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2:04Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word and the prophets of old who assure us that there is a day coming that you will return to establish your throne on the earth and rule upon the earth and that you will defeat the enemies of your kingdom and that you will rule with a rod of iron and establish peace and justice and righteousness. Lord, we look forward to that day as the prophets of old did. And Lord, as we live during this time, I pray that as your kingdom is, as you reign through us, your kingdom on the earth, you reign in our hearts, you reign through your church. We look forward to that day when you will be fully glorified by all of your creation. But Lord, until then, we pray that as we gather here today, that you would strengthen us and you would grow us. To be more like you. And Lord, the kingdom that lives within us would grow in power and influence upon the earth, Lord, as you have planned. Lord, we thank you for our time here this morning. We pray for our pastor who is traveling this weekend and pray that you would bring him home safely. Lord, we thank you for the saints who are assembled here and all those who desire to worship you and fellowship with you as we fellowship with one another. Pray that you'd bless our assembly here today. And Lord, that the word implanted in our hearts would transform us by the power of your spirit more into your likeness so that we might influence the world around us for your kingdom. It's in your name and for your glory that we pray. Amen.

3:51Well, good morning. This is another Pastor Appreciation Sunday, especially for me as I prepared for this sermon. I appreciate the fact that we have a pastor who does this faithfully every week, and I'm always impressed at how difficult a job it is. It will be Pastor Appreciation Sunday for you too by the time I'm finished with this sermon. I've been working through the parables of the kingdom in Matthew chapter 13, and I have taught from the parable of the four soils. And in May, I taught from. The parable of the wheat and the tares. And this time we come to the next two. These two parables are each one verse. Jesus was so good at this, he could teach a lesson in one verse. I'm going to be up here for about 45 or 50 minutes. I'm nowhere near as good as our Lord, obviously. But you can open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13.

4:54And we'll read our text in a minute. We'll start at verse 31. But just by way of introduction, if you went to school, you probably learned that in November of 1620, put yourself back in that time frame, 101 men, women, and children huddled aboard a cold, small ship in the frigid, windswept expanse of Massachusetts Bay. Half of them were separatists from the Church of England. They were derisively called pilgrims. They were looking for a fresh spark, a fresh start in the new world where they could raise their families and worship God in accordance with their biblical worldview. The other half were men of adventures, men of adventure, soldiers of fortune who had joined the company and who were also looking for a new start in this vast, unsettled land. But before they could disembark from the Mayflower and potentially Go their separate ways, they would agree to covenant and combine themselves into a civil body politic for our better ordering and preservation. This Mayflower Compact that they signed was written on one page, and it also stated the purpose of their endeavor: that for the glory of God, they were going to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia.

6:29Well, these settlers had come to plant the seeds that would eventually grow into the Plymouth colony, but during that first terrible winter, half of them would perish. The following year, with remarkable hopefulness for the survival of the colony and with confidence in the providence of God, Governor William Bradford wrote these words: Just as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many. The survivors of that first winter would eventually be joined by others and become the nucleus for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and eventually 13 colonies would grow after many trials and tribulation into our nation, the United States of America.

7:19From very small beginnings indeed, our nation has grown, and just from a few intrepid and faithful people into a nation that most recognize as a stabilizing Force in the world for good and peace and right. Historians refer to the past several decades as the Pax Romana, not the Pax Romana, that was the peace of Rome. The Pax Americana, the American peace. Well, in our text today in Matthew 13, these parables tell us of something else that started small and grew large and has become a blessing to the world. Let's start reading in verse 31.

8:01Another parable he put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in all three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.

8:34All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world. Well, in these two parables, Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven will start small and it will grow. Grow in power and influence and be a blessing to those who encounter it. That's really my outline. It doesn't get more complicated than that. It starts small and it grows and becomes a blessing. Parables are simple stories with deep truths, and Jesus demonstrated important principles of the kingdom by using simple, easy-to-understand illustrations. Things like planting seeds in a field or baking bread, finding treasure, or dragging a net. These illustrations are timeless. They're not really subject to have their meaning changed as technology advances. Jesus' parables reveal truths about the kingdom that were hidden. They were not revealed in the Old Testament. Now, these two parables are the third and fourth in a series of parables in Matthew 13, which Jesus begins to teach immediately after he is rejected by the leaders of Israel and most of the people. They would reject him as their promised king. The people were expecting the king that we read about earlier from Zechariah chapter 14, one who would come in might and glory, and when his feet touched the Mount of Olives, it would split apart and he would vanquish his enemies and rule for a thousand years. That's the king they were expecting.

