July 30 Lesson: Finding and Gathering

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Summer Quarter 2023: The Righteous Reign of God
Unit 2: Jesus Envisions the Kingdom
 
Sunday School Lesson for the week of July 30, 2023
By Jay Harris
 
Lesson Scripture: Matthew 13:31-35, 44-52 (adding verses 31-35 to the lesson)
 
Key Verse: 
“And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (Matthew 13:52)
 
Lesson Aims

• To introduce the six parables that we are including in this lesson:
  • The parable of the mustard seed
  • The parable of the yeast in the dough
  • The parable of the treasure hidden in a field
  • The parable of the pearl of great price
  • The parable of the dragnet
  • The parable of the manager who brings out of his treasure what is new and old
• To explore how the kingdom starts out small and grows big
• To contemplate the hidden dimensions and dynamics of the kingdom
• To consider the supreme value of the kingdom and what it is worth in terms of our commitment
• To learn to navigate among the competing options presented to us by the kingdom and the world
• To reflect on what it means to be discipled as a scribe of the kingdom of heaven
• To discover Jesus’ pattern of taking what is new and old from the treasure of God’s word

 
Introducing the Six Parables of this Lesson
The Summer Quarter’s theme that we have been studying is the Righteous Reign of God. This is one of the grand themes of the Bible that comes up again and again throughout scripture. The concept of the reign of God is developed as we see God’s interactions with his people unfold throughout history. 
 
In the first unit, we examined the reign of God through the messages of the prophets. In the second unit, we have been exploring the kingdom of heaven through Jesus’ teachings in Matthew’s gospel. More specifically, over the last two previous lessons, we have been studying the collection of teachings found in the 13^th chapter of Matthew. These teachings are typically referred to as the Parables of the Kingdom. Today’s lesson rounds out our study of the parables in this chapter.
 
We are adding verses 31-35 to the lesson, because they fit too well with the rest of the verses to leave them on the cutting room floor. This means that we will be studying six parables of the kingdom in this lesson. Each one helps us develop a fuller understanding of how the reign of God breaks into our world.
 
You will notice that these parables are short but impactful. They are intended to provoke imaginative thinking and imaginative living, which are required to live according to the reign of God. Five of the six parables do not come with an explanation. Most of the parables found elsewhere in the gospels do not come with explanations. 
 
The Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds that we studied in the last two lessons are more unique because they did come with explanations by Jesus. These parables naturally benefit from explanations because they are allegories. Various parts of these parables stand for something else. 
 
Most parables found in the gospels are not allegories. Only one of the six parables in this lesson is an allegory. Parables which are not allegories typically make one point and the point is usually not spelled out. The listener is called upon to decide what the point is. This is how the parable fires the imagination. They tease the mind into active thinking. They stay with us as we decide how to live them out.  
 
 
God’s Kingdom Starts Out in Small Ways and Grows Big
 
Each parable that we will be studying starts out, “The kingdom is like…” Each one stands alone, but when added to the others, spurs the imagination even more.
 
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.”
 
A seed is small compared to what it becomes when the seed germinates, sprouts, appears above the ground, and grows to maturity. What we normally think of as a mustard plant is not a tree. There is, however, a plant known as Salvadora persica, which is called a toothbrush tree and also called mustard tree because of the smell of its bark and the wood beneath. These are found in Africa, India, and the Middle East. It is not only the size of the tree that is mentioned in the parable, but also the life it supports. Birds are able to come and make their nests in the tree.
 
The point of this parable is that God’s reign often breaks into our world in small ways, but the impact of these actions grows incredibly large.
 
 
The Hidden Way the Reign of God Often Works Before We See its Effects
 
The reign of God not only starts out small, there is often much that occurs beneath the surface at first that we do not see.
 
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.”
 
In numerous versions of the Bible, instead of saying “mixed,” it says, “hid.” “Hid” is the better translation. The woman in the parable hid the yeast in the flour. 
 
