Luke 13:18-21
18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. In what ways does/did the kingdom of God start out small? Is there something else about the mustard seed besides its size that we should pay attention to?
2. Who are the birds of the air?
3. Why the comparison to leaven, when leaven was not allowed during holy times?
4. What does "until it was all leavened" mean?
https://hartmangroupdevotionsmark.blogspot.com/2018/04/mark-430-34-30-again-he-said-what-shall.html says:
ReplyDeleteWhile the elements themselves do have importance, an overemphasis on the details or literal focus on an element usually leads to interpretive errors and missing the main point of the parable. By depicting concepts, the message is not as readily lost to changes in word usage, technology, cultural context, or the passage of time as easily as it might be with a literal detailed narrative. Two thousand years later, we can still understand concepts like sameness, growth, the presence of evil influence, etc.
So, the picture painted in the Parable of the Mustard Seed by Jesus is of the humble beginnings of the church experiencing an explosive rate of growth. It grows large and becomes a source of food, rest, and shelter, for both believers and false professing individuals that seek to consume or take advantage of its benefits while residing or mixing among what was produced by the seed (1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:7; 2 Corinthians 11:13; Galatians 1:7). In other words, Jesus predicts that, while the church will grow extremely large from just a small start, it will not remain pure. While this is not a condemnation of the "bigness" of modern Christianity, it does show us the greatest burden that comes with it. The Parable of the Mustard Seed is both a prediction and a warning.
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I think the one central truth the parable is attempting to teach is how the kingdom will develop from the smallest of beginnings into something that will be greater than anyone could have imagined from the outset.
The picture of birds in a tree is familiar from the Old Testament. It illustrates a great empire in which the nations find shelter:
Ezekiel 31:2-6 (NASB) . . . 6 'All the birds of the heavens nested in its boughs, And under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth, And all great nations lived under its shade.
The benefits of the kingdom of God extend beyond the redeemed. The world benefits by the rule of Christ, for just as the birds found lodging in the mustard tree, even so the people of the world find help, comfort, and better lives through the expansive work of Christ's kingdom. Let me explain what I believe this implies. When the gospel of the kingdom takes root among a people, it changes the way not only the believers live but also others about them. Some that were engaged in immoral, damaging behavior are transformed by the gospel and so make the community a better place to live. The influence of kingdom citizens in a community slows down the decay and putrefaction so common in the world.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteMacArthur - The conjunction oun (so, or “therefore”) connects these parables with the incident in the previous section (Lk 13:10–17). The Lord had interrupted his teaching in a synagogue (Lk 13:10) to heal a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years by a demon-caused illness (Lk 13:11). That demonstration of His power over Satan’s kingdom revealed the presence of God’s kingdom (cf. Luke 11:20). The Lord then continued His teaching with these two parables, which illustrate the truth that the divine kingdom both externally and internally would expand exponentially from its small beginnings.
The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark both emphasize the extremely small size of the mustard seed (Mt 13:32+ "smaller than all other seeds").
Dr. L. H. Shinners regarding the "size" of the Mustard seed writing that "The mustard seed would indeed have been the smallest of those likely to have been noticed by the people at the time of Christ. The principal field crops (such as barley, wheat, lentils, beans) have much larger seeds, as do vetches and other plants which might have been present as weeds (the biblical tares) among grain.… There are various weeds and wild flowers belonging to the mustard, amaranth, pigweed, and chickweed families with seeds as small or smaller than mustard itself, but they would not have been particularly known or noticed by the inhabitants....The only modern crop plant of importance with smaller seeds than mustard is tobacco, but this plant is of American origin and was not grown in the Old World until the 16th century and later.
A height of seven or eight feet is common, and a traveler tells how once he came across a mustard plant which was twelve feet high, and which overtopped a horse and its rider. It is common to see a cloud of birds around such trees, for they love the little black mustard seeds.
ESV Study Bible - The Jews expected the kingdom to come with apocalyptic power (ED: see Acts 1:6+), bringing God’s judgment on all evil, and hence Jesus’ teaching that it would arrive in such an “insignificant” way was surprising (cf. Luke 17:20+ = "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed").
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteThe mustard seed parable and specifically the meaning of the birds is open to the danger of allegorical interpretation. Roy Zuck writes that "Allegorizing is searching for a hidden or secret meaning underlying but remote from and unrelated in reality to the more obvious meaning of a text. In summary, using allegorical interpretation, makes it possible to “find” all manner of meanings beyond the plain sense of the text.
That said, there are three common interpretations of the birds:
1. The fact that they can nest on the mustard plant emphasizes its substantial size and incredible growth
2. Represent Gentiles/nations who come into and contribute to the growth of the Kingdom of God
3. Represent evil forces that come into the Kingdom of God, infiltrating the Church
#2 - Other commentators (e.g., John MacArthur) interpret the birds as representative of "nations" or Gentiles (#2). In the interpretation of the birds as nations or Gentiles, the birds would represent believers who by grace through faith come into the Kingdom of God. There is support for this interpretation in at least two ways:
(1) Gentiles coming into the Kingdom of God contribute to the growth of that Kingdom In the book of Acts the spread of the Kingdom of God from "Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8+), a spread which begin primarily with Jewish believers but soon included Gentile believers as the Gospel spread throughout the Roman Empire.
(2) There are OT passages that equate birds with Gentles. For example Ezekiel writes “On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches." (Ezekiel 17:23)
#3 - Some commentators say the birds are "representatives of Satan" (#3 above) (Ironside) based on Mk 4:15+, but places great weight on interpreting the figure of birds in the same way it was interpreted in the parable of the soils. However there is nothing in the context of the mustard seed parable which dogmatically supports this interpretation.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteWalter Leifeld writes that "Birds are specifically mentioned in each version of the parable (Mt 13:32; Mk 4:32, Lk 13:19) and may therefore be significant in symbolizing Gentile nations.