10:22There are so many prophecies in the Old Testament that tell about this coming king who would sit on the throne of David and restore. Israel to glory among the nations, and there would be peace upon the earth. And so, after returning from exile and rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Israel was looking expectantly for this king who would bring such peace. The Old Testament ends with this expectation in Malachi chapter 3: I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty. So this is a prophecy that a messenger would come who would prepare the way for Israel's king and Messiah. And they were looking for him.

11:11When the messenger came, that would signal the arrival of the king, and the day of the Lord would follow that. And when that was complete, the beginning of this long-expected kingdom where the king would reign on the throne of David. So such was the kingdom they were expecting in Matthew chapter 3. When John the Baptist declared, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They rightly believed that the kingdom was near. They were expecting this kingdom to arrive, and here's the messenger. But the people were not ready for this kingdom. They believed they were already entitled entry into the kingdom because they were descended from Abraham and because of their external obedience in kingdom. Keeping the law. They were self-righteous, and they needed to repent of this. These external qualities were not what God required. God required a change of heart.

12:15And so, this king who arrived, Jesus, taught this change of heart in the Sermon on the Mount. For example, in Matthew chapter 5, verse 21, we read this. You've heard it was said to the people long ago, thou shalt not murder. And anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. And skipping down to verse 27, you've heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So God's kingdom would be for those who possessed a true internal righteousness, not external law keeping. It wasn't a king they needed, it was a Savior. But they did not realize that. And while there were a few who did repent and follow Christ when he came, recognizing him as their king and Lord, the leaders and the nation of Israel as a whole did not. They rejected him. And this rejection culminates in Matthew chapter 12, right after the healing of a man who. Was blind and mute. And in Matthew 12, verse 23, we read that all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the Son of David? Could this be the king that we're waiting on?

13:43Verse 24. Now, when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. So here they are, the leaders of Israel, face to face with their Son of God. And their hearts were so hardened, their eyes so blind that they could not see that God Himself had been walking among them. After all these healings and miracles and teachings, instead of recognizing that God had come as their promised king, their conclusion was that this man was an agent of Satan.

14:20Israel's rejection of their king meant the rejection of their promised kingdom. But God would not abandon Israel in spite of their unbelief. And this is what had not been revealed in the Old Testament. This was actually part of God's plan. God delayed the coming of the kingdom from Matthew chapter 12 all the way till Revelation chapter 19. In Matthew 13, then, Jesus begins to explain the form of this delayed kingdom in a way that would educate and encourage his disciples, but it would remain hidden. To those who rejected him. He reveals the mystery of the kingdom, hidden in the Old Testament, but now revealed to his disciples, who would become the nucleus of this new form of the kingdom, which we call the church. So, as we come to this third and fourth in a series of parables about the form of this kingdom that resulted from Israel's rejection of him, Jesus' first parable was about soils, and it highlighted that the form of the kingdom would be delayed, that not everyone would submit to the king. Of the four soils, only a fraction of them actually produced fruit, and the others did not. They rejected his word. The parable of the wheat and the tares showed that these rebels, these enemies of God, these tares sowed by the devil, would actually live alongside his followers until a day of judgment. Well, this is not looking good for the disciples.

16:01This difficult lesson must have been very disheartening. So, these two parables, in the light of not everybody's going to follow the king, and oh, by the way, they're going to be around us the whole time causing trouble, Jesus gives two parables of encouragement. And so, let's look at these encouraging lessons that Jesus teaches about the kingdom of heaven in the parable of the mustard seed. Verse 31, He put before them another parable: the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. Seed that a man planted in his field. Although it's the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. Well, these parables are about the kingdom, so we're going to spend a little more time talking about this kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. Kingdom of heaven sometimes is confusing. What is the kingdom of heaven? Is it the same as the kingdom of God? Yes, yes, it is. There's really no difference. Throughout the New Testament, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are used synonymously. They refer to the same thing. One term focuses on the domain, the other term focuses on the king. But they're both talking about the same kingdom. And God has always had dominion over his creation. And his rule has been expressed at various times in history through various human agencies. God chose Abraham to be the father of a nation through whom the king would reveal himself to the world. And then through Israel, God ruled and accomplished his purposes on the earth. God promised David that one of his descendants would rule on his throne as king of Israel. Now there will be a time when the promised kingdom will be manifest physically, when the Lord Jesus establishes his throne on the earth. And we read about this in Revelation chapter 11. Says, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever. So there is a day in the future when the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord on the earth. But here, in Matthew chapter 13, after Israel has rejected him, Jesus is referring to a form of the kingdom that was hidden. And this form of the kingdom would be a spiritual kingdom existing within the hearts of his followers.

