The Surprising Spread of the Kingdom (Mt. 13:31-33)

Here’s Sunday’s message in our ongoing Matthew series. You can listen to the audio of the message here.

Now imagine this. It’s the 1950s in China. Missionaries have just been run out of the country. Followers of Jesus there have had to go underground. And you’re on a trip over there. You connect with some Christians. They invite you to a gathering. And you find yourself huddled and cramped with 40 or so others in the dark, quietly singing songs, hearing God’s word read and explained in whispers, and by candlelight.

Now you might have been encouraged by their commitment. But you also likely would have thought, “This isn’t good at all. Satan is clearly winning. The light of Christ’s church is slowly getting put out.” But you’d have been wrong. Actually, the Lord was just getting started. Beginning in small, humble ways, the Lord subtly, secretly brought about a revival. A work of God that has left China with over 100 million followers of Christ. Now one of the largest Christian countries in the world.

In 2018, China came at the church there, attempting to pull believers back into conformity with communist beliefs. Stealing Bibles, closing and dividing churches, tearing down and even burning crosses - those have all been tactics to slow down the growth of the church. And some polls have seemed to show that it’s worked. But it’s doubtful that’s truly the case.

People on the ground say most believers don’t self-report to the state or admit their faith to a pollster. So the statistics showing decline are likely very skewed. Maybe this is a setback - with a comeback just around the corner. Or, more likely, God in small ways, in subtle ways, is still expanding His church and transforming that land - even amidst persecution.

As Rebecca McLaughlin states, in her book Confronting Christianity, “China could be a majority-Christian country by 2050.’” Karis, God’s ways are not our ways. And things are not always as they seem.

We’ve been walking through Matthew here in Karis, and we find ourselves now  in chapter 13, this long block of parables. What are parables? They are stories or word pictures that point to a truth. As Snodgrass puts it, a parable is an “expanded analogy used to convince and persuade.” Parables make a comparison. Something known, something relatable, is or is like something else. And most of the time, as we see here in this is passage, what is being explained is the kingdom. By these common, everyday things. And here, today, we see the kingdom is like, first, a “mustard seed,” and, second, “leaven.” And both of those statements would have been shocking and surprising to those original hearers.

Christ’s Kingdom - and Their Expectations

Why’s that? Well, we have to think about their expectations. The disciples, the crowds, and the Pharisees - the three main audiences we see here in Matthew - all would have been caught off guard by those images. Because how they thought the kingdom would come just didn’t fit with that at all.

I’ve always loved Graeme Goldsworthy’s definition of the kingdom. It’s God’s people, in God’s place under God’s rule. But recently I’ve been reading this book by a friend named Ryan Lister. And He says we need to add something else to that definition. God’s presence.

The kingdom of God is God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule for God’s presence. Now Christ’s hearers way back then - they waited for a kingdom. They saw themselves as God’s people. They thought they were in God’s place. They wanted to be ruled by Him again, to be in His presence again - or so, they thought. They longed for the kingdom again. But one that would come into the world with shock and awe - visibly, immediately.

Jesus comes onto the scene. He is Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” He makes it pretty clear that He is the King. That all should submit their lives to Him. Christ comes, proclaiming the Kingdom of heaven has come. He walks this earth, gathering a people to Himself, preparing a place for them to dwell. But this just didn’t fit with people’s expectations.

The Roman Emperor would be knocked off His throne. The Messiah would ascend to His rightful seat. And Israel would reign forever and ever. That’s how they thought it would go. But Jesus is there, doing all these miracles. He seems like the guy, for sure. But then He starts talking in all of these crazy ways. “Mustard seed?” “Leaven?” It’s no wonder many began to slowly walk away, while others began to plot His demise.

Now make no mistake. They largely knew what would happen. It was the how they were clueless about. And that’s what Jesus is teaching through these parables. Some had ears to hear and rejoiced. Others wouldn’t listen to it. They hated Him even more. Remember? Those are the two responses parables produced. What about us? Let’s dig into them now.

Like a Mustard Seed

Today’s first parable we see in verses 31 and 32, that of the “mustard seed.” Since these are so brief, let’s read it again:

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.”

Jesus compares His kingdom to this tiny seed. Now some skeptics will look at this and say, “Come on. How can you trust that Bible? Everybody knows there are smaller seeds.”

But if I’m joking about my wife and I say, “A bear walks in here and tries to eat her kids, she’ll be ready to throw down, but place before her a wee, little mouse, the tiniest of animals, and she’ll be up on a chair fast, crying like a baby.” Now nobody’s gonna question what I’m saying, or begin to call me a liar. “There are smaller things that that!” And Jesus isn’t saying anything untruthful. He’s making a point. A comparison. And the Kingdom of heaven kicks off small.

