What Did Jesus Say the Kingdom of Heaven Was Like?

What Did Jesus Say the Kingdom of Heaven Was Like?

Matthew 13

Last week we say Jesus respond to rejection very directly – it was decision time!

Matthew 13:1 – “That same day…” Jesus started teaching in parables.
- verses 13-16 tells why – for those who choose not to see or hear, the parables prevent understanding.
Chapter 13 is full of great parables about the kingdom and ministry – should read and study often, so we keep it at the front of our minds, encouraging and informative
4 Soils – (Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23) – 4 possible responses to the gospel and why they happen
Wheat & Weeks – (Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43) – Tremendously important about judgment and explaining why evil is permitted to coexist beside good in the present Kingdom

Mustard Seed – Read Matthew 13: 31-32

In rabbinical teaching, mustard seed was proverbial for smallness – smallest agricultural seed in Israel
Grows to 8-12 feet in Israel. End size isn’t the emphasis – no listener would disagree about the Kingdom ending big.
Emphasis is on the tiny beginning of the Kingdom – completely different than people were expecting.
Kingdom of Heaven would begin obscurely – how Jesus launched it. Then grow to be huge – which we are living out that growth still today.

Leaven – Read Matthew 13: 33

Related to the mustard seed – describing the obscure quality of the Kingdom of Heaven
The only positive reference to leaven that I know of in the Bible
The emphasis here isn’t growth – it’s transformation of the surrounding world
- Leaven is small, basically invisible
- It’s not the powdered stuff we’re used to – it’s basically infected dough. That’s us, by the way!
- A tiny amount is mixed into about 50 pounds of flour and completely changes it.
- It transforms it from flour to dough that can feed 100 people.
- Describes the impact we should have on the world around us. Are we leaven?

Both of these communicate – Kingdom of Heaven is here, just as Jesus has said. The end of the age has dawned in Jesus Christ (Matthew’s Big Idea)

Treasure in the Field – Read Matthew 13: 44

Ignore the 21st century ethics on this – it completely misses the point!
The point is the extraordinary value of the Kingdom of Heaven, same as the next parable.
Person stumbles on this treasure – if they dug it out, it belonged to the landowner. If they reburied it, it conveyed with the property.
They recognize the value of it – some people come to the Kingdom accidentally
In JOY – sell everything they have and buy that
- Do we have the Joy about the Kingdom of Heaven? We often have surprisingly joyless faith.
- Are we willing to sell everything? Is our faith a convenience or a necessity?
- We’re heading into a time when faith will cost – status, respect, or more – will we sell all for it?

Pearl of Great Value – Read Matthew 13: 45-46

“Again” – relates it to the previous parable.
Different focus, same message – in this case it describes intentional seekers.
Some come to the Kingdom after a lifetime of searching and trying different religions and philosophies.
Again – recognizes the value and sells everything to buy the great treasure.
The point of this parable is the same as the last, but describes a different group of people.
The issue is not how you got to the point when you encountered the Kingdom of Heaven – it’s how you responded to that encounter. Similar to the point of 4 soils.

Not Thrown in the Sea – Read Matthew 13: 47-50

All fish will be gathered in the end.
Kingdom of Heaven is mixed right now – there are good and bad intermixed right now – this is reality!
Sorting is at the end – the good fish will be separated from the bad.
What we know – all the fish are actually evil
- But through Christ’s sacrifice, those who put their faith in Jesus get His righteousness
- God sees Christ’s righteousness in us, not our evil
- Our evil is forgotten, guilt removed, shame erased
- So believers in Jesus Christ have nothing to fear at the sorting