Canvey Methodist Church Bible Study - Tuesday 21st July 2020.
Prayer of the Day
O Holy Spirit, breath of all creatures, purifier of all souls and healer of all wounds; be fire to our heart, light to our path and friend for our journey. Amen.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)- Methodist Church Prayer Manuel.
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Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52-The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
Footnotes
a.Matthew 13:33 Or about 27 kilograms
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One of the happy memories of childhood for me (many years ago now of course) was listening to the comforting words of Derek McCulloch or Uncle Mac, as he was affectionately known, on the BBC Homeservice radio program Children’s Hour. After telling the bedtime story of the day, he would sign off with the words, “Goodnight Children everywhere”. I enjoyed the stories, and I enjoyed the familiarity of his famous farewell ‘catch phrase’. And today, I still like listening to stories or, more often, watching them unfold on TV or film. Stories draw us in, catch our imagination and stir both intellect and emotions.
Jesus was the master storyteller and he told many. In fact we have been left a treasure trove of these stories in the gospels. We know them as parables. Most of these were stories that were designed to illustrate a particular point or points, something like sermon illustrations today (except sometimes without the accompanying sermon that would clarify the illustration!).
In Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52 we find six parables concerning the kingdom of heaven. They can be divided into two groups; the first containing parables addressed to the Jewish crowds as well as to the disciples (vv.1-35); the second group containing parables addressed only to the disciples (vv.36-52). In vv.1-2 of Matthew 13, he makes much of the fact that Jesus taught the crowds; but then by v.36 Jesus then leaves the crowds and goes into the house, where he teaches only his disciples.Thus our two readings cover both settings. (V31-33 - addressed to the Jewish crowds as well as to the disciples; v44-52-addressed only to the disciples).
These parables in Matthew 13 are also arranged in pairs; The mustard seed story is paired with that of the yeast and they both tell us of a kingdom that starts very small and grows exponentially large. The mustard seed is just 1mm in diameter and it grows into a bush some 2-3meters tall. This comparison stresses that although the kingdom may currently appear insignificantly small, it will eventually grow dramatically. Similarly just a small quantity of yeast or leaven in a large amount of flour dough has a dramatic effect. Interestingly, both mustard and leavening, to the minds of the first listeners of this story, would have had some quite negative associations. Mustard was viewed as an invasive weed, and the “yeast” that Jesus mentions isn’t the best quality baker's yeast of today all presented in a nice little pre-measured packet. Rather it was a lump of fermented dough, left over from the last batch of bread. If you’ve ever made sourdough bread from a starter, then you have an idea of the kind of leavening Jesus was talking about. In Jewish understanding, leavening was a symbol for corruption and had to be cleaned out of Jewish houses before Passover. (Exodus 12). Consequently it was sometimes used to picture the spread of negative things from a small start. (1 Corinthians 5v6-8). However, in this parable it is used positively to demonstrate the way the kingdom starts. It’s beginnings are small but it grows, having a mighty and wide-ranging effect; it is unstoppable, pervasive, abundant and spreads everywhere. The amount of flour Jesus mentioned would have made enough bread to feed at least a hundred people!
The next pair of parables (verse 44-46) both convey something of the huge value of the kingdom of God in comparison with anything else life might offer. As with the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast, they echo the idea of the kingdom not being easily noticed at first glance. (Note that pearls were more valuable than gold at the time).
Yet here again, there is also an element of surprise in the example Jesus chooses to use. He talks about someone finding a treasure in a field, burying it again and going to sell all he has, in order to buy the field. But what was this person doing, digging around on someone else’s land to begin with? Perhaps the person had a legitimate reason to be digging in another person’s field – maybe he was being paid to remove a tree stump. We don’t know and Jesus did not provide the detailed back story. However, Jewish law at that time although a little confusing about treasure trove, about found treasure generally followed the logic of “finders, keepers.” Jesus' point was to focus on the joy that goes with discovering an unexpected treasure trove, and recognizing that it’s worth everything you have to become its rightful owner.
