Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Remember the line from the movie, Jerry McGuire?  “Show me the money!”   Some have used it in stewardship campaigns.  How about another line that can be utilized in a kingdom campaign?  “Show me the kingdom!”  In essence that is what the crowds wanted Jesus to do.  His disciples wanted that too.  And did He ever show them the kingdom!

Jesus took varied fabrics from everyday scenes and weaved them into a tapestry of what the kingdom was like.  My preaching professor in seminary taught us the importance of illustrating the sermon.  He said, “If you can’t illustrate it, don’t say it.”  Jesus illustrated “the sermon” in parables.  Today’s lection focuses on six parables in Matthew 13 that may be grouped under four headings that show the kingdom.

Show Me the Kingdom!  Consider a Mustard Seed and Yeast.  You’ll See God Is At Work in the Small and Unnoticed.

Talk about shock and awe!  The mustard seed was the tiniest known seed.  When Jesus showed the kingdom with a mustard seed, there was disbelief.  Israel had always believed the messianic kingdom that was to be established would immediately be enormous.  Even though the mustard seed was the tiniest, when it grew, it became a large bush, some eight to ten feet in height.  The kingdom was being exposed in the tiny movement Jesus had begun.  God is at work in the small.  

He is also at work in the unnoticed.  Yeast hidden in three measures of flour would produce enough bread to feed at least 100 people.  The present, not immediately obvious form of the kingdom must not deceive us concerning what its final result will be.  The Gospel is a work in the heart of an individual to change that person from the inside out.

Jesus shows the kingdom in the small and unnoticed.

Show Me the Kingdom!  Consider Hidden Treasure and a Costly Pearl.  You’ll See The Inestimable Significance of the Kingdom.

If God is at work in the small and unnoticed, it stands to reason human beings are to respond.  The treasure in the ground and the pearl of great price emphasize the human response to what God is doing. 

He showed his disciples, not the crowds this time, how valuable the kingdom was.  It was common for treasures to be hidden in fields, since there were no banks and if a raiding army was advancing.  The landowner might not survive and if so, the treasure was forgotten and thus untaken.  The land might change hands many times without a knowledge of the fortune. 

Jesus showed the kingdom by stressing the man is not searching for the treasure.  He just happens upon it and comprehends it is more value than any of his possessions or the land itself.  Like buried treasure, God’s doings are sometimes concealed and are discovered by happenstance.