The Parable of the Mustard Plant and the Leaven - Opposition to the Kingdom part 3

Well, let's take our Bible. Let's turn to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13, I will go ahead and tell you that I'm not going to put anything on the screen tonight and I'm sorry. Sometimes that might annoy you. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. It'll be easier for you to follow me. And maybe next week when we have the part two, I will put some information on the screen. And as a matter of fact, I'm not going to give you the title of the message tonight. And there's a reason for that. I know that's different. There is a reason for that.

So don't accuse me of breaking the preaching rules by not giving you information on the screens and not giving you the title. There's a purpose. So let's look at Matthew chapter 13. We're going to be in verses 31 to 33 and we'll get to the verses here in a minute. Now I think most of you know that I kind of have a pattern in this teaching. You might see the pattern so far. I've been teaching you. I've been explaining a parable. And then the next week I have spent quite a bit of time just applying that parable. Now let me show you the reason. Let me show you my approach.

Why I would spend one message to teach the parable and then why I would spend one message to apply it. It's really practical and really and truly it is pastoral. As your pastor, I want you to see and I want to help you see all of the many things that are in these parables in the many ways that these parables apply to us in our day. And I have heard testimony from some of you that taking the extra time has helped you. And this is helping us see what our church experiences have been like and compared to the scripture what kind of a church world we live in. Really it has really helped all of us.

Now remember that these parables in Matthew 13 are called the kingdom parables. Jesus was and He is teaching these parables to illustrate, to teach vital information concerning the church and the church age. If you just understand that all of this is about the church and the church age, you will get it. You'll be able to get what is here. And you know, think about it. We need this information and we need this understanding greatly in our day. I automatically go back to those disciples. They were the fathers of the church. The disciples and those early believers were the ones who were entrusted with the work of the church.

And when the Spirit was poured out there the day of Pentecost and the New Testament church was thrust onto the scene, they had to understand these things. And so if we see that they had to understand them, look at us. We have the same responsibility. Not that we're apostles, but we need this understanding as well. Now let me give you an example of one vital truth that we must understand. One vital truth here. Yes we do know how Satan works. We do. We know that Satan tries to destroy people in a whole host of ways. He does this with drugs and alcohol. We know that. He does this with all kinds of sexual deviance today.

And it's just getting exponentially worse. We know that. We know that Satan tries to destroy people with crime and lawlessness and murder and rape. All those sins, all of that demonic destruction is easy for us to see. None of that is up for debate. I don't have to convince you of any of that. But in the parable of the weeds, that which we've studied, in the parable of the weeds, we see that Satan works really hard to counterfeit Christians. Satan works really hard to purposefully sow illegitimate Christians in the world and especially right next to Christians.

Remember that the field is the world, but also remember that Satan sows his illegitimate Christians right next to true Christians. Well, where are true Christians in the world? They are in the church. Now, what's my point? Understanding that Satan is working hard to place illegitimate Christians into the world and into the church, it equips us. So we're gonna react in one or two ways. We will either be naive, we will either be naive and unprepared, vulnerable, caught off guard, or we will have an understanding of these things. We'll be sober, we'll be alert, we'll be watchful, we'll be mature. You see?

Just think about how this particular teaching is important for leadership in the church. It is illegitimate Christians, weeds, who get into the church. They become false teachers, they become those who divide, and they are the ones who bring sin into the church. That's the purpose, Satan's purpose, and leaders must understand these things. We must. So, the purpose of my approach has been to try to help us understand these parables, and my desire is that we'll be able to apply them in our day in our time. And let me show you something. This will make you a better church member. It will.

This will equip you if we don't want this to happen now, but if you ever move one day and you're looking for another church, this will help you. This will help you be able to find a church. Well, we're not gonna let you leave. We're gonna keep all of you just right here. Okay. Now tonight, we're gonna look at two parables. Two parables you might say, "Wow, we're never gonna get through." No, these are shorter parables. We have two parables just in a few verses, but these parables are loaded. Don't look at them and overlook them because of their length. The parables in the teaching here are loaded, and let me just show you a few ways here.