But it ends up big, doesn’t it? Isn’t that what Jesus is telling us here? This tiny little speck of a seed would grow to become a tree, and one that could reach as high as 10 or 12 feet. Big enough, certainly, for even birds to come and make their home. That would be the result.

Now many have pointed out that Jesus points to the Old Testament here, and maybe even two different passages. Maybe Ezekiel 17, where the Lord says this:

Ezekiel 17:22 Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.

24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

The Lord is going to raise up this massive tree - here a cedar. A nation. A kingdom. And all these different kinds of birds, would come and make their roost in it. Now most think they represent the Gentiles, non-Jews, all the nations of the earth, flocking into the kingdom of God. This is a picture of what God would do.

The passage could also allude to Daniel chapter 4. Nebuchadnezzar is the King of Babylon. And he’s strutting around his kingdom, proud of all his hands had made. And he has this dream. And only Daniel, through God’s help, can show Him what it means. The king dreams of this big tree, one “whose leaves are beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of heaven lived.” And someone in the dream says to chop it down. Daniel says to that King, “That tree is you and your kingdom, and, yeah, it’s all going to fall.”

Now think about again, where things are at in Christ’s day. Babylon is long gone. Their exile is over. But another power rules - and over their land. It’s Rome. And Jesus may be saying, “My kingdom is gonna take over. And it’s going to be massive. More like a Cedar tree, even. All competing kingdoms will topple. So just trust. But it’ll start out like this little speck of a seed.”

What’s the Lord saying from this parable? I think it’s this. The kingdom begins small, but expands. It may seem insignificant. The beginnings may be humble. But Jesus says, “Don’t miss - don’t dismiss - the little things. That’s how my kingdom works.” The people listening to the Lord here don’t want to hear that stuff at all. They wanted something big. They wanted to see power. And they wanted to see it right there and then.

Doesn’t that sound quite a bit like us? Aren’t we obsessed with size today? With lights and sound and special effects? But we shouldn’t be fooled by appearances.

As many of you know, my wife and I like police shows, crime shows. And it’s not uncommon that you see someone go undercover. Now the whole idea seems incredibly dangerous to me. But sometimes it seems quite unbelievable, as well. My wife is like, “That guy is the police commissioner’s son. Seriously? You can’t tell me they’re not gonna figure out who he is.” Christ here comes talking about this undercover kingdom. And the Pharisees are thinking, “The God of the universe. He’ll come working like that? You’ve got to be kidding me.” But that’s clearly what Jesus comes to say.

Like Leaven

We see that even more in the second parable Jesus tells, that of the “leaven.” Hear it again with me, in verse 33: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” So I have to ask, did any of you try making sourdough over the past several years?

It seems like a lot of people did - especially during COVID. It’s probably one of the reasons we’re working off extra weight. You know how you set aside some starter each time? That’s what we’re talking about here. Not yeast. But leavened dough, that you keep and work into a next batch. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like that.

Now this is talking about a whole lot of dough. “Three measures,” as it says, would have weighed over 50 pounds! Now that’s a lot of flour! It would have fed as many as 150 people. So this kingdom again, wouldn’t be insignificant. It would impact many - even the entire world. But, as many have asked, what kind of impact are we even talking about? What’s the nature of this “leaven”?

Now this passage has confused many, because so often in the Bible, “leaven” refers to evil. It has a negative connotation. Even a few pages over, in chapter 16, Jesus says, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” “Keep away from them,” Jesus says. They’ll get worked into you, and those around you, and it won’t be good.” But we learn the meaning of words, and a metaphor like this, from the immediate context. And here Christ sees this leaven as a positive thing.

Yes, it says the woman “hid” the “leaven,” but no deception is going on. It just gets worked into the dough. Just a small bit. And it gets concealed in all the flour. But it pervades every bit of it. And brings about great change. And that I think is the point of this parable. The kingdom works subtly, but transforms. Things may not be visibly evident. But that doesn’t mean nothing’s happening. Again, this would have been so hard for those hearers to understand.

Today, we get caught up in conspiracies. Right? We’re obsessed by them. What’s really going on? Something nefarious, for sure. That’s what we usually think. But maybe it’s actually something beautiful. Maybe a divine conspiracy is going on - God bringing deep, lasting change. We shouldn’t discount what’s under the surface.

Maybe there is a kingdom that’s at work undercover. But it’s not there to bust you. To tear off the disguise, flash your badge, and say you’re under arrest. Maybe it’s there to bless you - along with the whole world. Jesus says the kingdom begins small, but expands. And the kingdom works subtly, but transforms. He wants us to maintain perspective. He wants us to exercise patience.

