The Kingdom is joyfully worth giving up everything we have.

Jesus teaches that his Kingdom is worth everything we have and when we understand this... we give up what we have with joy!

Matthew 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that kingdom living (following him) is worth everything we have?
Note:  In Palestine, a land that was often ravaged by war, people were known to bury their treasures to hide them from enemies with the intention of returning for the treasure in safer times.  Under rabbinic law, if you found a treasure in a field, it would belong to the field's owner - hence the need to buy the field rather than simply take the treasure.  The point of this parable is that the value of the treasure is worth the purchase of the field even if it means giving up everything one has.  The Kingdom of Heaven is worth giving up everything.

The Kingdom permeates its surroundings

Jesus teaches that his kingdom tranforms its surroundings.

Matthew 13:33 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."

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that his Kingdom transforms the things it touches? 

Note:  In the previous post, the Kingdom grows from small mustard seed into a giant tree.  Here the yeast permeates its surroundings transforming them. How can we permeate our world so that it is forever transformed?

The kingdom begins with small things

Jesus teaches that his great Kingdom will begin with small things.

Matthew 13:31-32 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."

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that it is from small things... his Kingdom will become great.

Note: there is a basic connection between the small beginnings taking place under the ministry of Jesus and the kingdom in its future glory. Though the initial appearance of the kingdom (perhaps the little things we do that follow Jesus completely) may seem inconsequential, the tiny seed leads to the mature plant.  Shane Claiborne puts it this way:  "Do small things with Great Love."

Let the inauthentic grow alongside the authentic.

Jesus teaches that there are both authentic and inauthentic among his followers, but it is not our job to seperate them.

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.'"

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching to let the inauthentic to grow alongside the authentic?

Note:  Some Christians - whole denominations - have ignored this parable.  They believe they are called to purify the church.  To make certain everyone there has the right beliefs, the right set of rules to follow, and that they are following them.  They believe that God will punish them if they worship with those they percieve as inauthentic.  They see themselves as God's judges and inforcers.  Instead Jesus says to leave the inauthentic alone until harvest time.  He says this for the good of the authentic that they won't be uprooted.  It reminds me of that quote: "Our life with Christ is somehow bound up with our willingness to abide with those we think are sinful and those we think are stupid.” Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.  It is freeing to think we don't have to judge.  It is also hard to think that for our own good, God doesn't plan to rid us of all the weeds growing around us.

Matthew 13:36-43 And his disciples approached him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." 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. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

Hearing not enough... understanding is necessary.

Jesus teaches that both hearing and understanding is necessary for discipleship.

Matthew 13:23 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that not only do we need to hear, but we need to understand?

Note:  Interesting that a yield of sixty or thirty are both considered "good". 

Worries about worldly things including wealth snuff out life

Jesus teaches us not to let the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke out our relationship with God.

Matthew 13:22 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching not to allow the cares of the world and the lure of wealth to choke out his word?

Note: When we don't let the message about the kingdom to control us, life will begin to have too many other commitments that slowly choke us.  We will never mature and bear fruit. Worries about worldly things or devotion to wealth snuff out spiritual life.

1 Timothy 6:9-11 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. 11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.

Grow deep roots through continuous listening

Jesus teaches us to develop deep roots through on going listening to the word.  

Matthew 13:20-21 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching to keep listening to the word so our roots grow deep?

Note: Listening to the word and accepting it with joy is what brings us to Jesus, but we need to develop roots (keep listening! start doing!) in the word to sustain us through hard times which are certain.

We need to really hear his real message

Jesus teaches that we need to get his message right and let it transform us.

Matthew 13:18-23 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.

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching to let his message transform us?

Note: The Christian life isn't just about hearing a message, but about hearing the real message of Jesus - understanding it and internalizing it.  There is a lot of confusion in the world today about what Jesus taught.  Most of us make up Jesus' teachings so they fit neatly in our world and don't rock it too badly.  But Jesus' message will change everything if we are really open to it.

Listening generates good soil.

Jesus teaches that listening to his words (listening to him since he is The Word) generates good soil.

Matthew 13:1-9 :1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!"

Matthew 13:10-17 10 Then the disciples came and asked him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" 11 He answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.' 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: 'You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. 15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn-- and I would heal them.' 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching to listen to him?

Note:  We don't have a lot of control over our relationship with God - even though most of us want to believe we do.  But we can't control when the Holy Spirit will move in our lives or other's lives.  We can't control when the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to us or when faith will come alive within us or others.  But Jesus indicates here that we do have control over listening.   And oddly, some how listening and faith go hand in hand.  Romans 10:17: "So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ."   And in Galatians, if we translated Paul's words literally, he actually says that we have"heard faith" when he talks about our transformation from death to life.   Listening seems to make our soil good and ready for the seeds that will be planted - listening seem to enable faith so that when the seeds are planted, the ground can support them.

There are three things that each of us need in our lives to be good listeners... to have good soil where the seeds of the Holy Spirit will grow.  We need to listen to scripture (preaching, personal Bible Study, etc), listen in prayer (the kind of prayer where we let God talk too), and  we need to listen to God reveal himself in our brothers and sisters in Christ (fellowship with other Christians who hold us accountable to Christ's words). 

Listening to the word of God and having solid soil go hand in hand.  We can't control when and how the Holy Spirit will move in our lives, but we can listen so that the soil is ready when the seeds are planted.