First of all, Jesus does not give any explanation with these two parables. Jesus explains the parable of the sower, and notice he explained the parable of the sower to the crowds. He explains the parable of the weeds, but he does that in private with the disciples, and I think it was those other believers there as well. But here, Jesus does not give a specific explanation of these parables. But second, the second reason why these things are loaded, these two parables have produced two completely opposite interpretations. None of the other kingdom parables have been interpreted in such opposite ways.

None of them have been interpreted in such opposite ways. Now, I want to give you a very basic overview of really the two different interpretations. The first view is positive. Some teachers, some scholars, they teach that these two parables are teaching positive or good growth of the church there in the world, in the world. But then the second view is negative. There are some scholars and theologians that teach these two parables. They're teaching negative or bad growth of the church in the world. That's the basic views of these parables.

One thing that makes the interpretation of these parables hard is that you have very respected, very noted scholars on both sides of the debate. A.W. Pink, he's a very respected scholar. He said that few passages have suffered more at the hands of commentators than these parables. He's brutal. He says few passages have suffered more at the hands of commentators than these passages. You can see his attitude towards those who disagree with him. But I thought about it like this.

Pink says that the passages suffer, but let me tell you, if you get into all of the different opinions and the reasons why you will suffer, and I'm going to be honest with you, I have suffered for weeks digging around on all this. A couple friends of mine, I've worn them out even talking about it. So tonight I want us to examine the parable of the mustard seed and then we're going to look at the parable of the leaven. Here we have the third and the fourth of these kingdom parables. Now, let's look at our scriptures. We see, starting in verse 24, the parable of the weeds, the parable of the wheat and the tare.

Now the point of that parable is about weeds, so I like calling it the parable of the weeds. And then right after that, right after that, when he gives the parable, we see these two parables, the mustard seed and the leaven. Jesus put another parable before them saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than all garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." And then verse 33 is the second one. He told him another parable.

"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flower till it was all leavened." Now, I want to start by examining the actual illustrations. We know that parables are illustrations. I want to examine the illustrations and I want to see that what all of those listening would have heard and what they would have understood, what they would have identified with. So number one, our truth number one, the parable that was given, the first parable, the parable of the mustard seed, the parable of the mustard seed that became the mustard plant. So number one, the parable that was given, this is in verse 31 and 32.

"He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain, a seed of mustard, that a man took and sowed into his field.'" It's the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than any of the other garden plants and it becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. Now, the mustard seed and the mustard plant was very common to all those that were listening. Everyone there in Jesus' day, in their culture, it was very, very common for several reasons. Now, Paul's here. Notice how practical Jesus is. He does not give illustrations or stories that they couldn't grasp.

They all got this. This was simple, easy to understand, easy to grasp. Just remember that. He's not pie in the sky here. He's right on the level ground with folks. But I want us to see several things here. The mustard plant was used for several things in their day. It was used as a spice, just like it is used in our day. It was used in medicine as well. Now, I don't know what all that looks like, but it had a medicinal purpose. It was used commercially. It was traded. It was sold. And it was a big part of their commerce. And it was a very common garden plant and it would have been around their homes. They had gardens. They had herb gardens.

And this would have been around their homes. Now, the mustard seed was the smallest seed that was commonly known to them in that day. And it was the smallest seed that was commonly planted in the region. And mustard plants were known to grow to look more like a very large bush or a small tree. And they looked more like a bush or a small tree than a garden plant. They could easily grow up to 10 or 12 feet high. Some scholars point out that a mustard plant could grow as tall as 15 feet high. And some scholars even say that a horse and a rider could pass under their limbs.

And although it was a garden plant, it could grow large enough for birds to come and to nest in its branches. Now, this is what Jesus is saying. Putting all of this in my words. I'm just paraphrasing. The mustard seed is the smallest seed that you know. That's what he's saying. This is the smallest seed that you know in your world. Even though it is the smallest of seeds that you know, it is a garden plant and it grows to be more like a tree than a garden plant. He goes on to say, "It grows large enough for birds to nest in its branches." And this is what he's saying to them.

