In the olden days, when Rome ruled the world, it was quite common to convert all the people of a nation to Catholicism. If you were a citizen, then you were Catholic. This was when the church and state were one. My question to you all is this: Do we really want the United States to become a Christian Nation?

If everyone in the United States were a Christian, there would be a few issues that we’d have to deal with. First, who would they share the gospel with (apart from their newborns)? Second, who would they disciple as new believers? Third, how would they influence the world?

It seems to me that God already has a nation… or a “Kingdom” and he has sent it into the world. A “Christian Nation” would not only be impossible from a obedience stand-point, but also would be impossible from a logistical stand-point. If everyone in the U.S. were Christian, then there would be no one in the U.S. For all would be obedient in sharing the gospel and discipling the Lost. So the U.S. would be empty and then ultimately be filled with non-believers.

What do you think? Should the U.S. strive to become a Christian nation? Are there more logistical issues with being a Christian nation? Are my concerns invalid?

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. – Exodus 20:8-11

It seems like the reason was because of God’s creation order. The seventh day he rested and blessed the day and made it a day to be set apart.

Later, in the Gospels, we see Jesus and his disciples breaking this very command… at least in the Pharisee’s eyes there were breaking the command.

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” – Matthew 12:1-8

On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find {reason} to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus. – Luke 6:6-11

Jesus justified his and his disciples actions by claiming that he is the Lord of the Sabbath. He also points to the scriptures to refute their current understanding of the Sabbath.

Although this post is not necessarily about today’s practice, we must look at it before I continue with my point. Today, many Christian consider Sunday to be the Sabbath. The normal apologetic (or at least the normal one I’ve heard) is that Christ arose on a Sunday, so we moved Sabbath to Sunday to be more worshipful of him. I have also heard that it was a common New Testament practice to meet on the “first day of the week.” I doubt this is prescriptive – rather it seems only to describe one group meeting at one time (Acts 20:7). Lately, I have noticed a lot of people taking notice that Sunday is not the true Sabbath and want to call Sunday something else… and Saturday should remain the true, tradition Sabbath. But recently I have wondered if this is really a hill worth dieing on.

If we turn to scripture, again, we find something interesting in Hebrews specifically chapters 3-4, but I will only quote parts of them here.

Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED ME BY TESTING ME, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’” – Hebrews 3:7-11

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS”; and again in this passage, “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.” Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.” For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. – Hebrews 4:1-8

So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. – Hebrews 4:9-11

The author of Hebrews, *cough*PAUL*cough*, reveals something very important about the Sabbath. The seventh day is just a symbol, a symbol of a day of rest provided to us by the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus. Those of us who believe in him have entered that very rest. For believers, the Sabbath is not Saturday or Sunday… it is Jesus. We have entered into his rest. His works have been completed, thus our works have been completed. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, he has done it all.

If that is not true rest… I don’t know what is.

1) The Parable of the Tares among the Wheat

The first parable in the series is probably the easiest. This parable is explained to us by Jesus. We learn these things in this parable – The Son of Man planted good seed (the sons of the kingdom) into the field (the world). His enemy, the Devil, planted bad seed (the sons of the evil one) into the field (the world). The reapers (angels) will separate the tares (bad seed) from the wheat (good seed) and burn up the tares.

So based on this parable we learn that the Kingdom of Heaven (at least in part) is in the currently in the world. It is us, those who follow Christ, as we have been planted here, in the world, by Him.

2) The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Jesus teaches us that the Kingdom of Heavens presence in the world is small (smaller than the other seeds in the world). But it will grow and eventually it will have great power and authority. I think this points more directly to the end, when all things come to fruition.

3) The Parable of the Leaven

A lot of people misinterpret this parable saying that it has to do with sin in the Church and its effect on the Church. Given that Jesus is discussing the Kingdom of Heaven, I seriously doubt this parable has to do with sin. In fact, given the context, I think it has a similar interpretation to the previous parable, the Mustard Seed parable. Just as Leaven effects a all of the flour, eventually the Kingdom of Heaven will effect all of the world.