Family values aren't based on genetics

Jesus teaches a new definition of family one that includes all of his followers.

Matthew 12:46-50 46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." 48 But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that family values shouldn't be based on genetic ties?

Note: Jesus teaches several times in the gospels that when we choose to follow him, he becomes our brother. And all of his followers become our mothers, sisters, and brothers (we only have one father - and that is God). We are to have an even deeper relationship with followers of Jesus than we do with genetically related family members. 

Being the pastor of a church that has many genetically related family members, these verses are particularly important for our church community to understand and internalize so that we do not become inwardly focused and so we extend our understanding of family to all of Jesus' followers.  And so that we do not give preferential treatment to those genetically related to us - so our hearts are open wide to new comers welcoming them into our families. 

Our culture - espeically the religious culture of the day - has taught that genetic family ties are what make our country strong.  But that isn't exactly what Jesus taught.  He not only redefined family to mean a spiritual family of his followers, but he teaches that it is this spiritual family that will make his kingdom strong - not the genetic one.  In fact, he says the genetic family will often divide because of him (see Matthew 10 below).

Does that mean taking care of one's family is not important?  Of course not, as it says in Paul's letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 5:8 "And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."  This verse is in a chapter where Paul has already talked about how the church is to care for all of the family of God - and now he reminds them to also care for their own family.  Basically, we are not to let anyone go with out - whether they are genetically related to us or not.  Jesus demonstrate great love and concern for his own mother as he hangs on the cross.  In his last breaths, he demonstrates how this spiritual family shoud work as he asks John to take her into his family: John 19:26-27 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." 27 Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

 Of course, the best of all worlds is that our blood relatives would be his followers too and we would all live out his kingdom teachings together. But he warns us that this will not be the case all of the time. Matthew 10:34-37 34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;"  Jesus is telling us here that the old patriarcal social order is different from Kingdom living. Kingdom living has to do with following Jesus together (as brothers, sisters, and mothers), not falling back into an old accepted social order at home or in church.

Matthew 19:29-30 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Matthew 23:9 9 And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father-- the one in heaven.

Healing comes by filling up - not just cleaning up

Jesus teaches that the stuff he has cleaned from within us may potentially return.  The implication is that we can fill the empty places with him, then the bad stuff won't come back.

Matthew 12:43-45 43 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation."

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that we aren't made whole just by cleaning up, but by filling up the empty places with him?

Note: One of the things Jesus did throughout his ministry was to free people of unclean spirits. Here he warns that while he may free them, that the unclean spirit may return with its friends making the person worse off than before. The implication is that the space left by the unclean spirit in our life needs to be filled by the prescence of God so that the unclean spirit doesn't return.

I think of this in terms of an alcoholic. An alcoholic might stop drinking for a while through the help of a friend or discipline. But there was some reason that alcoholic started drinking to begin with. If that core reason isn't dealt with, the drinking will start again - perhaps worse than before. But Jesus seems to be teaching that if the alcoholic can deal with the reason they begin to drink in the first place - and let God fill up the empty place the absence of alcohol has left, then they will be transformed by God's Spirit. And they will be able to overcome future attacks of alcoholism.

Another example... in working with an indigent population at my previous church, I often ministered to people who would come to us asking for help to find a job. Finding "a job" for them was easy - since they were entry level and uneducated. Fast food restaurants are always hiring. But keeping a job was very difficult for some of them. There was some reason they had never been able to keep a job. Walking along side them to figure out why they had problems keeping a job, dealing with that problem, and replacing it with the hope and love of Jesus is not for sissies. It sometimes means knocking on a front door, getting people out of bed, driving them to work. Meeting them afterwards and talking about how it’s going. Praying together. Teaching them of Jesus' power to fill the place in their heart that used to be filled with whatever has been holding them back.  Being willing to get your heart broken while helping the person is an absolute necessity.  Being willing to stay the course and not get impatient is an absolute necessity too.


The problem with many of the programs out there to help those addicted and afflicted and unable to stay clean is that the programs only offer "a shower" - a way to get cleaned up. They don't offer Jesus - or the Holy Spirit - who wants to fill the clean place (actually even clean it!) with their presence and transform the person so that the problem can't inhabit that space again. The church is uniquely qualified to do this. The problem is that the church is so rarely willing to do this.  We see our community as a place for our friends and we quickly give up on people who disappoint us instead of committing to walk the whole journey with them.

The Proof is Sufficient

Jesus teaches that the proof he has offered as to his identity has been sufficient... so soak it up.

Matthew 12:38-42 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." 39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. 41 The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that the evidence of his identity is sufficient?

Note:  The sign of Jonah was this:  Jonah was a prototype of the Christ.  He was sent by God to preach repentance and then he acted out a death and resurrection as he was eaten by a whale and then spit out. Jesus was saying... "you will have a sign too...  I too am preaching repentance, I will die and be raised again."  BUT the people Jonah preached to heard his message.  Jesus is telling the Pharisees that they will not hear it.  Likewise, the Queen of the South (Queen of Sheba) came to Solomon because he was wise - to get his advice.  The Pharisee's should be coming to Jesus for the same reason.  Again, Jesus is telling them they should be listening to him with the same intensity that the Queen of the South sought out and listened to Solomon.