Just like the merchant who was searching for good pearls, and came across one that he recognized as having great value, we should be looking for evidence of the kingdom of heaven. Whether you find it by surprise, or after diligently seeking for it, the fact that it is hidden from view makes it all the more precious, all the more worth our total investment. It’s worth everything we have.
So far, we have a pair of parables that show how the kingdom of heaven might seem small and insignificant in the beginning, but it grows into something that can’t be contained. And we have another pair of parables that describe how valuable the kingdom of heaven is. All four of these stories hint that the kingdom may be hidden from plain view, for those who do not have eyes to see, or ears to hear.
The last set of twin parables are about judgement. We heard the parable of the weeds last week, and some of its details in the story of the dragnet full of fish are similar in tone. Both parables describe what will happen to those who ignore Christ’s message. They both speak of angels who will separate the righteous from the evil, throwing the evil into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
I suspect that I am not alone in being uncomfortable about talking about God’s judgment in today’s world. We don’t want to offend anyone, or scare them away with stories of unquenchable fire, gnashing teeth, and wailing cries. It is far easier to speak about God's love and acceptance. However, one thing that Jesus was not accepting of was evil. Faced with the reality of evil in the world, Jesus considered judgement a reality. We speak of a person who trusts in Christ as being saved for the kingdom and yet if there was nothing to be saved from in the first place, then there would be no need for salvation and for Jesus to have died a substitutionary death for us! In this parable therefore, as the kingdom of heaven grows into its fullness and immeasurable value, evil must be pulled out from it and destroyed.
Yet, even as he spoke clearly about this truth, Jesus did not labour the point. For every parable of judgment, he tells five parables about joy, abundance, and uncounted treasure. Jesus tells stories that “envision God in every nook and cranny of daily life, from kneading dough to plowing fields. Jesus transforms human life not by scaring the people witless but by helping them see that heaven is close at hand.
Finally Jesus tells a parable about teachers in the Kingdom.
“Therefore,” he says, “every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
A scribe was someone whose life was devoted to copying down the words of scripture, and teaching them to others in order that people would know how to live God's way. Being trained as a scribe for the kingdom of heaven involves devoting our lives to the truth of the gospel, and sharing it with others. Jesus encouraged his listeners to accept him as the new treasure, which fulfilled the promise of the old scriptures. He offers us the same invitation.
Following Jesus may not always seem to be what we had hoped or expected it to be. Sometimes it might appear to be like an invasive plant, like mustard, growing and spreading unchecked. Sometimes it might smell a bit off, like fermented bread dough, hidden among enough flour to feed a hundred people who are hungry for the love of God. Sometimes we will stumble upon it like a treasure buried in a field, and sometimes we will only discover it after diligent searching. Someone once said that “All of life is a seeking after value.” Sometimes we find it easily, and sometimes we have to search for it, but often, in this process, our sense of value is skewed. I wonder if we sometimes just would like “a little of the kingdom” as an add-on to the rest of our lives. We want to hedge our bets. These parables make it clear that “You cannot hedge your bets with the kingdom.” Instead, they encourage us to abandon whatever we think is most important in life and focus entirely on what God is doing in the kingdom that is already here, already active! The gospel we proclaim deserves the label as “treasure trove” and, through it our lives will then express the ultimate value that is found only in Christ.
This unstoppable kingdom of heaven is a promise that evil will one day be destroyed, and righteousness will shine – and in the meantime, it is working in us, changing us, calling us to let ourselves be broken open like a seed that dies in order for a plant to grow from it.
Praise God! This is God's work in you and it is God's work in me.
Amen.
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Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, in you we find the good news of the gospel:
Renew us through our worship of you,
Enable us to find our place in your kingdom,
Send us out as your servants,
Put us in the right place to share the good news,
Open our hearts and those of others to hear your words,
Never let us cease to proclaim your name, and
Deepen our discipleship as we continue to serve you.
In each and every way may our lives respond to you. Amen
Paul Davis, Lancashire District Chair- Methodist Church Prayer Manual.
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Acknowledgments: With thanks for ideas from:
The Methodist Church prayer manual.
Jo Anne Taylor of https://pastorsings.com
Roots Magazine.
Bible Gateway Commentaries.