Harmony #67: The First Shall Be Last (Luke 13:10-30)

Last week, we looked at the parable of a struggling fig tree assumed to be useless that was rescued by the one who has not given up on that tree’s future. Cue the story of Jesus healing a woman on whom society had given up.

 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, and a woman was there who had been disabled by a crippling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said, “Dear woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work should be done! So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day.”

Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, and lead it to water? Then shouldn’t this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be released from this imprisonment on the Sabbath day?”

We are still talking about the hypocritical nature of the Pharisees, as we have been for several weeks. This is all variations on a theme.

• Chapter 12: they could read the physical/earthly seasons but not the spiritual/heavenly seasons.

• Chapter 13: they were worried about physical death but not about their own spiritual death.

• Now, they would loose their donkeys on the Sabbath to get water but not loose a ‘daughter of Abraham’ from the power of Satan.[1] (Look for Abraham to get a shout out again shortly.) The spiritual leaders of the people have not been giving their people the spiritual food or moral leadership they need.

When he said this all his adversaries were humiliated, but the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.[2]

Being a follower of Jesus does not always mean trouble and persecution. It also includes the rejoicing of those around us as the goodness and provision of the Kingdom of God spills over into the world. Jesus, his disciples, and the early church experienced both of these realities. Generally speaking, the average person seems to have been attracted to this loving, generous, transformed new Kingdom community. It’s why the church grew at a near miraculous rate. Generally speaking,those in the halls of power hated them. The loving, generous provision of those with servant’s hearts committed to a spiritual Kingdom with God as their King undermined the power and coercion of the Empire. Something to watch for:

• When people in the halls of power love us followers of Jesus, we should consider that perhaps we aren’t spiritually subversive enough when we offer a biblical, counter-cultural way of life.

• When our neighbors hate us instead of rejoicing that we are near, we should consider that perhaps we aren’t being ‘the hands and feet of Jesus’ in a way that reveals the heart of Jesus.

It turns out that people like to know they are worth caring about. One thing that strikes me in Jesus’ ministry as how he led with care that matched the situation: practical, emotional, spiritual. Someone once gave me a sign to put up in my office that read, “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Point taken. The Pharisees mockingly called Jesus a “friend of sinners” because He spent so much time with them - even having meals with them (which was a huge gesture of the honor and friendship). May we all earn the same label they gave Jesus.

Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

In both cases the beginning is small. The mustard seed was considered ‘the smallest seed you plant in the ground’ (Mark 4:31). The yeast is only a tiny part of the dough. Both of them grew: the seed developed into a tree in which birds could take refuge (the Gentiles? The citizens of the Kingdom?). The yeast will double the size of the dough. #justaguess

This is how the Kingdom works: small beginnings, a few disciples, one life changed at a time. But, as Zechariah 4:19 says,  “Who dares despise the day of small things?” From this has grown the global Kingdom of God of which millions and millions have participated.

Don’t despise the small prayer. Don’t despise the small act of service. Don’t despise small times of devotions. Don’t despise the small act of kindness. Don’t despise small steps forward. Don't despise small victories in yourself or others.

You want to get ripped? One day at a time. Even small workouts. Get smart? The small moments of each day are filled with opportunity. Play an instrument? The small moments of practice matter. Strengthen friendships? Small acts of connection. Go deeper in Scripture? Any act of study is good. Have a stronger prayer life? Small prayers are fine. Fix your eyes on what Paul calls the “prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus,” and then take one right step at a time.

Then Jesus traveled throughout towns and villages, teaching and making his way toward Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”

Okay, Jesus has just talked about the Kingdom of Heaven as small. This tracks with Jewish belief.[3]  Jewish people expected a banquet for the righteous few in the next age of God’s kingdom (Isaiah 25:6). Meanwhile, guess who that righteous few were? With a few exceptions, it was all the Jewish people. Jesus is about to upend this notion. The Gentiles will participate in the blessings of the kingdom even as some of the Jews do not.

So he said to them, “Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door (straight gate), because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord, let us in!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t 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 reply, ‘I don’t know where you come from! Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves thrown out.

Then people will come from east and west, and from north and south,[4] and take their places at the banquet table in the kingdom of God.  But indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

I think the first key to understanding this parable occurs here: “when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.” Jesus is talking specifically to the descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people, who assumed they would enter the kingdom. I suspect he is even more pointedly talking to the Pharisees, the ‘first’ part of group that was the ‘first’ (and perhaps the exclusive) recipients of the Kingdom.

Jesus shows them knocking at the door of the kingdom (they can see it: they are so close!) but they can’t access the Kingdom even though they (literally) ate and drank together with Jesus[5], and he literally talked in their streets.

It turns out that it will be those assumed to be unwanted or rejected who have really understood and responded to who Jesus is. #thewomanatthestartofthispassagewhopraisedGod

I think the second key is to ask when and where the Kingdom is. In just a couple chapters, Luke records Jesus making it very clear:

 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:21)

The Kingdom had already started. The feasting had already begun.[6] And…oof…the Pharisees are missing out.

* * * * *

There are three other passages in which Jesus uses some of the same language and imagery.

In Matthew 7, Jesus used a similar analogy about a narrow path/door; in the context, it’s the path of humility, repentance and grace filled with people who will “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (7:12)

In Matthew 8, after a Gentile Roman centurion’s profession of Jesus’ authority and power when Jesus healed his son, we see familiar language. Jesus remarks on the centurion’s faith and says,

Many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.[7] But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:10-12) 

Matthew 19:27-20:16 uses familiar language and includes a whole parable. After the Rich Young Ruler refuses to follow Jesus because he loved his money, Jesus gave a teaching to his disciples on the dangers of wealth. He assures them there is a reward for following God (eternal life!), and then warns them that wanting to be ‘first’ – the best, the most favored, the elite – is going to mean they will be the last to appreciate the good gifts of life in the Kingdom. At both the beginning and the end he reminds them, ”The last will be first, and the first will be last.[8]

• In Matthew 7, the narrow gate/road is something chosen now. Missing the Kingdom now means missing out on the riches of the kingdom: salvation, repentance (and forgiveness), grace, truth, real communion with God. Plus, a community of humble and generous people, who are committed to love, whose lives are defined by the Golden Rule. #lifemoreabundant  

• In Matthew 8, kingdom life is now (the faith of the centurion and the healing of his son) and later (“many will come”) - the “now and not yet” aspect of the Kingdom. In this situation, the frustration and anger felt by the religious leaders seems to be the fact that they can see people living in the Kingdom of God right in front of them, but they can’t seem to experience it themselves.

• In Matthew 19, it’s about something later, a future kingdom reality.

So, the “not yet” part of the Kingdom of Heaven is - obviously - yet to come, but the feasting had already begun. It’s happening now. Remember what Jesus told his disciples last week: “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”

After a short interlude in which Jesus is warned that Herod is looking for him, he gives what seems to be his closing thoughts on the previous several chapters of material.

(Luke 13:34-35; Matthew 23:37-39)

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!

Look, your house is forsaken and left to you desolate![9]  [The Shekinah – the glory of the Lord - has vanished from you now.[10]] For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ “[11]

May I point out the hope in today’s passage? It’s not just for those of who are like the woman whose story opened this section. It’s for us Pharisees.

In the Matthew 19 parable, Jesus called them all ‘friends’ even as he warned the grumbling ‘firsts’ that they would be the last to enjoy the goodness of the Kingdom. Today’s parable didn’t say, “The first don’t stand a chance.” It implies they will enter, but they will be the last ones to enter, perhaps “as those saved through the fire.”[12] Pride, power and hypocrisy are a tough combination to give up and replace with humility, servanthood, and integrity.

But remember last week when we talked about the farming analogy of Israel being grafted back into the Kingdom even after it had been cut off? Romans 11 again:

“Branches… were removed because they did not believe… If those branches that have been cut from the tree do not stay in unbelief, then God will carefully graft them back onto the tree because He has the power to do that...”