4) The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and The parable of the Merchant

These two parables are very interesting, very short, and very much related. So I combined them in one post. This parable tells us of what Jesus has to sacrifice. He literally gave up everything to pay for the treasure or the Great Pearl – the Kingdom of Heaven.

5) The Parable of the Dragnet

This parable is also explained by Jesus. The Good fish are kept, but the Bad fish are thrown out – just as the Tares are burned and the Wheat is kept.

6) The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

This parable was a little difficult to understand because it adds so many different things to the situation. In fact, I am not very comfortable with my posts conclusion now that I read over it. Now that I reread it I think I should have focused more on what Jesus concludes with, “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” I think this parable, in line with the others, is saying that he Kingdom of Heaven is/will be made up of people who forgive their brothers (or are generally forgiving).

7) The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard

I feel the correct interpretation of this parable is to see it in light of the Jew/Gentile relationship. The Jews were part of the Kingdom of Heave first, they were promised a certain wage and then later the Gentiles came into the scene. The Jews put a stink when the Gentiles received the same wage even though they worked less time. Some believe this teaches us that there are no levels of reward in Heaven. I think a better interpretation is that all members of the Kingdom of Heaven are equal – Jew or Gentile.

8) The Parable of the Marriage Feast

This parable seems to show us that Jesus’ first coming was a “wedding feast.” The Jews had been invited, but they made up excuses not to come. So the King invited all the Gentiles to come. Some of the Gentiles (in fact, most) came unprepared and were thrown out into the outer darkness (for many are invited, but few are chosen). I think it is safe to say that the few that were chosen make up those who are planted in the world. This parable seems to indicate that there is/was a wide/universal invitation but only a select few (or the elect) are chosen.

9) The Parable of the Ten Virgins

I recently joked on someone’s blog that this parable teaches us polygamy. Of course I do not think it does, but one has to wonder why so many virgins are waiting for one groomsman. In this parable we find 5 prudent virgins and 5 foolish virgins. The foolish are not prepared for the grooms return and thus miss their opportunity. As I see it there are three possible interpretations for this parable. 1. The Jews were the foolish virgins and were not ready for Jesus when he came. I do not think this is really possible, because the parable is about the return of the bridesgroom. 2. Jesus is speaking of the end of the age, those who think they are saved and those who are actually saved. 3. Jesus is still speaking of the end of the age but the two groups are saved and lost (those who do not think they are mixed with those who think they are saved but aren’t) – slightly different than theory 2. Frankly I think all three could work, but 2 seems most logical to me.

10) The Parable of the Talents

We see that Jesus has given three groups of people (represents by three slaves) different responsibilities. The first two slaves do very well and are called good and faithful. The last slave does poorly and is cast into the outer darkness. The latter slave could probably be compared to the tares, cast into the fire (outer darkness). The first two slaves were obviously the Wheat. I think ultimately this parable is teaching that we are all given something from Jesus and what we do with that is dependent on us. Now that I look back on this parable I really think it is a salvific message. Just like the wedding feast, everyone was invited, but how they responded is what was judged. So here, we see three slaves were given different things, but it was their response (or how they handled the talents) that is judged. I do not think this is teaching any works based salvation, more like a need for personal acceptance of what Christ is offering us.

Conclusion:

I had a blast going through these parables. I think I learned a lot of interesting things. As a recap, I think some key points were that the Kingdom of Heaven has been established and it is here in the world (at least, in part). Those of us who are followers of Christ make up part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Everyone has been invited to take part in the Kingdom, but not everyone has accepted that invitation. Also, Jesus paid a high price for His Kingdom.

Thanks everyone, and sorry for the late conclusion!

God’s Glory!