It is the smallest of seeds and it is a garden plant but it grows to resemble a small tree more than a garden plant or a shrub. See what he's saying? Now those are my words but that is very accurate about what Jesus is saying. Now if you like me, I like paraphrased. It just helps us get in our minds. Now let me give you a loose comparison. A very loose comparison. We know what a tomato plant is or a bell pepper plant. We know what that is. A bird couldn't come and make a nest in that plant. It couldn't. It's not big enough. But we know what a fig tree is. You know a fig tree could be a part of our garden.

It's really not a tree but it's not a plant like a tomato plant. You see what I mean? And a bird could definitely perch in its branches. Scholars tell us that the mustard plants could get 10, 12, 15 feet high. I had a fig tree in my yard that was out high, that big. And the birds could nest in it. Now that just helps us get those kind of things in our minds. But there's another layer here. Culturally, the mustard seed was used proverbially. It was used proverbially to communicate smallness. It was used by comparison to communicate smallness. We do this in our culture, in our world all the time.

We communicate strength proverbially when we say that someone is as strong as a bull or as strong as an ox. You ever said that? Sure you have. We communicate speed and athleticism proverbially when we say that someone is as fast as a deer and as quick as a cat. We hear things like that all the time and we really don't think anything of it. Well in their day, they communicated smallness proverbially by saying that something was as small as a mustard seed. I thought about an example, a negative example, but it resonated with me. Maybe they said something like this when they wanted to insult someone.

Maybe somebody in that day would say, "You know what? You're so dumb. Your brain is as small as a mustard seed." Hopefully their children didn't do that. Maybe they got punished if they did. But you see what I'm showing you. They used this proverbially, the mustard seed, by comparison. Now, notice the physical point of the parable. The physical point of the parable. I'm not talking about the spiritual truth or truths that are communicated in the parable. Notice, the physical point is this. The smallest of seeds that they knew grows into the largest of garden plants. The mustard seed grows unusually large. It is abnormally large.

It is an abnormally large plant in two ways. First, this unusually large garden plant becomes this large plant and it comes from the smallest of seeds. But then second, the mustard plant is unusually large for a garden plant. It was the largest of garden plants that they would have had in their gardens and it could look more of a shrub and more of a tree than a plant, a garden plant. So that's physically what is seen in the parable. Now, there are two other details I want us to see that we need to see. First, the field. First, the field. This is planted in the field, the text says. Then second, the birds.

The mustard seed in the parable is planted in the field and the mustard plant grows so large that birds can come and nest in its shade. They could rest there. Matter of fact, Mark chapter 4 verse 32 talks about that as well. And we have to ask what those two details mean in the parable. Do they mean something? Why are they there? Now, I do believe those details do matter. But the question is this. Is this unusual growth good or bad? Is this good or bad? Is Jesus communicating something negative or positive concerning the church in the church age? Remember, this is all about the church in the church age.

Is Jesus communicating something positive or negative concerning the church in the church age? And what is the meaning of the field, the birds of the air that come and perch in the mustard plant? Those details have a bearing on the parable. Now before we move on, look back at the beginning of the parable in verse 31. He put another parable for them saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like." It is like. We must keep this in mind that Jesus is illustrating what the church is like and the church age is like, okay? Keep that in mind. That's the point of the illustration. Now, number two, the parable that was given.

I'm repeating, but we're dealing with another parable. Number two, the parable that was given, this would be the parable about 11. This is in one verse, verse 33. Look back at the verses. Immediately, what does it say? He told him another parable, back to back. The kingdom of heaven is like 11, that a woman took and hid into three measures of flour until it was all leavened. Just like the mustard seed, and the mustard plant was common, leaven, yeast, bread, flour, all of this was very common to them. Again, they knew everything he was talking about. They didn't have to wonder, they didn't have to ask, they got the images.

