The Kingdom of God

He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 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.” And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

What we have here is really two different brief pericope’s that teach two different, but balanced lessons concerning the Kingdom. Along with the broader context of chapters 12&13, our verses alternate between hope and judgment concerning God’s kingdom come through Jesus. The note of hope encourages those who follow Jesus in the present phase of the kingdom, and the note of judgment lights a fire of urgency under those who hear, that they ought to respond quickly before the door closes.

The tenor of hope I believe this arises in this context because the disciples would be inclined to be discouraged or overwhelmed by the ever-increasing opposition to Jesus (and his movement) from the Jewish religious establishment, so Luke includes here a couple of Jesus’ parables that would have been an encouragement about the nature of the Kingdom. Luke is bringing us on the journey of a disciple coming to fully grasp who Jesus is and the type of Kingdom he initiated in this phase of history.

More specifically, in the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven (used positively this time), we learn the following about present…

Kingdom Growth: Small Beginnings, Gradual but Effective, Reaching Everywhere

The seemingly small beginnings of the kingdom were no indication of its ultimate effectiveness and triumph. - Jews expected God’s kingdom to come either through a major military and political shift, or by some apocalyptic invasion of heaven to earth to set up a kingdom.

It was not to be so. Not only had Jesus come in the most ordinary means of birth as a man (though uniquely virgin born), but his kingdom was not causing a giant, instantaneous regional and global political reversal.

Even though God’s kingdom at this phase was a spiritual one with a quiet beginning, it would still grow and spread to have its intended and full triumphant impact.

That’s where these parables of mustard seed and leaven come in. - Have you ever planted a seed and nurtured it as it sprouted and grew? (a green bean plant, or a towering oak) Have you added yeast to dough and waited for it to rise?

Jesus’ audience could picture this image of the mustard seed. It was likely common in an agrarian society, and familiar to the people.

Mustard Seed

The mustard seed was small and ordinary. But as it grew, a mustard plant might flourish up to 8-12 feet high, flowering with beautiful yellow blooms and attracting birds to perch in its branches... or make nests in its shade (Mk 4:32).

And Luke may use the word tree here stylistically (for this mustard plant or shrub) as a contrast to the fruitless fig tree (this faithless generation in Israel, 13:6-9). Or maybe Jesus himself was retelling his own metaphor (which we can tell he did various places in the gospels), this time using the word tree to the same effect (as I suggested about Luke), and also emphasizing the unique nature of this particular seed: what seemed a small and ordinary beginning would in fact supernaturally yield a tree from that mustard seed.

It will increase to the point that birds will dwell securely in its branches. Birds here may also be a reference to the nations, indicating a similar thread to what is stated in v. 29.

So the kingdom starts small, growing gradually but effectively, and eventually giving security and rest to many. When Jesus has finished his mission on earth, the mustard tree will have triumphed to maturity, able to support those who would seek rest and security in the Kingdom of God through Him.

The parable of the leaven has a similar meaning with a different nuance:

Leaven

Takes time to spread, and it does so unseen, but it will ultimately reach everywhere.

Three measures of flour, as far as we understand, would have produced a lot of bread, enough to feed 100 people. A small amount of leaven added in would still spread through all that dough.

Both these parables emphasize the apparently inconsequential and unnoticed arrival of the kingdom, and most likely also intend to show that the growth process is gradual. But in spite of small beginnings and gradual growth, Jesus’ kingdom is still guaranteed to grow to maturity and spread everywhere.

So to Jesus’ followers, then and now, it is a note of hope and trust in God, for he is not done working the spread of his kingdom throughout the earth.

Be encouraged; take courage. The kingdom is present in Jesus, and the ultimate triumph of His kingdom is sure.

Now Luke shifts back to Jesus warning Israel of their limited time to respond or face judgment. Still in this wheelhouse of the nature of the kingdom, a new metaphor shifts attention toward the means of entry into the kingdom, with particular emphasis on the Kingdom at its hour of consummation.

Kingdom Entry: Narrow Door, Nearly Shut

Luke tells us that this takes place as Jesus is “journeying toward Jerusalem.” - Luke’s narrative does not exclude Jesus from making other trips to Jerusalem for feasts, which he did, but this entire section (9:51-19:44) is Luke’s way of depicting that Jesus’ ministry shifted it’s focus more particularly toward the work he would accomplish in Jerusalem by his sacrificial death and resurrection.

As we read we also wonder where the question arises from that initiates this teaching from Jesus? “Will those who are saved be few?” - Jesus had previously taught...

Matthew 7:13–14 ESV

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

The religious professionals were opposing Jesus, and while the crowds were excited about what Jesus could do, fewer and fewer were truly following. At times Jesus was even discouraging fair-weather followers, those who were not committed to believing that he is the Messiah who was to come.

Jesus answers the question with an explanation that many, particularly here referencing Israel, would find at the future consummation of the kingdom that they are on the outside looking in.

But first he warns his listeners therefore that they ought to…

Strive to Enter

Put in the work to find the only narrow door leading to the kingdom—faith in the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

Illust - A friend says, “I think I believe that there is a God.” … Then you better find out what this God expects from you!

That is not of course to suggest that he can save himself, restore himself to God, by some merit/work of righteousness on his own part.

