Kingdom Stories
Notes
Transcript
Good morning, Gateway Chapel!
If we haven’t met…my name is Chris. I’m the pastor of this lovely church family that has the pleasure of worshiping here in this building.
We’re glad you’re here worshiping Jesus with us…if you’re new and interested in getting connected at Gateway there is a QR code in the back by the coffee machine. If you scan that it will take you to a Contact Us page on our website. If you give us your email we’ll get you on the weekly email where you’ll hear more about what’s going on at Gateway and you can let us know if you’re interested in more info on CG, serving, or other aspects of the church.
We are a family and this is a family service - Happy Labor day weekend to our kids volunteers who faithfully serve our kiddos. Kids there are sheets in the back of chairs you can use to take notes. Parents - kids will surprise you how well they can follow a sermon.
A couple weeks ago we had our first ever Gateway Chapel Vacation Bible Camp. We’ve got a 90 second slide show and it’s awesome. Kids - every time you see yourself on here just make some kind of loud noise alright?
Video
If you are someone who has volunteered in kids in some capacity this year, we are having a kids volunteer appreciation party at Jeff & Paula’s house on Driftwood Point next Sunday after church. The Rays are cooking but bring a side to share.
Prayer - Father, you are really here with us.
Read Scripture
I think many of us have daydreamed about striking it rich.
For Becky Bell, of Auburn WA, earlier this year it became a reality.
Becky was a long-time supply chain analyst at Boeing, and decided in February to buy a lotto ticket at the Auburn Fred Meyer. When she saw the Powerball winnings had grown to 747 million - just days after Boeing delivered it’s final 747 jet she said…it’s fate. And bought a second ticket.
She was working from home, getting ready for an early 6:20am meeting when she saw a news article say the winning lotto ticket was sold in Auburn, she thought…that could be me.
After her meeting, she checked her tickets – and learned that her second ticket matched all six winning numbers.
She said, "I’ve never won more than $20 in my life," She called her children, sisters and mother to double-check the numbers several times. "You can imagine my shock when I realized what had just happened. I just broke down and cried."
Her final take home amount…$309 million dollars.
Now, there’s a danger of me telling this story and you not remembering whatever I say the rest of this sermon.
Stories like this are incredibly powerful and invite our imagination. They get us thinking. What would that be like? What would I do?
Reel you back in...The odds of winning that Powerball Lottery are calculated at 1 in 292 million. You are thousands of times more likely to get bitten by a shark. And about 50 times more likely to be drafted in the first round of the NBA. So you’re saying there’s a chance.
Jesus, being a master teacher knew the power of stories.
About 1/3 of Jesus’ teaching in the gospels comes in the form of stories called parables.
Parable literally means to set alongside something…this is like this…an extended simile.
But these parables Jesus uses are not like our stories. I read the Becky Bell story on USA Today and it reads nothing like a parable of Jesus.
Why does Jesus use parables in his teaching?
They can be very confusing. We read novels that are 1,200 pages because we say good storytelling today is when you flood the page with detail. Jesus’ parables are sometimes 1 sentence. They leave out more than they leave in.
If, as we said last week, Jesus wants us to “Come to Him” why not be more direct?
Why not just say, “Hey, I’m God! Get with it!”
This morning I want us to see that Jesus is an incredible communicator. A brilliant teacher.
The point of these parables is not to entertain or inform, but to draw us in, and to demand a response.
Jesus tells us these parables not to charm us with fun stories, but to change our hearts.
In Matthew 13:44-50, Jesus gives us three kingdom parables to teach people about who he is and what he’s up to.
Don’t leave here today without coming to your own conclusion about who Jesus is and what his message was.
Jesus tells us about a hidden treasure, a costly pearl, and a net.
Prayer
Before we dive in, we have some contextual groundwork to lay.
Kids - no one likes being taken out of context. That includes God. When we read the Bible, the number one thing we want to think about is “Where are we in the story? What’s going on? What’s the context of this passage I’m reading?”
Give me a few minutes to lay things out...
We are in Matthew in 2023, which is a written account of Jesus and it is credited to Matthew, one of Jesus’ earliest followers.
The author - presumably Matthew - wants you and I to see that Jesus is the King and he wants to show us what it means to live in Jesus’ Kingdom.
And right now we’re in a section of Matthew, chapters 11-13 which are full of people responding to Jesus and his message.
