The kingdom of heaven is like…

One of the central themes of the Old and New Testaments is the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. Now the kingdom of heaven in this sense is not simply the visible or invisible church, but it is closely related to it. Consider a thought from theologian, Louis Berkhof:

‘Christ’s Church is the only divinely instituted organisation of the kingdom. It is the sole God-given means for the expansion of the kingdom of God on earth.’

For this reason, when considering ‘what the kingdom of heaven is like’ from the parables of Jesus, the kingdom of heaven can be understood as ‘the church’, a concept carrying consequential meaning for both the church and individuals within it.

If we look to the Parable of the mustard Seed and The Parable of the Yeast or Leaven (Matthew 13), it’s amazing what Jesus teaches in these tiny illustrations.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed:

³¹ He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; ³² it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

The Parable of the Yeast:

³³ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast are both sandwich parables. That is, they are sandwiched between other parables from which they are given context. To gain insight from these two parables, they are best interpreted by considering the other parables also in the sandwich, and especially the explanations given by Jesus himself.  

In Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Sower which precedes the Mustard Seed, (Matthew 13:18-23), he explains that the seed is the Word of God and that the seed falling on the path is eaten by the birds which represent the evil one, Satan, who snatches away the Word sown in people’s hearts.

¹⁸ ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 

The birds in the Parable of the Mustard Seed need to be understood in this context. It suggests that while the kingdom of heaven began with humble beginnings, as small and seemingly insignificant as a mustard seed, it grows into an organism large enough to support birds in its branches, birds that come to take away the good seed.

The other parable we find preceding the Mustard Seed is The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat (Matthew 13:24-30):

²⁴ He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷ And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” ²⁸ He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” ²⁹ But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’

In his explanation of this parable, Jesus gives us even more context to work with. Verses 37-40 read:

³⁷ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸ the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.      

Both the Parable of the Mustard Seed and of the Yeast need to be read in context of their surrounding parables and with consideration as to how the scriptures have more widely used these symbols.

Yeast or leaven for example, is used as a symbol for evil. This is why it had to be removed from Jewish homes during Passover (see Exodus 12:15-19; 13:7) and why it was excluded from sacrifices (Exodus 34:35). Here we find context to why the woman hid the yeast in the dough.

Jesus uses yeast to represent hypocrisy in Luke 12:1, false teaching in Matthew 16:6-12, and worldly compromise in Matthew 22:16-21.

We find further supportive evidence from the Apostle Paul who often correlates yeast with evil connotations. Regarding false teaching within the church, Paul warns in Galatians 5:7-10:

⁷ You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? ⁸ Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹ A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. ¹⁰ I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty.

Sin, like yeast, quietly grows. It corrupts and it puffs up.

In thinking about the birds Jesus mentions in the parable, and the context in which they’re placed, the cuckoo bird, also known as the ‘avian mafia’, comes to mind.

The cuckoo bird is an opportunistic creature that cunningly removes one egg from the nest of a bird of another species, replacing the egg with one of her own. The ignorant, unsuspecting nest owner then nurtures the foreign egg and when it hatches, she rears the cuckoo chick alongside her own, all at the expense of her own lost chick.

But it gets worse.

Zoologists have discovered that the cuckoo mother comes back to check her egg is still in the nest at a later date and if the cuckoo egg has been removed from the nest, the cuckoo turns into a vindictive bully, initiating a seek and destroy mission on the other bird’s nest, smashing and eliminating the eggs, enforcing compliance through intimidation.

With the cuckoo in mind, consider the birds we find lodged in the branches of today’s church and the yeast that stealthfully infiltrates the truth of God’s Word.

Jesus gives us these parables cleverly sandwiched together in Matthew, to open our eyes and ears to what has been going on in the church since the very beginning. Is there any doubt that it’s continuing to happen right now?

Those who would seek the true kingdom of heaven surely need to stand opposed to the sowing of counterfeit Christianity, to counterfeit church growth, to counterfeit doctrine. Even when it’s happening within our own denominations, within our own schools, or even within our own church families.   

It’s no secret. The rebellion against God is not hidden. It’s front and centre. It’s loud, and it’s forceful.

We live in a “love is love” culture, a culture that calls us to tolerate all things, to respect whatever truth is proclaimed by anyone as if all truths are legitimate in and of themselves. We live in a culture that has fallen in love with prosperity and the relentless pursuit of happiness as defined by the world.

This is a real problem for any church who seeks to please both God and the world. It’s a problem that not only invites the birds into its branches, but it nurtures them to full maturity.

The bible is crystal clear when it comes to serving two masters. Matthew 6:24 warns, ‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other.’

Whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes themselves an enemy of God. The bible pulls no punches here.

Yes, as Christians we are called to love, it’s true. But that love must be pointed in the right direction, a love that glorifies God. He has called us out of the world in order to have love that is aimed in the right direction; his direction.

So, when the church affirms people’s desire to express love that is blatantly forbidden in scripture, it is to encourage love that arises from the world, not from God. It is to encourage a worship of creation over the Creator. It is to ignore verses like 1 John 2:15 which says, ‘Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world.’

The church today must resist the lie that claims there is no love that is out of bounds. This is the yeast that ultimately serves to undermine the truth of God. As God’s kingdom continues to expand, beware of the birds. Watch out for the yeast that spreads from within the church. God’s kingdom on earth is not yet as it is in heaven, and so we keep praying just as Jesus taught us: Your kingdom come, your will be done.