Hear what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4, verse 20. “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.” Power. Christ’s reign does big things. It’ll change our lives. It’ll change our world. But not in the way the Pharisees and their disciples thought. No. The kingdom of heaven seems upside down. It’s subversive. Shocking. Surprising. It looks like little, humble things, but it ends up anything but.

It may not be in the foreground of the play, but it ends up changing the whole story. It may not utilize the characters you’d expect. But they end up being the heroes. That’s this kingdom Jesus came to bring. One of great power. And it’s far more powerful than the Pharisees really even wanted. They just wanted the plot to get easier. Really they just wanted to be the stars of the show.

This Surprising Kingdom and Our Culture

I want to spend some time thinking more about how this applies. What it says to our culture. And how it speaks into our lives. First, our culture.

Jesus teaches that the kingdom begins small, but expands. But we tend to assume that bigger is better. We gravitate toward those in power. To the big personalities. We want instant gratification, do we not?

The parable of the mustard seed has to confront these tendencies. The Lord likes to work through weakness. He wants to show His glory, and not ours. We gravitate toward what’s big. He wants us to see the power of God. He can do anything. He likes to use what’s small in the eyes of the world.

Jesus teaches that the kingdom works subtly, but transforms. We tend to focus on appearances. We demand measurable results. We give our attention to the loudest, the flashiest people and things. We want wins, or we move on.

But the parable of the leaven hits those desires head-on. We run toward what’s bold. But the Lord works in quiet ways, in hidden ways. He does things we can’t manufacture or reproduce. He works by His Spirit, according to His wise plans. He wants us to understand the providence of God. He’s working out His will, and it’s so often unseen as we walk in this world.

We’ve taken our cues too much from the world of business instead of asking for, and relying upon, a work of the Spirit. We could learn a lot if we planted more trees and baked more bread. Our yards would be shadier. Our tummies would be happier. But we’d also remember more how God works.

This Surprising Kingdom and Our Lives

Let’s think together how these words speak into our lives. First, our hearts. Yeah, you committed that sin again. You feel like an idiot, as I do, every day. But it could be that good things are bubbling under the surface. Things you can’t see. Your faith may seem small. But He’s making you into something beautiful. So practice patience. Maintain perspective. Don’t give up.

Second, the church. Big doesn’t always mean better. Growth doesn’t always correspond to health. Activity doesn’t always point to vitality. Don’t mishear me. Small churches can be unhealthy, too. Maybe that’s why they’re small. But sometimes they’re just faithful. And God’s about to take care of the fruitful part. He likes to use small things. He seems to work in ways that are secret. Maybe we should rethink our goals. And our metrics.

But the church is a people more than some machine. Think about the ragtag bunch Jesus hung out with. No doubt the Jewish leaders were thinking, “He’s gonna do what with them?” Hear these words from Michael Green. He suggests “leaven” might be used ironically here.

“Leaven had bad press in Judaism. All leaven had to be scrupulously removed from the house before Passover. So the hearers would be surprised to find Jesus using leaven as an image of the kingdom. Yet, on second thought, that is just what his followers must have seemed to respectable Jews. Common, uneducated fishermen and farmers, carpenters and women, tax collectors and disreputable characters—it would all seem rather distasteful. But God is like that. He takes distasteful characters and transforms them, and then transforms society through them.” (Michael Green)

Third, the family. So many of us are trying to finish the year married and keep our kids from getting run over by cars. And we often rest our heads on our pillows feeling like failures and jokes. But maybe we’re doing exactly what we’re supposed to do - and the Lord is truly at work.

Perhaps it’s the little things we do. The distracted prayers we pray, as we lay our kids down to sleep. Or those times we know we screwed up, and we ask their little hearts for forgiveness. Maybe God’s at work inside of them. And He’s actually using us. And we just need to act and trust. I love these words from Ralph Davis that I encountered this week:

“We only see grocery lines and diaper changes and school assignments; but through and over and behind it all Yahweh rules. His sovereignty is hidden behind the conversations and decisions and activities and crises of our lives… He is not absent, but neither is He obvious.” (Ralph Davis)

The Lord is at work. Even in our mess. In our homes.

Fourth, our work. Do you come home exhausted, feeling like you’ve accomplished nothing at all? Does your place of work, or maybe your school, feel more dark, and even more evil, by the day, even while you’re there?

We want to see results. And we want to see them now. But it could be God is using those little conversations. Maybe your influence is doing more than you think.