They knew what he was talking about. Now, I think it is obvious that this illustration is all about yeast, it's all about dough, it's all about flour, it's all about baking bread. I think we all know that, especially you ladies. Basically, this is what we have taking place. Bread was a very big part of their diet, very big part of their diet, and it was commonly baked in the home. The women who had the job of breaking their bread would keep back a part of the dough that had already had yeast in it. She would bake all of her dough that had fermented and risen, except that she would keep part of that dough.

She would then take the next batch of dough and mix in the safe piece from before, so as to introduce yeast into the new batch. Then she would allow the new batch of dough to ferment and to rise, and then she would bake that bread. And that was the process they went through, day after day after day. Now, there are two other details here I want us to see. One detail is not so obvious. First, the amount of leaven or yeast. This would have been a very, very small amount. This would have been a very, very small amount. It did not take very much leaven to permeate all of the dough.

But then second, the amount of flour or dough that would have been leavened. The text says there were three measures. Now, scholars just tell us this is a large amount. One scholar said this amount would feed well over a hundred people. So this was a large amount of bread. So we see a very small amount of yeast and a large amount of flour that was affected by the small amount of leaven. You see? Now, I just think about our day. I mean, some of you ladies cook bread. I remember when we were on our first COVID shutdown. We all remember those days. Well, my wife and girls got into baking bread. My clothes just kept getting tighter.

You know, I understand about the dough and the starter and all that and the yeast. I get that. Some of you ladies know that. You could talk about it better than I can. Most definitely. Now, let me put this in my words. I don't know why, but just this resonated with me to put this in my words the last couple of days. And this is what Jesus is saying. When a woman takes leaven and takes it inside, places it inside the new batch of dough, it only takes a very small amount.

And he continues and he says, "When she places that small amount of leaven, even in a very large batch of flour or dough, that small amount of leaven works into all of that dough until it is all affected." That's what he's saying. Now, notice the physical point of the parable. Notice, it's very similar to the previous parable. Now, I'm not talking about the spiritual. We're not going to get there quite yet. The point is this. The smallest amount of leaven or yeast leavens even a big amount of dough, a big amount of flour. The big batch of dough and flour can be ready for baking with just a small amount of yeast.

Now, there's one other detail that we need to see in the parable. The text says the leaven was hidden in the flour. It said it was hidden. This word means to hide, means to conceal, it means to mingle with. And we have to ask if this detail is significant. We have to ask if it has a bearing on the meaning. Now, I think it does. Now, I'll go back to the questions that I asked before when we dealt with the parable of the mustard seed. Is this negative? Is this positive? Is Jesus teaching negative things about the kingdom and the growth of the church? Is he teaching positive things about the growth of the church and the church age?

What is the meaning of the yeast? What is the meaning of the dough, the flour? And what is the meaning of hiding that yeast? Is he teaching positive? Is he teaching negative? Now, I want us to notice a few things. If we compare the two parables, I'm going to put them side by side in the text, they're back to back. Now, remember, he gives the parable of the weeds, then immediately he gives these two parables back to back. I want us to compare a little bit. Notice that we do not have as many details in the second parable as with the first. We don't have the field. We don't have birds. And notice that the two parables, they are connected.

Scholars say that they definitely are. Now, to me, the parable of 11 is meant to reinforce the parable of the mustard seed. To me, the parable of 11 is meant to compliment, to go along with the parable of the mustard seed. The main point of both is the same. The main point is this, the smallest of things do produce large results. The smallest seed produces unusually large garden plants. That's external. The smallest amount of leaven affects a good bit, a large amount of dough. That is internal. You see, the main point is the smallest of things do produce large results.

Another way of saying the main point is this, out of small things come big results. Now, here's the million dollar question. Is it good or bad? Is this good or bad? Is Jesus teaching that this is positive or negative? Is he saying that the church and the church age is like a mustard seed when it is planted and leaven when it is mixed into the dough? Is Jesus talking about positive growth or is he talking about negative growth? That's the million dollar question. Now, right here is where we would normally get into the purpose of the parable.