18:36In Luke chapter 17, verse 20, Jesus says, the coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed. Nor will people say, here it is, or there it is, because the kingdom of God is in your midst. Some translations say the kingdom of God is within you. Within you is, got some Greek here, intas human, which means in your soul or inside you. It cannot be seen with the eyes. It's internal. It's spiritual. It's invisible. Some people call it the invisible kingdom. So here we confirm that this form of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus is teaching about is not a visible kingdom. It is a spiritual one. When he stood before Pilate, before his crucifixion, Pilate asked if he was the king of the Jews, if he was a king. Jesus' answer in, he says, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.

19:52So that's the kingdom that Jesus is talking about, and he's going to compare to a mustard seed. So he says, The kingdom of heaven is like. It's like something. And so here we have a little English lesson. Fortunately, I'm married to someone who majored in English. What we have here is a simile, where Jesus uses the word like to say that this is similar to something. It corresponds to something. It's like this other thing. It has the same manner as this other thing. So a simile is a rhetorical device, a figure of speech, used to draw a comparison between two things, using one thing to describe the other, typically using words like like or as.

20:43And we use these today colloquially. You know, we say that he is stronger than an ox, or we say that person is mad as a hornet. Okay, they're mad. How mad are they? They're as mad as a hornet. That gives some description. Description of how mad they are. Okay, well, here the kingdom of heaven is like something. And what's interesting is, while these parables are similes, they are extended similes. He doesn't just stop with the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. Go figure it out. He's going to tell us more about it. So it's an extended simile, an elongated simile.

21:26They explain how it is like this other thing. So, how is the kingdom of heaven like a mustard seed? How is it like leaven? Let's look and see. Well, the first lesson is it starts off very small. So, lesson one: it's very small, it has an insignificant beginning. A mustard seed, sinope, is the very small seed of the mustard plant grown in the Middle East. This seed is especially useful in this parable for two reasons. I'll cover one of them now. Among gardeners, this seed was comparatively the smallest that would be planted in a garden or in a field. And it is true that botanically speaking, there are some seeds that are smaller, those seeds that might be found in the wild. But the mustard seed was the smallest seed used for domestic agriculture. Corn, wheat, barley, rye, these seeds were much larger. So the mustard. Seed was commonly used in their vocabulary to represent something that was very small and even insignificant. We're probably most familiar with this use of the mustard seed elsewhere in the Bible when Jesus teaches: if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, what can you do? Move mountains. You command this mountain to move and it will move. So the mustard seed is simply the simile of the day when you're referring to something very small and very insignificant, and maybe with low expectations.

23:11It's also important to note that the mustard seed becomes hidden. It is concealed. It goes underground, right? It's planted in a field or in a garden. And this is something, just kind of a footnote here. I'm going to be, when I preach again, I'll go through the next two parables. But I've noticed there's something in common that all these six parables have together. And that's the hidden nature of the kingdom, obviously. So, the first parable, you've got the sower, he's sowing seeds, and of course, the seeds that grow are ones that go into cultivated ground. Second parable, the wheat and the tares, a man sows good seed in his field. So you've got seeds being sown in the ground. And then you've got this mustard seed. Where does it go? It goes in the ground, too. The next parable is about leaven. It doesn't go in the ground. What does it go into? It goes into the dough. There's a pattern here of something small is being hidden, and it's concealed, which goes right along with the hidden nature of God's kingdom.

24:21Then you've got a treasure buried in a field. You've got a pearl of great price hidden in an oyster. So these are the hidden natures, the hidden things of the kingdom which Jesus is going to teach about. And this is really the point of the parables. Jesus is revealing the hidden secrets of the kingdom. And it says so in verse 35. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet. I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.

