Kingdom of heaven : Parable of the mustard seed, Parable of leaven

Continuation of "Kingdom of Heaven: Parable of wheat and tares..."

We have seen that kingdom of God is already established in the world. Luke 17:21, Pharisees asked when God’s kingdom comes and Jesus replies it is there in your midst. The complete establishment of the kingdom will be at the second coming of Jesus Christ. 

We also saw that Jesus explained about the kingdom of God through parables. Each parable is talking about some aspects of the kingdom of God. 

1st Parable: Parable of the sower: It talks about how the kingdom of God is established in the world and how people can be part of that kingdom eternally. 

2nd Parable: Parable of the wheat and weeds: This parable talks about how evil enter into this kingdom of God, when and how God will separate the weeds from the wheat. 

Today we will look into the 3rd and 4th parable about the kingdom of heaven from Matthew chapter 13. They are a parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven. 

These two parables which we are discussing today are very short parables compared to the other ones and unlike other ones, we don’t see any explanation from Jesus Christ about these parables. He might have explained it to the disciples but we don't see their explanation in any of the 4 gospels. Because of that, we see so many different explanations of these parables by different commentators. Anyway, let’s read the parables.

From these two parables, I would like to share three things

o   Nature of the beginning of the kingdom of God

o   Nature of the growth of the kingdom of God

o   How the kingdom attains this extraordinary growth?

1.     Nature of the beginning of the kingdom of God (Parable of the mustard seed v31)

It all started with a tiny mustard seed. The mustard seed is known for its small size. It was common usage at that time - "As small as a mustard seed", "faith like a grain of mustard seed". 

The kingdom of God which is seen today had a very small beginning. It started with a man called Jesus Christ born in a small town brought up in a small town, not known till the age of 30, not learned under any well-known scholars or philosophers and finally died a shameful death on the cross.

When the Pharisees and high priests finally sealed the tomb they thought it is the end but it was only the beginning. 

Then came the apostles and his early disciples. Not the elite class of society. But rather common men, fishermen, not learned and well educated a few people, a handful of them. They were people who were afraid, people who had disbelief, they were weak. The Christian faith started with them. Humanly speaking, a very small beginning. 

When someone is building a kingdom, they will choose the best men and delegate the responsibilities. Nobody will choose people who are weak, people who uneducated for helping them in building the kingdom. Do you think Alexander the great will appoint weak, uneducated, and untrained people as his commanders and chiefs? They will all take the best men, best warriors, geniuses to aid them. But here look at beginning of the kingdom of God, with weak people - people who were least of all. Not too much in numbers. 

God's way of choosing the team: It’s a unique way of selection throughout the Bible. From the Old Testament, Joseph, Moses, David, Jeremiah, the Minor Prophets, selection of apostles. If you observe God's way of selection we see it’s unique. Instead of selecting the best people, he selects the weak and the foolish and makes them strong. The weak Joseph became strong; Moses became strong, look at David. He selects the weak vessels, mould them into stronger vessels. If he selects the strong, he makes sure that he will break it, makes it humble, and mould it again. Eg: Paul.

1 Co 1:27-29: God chose the foolish things that nobody can glory in God’s presence.

It’s a very comforting thought to us that we can be used by God. God can efficiently use us. We just need to be available for him to use. 

2.     Nature of the growth of the kingdom (Parable of the mustard seed v32)

We were seeing the nature of the beginning, the small and the tiny seed. It began with weak people. Now let’s look at the nature of the growth. 

The parable says the tiny the mustard seed grew and became a tree greater than the other garden plants. 

What do we see about the nature of the growth of the mustard plant? It was not a kind of growth according to the proportions of the size of the seed. It was not a kind of growth expected out of it. It grew and became larger than other garden plants. 

As I mentioned, this is a parable prophetic in nature. At the time of writing, the kingdom was small, a few handful of people and Jesus says that it will become bigger than all the others. Today look at Christianity, it has indeed become greater than all others. 30 % of the world today is Christians and second is Islam with 23 %. I am including all the people who profess to be Christians. The present kingdom of God includes all people who profess to be Christians both true and false ones. We get this idea from the previous parable. Devil has come and added the false ones along with the wheat and only at the end of times, good ones and bad ones will be separated. Also, there is one parable that coming next, which says the current kingdom of God, includes the good fishes and bad fishes, and at the end of ages, he will separate good and bad. 

So thinking from that point of view, the kingdom of God has become greater than all other religious systems from a very small beginning.