And the birds found shelter in the tree that resulted from this single seed. Probably this is a reference to the Gentiles who find shelter in the Gospel that was first given to the Jewish nation (Ezek. 17:23). All who nest there find the shelter of peace with God, freely provided.
Zechariah 2:10-11 “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
PARABLE OF LEAVEN
While leaven is often used in a negative sense (Lk 12:1, 1 Cor 5:6), in the present context leaven is used in a positive to convey the fact that the Kingdom of God would spread even as leaven spreads in dough until the entire loaf is leavened.
Since leaven is often used in the Bible as a symbol for sin, some commentators understand this parable to be referring to the spread of false doctrine in the church. But this is to overturn the obvious contextual flow of thought. Sometimes in the Bible, leaven is not a symbol for evil (Lev 7:13+; Lev 23:15-18+), and it can be argued that Jesus is using a somewhat different meaning to grab His hearers attention and to give the parable a provocative twist. So the meaning here is parallel to the meaning of the small mustard seed.
The power does not depend on Jesus’ followers, but on the power of God through the Gospel (Ro 1:16+). The leaven must come in contact with the dough for the power to be unleashed. We’ve already seen the same point with regard to the seed. Here there may be the nuance that once the contact is made, the power works from the inside out. That is how the gospel works as God transforms the hearts of sinners.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteMattoon - Leaven is normally used to illustrate the influence of sin in the Bible, but here, it is used to illustrate the spreading influence of God's kingdom. The leaven starts out small, but then it changes the entire nature of the dough. That is what Christ does in us as we yield to Him. As the leaven does its work on the inside of the dough, our Lord works in our heart, changing us on the inside, which in turn, effects our behavior on the outside. We have no power to change ourselves. We are incapable, incompetent, inept, and ineffective in cleaning up our wicked heart. The power to change our ways, conquer sinful habits, and conform to the image of Christ must come from the Lord, who works within our heart and soul when our faith and trust are in Him. Without Him, we are helpless. (See Jn 1:12, Jn 15:5)
In my humble opinion to see the parable of leaven as evil is an incorrect interpretation and totally misses Jesus' point to the disciples. After seeing their leader accused of being demon possessed and after the "poor yield" of the Gospel seed in the parable of the soils, the disciples had to be wondering about the future of the Kingdom of God. Therefore it would not be encouraging to hear that the Kingdom was going to be infiltrated and corrupted by Satanically inspired, sinful people who would profess to be Christians. It seems far more likely that He was giving His disciples the parable of the unstoppable growth of the mustard seed and penetrating influence of the leaven to encourage His men.
And so I am much more in agreement with interpretations like John MacArthur who writes "The first point in this parable is that small things can have great influence, in the way that a small piece of leavened dough can permeate a large piece of unleavened dough to make it rise. The power of the kingdom of heaven is great, far greater than its initial size and appearance would suggest. The smallest part of the kingdom that is placed in the world is sure to have influence, because it contains the power of God’s own Spirit. The influence of the kingdom is the influence of the King, of His Word, and of His faithful people. The second point of the parable is that the influence is positive. Leavened bread has always been considered tastier and more enjoyable than unleavened. To symbolize the break with their former life in Egypt, God commanded His people to eat only unleavened bread during the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, which began on Passover evening. They were not even allowed to have leaven of any sort in the house during the seven days of the feast (Ex. 12:15, 18–19). But the bread they ate the rest of the year was leavened and perfectly acceptable to the Lord. To the average person of Jesus’ day, Jew or Gentile, there is no evidence that leaven carried any connotation of evil or corruption. The ancient rabbis often referred to leaven in a favorable way.
ESV Study Bible - Some think these parables teach only the contrast between the small beginning and large end result, and not the gradual growth process of the kingdom between start and finish. Others argue that the growth process is also in view. Both sides agree that the parables contrast the apparently small and unnoticed arrival of the kingdom (the “already now”) with its extensive and glorious consummation when the Son of Man returns (the “not yet”).
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. In what ways does/did the kingdom of God start out small? Is there something else about the mustard seed besides its size that we should pay attention to?
There's two aspects of smallness we can consider. First, the kingdom of God did start out small (but overwhelmingly powerful) with Jesus and the first few disciples. (This smallness is in comparison to the final result of His Kingdom on earth when He comes back). The other aspect of smallness is when Jesus first claims another soul, that person starts out small, but over time grows into a mighty soldier.
Should we consider something else? The only thing I can think of is the power and tenacity contained in the small seed. It grows over, through, and around any and every obstacle.
2. Who are the birds of the air?
I think it's just people who take up abode in the Kingdom of God. I think it's a mistake to speculate whether those people are all good, all evil, or a mix. I think it's just as the kingdom grows, it will attract residents (and guests and lookers on?).
3. Why the comparison to leaven, when leaven was not allowed during holy times?
Leaven was not considered evil, but good in general. There was a reason leaven was not consumed during certain festivals - but it had nothing to do with viewing leaven as a bad thing. Here, leaven is a good way to illustrate how the kingdom of God both infiltrates nations, and individuals.
4. What does "until it was all leavened" mean?
It just means that the leaven will naturally saturate the entire ball of dough. You can't hold it back. The Kingdom of God is unstoppable. It will keep growing until there is nothing left in the end. But, it's a process that will happen over a long period of time.