Kingdom of Heaven – Seek Grow Love

Storytime when putting the grandchildren to bed is the best. One of my favorite books is called “Tale of Two Beasts”. In the story, a little girl is walking through the forest and finds a small beast hanging upside down from a branch. She decides to take this little one home and turn him into a pet. The book first tells the story from the perspective of the little girl. The second part of the book tells the story from the perspective of the little beast. Gradually, the two tales come together in a happy ending as they learn to appreciate one another despite their differing perspectives. I love the book because it teaches something I think is important and that is to step back and consider the perspectives of others throughout life. Many, if not most, children’s books attempt to teach a lesson through storytelling. In Matthew 13, we see that Jesus knew the power of stories in teaching abstract principles through parables. He knew that using parables was an effective way to communicate profound truths about faith and life. He merely looked around him and identified familiar elements and characters like farmers, fishermen, bread making, and harvesting crops that could be used to help his listeners understand deeper spiritual truth. Using learning principles that we’ve identified today, he uses metaphors and similes to draw comparisons of the everyday to deeper spiritual truths. These stories stay with us and help us to understand and remember what Jesus wanted us to know. The stories told over 2000 years ago still have relevance to us today.

The beautiful thing about parables is it teaches a truth that at first glance seems simple yet allowing for increasing layers of understanding. Like the layers of an onion, a parable provides layers of depth and nuance that with reflection and application can reveal increasing insights while challenging individuals to grapple with the truths and grow from them. Jesus is using these stories to turn the listener into a participant rather than just the audience—the best way to learn. Parables Jesus shared are sprinkled throughout the gospels; Matthew 13 contains several significant ones teaching about faith and the Kingdom of God.

Parable of the Sower: A sower scatters seeds on different types of soil; the path, rocky ground, thorn and good soil with each type of soil representing different responses to the message of the Kingdom of Heaven. It asks, “How do you receive the message of the kingdom?”

Tares and the Wheat: The combination of tares and wheat together teach lessons about the coexistence of good and evil in the world, emphasizing the importance of discernment and patient waiting. It asks, “How do you understand and identify between good and evil?”

The Mustard Seed: Just as a tiny mustard seed can grow into a large plant, even the smallest amount of faith can be transformative. It asks, “How does your faith, even if it is found in small belief and actions, lead to significant outcomes?”

The Leaven: A woman mixes leaven into the dough causing it to rise and transform into a delicious loaf of bread just as the message of the Kingdom of Heaven can gradually and irreversibly alter the world. It asks, “How can you be influential by sharing the message of the Kingdom of Heaven?

Hidden Treasures: A man discovers a treasure and recognizes its value, selling everything to buy the field where the treasure is hidden. The discovery of the message of the Kingdom of Heaven is a remarkable treasure that is worth sacrificing everything to obtain it. It asks, “What are you willing to sacrifice to pursue the incomparable value of the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Costly Pearl: A merchant is actively searching for fine pearls and when he finds one of great value, sells everything he has to purchase it just as a person searches for truth and spiritual connection. It asks, “How are you diligent in your search for truth and are you willing to give up everything to make it yours?”

The Dragnet: The fisherman casts out a net that gathers in all kinds of fish, just as the message of the kingdom will gather in all types who will eventually be subjected to God’s judgment. It asks, “How do you respond to the “all types” gathered together by the gospel message”?

As you engage in these stories, immerse yourself in the “world” that Jesus is creating for us. If it is the Parable of the Sower, imagine yourself walking through the field and seeing where the seeds you scatter are landing. If it is “The Leaven”, imagine that you are the one making the bread and leaven to make it rise. Becoming a part of the story will allow you to deeply engage with the lesson Jesus is teaching. Approach them with an open heart and mind, asking, “What can I learn and take away from this story”. Reflect on the story and connect the teachings with your own life asking, “How is what I am learning impacting my faith, my relationships and my behavior”? The ultimate test is to begin to apply what you have learned and allow those insights to change how you live.

Questions for reflection

Which of these parables resonate most closely with you?

