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Luke 13:18-21 Key Verse 13:19 "It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast In this passage Jesus begins what is called his Perean ministry. Perea referred to the region, east of Judea across the Jordan. There, Jesus spent about three months prior to his final ascent into Jerusalem. Among gospel writers, Luke gives the most attention to the Perean ministry, devoting six chapters to it (13:22-19:27). In Perea, Jesus faced daily the thought of his imminent death. Jesus did not do many miracles in Perea. But he taught intensely about the kingdom of God. We can learn two things about the kingdom of God in today's passage. As we know well, Jesus taught through parables. Jesus' parables were stories from common life that illustrated truths about unseen spiritual realities. Jesus really wants us to accept the kingdom of God, which leads us to eternal life in this world and the world to come. First, the parable of the mustard seed. Look at verses 18-19. "Then Jesus asked, 'What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." A mustard seed was known to be the smallest of seeds. It is even smaller than a sesame seed. But it had life-giving power in itself. After it was planted in the ground, it grew slowly and steadily into a large tree that sheltered birds of the air. In the same way the kingdom of God begins with a small seed of life-giving power, and it grows steadily into a source of blessing for the world. We can see this in Jesus himself. In a divine mystery, God's life was planted in Mary's womb as a small seed. After nine months, Jesus was born as a tiny baby, placed in a manger. He grew as many other children of the time did, under the loving care of poor parents who lived in obedience to the law of God. Jesus did not drop from heaven as a fully developed Messiah. He grew, going through the same life experiences of any ordinary person. At the age of 30, Jesus stepped forward to be baptized. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit, and began his public ministry. First, Jesus defeated Satan's temptations with the absolute word of God. Afterward, Jesus visited towns and villages, preaching the kingdom of God. At one word of Jesus, demons were exposed and fled. At one touch of Jesus, incurable diseases were healed. At one encounter with Jesus, the lives of people changed forever. Finally, Jesus went to the cross and offered his life to God as a ransom sacrifice for our sins, shedding his blood. On the third day, however, God raised him from the dead as the firstfruits. Not many people in the world knew what was happening at that time. But through a specific act in time and space, Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all people who obey him. Then, through his disciples, the gospel spread to the ends of the earth. Now we see people throughout the world, from nearly every tribe and nation, who have accepted Christ and been changed into new people. We should realize that we cannot see the kingdom of God in the same way that we can see worldly kingdoms. Worldly kingdoms look glamorous and powerful at the moment. But in the course of time they disappear completely. On the other hand, the kingdom of God looks as small as a mustard seed. But it grows steadily until it covers the earth. In order to see a tree grow, we need time-lapse cameras. To see the kingdom of God grow, we need a sense of history. For example, we can see the growing kingdom of God through Mother Sarah Barry in UBF history. God has worked greatly through one woman like a mustard seed. She met Jesus as a college student and accepted his world mission command. She came to Korea as a young, single missionary in 1955. It was right after a terrible war. Our nation had been divided. What could she do? She had a conviction that she could share the gospel. She coworked with Dr. Samuel Lee to teach the Bible to Korean college students. Many of them accepted the good news of Christ. They found salvation from sin and hope that God could use them to change the world. They began to pray and go out into the world as missionaries. Now, over two thousand UBF missionaries from Korea have sent to over 90 nations in the world. This great work of God has begun through one mustard seed, a young lady. The potential of a person is really great. All of us can be one of the mustard seeds through the faith in the kingdom of God that comes from Jesus Christ. We have another example of it, Hudson Taylor (1832-1905). He was the son of a lay preacher named James Taylor. As a young man, his father's Bible reading bored him. His mother and younger sister began to pray for him. Through reading a gospel tract, he accepted Christ personally and was born again. Sometime later, he heard one word from the Lord, "China." This word, like a seed planted within, sprouted and grew throughout his lifetime. His mind and heart were consumed with reaching 400,000,000 lost Chinese souls with the gospel. To prepare himself, he studied medicine, Chinese, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He learned to depend on God to meet his every need. Taylor went alone to China in 1853. He risked his life to