn’t seem like family-ruining adultery. This doesn’t seem like life-crippling alcohol addiction or career-ruining corporate embezzlement. This seems like distraction. This seems like a vague interest in yet another promotion, maybe joining that boating club, maybe upgrading that television. Maybe a longer vacation, a more exotic winter trip. This seems like the distant promises of this world that haunt the tempted heart. And it suffocates gospel hope.

You can’t serve two masters. You can’t foster in your heart a hope for the world’s wares, and a hope for kingdom citizenship.

So clearly, the first and the second soil were worthless. But what about this one?

To the farmer, is the crop that grows high and green, yet bears no fruit, any help at all?

No. It isn’t. To this point, every seed that’s been cast has failed.

And that’s half the point of this parable. As Jesus tells this story, we’re supposed to question the judgment of that sower. Because he’s not exactly batting a thousand. Every seed that’s cast, thus far, is lost. These are missed opportunities. In each case, it seems like it would have been better for the sower not to cast the seed at all.

Yet watch what happens with the fertile soil.

Thirty fold. Sixty Fold. One Hundred Fold. An extraordinary yield, a life-changing yield.

This is what happens when the gospel roots in hearts with eyes that see, ears that hear, hearts that understand.

Hearts that understand.

Note that Jesus only acknowledges “understanding” in the hearts that aren’t hardened, that aren’t shallow, that aren’t tempted by the pleasures of the world.

Look back at the prophecy of Isaiah, a few verses prior to these.

Matthew 13:14–15

Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”

That’s the context of Jesus’ teaching. So what’s unique about the fourth soil?

Understanding.

And what’s the path to understanding?

Open eyes, hearing ears, softened hearts.

You’ll notice if you read enough about this passage that some scholars attempt to ask the question, “Which of these soils is actually saved?” And the presupposition behind that question is that many people believe but don’t bear fruit. The idea is that you can know the gospel and love Christ but be overcome by your situation, by the idols in your hearts. And a lot of people think that these people are saved, they’re just not given as great a reward as those believers who bear fruit.

So listen. No disrespect. But that’s a piss-poor reading of this passage.

Jesus is a careful teacher. And Matthew is a careful writer. So when Jesus, citing the prophet Isaiah, clarifies that the prerequisite to true understanding is open eyes, ears that hear, a softened heart, and when Jesus says that the gospel that bears fruit is planted exclusively in the heart that truly understands, there isn’t any more room for speculation.

Fruit is what happens when open eyes see Christ. Fruit is what happens when ears that hear listen to the gospel. Fruit is what happens when softened hearts encounter the gospel of the Kingdom. Always.

So if you’re out there feeling comforted because you’ve said a prayer, or because you believe some things about Jesus, but you’re not bearing the fruit of repentance and the fruit of good works, and daily growing in love and joy and peace and patience and gentleness and goodness and self-control, you should be terrified.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

The Weeds, The Seed, and the Leaven

Let’s read the next three parables, because they’re actually bracketed together.

Matthew 13:24–30

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Matthew 13:31–33

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

So what’s fascinating about these stories is that Jesus gives an interpretation for the first, but not the second and the third. And that, I think, is because they’re all headed in the same direction.

A few notes, first, before we dive into the interpretation text.

In the first story, a man sows good seed in his field. And shortly thereafter, when the man’s servants are sleeping, an enemy sows weeds in the same fertile soil. This, by the way, happened so often in ancient Rome that there was a law forbidding it as an act of vengeance. See, there’s a weed called “darnel” or lolium temulentum. This weed looks just like wheat initially, but when the ear appears a trained eye can recognize the distinction. But by that point, if it’s sown alongside wheat, the roots have so tangled themselves with the wheat that to uproot them would compromise the harvest. Even more sinister, the fruit of the darnel plant is poisonous. So that if it were harvested alongside the wheat, the whole batch would be ruined. Were it ground and baked, the results would be disastrous. So to preserve the harvest, the weeds had to be collected and bundled away from the wheat, and then burned to prevent further compromise. Only then could the wheat be harvested.

The second parable is less a story than a word picture. The mustard seed was the smallest seed that ancient Palestinian farmers would have been familiar with. Yet when planted in fertile soil the seed could grow as high as twelve feet, a small tree sturdy enough to hold nests of birds.

The third parable is another word picture, and perhaps the most familiar to moderns. Just a touch of leaven is added to around 30 liters of flour. That’s a lot — enough to feed around 100 people. So if you didn’t know anything about how bread is made, the leaven added to that lump would have seemed ridiculously insufficient. But given time, the whole lump is leavened.

Tracking? Okay.

The Weeds, Explained

Now let’s read Christ’s interpretation of the Wheat and the Weeds.

