Pilda gruntelui de mutar i

aluatului
Matthew 13:31-33
Introduction
We are three weeks into a series on Jesus' parables of the kingdom of Godwhich are found in Matthew 13,2!
" noted that the se#en parables in Matthew 13 ha#e a common theme$the m%steries of the kingdom&
'13(11a)! *hat is, the% re#eal a portion of God's kingdom that had not been re#ealed in the +ld *estament!
,efore we go on to the ne-t parables, let's briefl% re#iew some general obser#ations about this important issue!
*he +ld *estament #iew of histor% was that we li#e in what one biblical author calls $this present e#il age&an
age dominated b% rebellion and e#il! ,ut God is so#ereign o#er histor%, and one da% he would replace this
present e#il age with his own righteous and lo#ing reign! *he e#ent that separates these two periods of histor%
is the coming of God's Messiah!
Jesus affirms the +ld *estament #iewbut he adds some crucial additional information! What the +ld *estament
prophets called the coming of Messiah is actuall% his .econd /oming! 0rior to that time, Messiah would come
not as a reigning 1ing but as suffering .er#antto die for the guilt of a rebellious humanit% who God lo#es! 2is
first coming would usher in an unanticipated form of God's kingdom that is different in important ways from
the kingdom in its fullness. *his is what Jesus calls $the m%steries of the kingdom& and describes through
the se#en parables in Matthew 13!
*hrough these parables, then, we learn about how God's kingdom is at work in the world toda%, and about how
we can benefit from and cooperate with his acti#it%! *he ke% to understanding these parables is to ask( What do
the% teach about this $m%ster%& phase of God's kingdom that is different from its completed phase3 4et's look
the parables of the mustard seed and lea#ena pair of mini5parables that make the same point! 6nd while
Jesus supplied the interpretation of the first two parables, we're on our own now7
Explanation
8ead 13(31533! 8emember that parables ha#e one main point, and that man% of the details are usuall% 9ust
local color! *herefore, rather than speculating about the meaning of the birds, the nest materials, the woman,
and the si:e of the basket, we should ask( What is the main point of these two parables3
"n both, it is the contrast between how small the% start and how big and influential the% end up being! *he
mustard plant ends of being the biggest plant in the gardenbut it starts out as the smallest seed! *he woman
places a tin% pinch of %east into a big #at of doughbut e#entuall% that %east affects the whole batch! Big
outomes often ha!e small "eginnings.#
What new information does this gi#e us about the kingdom of God3 "n this case, it's all new information!
*he +ld *estament prophets taught that when God's kingdom comes, Messiah will e-ercise immediate,
worldwide dominion ';aniel <(2<= >echariah 1?(@= "saiah 11(@51A)!
*he new information is that God's kingdom will not start this wa%! 8ather, in the $m%ster%& phase of the
kingdom, it will start 'like the mustard seed and pinch of lea#en) in #er% small, #irtuall% in#isible wa%but 'like
the mustard plant and the lea#ening process) grow to e-tensi#e si:e and influence prior to its worldwide
dominion at Messiah's .econd /oming!
Bow let's consider two different wa%s we see the fulfillment of this prediction ! ! !
MACRO-FULFILLMENT: Jesus & te !orld!ide Cristian "o#e"ent
*his is certainl% an accurate description of the beginning of the /hristian mo#ement! " doubt that an% of us
would ha#e de#ised God's in#asion of human histor% the wa% he did!
Jesus was born as an apparentl% illegitimate child to an unmarried couple who were obscure members of a
small nation on the outskirts of the 8oman Cmpire! 2e li#ed in such obscurit% that apart from the Bew
*estament we know #er% little about him 'although the 8oman and Jewish historical references corroborate the
Bew *estament)! 2is brief three5%ear public ministr% ended apparentl% in complete failure( re9ected b% his
people, betra%ed b% one of his disciples, deserted b% the rest, condemned b% 8ome, and erased in the most
ignominious form of e-ecution!
C#en though his disciples claimed he was the Messiah who was raised from the dead, the% were hardl% the kind
of people %ou would e-pect to start a worldwide mo#ement! *he% were blue5collar workers who came from the
wrong part of "srael and had no formal education, militar% might, or political clout! *his mo#ement should ha#e
e#aporated like hundreds of other small religious sects!
,ut like the mustard seed and lea#en, Jesus predicts that this Dm%ster%D phase of God's kingdom will "eome
!ery large and far-reahing in its influene. 6s we saw last time, Jesus proclaimed Matthew 2?(1? and
2E(1@,2A 'read)!