24:50Now, why are these lessons important to the disciples? After teaching the first two parables, they might be a little discouraged. Of the four soils, most of them rejected the message of the kingdom. And they also learned in the parable of the wheat and the tares that the wicked would not be brought to justice right away. They would live in the world side by side with those in the kingdom. This was not going to be the kingdom of peace and justice and righteousness that they had expected. So after these first two parables, which may have been somewhat discouraging, Jesus encourages them by saying, although this form of the kingdom that you're going to see starts very small, it doesn't Become overcome by those tears, by those weeds. In fact, that leads us to lesson two. It becomes very large. So, lesson two is it becomes something very large. And this is somewhat unexpected. Look at the format of verse 32.

25:51Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of the garden plants. I'm reading from a translation that translate, that contrasts these two, I think, the best. Here, the word construction is what we call a contrasted clause, where the word men here is usually translated indeed, or truly, or verily, or although. And it's used like we would use the phrase even though. Even though, it minimizes the expectations for the action that follows. And then the second part of the clause always begins with the word day, which is usually translated yet, or but or nevertheless. So I would use this contrasted clause today like this. Although, let's see. Let's say, even though Jimmy has never played baseball, now let me stop right there. Before I tell you more about Jimmy, what are your expectations about Jimmy's baseball abilities?

27:00Pretty low, right? So even though Jimmy has never played baseball, nevertheless, he hit a home run in his first game. So that's the structure of this verse 32. Although the mustard seed is small, yet it grows into something large. So what do we expect from this mustard seed? Since it's the smallest of seeds, it's insignificant. It's not going to amount to much. But it does. It grows into something very big. Yet, however, nevertheless, it grows into the largest of the garden plants. So it's not something we would expect from such a tiny seed. And that's the point that Jesus intends to make. Now, the kingdom of heaven that Christ is speaking of in his time is something very small that will grow into something very large. And it starts with him.

27:54And he began as an insignificant baby born in an insignificant manger in an insignificant town, in an insignificant country. So even though it starts small, it grows. It would grow to 12 men. And then by Acts chapter 1, to 120. And then by Acts chapter 2, 3,000. And now it's spread all over the world, eventually to every tribe and tongue and nation. So something small growing into something large. Aren't you glad you came to hear this very deep spiritual theological lesson? Okay.

28:30But that's not all. It becomes a tree. And this is where I think it gets really interesting. The word here is actually the word dendron, which in Hebrew means a tree. So the second reason the mustard seed is useful to Jesus in this parable is that it was not unusual for these plants to actually grow 10 or 12 or 15 feet tall. That's about a good-sized tree. Now, there were certainly taller trees in the land, but none of them would grow from such a small seed. So the point here is the proportional growth of a tiny, insignificant seed to a large tree resembles a, it illustrates a remarkable comparison of something so large growing from something so small, which again helps to make the point. And the third lesson of this parable is that this tree, this something small that grew into something large, would become a blessing to the world. It's a blessing to the world around it, because we read then in the tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. So here we have a tree 12 to 15 feet high with branches capable of providing nesting places for the birds of the air. The birds of the air is a phrase that occurs a lot in Scripture.

29:56Certainly it occurred about 13 verses earlier where. The birds of the air snatch up the seeds from the hard ground, and they represent Satan. And there's some people who look at it like that, but let's examine this phrase, the birds of the air, because this phrase is used a lot in Scripture. And usually, when it's used, it really conveys just common birds, nothing special. Jesus used birds a lot. He said, Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Elsewhere, he would say, Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. So when you find these birds of the air nesting in tree branches, the tree is providing shelter and provision for the birds. And we see this at least three times in the Old Testament, and I'm going to examine one. If you want to, you can read with it. You can turn back to Daniel chapter 4. You don't have to. But Daniel chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a tree. And Daniel tells him this tree represents his kingdom. And I'll read Daniel chapter 4, starting in verse 11. The tree grew and became strong. Its height reached to the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of the earth. Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant, and it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it. The birds of the heavens dwelt. In its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. So, in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, this tree is a blessing to those whom it sheltered. Birds, animals, all flesh found provision and shade and comfort and food. So, in his time, Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom was the largest in the world, and it was a blessing to the world for a time. It brought wealth, it brought stability, education, culture, security.

32:02History was eventually chopped down, but that's another sermon. You find similar imagery in Ezekiel chapter 17 about one nation represented as a tree with birds nesting in its branches, and another nation in Ezekiel chapter 31, where kingdoms are pictures as trees with birds nesting in their branches, indicating the inhabitants of the world found benefits from these kingdoms, whether they belong to them or not. These Old Testament images, familiar to the crowds to whom Jesus preached, spoke of a great nation whose very existence, its power, and might meant blessing, provision, security, and extended even to those who have no part in it.

