City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

³¹ He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; ³² and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

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

Matthew 13:31-33 (NASB

Commentary

“Eschatology” is the ten dollar word for the theology of the end-times. When I was younger, I read a number of books on eschatology, including a 700 page commentary on the Book of Revelation. I even sat through a sermon series on Revelation by Ed Young at Second Baptist Church that seemed like it lasted a millennium. Even after all this study of eschatology, I still had problems remembering what the 42 months and seventy weeks meant, whether Gog and Magog were Chinese Communists or Russian Communists, and whether the locusts in Revelation were Cobra Helicopters or Apache Helicopters. And then there was the Beast of Revelation—was the mark of the Beast the birth mark on Gorbachev’s head or the chip the government was going to implant in our bums to undermine truth, justice, and the American way? It was all so confusing.

But in all the confusion, at some point, by the grace of God, I found clarity in Jesus, and specifically in his teaching about the kingdom of God. Jesus simplified it, dumbified it, and clarified it. It shouldn’t be complicated. I shouldn’t have to read a 700 page commentary to understand what God says about where the world is headed; nor should you. Fortunately neither of us do; we only need to understand these two parables.

In the first, Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a very small seed that eventually grows to become like a tree so large birds can nest in its branches. Jesus’ reference to birds is a quote from Ezekiel 31. In Ezekiel 31 the Lord calls the Assyrian Empire a tree “loftier than all the tress of the field” and says “[a]ll the birds of the heavens nested in its boughs” and “all great nations lived under its shade” (Ezekiel 31:5-6). Jesus was saying the kingdom of God would start small but eventually become so large all the nations would nest under its shade and enjoy its benefits.

In the second parable, Jesus says the kingdom of God is like leaven. Leaven permeates dough, and as it does, it lifts the dough. Jesus was saying the kingdom of God would fully permeate the world, and as it did, it would lift those cultures it permeated. 

Application

You don’t need to know about the 42 months, Gog and Magog, or the mark of the Beast, and you don’t need to listen to the kooks who try to predict the end of the world or Jesus’ return. What you need to know is the kingdom of God started small, it has spread its influence throughout the world, and it will continue to do so, lifting cultures as it does, until it has become the preeminent kingdom in the world. In other words, the kingdom of God will succeed on the earth.

And that, my friends, is good news.

Prayer

Lord, help me be an instrument for the spread of Your reign on the earth. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.