The Beginning of the Kingdom
p>In the last two articles in this series we began to look at what Jesus taught,
and we saw that “the good news of the kingdom” was central to His message. We
also considered His emphasis on
grace: the Kingdom has been
given
to us – we don’t have to
work for it.
In this article I want to look further at the Kingdom-message taught by Jesus, especially how the kingdom begins.
Matthew groups several parables together in a collection of stories beginning with the words “the kingdom of heaven is like …”. [1]
1. Matthew 13:24
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field …” [The Parable of the Weeds]
2. Matthew 13:31
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field …”
3. Matthew 13:33
He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
4. Matthew 13:44
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field …”
5. Matthew 13:45
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls …”
6. Matthew 13:47
“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish …”
We could add one more to this list.
7. Matthew 13:52
He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
While this saying doesn’t begin in the same way (“the kingdom of heaven is like …”) it includes the phrase in the middle of the sentence which follows on immediately from the others.
This collection begins with one of the most famous of all – the parable of the sower – and although it doesn’t begin in the same way, the story forms part of the same group and is similar to the others, so perhaps we are meant to think of it in the same way. After giving this parable Jesus was asked why He so often spoke in parables and He explained that through them He was able to explain “the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (v. 11). I’ll return to this point shortly.
These parables or sayings are also
organised in a particular way, with two pairs in the middle (C and
C1), and we might recognise this as a
poetic structure from earlier articles in this series.
A |
1. Parable of the Sower |
How God spreads the message of the kingdom and how people respond to it. |
Beside the sea, to the crowd(Each starting with “He told them another parable … ”) |
|
B |
2. Parable of the weeds. |
How the enemy tries to disrupt the spread of the Gospel, and how kingdom-people co-exist with evil. |
|
C |
3. Parable of the Mustard seed |
How the kingdom has insignificant beginnings. |
| 4. Parable of the Yeast |
|
C1 |
5. Parable of the hidden treasure |
How people value the good news of the kingdom. |
Inside the house, to the disciples(Each starting with “Again He said …”) |
| 6. Parable of the pearl. |
|
B1 |
7. Parable of the net |
The two types of people “caught up” by the preaching of the kingdom. (Two types of fish). |
|
A1 |
8. Saying about the teacher |
Teaching the message about the kingdom. |
We find that Matthew divides these parables into two groups: those spoken beside the sea to the crowd; and those spoken later inside Peter’s house to the disciples. The second group were said after Jesus was asked by His disciples to explain the parable of the weeds. Even the way Matthew introduces the parables hints that he had this particular division or structure in mind. The parables addressed to the disciples link in to the earlier ones and give a further level of understanding, and by talking about the way people come in contact with the Gospel and how they are “caught up” by it, Jesus is also pointing out to His disciples
their role in bringing people to the Gospel.
None of Jesus’ teachings are merely ‘theoretical” – He always challenges a response from His listeners, and if people are to be drawn to the kingdom then the disciples are challenged to think about their role in bringing this about. An interesting thing about these parables is that none of them speak specifically about the kingdom as our
reward or of a kingdom in the way we might think of one: as a nation or country. In fact, they don’t seem to be speaking about the kingdom at all, but describing how the kingdom is preached, how it begins, and the characteristics of the people who respond to the kingdom-message, the
citizens of the kingdom – what I call
Kingdom-people.
I noted earlier that the first parable in this collection in Matthew 13 includes a reference to “the secrets (or mysteries) of the kingdom of heaven” (v. 11). This expression also occurs in Luke 8:10[i] and in Mark 4:11-12 where the singular “secret” is used rather than the plural form used in Matthew and Mark: He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”’(quoting Isaiah 6:9). Mark’s wording suggests a single “secret” while the others suggest a secret which has several aspects. What is this secret, or mystery?
In Daniel we find the concept of God revealing His secrets to human beings. God grants the king a dream that was meaningless to him but whose meaning was revealed in a vision to God’s servant (Daniel 2:19). Paul understood “mysteries” to be revealed secrets (Romans 16:25-27[ii]) – things which had been hidden for long ages but now revealed to God’s people. The secret is proclaimed to everyone, even though it is understood only by believers. That the kingdom would come was no secret, but how it would come was not previously revealed. This secret is revealed in this series of parables in Matthew 13.
