Kingdom Tales (2)
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 40:03
0 ratings
· 11 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
intro
31 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.
32 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.”
33 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.”
34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.
35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Pray
Tale 1: The Growth of the Kingdom (vv. 31-33)
Tale 1: The Growth of the Kingdom (vv. 31-33)
Mustard Seed
31 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.
32 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.”
Mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds in the botanical index and some have tried to use this to discredit the Bible
Jesus is not trying to give us a science lesson
Jesus is using the smallest seed that was commonly planted in Israel
Show bag of mustard seed and comment that it took having a bag of them for people to even see that I have anything
The small mustard seed grows “into a tree”
Again, Jesus is not confused
The variety in Palestine, while fast-growing and able to reach ten feet in height, had the smallest seeds of plants then known.
Jesus’ point is that the mustard plant starts out with a tiny seed but then grows into a large plant. In the same way the Kingdom of God would not come like the common assumption was for it. Jesus wasn’t coming to lead an army and make a grand entrance. The Kingdom of God would start out small, but it would eventually fill the whole world
Leaven
33 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.”
Normally leaven is used in a negative connotation like sin
In either case, a little leaven goes a long way
The woman works the small amount of leaven and it works through the whole lump of flour causing the dough to rise and double in size
Again the idea is the growth of the kingdom in and through the world to fill the world
Tale 2: The Value of the Kingdom
Tale 2: The Value of the Kingdom
The second kingdom tale Jesus teaches is about the value of the Kingdom
This one also occurs in two parts, but both teach the same lesson
The Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
In this parable, Jesus describes a man who accidental stumbles upon treasure.
The treasure is so valuable that it is worth more than all the merchant had and was worth selling it all to buy the field
People in the ancient world would often bury their treasure in fields to keep it safe
Think about burying a can of cash in the back yard
The Pearl of Great Price
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The second man doesn’t accidentally find what he’s looking for, he is searching
He has seen many pearls, but the one of great value is more precious than any he’s ever seen
Tale 3: The Purity of the Kingdom
Tale 3: The Purity of the Kingdom
The final parable is about God sorting out the good and the bad in this world
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Often boats would use a drag net and string it up off from shore a bit
They would drag the net to the shore. In the process all sorts of fish and things would get caught up in the net.
The fishermen would then sit down and sort out the catch.
Jesus teaches that while there may be evil and good in the world right now, there will be a separation coming
God will punish the wicked and send them into judgment but the righteous in Christ will be rewarded with heaven
Conclusion
You may be hearing the meaning of this last parable and thinking to yourself that we just heard that same message. How come Jesus told another parable with the same general meaning?
Well, it is safe to say that if God repeats His message, it is worth paying attention.
Are you paying attention this morning?
The Kingdom of Heaven has gone forth through the scattering of the seed of the gospel by the preaching of the Word.
Have you found the great treasure of the gospel this morning?
Have you given everything for the sake of finding it?
