shortlady
Member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2005
- Messages
- 2,696
So just how is God's Kingdom like a mustard seed? Or, then again, how can it be compared to leaven in a batch of bread? In Matthew 13, Jesus made both such comparisons, and we are left to decipher their hidden meanings. He goes on to exaggerate the growth of this mustard seed into a tree large enough for birds to nest in its branches.
So it is with the power of just one seed. In it is contained ALL the DNA of the finished product. In another place Jesus said that the seed must fall to the ground and die to reproduce after its kind. He died and was buried in the ground as the firstfruits of God's Kingdom on earth - the church.
And oh has it grown! Jesus once also compared leaven to a form of teaching. He told His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, that is their teaching, for it would affect their thinking. In the same way here, it seems that the teaching of the Kingdom will ultimately completely transform one's life. The fact that these parables are sandwiched in between the parable of the wheat and tares and its explanation should not be lost on us.
Remember that the amazing growth of God's church from just a seed into a large tree, might allow evil birds (fowl) to sneak in and make camp therein. Just the same, we must take heed to protect the church from the pervasive invasion of false teaching that would spread like leaven or, worse yet, gangrene. Either way you look at it, the spread of the Gospel and the growth of God's church has been amazing. Jesus promised, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Come quickly Lord Jesus...
So it is with the power of just one seed. In it is contained ALL the DNA of the finished product. In another place Jesus said that the seed must fall to the ground and die to reproduce after its kind. He died and was buried in the ground as the firstfruits of God's Kingdom on earth - the church.
And oh has it grown! Jesus once also compared leaven to a form of teaching. He told His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, that is their teaching, for it would affect their thinking. In the same way here, it seems that the teaching of the Kingdom will ultimately completely transform one's life. The fact that these parables are sandwiched in between the parable of the wheat and tares and its explanation should not be lost on us.
Remember that the amazing growth of God's church from just a seed into a large tree, might allow evil birds (fowl) to sneak in and make camp therein. Just the same, we must take heed to protect the church from the pervasive invasion of false teaching that would spread like leaven or, worse yet, gangrene. Either way you look at it, the spread of the Gospel and the growth of God's church has been amazing. Jesus promised, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Come quickly Lord Jesus...
