Kingdom Parables Matthew 13:31-35; 44-52
“HEAVENLY TREASURE!”
Seven of the eight parables Jesus tells in Matthew 13 begin with the words, “the Kingdom of heaven is like…” (Matthew 13:24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47, 52) In his kingdom parables, Jesus paints word pictures that spark the imagination and prompt a response – of a house withstanding a tempest, of scat-tered seed taking root and growing an amazing crop, or growing into a tree, or thriving among weeds; or of buried treasure, a priceless pearl or a fisherman's dream come true!
If you listen close, you can almost hear his disciples repsonse....: “Oh, that's what it's like!”
Matthew informs us that Jesus always taught by telling stories and when his disciples asked why, he told them it was so that they “could perceive the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven!”
(Matthew 13:11)
Three Things... One, it's possible for us to perceive.... Two, he wants us to perceive, and three,
apparently, parables help with perception. Consider the following modern parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a preschool class that went on a field trip to a farm. “Look!” one of the kids on the bus shouted, “there’s a cow with no horns! All the other cows have horns - why not this one?”
“There are a lot of reasons some cows don’t have horns,” the boy’s teacher replied. “It might depend on the breed; some cattle are horned and some aren’t. Or it could be the cow’s age; some don’t grow ‘em until they’re adults. Others lose their horns in collisions or have them removed for one reason or another. But in the case of this cow here? It doesn’t have horns ‘cause it’s a horse!”
If it doesn’t look, act or sound or like a cow – guess what – it's not a cow! Likewise Jesus tells parables so that we will recognize what the kingdom of heaven does and doesn't look like. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. Once he finds one of great value, (he does what it takes to acquire it).” (Matthew 13:45-6) Oh, that's what it's like!
As Jesus paints these parabolic pictures of the Kingdom of Heaven we see an unfolding mosaic of images – like the pieces of a puzzle that slowly form a compelling panorma, images of what it looks like when God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, intermingles with our own human spirit. They reveal not only what God has in store for us but what God is doing among us as he moves and compels us... “......”
To perceive all this, it helps to grasp the paradox, purpose and prolific nature of his parables.
The paradox of his parables is that they actually depict two distinct realities - that God’s reign is in some ways present and in other ways future. It’s what Martin Luther referred to as Jesus’ two Kingdom message. God’s kingdom breaks into the present as God’s people come into a devoted, loving and ongoing relationship with him through Jesus Christ, and begin to live out the Good News – wheat and weeds together, a gathering together of every kind of fish. (Matthew 13:47)
On the other hand, Jesus' kingdom is not yet fully realized. Jesus’ parables reveal that there is more to life than what we can see and touch in this world, and that the best is yet to come. Such a kingdom is worth pursuing with everything we’ve got because nothing can compare with the priceless pearl of sharing eternity with Jesus! To be sure, what he's prepared for us is treasure beyond compare!
I know of a pastor who visited a woman who was dying of cancer. At one point, she motioned for him to lean in close and she whispered something in his ear. Not long thereafter the woman died. At her funeral, people began to murmur. 'Why....is she being buried with a fork in her hand?'
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During his eulogy the pastor explained. Having attended countless church potlucks over the years, she'd asked him to put a fork in her hand and announce once again, as if at a potluck: “Hold on to your forks, everyone, the best is yet to come!” The Paradox? The kingdom is here, but not quite!
The purpose of Jesus' parables is to help us perceive just how precious and powerful his kingdom really is... Such parables have a jarring effect, if we take them seriously. They awaken us and compel us to seek, with everything we’ve got, what Jesus uniquely offers, and what he offers is an encounter with God’s life-changing love and grace. His parables are told....to propel us into action!
There’s the story of the boy who caught a couple of sparrows who’d flown into the house and made a mess. As he carried them in a bird cage in town he was stopped by his neighbor, Joshua.
“What’cha got there, son?” Joshua asked. “Just a couple of scrawny birds,” the boy said. “What are you going to do with them?” “I’m going to take them over to Joey’s and have some fun with them – you know, pull out their feathers and rattle their cage – that kind of thing.”
“And after that, what will you do with them?” “Well, I’ve got a big cat. Maybe I’ll treat him to a little kitty gourmet!”
“I see. So, how much do you want for those birds, son?” “Oh, you don’t want these birds, mister. They don’t sing, their feisty and messy and they sure ain’t much to look at.”
“I know. How much?” “I don’t know. How much you got?” Joshua opened up his wallet. “I’ve got 15 dollars…and thirty-five cents.” “They’ll cost you $15.35!”
Joshua paid the impertinent lad and then taking the cage he undid the latch and set the sparrows free. Jesus gave all he had to keep you from being plucked as well. The difference is that he paid in blood…so that you and I could be uncaged and set free, and to propel us into living a new life!