I’ve enjoyed watching the TV series The Bear. It’s this story about this guy named Carmen who leaves this high-end restaurant in New York to take over his family’s joint back in Chicago. He soon ropes in his sister Natalie to handle the business operations of the place. Her nickname throughout is Sugar. And in one of the most famous and traumatic episodes, we find out why. It turns out as a kid, she added a cup of sugar - not salt - into the gravy. And, in that family that revolved around food, she came to be known by that mistake. But what’s interesting is that around that restaurant, it’s her kindness, her love, that’s holding the place together. Like sugar, she’s bringing a sweetness to her work.

And that’s something God can use us to do, too. To bring the “aroma of Christ.” To be the “salt of the earth.”  Into our offices. Inside our classrooms. He’ll mix us in. Have us sweeten, season the sauce. Keep trying to do excellent work. Keep sowing gospel seeds. Don’t give up. Keep trusting Him.

Fifth, our city. Yeah, we’ll soon do For Columbia. And those big, “blast” type of events can definitely be good. But maybe it’s more about the little things we do. Those brief, encouraging conversations. Those seemingly small acts of kindness. And maybe it’s as we’re spread out, into the various sectors of our city, like leaven worked into dough, that Christ’s kingdom comes, His will is done, in Mid-Missouri as it is in heaven. With Anna at University Hospital. With Dena at Smithton Middle School. With Daniel in the state health department.

With Tom in the newsroom at KMIZ. With Beckie and Carly and Bobby and Ben and Liz and Jeremy and the other Karis people at VU. Getting worked into all of that dough. I bet God is baking up something good.

Sixth, our mission. As we go make disciples, we shouldn’t feel pressure to close the sale. To force people to pray some prayer. But rather, to plant seeds. And ask God to change hearts. Practicing patience. Keeping perspective.

Seventh, the world. There’s also no doubt that the pandemic served to purify the church. The church has gotten smaller. And we can feel outnumbered. Maybe God’s people, living as a prophetic minority, is actually a better thing. Perhaps it provides a stage where the Lord will do something really big.

It’s easy to look at what’s going on around us and only see what’s wrong. But maybe something awesome’s bubbling under the surface. And it’s about ready to burst and explode. Maybe we should look with hope at what Christ will do. And not run to false sources of power. To other kingdoms and kings. Maybe we should learn to pray. And again practice patience. And maintain perspective.

Christ’s Kingdom - and Our Expectations

I want to touch on something I said at the beginning - the expectations of Christ’s audience. Were theirs that much different from ours? Yes, we know the end of the story. Like them, we know what is going to happen. In addition, we more fully grasp the when. They thought Jesus would set up His kingdom right then. They had no idea He’d set it up in part. And then come back to finish it all off.

Regardless, we still struggle with the how. We want Jesus to do something big, something bold. We get impatient if things don’t seem to be happening. We want Him to work now. To relieve our suffering. To take out our enemies. To lift us up. We need to hear Christ’s message just as much. Though in small, subtle ways, Christ’s kingdom is expanding and transforming. Jesus will reign fully as King. Let’s trust Him and not fear. This morning, we’ve looked at how His kingdom grows. Next week, we’ll talk about just how much it’s worth.

The Lord took that rough group of disciples and used them - through the preaching and practicing of the gospel - to overtake and transform the Roman Empire - in just 300 years. That happened because they believed it was true. And that it was worth their lives. That undercover kingdom expanded and transformed the world.

Seeds, Leaven from Here to the World

Think about our church and our humble beginnings. Awkward me - in a coffee shop back in 2005 - trying to invite people to an idea, struggling to call people to a vision. Coming together in my family’s home - 5 or 6 people around a table. Beginning to gather in the Tiger Hotel with just 17 people. Still today, we’re not a big church. We don’t have a large budget. We’re not really impressive. But a family God has used us to plant churches and impact the world.

We’ve trained up and sent out men and women who are now spreading the gospel, doing ministry, here in America, along with on four other continents.

We’ve also discipled and released believers all over our city - and across our nation - who serve Christ - and carry His name - into their vocations. From small beginnings, God has expanded our influence across the globe. In subtle ways, the Lord has been at work, multiplying believers and churches for Him.

In surprising, even shocking ways, God has used a family of Christians here in Columbia, Missouri to do some significant gospel work. We’ve seen glimpses of heaven on earth. We’ve seen His kingdom start to come. It sounds a lot like what we’ve seen here. A “mustard tree” that grows, and becomes a home for the nations. Some “leaven” that permeates the world and brings about real, and lasting change.

As Craig Blomberg puts it, “What may not look like much to the world will in fact fulfill all God’s promises.” Karis, whatever the world may look like, whatever struggles we may go through, let’s keep trusting our King. Let’s fight against doubt - together - when evidence seems to be lacking, when it points to the contrary. He may start with the small. He may operate in secret. But His is a  kingdom of power. And it won’t stop until it changes everything in its path. Let’s pray.