Bote carefull% what Jesus is predicting as the ke% de#elopment in human histor% between his two comings! Bot
/hristian political domination or militar% conFuest or cultural imperialism, not simpl% a church building in e#er%
political nation, not the whole world /hristiani:edbut world5wide, cross5cultural e#angelism resulting in an
indigenous communit% of true belie#ers in Jesus for e#er% ethnic group!
What an ama:ing and polari:ing claim7 What kind of person insists that his followers will take the good news
about him to e#er% people5group in the world, and that this mission is the most important factor in determining
the duration of human histor%3 +nl% a deluded egomaniac or the 4ord of human histor%7
*went% centuries later, we are in a good position to e#aluate the accurac% of this prediction and the authenticit%
of the +ne who made it! 4et me summari:e for %ou some of the least publici:ed, but most important
information in the world toda% ! ! !
COMMENTAR$ ON %&RO'RE(( IN FULFILLIN' T)E 'REAT COMMI((ION*
C)ART
+
0rior to 1EAA, the gap between the number of people5groups and those $reached& was actuall% widening!
C#angelical /hristians ha#e made ama:ing progress in the last 2AA %ears! +nl% 3AA of the world's 13,AAA
people groups do not ha#e an indigenous church capable of e#angeli:ing their people group without outside
help!
*o temper this chart, reali:e that about ?AG of the world's population '2!? billion people) li#es in these
unreached people groups!
$
COMMENTAR$ ON ,'RO-T) OF E.AN'ELICAL( +/01-21+1, C)ART
3
;efine $e#angelical /hristians&decision for personal relationship with Jesus /hrist, high #iew of the ,ible, and
desire to share gospel with others!
C#angelicals are growing at o#er three times population growth rate and are the world's onl% bod% of religious
adherents growing rapidl% b% means of con#ersion!
%
*he big news is that /hristianit% is growing fastest in the
non5western worldb% 2A1A, there will se#en times more non5western /hristians than in the west!
Hrom a tin% fraction at the turn of the centur%, o#er AG of the population of 6frica has now turned to /hrist!
&

Infortunatel%, e#angelical churches ha#e had little impact on political structures and attitudes!
+#er the 2A
th
centur%, the number of e#angelicals in 4atin 6merica increased from under 2A,AAA in 1@AA to
around JA million in 2AAA!
'
C#angelicals in 6sia ha#e now become more numerous than in Borth 6merica 'though the% are still a smaller
minorit% of the total population)!
(
"n 1@AA, 1orea had no 0rotestant church, and was deemed $impossible to
penetrate& b% missions e-perts! *oda%, 3G of .! 1orea is e#angelical, with <AAA churches in .eoul alone55
including < of the 1A largest e#angelical churches in the world!
)
*he e#angelical church in .ingapore has now
become the most missions5minded church in the worldsending out 1!?? missionaries per congregation '1A
times the rate in the I.6)!
*
/hristianit% continues to e-plode in /hina and "ndonesia!
COMMENTAR$ ON ,LAN'UA'E( -IT) 4I4LE( +511-2111, C)ART
+1
E out of e#er% 1A people now ha#e access to the entire ,ible in their own language! @? out of 1AA people ha#e
access to the Bew *estament in their own language!
11
COMMENTAR$ ON ,&RE(ENT ALLOCATION OF MI((IONAR$ RE(OURCE(,
C)ART
+2
*his is the bad newsthe people groups that most need missionaries ha#e the fewest resources! 1!2 billion
"slamic people ha#e onl% @AA missionaries 'J from Kenos)!
*he good news is that there are more than sufficient resources to complete the task! While in 1AA 6; there
were 12 unreached people groups for e#er% local church, toda% there are JAA local churches for e#er%
remaining unreached people group!
13
*he resources are full% sufficient to complete the task7 6nd because
mission agencies are tuned into this problem, about @@G of the world's population li#e in a people group that
has a commitment for church planting in the near futureas soon as the resources can be mobili:ed!
1%
"f %ou understand this, then %ou understand wh% this church is deepl% committed to in world missions! "t's not
enough for us to be a local mo#ement of home groups reaching out to our neighbors= we need to intentionall%
in#est our resources to do the same with the poor in /olumbus 'Irban /oncern) and with some of the
unreached people5groups of the world!
*his is wh% we ha#e fi#e teams '2J adults) among unreached peoples in .outh 6merica, Castern Curope, 6sia
and .outheast 6sia! *his is wh% we are sending a team to another .outheast 6sian countr% '/ambodia), as well
as reinforcing some of our other teams '1? more adults total)! *his is wh% we gi#e almost L<A,AAA e#er% %ear
to support these teams! *his wh% we ha#e so man% short5term missions trips for adults and studentsso the%
can catch the #ision for what God is doing world5wide and pla% their part in it!