Now, if you were to say, “What is the one thing Jesus was about? If you were to boil Jesus’ message down to one phrase, what would it be?”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This is how Matthew summarizes all Jesus had to say.
And that’s going to include our parables we read this morning.
First, what is the kingdom of heaven?
Very Jewish phrase. That’s probably why you barely see it in the NT past the gospels as the good news spreads beyond just the Jews.
The Kingdom of Heaven was the Jewish hope that the God of Israel would return to rule his people and vanquish his enemies. Through his Messiah - or Christ - God would reign again for all eternity. And this was THE hope of the people of Israel in Jesus’ day who sat under the thumb of Rome. Some people thought the Kingdom would come as the people rise up in revolt and fight back against Rome.
For us today, we hear the kingdom of heaven,
And both words are confusing.
We hear Kingdom and we think of a place.
The United Kingdom. It’s a place. They drink tea and we’re glad to be free from them.
And we hear heaven
And a MercyMe song starts playing in your head. I can only imagine...
When Jesus starts telling parables about the kingdom of heaven it seems odd.
Is Jesus just like, “Hey guys, I want to take a second and talk to you about what it’s going to be like after you die.”
Or is he just talking about salvation. “Hey everyone! Don’t forget to pray the prayer and get saved!”
But the kingdom Jesus is talking about is not a physical place.
Think of the word “Boredom.” Boredom is not a place but a dominion - a state of being bored.
And so the Kingdom of Heaven is a state of being in Heaven. Where is heaven? God’s space.
So the kingdom of heaven is what it’s like when you’re in God’s space.
And as we’ve seen in Matthew, Jesus says in his own way - wherever I am, God is there.
Whatever I’m doing. It’s because God told me to. The Kingdom of heaven is Jesus’ way of talking about who he is and what he is up to - not in the future only, but in the present.
So Matthew 11-13, is full of stories about how people respond to that bold message.
and then Matthew 13 says...
1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;
Why does Jesus teach in parables?
If he wants people to know him and enter the kingdom, why tell stories? Why not be more direct?
“Hey everyone, just a reminder. I’m God! The Pharisees look good, but they’re bad. I’m good! Let’s go!”
Well, the disciples asked the same question of Jesus...
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
12 “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Parables are intentionally cryptic.
They reveal those who receive the message of the kingdom AND those who will not listen.
And then Matthew goes on to quote Isaiah 6 and say...
14 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’
Again, context - almost always the context for who Jesus is and what he’s up to in the gospels is found in the Old Testament.
Jesus says in order for you to understand why I’m using parables, you need to remember Isaiah chapter 6.
Isaiah 6 is this famous story of the prophet Isaiah at a time of national decline entering the temple and having a vision of God. And it’s so intense he falls to his face and says, “I am in the presence of God! But I am sinful. Woe is me!” But an angel comes and takes a burning coal and says, “Your sin is forgiven.”
And God says, “I need a messenger. Who will go?” And Isaiah says, “Send me!”
And we think, “Man this is going to be great. God is going to give Isaiah this life-giving message and Isaiah is going to have a blast working with God.”
And God says, “Great, here’s the message. No one will listen to you. But keep giving them the message.”
And Isaiah’s like, “Okay…how long?” And God says, “Until my city is destroyed.”
And Jesus says, that is what this is like.
Jesus is God’s prophet given a message that many will not listen to. And the fact that they won’t listen to him will result in Jerusalem’s destruction. Rome sacks the city in AD 70 as the people do not listen to Jesus’ message.
So why parables?
Jesus is brilliant. His opponents are out to kill him. His time is running out. He still wants people to hear the good news of the kingdom, but he changes his teaching style. As we’ll see, these parables are not new messages. They actually resemble verbatim what he taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
But parables are so effective for Jesus because they confound his enemies - keep them at bay because they don’t understand them - but they also still draw in those with open hearts.
The power of parables for us today is the same as back then because there are two kinds of people in the room right now...
Those who hear Jesus and those who don’t. Not talking about your hearing some of us are more hard of hearing than others. Talking about listening with your hearts. There are those who are open to receiving Jesus and his message and those who are not.
And as we’ve seen in Matthew those who hear are not those who look like good people. Actually often the people who hear Jesus are the ones who on the outside look farthest from him. So each of us needs to be careful to examine our hearts and say - am I hearing Jesus? Do I understand what he’s saying?
If you just didn’t sleep well - don’t question your salvation.
These stories are powerful.