32:49So, this tiny mustard seed has grown into a relatively large tree with branches to provide shelter for those around it. And Jesus says, the kingdom of God is like that. It starts small, but wherever it spread, the world benefits from the grace, mercy, and the blessing of God's people. As God blesses his people, those around them experience those blessings as well, right? Or so it should be. So, in a similar way, those nations of the world who have sought to build their laws, culture, and economy, and social structure on the truths of God's word have also largely been a source of blessing and stability to the world. It's from the teachings of Scripture that these nations embrace high standards of morality, ethics, benevolence works such as hospitals and feeding of the poor. There are some nations in history like this, and hopefully, ours is one of them.

33:48All these blessings are the result of the influence of the kingdom of God in that nation and then extended to the world. So, the parable of the mustard seed would be meant as an encouragement to his disciples. And hearing the first two parables, showing not everyone who hears the word will become a part of the kingdom, and oh, by the way, the enemies of the kingdom will live alongside us until the king returns in judgment. But now he encourages his disciples who might be feeling like they're going to be outnumbered. But just like a mustard seed that starts small and grows into a large tree, so will this fledgling kingdom, beginning with you, my disciples, will expand. Expand around the world and will be a blessing to those whom it encounters.

34:36Now, Jesus has a similar message in the parable of the leaven, and that's why I think these two need to go together. Jesus taught them together, so I will too. In verse 33, we read: He told them still another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. Another simile, but hopefully you paid attention to my first English lesson, all right? So let's focus on what this kingdom of heaven is like. It's like leaven. It's a simple word picture. A woman takes some leaven or yeast and mixes it into a lot of dough. Eventually, the whole mixture is full of leaven. It's leavened. What does that mean? Some of you sourdough experts out there could teach this part better than me, okay? But I'm going to do my best here. Leaven, otherwise known as yeast, is a single-celled fungus that scientists called Saccharomyces cerevisillae. I'm only going to say that once, and you biology majors are laughing at me, I know. And it's invisible only in a microscope. You can only see it in a microscope. It's cellular. It reproduces rapidly by a process called budding, where normal cells will have mitosis where they split. But these don't do that. They actually put on a bud, and that bud will grow off of the cell, and then that one splits off. But it still reproduces, and then the process continues. And as that continues, the rate of multiplication becomes geometric. One cell becomes two, two becomes four, then eight, then sixteen, and thirty-two, and sixty-four, and 128. Houston, keep it going. Where are you? Okay, never mind. You get the picture. It goes rapidly, right?

36:38It spreads throughout the dough so rapidly and completely, and during the process, it eats the sugar, the gluten, part of the flour, and releases carbon dioxide to form bubbles, which cause your dough to rise. Isn't that neat? It's magic every time that happens. Well, we learned several things about the kingdom of heaven and how it works in our present age from the leaven here. And each of these lessons is interesting, okay? We've already talked about it's small. Leaven is microscopic, it's a little cellular fungus.

37:14But the second lesson we learn, similar to the second lesson in the mustard seed, is about its influence. It doesn't just grow, it influences. It influences the whole thing. So it's influenced. Visible, but it's powerful and it's pervasive. It works from the inside out. I love that. Because we read that a woman took and mixed it or hid it in something. Okay, so here again, we've got the leaven is being put into something, it's being hidden in it. So, like the mustard seed was planted in the ground, the leaven's hidden in the dough. It's internal, it's inside. Notice the leaven is not kept separate from the flour. What happens if you don't put the leaven in with the rest of the dough? What happens to your dough? Nothing. Nothing happens. They have to be mixed. Leaven's got to go in there.

38:12It's got to come in contact with the flour for its work on the flour to begin. And since it's so small, it's invisible, something hidden, something not apparent. What's especially interesting about hidden leaven is that you never actually see the leaven. What do you see? You see the effects of the leaven as your dough begins to rise. Well, I know you're curious about the three measures of flour. Let's talk about three measures of flour because the kingdom of heaven is like leaven that the woman took and mixed into three measures of flour. Well, a measure was equivalent to about a peck. So there you go.

