The Kingdom of God is Like
Notes
Transcript
Open your Bibles with me, Luke 13:18-21.
We are continuing our sermon series through the Gospel of Luke. We took a slight break last week, honestly, just due to the sheer volume of work being done at the church. It was good, it was helpful, and my prayer is only to help pave the way to what God is doing here among us.
You know, the concept of waiting on the Lord in Acts 1 parallels the tension here quite beautifully.
In the context, Jesus has just healed a woman on the Sabbath. His adversaries are ashamed, and the people rejoice at the glorious things being done by Jesus. What is clear is that the Kingdom of Satan is being pushed back by the Kingdom of God. It’s what began with John’s preaching in the wilderness - REPENT for the Kingdom of God is at HAND!” And Jesus declares over and over again, the kingdom of God is NEAR, and is now HERE.
And they are seeing what the kingdom looks like as Jesus heals this woman who’s been bent for 18 years. She’s been bound by Satan, and Jesus delivers her, and she is loosed from her bondage.
The problem was that everyone had their own expectation of what the Kingdom of God would look like. They thought they could fit what God was doing into their system of understanding. So we are expecting a Messiah to come and bring the kingdom and release us from political tyranny. That it would be this massive and encompassing overthrow of earthly rule and oppression to free Israel from the grip the Romans.
And Jesus comes, and what he does frustrates the religious elites. It frustrates the best of the learned and understanding. Because Jesus is more concerned with a different type of oppression. The oppression of sin. The oppression of Satan on the hearts of men. He’s more concerned with the spiritual release from sin’s grip. He’s more concerned with the heart than the semantics of legalism.
And so when this woman is released on the Sabbath. People are angry. Because they do not understand what Jesus is doing!! They are mezermized with their own self. Own understanding, own justification. That they miss the heart of God. The Love of God and to love their neighbor as themselves!!
See, what Jesus is doing is transforming the understanding of the kingdom for those with eyes to see!
That doesn’t mean that Jesus is unconcerned with the here and now. Or the earthly systems of justice and oppression. To the contrary. But how the kingdom moves is through transformation and expansive, slow growth.
In other words, it doesn’t happen in the way we expect. God often moves in mysterious ways. And for those without the eyes of faith. They miss what Jesus is doing!! They miss the heart of God. They miss, to their surprise, Kingdom Work.
Because it didn’t happen as they expected.
Sermon Summary: God’s Kingdom Grows and Transforms the world and heart!
See, Jesus gives us two parables here. They complement one another quite nicely. The first describes the Kingdom’s outward growth and expansion. From something seemingly small, to something expansively large!
And the second parable describes the kingdom's inner expansion. Of something that is seemingly hidden, but brings total transformation from within.
Because what Jesus is doing is transforming the Old Covenant of Judaism into a global heart-transforming Kingdom that cannot be stopped by dead legalism.
Jesus says in Luke 5:36-39
36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’ ”
In fact, as you recall, Luke has placed this right in the middle of Jesus making His way to Jerusalem, and the work He is to complete there. And along the way, Jesus has been teaching about the Kingdom. And, I mean right in the middle are the two tiny little, seemingly insignificant parables.
18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” 20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
I. Kingdom Expansion (v.18-19)
I. Kingdom Expansion (v.18-19)
In this first parable, Jesus helps us see the slow progress of the gospel in the world. That is connected by the little conjunction “therefore” in verse 18. It is connecting to Jesus speaking about the Kingdom of God. And what has just happened is Jesus has just released a woman from the bounds of Satan. Thus establishing the Authority of Rule of the Kingdom, which is what the Kingdom of God represents. It is the reign of God, and His kingdom reign is being established. So Jesus releasing this woman is evidence of the Kingdom rule coming.
18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
See, the Kingdom of God would have had a certain connotation to certain people. They would have had an expectation. Of earthly rule. Earthly political influence. A governemental overthrown. A military conquest of might and authority. But Jesus shocking shows us another way. God’s kingdom arrival doesn’t come through earthly wisdom or earthly conquest. God is defying human wisdom! The kingdom instead comes through a crucified messiah and through a small band of disciples.
Jesus has been showing what the kingdom looks like, all throughout Luke.
Luke 8:1
Soon afterward, he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.
Luke 6:20-23
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
Luke 11:20
20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
So there were all types of expectations of what it might look like.
Such as the Zealots, who were expecting a military conquest.
Or the Pharisees, who were expecting the Kingdom of God to come through religious purity to bring moral transformation, to usher in the kingdom.
Or the Sadducees, who had lost much hope of the kingdom altogether.
And then there were the Essenes who were the desert dwellers, who just sort of camped out, they saw the temple and corruption around them, and were just waiting on the Messiah to come and clean things up.
