The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven, show the external expansion, and the internal influence of God’s kingdom. Although the kingdom began very small and obscure and inconspicuous, it will have a glorious ending, spreading throughout the world, and influencing peoples from every quarter of the globe!
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The Expansion & Influence of God’s Kingdom
Luke 13:18-21
If there was a single theme that dominated Jesus’ preaching, it was the kingdom. This past week, I went back and looked at all the references to the kingdom in Luke, and was shocked at how often this theme emerges.
Luke 1:32-33 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Luke 4:43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”
Luke 6:20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Luke 7:28 “I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Luke 8:1 Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God.
Luke 8:10 And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.
Luke 9:2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.
Luke 9:11 But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.
Luke 9:27 “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 10:9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.´
Luke 10:11 `Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.´
Luke 11:2 And He said to them, “When you pray, say: `Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
Luke 11:20 “But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Luke 12:31 “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
In all of these passages, we learn two important things about the kingdom of God. First, it was the primary theme of Jesus and the disciples’ preaching. Second, it was an inestimable privilege to be in God’s kingdom. His disciples were blessed if they were in the kingdom. The one who was least in the kingdom was greater than John the Baptist. God had granted them the blessing of knowing the mysteries of the kingdom. Some were so highly privileged that they would not taste death until they saw the kingdom. It is so valuable that no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom. It is so valuable that we are to pray regularly for the kingdom to come. The kingdom is the one thing that we are to seek above all else. It is so valuable that if we have the kingdom, we need not be afraid of anything else. We have everything!
Now, with Jesus putting so much emphasis on the kingdom, the twelve disciples must have been very confused. They were expecting the kingdom to come with a lot of pomp and fanfare. They were expecting the king to exercise great military might and political authority, and rule over the gentile nations with a rod of iron. But where was the palace? Where was the throne? Where was the money? Where were the crowds of kingdom citizens? Where were the armies? For someone who said He was a king, He sure didn’t act like one! He had no money, and almost no possessions except for the clothes on his back. He had only a handful of ragtag followers. There was the Twelve, and then the Seventy, that He sent out to preach and to heal. After He died and rose again, there were 120 in the Upper Room in Jerusalem who waited for the Holy Spirit. On another occasion there were 500 followers that met together and saw the risen Lord. However, the number 500 is the largest number we ever read of concerning His disciples. Five hundred disciples is not a lot of manpower to start a revolutionary kingdom!
And not only that, but He has a whole lot of enemies, and these enemies are the most influential and powerful religious leaders in Israel! These religious leaders had rejected Christ, because they saw Him as a threat. He was gaining in popularity and influence with the common Israelite, and He was overturning their cherished ideas about their religion. He had to be silenced, and so they had already began plotting together as to how they could put Him to death.
The disciples must have been extremely confused, and perhaps very disappointed. Here Jesus was constantly preaching about the kingdom, and talking about the kingdom, and sending them out to preach about the kingdom, but where was it?! These guys had forsaken everything in order to follow Christ, because they believed Him when He spoke about the kingdom. They had left their professions, and their families, to follow Him. At first things were great, because there was so much excitement about His miracles, and the crowds that were following Him. However, as time went on, they began to see that the masses of Israel were not going to follow Him. It was only going to be a few poor, unlearned, fishermen and tax collectors that would believe in Him. The longer they followed Him, the more they must have doubted that there was going to be a kingdom after all. They had never seen a kingdom like this, nor seen a king like Jesus.
In John 18:33, Pilate asked Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” You see, it wasn’t obvious to anyone that Jesus was a king. He didn’t look like a king, and he didn’t act like a king. Even in His death, the sign that they put on His cross was intended to show derision and mockery. “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
Then, finally, when Jesus was crucified, their last hopes were dashed. The disciples ran. They fled. The One they had hoped in, was dead. It seemed like His mission was a colossal disaster. They must have wondered what kind of a king could Jesus be? He seemed to be powerless, weak, despised, and poor.
Jesus, knowing the doubts and struggles His disciples must have been experiencing, kindly gave them these two parables to encourage their faith. These parables were His way of telling them not to despise the day of small beginnings. My kingdom may look like nothing right now, but one day when I return, it will be glorious!
And so, Jesus gives them two parables to teach slightly different truths concerning the expansion and influence of His kingdom.
1. The External Expansion of the Kingdom (13:18-19)
Some Bible scholars have interpreted these two parables in a negative light. They say that a mustard plant was never intended to be a tree. They see this mustard tree as large beyond all natural proportions. They believe the birds that nest in the tree picture Satan and his demons. They believe that the meaning of this first parable is that the church will become unnaturally large, corrupt and apostate.