Hope remains. The people may be forsaken and desolate, but Jesus - the blessed one who comes in thename of the Lord -  will not leave them forsaken and desolate. Just because it’s their history doesn’t mean it’s their destiny. One day they will have the opportunity to say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Some commentators suggest he’s just pointing toward the moment when he enters Jerusalem to the Jewish people saying that line. Maybe, but I agree with the commentators who suggest this is primarily about the moment when people genuinely see who Jesus is, and recognize the goodness of salvation and life in the Kingdom offered on the other side of the cross and the empty tomb.[13]

God intends for His Kingdom to come, and His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. It begins now with our repentance, God’s forgiveness, and the resulting salvation as we are delivered from spiritual death and from chains of sins and given the freedom of life in Jesus with the family of God, the community of the church.

How does God intend that to look? Love. Care. Provision. Hope. Joy. Peace. Patience. Gentleness. Goodness. Kindness. Self-control. (You might be recognizing the fruit of the Spirit.) Being in a community of brothers and sisters united by Jesus who are committed to loving each other.

I invite you today to enter the Kingdom of God if you haven’t. Give your heart, soul, mind and strength to Jesus, and embrace the Kingdom of God in its life-changing beauty.

It is here, now.

_____________________________________________________________________

[1] The verb for “set free” concerning the woman is the same word used for untying the donkey (luō). (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament) 

[2] The next chapter in Luke has a very similar story. (Luke 14:1-6) “Now one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine at the house of a leader of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely. There right in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. So Jesus asked the experts in religious law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, “Which of you, if you have a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” But they could not reply to this.”

[3]  “The Most High made this world for the sake of many, but the world to come for the sake of only a few... . Many have been created, but only a few shall be saved.” (2 Esdras  8:1–3) 

[4] “They shall come from the east, and from the west” points to Isaiah 49:12; Isaiah 14:6.

[5] See my earlier footnote on Luke 14:1-6.

[6] “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” Luke 12:32

[7] Remember: “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”

[8] “That would be more similar to a saying found in the rabbinic literature: “Some obtain and enter the kingdom in an hour, while others reach it only after an lifetime” (b. ʻAbod. Zar. 17a).” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)

[9] The language of being forsaken and desolate seems to refer Jeremiah 12.

[10] The Cambridge Bible For Schools and Colleges likes that as the translation.

[11] A quote from Psalm 118.

[12] 1 Corinthians 315

[13] “It is a most frivolous interpretation of these words to make them merely refer to the Hosannas of Palm Sunday (Luke 19:38)…They clearly refer to the future and final penitence of Israel. Hosea 3:4-5; Psalm 118:26 (Cambridge Bible For Schools and Colleges)

Bengel’s Gnomen sees his triumphal arrival in Jerusalem as “not the full and exhaustive fulfillment…the time is yet future when the Jews, according to Psalm 118:22; Psalm 118:26, Zechariah 4:7; Zechariah 12:10, shall recognize Him...”

“The promise… can only refer to the far future, to the day of the penitence of Israel…when the people shall look on him whom they pierced, and shall mourn. But that mourning will be turned speedily into joy.” (Pulpit Commentary)

Harmony #33: The Wind And The Waves Obey Him (Mark 4-5; Matthew 8; Luke 8)

In the parables about the kingdom of God, Jesus had claimed that his new Kingdom was going to grow from very small, almost invisible beginnings to fill the whole earth. If he claims a kingdom, he better be a king. Now he will show that he has the power and authority to make that happen.[1] Before we dive in to today’s passage, we need to talk about the time and place where Jesus lived.

The Jewish people were not a seafaring people. They liked land. You see throughout the Old Testament that they associated the sea with the fear and chaos.

·      Psalms describes the sea as a dangerous place (30:1; 69:1-3)

·      The sea contained Leviathan, which symbolized chaos and destruction that only God could control (Isaiah 17:12; 27:1; 51:9-10; Psalm 65:5-7; 77:19; 89:9; 93:3-4; Exodus 14-15; Isaiah 51:10; Daniel 7:2-7; Job 7:12).

·      Once, on the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus walked toward them on the water during a storm, they were like, “Yeah, that’s a ghost,”[2] as if, obviously. That’s the kind of thing that shows up in a storm on the sea.

·      The prophets saw God’s ability to control the sea as proof that God was strong enough to redeem his people (Isaiah 63:11–14; Isaiah 10:24–26; 43:2, 16–17; 50:2; Zechariah 10:11).[3]

·      Isaiah 51:9–10 celebrates the deliverance from Egypt in this way: “Was it not you who cut Rahab [Leviathan] to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?”

The fact that they didn’t like the sea didn’t mean they avoided fishing. In the area where Jesus grew up, the Sea of Galilee was the place to fish. This lake is about 7 miles by 12 miles, so it’s big. Much like the great lakes, strong storms could hit fast. It’s surrounded by hills with openings where a river enters and then exits, and that funnels strong wind. When we read today that Jesus and his disciples went from one side to the other, it wasn’t just a jaunt. And to get hit by a major storm in the middle of the lake was terrifying.

When they get to the other side, they are in an area that is mostly Gentile. The inhabitants apparently came from to the Canaanite nations driven out of the Promised Land by Joshua and the Israelites (Joshua 3:10; Acts 13:19). These nations had worshiped Baal, and they ate (and sacrificed) pigs (Isaiah 65:3-5, 66:3).[4] 

The Jewish people who live there seem have assimilated quite a but into the culture of their neighbors, if for no other reason than they are comfortable living around a herd of 2,000 pigs (the Law forbade Jewish people from having or eating pigs). That’s likely a temple herd, which served two purposes: meat for a Roman legion stationed there (whose standard was a wild boar), and sacrifices for the temple. And in an interesting sidenote, these pigs were sometimes sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff and into the Sea of Galilee.[5]

Here, Jesus will meet a demon-possessed man. Keep in mind that Jews, Romans, and Greeks all believed in a supernatural world inhabited by, among other things, demons that could possess people (though they didn’t agree on what demons were). Demons, though below the gods in their pantheons, were semi-divine beings that often became the local spiritual authority (think of Paul talking about people sacrificing to demons)[6]. When people were freed from a demon, typically some type of physical sign was necessary. Here are two examples from the culture at that time. The first is from the Greeks.

But Apollonius… ordered him to quit the young man and show by a visible sign that he had done so. “I will throw down yonder statue,“ said the devil, and pointed to one of the images that were in the king’s portico… when the statue began by moving gently, and then fell down, it would defy anyone to describe the hubbub which arose. [The account concludes with the young man showing his freedom from the demon by giving up his old way of living and following after Apollonius’ way of life.]

The second is from the Jewish community. Josephus records,

“Then, wishing to convince the bystanders and prove to them that he had this power, Eleazar placed a cup or foot basin full of water a little way off and commanded the demon, as it went out of the man, to overturn it and make known to the spectators that he had left the man. And when this was done, the understanding and wisdom of Solomon were clearly revealed.”[7]

So, the story we will read about demon possession and exorcism was not an unusual story for that time. There is record in all of those cultures of how the people went about trying to get demons out of people.

Jesus Calms a Storm (Mk 4:35-41; Mt 8:18, 23-27; Lk 8:22-25)
On that day, when evening came, Jesus saw a large crowd around him and said to his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” So after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was. As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him, and other boats were with him.

 Now a violent windstorm[hurricane] came down on the lake and a great storm [earthquake] developed on the sea. The waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. So they came and woke him up saying, “Lord (Master, Teacher), save us! Don’t you care that we are about to die?”

But Jesus said to them, “Why are you full of fear [fainthearted], you people of little faith [literally, failing to hear his voice][8]? Do you still not have faith [have you still not been persuaded]?” So Jesus got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the raging sea, “Be quiet! Calm down!”[9]

Then the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. But the disciples were overwhelmed by fear [respect, awe][10] and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!”