Unfavorable conditions for growth: Another thing which we can find about the nature of the growth is that it grew under very unfavorable circumstances. When you plant a seed, it also requires favorable circumstances to grow. But we see the growth of Christianity, under very bad conditions, right from birth, even now its suffering and getting persecuted. 

Nobody thought Christian faith will survive 100 years, Romans tried to destroy Christianity, Nero in whose time, Peter and Paul were killed, thought Christianity will end with that. But Christianity didn't perish under persecutions and it thrived under persecutions. 

Rest for other external elements (V32): Not only that it has grown, but grown to an extent to give protection and shelter for the birds, those which are external. What does this mean? People, who are not part of the kingdom are also enjoying the shelter and blessings of God’s kingdom?  Today from where most of the children are getting educated from? Christian schools. The college which was started to train pastors is now known as Harvard University (from where Mark Zuckerburg and Bill Gates are from). The college once started to teach theology and mathematics is now known as Cambridge University (Issac Newton and Stephen Hawkings(atheist)). Many people enjoy the benefits of many of the modern-day inventions. Christian scientists like Issac Newton, Micheal Faraday and Thomas Alva Edison are behind them. Today, where most of the patients are treated? Christian Hospitals. It’s the Christian gospel which changed the uncivilized, barbarians in Africa to normal people through David Livingstone. The society, who is not part of this kingdom, is also enjoying the benefits of this kingdom. They are the birds that found shelter in that mustard tree. When you look at God’s kingdom today you see this prophetic parable literally fulfilled.

3.     How did it have such a kind of growth?

  We have seen the nature of the beginning of God’s kingdom and the nature of the growth of God’s kingdom. We may wonder, how did it grow in such an extraordinary manner?
The answer to this question lies in the name of the kingdom. It’s called the kingdom of God.

·         It is God’s kingdom and he is the builder and the architect

·         God is building his kingdom not apart from us but through us (involving us)

God is the builder and architect: Firstly, it is God's kingdom and he is building it. God is the architect and the builder and he is using us to build His kingdom. All credits go to Him because he is the architect. Just like the wonderful buildings, the Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, the pyramids of Egypt. When you see those buildings, nobody credits or glorifies the laborers who put the individual stones and lay it in the position which the architect tells. While building he will not know why I am keeping the stone in this manner, only after building he will know, this is the reason why I was asked to build like this. And in the end, you will all glorify the architect behind it for the beauty. Similarly, God is the architect of his kingdom, we are his workers. Being his laborers, we cannot build according to our design but need to adhere to the master design and plan by God. That's why we see certain building instructions from the architect that nobody builds with perishable things like gold or silver. Clear instructions not to touch the foundations again etc. That’s the reason why this kingdom still exists.

Even in unfavorable circumstances, the architect makes sure that construction still goes on. The only reason for the extraordinary growth of this kingdom even though the workers are very weak is because of God. Even though we need to do our work, it's God who makes things grow.

Mt 16:18 – I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail

1 Co 3:6 –Paul planted, Apollos watered but its God who makes things grow. 

It is God who directs which part needs more attention, it is he who decides which area to be built first, it is God who directs the workers where to lay the stones. 

We see Holy Spirit leading Philip to the Eunuch, leading Paul to Cornelius. Even now, we go to places for missions based on the leading of the Holy Spirit.

God is building his kingdom through us (How are we to act in this kingdom): The beauty of it is that He is building through us and not apart from us. So that we can be part of the program of God. It does not matter whether you are weak or capable; we just need to be available.

Firstly, I talked about the aspect of God, now about our role in building his kingdom. I will explain it through the next parable.

Parable of the leaven

This has to be thought along with the previous parable. This parable describes how the kingdom of God grows and influences the entire world. This parable explains how the kingdom of God attains this growth. This parable says how the kingdom of God grows is similar to a process called fermentation.

Leaven (Yeast): It is the small mustard seed or the small and weak people of the kingdom of God.

Flour: Represents the world. 

Process happening: The little yeast is fermenting the entire flour.

Small yeast can leaven the entire dough: As we have seen at the beginning of the kingdom of God. It’s the small amount of yeast that is influencing the complete flour. The small number of true Christians in the kingdom of God will influence the entire world. Yeast is a small microscopic organism. You can’t see it from outside. But that small organism grows by itself and works through the entire dough and leavens the entire flour. When yeast works, it reproduces and grows and works through the dough and leaven it. It is this bulk growth of this organism called yeast which leavens the flour. It’s a chain process. One person after hearing the gospel he believes gets transformed. This new believer shares gospel with another person, it works in him, he gets transformed and he in turn shares with another and so on. This is a chain reaction and goes on till the whole amount is leavened. 