Similarly, they interpret the leaven as false doctrine that false teachers inject into the church which causes the whole external church to become corrupt. Now, it is true that leaven many times in Scripture symbolizes evil. However, there are other passages where it does not. In Lev. 7:13 and 23:15-18, there are sacrifices in which God intentionally instructed the Israelites to include leaven.
I reject these interpretations. One of the tried and proven principles of interpreting parables is that usually they teach one basic truth. When we begin to give meanings to all of the details in the parable, we end up following after fanciful interpretations. So, when we begin ascribing a meaning to the birds, and the woman, and the leaven, and the three pecks of flour, we can begin to find all kinds of fanciful interpretations. However, if we will look for one, primary, natural interpretation of the passage, we will stay much closer to God’s truth.
I believe the natural interpretation of this first parable is that the kingdom is going to start out very small, but grow into something very large.
Luke doesn’t mention the size of a mustard seed, but Matthew and Mark tell us it is smaller than all the seeds. Indeed, the mustard seed was the smallest of all the seeds that an Israelite farmer would plant in his garden. In fact, the mustard seed was about the size of 3 grains of salt stuck together. If you put it on your thumb, it would look just a tiny little dot. Yet, that tiny little seed, would grow into the largest plant in the garden. A mustard plant can grow anywhere from 8 to 12 feet in height (twice the height of a man), and up to 15 feet in diameter.
All of this points to the small, obscure, quiet, almost invisible beginnings of the kingdom. There were none of the external, visible trappings of an earthly kingdom. Yet, once it was planted, it would grow steadily, slowly, and powerfully until it became a mighty force in the world.
In Luke 17:20-21 the Bible says, “Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is! Or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” The Pharisees assumed the kingdom hadn’t come yet. They asked when it would appear. They didn’t look at Jesus and His disciples and say, “Oh, there’s the King, and there’s the kingdom!” No, it was invisible to most. Here Jesus is trying to dispel the false notions about the kingdom. The Pharisees, along with everyone else, just assumed that the kingdom would be ushered in with great pomp and power and splendor. Jesus tells them it’s not going to be like that. You won’t be able to look around and see all the usual trappings of glory. In Jesus’ case, there was no money, no power, no trumpets, no chariots, no swords, no facilities, no pomp, no nothing! But the kingdom was present nonetheless! It was a tiny little seed, hidden underground.
However, in this parable, Jesus teaches that His kingdom is going to grow. It may be slow, steady growth, but over time it will be seen as a great and mighty kingdom. The tiny little underground seed turned into the largest garden plant they had any knowledge of. That is exactly what has happened to Jesus and the movement He started. Although nobody could see it while He walked the earth, you can’t help but notice it now! It is the largest religion on the face of the planet! There are 2.2 billion adherents of the Christian faith, nearly 1/3 of all people on the planet! The next largest religion is Islam, with 1.6 billion adherents. Now, we understand that these numbers include everyone who makes any kind of a profession of Christianity, Catholics and Protestants alike, irregardless of whether they are born again or not. But still, it does show the size and strength of that mustard plant! It has grown into a huge plant.
On average, 178,000 people convert to Christianity around the world every day! That’s two people every second! It is reported that 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity every day, and 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity in Africa alone every year.
And folks, Revelation 11:15 describes how this will all culminate, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” The kingdom of Christ is far bigger now than it was when He walked the earth.
Jesus said that the birds of the air will nest in its branches. The birds were not part of the mustard tree. They didn’t share the root or the life of the plant. However, they benefited from the plant. This points to the unbelieving peoples of the world that will benefit from Christianity, even though they are not God’s covenant people. The peoples of the world will find protection, security, and blessing from the Christians who live within their countries. And hasn’t this taken place over and over? By and large it was the Christians who built the hospitals, and the schools, and the universities, and the orphanages, and who ministered to the poor in the countries in which they lived.
So, this first parable simply teaches us that Christianity would start out from a very small and obscure beginning, but would go on to expand externally until it is a dominant force in the world.
2. The Internal Influence of the Kingdom (13:20-21)
Jesus goes on now to tell a second parable that expands on the first one. Jesus would have grown up watching his mother baking bread many times. In this parable the woman uses 3 pecks of flour. Most scholars have computed that to be about 50 pounds of flour! It’s enough to make enough bread to feed 100 people! That’s a lot of bread. But all of that bread was made by inserting just a little bit of leaven into it. The leaven would cause the bread to ferment, and expand, and bubble up, until it had caused the entire 50 pounds of flour to rise. Eventually, that little leaven would permeate throughout all of that dough. In the first parable we see the external expansion of the kingdom. In this parable, we see the internal influence of the kingdom.