Jesus uses the same language to rebuke the wind as God did when he rebuked the waters at creation (Job 26:10–12) and later the Red Sea (Psalms 106:9).[11] Jesus’ power over nature was a sign that God was working again in history, as he had in the exodus from Egypt.[12]

Healing Demon-Possessed Man (Mk 5:1-20; Mt 8:28-34; Lk 8:26-39)

So they sailed to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat and stepping ashore, a certain man with an unclean spirit (demon- possessed) came from the tombs near the town and met him.[13]

He was extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way. For a long time this man had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among the tombs. No one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, but he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces.

No one was strong enough to subdue him. He would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places. Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him. Then he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God—do not torment me! Have you come here to torment me before the time?”  (For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”)

Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?”[14]And he said, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” He begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of the region into the abyss.  There on the hillside, some distance from them, a great herd of pigs was feeding. And the demonic spirits begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.”[15]

 Jesus gave them permission and said, “Go!” So the unclean spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of pigs rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about two thousand were drowned in the lake.

 Now the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, telling everything that had happened to the demon-possessed man. So the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They found the man from whom the “Legion” of demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid [respect; awe].

Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed, and they also told about the pigs. Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they asked Jesus to leave them alone and begged him to leave their region, for they were seized with great fear [dread][16]. So he got into the boat and left.

As Jesus was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, “Return to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you.” So he went away and began to proclaim throughout the whole Decapolis what Jesus had done for him, and all were amazed.

In both incidents we see:

·      Chaos and violence; a physical and spiritual storm that seemingly cannot be controlled.

·      The command to be silent. Literally, be muzzled.[17]

·      The resultant calm.

·      A ‘fear’ from observers that is at one point awe and another point dread, though the order is reversed: the disciples start with dread and end with awe; the others start with awe and end with dread.

* * * * *

The episode with the storm is not a new kind of story in the Bible. We constantly see a God who brings order out of chaos often represented as a turbulent, storm-ridden sea. Psalm 46celebrates the fact that even while the mountains are falling into the sea and the waters roar and foam, God’s people have no need to fear. ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10).

The disciples see clearly that Jesus holds the power that only God has. The same one who can restore peace to a tempest can also restore peace to a demonised life.[18] The King knows how to rule His Kingdom.

As I was studying this week, I found my empathy for the disciples increasing. It’s hard to trust God in the midst of storms. I appreciate this story. Jesus said, “Let’s go to the other side. Let’s go on a trip from here to there.” And the disciples were like, “Fantastic!” They had no idea that before they got to where Jesus intended for them to go, they would fear for their lives a storm hit that threatened to capsize their boat. And as far as they could tell, the King didn’t care that much about his Kingdom. He was asleep at the time they needed him most.

I’m not gonna lie – I would have yelled at him too. I mean, I have. Maybe you have to.

But notice Jesus doesn’t give up on them or leave them. In fact, the only thing he rebukes is the storm. He just reminds them: “If you really understood what I was saying, you would be persuaded to believe I am who I say I am, and you would not be afraid.”

He doesn’t berate or belittle them. He doesn’t shame them. He doesn’t reject them. He does yet another thing that should help them be persuaded to believe his is who he claimed.[19] And then he takes them on his next mission. He takes the ones cowering in the boat to his confrontation of a demon-possessed man who was ripping chains apart. I mean, if I were picking a band of brothers to go with me into that kind of situation, I wouldn’t want the group that had just yelled at me for not caring about them. But it worked out just fine, because Jesus didn’t need their power or their amazing fearlessness to take care of business.

It tends to make stories more meaningful if we can find ourselves in the story. Well, there we are. The disciples. Going from being in awe of Jesus, then wondering why he apparently doesn’t care, then being amazed again. Going from “Life is good!” to, “I might not survive this storm. Wherever we’re going, I’m not sure I’m gonna make it.” Lather, rinse, repeat.

But life unfolds like this story unfolds. There’s calm, then chaos, then calm, then chaos. Hope, then fear; peace, then anxiety; joy, then mourning. The sea of life is at times beautiful and at times not. Meanwhile, the King is in the boat with us.

One thing I know: with Jesus, will get to the other side of the most important journey of all, the one through this life and into the next. The second thing I know is that any storm I face on this of eternity, it will never be stronger than Jesus. He constantly, over and over, “makes a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over.”

The second thing I notice is that these two incidents give a real world example of the parables of the Kingdom Jesus just told.

Parable of the Sower: Jesus said, “Did you fail to hear my voice? Were you not persuaded?” He is pointing out that his word had not take root well at that point. They “received it with great joy,” but it was still shallow, and the cares of the world threatened to choke it out. The truth he had given them was struggling to grow well.

Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds: They are heading to a place with more weeds than wheat. When Jesus gets there, he does not destroy the weeds. Similar to what happened in Samaria with the Woman at the Well, he shows that in the Kingdom, the weeds can still become wheat. As long as there is time, we plant God’s truth.

The Parable of the Farmer: Just like the wheat grew without the farmer’s input, the possessed man was freed through no strength of his own. He was in over his head. Only Jesus could do it. And now the word was going to spread and Kingdom grow not because that man was amazing, but because Jesus is.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed: As the kingdom spreads (in this case to Gerasenes), others, like the demon-possessed man, benefit from it. And just like the evil birds from the Sower end up in the healing branches of the kingdom, so does the demoniac. The Kingdom rightly expressed should make everyone’s life better. If the branches of the spreading tree don’t provide healing to the nations[20] and hope for the brokenhearted[21], and it’s not a place where the weary and heavy-laden can find rest,[22] it’s not the Kingdom.

The Parable of the Yeast: Jesus just sends one man to evangelize the area. It only takes a spark. In the Hunger Games, they encourage each other with, “May the odds be ever in your favor.” That would be nice, but the odds may never be in our favor, and that’s okay. The power of the good news of Jesus Christ has overcome the odds over and over.

The Parables of the Pearl and Treasure. Notice that the inhabitants of the land don’t want what Jesus offers. It’s too high of a price. Their lives were oriented around the worship of the gods they knew. That pig herd = money. Staying on the good side of their god = comfort. Having a Roman legion that depended on them for food = security. I suspect that when Jesus handled Legion so easily, that was unsettling, which is why awe turned to fear. It’s a sobering reminder of the human tendency to look away when Jesus threatens to upend our lives.

* * * * * *

Parable of the Sower: Are the things we have “received with great joy” taking root? How will we know? There will be a crop of that which was planted. Forgiveness =forgiving. Love = loving. Kindness = doing kind things. Patience = actually being patient. Peacemaking = contributing to peace, not contention. Learning about Jesus = leaning on Jesus.

Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds: Take heart: Jesus turns weeds into wheat. He knows which one you are or how much you have of each in your heart, and He plans to do work. He did not come to destroy you; he came to destroy that which is destroying you so that you might have life.[23]

The Parable of the Farmer: Gospel truth will spread and the Kingdom will grow not because we are amazing, but because Jesus is amazing. His strength is perfected – shown in its full glory – in the midst of our weakness. He who ‘began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.’ (Philippians 1:6)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed: The Kingdom rightly expressed should make everyone’s life better both in the Kingdom and around the Kingdom. As our branches spread, there is meant to be nourishment, protection and shade for all. It’s yet another way God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain to the just and unjust.”[24] How are the branches of this church? Are we growing and flourishing as God intended: as a healing place of truth and love; a grace-filled place of hope for the brokenhearted; an oasis in the desert of the world where the weary and heavy-laden can find rest? I’m not trying to call us out. It’s just a reminder of what the Kingdom rightly expressed looks like.