So everyone had their expectations of the Kingdom, what it would look like, and its coming. Its presence. It’s expanse, expectation.
And Jesus says here, the Kingdom of God, what shall I compare it…..It’s like a mustard seed.
So what is Jesus doing with the mustard seed? Here it’s told said as parable about the kingdom. In Luke 17, the mustard seed is a parable about our faith. It was a known proverb. Everyone would have known about a mustard seed. They are one of the smallest seeds. Luke doesn’t say that. It’s funny, because people use statements like this of Jesus, as like these “gotcha” moments. Well, you see, the mustard seed is not actually the smallest of seeds. There is in fact a smaller seed. And further, you notice that Jesus calls the mustard seed a tree, when it is in fact a plant.
And I’m just like - chill dude!! Jesus is speaking hyperbolically here. It’s a parable. But for us, we rarely know what a mustard seed even looks like. Maybe you do. But it is a small seed. Much less do we know about a mustard plant. But if we know that, we would start to see what Jesus’ point is. That from this little seed, and a mustard seed is a small seed. It’s planted in a garden. Usually, mustard seed is planted in a field. Some folks start reading into that statement, but this little seed, and it is tiny!! Goes into the earth, and it births forth this massive SHRUB! BUSH!! Eh, it looks like a tree….some 8-15 feet tall!!
For the careful observer, had you been attentive to our flower garden out front before Oak Hill. You would have seen a weed in the front flower bed that raised my blood pressure. It provided nice shade as I entered the building, but it wasn’t supposed to be there. And when it was removed, it was attached to a root system like you wouldn’t believe. So weed, brush, shrub, or tree. You take your pick. But it was massive and started from a small inconspicuous beginning and grew.
That’s Jesus point here…that from something small like a mustard seed. Notice the progress - It was taken, sowed, IT GREW, BECAME a TREE, and BIRDS made their nest in it’s branches.
That something so small and seemingly insignificant grew to the degree that it became a covering of shade and protection for the birds of the air! So when the phrase there “it grew and became a tree” is a hebraism. Jesus is saying, poetically, something so small became so large to provide shelter and covering for the birds of the air. Who would have thought that? That a tiny seed planted today, would become shelter for tomorrow!!
Jesus is leaning into Old Testament language. Of Massive empires that provide shelter and covering to the nations. A couple of passages to see this that are significant to this text.
In Daniel 4:10-12. Daniel sees the tree of the Babylonian empire, which provides benefits to the nations it conquered.
10 The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.
And Ezekiel takes this similar language to describe the Messianic Kingdom. That the lofty Cedar of Lebanon will be brought low, and the Lord will plant His righteous one whose branches will provide covering for the nations.
22 Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”
See, Jesus isn’t just telling some cute garden story. He’s pulling on significant Old Testament language about the expansiveness of kingdoms… and Jesus says, “This is what the Kingdom of God is like.”
To which, the Birds of the Air, is a reference often referred to as the Gentile. That is the nations. That from the seed, which grew and spread a covering under his branches, gave shade for the nations to find refuge.
It harkens back to the language of SEED. As far back as the Seed of the Woman, coming to crush the head of the Serpent in Gen 3. And The Seed of Abraham. Abraham’s Offspring, in whom all the nations of the world will be blessed. Now, the point is NOT that Jesus is the SEED here. You can analyze the text to see where you miss the point. But Jesus does say, THIS IS WHAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD is like!!
You see something so small and insignificant. And you think, what good can come from Nazaeth? You see this little ragtag group of misfit disciples, and think, well, good luck with that. You see Jesus and think, he’s destroying our system of thinking. What use is He? HE must be casting out demons by the Prince of Demons. You see a woman healed, and think, well, try another day again, that’s not how we do things around here.
And then the one said to be bringing the Kingdom is put to death on a Roman Cross….The Kingdom is coming in ways you do not expect. But the Kingdom is breaking through in ways that seem subtle and insignificant, but will have expansive implications!
And in man’s strength there is nothing to see. But If God is at work! Then there is every reason to believe something of great significance is taking place!! And what Jesus is doing is bringing the KINGDOM of GOD! And it seems so small right now, but its growth is unstoppable!!
So I say to you, who do people say that the Son of Man is? (Matt)…..But who do YOU SAY THAT I AM? You are the Christ, the SON of the LIVING GOD….And I tell you, you are Peter
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
So you see Jesus and His work as something entirely small and insignificant, but from the Christ, and His Kingdom will bless all nations, through His finished work in His death and resurrection, and the gospel of His kingdom going. His Kingdom is spreading to include Gentiles and all those who come into the Kingdom of God through the door, who is Christ, and all the nations are blessed through HIM!!