This leaven is hidden inside the dough. It is invisible. And, that’s how it is with God’s kingdom in this world. God’s kingdom people are not recognized by the rest of the world. Jesus’ kingdom is invisible to most people. The kingdom is all over this world, but most people don’t have eyes to see it. All they see is that guy sitting at the next table over eating a cheeseburger, or driving in the car next to them, or sitting at the desk next to them. They don’t see that person as an heir of the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world! They don’t understand that he is indwelt by God, and possesses eternal life! Romans 8:19 says, “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” The sons of God are not revealed now. They will be when Christ returns.
The kingdom of God is like leaven. The kingdom is inserted into the world, and it works, silently, invisibly, and slowly, but over the long haul very effectively. It permeates, and spreads, and expands, until its influence can be felt all over the world. Now, when the kingdom first began, it didn’t have much of an influence on the Jewish religious leaders or on the nation of Israel. But just give it some time. The kingdom influences slowly and steadily. Over time, it has a huge influence on the nations and cultures of the world.
While the people of the world don’t see the kingdom, the kingdom is influencing the world. Believers are influencing people through their lives, their righteousness, their witness, and their service. Quietly and steadily, God’s people are touching lives and changing lives by representing Him in the world. The kingdom is bubbling up, and expanding, and permeating this world with its values and message. Leaven is what actually changes the character of the bread. If you don’t have leaven, what you get will be dry, flat, hard crackers. Leaven changes it into soft, puffy, delicious bread!
Sometimes we look around and grow despondent because Christianity seems to be waning. We think if only we had a Christian as the President. If only we had Christians as the Supreme Court justices. If only we had Christians as the Presidents of universities around the world. Now, I’m not against any of those things, but they aren’t necessary for the kingdom to influence this world. If every believer would simply accurately represent Christ wherever he goes, this world would be influenced more and more for Christ. The advancement and influence of the kingdom is hidden, and it works powerfully as each one of us shows Jesus to others.
Conclusion
So, what does all this mean for us?
Don’t Despise The Day Of Small Beginnings! You and I, and this church are only one tiny piece of one leaf on that mustard plant. We can witness, and work, and labor for souls, and see little results, and grow discouraged and despondent, thinking that nothing is being accomplished. That must have been how the first disciples felt at the beginning as well. But they soon saw God’s blessing on this little kingdom when on Pentecost 3,000 others were added to the church, and then a short while later, 5,000 more were added. The Roman emperors did everything they could to destroy Christianity, but it just kept growing and spreading every year.
A few of us have been working hard to reach Rancho Cordova with the gospel. Don’t lose heart! Don’t throw in the towel and give up, thinking that nothing is happening! It takes a while to get a snowball running downhill, but once it gets going, watch out! We are committed to making disciples who make disciples. At the beginning we need to labor on faithfully, without seeing stupendous results. But, if we are faithful, there will come a day, when a few disciples are made who are making other disciples, who make other disciples, who make other disciples, and eventually, new churches are planted that start other churches. Folks, we have to keep that big vision before us all the time, so that we don’t despair and give up!
It’s the picture of Johnny sitting in his room, practicing on his guitar. He’s bored and figures he’s never going to be able to play anyway. He wants to quit so he can go outside and play baseball with his friends. However, let’s say an angel appears to Johnny, and gives him a vision of him twenty years into the future playing before great audiences at Carnegie Hall, playing the most beautiful and exquisite music he can imagine. Now, when that vision is over, how do you think it will affect Johnny? It will help him to practice day after day, year after year, because he knows where it will lead. So too, we need to have a vision of what God will do if we will just labor on faithfully. He will bring in a harvest. He will expand His kingdom.
If you are not involved with working out in the harvest, get involved! Commit your time and energy to seeing Jesus’ kingdom grow in the world!
Be An Accurate Representative of Christ! We are the Lord’s hands and feet in this world. We are the only Bible many people will ever read. If we are going to be leaven, influencing this world for Christ and for righteousness, we must represent Him wherever we are. When we are with others out in public, don’t be embarrassed to speak the Lord’s truth, whether it has to do with abortion, or same sex marriage, or the sinfulness of man, or the gospel of Christ. Just ask yourself, “If the Lord were in this situation, what would He do, and what would He say?” Be His hands and feet, and influence your world for Jesus Christ!
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