The Parable of the Yeast: Your life and testimony matter. You might be that one person going into places that might be indifferent at best or hostile at worst. Go. Tell them what Jesus has done for you, and them, and the world. For some of us, it can sound really intimidating to tell people about Jesus, especially if you were raised in an environment that said, “Evangelism will look like this for everybody! There’s a template!” Jesus’ instructions strike me as simple and doable. The man didn’t need a degree or have memorized the entire Bible or be radically extroverted or have any special skills or talents. “Tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you.” Huh. If that’s a way to “give an answer for the hope that lies within,” that’s doable.[25] It’s lovely to have a bunch of people doing this, but it starts with one.

The Parables of the Pearl and Treasure. If there is a tendency to look away when Jesus threatens to upend their lives, this is a reminder to see and process Jesus for who he is. The people in Gerasenes loved the life they had too much to be bothered with Jesus. And it’s not as if the disciples didn’t struggle with this. At one point Peter rebuked Jesus for saying Jesus was going to be killed. “That will never happen to you.” Based on Jesus reply, I get the impression that Peter was trying to reassure himself that there would be no hard times if he stuck with Jesus.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)

Or, as Paul would later say it:

Whatever I used to count as my greatest accomplishments, I’ve written them off as a loss because of Jesus, the Anointed One. And more so, I now realize that all I gained and thought was important was nothing but yesterday’s garbage compared to knowing Jesus my Lord. For Him I have thrown everything aside—it’s nothing but a pile of waste—so that I may gain Him…  

I am charging on to gain anything and everything Jesus has in store for me—and nothing will stand in my way because He has grabbed me and won’t let me go.  Brothers and sisters, as I said, I know I have not arrived; but there’s one thing I am doing: I’m leaving my old life behind, putting everything on the line for this mission.

I am sprinting toward the only goal that counts: to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear God’s call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the Anointed.” (Philippians 3:7-14, excerpted)

___________________________________________________________________________________________

[1] Mark: A Ransom For Many, Welwyn Commentary Series

[2] Matthew 14

[3] NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

[4] https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/a-far-country-decapolis

[5] https://www.mysteriesofthemessiah.net/2016/01/08-06-03-gerasa-in-gadara-demon-possessed-gerasene/ 

[6] 1 Corinthians 10:20

[7] I found both of these stories recounted in “Demon Possession in the Greco-Roman World,” by Alan B. Howell.          

[8] The word used here is used 5 times in the Bible, and it always means failing to listen to what was being said. HELPS Word Studies. https://biblehub.com/greek/3640.htm

[9] ‘He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed’ (Psalm 107:29).

[10] Thayer’s Greek Lexicon

[11] NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

[12] NIV First Century Study Bible

[13] Matthew records two; Jesus only interacted with the one.

[14] “In God’s name.  This language appeared sometimes in magical exorcisms or often in other magical invocations of spirits…What is your name? Magicians often tried to control a spirit by using its name. If the spirits attempted to magically control Jesus in v. 7, they failed; here Jesus demands their name.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[15] If I am connecting the dots correctly between the locals associating demons with their local gods and the herd being for temple sacrifice, Legion basically says, “Those pigs are ours already. Can we just go into them?”

[16] Why dread? I suspect because their god had been beaten.

[17] “The exercising of authority over demons, in the land ‘under’ another god, was a message. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. And the people there were scared, they recognized this, but more, they realized the significance of this. Centuries earlier, just as God demonstrated His power against the Egyptian gods through Moses and Aaron, so likewise Jesus demonstrated His power against the Greek gods. Little wonder that they asked Him to leave. The Egyptians did the same to Moses.”

 https://www.mysteriesofthemessiah.net/2016/01/08-06-03-gerasa-in-gadara-demon-possessed-gerasene/

[18] Mark: A Ransom For Many, Welwyn Commentary Series

[19] It reminds me a bit of Doubting Thomas, who wouldn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he had more proof, and Jesus gave him more proof.

[20] Ezekiel 47:12; Revelation 22:2

[21] Psalm 34:18; 147:3

[22] Matthew 11:28-30

[23] John 10:10

[24] Matthew 5:45

[25] 1 Peter 3:15

Harmony #32: A Costly, Beautiful Kingdom

Quick review of the 5 parables last week, because these next two participate in the Big Picture story. I would have added them last week but I just didn’t have enough time.

• Parable of the Sower - Ideally, the seed of the Word/Truth of God grows in good heart soil and yields fruit,[1] but that’s not always the case. When the heart is hard, the ‘wild birds’ of the evil one snatch it away. When the heart is shallow, the seed will not take root. When the heart is compromised, the other things that have been sown in it will overpower the seed. So, have a heart ready for the truth.

• The Weeds And Wheat  - But be alert: more than one sower is competing for the hearts of people. In the sower’s field of the world (and the church?), the wheat will grow amidst counterfeits that threaten to ruin the harvest. Don’t panic. The wheat will grow and survive in a mixed field. The weeds can’t stop the wheat from being the wheat.

• The Seeds - Be humble: remember, this good crop of wheat is patiently and steadily flourishing thanks to the work of the Sower, work we don’t understand and wasn’t done in our power.

• The Mustard Seed - The kingdom of God will grow such that it offers safety and shade to all – even the ‘wild birds’ who once sought to stop it from growing (like the Apostle Paul).

• The Yeast - Just a few people can make a huge difference in the growth of the Kingdom.

This all sounds great! What’s not to like about the vision for global change? And his disciples are the yeast in that last parable, so how cool is that to be on the front end of this movement that is going to grow so large and be so compelling that even your former enemies will find rest in the branches of this Kingdom tree?  The Zealots probably weren’t happy – they wanted to fight – but it sounds like followers of Jesus can be a part of this organic growth of the Kingdom into all the world. Woo hoo!

Then Jesus wraps up this section of parables with a sobering and encouraging assessment.

Treasures And Pearls (Matthew 13:44-45)
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.

In other words, the kingdom of Heaven is unparalleled and glorious; also, being a part of it will cost you everything. Both people in the parables sold all that they had in order to have the Kingdom in their possession.

Jesus’ point isn’t that you can purchase your way into heaven. After all, “It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32). Jesus is just using an analogy to make the point that it’s important to count the cost. Luke records in the 14th chapter of his book that once when a large crowd was following Jesus, he gave them a reminder that I suspect thinned the crowd:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate [esteem less; renounce in favor of another][2] father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27)

This blunt contrast was a Jewish style of teaching to make a point about preference and allegiance. If we agree to follow Jesus, Jesus gets preeminence. He is the center of that kingdom treasure. But things must be given up to have this treasure. After telling two stories about how people don’t start building projects or go to war without first counting the cost, he says again:

“Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”  (Luke 14:33)

 The availability of the Kingdom of Heaven was made possible at great cost – the life of Jesus. The experience of the Kingdom in our lives comes with a costly trade as well: our life surrendered to the King in order to experience life in the Kingdom

[3] So, the Kingdom is a gift we can never buy. No amount of money, power, intelligence, achievement or social status does us any good. But to really live in the Kingdom, we must prize the kingdom more than we prize anything else. The point of selling everything in this parable is simply to show where our heart is, because “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Let’s clarify what this treasure is. It’s the spiritual state where we surrender heart, soul, mind and strength to grace-filled reign of the King, Christ Jesus.

Because it’s a spiritual state, the kingdom of heaven is advanced by the good news of the gospel. The kingdom of heaven Jesus is talking about in these parables can’t and won’t be found among the nations on the earth. It’s not a country or empire.[4] The kingdom of heaven is not in a geographic area where all things have become Christianized. It’s not a vision of Christian nationalism. Jesus said (John 18:36), “My kingdom is not of this world, else my disciples would fight.” 

Side note: I’m not talking about God’s future reign on earth when He wraps up history as we know it and ushers in the New Heaven and New Earth in which His kingdom reigns forever. This is about the kind of kingdom we live in until then, the one Jesus said was here now.