Jesus gives us parables not to entertain, or inform, but to say like Isaiah, “God is here! Turn to him and be forgiven.”
Jesus begins with a story of hidden treasure...
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Imagine you are a poor farmer in Ancient Israel.
Farmers then didn’t own their fields, they worked the fields owned by the landowner. You work a cultivated field…maybe it’s full of some trees, some crops...
But one day you’re working and you’re digging…and your shovel goes into the ground and you hear CLUNK.
And you stop. What was that? I don’t think it was a rock.
You dig and dig and dig and you find a buried chest. You dust it off and finally pry it open and find it is filled with precious jewels. You’ve never seen anything like it in your life.
You start to get excited. Everything would change if this was yours.
You cover the treasure back up…you cannot let this opportunity go by.
You run home - before the work day is done - and you explain the situation to your family - WE HAVE TO BUY THAT FIELD. I’ve found something that will change our lives forever!
You give up everything for just enough money to give the landowner who - is about as shocked as you - sells you the plot of land. And you throw a party because the greatest treasure you’ve ever seen is now yours.
Perhaps a contemporary version of this would be you go to a garage sale and find a rare painting you know is worth millions. Out of excitement to figure out what else you can find you just tell the person running the sale - if I gave you my car can I have everything here?
What is Jesus doing with this story?
One - Jesus is changing his teaching style. He’s talked about treasure before.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
This parable is nearly identical but in a different mode of communication.
Two - Jesus is describing what is happening around him. Masses of people were following him. They’ve heard about his miraculous healing, his teaching, his power, almost by accident. They weren’t looking for the Messiah, but he came to their town and they joyfully dropped everything and followed him.
Poor people, Gentiles, women, slaves, the sick, the sinners - not for their own effort or worth, almost by accident - they found Jesus and said - this is the true treasure.
Third - there is a hidden nature to the kingdom. It is a place - it’s where Jesus - but it’s not a country. It is heavenly but it’s also right here on earth. It’s not loud and forceful, it’s quiet and invitational.
Jesus tells a second parable much like the first...
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Jesus tells a story about a rich person...
Whose day to day life involves traveling around on ships to find pearls.
Apparently the odds of finding a pearl in an oyster are about 1 in 12,000. Much better odds than the Lotto.
Pearls in Scripture were an image of beauty, value, and permanence. The image of new creation in Revelation is a city with gates made of…pearls.
So imagine you are this merchant...
You’ve dedicated your life to finding, trading, selling rare pearls.
But one day, after decades of searching, examining, evaluating, reviewing, pearls…you find it. The one.
You’ve dreamt it might be real and today, you see it.
And you realize, nothing you’ve ever found compares to this. Your whole collection - and you’ve got a big one - pales in comparison to what you’ve found today.
Jesus says this merchant does some calculations
And decides that it makes sense to get rid of every pearl he’s ever acquired - sell it for money - in order to buy this one.
Another short story, very similar to the first. What is Jesus doing?
Well, again, Jesus is teaching a SOTM principle in a new way.
33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Like the SOTM, Jesus is teaching in this parable that seeking the kingdom is more worthwhile than anything.
While not everyone who finds the kingdom went looking for it, some are looking. Many Jews would have been searching for God’s kingdom to come as promised in the Old Testament.
There were perhaps scribes and Pharisees - John tells us about one in his gospel named Nicodemus - who were looking for the kingdom their whole lives.
And when they heard about Jesus - heard how he was healing the sick, casting out demons, was potentially from the line of David, heard how he taught - they realized…this is the one. And they completely changed course - repented - and became his follower.
Jesus is describing how some are seeking the kingdom and finding it in him, AND teaching his disciples to seek the Kingdom for themselves.
Jesus’ final story is very different from the first...
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;
48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
49 “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,
50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus is a master teacher and his audience were fishermen.
So he says “you know what I’m like and what I’m up to is kind of like...”
“You know that net you drag between your boats to catch fish…you know how you really want only good fish - you’re not putting the net in the water to grab a stinky fish - but the net being what it is just grabs all kinds of fish and all qualities of fish.”
And you know how at the end of the day you sit down on the beach and you don’t want to keep the stinky fish - so you throw those out but the good ones - the good ones you keep.
Jesus says...
That’s how it will be one day. The kingdom is happening now in Galilee as I speak and teach…and it’s yet to come. And how you respond today matters for what will happen on that final day.
We’ve heard this from Jesus before...
