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Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."
And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."
And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."
- Luke 13:18-30
Yesterday, we read that Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day." The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches." My study bible tells us that "the mustard seed is tiny, but the plant grows to a height of about 10 feet in Palestine." I truly love this parable of the mustard seed, for various reasons. If we examine it, we see that the word for birds is one that more or less means "winged." It gives us a kind of image of heavenly things, like angels, to speak of the birds of the air. The "air" is the same word for sky, οὐρανός, which is also the word, in Greek, for heaven. Finally, to "nest" is κατασκηνόω, to encamp -- or rather more literally to dwell under, to "pitch one's tent." It is the same root used in John's Gospel, when we are told that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). The word here for dwell is to "tent" or more clearly, to "tabernacle." So it is with the winged ones of the air in the parable of the mustard seed; the great tree that grows is the place under which they can tabernacle, find a place in its branches. So, in some sense, this tiny mustard seed becomes something which can grow and spread, with branches sturdy enough to shelter, to tabernacle, all the beautiful gifts of God and messengers of God in the world. A nest is also for producing offspring, in analogy, fruits of the Spirit. This is a timeless gift.
And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." My study bible says that "a small amount of leaven inevitably penetrates the entire dough. Such is the power of the Kingdom." In the first parable of the mustard seed, we're told of the explosive power of growth and continual "reproduction" in this Kingdom, the study branches under which good things can dwell, can "tabernacle." In this parable we're given to know the inward and powerful nature of this Kingdom: with one measure it can leaven the whole of the lump; its inward growth is complete and powerful. It's not only the "light shining in the darkness" (John 1:5), but with welcoming, with a little kneading, it illuminates the whole room. This is a leaven that pervades and changes and transforms the nature of the entire whole. As we know, leaven or yeast brings air, causes a rising and growth of the dough!
And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able." My study bible tells us that "the narrow gate is a path to salvation marked by Jesus' teaching on discipleship and its cost." A life of discipleship is a life of prayer, studying the Master through relationship.
"When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'" My study bible teaches that "Jesus says I do not know you because they are workers of iniquity. If a person is not abiding in Christ, neither verbal confessions ("Lord, Lord") nor previous experiences with Christ will be of any avail at the Judgment." As Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem, and His "exodus" from this world (see the reading on the Transfiguration), He brings up Judgment more frequently in this Gospel, and gives us palpable and concrete ways in which we are to think about it and be aware of it. Familiarity is not enough. Now is the time to look to who we are and what we do, the quality of our discipleship.
"There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." My study bible tells us that "people of humble faith from all parts of the earth will join together in God's consummated Kingdom. Those who vainly think themselves secure because of honored status will be last."
As Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem, we get so many warnings about the time of His departure, and warnings about His return. Many people would like to discard notions of judgment, thinking that in Christ's mercy all is forgiven. But the Gospels teach us something important about this notion of judgment and that is our personal responsibility for the gift we're given. It's not something to take for granted. Rather it's something to be aware of each and every moment of every day. We look to our own behavior. We can't take it for granted that we're "saved" because we're a part of the right group, because we've heard the teachings before. But how does this warning about Judgment tie up with His teachings on the Kingdom? Well, there's a very important emphasis here on the fruits of the Spirit, on the effects of what that Kingdom is and what it does. Elsewhere Jesus teaches that "by their fruits you shall know them" (Matthew 7:16). And earlier in Luke's Gospel, we've been told by Jesus, "A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." And in that earlier reading, in Chapter 6, Jesus also makes mention of those who call Him "Lord, Lord" but who fail to do the things He says, and praises the one "who hears His sayings and does them" as one who builds his house upon a rock. The warnings about Judgment really teach us what it is to know Him, to really be disciples, to be His students. It is through relationship that we are capable of following what He teaches, of becoming ourselves like those great trees whose branches can shelter the birds of the air and their nests, of being like the woman who's willing to do the work of kneading the dough, and leavening its whole with air, the air that is another meaning of the word for Spirit. Let us take seriously His emphasis on humility, the last who will be first, and the first last; it's when we think of our positions too highly, when we take this gift for granted, that we are liable to forget who we are, and Who our Teacher is, how He humbled Himself for this Kingdom. Let us remember who we are, and Who He is. He was about His Father's business -- and so must we do likewise.