My family got into the bread making craze years ago when we got one of those bread makers which automates the process from the mixing, to the rising, to the baking of the bread. What was most amazing to me was dumping that little yeast packet into the mix, and realizing the surprising reaction caused by that tiny amount of yeast in the dough. There is something hidden and even mysterious about the way the yeast works. 
 
The woman in the parable hid the yeast in three measures of flour, which is about ten gallons of flour. When this much flour is made into bread, it feeds from 100 to 150 people. So, the picture created by this parable is one of amazing, surprising extravagance. 
 
It just so happens that this was the amount of flour that Sarah made into cakes in Genesis 18. Abraham and Sarah served these with a whole calf that had been prepared and cooked for the three mysterious strangers that came their way one day. We learn that these strangers were in fact angels masquerading as strangers. The amount of food Abraham and Sarah that prepared was a part of the extravagant hospitality they were offering their guests, which in turn made them worthy recipients of the equally extravagant blessing and promise bestowed to them by the angels.
 
Whether it is a seed, yeast in dough, or the life of the kingdom, it is the transformation occurring secretly beneath the surface that will eventually cause us to be surprised when the transformation breaks the surface and reveals itself to our delight. 
 
What Matthew says in the next two verses carries the theme of hiddenness further as he describes Jesus’ habit of using parables to teach.
 
³⁴ Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. ³⁵ This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
                        I will proclaim what has been hidden since the foundation.”
Two lessons ago, we talked about how the teachings that were conveyed in parables were more accessible to some people, but not all. The illustrations were drawn from everyday life. The uneducated could understand. They had characters and a plot so that you can see yourself in them and be drawn into the action. The details draw you in because of their vividness and sometimes their strangeness. They are indirect. You don’t feel you are being “preached-to.” This kind of indirect communication causes listeners to let their guard down. Parables are open-ended. You sometimes don’t know the precise application so that it teases your brain into active thought. It begins in our familiar world, but presents a different vision of the world. It challenges our everyday lives and perspectives and values.
 
But what Jesus said in Matthew 13:10-17 tells us that not everyone was meant to know the secrets of the kingdom. Jesus also meant for parables to be inaccessible to those who were not receptive to the word of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus quoted Isaiah where it talks about a people who will make a pretense of listening but never understand, whose hearts have grown dull and somewhere along the way stopped truly listening to God. 
 
Jesus told parables so that people would leave their guard down and receive the message of the kingdom, but some people keep their guard up all the time or raise their guard as soon as they hear something that might upset the status quo or make a demand upon their lives. 
 
Being able to understand the parables the way Jesus intended for them to be heard requires a whole-hearted response. Jesus wants us to understand the kingdom of heaven on his terms, not ours. Jesus said to the group gathered around him, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” (Matthew 13:16) Jesus spoke of the unprecedented opportunity they had, because they were giving up everything to follow him and were therefore receptive to what he was teaching. Jesus used parables to proclaim deep truths concerning the reign of God that had been hidden since the foundation of the world.
 
God’s Kingdom Is Worth Giving All We Have and All We Are
 
You will notice that the next two parables continue the themes we have discussed thus far, but they also add another important element.
 
⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
 
⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶ on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
 
The treasure compared to the open field is small. The pearl in comparison to the oyster shell, among thousands of shells found beneath surface of the water, is also small. 
 
The treasure is something hidden beneath ground in a field. The pearl is something hidden inside a rather unattractive, encrusted shell. To find these hidden treasures is a big deal.
 
Yet, both the treasure and the pearl hold great value. They are worth the long search. Those who found the item of great value could not simply take what they had found because it did not belong to them. Only after the field was purchased could the one who found the treasure take possession of it. Only after the pearl was purchased from the owner of the business could the merchant take possession of the pearl. In both the case of the treasure and the pearl, those who came to own them had to sell everything they had in order to purchase their find. All that a person has earned over their lifetime, all that represents a person’s accumulated worth over their lifetime, is given in exchange for the treasure of great worth.
 