Daniel 2:35 Habakkuk 2:14: Don’t know when it will be fulfilled but hints the comprehensive transformation.

Agents of change: In the process of fermentation, the change is happening within the yeast. One microorganism doubles into two and then so on. Similarly, a person who has accepted the gospel changes within. The gospel of grace transforms his heart and external actions flow from him.

The nature of yeast is to grow and to change whatever it contacts. When we accept Christ, His grace grows in our hearts and changes us from the inside out. As the gospel transforms lives, it exerts a pervasive influence in the world at large. As we “reflect the Lord's glory, [we] are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

4.     Conclusion

So we were discussing a new aspect of the kingdom of God regarding how it begins, and the nature of its growth (from the parable of the mustard seed), how this kingdom will exhibit extraordinary growth (from the parable of the leaven). The most important truth of this is that God is building his kingdom through weaker elements like us. It does not matter how weak you are, how small you begin. It is God who is going to complete the good works in us. God is the architect of this kingdom is building his kingdom not apart from us but through us. Every believer has a unique place in his kingdom and contributes to the growth of the kingdom. Are we like the leavening agents in this world? Transformed from within first and being the agents of change to whatever we touch? Are we being available for our Builder to finish his construction? Dear brothers and sisters, the whole world, is in front of us, a lot of potential and opportunities. Or do we want to limit our Christian faith to these four walls? We are God’s hands and feet. Let me conclude with a poem by a Catholic nun (Teresa).

Christ has no body no but yours.

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours…

This is my question to you and me. Are we available to labor for his kingdom? Are we the hands and feet and the eyes of Jesus?

May God help us. 

Kingdom of Heaven: Wheat and Tares

Continuation of "Kingdom of God: Entrance..."

Why studying the kingdom of God is important? Because we are living in the kingdom of God now. It clearly talks about how God is working in this time period where we live. He will mediate his kingdom through believers. It represents the church age now. I am definitely sure that many of us have questions about this time? Don’t you?

a)Why so many people are rejecting the gospel? b) Why people don’t understand when I share the gospel with them? c) He was a very enthusiastic believer now he is showing no interest. What happened to him? d) Why is this brother not involving in church activities more?

These are not answer-less questions but Jesus is giving answers to all of them from the first parable. He who has an ear, let him hear. A) Only ¼ accept the gospel and ¾ reject B) The seed in roadside C) Seed on a rocky surface D) Seed is on a thorny surface.

Questions do not end there. Why is there so much evil in this world? Why God is not removing the evil ones? Why we have to live with these evil people? When will God end this? Oh, this person is causing a split in the church, why is it so? He was a good believer, how did he backslide and became a sinner like this?

The answers to these questions we can find in the second parable. The parable of the wheat and tares. Mt 13:24-30: The parable.  Mt 13:36-43: Explanation of the parable.

Explanation

The field – The world where the gospel is shared.

Sower – Son of man.

Enemy – Devil who planted weeds.

Good seeds – Sons of the kingdom.

Weeds – Sons of the evil one.

Harvest – End of the age.

Harvesters – Angels

The parable is about the things that are happening in one person’s field.

Understanding 1: Where kingdom established and our role being part of this kingdom?

The kingdom of God has already commenced. From where do we find it? (v12:28). Jesus casting out demons with the spirit is proof that the kingdom of God has already come. This is what is happening now, not future events but the present age.  

V13:37,38 – This talks about the who is sowing the seed, where he is sowing the seed, and his intention of sowing the seed.

Where? V38 – He is sowing the seeds in the field. What is the field representing? The field is representing the world. Who is the owner of the field? Son of Man. The world is his field. He is sowing seeds in his field. Jesus is still the owner of the field, not the devil. Devil is intruding into his field.

The kingdom of heaven is established in this world. It’s not something which is going to start in heaven, or it is not something which will be established in a secluded place away from the world and its influences. The entire world is his field and he is sowing the good seeds in this world. God has spread out the seeds throughout the world. Don’t interpret it as a church. The seeds need to grow in the midst of all influences and it should become the wheat. He doesn’t want us to live a secluded life.

1 Peter 5:10: To be matured by the troubles of the world, to make us strong in this world.

John 16:33: Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

James also says it is to mature us.  That’s why we are planted in this world.