In fact, that’s what you see at the end of the story. That the Kingdom of the world is given to the Kingdom of our Lord and Christ (Rev 11). That it is declared fully and finally, that Jesus is King of Kings and He is Lord of Lords (Rev 19). And All Nations come around the throne and worship the Lord of ALL NATIONS, TRIBES, and tongues.
You know, we may look around and think. Such a small work. Such a small seed. Can anything good come from this. You may look at a church like GraceLife and think. It seems so insignificant. It seems so small. I mean, what’s in a Lord’s Day gathering? It is really that important. Or, I mean if God were really at work here, wouldn’t it be bigger or GRANDER than this?
And if all we have are eyes of the flesh, we will likely miss the work that Jesus is doing here. God is doing something much bigger than any of us!! He’s been building His church for a long time, and it’s outlived the Babylonian Empire, it’s outlived the Roman Empire. God knows what He is doing. And I tell you what I want to do. I don’t want to give my life to something I build. What a waste that will be. I don’t want to give my life to things that look grand in the eyes of man, but I want to be a part of what GOD is BUILDING HERE among us!!
So small it may seem in many ways, but the Kingdom of God always has small beginnings. It always seems so insignificant when God begins a work. Yet, in time, we would be amazed at what God does through small beginnings. Through just a tiny seed. That grows and spreads it’s branches and covering to bless others.
Oh, I pray that to be true among us. And such is the Kingdom of God. Would you continue to pray to that end, and be encouraged by the Lord’s continued work among us.
Would you pray that God would us. Small in size as we may be, and touch the corners of the globe for His glory!! That God would us, small in size as we may be, and touch the hearts of sinners in need of mercy around us. That God would use us, small in size as we may be, and display a picture to city of Biblilcal Church HEALTH!. That God would use us, small in size as we may be, and Advance His Gospel for the Glory of God!
II. Kingdom Transformation (v.20-21)
II. Kingdom Transformation (v.20-21)
Now here is a Second parable. In the first, Luke takes us out to the garden, to examine a man who sowed a mustard seed. And now, he takes us into the home. Into the kitchen of a woman making bread. And whereas before Luke showed us the Outward Growth of the Kingdom. Here, he shows us the inward transformation.
20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
Now, what Jesus does here is a surprising reversal. Throughout the Bible, the use of leaven is almost always given with a negative connotation. It’s nearly always a sysmbol of sin, or corruption. So Israel is said to clear out the leaven from among them in preparation for the Passover. The church is said to beware lest a little leaven will leaven the whole lump of the man caught in gross sexual sin. Jesus warns in Luke 12 - of BEWARE of the LEAVEN of the PHARISEES, which is hypocrisy!
But here, Leaven is seen as something positive. See, Leaven is hidden, and leaven is always pervasive. It spreads. And just a little bit goes a long way! And Jesus uses it here as something as positive that transforms from the inside out.
Consider the leaven of Jesus
Who is said to be ignoring the ceremonial purity in Luke 11:38.
Who is said to be in violation of the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-11, Luke 14:1-6)
Who is said to be eating and drinking with sinners and tax collectors (Luke 5:20; Luke 15:1-3)
And now, consider the leaven of Jesus, that isn’t in violation of any sin! But is rather transforming the entire outworking of Judaism! And he’s coming and touching the leper, and the broken, and the sinner, and rather than being defiled by them. His purity is given to them. They are forgiven, they are healed. They are redeemed!!
You know the thing about leaven is that just a little bit goes a long way! I mean this leaven is hidden in three measures of flour. That word there is Saton, or SEAH in Hebrew. That’s 13 liters of flour. 4.75 gallons. Or 50 lbs of flour. That’s enough flowers, by the way, to feed about 150 people. And notice, just that little bit of leaven, that was hidden, doesn’t stop until the WHOLE BATCH is transformed!!
Now, there is some hint, maybe, to this parable hinting at the wedding feast. Of the great banquet coming when those from the 4 winds will come and recline at the table of the KINGDOM of God (Luke 13:24-30). Of those being invited to the wedding feast from the HIGHWAYS and the HEDGES (Luke 14:16-24). Of the prodigal returning from the far country, and His Father kills the fatten calve, for my son who was lost has RETURN!! And here is a great measure of BREAD prepared. For a FEAST where a great multitude is expected. In which the guests who come in are unexpected, and have come at the expense of the intended guests. In every one of those parables, the expected guests have been shut out, because they refuse to COME!!
And that could be the subtle work of Luke showing us, the kingdom coming is so small that you can barely see it. It seems so insignificant that you can ignore it. And you could see the leaven of Jesus, fulfilling the law! Perfectly obeying the righteous requirement of the law. And despise Him, and reject HIM!! And fail to realize the pervasiveness of His transforming work, that he’s doing RIGHT OUT in the OPEN! It’s hiding in plain sight, like leaven in a lump of dough. That before you know it, will transform and permeate the entire lump!!
