Jesus' parables on the kingdom of heaven

And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?  For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.  For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."  And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.  He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.  The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.  But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."  And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,  yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."  With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. - Mark 4:21‭-‬34 ESV

Rev. Ryan Egli

The gospels are historical narratives of the good news of Jesus. In today's passage, Jesus is just starting his ministry. He is teaching using parables. 

There are three parables. They are not interpreted for us. Jesus privately explained to his disciples, but not to us. Parables are explained in some places in the Bible. So that's fine. Jesus is a king of a kingdom, but not of this world. It is a strange thing to think about, this kingdom of heaven. It is an upside down kingdom. The poor are lifted up, but the rich struggle there. The humble are lifted up, the proud humbled.

Jesus is a king who reveals truth

Jesus talks about understanding parables. Why is more taken from those with little? This isn't in regards to the  poor, but rather how much we understand of the parables. Those who know more will be given more. His parables contain truth and reveals how this works truly works.

Heaven is like growing plants

When we think of heaven, we often consider large armies, opulent palaces, and glorious kings. But what does Jesus say about the kingdom of heaven? He talks about a farmer and maybe not even a very sophisticated one at that. It is very close and near.. Very intimate. The kingdom is self automating. We don't need to worry or be anxious about bringing about the kingdom of God. The farmer sleeps and the seeds are doing their thing. Christians cannot force people to have faith and believe. We can only sow seeds and pray. This parable is about how we should act during the quiet and seeming inaction of God. We may not see God moving or growth, but we should be assured that the kingdom is growing and there will be a harvest.

The kingdom of heaven is like a small mustard seed.

The kingdom grows slowly, but becomes a very large tree. So it is with the kingdom of heaven. It seems small, feeble, and weak. It started with a small people called the Israelites. It's first adherents were poor, uneducated, and marginalized. It calls people to reject the ways of the world. 

So what of a Christian now between Jesus Resurrection and His eventual return? We are not to hope in an earthly utopia. We cannot science our way beyond the reach of sin and brokenness in our lives. We are not to be overly optimistic that heaven is here in our lives now. There is still brokenness. But we are not to be completely pessimistic either, we are not called to huddle in our churches waiting for Jesus to come back. This is not what Jesus tells us. We are to create an outpost pointing to heaven. We are to preserve and restore relationships with God, neighbors, family, and friends. We are to restore peace and wholeness where we can as we can knowing it is not heaven, but just a taste of heaven.