Focus on one parable. Imagine yourself in the context of the story and immerse yourself for a moment in the action. How does that impact your understanding of the parable?

If Jesus was walking through your world today, what might he choose to build a parable around?

How do you think a parable might increase your faith?

SGL.2025.SeptemberFullPage Download

Good Seed, Weed Seed

Old Testament: Genesis 33 & 34

Poetry: Psalm 14

New Testament: Matthew 13:24-43

“The Kingdom of heaven is like…”Six times we will read that phrase through the rest of Matthew 13 as Jesus shares parable after parable, with the purpose of explaining the Kingdom of heaven, first to the large crowd on the shore and then more directly to his disciples. Jesus knows that they are expecting a Messiah to come rule and set up a kingdom that will overthrow the Roman army and government. Jesus wants them to know the Kingdom he is teaching about is far greater and very different from what they are looking and hoping for.

It is interesting that Matthew is the only Old or New Testament writer who will use the phrase “kingdom of heaven”. Many of the same parables will also be told in Mark and Luke and they will use the phrase “kingdom of God”. John doesn’t include all of Jesus’ parables in his gospel account, but does write of the “kingdom of God.” So, why is Matthew different? As a Jew himself Matthew was writing to convince the other Jews that Jesus was indeed the Messiah promised to Jews long ago. His original audience was very aware of God’s laws about misusing His name and so they cautiously omitted referring to God by name and replaced God’s name with the place God dwells – heaven. Matthew was not trying to create confusion about where this Kingdom would take place. As we read these parables and continue throughout the gospels and New Testament let’s look again and again to see if the hope of the kingdom Jesus taught is to be whisked away to live in clouds or to inherit and possess the land. And when does it take place?

A word repeated many more times than “kingdom” in Matthew 13 is “hear”. Open up your ears and really listen to what Jesus has to say. Don’t assume you’ve heard this sermon before so you can check out. He has mysteries to reveal about the kingdom, but so many will miss it because they don’t really listen to the words of Jesus. So, this year instead of reading through Matthew 13 in one day we thought it would be profitable to slow down and take the parables one day at a time. Many times through the year in our SeekGrowLove Bible reading plan when we come to a new parable we will give a day to the reading and thinking and hearing of that parable. Sometimes the devotion might be written about one of the other Bible passages, but you can still take the opportunity to soak in what Jesus is saying and teaching, often about God’s kingdom.

So, today’s parable is about weeds (we’ll go back and hit the mustard seed and yeast tomorrow). Who doesn’t love a good weed story? And, with this particular weed parable we get the benefit of hearing Jesus’ explanation when the disciples questioned Jesus after the crowds were gone. But the story didn’t start with weeds – it started with the Son of Man planting good wheat seeds in the world. But then the devil sneaks in at night and plants weed seeds. And so the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the evil one grow up together. This is your neighborhood, your school, your office environment, your world. Side by side. Sons of the kingdom and sons of the evil one. Growing older and taller, together. All mixed up, together. Side by side. Wheat and weeds. Righteous and wicked. Until…

Why do we have to wait? Can’t we just take out the weeds NOW? No, Jesus says. Both will grow together until the time of the harvest at the end of the age. Will the weeds and the wheat be sorted out when they each die? No, Jesus says. Both will grow together until the time of the harvest at the end of the age. We aren’t there yet, but every day we are a day closer. What will the harvest look like? Let’s hear what Jesus has to say: “The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 13:41-43).

Wheat or weeds? You are one or the other. There isn’t a third choice. Which do you want to be?

Son of the Kingdom or Son of the evil one? You are one or the other. Which do you want to be? Which will you strive to be? What will it look like?

Fiery furnace or shining like the sun? Which will the harvest reveal as your destiny?

Have you heard the words of Jesus? How will you respond?