“For it is [the KoH] just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 25:14-30

This parable has three main players:

1. The Master – Jesus
2. The three servants who are broken down into two categories:
1. Good and Faithful
2. Wicked

This parable seems to play out in a pretty obvious way, but let me make a couple of observations.

1. The three servants are all given different amounts, which suggests that not everyone is given the same load. Perhaps, given what one can handle.
2. The two servants who are good and faithful are given similar rewards, which shows a type of equality.
3. The wicked servant is cast into the outer darkness, obviously not a Christian.
4. This parable also appears to be about the second coming of Christ.
5. This parable has very little to do with financial responsibility–not that financial responsibility is not taught elsewhere, I just do not think it is being taught here.

The only lasting question is, who do the slaves represent? Jews? Gentiles? Saved? Lost? I am not sure if we can specifically answer this question. It does not really appear to be the scope of the parable anyway, so let’s just leave it as a “mystery.”

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”‘ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:1-14

First I’ll take a look at the characters, and try to match them up with their prospective roles.
1. King – God
2. King’s Son – Jesus
3. Official Guests – Jews
4. Street Guests (both evil and good) – Gentiles

There are two interesting things in this parable that deserve mentioning. First, we see that this a wedding feast put on for the son. So we know that Jesus’ first coming was the wedding feast that God put on for him. We also learn that the Jews were unwilling to go to the wedding feast, even to the point of murder. I think this closely reflects what happened to Jesus.

God then sent his messengers to gather the Gentiles for the wedding feast. Now here is the most interesting part. One of the Gentiles who came to the feast was not properly dressed. The king throws him in the “outer darkness.” Obviously this corresponds to salvation, but what Jesus says next is very intriguing – “for many are called, but few are chosen.”

So, what does it mean to be called if not chosen? I think this is actually a misleading translation. The word used there for “called” is the same word used before for “invite.” If we understand the word as invited (and within the context it should be invited) it makes perfect sense that many are invited, but few are chosen. Or if we keep it the word as “called” we need to realize that this is not salvation, but a call to accept the free gift of salvation.

This parable, as well as some of the previous KoH parables, seems to indicate that there is a wide calling, but only the elect will be saved. Those who are not elect, obviously show up to the “feast” unprepared.

Any thoughts?

“Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?” – Matthew 20:13-15

As I read and reread this passage it amazed me how much this parable reflects what happened in history. It is my contention that the first workers represent Israel. The latter workers represent the Gentiles.

Jesus ends this parable saying, “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” (v.16) As we know, especially from Romans, Israel (the first of God’s people) has been cut off from the olive tree and the Christian Gentiles (the last of God’s people) have been grafted in. At the end of the age Israel will too be grafted in. So the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

There is also clear teaching that the Gentiles being saved would be a stumbling block to the Jews. Clearly this parable teaches the stumbling that will occur. On more than one occasion, Paul dealt with the fairness of Gentiles being saved.

Comparing this parable to the other KoH parables, I find a few similarities. The workers obviously represent the sons of the kingdom. The landowner is most likely Jesus (the son of God). The foreman is a new one for us. He may just be a part of the parable, but I think he probably represents the Angels. These same Angels are the ones who pulled the fish out of the sea and bundled the wheat to store them, etc.

I read a commentator who said that this parable teaches us that there are no levels of reward in Heaven. Because each worker receives the same wage, regardless of the amount of time he spent working. He also said that Luke 12:47-48 teaches that there are levels of punishment in Hell. I do not hold to a certain doctrine either way and am not willing to jump on board because of these two verses. Especially the parable, since I think the point of the parable is to teach about the Jew/Gentile relationship – not about levels of reward.

What do you all think?

Lew

Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” – Matthew 18:21-35

I may be wrong, but this parable is probably a well known one. Obviously the king represents God (the Father). The first verse reminds me of what might happen at the end of the age. He wants to settle accounts. Although this interpretation is probably not necessary and might not be correct given the fact that the slave goes and does something after settling accounts (but that might just be a limitation of a parable too).