"f %ou understand this, it becomes an itch in %our soul that pre#ents %ou from settling down into the $6merican
;ream& of personal peace and affluence! *his is God's purpose for %our lifeto contribute to his worldwide plan
for this age! When %ou stand before Jesus at the 9udgment5seat, he's not going to ask %ou how low %ou got
%our golf score, how wisel% %ou picked %our stock portfolio! 2e's going to ask %ou, $2ow did %ou in#est the life
and resources " entrusted to %ou to m% plan to take the gospel to e#er% people group3& Gi#e up %our small
ambitions and gi#e %our life to Jesus' global cause7
"f %ou want to get more information on how %ou can be in#ol#ed in missions through Kenos, stop b% the
missions booth 'in the main lobb%) after the meeting ! ! !
MICRO-FULFILLMENT: Indi#idual li#es
*here is another wa% that we see these parables fulfilled! Bot onl% does it describe the de#elopment of God's
kingdom worldwide, as we ha#e seen! "t also describes the de#elopment of God's kingdom in indi!idual
li!es. "t onl% makes sense that God's M6/8+ mo#ement is based on millions of indi#iduals being changed for
good! 0aul speaks of both of these in /olossians 1(5J 'read)!
*here are important differences between how Jesus will affect his followers at his return and how he affects us
during this $m%ster%& phase of his kingdom!
When /hrist returns, each of his followers will see him ph%sicall% and be immediatel% and #isibl% transformed
'1 John 3(2= 0hilippians 3(2A521)!
"n this $m%ster%& phase of God's kingdom, howe#er, it doesn't work like this!
Mou don't see Jesus ph%sicall%= %ou hear a message from him 'from a friend, through a teaching like this, b%
reading the ,ible or a /hristian book) in#iting %ou to recei#e his forgi#eness and to become members of his
kingdom!
When %ou respond to this in#itation, %ou aren't changed #isibl%= %ou are in#isibl% indwelt b% his .pirit 'like the
mustard seed sown in the ground, and like the %east $hidden& in the dough)!
+thers 'and %ou %ourself) ma% notice hardl% an% change initiall%! ,ut 'like the mustard seed and lea#en) God's
.pirit begins to initiate a gradual process of spiritual transformation that radicall% changes %our thinking,
attitudes, #alues, relationships, goals and plans, etc!so much so that a few %ears down the road %ou are
ama:ed! Bothing delights Jesus more than taking people who seem least likel% to be able to represent himand
transforming them into people who are so permeated b% his influence that the% become powerful witnesses of
his transforming power!
We asked Cric .chroer to share his own e-perience of this transformation 'N";C+) ! ! !
*his is e-actl% what God can and will do in %our lifeif %ou permit him! ,ut here's where the parables break
down! *he farmer and the woman 9am the seed and the lea#en into the field and the dough without an%
permission b% them! ,ut if %ou want to e-perience Jesus' transforming presence, %ou must ask him into %our
life! "t doesn't matter how old %ou are, how much %ou'#e goofed up %our life! "f %ou are willing to gi#e %ourself
to Jesus, he will gi#e %ou a new start and a new purpose for %our life7
Footnotes
1 0atrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think 'Great ,ritain( /hristian Hocus 0ublications, 1@@E),
p! 1A!
$ D.tatus of 6 /hurch for C#er% 0eople and the Gospel for C#er% 0ersonD 5 www.ad$+++.org,status.htm, as
of O1<OA1!
3 0atrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think, p! 11A!
% 0atrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think, p! 112!
& 0atrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think, p! 11?! 8alph Winter, Mission Frontiers, Bo#ember5
;ecember 1@@J, Nolume 1E, Bumber 11512, pp! 1E,1@!
' 0atrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think, p! 11?!
( 0atrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think, p! 11!
) 8alph Winter, Mission Frontiers, Bo#ember5;ecember 1@@J, Nolume 1E, Bumber 11512, pp! 1E,1@!
* 0atrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think, p! 1E1!
1+ 0atrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think, p! 231!
11 D.tatus of 6 /hurch for C#er% 0eople and the Gospel for C#er% 0ersonD 5 www.ad$+++.org,status.htm,
as of O1<OA1!
1$ 0atrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think, p! 231!
13 8alph Winter, Mission Frontiers, Bo#ember5;ecember 1@@J, Nolume 1E, Bumber 11512, pp! 1E,1@!
1% D.tatus of 6 /hurch for C#er% 0eople and the Gospel for C#er% 0ersonD 5 www.ad$+++.org,status.htm,
as of O1<OA1!