The first parable (A) is about how God spreads the message of the kingdom, and how people respond to it. The good news of the kingdom must be willingly received – the kingdom is not forced upon people. The second parable (B) forms a pair with it as it describes how the enemy tries to disrupt God’s work. The kingdom has entered the world and produced “sons of the kingdom” who enjoy its power and blessings, but the world, or the present age, has not been overcome by this coming of the Kingdom. The righteous and the wicked mingle together in a mixed society –
the kingdom is present, but hidden – until the end comes. The second
pair (C) is about how the kingdom
begins and describes first how the kingdom has small beginnings (“like a mustard seed”) but grows quickly, and secondly how it establishes its presence without us being aware of any visible change (“like yeast mixed with dough”). First, the kingdom is present in the world in a tiny, insignificant form. The Jews imagined the kingdom would be like a giant tree under which the nations would find shelter. They could not understand how Jesus’ tiny group of disciples could have any connection to this kingdom. Second, the kingdom has entered the world in a form that is hardly seen. Jesus is revealing how that just as when leaven is mixed with flour nothing appears to happen, yet eventually something does happen and the result is a complete transformation; so the kingdom is coming into the world in a form that appears to be small and insignificant yet we will at some time in the future see a complete transformation of the world as a result of these insignificant beginnings. The third pair (
C1) is about how the kingdom is of greater value than we can reckon, and is to be sought above everything else. If it costs everything we have this is still a small price to pay compared with what it is worth. The Jews were expecting a Messiah who would raise an army and overthrow the Romans, not the leader of a small band of men who mixed with despised tax collectors and “sinners”. The “secret” that Jesus is revealing here is that the people might easily despise the kingdom because of its coming in a way that could easily be overlooked or despised. Everyone should seek to enter the kingdom at any cost. Perhaps there is another secret being revealed here too: some people spend a lot of time searching for “the truth” and then find it in the good news of the kingdom, while others almost stumble across it. But both people, if they recognise it for what it is, will realise that it is a treasure beyond price. Notice from the ‘poetic’ structure of the parables that these two pairs (C and
C1) are related: one pair (C) relates to the
insignificant beginnings of the kingdom, while the next pair (
C1) reveals that
despite these appearances the kingdom is hardly insignificant – it is worth more than any treasure. The last ‘pair’ (
B1 and
A1) contains first a parable which describes two types of
fish in a similar way to the second parable which described two types of
grain or
crops and how they are separated, but reveals another “secret”. While the parable of the wheat and tares reveals how the kingdom co-exists with evil in the world, the parable of the fish in the net reveals how both good and bad people exist together in the community of people who have been “caught up” by the good news of the kingdom. The Jews expected the Messiah to destroy all the godless nations and gather together a holy people. But Jesus came “not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17) and brought together a group of people who were rejected by society. Rather than destroying these “godless” people, Jesus called them into His kingdom. His invitation went out to all kinds of people, and the “net” caught up all sorts of people. Sorting out the good from the bad must await the last day, when the kingdom will become a perfect community. The final saying (
A1) also refers to the
teaching of the kingdom in much the same way as the first story (A) referred to how God
spreads the “seed” of the good news of the kingdom. Again Jesus challenges His disciples to recognise their role in teaching the good news of the kingdom.
Conclusion
Jesus’ teachings must be interpreted against His situation: the Jewish world in which He lived and their expectations. The kingdom they were expecting was not the kingdom Jesus was bringing to them. As a result they could easily reject it, or despise it. They knew that the kingdom would come, but how it would come was a mystery to them, until Jesus revealed the secret through this series of parables. The kingdom began with Jesus’ first coming, but all its glories would not be seen until a much later time. Today people still reject the good news of the kingdom because they judge it on the basis of the people who are teaching about it, so Jesus’ message about being a small and insignificant group who are often despised and rejected by society is an encouragement to His people who are continuing His work of preaching the kingdom.
There is also a reminder here to us that we should not share the good news of the kingdom only with people who meet our expectations about what kingdom-people should be like. Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders of His day because he was mixing with the “wrong” type of people, contrary to their expectations of the Messiah. So we should share the good news will all who need it, not only those who we think will respond in the way we expect. We should leave it until “the last day” when God will sort the good from the bad. Our role is to share the good news, and leave the judging to God.
[1] The expression “kingdom of heaven” is used only by Matthew and means the same as “kingdom of God”. We know this by comparing Matthew’s record of several of Jesus’ sayings with the other Gospel writers who use the expression “k. of God” where Matthew writes “k. of heaven”. Matthew wrote to a Jewish audience who often avoided the word “God” in conversation and substituted it with expressions like “heaven”. The phrase “k. of heaven” does not imply the kingdom is in heaven, but is of or from God in heaven. No where does the Bible ever teach that our reward or destiny is in heaven.
[i] He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “ ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’(Quoting Isaiah 6:9)
[ii] Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him – to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