If you go back and look at how I've tracked through the parables, I've given you the parable and then I've given you the purpose. We have been examining the same way, these parables the same way, but we don't need to jump into the meaning of the parables just yet. So let's put on breaks a little. Like I said earlier, Jesus doesn't give us an outright explanation and these two parables are the most disputed. The explanations that some give can go all over the place. Even though they're either on the negative side or the positive side, the reasons why they fall there can really go everywhere.

I do think what AW Pink says is funny, but it is serious. Few passages have suffered more at the hands of commentators. Now, here's how I want us to progress. Okay, here's what I want us to do. Next week, I will explain more in detail the two basic positions. Now, I'm not going to chase down every rabbit. We'll be here for weeks and I will give the two basic positions and why some take those positions. And then I will explain how I see these parables and why and then I'm going to make us some application. You've got to understand it first before you can apply it. Now, here's how I want us to continue tonight.

Some of you might have thought, well, that was a short message. No, I've got some more things for us. Okay, I'm giving you an assignment. Giving you an assignment. Now, we're not going to check your assignment, but I'm giving you an assignment. You study and you examine these parables and you work to make a determination as to what they mean. Was Jesus teaching that we have positive growth concerning the church in the church age or was Jesus teaching that we have negative growth concerning the church in the church age.

Now, you can study your scriptures and you can study your books and your Bible study books and your Bible studies that you have. You're welcome to do that. I thought about it like this. If you don't want to cheat, you can get in the scriptures. But I cheat pretty good. I got 12, 15 resources dealing with all of this. So just get all the help you can get. And this is my assignment. You dig in here and you come to a conclusion. All right. Now, at this point, I want to give us a few things to keep in mind as we approach the meaning. This is all to help you. All right. Some of this is from me.

Some of this I picked up from some different scholars. Some of this I've kind of mixed together. It's been a little bit of mine and a little bit of theirs. And I think this will help us. All right. The first point, first thing I want you to see, don't overthink things. Don't overcomplicate things. When I'm reading some writers, men I respect and I'm really careful to critique them. Sometimes I'm looking at some of them and I think you're overcomplicating things. You're overthinking this. Remember that the parables normally have one central point and maybe a few others to go along with it.

Now I know that the parable of the sower, there is a lot more going on there. We've covered that and Jesus gives us an explanation. But in these short parables, there's one central point. So what I'm showing you is this. Don't overcomplicate it. Look for that one central point. So don't overthink things. Keep things simple. I kind of like the kiss method. Keep it simple, stupid. And I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to me. It is better to get the one major point of the parable than to get tangled up and to get too complicated. And I think some guys do get a little too complicated and tangled up.

The second thing, keep these two parables in line with the rest. Keep these two in line with the rest. All of these parables, remember they're seven or eight, depends on how you deal with the last. There are seven or eight parables in Matthew 13. They are part of one discourse by Jesus. He taught all of this together. These parables form one consistent stream of thought and teaching. Yes, the individual parables do have different meanings, but they're all connected together. They all flow together. Two words that will help you here. Harmony and consistency. Harmony and consistency. These parables are in harmony with one another.

Also, there is consistency in the elements of the parables. So look for harmony and consistency and guard against inconsistency and guard against contradictory interpretations. If you come to a conclusion with parable number three and it contradicts the others, you need to back up a little. But there's another word besides harmony and consistency. Context. Look at where these parables fit. Look where they are. They are in between the giving of the parable of the weeds and the explanation of the parable in the weeds. You see that?

Jesus gives the parable of the weeds, then he goes into these two parables, then he gives the explanation of the parable of the weeds. So to me, we have to ask, does the context, the placement tell us anything? So we look for harmony. We look for consistency. And when we are interpreting these parables, we must see and examine the content and the context and the placement of the parables in relation to the rest. That's what context helps us with. Third, keep in mind the Jewish context, the Jewish audience. We can never let our view of certain things, our culture affect how we interpret the parables.