Why? What’s our role being part of the kingdom? (v38)

We are planted here in the world by the Son of Man. We are the children of the kingdom. We are his subject. He is sowing the good seeds in the field with the intention to cultivate wheat in the entire field. He is planting seeds with a purpose. It's not that we fell here somehow. But we are planted here. That the seed should get into the soil. It should not perish there but it should sprout, grow up to become wheat. That’s the intention and purpose of the owner to cultivate wheat in his field. He wants the field to be filled with wheat.

The growth of every believer is compared to that of a seed. The seed is not supposed to remain as a seed. It grows from the state of a seed with time. It reaches some amount of growth by time. It does not stay as it is. From seed, first, the roots come, these roots will anchor the seed and get the nutrients from the soil. Then it produces stem and starts growing upwards, it produces leaves, again grows upwards and after some time it produces fruit (wheat in this case) and then the harvest comes. He has planted us here so that we fill the field and not letting the weeds grow and fill the field.

Application: How is our growth? Are we remaining in the seed state? Do we exhibit growth with time? Did the roots go down and anchor us? Did the stem come up? Is it producing leaves? Is it producing fruit? Are we influencing the weeds?

Understanding 2: Attack on this kingdom

Jesus is establishing the kingdom of heaven in this world and the devil has intruded into his field and put his sons (sons of evil one) to disrupt the establishment of the kingdom of heaven. The tactics that the enemy is using to destroy the kingdom is by preventing its members from growing finally, it leads to death.

How do the weeds impact the wheat? When weeds are there in the field they also compete for the nutrients from the soil, sunlight, moisture, and space. These weeds will outgrow the wheat and finally, the wheat plants are choked, and finally, it is destroyed. That’s how weeds impact the growth of wheat.

That’s how the kingdom of heaven will be affected. If the sons of the evil one are there in the midst they will outgrow us, they will prevent us from getting the nutrients and essentials, and finally choke us. These sons of evil one can use social media like Facebook, Whatsapp, entertainment industry. They are smart enough they can create interesting groups and keep us engaged and we spent time in those things. We will not get the essential nutrients from the Bible, we fail to spend time in prayer. That’s how these sons of evil one can choke us to death. That’s how his kingdom will suffer.

The next major question is how can you identify these weeds? They can be identified by their activities. Their activities are mentioned in the v41. The angels will weed out his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. These are the ones who do evil and cause sin or influence others to sin. If you open your eyes and look around you can easily find those evil ones. Look to your classrooms, to your offices and you will see these kinds of weeds.

If we are living our Christian life without this knowledge that there are sons of the evil ones around you then you are going to be in great trouble. One of the biggest mistakes that today’s Christian youth or adults make is that they tend to believe their secular friends and classmates than Christian friends or leaders. Not only youth but every believer who has stronger bonding with the unbelieving friends than with Christian friends. If you do not realize the fact that the devil has planted weeds in this world with the purpose to influence the sons of the kingdom, then you are going to be in big trouble. Never seek counsel or advice about anything from your unbelieving friends or classmates because they are the sons of evil ones.

We see there are only two categories in this field either sons of the kingdom or sons of the evil one. If you are not in the first group then you are in the second group. If you are not the child of God then you are children of disobedience. This we can see in other parts. Either vessel of mercy or vessels of wrath. Eph 2:2- You are working under the devil.

He plants these weeds among the wheat(v25). It means that the devil plants the evil one amongst us. Devil will always love to plant the weeds close to where good seeds are. So sons of the evil one will be planted near to the sons of the kingdom. That’s the church. He can plant these evil ones in the church also.

This kind of situation has happened ever since the beginning of the kingdom in the first century churches.

Corinthian church weeds: People with immorality

Roman church weeds: People who support law based living rather than grace.

Galatian's church weeds: Judaizers, works more important than salvation.

Colossian church weeds: Gnostic people, mysterious knowledge more important than Christ

Thessalonian's church weeds: Idle people who want to eat without working.

Understanding 3: Motivation and the appointed harvest (v28, 29)

We may think why can’t God immediately pluck those weeds, or is God not aware of the situation? But the parable says that the owner of the field is aware that the enemy is doing and even his servants are ready to clean out those weeds but the owner of the field fixes and appointed time of harvest. We also often wonder why God is not destroying them? This is the question that many unbelievers ask. Where is God and what is God doing? Why don’t you wipe out the unbelieving world?

