Jesus continues to try and explain characteristics of the Kingdom of God.

Parable of the Mustard Seed

The first is the parable about a mustard seed growing into a tree, such that it allowed birds to nest in its branches. Mustard is not the smallest seed, but still relatively insignificant, and does not become a tree. Therefore something supernatural is happening here.

It is about growth but there is something subversive going on.

There are ‘special’ trees mentioned throughout the bible that represent life, from the beginning of the book of Genesis to the end of the book of Revelation.

One of the roles of these trees is to give shelter to ‘birds of the air’.

In the book of Daniel, he interprets one of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams that has a tree that gives shade and feeds all the creatures on the earth and gives a home to all the birds of the air. The tree is cut down leaving the creatures homeless. The interpretation is that the Babylonian empire ruled by Nebuchadnezzar became the dominant nation at the time providing protection, shelter and provisions for people from other nations. The birds probably represent those people who were homeless, outcasts or asylum seekers.

However, the tree is cut down. Ruling has gone to his head. He has become proud and does not do the best for his people.

A characteristic of nations that sometimes seem to start on a good track and support their own people and others is a tendency towards slavery and removal of freedom.

Egypt represents one example. They offered assistance to Israel, through Joseph, allowing Jacob’s family to go there to escape a famine.

By the start of the book of Exodus the people had become slaves.

When Ezekiel prophesies to Egypt, he refers to Assyria, another empire that ruled the known world for a period and then got cut down, that they once were like a great tree that gave shelter to other nations. However, Egypt was like Assyria and became ‘haughty’ and overrun by tyrants.

Man’s heart, his arrogance, causes the ruin of his rule. Kingdoms start as insignificant, like mustard seeds put in the ground, but can grow to become significant, providing a framework that is a protection for life. However, instead of allowing freedom within that protection, there is a tendency towards control, making people slaves, using the framework to oppress. God will ultimately judge these authorities and chop them down.

The Kingdom of God will not only provide the framework for life, food, shelter, protection, but will also free people from slavery.

Jesus takes a sprig from the great tree that will not last and starts a new tree in the ground that will flourish.

Parable of the Leaven

We know leaven as yeast that is added to a dough to make it rise, an essential ingredient in the making of bread. Feeding more than 5000 people miraculously, Jesus refers to himself as the ‘Bread of Life’. See ‘Sustenance’ and ‘You Feed Them’.

This is another parable about growth. Again there is the capacity towards positive and negative outcomes. Jesus compares the hypocrisy of the Pharisees with leaven, infecting the whole loaf, damaging all the people who follow them.

The Old Testament Law refers to the separation of clean from the unclean. There should be no mixing of lifestyles. A bit of evil would contaminate the whole.

As with the previous parable, Jesus subverts this approach. He refers to a little bit of leaven changing the whole batch, a bit of goodness affecting everyone. The Kingdom of God is like this. It starts like a hidden bit of leaven and then impacts positively throughout the dough.

Jesus turns life around. In him, instead of becoming contaminated, we can impact outwards, our surroundings. Paul warns that we are not to devour others but by living by the Spirit we will produce the fruit of the Spirit, providing food for others.

The Narrow Door

The third illustration is about entering the Kingdom of God. It can only be by a narrow door.

This does not mean that only a few can get in. In answer to the question of how many, Jesus mentions people entering from all over the world.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew expands on the ‘Narrow Door’ theme. He uses three illustrations.

Two gates, one broad that leads to destruction and one that is narrow leading to life in the Kingdom of God.

Fruit from trees. Fruit from bad trees, words brought by false prophets that are cut down and destroyed and good fruit from good trees.

Building on good foundations, on the rock that is Jesus and will last, and those on sand that will collapse.

The narrowness of the entrance restricts access, through Jesus only.

There is a choice.

The Jews at the time had a choice of whether or not to accept Jesus. However, many rejected him. They thought they had access through their ancestry, an accident of their birth. Jesus rejects this. The people entering are from all over the world irrespective of whether they are Jews or gentiles.

There is also a thought that the narrowness of the door could imply that people need to enter one at a time. Each requiring being known, having a personal relationship with Jesus, following him.

Door to What?

The illustration seems to be that of a house, where there is a meal and a place to sit at a dining table. The previous parables were about people finding a home (birds in the branches) and good bread to eat. Jesus goes on to give further illustrations of the Kingdom of God being compared to guests being invited to a wedding banquet.

The Kingdom of God can be compared to enjoying the environment, the food and company and future potential during a marriage feast.