I forgot a couple of parables that Yeshua` said to all the people outside the building that should have been discussed before the last parable of the treasure hidden in a field.
Let's go back a few verses:
Matthew 13:31-33
31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
KJV
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
The third parable, the Mustard Seed, talks about the Kingdom of the Messiah starting out small, just in the present land of Isra’el, but grows until it fills the earth and provides shelter for “the birds of the air.” We are not told who these “birds of the air” are; therefore, the importance of the parable is not on the “birds of the air” but on the “shelter” the Kingdom provides. This is reminiscent of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter 2 that Daniel interpreted for the king:
Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45
34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
. . . . .
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
KJV
The “stone cut out of the mountain without hands” struck the feet of the statue; broke it into rubble; then the stone grew until it “became a great mountain and filled the whole earth!” It also reminds me of the dream that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed and described in Daniel 4:10-12:
Daniel 4:10-12
10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
KJV
Daniel later interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and the tree represents the emperor himself as the head - the emperor or the "king of kings" - of his empire, Babylon (Bavel).
The Parable of the Leaven
The fourth parable, the Leaven Hidden in Three Measures of Flour, talks about the Kingdom of the Messiah being that leaven and growing until the whole three measures of flour were influenced by the leaven or yeast. This is probably the most misunderstood of all the parables of Matthew 13 and perhaps of all the parables of Yeshua`. The leaven is not a type of sin in this instance; the leaven is referring to the influence the Kingdom will have over the rest of the world’s governments. Why “three measures of flour?” Jesus (Yeshua`) did not say, but that fact is probably not important except to say that it was a huge amount of flour for making bread.
The leaven IS the Kingdom! And as it grows, it will influence more and more of the countries surrounding it and the world in general. As I've said, when the King was here the first time, He chose to deal with individuals and on a one-by-one basis. He had the worst success (even though it was still success) when huge crowds gathered around Him.
In the Messiah's love,
Retrobyter
No comments:
Post a Comment