Sunday Link – WHAT IS GOD’s KINGDOM LIKE? | sl20260726

The Kingdom Is Like King Jesus       

Matthew 13:31–33, 44–52 ESV

Today, we’ll talk about God’s kingdom. Whether or not it’s a new concept for you, our passage in Matthew will help reveal God and his kingdom. And even if you’ve already learned many things about the kingdom, perhaps this passage will help you see it from a fresh perspective.

The people of Jesus’ day believed the kingdom involved a human government which would overthrow all oppressors. They needed to see the kingdom from a new perspective.

In our Gospel reading for this Sunday, Jesus tells multiple parables about the kingdom of God. He desires to free his listeners from their assumptions and expectations about the kingdom. He wants them to embrace the truth about who he is and what he is on earth to do.  

Jesus knew that the kingdom of God involved a lot more than just an earthly kingdom.  Let’s read our passage for today from Matthew 13: 

³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³ He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”  

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.  

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.  ⁴⁸ When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.   ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?”  They said to him, “Yes.”   ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”  Matthew 13:31–33, 44–52 (ESV) 

Like in our story last week, Jesus speaks to the crowd and his disciples using parables.  He tells them about the kingdom of heaven.  The kingdom of heaven is simply another way of saying the kingdom of God.  

So, what exactly is the kingdom?  We understand God’s kingdom as God’s gracious rule, already present in Christ. It’s the reality of God renewing the world according to his love and purposes.  

If the kingdom is ruled by Jesus, that’s good news.  The kingdom is like King Jesus.  

And before we move on, let’s say a little bit about what parables are.  A parable is a type of teaching or storytelling that places two things side-by-side so that one sheds light on the other.  For example, we see Jesus placing the kingdom “beside” a mustard seed, and saying, “It’s like this…”  

But parables are more than merely straightforward comparisons.  Jesus used them to create tension and surprise.  His parables often contain unexpected elements that challenge opinions and disrupt notions.  

As we discussed last week, the kingdom involves mystery because it is often hidden and is still unfolding.  So, the parables about God’s kingdom involve mystery, too.

Today we hear that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, leaven, a hidden treasure, a merchant searching for a pearl, and a fish net.  

God’s Spirit will help us understand what Jesus is saying.  We can trust that the Spirit can teach us something fresh.  

Those listening to Jesus needed to learn something fresh.  His disciples and the folks in the crowd had preconceived ideas about his kingdom.  So, Jesus’ parables don’t merely clarify the kingdom for his listeners, they disrupt their assumptions.  These comparisons challenge our thinking.  

Let’s look at the first parable Jesus tells:  

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:31–32 ESV  

What is interesting about seeds is that when planted, they stop being seeds.  They, in essence, die and become something new. New life springs from what is placed in the ground.  

Often in his parables, Jesus uses the word “seed” or “seeds” to represent himself.  Jesus is the Word of God.  He knew that to inaugurate his Father’s kingdom in blood, he would have to die.  Jesus would be planted in the grave after his crucifixion and would soon rise again.  

In Jesus’ death, all humanity would die.  In his resurrection, we would all rise into new life.  By faith, we share even now in Jesus’ new life.  We are actively part of God’s kingdom already, and we receive this by trust in Jesus and his finished work.  

Going back to the mustard seed.  Notice that Jesus uses an exceedingly small seed to talk about God’s kingdom.  Such a small seed, when dropped on the ground, would be impossible to spot.  

Jesus says that the mustard seed would become a large tree, larger than all the garden plants that it was sown alongside.  But it does not begin this way.  

This would have disrupted or interrupted his listeners’ assumptions if they expected the kingdom’s arrival to be establishing a powerful nation that was impossible to miss.  If they expected to witness the establishment of the kingdom all at once and immediately, the image of a small, hidden seed would have been shocking.  

The kingdom accomplished the impossible.  The kingdom is like King Jesus.  

Let’s move on to our next parable: 

“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:33 ESV  

This parable reminds us of the universality of God’s kingdom.  This is not universalism.  This is the reality that the Son of God, who became human, came on behalf of all.  

Jesus lived our human life, died our human death, and he rose again.  Jesus includes everyone in his saving work.  He leaves no one out.  Even creation is included.  

The kingdom includes all.  The kingdom is like King Jesus.  

Leaven is a unique substance which, when added to dough, causes carbon dioxide bubbles to form.  These bubbles cause the dough to rise.  

After we add the leaven to the dough, it transforms the dough; it is one with the dough.  In the same way, the kingdom of God, in Christ’s death and resurrection, was hidden in this cosmos, transforming it.  

Today, God’s kingdom is at work in people’s lives and hearts by the Spirit.  Our true life is “hidden with Christ in God.”  Wherever we look today, God is at work in our world.  The Holy Spirit is present and active, bringing about healing and transformation.  

We take active part in God’s kingdom now  by faith in Christ.  Even though the fulness of God’s kingdom isn’t evident right now, God’s kingdom is at work in human hearts.  By “fulness of the kingdom” we mean the day when everything Jesus accomplished on the cross reaches its final goal throughout all creation.  It’s the coming time when God’s peace and love is fully seen and experienced everywhere.  

We respond to Jesus in faith.  We express this through our baptism and our ongoing taking part in communion.  

And we honor Jesus as Lord of all, King of the cosmos, by how we live our lives.  We do his will.  By doing so, we take an active part in God’s kingdom.