The owner of the field or Christ purposefully delays the harvest to an appointed time for the good of the sons of the kingdom or wheat. In the initial stages, it is a little difficult to identify the weeds from the wheat. After it grows to some stage and produces leaves then only we can clearly identify between the wheat and weeds. Here we see (v27,28) when it just sprouted and formed heads, the servants are asking to pluck out the weeds. But the owner reply – Hold on – (v29,30), while plucking out you may pull out the wheat also, because both may look similar now. Wait till harvest then you can collect the weeds first. Because at the time of harvest, both will be grown and formed the leaves now it will be clearly distinguishable. Then we will separate. God is giving time, He is being patient by not destroying anything which looks like a weed in the early stages. This is an age of grace and actions are taken at the time of harvest.

He knows that if you pluck out the tares whenever it comes up there are chances that the wheat also may come up with that. It can happen at some point in our lives we get tangled with these tares, and after some time we realize that this is not good and get separated from that. At some point in our Christian life or growth we will not be clearly distinguishable but will be exhibiting the characteristics of weed itself.  If God decided to pluck those tares early, the sons of the kingdom who were tangled up with the wheat at that time will also get destroyed that’s why we see God giving time for everyone. He appoints a time for harvest. Only then he will come and separate between wheat and tares. It’s a warning for us to change. Be clearly separated from the weeds.

Our lifestyle, our words, and deeds is it exhibiting the characteristics of weed or wheat?

Our motivation and our destiny: All these toils and struggle is not going to be wasted. (v30) At the harvest, the weeds will be first collected and burned and the wheat to his barn. Explanation of that comes in (V42,43). Sons of the evil one are punished in the hell where there are weeping and gnashing of teeth. Fire is the word used everywhere in the Bible for hell. Dying by fire is one of the most terrible things that can happen. That’s how it is going to be in hell.

Sons of the kingdom the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Jesus says to wait, hold on, live together now, be patient with the evil ones, after the harvest the glory will come. You will shine like stars in his kingdom. Still, the kingdom of Father is continuing and we will be there in the kingdom. That will be the final consummation of the kingdom. Till that point in time, the kingdom will be mixed with the evil ones. And we have to live among them.

Application of this parable

The application of the parable can be seen in v43. He, who has ears, let him hear. That’s the application. Listen and understand this truth, understand this reality of the kingdom of heaven and live. Are you a weed in the kingdom? Then you are going to be plucked out and burnt in the furnace of fire. Are you wheat? Then you are asked to co-exist in the world. You are asked to be separated from the weeds, You are asked to grow like a seed and become its final form that’s wheat. You are asked to patient till the time of harvest and not judging others before that. May God help us to understand this reality of the kingdom of heaven and live. 

Entrance into the Kingdom of God

.....Continuation of "What is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of Heaven?"


We have seen that the kingdom of God has been already established and it's an invisible kingdom now. The kingdom of God will be completely established at the second coming of Christ. We have also seen, Jesus explained the nature and characteristics of this kingdom through parables. Let's see the first parable in Matt 13.

Parable of the sower
This parable talks about how the kingdom of God is established and how the world respond to the invitation to the kingdom of God.

Mt 13: 3- 9: Parable of the sower

Mt 13:18-23: Explanation of the parable

Invitation to God’s kingdom: When you hear the gospel. (v19)

Establishment of Gods kingdom: By preaching the word of God (v3)

Invitation to God's Kingdom: By hearing (v19)

The invitation to the kingdom of God is received when you hear the gospel or the message about his kingdom. (V19) It all depends on how we hear it. In the parallel passage in Mark 4, after explaining the parable Jesus said like this.

^{Mk 4:23} If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

^{Mk 4:24} And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you, that hear shall more be given.

All that matters for entering into this kingdom is how you hear, ie how you accept the word of the kingdom or how you respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This parable talks about 4 kinds of hearers. Bible predicts that, even though people receive this invitation to His kingdom, not all will respond to it in the correct manner. This parable talks about 4 kinds of responses to the invitation to kingdom of God.