The kingdom of heaven is advanced when those who have been saved, sanctified, and transformed increasingly into the image of Jesus spread the good news of the gospel message of Jesus Christ in word and deed.

When we truly see and experience the treasure that is the kingdom rightly expressed, the loss of all the things we have traded will be an exercise in joy [grace recognized][5], not regret. Paul said it this way:

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7, 8)

What is so great about this Kingdom that the cost is worth it? In addition to things I’ve already mentioned – salvation, sanctification, etc - Peter talks about what should characterize those who are followers of the King:

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 

 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (2 Peter 1:3-8)

Envision, if you will, a community of Christ-followers in which this characterizes life together.

• We participate in the divine nature.

• We are freed of corrupt, evil desires.

• We have, in increasing measure, faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love.

 How would this not add joy [grace recognized] to the response we have already had to being made righteous thanks to Jesus? If this is really what is happening in us and in those who surround us in church community, that’s an oasis of life and hope in the desert of the world.

But it’s not a cheap joy in response to the grace of God: to really live like this is going to cost us. Self-control is hard. So is perseverance. And love. Yet we experience the richness of the Kingdom when are willing to offer what God has given for His kingdom above all else: our gifts, our talents, our resources—they all go on the altar. And as we experience it, the joy of the Lord is our strength.

So, let’s make the cost and benefit practical. What must we ‘sell’ in order to experience the goodness of the Kingdom? What must we put on the altar?

I started making a list this week, and it turned out something like this. I’m sure there’s more to add. I hope this inspires you to think about other ways we trade other treasure for the Kingdom treasure. I also hope it inspires you to talk about more of the nuance in each point, because there’s always more to say.

1.    Control for surrender.  “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1) This is trading Kingdom ruled by Self for Kingdom ruled by Jesus.  I willingly and freely agree to transfer the deed of my life to a new owner because I believe that He is a better caretaker and King than I can ever be.

2.    Pride for humility. “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” (Romans 12:3) We learn to be okay with not being perfect or even amazing. We learn to be okay with not being okay. There is freedom and growth in honest self-assessment in transparent and honest community.

3.    Independence for interdependence. “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12: 4-5) Our individuality is not obliterated like the Borg in Star Trek. We matter as individuals. But we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. I like a puzzle analogy: each piece is its own beautiful self, but it’s made to be part of Big Picture. The Big Picture needs it to be complete, and the piece needs the puzzle for context.

4.     Life hyper-focused on self to a life focused on others. “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.” (Colossians 3:12-17) Similar to my previous point, this does not obliterate our individuality. Part of that involves stewarding our own health so that we don’t burn out. That hurts us and short-circuits our ability to be present with others. This is once again about seeing that we are part of a body. Yes, we seek to keep our part of the body healthy, but remember that staying healthy is about more than just us: it participates in keeping the whole body in perfect harmony.

5.    Rights-based living for responsibility-based living. “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13) “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 10:45). We have been freed fromthe power of sin so that we are free to be who God has made us to be. Whenever our freedom hurts us or others, it’s no longer being used as God designed freedom to be used. We are designed to offer loving service filled with truth and grace to those around us.

Paul starts off 1 Corinthians 8 by saying, “We all possess knowledge, but knowledge puffs up but love builds up.” He then begins to talk about those who know that eating meat offered to idols is not a big deal.

“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge [about what is sin and what is not], eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?  

So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.” (1 Corinthians 8:9-13)

6.    Hard-heartedness for repentance. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) In order to confess our sins, we need to own our sins. In the Kingdom, it is honorable and noble to admit wrongdoing and acknowledge weakness. It isn’t weakness to admit it; it’s a display of the power of God at work in you. Yes, it may well be embarrassing and humbling, but there is a purity of heart and (hopefully) restoration of relationship on the other side. That’s a good trade-off.

7.    Vengeance for justice (guided by mercy).  “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone… Do not take revenge [full vindication], my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge [full vindication]; I will repay,” says the Lord.  On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21) “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) In the Kingdom, we give up the right to take full vindication into our own hands when someone wrongs us. It’s not that we get in the way of true justice: if someone has, say, burnt your house down, it’s a good idea that justice guided by mercy has a say in what needs to follow. But that’s different from you exacting that justice yourself, or demanding a full vindication that looks like what you want it to look like. We give up the right to make people pay like we want them to pay. Instead, we have the freedom that comes from remembering that injustice will not stand. God will have the last word no matter what happens on this side of eternity.

8.    Self-indulgence for self-control. “Here’s my instruction: walk in the Spirit, and let the Spirit bring order to your life. If you do, you will never give in to your selfish and sinful cravings. For everything the flesh desires goes against the Spirit, and everything the Spirit desires goes against the flesh. There is a constant battle raging between them that prevents you from doing the good you want to do... It’s clear that our flesh entices us into practicing some of its most heinous acts: participating in corrupt sexual relationships, impurity, unbridled lust, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, arguing, jealousy, anger, selfishness, contentiousness, division,  envy of others’ good fortune, drunkenness and drunken revelry, and other shameful vices that plague humankind. I told you this clearly before, and I only tell you again so there is no room for confusion: those who give in to these ways will not inherit the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit produces a different kind of fruit: unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.”(Galatians 5:16-23). Okay, seriously, which list looks better? Which one looks like a list for a life well lived? God has our flourishing in mind when He gives us Kingdom guiderails for the road of life. When we stay within them, that’s good for us and those around us. A whole community characterized by the fruit of the Spirit? That’s community gold.

1.    Grudges for forgiveness. “Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13) This isn’t saying that we must forget things that have happened, especially if it’s important to remember patterns in people’s lives lest we put ourselves or others in danger. It’s also not saying that consequence shouldn’t play out if that’s part of what justice looks like. One can hold tough boundaries with a gently heart. But there is so much freedom in letting go of bitterness and anger.

* * * * *

In the end, I keep coming back to this imagery of transferring the deed of our life. This is, I think, what we are being called to do: transferr the deed of our life to a better landowner - a King, in fact, the best one there is, who will not only take ownership of our life but invite us into the royal family.

This king is not going to force us; it’s an offer we can take or leave. God will not coerce us into His kingdom. But if we enter in response to His gracious offer, the cost of what we let go will pale in light of the goodness of life lived at the center of His grace.

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[1] “If the goal of the Christian life may be stated as Christlikeness, then surely every trait developed in us that reflects His character must be fruit that is very pleasing to Him. Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in nine terms in Galatians 5:22-23, and Peter urges the development of seven accompaniments to faith in order that we might be fruitful (2 Peter 1:5-8). Two of these terms are common to both lists: love and self-control. The others are joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, virtue, knowledge, endurance, piety, and brotherly love.” https://bible.org/illustration/what-fruit

[2] HELPS Word Studies definition.

[3] A lot of thoughts on the next page of notes I found at https://reformedwitnesshour.org/broadcast/the-kingdom-of-heaven-is-the-treasure/.

[4] “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold the kingdom of God is within you.”  (Luke 17:21)Jesus makes clear to Zaccheus that it’s spiritual: (John 3:3), “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

[5] HELPS Word Studies

Harmony #31: 5 Parables Of The Kingdom (Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8)

Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:1-9; Mk 4:1-9, 23; Lk 8:4-8)
On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake and began to teach.[1] People were coming to Jesus from one town after another. And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there while the whole crowd stood on the shore by the lake. He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching said to them: 

“Listen! A sower went out to sow his seed.[2] And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds came and devoured it.[3] Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. But when the sun came up, it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root and had no moisture, it withered. 

Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up with them and choked it, and it did not produce grain. But other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, sprouting and growing; some yielded thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred times.”[4]  And he said, “Whoever has ears had better listen!”

Parable of the Sower Explained (Mt 13:18-23; Mk 4:14-20; Lk 8:11-15)
 Now the parable means this: The seed is the word of God and the sower sows the word. When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one (Satan, the devil) comes and snatches away the word that was sown in his heart  so that he may not believe and be saved. This is the seed sown along the path. 