It’s the kingdom coming!! WOMAN - YOU ARE LOOSED! Satan’s domain is repealed and the kingdom of God is made present. And evident!! And it’s going to spread, and transform everything it touches!
I think that’s partly what you see with the Sabbath. That is transformed to the Lord’s Day. That’s what you see with the sacrificial system of Judaism. For it is impossible for the blood of Bulls and goats to take away sin, but CHRIST has been offered as a sacrifice once and for all, to take AWAY SIN!! That’s what Jesus is doing with the Temple, the presence of God, it’s found in Him! You could go on and on. Jesus is transforming the lump!! Because that’s what the kingdom of God looks like!!
And Beloved, he does it in us!! AMEN?
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
This is the work of God! Causing us to be born again. Making us into New CREATURES in Christ. All of it through the subtle, yet powerful working of His SPIRIT in us. Removing our heart of stone, and giving to us a new heart, a heart of flesh. That loves the LORD!
Quite, Slow, unseen, but pervasive!! Transforming us.
It begins with the subtlety and foolishness of preaching. God is opening up His word to us! It begins with the inner working of the Spirit’s moving in us!! We are bumping into so many biblical doctrines here.
This is God’s effectual calling. The Spirit working the heart of a sinner. Unseen at first, supernatural. but it is demonstrated through the fruit of a changed life!
This is the work of Regeneration! And what beings in Regenerating us. He continues in SANTIFIYING US.
This is what one Old Baptist Confession says - the 2nd London Confession.
They who are united to Christ, effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection, are also farther sanctified, really and personally, through the same virtue, by his Word and Spirit dwelling in them
Moreover, what Paul says to the Philippians 1:6
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
And this transforming work changes everything about us!! God’s work is total and complete!!
“Regeneration is a universal change; the whole man is renewed... Grace does not make a new man in part only, but entirely. As sin has defiled the whole man—mind, will, and affections—so grace must leaven the whole lump until Christ be formed within." - Thomas Boston
You think about the simplicity of what Jesus is saying here. Mustard seed was just a common little to nothing seed, but it grew into something expansive and unstoppable. Bread was about as common as the day long, and just a little leaven, leavened the entirety of the dough!
From these common images, Jesus says, “ This is what the kingdom of God is like!” You can see it, and miss it, but when it comes, it’s undeniable! Its expanse is evident. Its fruit is clear! Its transforming power is clearly seen!
This is why Paul says in Colossians 1:13-14 that Christ
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Can you say today, there is evidence of this transforming work of God in your heart? Can you give evidence of the leaven of Christ and His Spirit, transforming you into a new creature! Have you been born again? Is there evidence of the Spirit’s work in you.
Or is it masked through Moralism? Is it masked through religion? You know I can’t help but think of this Ruler of the Synagogue, who can’t see what Jesus is doing right before Him. This is a woman who has been healed and loosed from Satan’s grip for 18 years. And He’s indignant!!
It’s a reminder that it’s possible to be protective of outward law-keeping, that is, void of inward transformation of the heart. And you be missing the very work of the Kingdom of God!
And here Jesus is standing before His own people, telling them of the Kingdom they longed for, they anticipated to see coming! And Jesus says, it’s like a mustard seed. Small and insignificant!! But undeniable in its expanse. It’s like little leaven that’s hidden. But soon it’s all encompassing.
And soon, this very King of Kingdom, will be reject and despised. Treated as nothing and insignificant. He’ll be tossed out as a worthless lump, a block of stumbling and offense. A stump from the shoot of Jesse will be cut down to the ground at Calvary.
But His KINGDOM CANNOT BE BURY!! HIS KINGDOM CANNOT BE STOPPED! HIS LEAVEN WILL BURST FORTH and SPREAD!
When that crucified and buried seed bursts forth from the tomb! And this once despised and rejected King, now leaves the NATIONS with his GOSPEL!! AND CALLS ALL MEN TO COME AND REPENT of THEIR SIN, and TRUST HIM FOR SALVATION!
So don’t look to the old lump of law keeping to SAVE. FOR CHRIST has TRANSFORMED the means by which we must enter the KINGDOM!!
FOR CHRIST is the END OF THE LAW for RIGHTEOUSNESS to everyone who believes!! (Romans 10:4)
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
So bring your life to him! Bring your old lump of sin, and your cold, dead heart unto CHRIST. AND BE TRANSFORMED into A NEW CREATURE! BY HIS GRACE!!
For this is the KINGDOM of GOD at work
Sermon Summary: God’s Kingdom Grows and Transforms the world and heart!