Here’s a common type of illustration, that help us understand our need to respond: There’s a free concert at the college… After all the students have had a chance to get their free tickets, then it is open to the public. The concert is free, but you must still get your ticket.

Now, the only shortcoming of the illustration is, as we understand doctrinally from God’s word, we would not, nor could not, even value our need to attend the concert. Without the Father using the Holy Spirit to draw us (breathing spiritual life to convict of sin and cause us to desire restoration to God), we won’t accept the free gift. So we can’t even take any credit for responding in faith. Scripture teaches that we can’t take credit for responding, but we must do so:

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The Gospel of John records Jesus saying,

John 6:44 ESV

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:35–40 ESV

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

God, in his complete sovereignty, holds man accountable, responsible for rejection and rebellion. What might seem an apparent contradiction to us, or at least a mystery, is certainly no contradiction in the mind and will of God.

J. I. Packer, in his book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Chicago: Inter-Varsity Press, 1967), p. 23, captures the essence of this mystery (God’s sovereignty and human responsibility) when he writes, “Man is a responsible moral agent, though he is also divinely controlled; man is divinely controlled, though he is also a responsible moral agent.”

There are several places in scripture, as we have already seen, where these truths are juxtaposed, but here is one example from Peter’s sermon to Jews in Jerusalem on the very day that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost:

Acts 2:22–23 ESV

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Now back to the first installment of Luke’s writing. The point Jesus continues to make (in this section of Luke) while he is present with them is their responsibility for rejecting him. So he tells all listening to strive to be among the few who enter by the narrow door now rather than the many Jews of this generation who attempt to do so later when it is too late because the door has been shut.

Jesus, the Only Door

As I already began showing from John’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his followers that he is the one who uniquely reveals God and grants relational access to God. Here are some further examples, the first of which is the same as the one in our passage in Luke:

John 10:9 ESV

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

In the very same context, he expresses his role with another metaphor:

John 10:11 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:27 ESV

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Later, Jesus says to Martha when her brother (and Jesus’ friend), Lazarus, had died:

John 11:25–26 ESV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

And one more example from John … to Thomas when Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure in the final week before his sacrificial death and resurrection:

John 14:6–7 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus is the only door to right relationship with God.

When the Door Is Shut

When will some seek to enter, and why will they not be able? - They will not be able to enter at the future consummation of the Kingdom because they did not accept Jesus as the only means to God in this life.

So when are they now seeking to enter? When it’s too late. The master of the house, God, has risen and shut the door. - This certainly must reference the time when there is no longer opportunity to trust in Christ—whether by physical death or at the return of Christ.

Jesus also explains concerning…

Jewish Rejection & Gentile Invitation

Most Jews assumed the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of God were one and the same. But such was not to be the case. The kingdom of God came through Israel, the line of Abraham, but initiated a spiritual kingdom that was offered not only to Jews but would be open to Gentiles as well. - v. 29

In fact, Jesus points out, many of the very ones in Israel who had seen and been with Jesus (had table fellowship with him and he taught in their towns, v. 26), were those who did not receive Jesus as Messiah (on God’s own terms instead of their own). Thus, they could not get in the closed door by mere acquaintance with Jesus.

He said to them, (twice) I do not know where you come from (I don’t know you), and adds: depart from me, all you workers of evil (v. 27).

Nor could they get in simply by being Jewish: v. 28. (weeping and gnashing… reference to inconsolable grief and anguish bc of judgment - in some places clearly identified with hell)

Jesus ends the saying with this: Some of the last (Gentiles I presume in this context) will be first, and some of the first (Jews, Israel) will be last… because they have not entered through Jesus as the door, while there was opportunity.

[Conclusion]

The kingdom of God is in fact present on earth through the coming of Jesus, inaugurated in particular through his death and resurrection. Although its present phase is spiritual, unseen, and its beginnings seemingly inconsequential, the triumph of God’s Kingdom is sure. The question is not whether God’s Kingdom will triumph and reach completion, when he rules visibly over all creation. The only question is whether or not you have found rest and security in God through Jesus or will keep trusting in yourself and ultimately discover that you find yourself on the outside looking in when it’s too late.

Enter by the narrow door before it is shut.

Are you among the many, or the few? ***

There is a difference between casual acquaintance with Jesus and a personal relationship with him.

The triumph of the kingdom is sure, but we have opportunity yet to participate in its growth and spread.

When Jesus is facing adversaries and outright rejection, and the disciples know that they too would face similar things, Jesus encouraged them with the hope that the Kingdom would triumph. The apparent small start of the kingdom and the seeming slowness of growth was not an indication of its inherent power or effectiveness. God’s Kingdom on earth through Jesus would, and has, and will continue to spread to the ends of the earth, and will have the intended effect of providing eternal security and rest for those whom God claims as his own.

Do you want to stay encouraged? Content and joyful? Then remain tethered to God’s kingdom purposes. Stay involved in, stay active in, stay focused on Kingdom work. Remain submissive to and dependent on your King. As those who belongs to God through faith in Jesus, we understand that our sense of fulfillment, meaning, and purpose is tied to knowing God better and making him known to others. Sometimes progress is slow, but we know that if we stay consistent to nurture our walk with God and faithfully present others with accountability and submission to Him, growth and change occurs according to the goodness and sovereignty of God.

Galatians 6:9–10 ESV

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Pray

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