We see that the King is merciful and forgives the slaves debt when he begs for it. Probably an example of what Jesus did for the world on the cross. Just as Jesus died for the whole world, so will the king forgive the debt of his slaves (when they ask him to).

Then the slave goes and does something interesting. He goes and chokes another slave, one of his peers, for what was owed him. He even goes so far as to through the other slave in prison until he is given his money back. I have often heard it preached that it was a mere impossibility to be payed back at this point, because he was in prison and had no way of making money. I will assume this is true for the moment because it parallels what happens next.

Later the King hears of what the slave has done and hands the wicked slave over to the torturers until he can repay the king back for what is owed. It is interesting that the Kings punishment closely parallels the slaves punishment of his peer. Surely this wicked slave too would never be able to pay back the king what was owed. Thus, he would be tortured forever.

I do not think it is a stretch of the imagination to see that this is what happens in Hell. Jesus ends this parable saying that His Father will do the same “if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

I do not believe the wicked slave was a son of the kingdom. Sure, he asked to be forgiven of his debt, but I think it was merely because he was face to face with the king. In a way, it was already too late for him. Later, when the slave showed his true nature, the king showed him the true punishment. My theology does not permit me to say that this slave was saved, because he is obviously being tortured.

Question: As far as salvation is concerned, what happened when the king forgave the slaves debts?

I have some ideas, but I want to hear from you all first.

Lew

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 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.” – Matthew 13:47-48

Considering the context of the previous parables, this parable seems pretty obvious. The gathering of the fish is similar to the gathering of the wheat and tares. The good fish are stored in containers and the bad and thrown out, much like the wheat is stored in the barn and the tares are burned in the fire.

This is pretty much what Jesus explains: “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 13:49-50

Since this parable is pretty much self-explanatory I will leave it there. It obviously fits in with the other parables and does not seem to throw any wrenches in the works. With that said, let us discuss what Jesus says after this parable – something I consider to be a little confusing.

“Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” – Matthew 13:51-52

Jesus ends with another parable like statement. Based on what we have previous stated (part 3 & the comments in part 2), the kingdom of heaven is another term for the sons of the kingdom. I do not put much stock in the word “scribe” that Jesus uses. I think he probably just used it as a general word for anyone. If this is true, it seems to fit with the “Great Commission” – the scribe becomes a disciple of the Christian (thus becoming a Christian himself).

Jesus compares this scribe to the head of a household, who “brings out of his treasure things new and old.” This is probably the most confusing part of this parable. I find myself asking, what is the significance of these new and old things? The best explanation I can think of is that this is similar to what we see in a Christian conversion. There are gifts that you were able to do as a lost person (the old) which you bring as ways to serve others, there are also things that you receive from God as new gifts which are also used to serve others. This is a similar explanation to Douglas Ragner (Word Biblical Commentary – Volume 33a: Matthew 1-13) – however it seems that Ragner thinks the old things are being used in a new way. He also relies a little to heavily on the word scribe. The reason why I think this is a bad thing is because the parable is not able a scribe, it is about the head of a household.

What are your thoughts?

Lew

This next post is actually going to be about the next two parables in the list (the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Merchant):
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
- Matthew 13:44

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
- Matthew 13:45-46

These parables are extremely interesting to me. I have heard them both interpreted in completely different ways. Today, I would like to point out why, I feel, they can only be interpreted one way. We will use the context of both these parables as well as the previous parables to prove the interpretation.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure may be the harder of the two to deal with. It is with this parable that I have heard people say that Jesus is the treasure and we give up everything for Jesus. This is an excellent thought and we do see Jesus telling people to lose everything to follow him, however, I think the Bible makes it clear that there is nothing we can do to merit gaining our Saviour. Our works and wealth are worthless when it comes to salvation. So, if we continue with our previous designations, we see that there is a Treasure hidden (the sons of the kingdom – much like seeds) in the field (the world). A man comes along and discovers this treasure. The man should represent the Son of God. He takes the treasure and hides it again until he can sell everything he has to buy the field.