-Marcia Railton

Reflection Questions

What have you been taught about the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven? Does it line up with Jesus’ words and teachings?
How can we better listen to and actually hear and then respond to the words of Jesus?
What encouragement and warnings do you find in the parable of the weeds?
How can you grow as a Son of the Kingdom living amongst the sons of the evil one?
What are some of the “everything that causes sin” that you look forward to being destroyed at the harvest at the end of the age?

SGLCalendar2024 Download

Master Storyteller

Matthew 13

January 13

I was excited to see that Matthew 13 begins with the Parable of the Sower because that is definitely one of my favorite parables. And then there was the Parable of the Weeds – oh that’s a great one, too. And, the Mustard Seed and Yeast. As well as the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl and finally, the Fishing Net. I believe Matthew 13 is the home of more parables than any other chapter of the Bible -but please correct me if I am wrong. It’s been a long time since I was in junior high, but I still remember Joyce Knapp, my junior high class Sunday School teacher, describing parables as earthly stories with heavenly meaning. Jesus was a master at telling stories about common, everyday things everyone listening would know about (fields, farming, seeds, yeast, weeds, fishing nets), and creating out of it a deeper spiritual, godly lesson. He didn’t give long confusing lectures filled with mile long words that you need a masters level degree to understand. He wanted to make it as simple as he could so that anyone willing to listen with an open mind could learn, even while knowing that many would not get it because they didn’t want to change or didn’t think they needed what Jesus had to offer.

What was it Jesus was offering? What was the point of all these earthly stories with “heavenly” meaning? It is interesting that Matthew is the only gospel writer who uses the phrase “The kingdom of heaven is like…” to introduce many of Jesus’ parables. In fact the term “kingdom of heaven” is only found in the book of Matthew (31 times – and 8 of those are in Matthew 13). The other gospel writers, as well as Paul in his letters, refer instead to the kingdom of God (even Matthew uses this term 5 times). When Matthew was writing with the Jews in mind he knew they took very seriously the commandment to, “Not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (Exodus 20:7) So, in order to remain guiltless it might be better to not use his name at all. So, when speaking of God and godly things, Matthew often replaced the word God with heaven as that is the throne of God and it would be understood that he was speaking of godly, holy matters belonging to God, without having to risk misusing his name or offending a Jewish listener. These parables are not about being whisked away to heaven when you die. Indeed, they are very much grounded in what is happening on earth both now and in the future judgment. These parables of the kingdom of heaven/God are down-to-earth stories illustrating spiritual/Godly matters.

Take some time today reading and even rereading these parables. Each one has a gem hidden for those who will listen and seek. Each one reveals a little more about what Jesus found most important, what God is preparing, what is required, what is most valuable, what the evil one is up to, what is promised, what are dangerous challenges, what is worthy of sacrifice, what judgment will look like, what is to come, what will be. It’s a treasure hunt in Jesus’ parables. What does the Master want you to find in his stories?

There is one verse that really struck me as I read and re-read Matthew 13. It seems to say perfectly what discussed earlier this week about not throwing away the Old Testament but adding to it the love and beauty of Jesus and what he taught and what he has done and will do. After telling 7 parables Jesus asks his disciples if they are getting it. They reply yes. Then, “He (Jesus) said to them, ‘Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.'” (Matthew 13:52 – NIV) The teacher of the (Old Testament) law who learns and lives by these (New Testament) principles spoken by Jesus and recorded by Matthew as the kingdom of heaven parables and teachings has double the treasure – both old and new.

What treasure in His Word will you find today? How will you use these treasures to make a difference in your life? How will you use these treasures to make a difference in someone else’s life?

-Marcia Railton

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Which of the Matthew 13 parables is your favorite today? Why? What is the lesson Jesus was teaching? Why is this important? How can you apply it or put it into action today?
Jesus chose perfect illustrations for his parables. Even 2,000 years later, even if you are not a farmer, you know what happens when a seed is planted. Even if you have never been fishing, you understand how a net works. But consider how you would create a parable with one of these same teachings using a modern day illustration.
Consider the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23). What 4 types of soil did Jesus mention and what do they stand for? What happened to each of the seeds? Have you seen these 4 instances occur to others? What kind of soil best describes you right now, and in the past? What lessons can you learn for evangelism from this parable?