38:54Everybody good? About a peck. Well, a peck is four pecks. Are in a bushel, so this is about three-quarters of a bushel. Still no help? Okay. Think of this, this size would be about one cubic foot, so about a cubic foot of flour. Hey, who made a batch of bread that big this week? Anybody? That's a big bunch of dough, isn't it? Well, it's interesting. Where do they get the recipe? They got it from Genesis chapter 18. I read about three measures of flour. In Genesis chapter 18, Abraham and Sarah get a visitor. It's the angel of the Lord, the Lord Himself, shows up, and Abraham tells Sarah, go make some bread using three measures, a peck, yeah, three measures, three measures, three ephi, okay? So this was the recipe. You made a lot of bread when you made bread, okay? Maybe they ate a lot of bread, maybe they use it for several meals after, but that was the recipe, okay? So this would be pretty common. Again, these are simple stories. They'll be, oh, yeah, that's that. My mom always used three measures of.

40:04The people hearing the story, that would have been pretty common to them. Lesson three. It's also a blessing. Okay? The leaven here, I'm going to step on some toes maybe. It's an influence for good. It makes the dough better. It makes the bread better. Okay? Because all of it was leavened. So it's. It spreads throughout the dough until all of it's leavened. So a tiny bit of leaven is mixed with a lot of dough, and before you know it, the whole batch of dough begins to rise as the leaven reacts with the dough.

40:41It was permeated with leaven, and leaven is pervasive. Once that begins, there's no stopping it. Once that leaven starts percolating in that dough, you're not going to say, stop. It's going to happen until all of the dough is permeated with leaven and it's permeated uniformly and it rises. And it transforms this flat, lifeless dough into dough that is active and rising. So I know some of you may have been taught that in the Bible, I know I was, that leaven always represents sin, okay? Because we all know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump, right? Well, there's really more to it than that. So how can leaven be good? Let me make my case that here, in this parable at least, leaven represents a good influence and not an evil one. Okay? So here we go. First of all, there's the immediate context.

41:36The kingdom of heaven is like what? Leaven. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven. So what does leaven represent in this parable? The kingdom of heaven. Now, I may not have gone to seminary, but I hope we can agree that the kingdom of heaven is good. Is that okay? All right, so the immediate context. Many commentators say that this parable teaches that the kingdom of heaven is affected by sin or full of sin or the world. But if that was the lesson here, then Jesus would have said that the kingdom of heaven is like three measures of flour that have some leaven in it. But that's not what he taught, right? He said the kingdom of heaven was like leaven hidden in the flour.

42:26Secondly, the previous parable seems to be very closely related to this one and with the same form and theme, so they appear to be complementary, not contrasting. Okay, so where you've got the mustard seed grows into a tree and it's a blessing to the world, this leaven is also a force for good. Thirdly, let's look at some of the Old Testament use for leaven. I thought this was very interesting. It's true that many times in Scripture, leaven is emblematic of sin, but not always. Now, the feast of the Passover required what kind of bread? Unleavened bread. The leaven represented their old ways back in Egypt, okay? And they were to take none of Egypt with them. If they had taken leavened bread with them on the road, that leaven that they would be using would be from Egypt. So the leaven represented their old ways, so they were to take no leavened bread with them. But 50 days later, what feast did they observe? Feast of Pentecost, okay, after. Seven, the Feast of Passover was seven days, and after seven sevens, 49 days, on the 50th day, they celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Pentecost prescribed what to be put in the bread. Leaven. Leviticus chapter 23, verse 17 talks about the Feast of Pentecost. You shall bring in from your dwelling two loaves of bread as a wave offering made of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of a fine flour baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. So here, I mean, if leaven was sinful, why is God prescribing it be offered to him in this bread as an offering? So, what this actually paints a picture of, they left their old leaven behind. They left all that Egyptian leaven behind. Now they've got some new leaven. It symbolizes their new life. So it's a break in that continuity that leaven would represent.

44:28And then we have the New Testament usage of leaven. Now, in this parable, we use leaven, but we also use it elsewhere in the New Testament, and it describes specific sins. Jesus describes specific sins that are pervasive in nature. In the first one here, he says, beware the leaven of the Pharisees. You know what the rest of it says? Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. So he's describing this sin of hypocrisy. Beware the leaven of the hypocrisy. Because hypocrisy, they're just all hypocritical.