This parable, although just one verse, is amazing to me because it completely summarizes the gospel. Jesus (the man in this parable) found a treasure (the people who are the sons of the kingdom) in the world. He gave up his life, lost everything, not to buy just the treasure, but to buy the whole field (or the whole world). Maybe it is just my personal theology leaking out, but it seems like there is definitely a distinction being made here concerning the difference between the elect and the world, and the fact that Jesus still died for the whole world, only to gain the treasure hidden in the world.

The next parable, the Parable of the Merchant, becomes much easier to interpret. Again, we keep the same designations; the merchant – a man – must be the Son of God. He too finds a treasure, this time a pearl of great value. He too sells everything he had and purchased the pearl. Again, an excellent summary of what Jesus did for us all on Calvary.

Thoughts?
Lew

He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.” – Matthew 13:33

In my previous post Alan asked two excellent questions: “So, why did Jesus tell this parable? What was [he] teaching people about the kingdom of heaven?” I will attempt to answer both of these questions in this post.

I believe that the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Leaven are both teaching about the same aspect of the KoH. We see that something tiny is planted inside something and it grows. The mustard seed grew so big that it affected the whole world, similarly the leaven affects the flour.

Jesus seems to be telling these parables to talk about this very affect that the KoH will have on the world. Some believe that leaven here represents Sin in the world and Jesus is teaching that the KoH will overcome sin. This is an erroneous interpretation. Taking the other two parables in context, the leaven must represent the sons of the kingdom, just as the mustard seed and the good seed (in the Parable of the Mustard Seed and Parable of the Tares – respectively).

It seems that Jesus is teaching that the sons of the kingdom will have an undeniable presence in the world. Almost to the point that they infect the world. I suppose, much like salt and light are meant to infect the world.

The woman, by the way, would represent the Son of God (Jesus). Jesus is hiding leaven (the sons of the kingdom) in the flour (the world) so that it will leaven all of the flour (the world). It seems to be to be unlikely that this is talking about any type of universal salvation, but it is clearly talking about the pervading influence the sons of the kingdom have on the world.

I hope you all are enjoying this series. Let me know what you think so far.

God Bless.

P.S. Sorry I am not updating very frequently. Finals and Graduation preparations have been taking up most of my time.

He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.” – Matthew 13:31-32

Jesus is using similar terminology in this parable (compared to the previous parable). If this terminology can be compared on a 1:1 ratio the mustard seed would represent the sons of the kingdom, the man would represent the Son of Man, and the field would represent the world.

The fact that the Kingdom of Heaven (KoH) is compared to a smaller set of elements is evidence in favor of the view that the KoH is being represented by the seeds that the farmer is planting. This helps support Alan’s comments in the previous post concerning the Parable of the Tares. Which I now lean towards as the correct interpretation.

This parable is actually retold in Mark and Luke. They are almost identical except for one major point. Mark and Luke both say the Kingdom of God, rather than the Kingdom of Heaven.

And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE.” – Mark 4:30-32

So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and THE BIRDS OF THE AIR NESTED IN ITS BRANCHES.” – Luke 13:18-19

This leads me to believe that the two phrases are somewhat synonymous. I have heard people say that the KoH represents one thing while the KoG represents another, but this does not allow the distinction to exist. The only argument that might be made is that Matthew uses the two phrases to represent different things. He uses KoG four times (Matthew 12:28, 19:24, 21:31, & 21:43). I do not think you can make a strong case that these are different from the uses in Mark, Luke, or his own uses of KoH.

Now, let me subtly turn the discussion to the “birds of the air.” This is quoted in the NASB as an Old Testament reference from Ezekiel 17:23, Psalms 104:12, Ezekiel 31:6, and Daniel 4:12. These OT verses seem to indicate that the birds being able to nest in this tree is a sign of greatness and power.