These are the 4 different kinds of responses.

      a) V19: Hearing and not understanding it ( Wayside)

This category of people hears about the word of the kingdom (or gospel) and they don’t understand it. The word of the kingdom does not make any sense to them. As 1 Co 1 mentions, these are the wise people of the world. Their wisdom will not allow them to accept the seemingly simple gospel message. What happens to these people? The wicked one comes and snatches it away. Devil will come and put another philosophy there and they will gladly accept that and follow it.

b) V20: Hearing at the surface level (Stony grounds)

These people hear it and immediately accept it, without trying to understand it deeply. They have a shallow understanding of the word of God. We can see these kinds of people around us. They hear things at the surface level but don’t think over it or try to understand deeper. Because they don’t want that if they do that they will have to make Jesus as their Lord over everything. These are the people who see God as their helper or as a blesser. They basically want a blesser and not someone who becomes their Lord. They want to fit God in their kingdom. They don't want to enter the kingdom of God and get subjected to the king. What happens to these people? When persecutions and problems come, they will fall because what they have heard has not gone deep into them or dint help them.

      c) V22: Sharing the lordship with many other things (thorny ground)

This category of people is the most miserable among the group. Because they are the people who get choked most because lordship is shared between many other things. They are not willing to make Jesus as their sole Lord but they will share lordship. To some of them, the money will be their primary lord, some of them, the career will be their primary lord, for some of them, if they have unbelieving family members or parents or friends, they will be their lord. What happens to these people? As they grow, their other passions and seeds also grow with time, and finally, the other passions will choke this.  And he becomes unfruitful or he will give way to their other lords. When we live in this world, it’s very easy that along with the seed of the word of God other seeds also can grow. But we need to make sure the other things are pruned at the correct level.

d) V23: Those who accept it and produce fruits

These are the people who receive the word of the kingdom correctly. The seed gets nurtured in this soil. Adequate nutrients and water is provided for the growth of this seed allowing it go more deeply. Growth will be externally manifested by the production of fruits. First sign: It grows, secondly it produces many fruits.

^{Lk 8:15} But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

These are the four tests to check whether you have responded to the word of the kingdom or whether you have received the word of the kingdom in the correct manner. Only time will tell how we have received this word of the kingdom? This is the reason why we see many Christians are remaining unfruitful and many are leaving the faith. Either they’ve heard it shallowly or they are sharing the lordship which is choking the seed.

Establishment of the kingdom of God

God's kingdom is established in the world by spreading the gospel (scattering of the seed). This seems so strange to us. It’s not at all like the establishment of kingdoms that we see around. Alexander didn’t try to establish his kingdom by preaching. It was by force. All the kingdoms in the world are established by force. But here we see one kingdom established by preaching the gospel. 

The seed is being sown. (v19) What is the seed? The seed is the word of the kingdom. The seed is not blessings or healing ministry. Today that’s the seed that many people are sowing. The seed that they are sowing is not the word of the kingdom or word of God or gospel but it is this healing ministry. Let me say, the seed to establish the kingdom of God is the word of God or word of the kingdom or gospel alone. Nothing else. Those who are scattering the wrong seed are not adding people to God’s kingdom but to their kingdom.

Act of sowing: Started by Jesus Christ and he handed over this ministry to his disciples now it’s carried out through believers.

Role of believers in establishing God's kingdom: Mt 10:5:- Jesus entrusts the duty of preaching the word of the kingdom to his disciples. This is the task of the disciples to preach about the kingdom. What does a great commission say – Go and make disciples. Make people who preach the kingdom of God. That’s how the kingdom of God is extended. Immediately after explaining this parable in Luke, Jesus further explains it using the example of a Lamp is lit.

Luke 8:16:  “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.”

Our first priority: Jesus says Mt 6:33: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God”. This is the first priority for those who are in His kingdom and don't worry about other necessities because God will take care of it. 

Role of the church in establishing God's kingdom:  Rom 10:17: Faith comes by hearing, Hearing comes from preaching. Preaching comes from the people who are sent. Today it’s the duty of the church to send people, to preach the word of the kingdom, so that others can hear about the word of the Kingdom. This is the role of the church in expanding the kingdom of God.

 Conclusion

Let us understand that we are in the kingdom of God. Let us examine how have we heard the word of the kingdom – shallowly, or the seed is being choked in us or are we keeping it and bearing the fruits? Are we doing our role individually and as a church to establish God’s kingdom?

Kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is a term used in the Bible to represent the rule of God over His people. Its a rule with Jesus Christ as the king and people as its members. Jesus Christ came to this earth to initiate this kingdom and will come back for the second time for the complete establishment of His kingdom. At his first coming, he initiated this kingdom on earth, and is waiting for it to spread. At present, its an invisible kingdom, established in the hearts of the believers.