To embrace such grace is like discovering buried treasure! Such parables suggest that investing in his kingdom is, in a word, profitable! In both the pearl & treasure metaphors Jesus draws a picture of someone who sold all they had in order to invest in what they’d found! The harvest of seed, grow-ing to 60-100 times more than planted, or that of a huge haul of fish, echoes tones of $ success.
The implied result was that in each case they turned a profit that was, well, out of this world! In short, there is nothing you can possibly invest in that will produce a greater return than the kingdom! In it and through it Jesus propels us from the plight of a sinner to the flight of an uncaged winner! The kingdom of heaven is profitable because we’re investing in an eternal relationship.
That relationship is centered in Christ, but because Jesus’ entire mission was about reclaiming the weedy, lost people of God, we too, as we participate in his kingdom, are called to do likewise. As such, the kingdom of heaven is prolific to the core – prolific being defined as “That which produces offspring or fruit.” The kingdom is prolific as we take on his mission as our own.
Like Jesus we seek the one over the 99, we give it up in pursuit of the diamond in the ruff, for the treasure buried in the dirt, we embrace our calling as fishers of people, pursuing not just the catch of the day but fish of every kind and leaving it to God to judge and sort it out in the end.
In the words of John Burke: “We need to continually revisit Jesus' painted pictures of God's grace until the lesser gods in our heads are overthrown. Many people need to fire the god in their head that they associate with the God of Jesus. So many of us live stressed, controlling, joyless lives because we do not yet trust that we are fully loved 'as is' and that God is 'for us not against us.'
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When we truly live in grace, we find freedom. That's why Jesus told so many parables. He knew just talking about grace was not enough, we need to envision it, experience it. We experience grace best though other people who have been compelled by grace to propel it towards others.
If you saw a Rembrandt covered in mud, you wouldn't focus on the mud or treat it like mud. Your primary concern would not be the mud at all – though it would need to be removed. You'd be ecstatic to have something so valuable in your care, but if you tried to clean it up by yourself, you'd likely damage it. So you would carefully bring this work of art to a master who could guide you and help you restore it to the condition originally intended. When people begin treating one another as God's masterpiece waiting to be revealed, God's grace grows in their lives and cleanses them.”
(from John Burke's No Perfect People Allowed)
This is why the Kingdom of heaven that Jesus is about is so amazing! It is amazing precisely because of how tremendously prolific it is! The ripple effect of one hungry beggar telling another where to find a piece of bread, as Luther put it, or to discover the Remebrandt..., is just so exciting!
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered in a field. In his excite-ment, he sold everything he owned in order to buy the field and take claim to the treasure!”
(Matthew 13:44)
In his utter excitement the poor guy couldn't help himself! He knew he had stumbled upon some thing whose value nothing in life could possibly compare! And so he sold it all....! The house, the car, his ring, his moss covered, three-handled family gradunza – yup – all of it! Gone! Sold...!
Jesus, is saying that's what the kingdom looks like, when someone makes changes, & is all in!
One of the things about my experience with Brian Baumunk that I marveled at was the very visible turnabout in him. From being evasive and noncommittal to being good humored and enthusias-tically all in. I remember a childhood friend of his coming up to me and quietly informing him that he would've never imagined that Brian was the kind of guy that would go all religious and everything!
Brian went on to be a helper on Alpha, got elected as chair of evangelism and ran a Bible study with his wife, Patsy, out of their home for years following his Spirit filled conversion...
Dave Deshazer, an Alpha friend of mine from Seattle, wrote me an e-mail that hit home: “What a wild ride this is. Businesses are sinking, the cost of fuel and food is sky rocketing, cities are flooding, the earth is quaking, countries are warring while children are starving. These are scary times.
The pressures are intense. People are concerned about what is coming and yet none of this has caught God by surprise. He has a plan for this uncertain time. He’s still showing up. He’s still giving of himself, connecting with those seeking after him, healing many for whom others are praying, liberat-ing and transforming others who take to heart his call to repent…trusting in him. ‘The Kingdom of God is NEVER at risk. Christ is for certain and Christ is for us.’” (Dave Deshazer)
Nothing you invest your time, talent or resources in is more rock solid than the kingdom of heaven because the kingdom of heaven is never at risk. As Paul put it “Christ is for certain and Christ is for us so don’t worry about a thing but instead pray about everything!” (Philippians 4:6)
The meaning of life, according to Jesus, is breathtakingly simple:“Invest in heavenly treasure” (Matthew 6:19)From Jesus’ perspective, there is no greater treasure than that which he himself invested everything he had in – the treasure of the people of God. Find the masterpiece in the mud, and invest!
“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.” (Matthew 13:52)