Sermon Tone Analysis

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:

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,

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.

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

[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:

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.”

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

[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

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

Let’s pray