We see the term 'kingdom of heaven' or 'kingdom of God' 31 times in the gospel of Matthew and around 82 times in all the 4 gospels - almost 17 chapters out of 28 chapters of Matthew mentions about the Kingdom of heaven. So it’s a topic of importance.

What is this kingdom of heaven/God?

• Starting with John the Baptist: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Mt 3:1)
• Then Jesus Christ : (Mt 4:17) – Jesus began to preach “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near”
• Then the beatitudes (Mt 5) - What kind of people are blessed in the kingdom of heaven?
•  Importance of the kingdom of God (Mat 6:33) : “Seek ye first the kingdom of God…”
•  Jesus sends disciples to preach (Mt 10 : 5) “As you go, preach this message –Kingdom of heaven is near”. 
• Beginning of the Kingdom of heaven, Prophets until John prophesied it (Mt 11:7): Begun at the time of John the Baptist (repentance phase started from him.)
• Jesus changes the mode of preaching about Kingdom of heaven: From common language to parables. Intending that only those who want to hear should understand. (Mt 13) In this discourse he told them around 7 parables describing how to enter, nature and future programs about the kingdom of heaven.
•  Jesus tells Peter that I will give you/disciples the keys of kingdom of heaven: (Mt 16:19) “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven…”
•   Jesus continues to preach about the different aspects (present and future) of the kingdom of heaven through parables till chapter 25

It is the kingdom prophesied by the OT prophets, preached by the John the Baptist, established by Jesus Christ, continued by the disciples and by believers through the church. The complete fulfillment is at the time of second coming of Christ and will continue through the 1000 years reign and then eternally. 

Presently, we are in the kingdom of God. We can see this in Luke 17:20,21.

v20) Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed,

v21) nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

It's an invisible kingdom now, established in the hearts of the believers. The final culmination or establishment of the kingdom will be at the second coming of Christ. 

Currently, God's kingdom is spread and established through the church. God has established church in order to set this invisible kingdom of God on earth. In Matt 16:19, we see Jesus says to the disciples that "I will give you keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven". Later we see, it is the church which the apostles have established and strained for. 

Christ explains in Matt 13, what is the nature of this kingdom, how it is established, how it will be in this world, how it will grow, how its people influence others and when the members of his kingdom is cleansed. He is explaining the nature of the kingdom of God through parables. Each parable in the Matthew 13, talks some characteristic of the kingdom of God. In order to understand the nature of this kingdom, we need to dive deep into the parables. 

Devotion: The source of our eternal joy - Cross of Calvary

John 16: 16 - 24

16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little, while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come, but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

This is a passage where Christ promises that your sorrows will be turned to joy. He started speaking directly about his coming death and departure. This is one of that discourse.

Your sorrow will be turned to Joy

V19,20: Christ says that initially, there will be sorrow but that sorrow will be turned to joy.

The death of Christ was not meant to be ended as a disaster or sorrowful event. But it was leading to immeasurable joy.

V21, 22: This verse talks about how joyful they will become. We may tend to take this as the second coming of Jesus Christ. It’s true that we reach the climax of joy at the second coming of Christ but primarily, seeing the resurrected Christ is the joy that the writer is mentioning. At the death of Jesus Christ, the world rejoiced and disciples cried but it lasted only for 3 days. Within that time their sorrows turned into immeasurable joy. The risen Christ was the source of their joy.

The situation outside was not favorable to the disciples, but as Paul states 2 Co 6:10  “sorrowful yet rejoicing”.  The world’s joy is temporary but Christ gives his believers eternal joy through his death and resurrection. One of the commandments in the Bible is to rejoice or be joyful. Being joyful is the natural state of a Christian. However, we don’t always experience that joy.

The reason behind their joy

Knowing the meaning of the cross was the reason for their joy. That cross gave them forgiveness of their sins and the power to forgive others' sins. They realized that their life is eternal. Is the cross of Christ the source of our real joy? It's possible that when we live in this world we can put our joy in the things of the world but that’s temporary. It can never satisfy us. Our possessions, career growth, friends cannot give this joy.

Seeing the resurrected Christ gave them the realization that they were not following a human guru but they were following a person who had command over death and life. When we partake from this table it’s a reaffirmation of that fact. We should realize how much we are forgiven and the one whom we remember at this moment is not just a man but the one whose name is above all names. His divinity was attested by his resurrection. Seeing the resurrected Christ was the only solid evidence for the disciples that they were following a God all these years.