What do you think?

God Bless.

P.S. I wrote another blog about this parable, comparing it to the parable in Mark as a better solution to the “smallest seed” issue brought up by many skeptics. Check it out if you are interested.

When I first read these parables I thought they were saying the KoH is like “a man” (or the Son of Man). However, I ran into some theological issue when looking at the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Costly Pearl. I will discuss these issue at a later time, but for now my interpretation of this is that the KoH is being compared to the whole scenario. In other words the KoH is compared to the set: the Son of Man, the sons of the kingdom, the world, the Devil, the sons of the evil one, the angels, and the furnace of fire. All these things combine are what the KoH is being compared to, not just the man.

However, this interpretation seems a little awkward. When I first think of Heaven neither this world nor the furnace of fire comes to mind. I think most Christian (and probably non-Christians) would agree. Another way to think about this is found in other gospel accounts. For instance, some of the same parables are used in Mark and Luke, the only real difference is that they say the Kingdom of God, rather than the Kingdom of Heaven. I will discuss the significance of this in my next blog. It is not such dangerous theology to call all of this the Kingdom of God, especially when we understand that Matthew probably used the word “Heaven” as a replacement word for God – remember he was writing to Jews and they did pretty much all they could to avoid using (i.e. taking in vain) God’s name. Matthew did use the phrase “Kingdom of God” four times in his gospel account. It may or may not be significant, but three of those times Jesus was speaking to Pharisees, Sadducees, and Priests and the other time he was speaking to his disciples.

The conclusion I have drawn from this parable is that the Kingdom of Heaven has been started by Jesus, there are sons of the kingdom (Christians) and sons of the Devil (the Lost) who live in this kingdom. When it is time to harvest the Christians, the Lost will be gathered up and thrown into “the furnace of fire” where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The Christian will be gathered up and will “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

God Bless

P.S. I believe this parable has been used in the past as evidence for a post-tribulation rapture. It is not the intent of this entry to discuss the tribulation or the rapture, but I thought I should mention it. I personally lean towards a post-trib view, however, I am not sure I would use a parable to defend my position. Parables have a tendency to break down when they are stretched too far from their main point.

Parable of the Tares among the Wheat:
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”
- Matthew 13:24-30

Parable of the Mustard Seed:
He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”
- Matthew 13:31-32

Parable of the Leaven:
He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.” All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.
- Matthew 13:33-34

Parable of the Hidden Treasure:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
- Matthew 13:44

Parable of the Costly Pearl:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
- Matthew 13:45-46

Parable of the Dragnet:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 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. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- Matthew 13:47-50

Parable of the King and his Slaves:
“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
- Matthew 18:23-35

Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard:
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”
- Matthew 20:1-16

Parable of the Marriage Feast:
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”‘ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
- Matthew 22:1-14

Parable of the Ten Virgins:
Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”
- Matthew 25:1-13

Parable of the Talents:
“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- Matthew 25:14-30

However, I think there is a better solution. I am not sure why I have never seen this before, or why I have never heard anyone say it before but the solution is in the context of the passage(s). Here are the three passages that quote Jesus talking about the mustard seed:

Matthew 13:31-32 “He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”

Mark 4:31-32 “It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE.”

Luke 13:19 “It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and THE BIRDS OF THE AIR NESTED IN ITS BRANCHES.”

Each of these three passages are recalling what Jesus said, at least the main thought Jesus was making. In Matthew we have the problem of Jesus saying that the mustard seed is smaller than all other seeds, however, in Mark we have a great solution! Mark clearly explains that Jesus said the mustard seed is the smallest seed that the “farmer” put upon the soil. The context seems to suggest that Jesus is talking about a specific farm, planting specific seeds, the smallest of which is the mustard seed.

So you see, the mustard seed does not need to be the smallest seed in the world – just the smallest seed that the imaginary farmer is planting! What a simple solution!

I hope you all enjoyed!
Lew