“The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. He believes for a while, but he has no root in himself and does not endure in a time of testing. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 

“The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but as they go on their way worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth and the pleasures of life choke the word, so it does not mature and produces nothing. 

 “But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word, understands and receives it, clinging to it with an honest and good heart and steadfast endurance. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” 

Parable of Wheat & Weeds (Mt 13:24–30; 36-43)
Jesus presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared. 

“So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’  “He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’“ So the servants replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’

“But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.[5] At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.” 

 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”  He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom.  

The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks that cause sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.[6] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. 

Parables of Seeds, Mustard Seed, & Yeast (Mk 4:26-34; Mt 13:31-45; Lk 13:18-21)
 Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who spreads seed on the ground. He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. By itself the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. And when the grain is ripe, he sends in the sickle because the harvest has come.”

Jesus also asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to present it? It is like a mustard seed that when sown in the ground, even though it is the smallest of all the seeds in the ground—  when it is sown, it grows up, becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large branches so that the wild birds can nest in its shade.” 

Again Jesus said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”

I think these parables are meant to be read as telling a story, with each one being like a contributing chapter. The Big Story goes something like this:

·      Parable of the Sower - Ideally, the seed of the Word/Truth of God grows in good heart soil and yields fruit,[7] but that’s not always the case. When the heart is hard, the ‘wild birds’ of the evil one snatch it away. When the heart is shallow, the seed will not take root. When the heart is compromised, the other things that have been sown in it will overpower the seed. So, have a heart ready for the truth.

·      The Weeds And Wheat  - But be alert: more than one sower is competing for the hearts of people. In the sower’s field of the world (and the church?), the wheat will grow amidst counterfeits that threaten to ruin the harvest. Don’t panic. The wheat will grow and survive in a mixed field. The weeds can’t stop the wheat from being the wheat.

·      The Seeds - Be humble: remember, this good crop of wheat is patiently and steadily flourishing thanks to the work of the Sower, work we don’t understand and wasn’t done in our power.

·      The Mustard Seed - The kingdom of God will grow such that it offers safety and shade to all – even the ‘wild birds’ who once sought to stop it from growing (like the Apostle Paul).

·      The Yeast - Just a few people can make a huge difference in the growth of the Kingdom.

The Parable of the Sower: Ideally, seed (the Word/truth of God) grows in good heart soil that yields fruit. The first part of the parable is sobering. Our hearts can be hard (the path), shallow (the rocky ground), or seduced/overwhelmed by the pleasures and pressures of the world (the thorns). It’s even possible to receive the word with joy and excitement…and have it come to nothing.[8] So, how do we get the kind of soil in which the truth of the gospel can grow?

First, we surrender ourselves to the work only God can do.

Is not the ground naturally bad in every heart? Undoubtedly. And can any but God make it good? None. But it is your business, when you hear of the justice and mercy of God, to implore him to work in you that which is pleasing in his sight. 

No man shall be condemned because he did not change his own heart, but because he did not cry to God to change it, who gave him his Holy Spirit for this very purpose, and which he, by his worldly-mindedness and impiety, quenched.  (Adam Clarke)

Second, the Bible is full of admonitions to ‘practice righteousness,’[9] to tame our will in accordance with the guidance of God. To the degree that we can influence the soil of our heart – and there can be lots of reasons why it is harder for some than others - I suspect it looks something like this.

·      Soften our heart through humility and honesty.

·      Dig our heart deep through perseverance.

·      Uproot the material cares of the world through generosity.

The Weeds and the Wheat: There is more than one sower at work. Sowers are competing for a stake in the field of hearts (the world? the church? Jesus seems to imply both). The weed is probably something called darnel, which looks a LOT like wheat until it begins to sprout. the counterfeit will look a lot like the real thing. By the time it’s obvious which is which, the roots are intertwined, and pulling up the weeds pulls up the wheat around it. How do we distinguish the real from the counterfeit? Well, when they begin to ripen and expose their grain – their fruit, if you will. It’s our job to discern the difference but not destroy the one who is different.

If this parable applies to both the world and the church, there are two points to be made.

·      First, it’s foolish to think we can create a Christian utopia. Let’s recognize we share the field of the world with others that we are not called to destroy. What we are called to do is flourish as wheat in their midst.

·      Second, this may function as a warning about deception creeping into the church, especially considering how often the writers of the letters in the NT warned people about the counterfeits in their midst. They, too, we are to identify the trouble but not destroy the troublemaker. More on this in a moment.

Considering how many times Jesus calls out the hypocrites around him, and how many times the writers of the NT letters called out false teachers in the church, I don’t think this is meant to be a call to passivity on confronting error and corruption. I think this has more to do with taking the ultimate judgment into our hands. Martin Luther, who had his own set of issues worth confronting, had something important to say about how the church wields its power. 

Again this Gospel teaches how we should conduct ourselves toward these heretics and false teachers…Here he says publicly let both grow together… he who errs today may find the truth tomorrow. Who knows when the Word of God may touch his heart?  

But if he be burned at the stake, or otherwise destroyed, it is thereby assured that he can never find the truth; and thus the Word of God is snatched from him, and he must be lost, who otherwise might have been saved…That is something awful in the eyes of God and never to be justified. 

 From this observe what raging and furious people we have been these many years, in that we desired to force others to believe; the Turks with the sword, heretics with fire, the Jews with death, and thus outroot the tares by our own power, as if we were the ones who could reign over hearts and spirits, and make them pious and right, which God’s Word alone must do.  

But by murder we separate the people from the Word, so that it cannot possibly work upon them and we bring thus, with one stroke a double murder upon ourselves, as far as it lies in our power, namely, in that we murder the body for time and the soul for eternity, and afterwards say we did God a service by our actions, and wish to merit something special in heaven. (Martin Luther)

Luther notes what all the commentators I read note: people can change. Paul says to one of the churches, “All these things you once were.” Weeds can become wheat. There is always hope.[10]Using discernment to make a distinction between true and false wheat is necessary; seeking to destroy the very life of the false wheat is not our calling. We are here to convert, not destroy; to minister, not mangle. We will see this in the wild birds in the branches of the mustard tree, but we aren’t there yet.[11]

The Parable of the Seeds: The good crop grows patiently and gently thanks to work we don’t understand and wasn’t done in our power. Let’s remember to give credit where credit is due – to the Sower/Farmer. I’ve talked before about we invest sweat equity in our walk with Christ. We are exhorted to be “workers who don’t need to be ashamed.”[12] Paul talks about bringing his body (his life) into submission in the service of God.[13] We are not called to be lazy freeloaders. But it’s always true that God is at work in us in ways we don’t understand. The Holy Spirit is constantly bringing holy things out of us that we couldn’t do on our own.

What do I mean by saying it grows patiently and gently? We see in the imagery that the kingdom grows quietly. It is not an apocalyptic or violently revolutionary disruption. The kingdom does not force itself upon people. The seed is planted in order for it to germinate, grow to maturity, and produce fruit.[14]

Here’s where its probably also worth noting that the crops in the first parable were not all the same. There were different levels of production from good soil. Combined with this parable, it’s a good reminder not to judge others or be envious of others when their crop looks different than ours.[15] Good soil can yield different results. We don’t need to try to be somebody else. We just need to let the Sower do his work.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed: The kingdom of God grows miraculously - and offers shade to all. Jesus is using language his audience understood. Ezekiel compared the kingdoms of Assyria and Judah to a magnificent tree:

“All the birds of the sky nested in its twigs,
And under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth,
And all great nations lived under its shade.”
(Ezekiel 31:6) 

On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant [Judah]; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. 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 … (Ezekiel 17:23-24)

It’s worth nothing that mustard plants aren’t famous for being trees. They are considered shrubs. “I will make high the low tree,” said Jesus.  The kingdom of God will become impossibly large. We see this right away in church history, when Christianity exploded into the world. The early church grew about 40% per decade. 35 AD = 1,000. 100 AD, 7,500.  150 AD, 40,000. 350 = 34 million.[16]

In the Old Testament, the birds seem to be Gentile nations benefiting from the blessings of the God’s covenantal community in Israel.[17] When Israel was faithful and true, they weren’t the only ones who benefitted.  

