Apr. 23, 2023

The Kingdom Parables- the Mustard Seed, the Leaven, the Dragnet  

(23 April 2023)  Pastor John Custer

Introduction - Our study of Jesus as King continues as we study some stories taught by Him to aid us in our understanding of what the Kingdom would be like.  The stories of Matthew 13 are meant to illustrate what things would be like in the age in which we live, the church age.  They were deliberately taught so as to be understood by some (us Christians) and to be incomprehensible to others (Jews and ‘Gentiles who had already hardened their hearts toward Jesus).  This was to fulfill a prophecy spoken in Isaiah 6:9-10.    

Matthew 13:14-16 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. 15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. NLT

As we read these parables, Jesus provides us with a key in Verse 52:  

Matthew 13:52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”  NLT

There are “old things” illustrated in these stories: the Treasure - the Israelite Nation; the Pearl - the Jewish remnant surviving the Tribulation; the Drag-net - the Judgment of the nations at the end of the Tribulation.  There are also “new things:” the Seed and the soils - proclamation of the kingdom; the Wheat and tares - false imitations in the kingdom; the Mustard Seed - wide, visible extension of the kingdom; the Leaven in the meal - insidious corruption of the kingdom.  Concerning “new things” let’s consider first the Parable of the Mustard Seed:

Matthew 13:31-32 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” NLT. 

This parable is teaching us that a characteristic of the present age is that there will be abnormal external growth the kingdom.  What was intended to be an herb, will become a tree.  This is not complimentary, as references to a mustard seed in Matthew 17 and Luke 17 (if you had the faith of a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain…).  There Jesus is recommending even small faith.  Not so with the figures in this parable.  It is illustrating what has happened to the world-wide church, which was supposed to be a collection of small, house-based groups led by elders and deacons and aided by a loose network of gifted individuals (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers) which could multiply easily and fill all countries.  Instead, the church has become monstrosity, consuming so much wealth to keep itself and its buildings going.  It has lost the ability to multiply.  It is strangled by layers of bureaucracy, real estate, financial investments and politics.  Birds of the air (not a good symbol in these parables; the birds robbed the seed sown in the first parable of the soils) nest in its branches.  This means that the present church is so large that agents who rob people of the word actually live in its branches.  You don’t have to look far to find the denial of the Holy Ghost’s power or the gifts of the Spirit in a majority of the churches today.  At one time, opposition to the church was from outsiders, like the government or unbelievers.  Now it is working from within.  Present denominations are fragmenting and crumbling over whether to believe the Word about same-sex marriages.  Churches with huge campuses have no hope of dividing and filling the world.  All they can do is attract a large crowd which they cannot disciple.  In the end, more harm is done than good.  The crowd in attendance has no root, as the first “sower parable” of Matthew 13 says, and loses interest in Jesus because they have never been taught to experience the workings of the Holy Spirit.  They only understand the temporary thrill of Christian rock songs in a concert-type environment.  The present state of the western church is that it has become a huge, money-dependent business.  Imagine if you planted some petunias and they grew quickly into a patch of sequoias! It would be alarming!  

The next parable we’ll study today deals again with the church’s involvement in the kingdom. It is called the Parable of the Leaven: 

Matthew 13:33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”  NLT

Using the illustration of a woman representing a false religious system (Rev 2:20, 17:1-8), this parable predicts that the true church will experience many false trends in the years between Jesus’ two Comings. It will corrupt the simple message of “Jesus as king” and reduce Him to the status of being our butler, our buddy, a plumber, or a fixit man.  Under this concept, His mission is to save us, bless our plans, and then get us to heaven—no demands, no strings attached.  Leaven represents evil in the Scriptures (Ex. 12:15, Lev. 2:11, Matt. 16:6, etc.).  Meal, or flour, was used in offerings in the Old Testament (Lev 2:1-3) and is a type of the person of Christ.  

The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Leaven illustrate two different things: the Mustard Seed points to corruption of the church’s structure during this age; the Leaven points to a corrupt understanding of Jesus and who He is during the church age.  Have you ever wondered why there are so few miracles (by our estimation) in the modern church?  

Matthew 13:58 He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. 56 All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” 57 And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” 58 And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief. NLT

Do you think the lack of miracles has something to do with our casual response to His Kingly authority?  This is what is predicted by the Parable of the Leaven and its related types and symbols.  

The last parable we will examine is the Parable of the Dragnet.

Matthew 13:47-50  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. NASB

This parable has to do with the judgment of Gentile nations, because the net is cast into the sea, a symbol for the Gentile nations elsewhere in the Bible.  Here’s a brief chronology of important and somewhat confusing events surrounding the judgment of the Gentile nations:

1.  First, the church is raptured (taken to heaven instantly, miraculously).  The church, and all Christians,   will not face any kind of judgment.  Our sins have already been judged the moment we are saved.  

2.        Second, the tribulation period on earth starts and lasts for a period of 7 years.  

3.        Third, Jesus returns to earth in his Second coming, bringing us with Him.

4.        Fourth, the nation of Israel is gathered to the borders of Israel.

5.        Fifth, the Israelite people will be judged individually, one person at a time, to see who will be admitted

           into the Millennial Kingdom. Probably accomplished by angels.   

6.        Sixth, the Gentile nations will be judged in the same way, each individually, to see who is saved,

           resulting in their admission into the Millennial kingdom.  

7.        Seventh, the Millennial Kingdom, the 1,000 year reign of Jesus on the earth, will begin. We will be ruling

           and reigning with Him. 

Conclusion:  The church was an unforeseen part of God’s kingdom program.  If Israel had not rejected Jesus as Messiah, we would be experiencing the Millennial Kingdom (1,000 year reign of Jesus on earth) right now.  That wasn’t the case, so a mystery form of the kingdom came into being.  It’s easy for us to think that the kingdom of God concerns only the church, because it is the age in which we live and it is all we know.  Even during the church age, between Jesus’ first and second Comings, the kingdom will have a mixture of fake and real within itself.  The wolves and impostors Paul spoke of, and the false prophets Jesus spoke of, will be all mixed together in the Kingdom until the end of the age, when the angels will sort them out and destroy all evildoers.  This explains in part why seemingly bonafide members of the kingdom are rejected by God (“Depart from me, you who work iniquity” Matt 7:23).  These parables impel us to stay on our main job, which is to make disciples.  We must stay focused and get good at it, following the pattern for the structure of the church, ever mindful of Jesus’ position over us as our king.  We must not be afraid to obey His commands, which bring us closer to dependence on Him.  He will be challenging all of us to get out of our comfort zones!