City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

²⁰ And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

Luke 13:20-21

 Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. ² So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, ³ and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. ⁴ Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”

They said, “Do as you have said.”

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”

Genesis 18:1-6 (NKJV)

Reflection

Sometimes the translation of the original texts can hide connections between the Old and New Testaments. I intentionally pulled out the NKJV version for these verses to help show the correlation between Genesis 18 and Jesus’ parable about what the kingdom of God is like. There is a reason Jesus used exactly three measures(seahs) of flour(meal). For Jews, they would immediately understand the connection to Genesis 18.

In Genesis 18, Abraham sees three men coming. Three is an interesting number which could represent the trinity. I would also assume that one of these three was Jesus Himself who came with a couple angles. This is because when Abraham immediately recognizes the significance of the situation, he comes to bow down to them. (Keep in mind that the only one who would accept worship is God, so it cannot be just angles). Abraham then goes to Sarah to make cakes out of three measures of flour for the men.

After this, the Lord prophecies that Sarah will have a baby within one year (v. 10) and then again prophecies that Abraham will become a great nation through which all of the earth shall be blessed(v. 18) which is a future prophecy of Jesus and the kingdom of God. Then the angles go on to Sodom and Gomorrah to see what they have done and the sins committed (v. 21) which is a foretelling of the future judgment of humankind in the end times.

So what is the kingdom of God like? Through one man, Jesus, the kingdom of God will become a great nation of people who will be a blessing for the entire earth. The Jews would be reminded of what God did through Abraham and thus, also be reminded that God would bring a savior to bless the nations, that is Jesus Himself. Most who listened couldn’t see this simple correlation and connection to Jesus, but many would understand the Old Testament story and could picture what the kingdom of God would be like.

Application

The kingdom of God has come through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Are you going to play your part in the spreading of the kingdom on this earth or sit idly by? God prophesied His coming and fulfilled it when Jesus was born which is the reason for the season we have today. Think on this as you celebrate Christmas.

Prayer

Father, help me to be a shining light of Your glory on this earth. May Your light shine on me and guide me through the hardships that this life may bring. Let me seek Your will and help me to share your message of salvation to anyone who needs to hear it. In the name of Jesus, amen.