Matthew 13:31-35 31He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 33He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” 34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables, and without parables he did not say anything to them. 35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
The kingdom of heaven is not always visible on earth unless we look closely for it. Jesus told two short parables that give a vivid reminder that God’s plan of salvation will be worked out on earth. We can imagine Jesus picking a mustard plant seed pod, opening up, and taking one of the small seeds. A mustard seed is quite small compared to other seeds, almost the size of a piece of sand or a poppy seed. In the context of rural Galilee of that time, it was considered the smallest of seeds and was often used as an illustration (see 17:20). But that tiny seed will grow into a large plant and tree. By adding the idea of nesting birds, Jesus adds more emphasis to the largeness of the resulting tree.
Jesus’ ministry may have seemed small to the disciples and crowds. He was only one person healing a few people in his travels. From today’s perspective, Jesus was only one person compared to the many millions of people and many cultures around the world at that time. Yet, from this small start the world was transformed. Today, billions of people associate themselves in someway with Jesus. It is easy to feel like we are the only Christians or that the world is totally against us. The news is constantly full of bad news and seems to be coming apart at the seams. It seems on the surface that evil is winning. Yet, the kingdom of God is still growing and changing lives. It is unstoppable, and no force can keep it from growing.
The second parable is a short, one sentence illustration of a woman making bread. Almost all bread was made at home and was a daily project, especially for women. In making bread, the women of the family would take a chunk of dough from the previous day’s bread and mix it in with new ingredients, creating a form of leaven to make the bread rise. In a sense, they would hide it away so it could rise in preparation for baking. The small about of leaven from the day before would help the new bread rise and be good for a new day. In modern terms, bakers might call this a form of sour dough bread. A small amount of the leavened dough would penetrate a new batch. The kingdom of heaven penetrates and changes everything it comes in contact with. The disciples should not feel discouraged by the opposition against them. As the years and decades went on after Jesus’ ascension, they could reflect back on these parables and feel encouraged that what they were doing would make a difference.
In verses 34-35, Matthew as narrator offers another explanation of why Jesus spoke in parables. He was revealing the mysteries of God that were part of God’s plan since before creation. His teaching was in fulfillment of Psalm 78:2. The crowds could vividly picture in their minds what Jesus was saying because he used illustrations from everyday life. The only way to understand the depth and meaning of Jesus’ teaching was through revelation. Through grace, God sparks faith in people that grows to understanding. The more committed our faith becomes, the greater insights we gain into God’s plan of salvation and how his kingdom is breaking into the world and transforming people’s lives.
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