Commentators note Jesus uses the same words for the birds that steal the seed and the birds in the tree. This seems to imply that, just like Saul who killed Christians became a Christian, there are those who were once enemies of the faith who will eventually find shelter in the Kingdom.[18] This takes me back to the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat. This is why you don’t destroy the weeds before the harvest. There is still time. The story isn’t over. Those ‘weed birds’ may yet find rest in the shade of the Kingdom.

5. Like yeast in bread, it only takes a few people to spread the kingdom far and wide. Have you heard of 6 degrees of separation? The idea is that I am 6 ‘people steps’ removed from any random person in the world. I know Bob, who knows Sally who knows….Random Person X. Meta claims to have it down to under 4 among Facebook users. The potential for our lives to have a ripple effect is incredible. When I was in youth group, we used to sit around a fire pit and sing, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going…” That's the idea. The 12 became 1,000 became over 2 billion today. Don’t underestimate the impact of one person sold out to Jesus. Don't underestimate your value in the Kingdom of God.

I’ve was trying to think of how to summarize all this, and this quote caught my eye:

Live in the kingdom of God in such a way that it provokes questions for which the gospel is the answer. - Lesslie Newbigin

I like that. When we live in the Kingdom as children of the King, may God’s goodness displayed in our lives be so intriguing that it brings out questions from those around us that gives us opportunity to point to Sower who planted the gospel seed that started it all.

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[1] “The place where Jesus sat beside the sea (13:1–2) is traditionally called the Cove of the Parables. It was a horseshoe-shaped cove that had remarkable acoustics. Anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 people could fit just along the beach, while twice that many could easily fill the entire hillside.” (ESV Global Study Bible)

[2] “Sowers must sow indiscriminately, but hearers must be careful to ensure that they are rich soil, capable of receiving and nurturing the seed, which is the word of God.” (Africa Bible Commentary)

[3] “The birds are a picture of Satan; he snatches away the seed…He cooperates with them in their self-chosen barrenness.” (Believers Bible Commentary) “Jubilees [likens Satan] to a swooping bird leading a pack of other birds: “…that they might eat the seed which was being sown in the earth in order to spoil the earth so that they might rob mankind of their labors. Before they plowed in the seed, the crows picked it off the surface of the earth” (Jub. 11:10–11). (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the New Testament)

[4] “Fruit here is probably the manifestation of Christian character rather than souls won to Christ. When the word fruit is used in the NT, it generally refers to the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23).” (Believers Bible Commentary)

[5] “Once the wheat was full grown and ready to be harvested, the darnel, now distinguishable from it, could be uprooted and used as cheap fuel. Laborers gathered wheat into sheaves, transporting it (often on donkeys) to a village’s threshing floor, or in this case to that of this large estate. Once threshed, it would be stored in a barn.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[6] Jesus seems to repeat this parable with a different image later in the chapter: “47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

[7] “If the goal of the Christian life may be stated as Christlikeness, then surely every trait developed in us that reflects His character must be fruit that is very pleasing to Him. Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in nine terms in Galatians 5:22-23, and Peter urges the development of seven accompaniments to faith in order that we might be fruitful (2 Peter 1:5-8). Two of these terms are common to both lists: love and self-control. The others are joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, virtue, knowledge, endurance, piety, and brotherly love.” https://bible.org/illustration/what-fruit

[8] “Receiving the kingdom with joy is not enough — a message the modern church desperately needs to hear. Faith that is temporary and unproductive is not true faith. As C. Keener observes, “the only conversions that count in the kingdom are those confirmed by a life of discipleship.” (Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus, Klyne R. Snodgrass)

[9] 1 John 3:7-8

[10] “God judges quite otherwise than men of this mixture of good and evil in the world; he knows the good which he intends to produce from it, and how far his patience towards the wicked should extend, in order to their conversion, or the farther sanctification of the righteous… A zeal for the extirpation of heretics and wicked… allows no time for the one to grow strong in goodness, or to the other to forsake their evil courses. The zeal which leads persons to persecute others for religious opinions is not less a seed of the devil than a bad opinion itself is. Let both grow together. Though every minister of God should separate from the Church of Christ every incorrigible sinner, yet he should proceed no farther: the man is not to be persecuted in his body or goods… GOD tolerates him; so should men. God…alone is the judge and punisher of them-man has no right to interfere in this matter. They who burnt Vanini for atheism usurped the seat of judgment, and thus proved themselves to be not less a diabolical seed than the person they… hurried into eternity. Mary, Queen of England, of execrable memory, and the inquisitorial tormentors she employed, were all of this diabolical sowing.” (Adam Clarke)

[11] “The Donatists of North Africa, in Augustine’s day…argued that, in the world, the two grow together but, in the Church, only wheat could be allowed. Augustine countered that both clean and unclean animals were housed in the ark, goats and sheep graze in the same pasture, grain and chaff are stored in the same barn and tares and wheat are found in the same field. The pure were known only to God and would be separated at the end of history…The initial story is a call for patience in the present that allows God to make the final judgment as to what is wheat and what is zizania… On the other hand, to affirm the parable, with its focus on the present, and deny the future judgment recorded in the interpretation is also a grave error…Both patience and warning are canonical themes.” Kenneth Bailey, https://pres-outlook.org/2006/07/the-parable-of-the-wheat-and-the-tares/

[12] 2 Timothy 2:15

[13] 1 Corinthians 9:27

[14] https://shenangopresbytery.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/parables.pdf

[15] “And we must not fail to notice that the soil that produces only a small crop is nevertheless called ‘good.’" (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[16] “The Secret to the Early Church’s Explosive Growth (It’s Not What You Think!)” https://newbreak.church/early-church-growth/

[17] ESV Reformation Study Bible

[18] There are other ideas about how to understand this imagery. I think this one makes the most sense, but I could, of course, be wrong.

The Soil of The Kingdom (Matthew 13:3-9; 18-23)

Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven – a life where the rule and reign of God is both seen and experienced, a Kingdom that we become a part of when we commit ourselves to Jesus Christ. We become citizens of heaven, and this world is not supposed to be ‘home’ any more. When Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is IN YOU!” (Luke 17:21), it’s not some New Age proclamation that we are all gods. He simply meant it’s not “there” or “there” where an earthly kingdom can be seen. It’s not kicking out the Romans and establishing a Jewish nation. That's not the Kingdom of Heaven. The rule and reign of Christ is now in our hearts.

 Jesus told a number of parables about the Kingdom of Heaven explaining to his followers what characterizes the kingdom of Heaven, and, by implication, how they ought to seek to live as citizens of that kingdom. We are going to take five weeks to go through the parables in Matthew 13. Today we are looking at the Parable of the Sower.

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A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13:3-9)

This is what the parable of the sower means. It is about the kingdom of heaven. When someone hears the story of the Kingdom and cannot understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away whatever goodness and holiness had been sown in the heart. This is like the seeds sown beside the road. You know people who hear the word of God and receive it joyfully—but then, somehow, the word fails to take root in their hearts. It is temporary. As soon as there is trouble for those people, they trip: those people are the seeds strewn on the rocky soil. And you know people who hear the word, but it is choked inside them because they constantly worry and prefer the wealth and pleasures of the world: they prefer drunken dinner parties to prayer, power to piety, and riches to righteousness. Those people are like the seeds sown among thorns. The people who hear the word and receive it and grow in it—those are like the seeds sown on good soil. They produce a bumper crop, 30 or 60 or 100 times what was sown. (Matthew 13:18-23)

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 It was likely the audience could look out on the hillside and see a sower going forth to sow. They could see a path which had been beaten across the field and the birds picking up the seeds right behind the sower. They could see the rocky ground,  the thorns and thistles, the good soil. While there is a lot to unpack here, I want to make only two points from this parable.