We can't let our culture skew how we view certain things here in the parables. Let me give you an example. This is a glaring example. How do we view leaven or yeast in our culture? How do we view it? But then contrast that with them. How did they view leaven and how did the Jews view yeast in their culture? Another question or two, did leaven, did yeast have any spiritual implications for them? Does leaven have any implications spiritually for us today? Simply, we must seek to understand these parables from a Jewish context. Sometimes that's just where scholars help us folks. They just do. That has a very big bearing on the meaning.

And sometimes I think folks miss it because they forget to read this and interpret this through the lens of the Jewish people. And then fourth, don't impose certain periods or parts of church history onto the parables for interpretation. I know that's lengthy, but you need to follow me here. Don't impose certain periods or parts of church history onto the parables for interpretation. Remember, this is all about the church and the church age. See, if we isolate a certain time period of the church, if we isolate certain times and places of the church, we can have a skewed view. Let me show you what I mean.

The church in America, really before the founding of our country, really in the colonies, the church during that period, during the 1700s, was much different than the church in America today. The church in Europe in the 1600s, during the time of the Protestant Reformation was much different than the church in Europe today. Now, what's my point? If we only take one particular time period and apply it to the parables, that will skew your interpretation. Let me help you here. Let me go a little further.

If you lived during the Reformation when great things were happening with the Reformers, or if you lived during the revivals of Whitfield and Edwards there in the colonies, well, that could cause you to look at the parables as nothing but positive. I'll give you another example. One scholar that I read, I like a lot of what he says. All he did in one particular portion of his work was deal negatively with the Catholic church and the pope and Catholicism. And I thought, you're kind of reading that into how you view it. You see what I'm saying? So be careful with that. Now, a couple of more things that you need to hear.

It's on a little bit different level. Number one, don't discount a scholar or a writer because they see some of this stuff different. Don't do that. Don't do that. I know people that can do that. I mean, even if it's a hero, if they disagree with them, they can just write them off. Don't do that. Also, leave room for personal growth. What I mean is this, you just may be wrong. And later, you might find out that you are wrong and you might be corrected. You know what that's called? Growth. Growth.

If we come out of the Christian room, if we come to know Christ and we know everything just right, well, you're going to be Jesus and none of us are. But what I'm trying to show you is this, this happens to all of us in our Christian journey. So just leave room for growth. The third thing, these are not essential doctrines. Now, let me explain what I mean by saying that. If you view these two parables as positive, yet they are negative, this does not mean that you're going off into heresy. If you are wrong here with these parables, it doesn't mean you're a heretic. Now, if we have a wrong view of the Godhead, we're a heretic.

We can get into heresy. If we have a wrong view of tongues and the gifts of the spirit, we can get off into bad doctrine. But if we struggle here in the parables, it doesn't mean we're a heretic. But number four, if we are wrong here, we can have a misunderstanding of the church in the world. See how serious it is? No, we won't get off into heresy. But if we are wrong here, we can have a misunderstanding of the church in the world. And I'm going to explain that more when we get into the application. But none of this is an excuse to be lazy. Okay? So we don't discount someone if they're different than we are. We leave room for growth.

These are not essential doctrines. If we're wrong here, we're not going to fall off the cliff of heresy. But if we are wrong here, we can have a misunderstanding of how the church looks and functions and works in the world. Now, notice what we've studied tonight. The parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven. We have only looked at a part of their meaning. All right? And to me, the main point of both is the same. The smallest of things do produce large results. Another way of saying it, out of small things come big results. Now, with a mustard seed, it's more external. And with the yeast, it's more internal.

But the main points are the same. And the question that must be asked is Jesus illustrating positive growth of the kingdom or negative growth. And when we answer this question, that will show us where we go with application in our day, in our time, our church, our church experiences, church history, past, and the future. You see? And how you answer this question really will form you more than you know.