The kingdom of heaven is growing exponentially...

This week we have been looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the Bible, called the gospel of Matthew. We looked on as Matthew gave us a front row seat to this event from history where Jesus presented another parable to the large crowds that were following Him about the kingdom of heaven. In this parable, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

Jesus picked the mustard seed because it was a very small seed that the crowds listening to Him would be very familiar with. Jesus picked the mustard seed because it was an exceptionally small seed that had a small and inauspicious beginning. No one expected much from a mustard seed. However, Jesus explained that the mustard seed that He was talking about was no normal mustard seed. Jesus explained that this mustard seed was different because, while this particular mustard seed had a seemingly small and insignificant beginning, when it became full grown, it became larger than the garden plants and became a tree so large that the birds of the air would come and nest in its branches.

Jesus painted this word picture for the crowds to reveal the reality that while the kingdom of heaven would have a small and seemingly inauspicious beginning, at the end of the day the kingdom of heaven would become so large in size and scope that a multitude of nations, cultures, and ethnicities  would be represented as participating in the kingdom. And as Matthew continued to give us a front row seat to this event from history, we see Jesus tell another parable to reinforce His point. A parable that Matthew records for us in Matthew 13:33:

He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened."

Jesus continued by explaining to the large crowds that were following Him that the kingdom of Heaven can be compared to leaven. Now for those of us who are not cooks, leaven is another word that we use for yeast. And when you go to Wal-Mart or Smiths, you usually find yeast sold in small packets or containers that look like this.

But in this parable, Jesus is not referring to a package or a container of yeast; Jesus here is referring to a single seed of yeast. Jesus is talking about just one, single seed of yeast. Jesus then continued His parable by explaining that a woman took this single small, seemingly insignificant seed of yeast and placed it in three pecks of flour. To fully understand the significance of Jesus statement here, we first need to understand a few things.

The first thing that we need to understand is how much flour is contained in three pecks. In the Jewish culture of Jesus day, three pecks of flour is the equivalent of roughly 25-40 liters of flour. However, since we usually do not buy flour by volume, but by weight, three pecks of flour would translate to roughly 55-60 pounds of flour.

Now that leads us to the next thing that we need to understand, which is what Jesus said the woman did with the yeast and the flour. You see, in the language that this was originally written in, Jesus explained that the woman hid the yeast in the flour. She did not purposely mix it in the flour. She hid it in the flour. Now the reason why this is so important to understand is because of the point that Jesus is making here in this parable.

You see, a single, small seemingly insignificant seed of yeast would be impossible to find if it was hidden in the midst of 55-60 pounds of flour. Yet Jesus explained that this single, small, seemingly insignificant grain of yeast ended up raising 60 pounds of flour. Now 60 pounds of flour, when fully leaven and baked would produce enough bread to feed over 100 people. One single, small, seemingly insignificant grain of yeast would be powerful enough to impact the lives of over 100 people.

Jesus point was that while the kingdom of heaven may seem to be hidden from sight and seemingly small and insignificant at its outset, and the end of the day the kingdom of heaven would have the power to influence and expand beyond any and all expectations. And it is in these two parables that we see Jesus reveal a timeless truth about the kingdom of heaven. And that timeless truth is this; the kingdom of heaven is growing exponentially.

The timeless reality is that the kingdom of Heaven, while having a seemingly small and insignificant start, has grown, and is growing exponentially. Jesus, as the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah who would usher in the kingdom of Heaven, seemed to usher in a kingdom that was small and insignificant.

After all, upon Jesus death and the hands of the ruling Roman Empire, Jesus had less than 120 committed followers at His death, most of who bailed on Him when He needed them the most. There was no palace to mark His kingdom; there was no White House or capital building to mark His rule; there were no borders to protect or land to conquer.

Yet, some 2,000 years later, how many millions of lives have been influenced and impacted by the kingdom of heaven? How many nations, cultures, and ethnicities are now represented in the kingdom of heaven? And the timeless reality is that we have seen firsthand the reality that the kingdom of heaven is growing exponentially.

The reality that the kingdom of heaven is growing exponentially is seen in the stories of those who are baptized. The reality that the kingdom of heaven is growing exponentially is seen through the worship that has occurred, and continues to occur, throughout the world. And the kingdom of heaven will continue to grow exponentially until Jesus returns to this earth to usher in the kingdom of heaven in its fullest sense.

So, here is a question to consider: Are you a member of the kingdom of heaven? Have you come to the place in your life where you have received the forgiveness of your sins and have entered into the relationship with God that you were created for by believing, trusting, and following Jesus Christ as Lord and Leader?

And, if you are a member of the kingdom of heaven, how are you living in the kingdom of heaven? Are you embracing the kingdom mission that you have been given to be the vehicle that God uses to reveal His Son Jesus to a lost and hurting world around us? Because even though God does not need us to advance His kingdom exponentially, God invites us to play a small role by investing our time, talent, and treasure, in that kingdom mission.

And the kingdom of heaven is growing exponentially…