Matthew 13:36–43

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Okay, let’s start at the beginning.

In this story, the seed is not the gospel, but the sons of the Kingdom. Pivoting off of the reference to Isaiah’s prophecy, these are those whose eyes have been opened, whose ears hear. They are no less sinners, but they’ve been granted mercy by the work of Christ.

And the sower is Jesus.

In this story, Jesus is carefully casting the sons of the Kingdom around the world, broadcasting them as seeds on a fertile field. Notice I said, “world,” and not, “church.” A bad reading of this passage has fostered a bad approach to church membership. This isn’t about that.

But the enemy — whom Jesus calls “the evil one,” and whom we know as Satan — likewise casting his sons around the world.

So the picture that develops is that the Kingdom’s sons seem compromised. The world seems compromised. The plans of the Son of God, the work of the King of Kings seems compromised because the sons of the enemy have been planted right alongside the sons of the Kingdom.

Yet Christ patiently awaits the harvest — the end of the ages, when he will return in power and judge the world.

On that day, he’ll send his angels to gather the sons of the enemy — whom Jesus refers to as “causes of sin and law-breakers” — and to throw them into hell.

The result? The world, purified, hosts the sons of the Kingdom. These righteous objects of mercy will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.

What a beautiful and striking picture.

And the question, I think, is how do these four parables relate to one another.

Ironically, I think the last two parables, though they’re relatively insignificant — tiny in comparison to the parables of the Sower and the Weeds, are the key to understanding the entire chapter. And yet again the literary brilliance of Matthew is on display.

The point of all four parables is the same. And it’s clearly seen in the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven. How is the Kingdom like these things? Well, although you might expect the Kingdom of God to arrive in a spectacular display of military might, of sheer glorious power, you’d be wrong.

The Kingdom of God dawns upon the dark nations of men as a baby, born in a cattle trough, in a barn, in an insignificant town in an insignificant province of an insignificant nation.

And the Kingdom is established not by the sword but by the cross.

And the Kingdom advances not in persuasive words, but in foolish words. Not by the sway of persuasive speakers, but by the power of the Spirit. Not by the tactical advantage of political strength, but by the cross-bearing death of the martyrs.

If you didn’t know any better, you might think the Kingdom of God were a disastrous failure. But watch and wait with faithful eyes and ears that hear. And you’ll see the mustard seed grow to become the tallest tree in the garden. You’ll see the lump of flour leavened. You’ll see the seeds planted on fertile soil bearing fruit one hundred fold. You’ll see the wheat separated from the weeds, when harvest day comes.

Because this is an upside-down Kingdom. It upsets your expectations. It starts small, it starts humble. The first will be last here, and the last first.

And as the Kingdom advances, she does so in a hostile world, taunted by the enemy and his sons. In her midst are many that pretend allegiance, many whose love grows cold in the midst of trouble, many whose affection for the wares of this world compromise their allegiance to the king.

But watch, and wait. You’ll see fruit borne. You’ll see harvest come. You’ll see the mustard seed rise. You’ll see the lump leavened.

When we began studying this passage, I suggested that it was like Challah bread, many braids woven together to make a delicious loaf. To see it we had to untangle the threads. But now let’s thread them back together.

The kingdom is like the dusty floor of a lake house, wherein a few followers remain to hear the teaching of the master, while the masses on the beach disperse.

The kingdom is like the few who are blessed to hear the fables of the kingdom, while thousands of hardened hearts hear riddles.

The kingdom is like a sower, whose casting appears like a series of embarrassing failures. Many seeds are consumed, many others whither, many others are choked by thorns. Yet those planted in fertile soil yield an extraordinary harvest.

The kingdom is like a field, sown with seeds and weeds. Though the work of the enemy might seem to have compromised the harvest, the weeds will be sorted and burned.

The kingdom is like a small seed, which grows into a great tree.

The kingdom is like a bit of leaven, which leavens a huge lump.

And if you kept reading, you’d find that this misunderstood kingdom was like a treasure in a field, worth selling everything for. You’d find that this kingdom is like a fine pearl, worth selling everything you have for.

That’s the nature of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of Christ that seems to be ever ready to collapse under the pressure of internal strife and external vitriol will prevail. The Kingdom of Christ which seems to have failed at the foot of the Cross will prevail at the return of the King of Kings. The Kingdom of Christ which seems every generation to be fundamentally compromised by the moral failures of her shiniest sons, or the world-loving, weak-hearted efforts of her supposed citizens, the orchestrated tyranny of the enemy and his sons, will prevail when Christ separates the wheat from the weeds, so that the righteous sons of glory can shine like the sun.