preach the gospel in the midst of a civil war, and in cities where foreigners were regarded as devils. Forced to return to England in 1860 for health reasons, he had a vision to send missionaries to every province of inland China. So he went throughout England, preaching in churches and sharing China's need for missionaries. God moved many young hearts to volunteer. God provided a generous offering to supply their needs. Taylor returned to China in 1866 with 24 volunteer missionaries. He trained them to wear Chinese clothes, including a pig-tail, and to speak Chinese. It was the beginning of the China Inland Mission (CIM). All told, Taylor ministered in China for 51 years and brought 800 missionaries. They directly converted 18,000 Chinese people and established 125 schools. The CIM was one of the great contributors in the growth of the Chinese church, which today numbers over 100,000,000. The mustard seed grows into a huge tree. This is the character of the kingdom of God. So we should value small and life-giving works of God among us. Sharing one word of God with a neighbor or having a one-to-one Bible study may seem small, but they can bear fruit that reaches the world. We may look insignificant in campus. But we have God's calling and we carry God's life in campus students. We are the ambassadors of God's kingdom. So we should respect ourselves and our coworkers. We are VIPs in campus because we are the mustard seeds growing in campus. When we teach the words of God to campus students, let's not ignore also a mustard see which is sown and is growing in sheep's heart. Let's see the mustard seed of God's kingdom, honor it, and give out hearts to helping it spread to the campus students. Second, the parable of the yeast. Look at verses 20-21. "Again he asked, 'What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.'" Yeast is small and almost invisible. But when it works through a batch of dough it causes the whole batch to rise. This describes the power of influence of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God has power to change a person or a culture completely. Peter was changed completely. He once said to Jesus, "You are the Christ!" that is, "You are the King sent by God, and my Savior." But right after that, Peter resisted Jesus' cross, revealing selfishness, fear of death, and desire for glory without suffering. He seemed too contaminated with sin to live a holy life like Jesus. But Jesus' word worked in him continuously. Finally, Peter repented his sins and accepted Jesus' grace of forgiveness and received the Holy Spirit. His inner man was healed. He became bold enough to preach Christ to his enemies. He was willing to sacrifice himself for God's sheep. He rejoiced to suffer with Christ. His changed life and its influence, together with that of Apostle Paul, worked like a yeast in the Roman Empire, and finally turned it into Christendom in 300 years. We have another example about Christian influence, which brought an end to gladiatorial games. Bishop of Antioch and Christian historian Theodoret (393-457 A.D.) tells us of Saint Telemachus. He was a quiet man of prayer who spent most of his time tending a vegetable garden and sharing the gospel with neighbors. One day the Lord inspired him to go to Rome. Upon his arrival, he observed a large crowd going into the Roman Colosseum, and he joined them. Then gladiators entered and shouted, "We are about to kill you!" Telemachus realized that they were going to fight to the death for the entertainment of Roman citizens. Horrified, he stood up and said, "In the name of Christ, stop!" But his voice was lost in the noise of the crowd. So he made his way into the arena. In contrast to the mighty gladiators, he was a small man. But he continued to cry, "In the name of Christ, stop!" At first, the crowd thought he was part of the entertainment and laughed. As he persisted, they began to jeer. Then they became angry at his interference in the games, and they stoned him to death, spilling his blood on the Colosseum floor. His fight for the sanctity of life convicted bloodthirsty Romans of their wickedness. The Emperor Honorias was so moved that he banned gladiatorial contests from that day forward. The faith of one man influenced the great Emperor, greatly. Sometimes we think that our lives of faith are not effective. But they influence a watching world more than we know. When we have God's kingdom in our hearts and community, it has power to influence our country to be changed into a holy nation. In this passage we learn mainly that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that grows into a big mustard tree. Though its beginning in us may be small, it completely changes us and use us as the blessing for the world. We UBF coworkers are mustard seeds and yeast. The kingdom of God is in us and among us. In God's view we are not small like the Jesus' disciples. As God used 'the twelve' greatly as the mustard seeds and yeast in the gospel work, he also is using us greatly in his ministry. May the kingdom of God in us grow, become a tree, and influence powerfully among the campus students and in this country. |
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