The next two parables in our reading both mention hidden treasure.  In one, the kingdom is like the hidden treasure.  In the other, the kingdom is like a person who searches for the treasure.  

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.  Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.  Matthew 13:44–45 ESV  

The people hearing this probably expected the kingdom to be obvious to everyone.  Of course, it would be if it was ushered in with dominance as a forceful takeover.  So, to consider that the kingdom can be hidden would have challenged their thinking.  Not everyone sees its value.  Instead, some miss it entirely.  Others stumble upon it unexpectedly. 

Notice that both parables involve someone finding something of great value.  Each person sells all they have so they can buy these priceless items which they have found.  

These parables tell us something about Jesus, the King of God’s kingdom.  The apostle Paul quotes an early hymn, which tells us:

… Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5b–8 ESV 

The Son of God had everything that mattered.  He lived with his Father and the Spirit in great joy.  He dwelled in love and peace.  He created all things and was in all things.

But the Son of God set aside the divine privileges to join with you and me in our humanity.  And he was willing to lay it all down for every one of us.  

Jesus purchased us all by his blood on the cross.  No cost was too high for Jesus because God loves us and wants to be with us forever. 

The kingdom is a treasure given to us all.  The kingdom is like King Jesus. 

Our final parable has to do with a net cast into the sea.  

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.  ⁴⁸ When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.  ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Matthew 13:47–50 ESV  

When the net is pulled in, it contains every kind of fish.  This is another disruptive thing to hear if you believe the kingdom is only for the nation of Israel.  When the Son of God came to take on human form, He  included  everyone.  No one was left out when Jesus hung on the cross. 

And Jesus says not until the end of the age will the bad be sorted and thrown away.  This surely disappointed the crowd.  No doubt they were looking forward to their enemies being judged and punished — and soon, in this lifetime.  

Maybe we have shared these feelings.  We have probably wondered: why doesn’t God stop all evil now?  Maybe we’ve longed for our enemies to be defeated and destroyed.  Maybe we’d like to see evil overcome by force and domination.  But God overcomes evil through repentance, faith, love, and witness and tells us to love our enemies.  

And even though we do not yet see the end of all evil, God has already broken the power of sin and death.  Even now, evil will not be allowed to have eternal consequences.  Evil will be burned up — everything that is not our true, whole, healed selves will be burned away.

No evil belongs in the kingdom.  The kingdom is like King Jesus.  

And every stitch of our sin and evil thoughts and desires hung on the cross with Jesus.  And they died with Jesus.  Jesus took everything onto the cross so that he could set us all free from evil, sin, and death.  

Because of his faithful love, God’s judgment on sin, evil, and death fell on Jesus.  Our Savior willingly died our death and lay in the grave.  But he rose again.  Now our true life is hidden with Christ in God.  

To share in God’s kingdom, we must die — to sin, self, and Satan.  And, in Jesus, we have.   

Because of Jesus and the gift of the Spirit, we can taste eternal life even now — healing, transformation, and renewal — as the Spirit shows us how to live in Christ.   

And our mortal life still ends.  What we all share is this: we die; we stop breathing.  But, because of Jesus, death is no longer to be feared.  Rather, it is when our eternal life in glory begins.  

One day, Jesus will return in glory to renew all things.  In the new heaven and earth, evil and sin will have no place.  Jesus, the King, has freed us — and because of God’s faithful love for humanity, we will be free forever.  

Even now, the Spirit shares this new life with us — bringing transformation, healing, and renewal.  

God’s kingdom is at work in this world.  And we can be a part of what he is doing in the world today to bring about healing, renewal, and transformation.  We can bear witness to his love and grace in our everyday lives.  

Here’s the good news:  

• God’s kingdom is not a human kingdom.  It is not a human government or ideology.  God’s kingdom is his reign in human hearts by the Spirit.  We will experience the kingdom in fulness when Jesus returns in glory and renews all things.  
• Jesus is the King of the kingdom.  The kingdom is grounded in  his death and resurrection.  Our full participation in God’s kingdom requires  our own death and resurrection, which has already happened in Christ.  He is the center.  He is our life.  
• Jesus includes everyone in God’s kingdom.  There is no one who is left out — Jesus includes everyone.  As we trust in Christ, we experience the joy, peace, and blessing of God.  And even when we’re weak and frail and miss the mark, we experience the fire of God’s cleansing love.  Either way, God has included us in what he is doing in this world.  And he loves us.  We are called to love each person in the same way as God faithfully loves every one of us.  
• God is active in this world today by the Spirit.  We get to share in what Jesus is up to by the Spirit’s lead.  The Spirit empowers faithful obedience as a witness to God’s kingdom.  
• Jesus entered the darkness of this world and death for us so that we could have new life.  In the same way, we enter dark places and place-share with those in need who are suffering. 

So, hear this good news: The kingdom of God is already among us — not as a distant promise or a passing power, but as new life shared with us in Jesus  by the Spirit.  Even now, Christ lives in us, shaping our hearts with hope, joy, and love.  

And one day, this hidden kingdom will be revealed in full glory, when Jesus returns to renew all things.  Until then, we trust his faithful love,  live as citizens of his kingdom,  and follow where he leads — bearing witness in word and deed.   The kingdom is here.  The kingdom is coming.  And in Christ, we belong to it.  

The reality of the kingdom is being revealed … not by domination or force … but through the power of generosity, forgiveness, sacrifice, love, joy, and peace.  Because the kingdom is like King Jesus. 

Go Deeper:

Capon, Robert Farrar, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002).