Luke 13:18-35
18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”
20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Aligning Ourselves With The Kingdom of God
There are times when it’s important to ensure that expectations and reality are in alignment. When I meet with young couples as they approach their wedding day, they are often confident that they are prepared for anything life will throw at them. I was young once too… as we talk and begin to unpack the reality of life together, we typically come across a topic that was either overlooked or avoided, and the work of aligning the fantasy of wedded bliss with the reality of wedded life begins. The amazing part is that as the fantasy fades, a deeper, richer, more secure foundation is laid for what it looks like to come together and build a loving and supportive marriage for life. The deeper reality also gives way to a more passionate romance, rather than the domestic mundanity they believed they were headed for. Even though it is not what they were typically looking for, the work of contrasting and then aligning expectations with reality is worthwhile.
This Bible passage is an instance where Jesus was walking people through the process of aligning ancient expectations with the reality that was revealed in his life and ministry—the real nature of the kingdom of God. If you have grown up in church or if you’ve attended church for a while, you might have an image or expectation in your mind of what the kingdom of God is. You can take a moment now to either make that image solid in your mind or write down what your definition of it is. If you haven’t spent much time in church or if you haven’t read the Bible before, then the phrase ‘kingdom of God’ might sound strange or foreign, like something from a fantasy movie. Whatever the case, it’s possible that you are inclined toward a unique vision or image of what Jesus is talking about when he refers to the kingdom of God, so it might be helpful to try and bring us together around a common definition.
To start, the kingdom of God is a concept that you can find outside of the Gospels that traces its way all through the whole story of the Bible. It’s not specifically heaven, the space (or dimension if you like) where God dwells, but it’s also not strictly a physical or political kingdom like we’re familiar with. Another important distinction is that the church itself is not the kingdom of God, so advancing the kingdom is not necessarily a matter of attending church. That being said, the kingdom of God is something that the church is meant to nurture and grow. The best way I know to describe it plainly is that the kingdom of God is the space where heaven and earth (the spiritual and holy presence of God and the physical world he spoke into being) cross over. It’s the space where the will of God is obeyed, people and God are reconciled, and where the peace and mercy and justice of God are ministered to people who will receive it.
If you want a picture of the kingdom, there are several places in scripture where we get a glimpse of what it looks like. The garden in Genesis 1 and 2. The proper ministry of the temple described in Leviticus. The visions of God and people dwelling together in the Psalms (Psalm 48 and 133 for example) and from Israel’s prophets when they describe the nations coming together to worship God in peace (Isa. 2:1–5 and Mic. 4:1–8). Most clearly, we see what the kingdom of heaven is like in the life and ministry of Jesus. Everywhere he went he would teach people to love and obey God, push back the suffering that sin introduced into the world, called out and overturned the injustice of corrupt people in power, and reconciled people back to God by forgiving their sin. Wherever Jesus went, heaven and earth crossed over and the kingdom of God was revealed.
When Jesus described the kingdom of God in this passage, he was speaking to a first century Jewish crowd; the implication being that he was speaking to a group of people who had a pretty clear idea about the nature of God’s kingdom and how it would be established. They were looking for a moment when God’s kingdom would be established unmistakably and irresistibly in the world. They had an ‘eschatological’ vision of God’s kingdom - or a vision of the way the kingdom of God will be established at the end of history. In other words, their vision of God’s kingdom might have been separate from the world they inhabited. They believed that when it arrived it would be like a tidal wave - sudden, unmistakable, overwhelming, and irresistible. Jesus’ vision of the kingdom is different. His vision of God’s kingdom is not an overwhelming tidal wave that destroys and reshapes the earth (not at this time anyway). Jesus talks about the end times in other parts of the Bible (Matt. 24-25, Luke 17:20-37), but for now Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God is like a seed planted in a garden. It starts out fragile and tender, but when it’s nurtured and attended to, it gradually sprouts and then grows into something that casts shade and supports families of birds.
Similarly, he says the kingdom of God is like a bit of leaven in 60 pounds of dough, or roughly 27 kilograms if you want to get metric about it. If you’ve ever made sourdough, you know that the starter is a living culture that feeds on sugars in the flour and releases gas that makes the dough rise. When you put a little bit of sourdough starter into a batch of dough, it causes a gradual change to occur. Gases are produced and the dough rises, not necessarily because the starter is mixed through the whole batch of dough, but because the bacteria in the starter multiplies and gradually spreads, turning the whole batch into a living, breathing thing.
Aligning our expectation with the reality of Jesus’ teaching makes it possible for us to partner with him in the advancement of his kingdom.
The kingdom of God, while it is something that we look forward to when Christ returns, is also here now, wherever heaven and earth cross over. Anything that followers of Jesus do to bring people into contact with the loving presence of God is a seed of the kingdom being planted. Wherever God’s people comfort someone who is mourning, or serve people in need, or stand in opposition to injustice, or reconcile people to God through repentance, the kingdom advances in its small, gradual way in the places we inhabit now. These are not acts of dominance that force the world around us to submit; they are humble acts of service that obediently imitate the life of Jesus. Like a small seed planted in the ground, the ministry of God’s kingdom requires intentional nurturing attention. A garden doesn’t grow by accident; it’s tended to by a gardener who works to see small seedlings grow into strong, productive plants. A small act of compassion done out of love for God may not seem like much, but like a small bit of leaven in a giant batch of dough, the aggregate effect becomes obvious the more it is worked through, and it can bring an entire community from death to life.
As the people of God faithfully tend and nurture the ministry of the kingdom, the gospel of Jesus becomes so much more than a future hope of life with God. It grows from something small and fragile and becomes an unmistakable present reality that gives hope and comfort on this side of eternity, which in turns serves as assurance for the hope we have in Christ on the other side of this life.
• What is the image that you have of the kingdom of God? Does it align with Jesus’ teaching?
• What do you think it looks like to faithfully nurture and grow God’s kingdom? Is it actions? Is it teaching? Is it belief? Is it some combination? If so, what does that look like?
• What has Jesus entrusted to you specifically to nurture? Is it a relationship or a skill or an opportunity? What can you do to nurture the kingdom faithfully?
Author Bio
Josh Jacobs grew up in central Alberta just south of Edmonton. He is currently serving as the pastor to a wonderful congregation in Alberta Beach, which is on the south end of Lac Ste Anne, 45 minutes west of Edmonton.
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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