1. The Gospel is for everyone.

Considering the fields in Palestine, there was really no way to avoid ‘wasting’ seed. Jesus didn’t tell them to be more conservative with their planting. He just acknowledged not all the seeds are going to make it. But… sow. By all means. Paul wrote:

 And, even though no one (except Jesus) owns me, I have become a slave by my own free will to everyone in hopes that I would gather more believers. When around Jews, I emphasize my Jewishness in order to win them over. When around those who live strictly under the law, I live by its regulations—even though I have a different perspective on the law now—in order to win them over.  In the same way, I’ve made a life outside the law to gather those who live outside the law (although I personally abide by and live under the Anointed One’s law).  I’ve been broken, lost, depressed, oppressed, and weak that I might find favor and gain the weak. I’m flexible, adaptable, and able to do and be whatever is needed for all kinds of people so that in the end I can use every means at my disposal to offer them salvation.  I do it all for the gospel and for the hope that I may participate with everyone who is blessed by the proclamation of the good news. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

It’s not our job to decide who deserves the good news of the Gospel and who doesn’t. We are always evangelizing; we are always ambassadors for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. The Gospel takes root when it is planted deep in good soil.

 This is a summary statement of all the soils, so let’s work our way through them.

 Hardness of heart: when truth has no impact on us. There is no sense of the terrible nature of sin, particularly our own.  There are at least three ways in which our responses can reflect a hardness of heart.

• First, the hard-hearted don’t believe in sin. Good and evil are what we want them to be, and I am good. I don’t need a gospel of salvation. 

• Second, the hard-hearted can hear the Gospel, believe that  sin offends a holy God, harms us, devastates the world around us  - and just not care because they want to live life by their own rules.   

• Third, the hard-hearted hear and believe it’s true, but they only see the sinners all around them and fail to see the sinner within.

Brennan Manning wrote, “The kingdom is not an exclusive, well-trimmed suburb with snobbish rules about who can live there. No, it is for a larger, homelier, less self-conscious caste of people who understand they are sinners because they have experienced the yaw and pitch of moral struggle.” The gospel takes root in broken, humble people.

The Rocky Soil of Hardship and Trials: tough times uproot our faith. 

1. Hardships – Life is Hard: sickness, poverty, ongoing sin, broken relationships, death of a loved one… When we face these times, we assume God doesn’t care, isn’t strong or isn’t real, and whatever we once believe uproots and dies. There is no depth to faith. There was not a true understanding of what Jesus saved us from – that is, the penalty of our sin, not the hardship of life. Disillusionment wins because truth did not put down roots. 

1. Trials – Being A Christian Is Hard: Specific challenges to our faith.

• Some of them are literal, physical persecution. (http://www.opendoorsusa.org; persecution.com). This happens around the world constantly.

• Some of them are challenges to orthodoxy (what we believe as Christians): Does God exist? Is Jesus really God? Why would you trust the Bible? Do you really believe in Heaven and Hell? (See our church’s statement of faith at https://clgonline.org/statement-of-faith/). I have had people tell me they just think I am out of my mind to believe the Bible.

• Some of them are challenges to orthopraxy (how we live as Christians): In our culture, the issues primarily involve sex, marriage and human life (they were different 30 years ago; they will be different 30 years from now. Don't focus on the issues as much as the principle). We can be attacked as hateful or bigoted because we believe that God designed all sex for marriage, that God’s design for marriage is between a man and a woman, and that when sex results in babies they are human beings with a right to life.  When we don’t agree, we can be villified very quickly. If you don’t know how to answer questions about Christian beliefs and practices with truth and compassion, we will do our best to help you here at church, but you need to invest in understanding life in the Kingdom. Buy books. Watch videos. Listen to podcasts. Find good websites. Come to the 11:15 classes. Know what the Bible says, why God thought it was important to say it, and why it’s true.  

The Thorns: Distractions and Temptations

• Distractions: the glittery, shiny and beautiful things: friends, health, food, jobs, money, relationships, anything with a screen… Distractions are not things that are bad in and of themselves. They just begin to dominate our vision and take our eyes off of Christ.

• Temptations: the desire to sin – to live outside of God’s design for our lives. It’s often very subtle – usually, we are tempted to take something good (see the list above) and make it an idol. We begin to serve them because of the comfort, pleasure or power they bring.  (Note: In Christianity, we sacrifice ourselves so that others can live. In idolatry, we sacrifice others so we can live).  

The Good Soil 

"But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, in AN HONEST AND GOOD HEART, having heard the word, KEEP it, and bring forth fruit WITH PATIENCE." (Luke 8:15, a parallel parable)

This is where the Kingdom flourishes. This is what characterizes citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven.

• Honest and good-hearted people  are empowered by God with a goodness only God can bring, and as a result of their salvation live in a way that is inspirational and appealing. I don't mean Oprah Winfrey of Lifetime Network inspirational. I don’t mean you become one of the shiny happy people. The idea with this phrase is that God has made something good in you, and your life shows this. This isn’t a call to perfection. It’s a call to live genuinely in Christ and with others, letting others see what is happening in you. When Jesus brings beauty from the ashes of your life, that’s compelling.

• Hear the Word (literally). Don’t overcomplicate this. It just means know the Word of God. Read it. Read about it. Pray about it. Study it, listen to teaching about it, discuss it with your friends… Hear it over and over again. I was reading about the Rule of 151 on a blog called A Purposeful Business: It takes 151 times for a message to be heard through conversation: "The first 50 times people don’t hear you; the second 50 times they don’t understand you; the third 50 times they don’t believe you; the 151st time that they finally hear, understand, and think, 'Well, there must be something to this.'”

          The Holy Spirit opens our eyes, but we have to keep looking. 

• Understand it (synthesize it; find the preferred will of God. This is soaking it up, letting it rest in you, and nourishing it. This is being vulnerable, being honest with yourself, looking for the ways God’s truth needs to grow in you.

• Keep It (Hold fast; take possession). This is putting down roots and saying, “I will not be moved.” This is where, in the midst of hardship, we say like David, “Yet will I praise Him.” This is clinging to the truth of God in a culture that offers a lot of loud and glittering half-truths: “Live for yourself; do what feels right; you’re perfect just the way you are; love is all you need; the most important things is that you are happy.”

• Bring Forth Fruit patiently (literally, be “unswerved from deliberate purpose and loyalty to faith by even the greatest trials and sufferings” - biblehub.com). Paul said he ran the race with patience.  This is about decision, focus, and commitment.

This is what life in the Kingdom of Heaven look like when the rule and reign of God is both seen and experienced. This is what we are called to when we commit ourselves to Jesus Christ. I want to offer an encouragement and a challenge in closing.

The challenge is to ask yourself what kind of soil you are. Is your heart hardened or broken? Are you driven to your knees in humility and repentance on an ongoing basis? If not, you’ve got to surrender your blindness and pride to Christ not just for your sake, but for the sake of those around you. Are the hardships of life uprooting you? Are the distractions and temptations of the world choking out the beauty of the gospel? If so, pray that God makes in you a soil that loves and nourishes truth, that let’s the hope of the gospel sink in deep, so that it bears the fruit of the gospel within you and around you.

 The encouragement is that you don’t have to feel like a superstar in the Kingdom of Heaven to honor God. There’s nothing flashy about the good soil. It’s a deliberate commitment to respond to God’s work in you by dedicating yourself to understanding and living out His design for you – with great patience.  That’s good soil that brings good fruit.