The parable of the kingdom of God


(Luke 13:18-22)Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.  And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.  And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

Here, the kingdom of God is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the mustard seed and leaven. Woman means the bride of Christ. In Ephesians 5:31-32, ``For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife his, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 』Wife means church. It is to make the church members go out into the world and spread the gospel of Christ. The word powder means the world (the minds of people). This word means that the Gospel is preached and spread to the Gentiles.

In Matthew 13:31-32, Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. 』Heaven is said to be like a mustard seed. God planted a mustard seed in his field. The mustard seed is Jesus Christ. And his own field represents Israel.

The parable of the mustard seed means that the kingdom of God on earth seems weak at first, but after the death and resurrection of the Messiah, the Gospel will spread to the Gentiles through the coming of the Holy Spirit. Even in the eyes of Jesus' disciples, the kingdom of God began very poorly. They were disappointed and desperate at this weak start. For them, this mustard seed analogy would have been both a great comfort and a challenge. Just as a mustard seed, the smallest of the seeds, grows and becomes a mustard tree large enough for birds to inhabit, the kingdom of God on this earth will grow spiritually and grow enormously.

By the way, when Jesus heard the parable of the mustard seed by his disciples, they would have been shocked by the fact that the beginning of the kingdom of God was very small. This is because they, like the Jews of the day, mistaken it as the kingdom of God that God defeated the enemies of Israel and made Israel politically strong. But Jesus told them that even though God's beginning was weak, they would eventually grow like a mustard tree, so they should not be disappointed, have courage, and endure.

The parable of mustard seed and the parable of leaven have in common that the beginning is weak, but that the gospel will eventually yield great results, and that there is growth in between. But there are also differences. The mustard seed analogy focuses on external growth, and the yeast analogy focuses on internal change. Mustard seeds grow and grow, and leaven is what seeps and changes. The mustard seed analogy shows external growth, and the yeast analogy shows internal change. The parable of the mustard seed is directly connected to the preaching of the gospel by making disciples of all nations, as Jesus said in Matthew 28, and the parable of leaven is connected to the change of life (the death of the old man). The beginning of Heaven is insignificant, but it grows externally, internally and quantitatively and qualitatively, and finally brings great results.

Mustard seeds and yeast are progressive. The progress of the Gospel does not stop, but continues to grow and expand. Therefore, the kingdom of God on this earth continues to progress and complete. When we look at the story of mustard seed and leaven, these two are put in the field and the powder sum. The field and the powder form become the heart of the kingdom of God. In other words, seeds are sown in the heart, and leaven enters and changes. The kingdom of God is in the heart. In Luke 17:20-21, ``And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 』

Through the parable of sowing seeds, we can realize the kingdom of God. The seed means Christ as the seed of promise. However, the earth expresses a person's heart, and the earth is dirt. The root of man is dirt. In Genesis 3:23, "Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken." To cultivate the ground is to sow seeds. To go to a person's heart is to receive the word of God and produce fruit through it.

In the four fields of mind, except for the good ones, the rest of the fields are fields that have a mind in the world. So, it means a field that is not interested in the kingdom of God. Those who realize that those who have left God, who are trapped in darkness, and those who need the fruit of life are the good fields. So, God's grace and works appear only in good fields. This tells us that the greed that caused God to leave must die before entering the kingdom of God. It means to die with Jesus who died on the cross. When you die with Jesus, you are reborn as a spiritual body by the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who are born again in the body of the spirit become disciples of Jesus.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The tradition of the elders

  The tradition of the elders   Mark 7:5-9  『 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? He answered and said to them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 』 In the Galilee region, Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus. They came with accusations against Jesus. This is because Jesus' disciples neglected washing their hands, a Jewish ritual of purification. They called it  “ the tradition of the elders. ”  The Jewish leaders ...
Read more

Question 32. How is the grace of God manifested in the second covenant?

  Question 32. How is the grace of God manifested in the second covenant? Answer. The grace of God is manifested in the second covenant, in his free provision and offering to sinners of mediation, and of life and salvation by it; and by requiring faith as the condition of their entering into a relationship with Christ, the mediator; and by promising and giving the Holy Spirit to all his elect, he works faith in them, with all other saving graces, and enables them to do all holy obedience; which obedience is a true evidence of their faith and gratitude to God, or the way which God hath appointed for their salvation. If we divide God's covenant into two for convenience, the covenant that appears in the Old Testament is called the first covenant, and the covenant that appears in the New Testament through Jesus Christ is called the second covenant. Luke 22:15-16 “ And he said to them, ‘ I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will n...
Read more

Healing a man with a withered hand

  Healing a man with a withered hand Mark 3:1-5 『 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he said unto the man which had the withered hand, stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 』 The Greek word for “ the man which had the withered hand ” is “ ἐ ξηραμμέ νην ἔ χων τ ὴ ν χε ῖ ρα” . In Revelation 14:15, “ And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; “ Exerande ” is the same wor...
Read more