Parables of Jesus: How the Kingdom (Ordinarily) Advances

Parables of Jesus | Week 9 | Darrell unpacks two complimentary parables in the gospel of Luke through which Jesus shares His mission in the world. The kingdom of God is first likened to “a mustard seed which a man took and planted” and also “leaven, which a woman took and mixed”. The context of these parables is Jesus announcing the in-breaking of heaven as he begins healing people and freeing them from the demonic. However, Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God does not come in the way other kingdoms come. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, apparently insignificant alongside all other seeds, yet it grows to a plant larger than any other in the garden. And it is like leaven, which though hidden in the bread mixture, yet causes the mixture to expand and rise. The kingdom of God ordinarily comes in little, hidden ways. Often unseen, yet its effects are visible everywhere. The mystery of the kingdom is that the little is powerful, and the hidden is transformative. The gospel does not need the headlines to have its way in the world.

First Baptist Church, Vancouver, BC, 2014 | Luke 13:18-21

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