Acts 5:41

v22: Joy that none can take away

The specialty of the joy that Christ gives is none can take away that joy. They gathered every day; they broke bread, feasted every day. The persecutions during their time could not stop their joy. Wherever they were scattered they preached about Christ. Meeting together, spending time together, sharing the gospel, suffering persecutions were joyful occasions.

Conclusion

Let us realize the depth and meaning of the cross. Let us once again reaffirm our minds that we are following the one who is risen and who has power over death and life.

Perhaps we may say that if we would have seen that risen Christ, we would also be like that. Peter writes to certain believers who are suffering in 1 Pet 1:8,9. Loving him, believing in him is the source of inexpressible joy.

May this help us to have that joy in us always. Let us not be joyful in the things of the world or what the world gives.  As John Piper states “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”.

Bible Prophecies: Will there be peace between Israel and other nations?

We are living in a time where Israel is always in the news. Recently it was in the news for war in the Gaza strip.
In 2006, there was a war between Israel and Lebanon.
2000-2005 - Second Infatida. Palestinian uprising against Israel.
1987 - 1993 - First Infatida, again Palestinian uprising against Israel.
1982 - Lebanon war
1973 - Yom Kippur war between Israel and the coalition of some Arab states.
1967 - Six-day war between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
1956 - Suez Crisis between Israel and Egypt
1948 - Palestine war between Jewish and Arab militants...
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_Israel )

We see Israel in war with its neighboring nations ever since the birth of Israel in 1948. This often raises the following questions in our minds - Will there be peace between Israel and other nations? or Can someone bring a peace agreement with Israel and other nations? What does the Bible prophesy about the future of Israel?

Today, I would like to bring to your attention a Bible prophecy about a peace deal signed between Israel and other nations.

Daniel's 70 Weeks

Daniel 9:24-27 - It's popularly known as Daniel's 70 weeks.

24 “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.

25 “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.

26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 

27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

To understand the concept of Daniel's 70 weeks, please go here.

In v27, we see "he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week".

'he' - refers to the prince who is to come in v26. He is known as the antichrist.
'covenant with many' - refers to some kind of agreement with many nations to bring peace.
'one week' - refers to a period of 7 years. This can be understood from the link provided above.


'But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering'

'middle of the week' - after 3.5 years.
'end to sacrifice and offering' - Sacrifices and offerings happen in Jewish temples. Two Jewish temples were constructed and both were destroyed. The second one was destroyed at around AD 70. Since then there are no sacrifices and offerings. Here it refers to the 'end' of 'sacrifice and offering', which means that by the middle of 7 years the third temple has already been constructed and sacrifice and offerings were resumed.

Right now, the Jewish temple cannot be constructed because of the presence of the Al Aqsa Mosque in the same region. Many believe that the sanction for the reconstruction of the third temple will be given during the covenant made by the antichrist at the beginning of 7 year period. I have noticed an online funding campaign for the building of a third Jewish temple here.

As per the Bible prophecies, the Antichrist will make a covenant of peace with many nations sometime during the future. Not only that, he will break the covenant after 3.5 years which marks the beginning of the great persecutions.

Bible Prophecies: Israel and the second coming of Jesus Christ

Bible prophecies are very interesting and accurate. It's interesting to note what the Bible says about Israel and how is it related to the second coming of Jesus Christ and end-time events. This small nation, Israel, plays an important role during the end times.

1. Prophecy concerning the return of Jewish people and the prosperity of the land

As we know, the Israelites were scattered throughout the earth in AD 70. They were driven out of their homeland(Palestine) by Romans at the end of AD 73. The Romans then destroyed Jerusalem and annexed Judaea as a Roman province.

Bible prophecies say that the scattered Jewish nation will come back to their homeland and the land of Israel will flourish.

Ezekiel 36:8  "But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home."
Ezekiel 36:10 - "and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt..."
Ezekiel 36:24 - "For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land."

We see the fulfillment of prophecy in 1948 when Israel was announced as a nation and they were given land in their own place. We see the land also flourished and produced many fruits after the return of Jewish people.

2. Return and rebuilding of Israel will initiate the second coming of Christ

Psalm 102:13-16 - "You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. The nations will fear the name of the Lord, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory."

Matthew 24: 32- 34 - "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

We can see some hints from the other passages in the Bible that the fig tree refers to the Jewish nation.

Joel 1:6,7 -  A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white. 

Jer 24:8-10, 29:17-19, Hosea 9:10 - In all these verses we can see the Jewish nation has been compared to the fig tree.