The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven
Parables of Matthew 13 • Sermon • Submitted
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The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
Introduction
Series Parables of the Kingdom
What is this Kingdom that Jesus is trying to describe for the people?
the old testament gives us a glimpse into the nature of this kingdom
God speaks to David through Nathan the prophet:
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
ESV 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
2 Sam. 7:12-16
ESV 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
Daniel 2:
So the King of the Kingdom will come from the line of David ()
And this Kingdom is going to be a “forever” Kingdom, set up by God Himself
this is not your normal, earthly kingdom
2 weeks ago we learned from the parable of the Sower that the seed of this Kingdom, the message of the Kingdom, would be sowed liberally, all across the world, but there would be some people who would reject that message, they would reject the King of the Kingdom
and then last week we learned from the parable of the weeds, that even though there would be some who would reject the message, God’s desire is that as many as possible would be saved, and so He is waiting to consummate the Kingdom because when He does, there will be a final separation between those who have accepted Jesus as King and those who have rejected Him.
today we move on to two parables that will teach us about the growth of this Kingdom.
The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven
The main lesson from these two parables is that “Small things can have very large effects.”
Lord Kelvin, who was a great mathematical physicist, used an experiment to prove this same point.
He suspended a large chunk of steel weighing many, many pounds. It was hanging there in his lab. He then proceeded to wad up little bits of paper about the size of a pea and systematically throw the wad at the steel.
At first, the little bits of paper had no affect at all. But eventually the steel was swaying back and forth and back and forth because of the relentless tapping of the little piece of paper
Small things, profound results.
That’s really the lesson of these parables.
31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
Let’s pray.
Over the last couple of weeks, we have talked about the fact that Jesus’s ushering in of God’s kingdom was being done in a way that was different from what God’s people were expecting.
Our studies in Matthew have thus far shown that the Messiah ushered in God’s kingdom in a manner that did not meet the expectations of His contemporaries.
Jesus didn’t immediately take his rightful place as king of this world, instead, there was a small, humble beginning and entry of the kingdom that is followed by a long period of growth before the final consummation.
The mustard plant’s growth and the leaven’s permeation, both of which take time, illustrate this point.
let’s look first at the mustard seed:
Matthew 13:31-32
31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
[explain the mustard seed]
-size
-process
-kind of tree
a tiny, almost invisible seed of faith can grow into something capable of shade and shelter and the nurture of life. That’s who Jesus is. That’s what being a part of His Kingdom does for us.
The gospel is this, anyone who trust’s in Jesus becomes part of His Kingdom.... gets to find shelter and rest among its branches.
most theologians agree that Jesus is alluding to a specific prophecy from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel:
22 Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”
Ez 17:22-24
“Every kind of bird”
God’s desire and plan, that He promises to fulfill, is that people of every tribe, tongue and nation will be a part of His Kingdom, finding shelter, rest and salvation in the arms of their creator.
Jesus tells us that it is really hard to believe that anything could grow from the smallness of a mustard seed. Maybe a little yellow flower,
but can you really expect to find strength enough to get a foothold, build a nest, withstand the winds?
Yes he says, the kingdom of God is not limited by human expectations.
[talk about the expansion of the kingdom already]
this small group of disciples, didn’t even understand everything Jesus had taught them to this point
Peter gives his great sermon
more than 2000 years later and halfway across the world, we have gathered this morning as part of the kingdom, worshipping the King and studying His Word
And this growth will continue until one day what we read in will be realized:
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
Mustard Seed - Outwardly, the Kingdom expands from an insignificant beginning to an extravagant end.
kingdom is organized into local church bodies
[Transition]
God is patient wanting as many to be saved as possible
Must mean that churches should want to grow
There’s another side to the growth of the kingdom. it doesn’t only expand outwardly but inwardly as well.
Parable of the Leaven
33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
[Explain the leaven]
-piece of last week’s dough
-three measures of flour was about 50 pounds, enough to feed over 100 people
-as the mustard seed grows to a much greater size, the leaven has a widespread influence
-not only does the flour change in size by getting bigger, the leaven brings about change from within.... it permeates everything
Leaven - Inwardly, the Kingdom permeates every facet of our lives and every corner of the earth.
Closing
Mustard Seed - growth of the kingdom
kingdom is organized into local church bodies
God is patient wanting as many to be saved as possible
Must mean that churches should want to grow
Like leaven, the kingdom has a pervasive and permeating effect in its growth [BECNT, CC, NICNT, NTC, WBC], and a dramatic effect on human society [NICNT].
Leaven - growth/change from the inside out (churches AND christians)
Work of the Holy Spirit
What does it look like? - Fruit of the Spirit
Fruit of the Spirit
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
gal 5:22-2
Are you being changed?
Mustard Seed - growth of the kingdom
kingdom is organized into local church bodies
God is patient wanting as many to be saved as possible
Must mean that churches should want to grow
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
Let’s pray