2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading Plan Download

The 5 W’s of Coaching the Dream Team

Matthew 10

matthew 10 32 33

WHO will go?

Peter

Andrew

James

John

Philip

Bartholomew

Thomas

Matthew

The other James

Thaddaeus

Simon

Judas

In today’s reading we observe Jesus delivering the ultimate pep talk to the “Dream Team” – excluding one. (Spoiler alert: by the end of the Book of Matthew it will be abundantly clear that one of these gentleman will be ejected from the team.) This pre-game speech comes on the heels of Jesus overwhelmed with the needs of the people he’s encountered in the past few weeks. He needs help, so he enlists these 12 with quite a rallying cry. They will soon be experiencing “on the job training” and his instructions are enduring.

WHERE will they travel?

Jesus makes it explicitly clear just where the “Dream Team” is to deliver his message: the lost sheep of Israel. (verse 5) “Don’t go to the Gentiles or any Samaritan village.” It was not quite time to take this radical message to the other communities. Perhaps Jesus thought the message would be better received first within Jewish circles since prophecies had been foretold for HUNDREDS of years regarding his coming? (Or not.) Doesn’t take long before the hometown crowd turns from cheers to jeers as the game progresses and one of those “Dream Team” players plots to sabotage the whole tournament.

WHAT will they say?

“The Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (verse 7) This is the message the disciples are to deliver. They will proclaim this message of power and authority given to them by Christ himself when they demonstrate these actions: 1) Heal the sick. 2) Raise the dead. 3) Cleanse those who have leprosy. 4) Drive out demons.

Sure Jesus… Need anything else?

As you might imagine, this is quite a directive, and he wasn’t quite done instructing. “Travel light” was just the tip of the iceberg. For the rest of the chapter Jesus spells out what to keep an eye out for. He tells you not to get discouraged even though you should expect to be unwelcomed, flogged, arrested, hated, persecuted, abandoned and lied about by your family, and most likely, killed. Where can I sign up?

WHY & WHEN will this occur?

My favorite verses of why this is all to occur shoots from verses 16 & 17. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Beth Moore, a renowned Bible teacher recently tweeted it best,

“What I think has happened here is that in our discipleship, we are not teaching what is normative in the believing life. When we carry our cross and we follow Jesus, we are walking into a storm. We were told that in Matthew 10 we will be ‘sheep among wolves,’ not wolves among sheep.”

Beth goes on to further tweet that “sheep among wolves” means Christians will be “persecuted,” “criticized,” “imprisoned” and even killed for speaking the truth.

“We have been very proud of the fact that we have not subscribed to a prosperity gospel. But what we have subscribed to is a pampered gospel where we are so afraid of suffering and we are so afraid someone is going to criticize us and hurt our feelings.”

Hello. That sounds just like January 15, 2019, and speaks to WHEN. Once again we see that God’s word is timeless and a double-edged sword for all generations cutting to the heart of the problem. Whatever it takes, no matter how unpopular, we must contend for the gospel. Just like Jesus called the disciples to move out of their “comfort zones,” we too must grow a thicker skin. Beth’s final tweet about this subject sums it up:

“All that stands between us & an astonishing work of the Holy Spirit is repentance. Quit being scared of rocking a boat that has run aground on an island of compromise. Walk on water.”

What would our lives and our futures look like if we invested our earthly time and resources into eternal values? How would you live if you were completely confident that every act of love, service, or unselfishness would carry reward where it mattered (and lasted) most – even if nobody in your neighborhood, church, or community ever noticed? “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward” (Verse 42).

We are now mid-January. How many of us have long forgotten our resolutions for the New Year? Jesus was trying to teach his “Dream Team” to not focus on the here-and now. Instead of looking for New Year’s resolutions we can keep, what if we tried finding some that could actually keep us.

Sign me up. Lord, please teach me to play on your team!

-Julie Driskill

Tag: Kingdom of Heaven

Storytime in the Gospels