Luke 13:18-21
He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
Growing up, I always thought this parable was about the hidden power of small things. You know, a tiny little seed that grows into a huge tree. A tinsy bit of yeast that permeates a large batch of flour so that it will yield a great quantity of bread.
The moral of the parable, according to this way of reading, is as simple as it is straightforward: God can use even the smallest things to have a huge impact. And that, according to Jesus, is what the kingdom is like – so don’t underestimate it!
More recently, I’ve learned that, as clear as that interpretation may seem, it’s probably not even remotely close to how Jesus’ original audience would have heard this parable. In fact, after hearing this parable, many of them would probably have wondered whether they wanted the kingdom of God to come at all.
Why? Because while mustard had modest value as a spice and a medicinal plant, it was also very hard to control and so many farmers treated it like a weed, an invasive weed that can take over not just a garden but a whole farm, soaking up the water and nutrients in the soil and making it difficult for the planted crops to thrive. Similarly, birds were not considered pets but rather pests, stealing the seed farmers had sowed. Remember the parable Jesus told way back in chapter eight about the sower who scattered all that seed, some of which was choked by weeds and some plucked up by birds? Well, that’s kind of what Jesus says the kingdom of God is like – it’s a weed that can get out of control and that will attract all kinds of unwanted ne’er-do-wells.
Yeast, similarly, was also viewed negatively. It was a contaminant, something that could quickly infect a whole batch. Almost all of the references to yeast in the Bible are negative, using it as an analogy to sin and to boasting. It was something, in other words, to avoid. And yet Jesus says that’s what the kingdom of God is like.
So what’s going on here?
Keep in mind the larger context of Jesus’ ministry. He has from the very beginning said that God is coming to change things around – to bring the low high and the high low, to feed the hungry and send those who are regularly full away empty, to make the lowly proud and the proud lowly. He has proclaimed, in other words, a revolutionary kingdom not based on power or might but instead on weakness and vulnerability.
This kingdom – where the ill are welcomed, the poor valued, and sinners forgiven – runs about as contrary to the kingdoms of the world as you can imagine. And so you can bet your bottom dollar that the rulers and beneficiaries of the current order will resist the encroachment and growth of God’s kingdom with all the power at their disposal.
Yet Jesus says that God’s unexpected, order-upsetting kingdom will nevertheless infiltrate this world, spreading like mustard seed, attracting all kinds of unsavory and unlikely people into its realm, and infecting the whole batch of our lives. And so we’d better not underestimate it!
But that changes things. Because my question isn’t so much what this parable means anymore, because I think I now. Instead, like the crowds who first listened to Jesus, my question now is whether, knowing what we do, do we still want it?
Prayer: Dear God, overcome our defenses and infect us with your Spirit that sees good where most see evil and offers grace where others would offer condemnation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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