Sermon - Matthew 13 - Parables, parables, and more parables - Littleby Baptist Church - June 23, 2019

Last week we looked at Jesus’ explanation on why He used parables to teach the masses. It was clear by reading His words that His intent was to make sure those that followed Him would understand, while those who actively resisted Him would be confused. Those who have the smallest amount of knowledge, as little as knowing they need Jesus as their Savior will have access to the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. With that smallest tidbit of truth their knowledge will grow. If our eyes and ears are open even the smallest amount, we will have more than enough knowledge to carry us through what we are facing today.

I hope you took time to pray for someone whose eyes and ears need to be opened this week. Pray for them every day until they find that smallest piece of truth that will set them free.

We are going to continue in Matthew 13 this morning looking at some of the parables that Jesus taught.

Matthew 13:31-32

“³¹ He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

Comparing something to a mustard seed was a common thing in that day, and we know that Jesus used it a time or two. If something was said to be the size of a mustard seed, they were saying that it is very small.

Think of Matthew 17:20, when Jesus was asked by His disciples on why they could not cast out the demon.

“For truly I tell you, if you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

The smallest amount of faith in our Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit and that mountain in front of you, is NOT an obstacle. Mustard seed faith is greater than our struggles.  

One of the smallest seeds created by our God can grow into a 15 foot plant in a single season, significant growth in a short period of time. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, it started out as something that seemed small and insignificant, but it grew quickly and continues to grow today.

In this context, the kingdom of heaven is made up of every person who walked this earth and has become a member of God’s family. During Jesus’ ministry and teachings when He said the kingdom of heaven, He was talking about all those who had chosen to follow Him. We would say that it includes everyone in the ‘C’ Church, whether they walked with Jesus or are walking the earth today.

The kingdom of heaven began with a single person and has grown significantly over the last 2,000 years. The life and ministry of Jesus has touched more people than I think we can ever imagine. The little itty-bitty mustard seed grew into something amazing.

Let’s look at another parable.

Matthew 13:33

“³³ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds of flour until all of it was leavened.”

Once leaven is mixed with flour, it is going to rise, the flour will never be the same. Once the leaven has been mixed it is going to do its job no matter what you do, there is not stopping it.

Jesus was saying to those who followed Him, that there was nothing that could stop the kingdom of heaven from coming, growing, and having an impact on the world. Once Jesus came to this earth, there was no stopping the impact it was going to have on the world. The world was never going to be the same.

A mustard seed, a single man. Leaven, the message He shared… touched the world in ways no one ever expected and there is nothing that can stop it.

Then Jesus told another parable, let’s jump down to verse 44.

Matthew 13:44

“⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.”

Here is a man who stumbled on the truth of the kingdom of heaven and then made a choice to give up everything he had so that he could be part of it.

Matthew 13:45-46

“⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.”

Here we have a man who was searching and searching for the truth, he knew it was out there and when he found it, he too gave everything he had to acquire it.

The first guy stumbled on it, the second guy sought it out, but both of them understood it was more important than the things they had gathered, they believed that no sacrifice was to great, and would not let anything stand in their way. The kingdom of heaven had to come first regardless of the cost.

The men in these parables gave up everything for their faith. Most of us have sacrificed something for our faith, time, money, loss of friends, and more. These can be hard things to come to terms with but being part of the kingdom of heaven, knowing what our Lord has done for us, and knowing that He will come again should make it all worth it.

We should be thankful that we have an opportunity to sacrifice for Him. Most of our sacrifices are minimal in the scheme of things, there are others even today who give up their homes, their possessions, their friends, their families, and even their lives. We hear these stories and it can be hard for us to imagine, but it is real. A couple who worked at Hubbell until earlier this month are on their way to Germany to be dorm parents at a private Christian school. They are going to work with children of missionaries. One of the girls in their dorm was in the middle east with her parents and had a motif cocktail thrown in her bedroom window. Her family walked in danger every day to share Jesus with people who would just as likely kill them.

The kingdom of heaven started with one man, there is no stopping its impact on this world, and it is worth any and every sacrifice.

Matthew 13:47-50

“⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, ⁴⁸ and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous, ⁵⁰ and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

When a large net like this is used, it catches everything in its path as it is dragged to shore. The kingdom of heaven is going to touch every person to ever walk this earth in one way or another. Some will accept the message and willingly sacrifice to be a part of it, and some will not.

When judgement day comes everyone will be sorted. Those who sacrificed for the kingdom of heaven, those who chose to follow Jesus, those who let the leaven of His teachings change them will be gathered into containers. Those who turned away from the messenger and His message, those that valued things more than loving God and Others will be tossed out as if they are worthless. Some will spend an eternity in glory, some will spend the rest of their days where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

These can be hard words to hear, but they are the words of our Lord. Those that accept Him, those that chose to follow Him, those that grow in knowledge, those that seek the kingdom of heaven, will spend an eternity in Glory. Those that do not will spend an eternity in agony.

After saying these things, Jesus asks a question.

Matthew 13:51

““Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes.””

Do you understand what Jesus is telling us?

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a part of the kingdom of heaven. If you are a follower of Jesus, you will be called to sacrifice for Him. If you are a follower of Jesus, you will be set aside like the good fish for all eternity.

For those that do not know Jesus, time is limited. If they do not listen to the message of Christ, if they never open their eyes and see the truth, they will be lost for all eternity.

We do not know how much time we have on this earth, and more importantly we do not know how much time the lost in our lives have left. Our days are not numbered, but those that are not following Jesus only have a certain number of days to change their destination.

We need to pray for them, we need to carry God’s message to them, we need to willingly sacrifice so that they can see and hear all that Jesus has to offer, we need to be missionaries in their lives.

Pray that God shows you how you can live Christ for those around you. Pray that God gives you the words to share with the lost. Time is short, be a missionary, share the gospel wherever you go.


God Bless,

Robert