45:05So beware that leaven, beware that pervasive sin. In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, it refers to immorality. A little leaven leavens the whole lump, referring to immorality. In Galatians chapter 5, leaven refers to the sin of legalism. But the usage for these sins emphasizes their pervasive effects on the body and the harm they would cause, not the sin itself. So it talks about the effects of the sin. So that's my point about that. But lastly, it's the straightforward nature of the parables. The parables are very simple, very straightforward. And so I'll ask you this: anybody ever had unleavened bread? Okay, which tastes better? Unleavened bread or leavened bread? We may take a poll. Who thinks leavened bread tastes better? Who thinks unleavened bread tastes better? Okay, some people like leavened bread. You know, unleavened bread, like a tortilla? I like tortillas, but man, when I go into Texas Roadhouse and I smell that bread that they're cooking there, I don't want a tortilla. I want the leavened bread, the bread that has risen. Because, you know, unleavened bread, well, it's kind of flat and it's dense and hard, okay?

46:28But. Leavened bread is, well, it's, you know, right out of the oven. It's light, it's airy, it's tender, it's got a delicate texture. Man, I'm getting hungry. I better wrap this up. Leavened bread is better tasting, it's better than leavened bread. So, again, the effect of leaven on the bread is a positive one, okay? So, leaven represents the kingdom of God, and the flour represents the world, the sinful world, by the way, that needs to be transformed. And what's going to transform this dough? The leaven, okay, from the inside out. So, the less simple lesson in this parable is that, like leaven, quietly working its way, permeating the dough to make a tasty loaf of bread, this form of the kingdom will, in a similar way, permeate the world as an influence for good. And the disciples needed to know this, okay? This kingdom they were seeing ushered in would not come in like they read about in Zechariah. Not here, not in Matthew. That would be later.

47:38It would come in, it wouldn't come in like a lion, but like a lamb. The kingdom would be spread with one-on-one discipleship, which appears to be slow, but it will grow over time to spread around the world. And Jesus would later tell his disciples, and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come. And later in the Great Commission, he would say, go to all the world and make disciples of all nations. Now, one thing to note before we wrap this up: the dough in the parable does not become leaven. Doesn't happen. The parable doesn't happen in reality, right? It contains leaven, but the dough does not become leaven. This parable does not teach that the whole world will become the kingdom. There is not a universal salvation implied here, okay? But simply that the kingdom will spread throughout the whole world, and just as the birds of the air found security in the mustard tree, so will others find that the kingdom is an influence for good in the world. And the disciples were encouraged by this, and we gain encouragement from this because as Jesus foretold, we see the results 2,000 years later that the disciples did not see. The kingdom of God in the present form of the church has gone around the world. Estimated population of Christians in the world is about 2.37 billion, about 31% of the world's population. And we know that not everyone who professes Christ is a Christian, but still, this indicates of the tremendous spread of the Christian faith across the globe. So, like leaven, evangelism seems to have little immediate impact, but over time, Christianity has grown to have a remnant in almost every corner of the globe. And lastly, let's see. Look at the transformative effect of leaven, which is evident to all. No one can deny the effect leaven has on the bread.

49:41As we mentioned earlier in Luke chapter 19, Jesus said, the kingdom of God is within you. Galatians 2:20, it's no longer I who lives, Christ who lives in me, right? So it's an internal kingdom. Like the leaven hidden in the bread, Christ is hidden in us. And when the kingdom is within you, it's hidden at first, but its effects do not remain hidden, or at least they shouldn't. Like the leaven in the three measures of flour, it's pervasive, it's unstoppable, it's transformative, it should change you from the inside out. Your life should have a pleasant flavor to others. So before we go, ask yourself, does it? Have I been transformed into more of the likeness of Christ? I mean, I profess faith in Christ. Do I have evidence of that?

50:40The nature of leaven is to grow and change whatever it contacts. When we trust in the Lord and His Spirit, His Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us, His grace grows our hearts and changes us from the inside out. As the gospel transforms lives, it exerts a pervasive influence on the world at large. As we reflect the glory of the Lord, the Lord, who is a Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. Let's pray.

51:14Heavenly Father, we thank you for these two short parables, which teach us about your kingdom, small in beginning that would grow in might and power and influence to be a blessing to the world, to the nations, Lord, but also to us. And we pray that just as the leaven transforms that dough into a tasty loaf of bread, that your Holy Spirit would transform us, Lord, as we recognize our need for you, our need for repentance, and trusting in you. Lord, that we would change our minds about how we become righteous and rely on your grace and Jesus' saving work on the cross, not on our own. Lord, help us to trust in you. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.