Experiencing life in the reign of God is worth our total commitment. It is worth going “all-in.” It is a good thing that it is worth it, because a life lived under the reign of God also requires our total commitment.
 
What does it mean to say that the reign of God starts out small but adds up to an impact all out of proportion to its humble beginnings? In what ways does the kingdom of heaven operate secretly beneath the surface of things at times, but then emerges into plain view in surprising ways? How do people invest their lives into the reign of God and discover their investment to be exceedingly worthwhile?   
 
Somewhere along the first half of my ministry, there was a vision statement that took hold of me. This vision statement belonged to the connection of United Methodist churches, clergy, laity, and ministries covering South Georgia to which I belong. This was the statement: 
 
“God envisions faithful, fruitful, and bold congregations and ministries passionately growing mature disciples of Jesus Christ who are living vessels of the Holy Spirit’s desire and miraculous power to redeem every soul and circumstance.” 
 
I remember when hundreds of us were gathered at an event to offer input into this vision process. I recall when a group took that input and prayerfully put together the above vision statement. I can still see in my mind’s eye one of the leaders of this effort, the late Dr. Brad Brady, who helped guide that group in crafting this statement, and then helped communicate this vision so passionately to the people of the South Georgia Conference. It took hold of me then as a pastor in such a way that I still think about it.
 
There is so much to unpack from this vision. This vision continues to help me see the impact of individuals in whom the seed of the Word has found fertile ground. Through these seeds of the kingdom, ordinary people grow into mature disciples of Jesus Christ who are passionately living out their faith. To be transformed into a mature, passionate Christ-follower is no small accomplishment.
 
Disciples of Jesus, through God’s grace, become no less than living vessels of the Holy Spirit. As vessels they carry within themselves two manifestations of the Holy Spirit. These manifestations flow from their lives to impact the lives of others. One of these manifestations of the Holy Spirit is the Spirit’s desire to redeem every soul and circumstance. The Holy Spirit’s desire becomes our own desire to be part of God’s redemptive work in the world that reaches and transforms souls and the real circumstances of people. What a beautiful picture this is of the reign of God breaking into our world! The greater our maturity in the Word, the greater the Holy Spirit’s desire is in us. Have you ever witnessed the contagious quality of the Holy Spirit’s desire spreading from believer to believer? 
 
It is not only the Holy Spirit’s desire in us that makes an impact on the world around us. There is also the Holy Spirit’s miraculous power working through this desire. If there is ever a setting where we should believe in the miraculous power of God, it is in the arena of God’s work in redeeming souls and circumstances and bringing about God’s kingdom on earth. God’s plan has been to use ordinary men and women, who have become mature disciples of Christ, to be the vessels of this miraculous power.
 
By miraculous power, we mean churches given up for dead coming back to life because one or more fired-up believers began to pray and get a vision. They started pouring all of who they were into reaching, caring, serving, and witnessing to their faith in the community outside the walls of their church. Miraculous power is at work in birthing new communities of faith where none existed before. Miraculous power is involved in people tackling the seemingly intractable problems that diminish life for marginal communities and bringing people real relief and hope. Miraculous power is involved in tearing down walls of division and bringing healing and reconciliation. Miraculous power is involved in bringing people to Christ. This power is also evident in the redemption of souls and the healing that people receive from their past hurts, habits, and hang-ups. The list goes on.
 
What other instances can think of where souls and circumstances are changed through the miraculous power of God? How have you seen people become the living vessels of the Holy Spirit’s desire to bring the reign of God on earth?    
 
I see a connection between the nature of this transformative work and the life within a mustard seed, yeast working secretly in the dough, the search for treasure and pearls, and the selling of all one has to obtain these priceless treasures.
 
What other connections do you see as you reflect on the four parables we have studied this far?
 
 
Learning to Navigate Between the Values of the Kingdom and the World
 
The next parable is called the parable of the dragnet. You will notice it is similar to the parable of the wheat and the weeds that we studied last week.
 
⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
 
A dragnet is a large fishing net that takes a group of persons handling it to drag the net through the water to catch fish. The nature of dragnets is that you catch all assortment of fish and various creatures that live in the water. There is nothing to do about it except to sort through what is caught. Christians do not live in ivory towers or stone fortresses. We live life in a world with good and bad influences.
 
I once heard this saying: “We are drowning in a sea of information, but thirsting for truth.” Amen!
 
God will send his angels to sort through the good and the bad at the end of the age, but until then we must navigate through this world with the Word guiding us and directing our values.
 
How do you believe scripture helps us navigate through the world and all of its influences?
 
 
Being Discipled as a Scribe of the Kingdom of Heaven
 
The next verses signal the end of this collection of teachings on the parables. They contain one final parable.
 
⁵¹ “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
 
In this parable, there is a double analogy being made. Jesus is saying that a disciple of his is like a scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven. Scribes in the Jewish tradition received special training from a rabbi to be students, interpreters, and teachers of the law, God’s word. Remember that Jesus was called “rabbi” or “teacher” because people saw Jesus’ adopting this pattern in the way he selected and called twelve disciples to follow him. Jesus’ disciples were different, however, for two reasons: 1) Jesus’ disciples were not the normal sort chosen by rabbis of the time, and 2) every disciple of Jesus was being specially trained or discipled in the ways of the kingdom of heaven. I love this analogy where Jesus compares his disciples to a scribe that has been discipled in the ways of his kingdom. 
 
The analogy does not end here, however. Jesus said that every scribe who is being discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like a household manager who has at his disposal a vast inventory of treasure, and he or she brings from that treasure both what is new and what is old. The inventory of treasure for any scribe would be the law—God’s word. The “new” and “old” part is what makes this parable particularly stimulating.
 
Jesus, himself, throughout his ministry, took from the treasure of the Hebrew scripture (Old Testament) that which is new and that which is old. Again and again, we see Jesus giving new and fresh interpretations to the ancient wisdom found in scripture. Yet, when we see the interpretation he gives, we wonder if Jesus’ interpretation is not closer and truer to what was intended by the scripture. 
 
Like all faithful interpreters of scripture, Jesus used scripture to apply to other scriptures as he went about interpreting them. We know, for instance, that Jesus believed the whole law could be summed up in the commands to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, might, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We can definitely see evidence that Jesus used this scripture to interpret other parts of scripture. 
 
A great example of Jesus’ pattern of interpreting scripture can be found in the fifth chapter of Matthew. If you will remember, this chapter is the first of three chapters devoted to the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, he sets out on the wildly ambitious task of giving a fresh interpretation to God’s commands. He does not do this to be pedantic, or controversial, or professorial. Jesus was laying the foundation for people to be discipled in the ways of the kingdom of heaven.  
 
Jesus made sure his followers understood that he did not intend to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but rather to fulfill them (vs. 17). He said that unless their righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven (vs. 20). His audience would immediately begin to wonder how they would be able to exceed the righteousness of their religious leaders. Then, they would hear the masterful way Jesus began to interpret God’s commands.
    
We see this unfold according to the following pattern: “You have heard it said…but I say to you.” In each instance, we hear Jesus take from God’s commands and make a new life application from the ancient wisdom of the scriptures. In each case, Jesus shows his followers how to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. 
 
Jesus took the command against murder and applied it to the soul-killing ways we insult one another and treat one another in anger (vs. 21-26). Jesus commanded his disciples to take the responsibility to seek reconciliation. Jesus was raising the bar on the commandment against murder.
 
Jesus took the command against adultery and applied to the way men objectify women in the lust of their hearts (vs. 27-30). Jesus raised the bar and said that someone who looks with lust upon another human being has already committed adultery in his heart.
 