Jesus’ message of the kingdom is one of hope and coming judgment.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
How you respond to Jesus and his word matters now AND it will be made perfectly clear how much it matters THEN.
Jesus gives us three stories: a hidden treasure, a costly pearl, and a fishing net.
Jesus was not being cryptic because he wants to confuse people, but he saw that many had utterly rejected him, some were plotting to kill him, but he still wanted to teach on the kingdom and invite people to receive his message.
Jesus was a brilliant teacher, communicating to change the hearts of those around him if they responded to his message about the kingdom of heaven.
So what might Jesus be saying to us today through these parables?
Heaven is here now.
Heaven is here now.
This was Jesus’ message.
Jesus’ message was not pray a prayer so you can go to heaven when you die.
Jesus’ message was heaven is here NOW. I am heaven. Heaven is wherever I am and whatever I am doing.
And people find me in a variety of ways. I imagine if we shared our stories we’d get a lot of variety.
But the good news of Christianity is heaven is here now for all who believe.
Jesus came and taught about the kingdom and made it known to all who would listen. And then he died to pay the penalty for sin and he rose on the third day and he sends the Holy Spirit to give new life to those who believe and so those people can have communion with the eternal infinite being of all light and goodness that is the creator of the universe and we can call him Father.
Heaven is here now.
And yet, I don’t know how your week was but maybe you didn’t experience heaven you got more of the other place.
You may have gotten life changing terrible news this week. You may have been sick or injured or insulted or had a terrible fight with your spouse or your kids are the worst they’ve been in months…how can you say heaven is here now when I’m going through this junk?
As Jesus teaches us…for now, heaven is hidden.
And like a parable, God reveals himself in somewhat indirect ways that makes him visible to those who are listening and invisible to those who pridefully say they don’t need him.
So if heaven is here now, I think one thing you and I can regularly do is say
Jesus, where did I see you today? We build habits and have conversations that guide our attention to find Jesus and the kingdom of heaven AND be the kind of people who bring it about in our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and cities.
Jesus is worth our attention.
Jesus is worth our attention.
Two of the three stories involve characters selling their entire possession.
Just this past week I bought golf clubs. Am I in sin?
Does Jesus want you to sell your house?
I don’t know, but probably not.
Jesus is teaching us to seek the kingdom. To seek is to consistently direct your attention towards something.
And so the question is not “Do you have a house and why haven’t you sold it yet” but “What is getting your attention?”
And while Jesus is probably not asking you to sell your house, for those of us who own homes we know they get a lot of our attention.
And Jesus is inviting us to see that nothing is more worthy of our attention than Him.
What would it look like for you to give Jesus your attention this week?
Maybe that reframes your devotional time. It’s not just “Jesus I gave you 30 minutes. You happy?” It’s “Jesus, you’ve got my attention. What do you want me to hear?”
Parables demand a response.
Parables demand a response.
My story of Becky Bell and the Lottery demands no response.
It asks nothing of us. Just…information. Entertainment.
Yet that is not Jesus’ intention.
Shortly after our text Jesus asks the disciples, “Do you understand?” And they say, “Yes!” But then Jesus returns to his hometown and people say, “Jesus as the Christ? Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? He must have lost his mind. Don’t listen to him.”
Matthew is showing us how people respond to Jesus and indirectly asking us - what’s your response?
Do you believe that Jesus is the King? That he is the God-man who came to save the world from sin.
Do you want to be in his kingdom? Live under his good rule and reign?
If yes, heaven is here now.
If no, Jesus cannot be more clear that there is a coming day of judgment and those who didn’t listen to Jesus will be rejected.
If you’ve never made the decision to enter the kingdom -
We’d invite you to do that today. To follow Jesus. And your next step is baptism.
Becky Bell’s story while entertaining and fun because she’s from Auburn, it’s not good news.
1 in 292 million are the odds. I have a better chance of bringing the Sonics back and starting as the Center.
But Jesus’ message is good news.
Heaven is here now and available to those who believe.
His kingdom is worthy of our attention and all we want in life - fulfillment, joy, peace, contentment, provision - comes when we seek him above all else.
And his story matters. Most of what comes across our news feed just doesn’t matter at all. Jesus and his word matters and has eternal significance. And for those who respond in faith can see what the kingdom of haven is truly like.
May the kingdom of heaven come in your life this week and may you - filled with Jesus’ own resurrection life through the power of the Spirit - spread the kingdom of heaven wherever you go.