Jesus attacked the practice where members of the religious establishment justified men divorcing their wives without cause by twisting the law of Moses to suit their own ends (vs. 31-32). Jesus said that this was wrong because of the way it left women destitute in society. Jesus closed the loophole where men could casually discard their wives. (You can find a longer, more complete discussion that Jesus has about this matter in Matthew 19:3-9.)
 
Jesus attacked elaborate practices of oath-taking that were developed by, again, twisting the law of Moses. People used these corruptions of the Mosaic law to justify evading the truth and breaking their promises. Jesus said just let your “yes be yes” and your “no be no.” (Verses 33-37)
 
Jesus took the law, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” and raised the bar (vs. 38-42). The original law was good in that it limited vengeance. The courts did not take the law literally but used it set up a system of paying compensatory damages that were proportional to the damage or loss experienced by the victim. Jesus, however, raised the bar again. He talked about disciples turning the other cheek when someone struck them in the face. When a Roman soldier pressed a disciple of Jesus into service to carry a load for a mile, that person was challenged to go a second mile. Jesus was not calling his followers to be doormats, but to exercise their initiative and blow the minds of their oppressor by showing an unexpected kindness in the face of oppression.
 
In the last example in this chapter, we see plainly what Jesus has been arguing for throughout the chapter. Jesus took the command to love one’s neighbors and expanded it to include loving one’s enemies (vs. 43-48). Everyone can love their neighbor, but to love one’s enemies is a surefire way to become salt and light in the culture so that a person’s good works can be seen and result in giving glory to the Father (vs. 13-16). Throughout Matthew 5, Jesus has been arguing for a relational, love ethic to be applied to the interpretation and application of God’s laws.
 
What we see in Matthew 5 is a perfect example of Jesus taking what is new and what is old by reinterpreting the law of Moses in the light of his relational take on the law. You could even argue whether Jesus’ interpretation was new or if Jesus was simply getting down to what should have been understood to be the heart of the law all along. Jesus’ interpretation was new compared to the way the scribes and Pharisees had been interpreting things. This is why Jesus’ audiences were astounded with the authority with which Jesus taught. 
 
Jesus also offered fresh takes on what it means to be clean and what it means to keep the sabbath. Through Jesus’ interpretation of scripture, he sought to remove the social and religious stigma that was unfairly projected onto people with physical defects and disease. He also fought against rules related to sabbath keeping that seemed to miss the point or unfairly penalized those who had to work to eke out a living. In the sixth chapter of Matthew, also a part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tried to take the emphasis off of looking holy and put the emphasis instead on being holy and humble, out from public view. Jesus’ relational take on scripture comes out in the way Jesus taught. 
 
It was also clear that Jesus was not lowering the bar for his disciples, but instead he was raising the bar. When the disciples of Jesus lived out his teachings, it resulted in the righteousness of his disciples exceeding that of the scribes and the Pharisees. 
 
Jesus’ way of interpreting scripture brings out the transformative nature of scripture. The word becomes like a seed when planted in the fertile soil of a Christ-follower who seeking to be a scribe discipled for the kingdom of heaven. The word is like the yeast hidden in the dough transforming the dough and expanding its size and impact. Such a reading of scripture calls for a whole-hearted response to the word and calls forth the investment of one’s whole life in fulfilling scripture and bringing out the treasure found in it.
 
As you have encountered this lesson, how are you putting all of these parables together? What importance would you give to a disciple’s formation? Would you agree with the saying that the Church is suffering from Biblical illiteracy? What do you think we should do about this? How is God calling you to make a difference?
  
Prayer 
Gracious God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, You sent your Son to teach an amazing new way of reading and applying scripture to life for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Challenge us to become more active students of the Bible, that we may be discipled to promote the righteous reign of God through our words and deeds, through Christ our Lord, who reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.  
 
Dr. Jay Harris serves as the Superintendent of Clergy and District Services for the South Georgia Conference. Email him at jharris@sgaumc.com. Find his plot-driven guide to reading the Bible, the “Layered Bible Journey,” at www.layeredbiblejourney.com.