AfterWords: Parables of Jesus – All In

 

Matthew 13:44-46

As we come to the end of our series on Parables, Jesus gives us a doublet—two parables that are related…yet oh so different! We recall that Jesus takes something common and ordinary in a parable and infuses new meaning and a deeper understanding.

Both of these parables are about the “kingdom of heaven.” Matthew uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” because he writes primarily to or for Jewish Christians…something he reveals by his many quotations from the Jewish Scriptures/Old Testament. Because this is his audience, he is by tradition reluctant to even write the word “God” because God is so respected, so he uses a common literary device—the metonym. Just as we might say, “Washington is certainly keeping life interesting these days” in reference to our federal government, so Matthew uses “kingdom of heaven” in place of “kingdom of God.” Now, on to the parables!

The first parable opens with “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure….” Someone stumbles upon the treasure…realizes they want this in their life, they have to have it…and they sell out everything to have this treasure. The treasure is the kingdom of heaven or the reign of God in their lives. The treasure includes the peace, wisdom, grace, and love of God. Determined to have this, the person who makes the discovery sells out and goes “all in.”

Going “all in” looks different in different people’s lives. “All in” is not about t-shirts, bumper stickers, hairstyles, or affected speech. When we look in the Gospels, being “all in” for some means leaving their nets and family, for some it means selling everything they have and giving their wealth to the poor, and for some it means walking away from being with Jesus to go home and tell their community about the goodness of God. While there are no hard and fast rules for what “all in” looks like on the outside, we do know that Jesus makes it clear to us what going “all in” is about: Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” We let go of our self-centeredness, recognize that we have to live today, and learn from Jesus. That is how we go “all in.”

The second parable is a bit trickier. In fact, most people miss it. They’ll say, “Yeah, the kingdom of heaven is like a pearl.” But, that’s not what Jesus says. He says, “…the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant….” And that changes everything. Four other times in “kingdom of heaven” parables, Jesus compares the kingdom to a person—to a man, a landowner, a king, a farmer. Every time he does this, that person represents God. Every time. So, why would we presume Jesus is doing something different here? The merchant is God. And God goes looking for the pearl of great value. In the Old Testament (Malachi and Zachariah), the people of God, the “saints of God,” are compared to jewels, so does it not make sense that the pearl stands for us? God finds us—and God lets go of everything. God leaves heaven, lets go of omniscience and omnipotence, and allows himself to be born as a frail human in a dingy manger—God goes “all in” for us.

In effect, these parables are mirror images of each other. In one, we are moving towards God…even stumble upon God. In the other, God is moving towards us. In fact, while we’re stumbling around looking for life and purpose and meaning, God has already gone “all in” for us…determined to have us.

What a beautiful way to come to a close for this sermon series as we move towards Advent. Even in the parables, we are reminded of the best news of all: God’s love for us and God’s action on our behalf. May we go “all in” for the God who has gone “all in” for us. Amen.

Sunday, November 23, 2025
“Parables: ‘All In”
Watch/Listen: HERE

AfterWords: Parables of Jesus – Faithful & Wise

 

Matthew 24:32-25

Today’s parable comes about in a different way in that it is part of a larger discourse—the “Olivet Discourse” that we find fills chaps. 24 & 25 of Matthew. His disciples have heard about the end of the Temple, and they ask Jesus to tell them more about the “end of the age.”

Jesus begins with descriptions rivaling the Old Testament prophets or John’s visions from the Revelation—famines, earthquakes, persecution, “the abomination that causes desolation,” false prophets, and more. Then Jesus tells the parable (“lesson”) of the fig tree. Jesus uses the fig tree—one of the last trees to get its sap up after the cold of winter. Just as the fig tree is late in budding, so the coming of the “end of the age” will be late in coming. But, Jesus indicates we’re to keep our eyes open for that time.

Jesus then tells three parables in a row to drive his own point home. He tells the parable of the ten virgins (or bridesmaids), the parable of the talents, and the parable of the sheep and goats. The first focuses on the five wise and five foolish virgins. The second considers three servants who have the opportunity of make the most of their time…and one is fearful, unimaginative, and overly careful—and suffers for this behavior. Finally, the sheep and the goats actually relates to the “end times,” to a time of judgement. Those who do the good work of feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, visiting the imprisoned are received into the Kingdom…and those who do not are “cursed,” expelled from Kingdom.

Interestingly, in Jesus’ response to his disciples’ questions about the “end of the age,” Jesus talks very much about the here-and-now. This long discourse shows us that we find our place at the end of time through how we live today. While some in modern Christian culture have thought of “professing their faith” as assuring their place in the future reign of God, as a sort of ‘fire insurance,’ Jesus teaches us that our place in the future is assured by how we live today. Living faithfully and wisely now means we don’t have to worry about our place with God in the future. Or, in other words, a profession of faith without a life that reflects that faith is useless.

Today, Jesus does assure us once again that this life and this world is not the end. Something more awaits us…a world set right, a world of justice and goodness and God. But, we do not need to sit around thinking about that. Rather, Jesus tells us to live today…to live faithful and wise lives. That “eternal life” of the Gospels, that “life to the full” Jesus talks about—these are not some far-off, future realities. They are the realities we begin living now…today.

Sunday, November 16, 2025
“Parables: Faithful and Wise”
Watch/Listen: HERE

 

AfterWords: Parables of Jesus—A Godly Invasion

 

Mark 4:30-32

When Jesus talks about “mustard,” he and his culture have nothing around that compares to what we find in our French’s bottles or Grey Poupon jars. For them, the seed is used for cooking…as are the leaves of the plant. These things (seeds and leaves), the people know all about. And, as Jesus does in his parables, he takes something common, everyday and infuses new meaning.

At the beginning of this parable, Jesus makes very clear what he’s talking about:  “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?” (v.30). This is about the kingdom of God, not about mustard at all. In the Greek of Mark’s Gospel, the phrase is “basileian tou theou” – a phrase that can be translated “Kingdom of God,” “Reign of God,” or “Rule of God.” While we have traditionally translated the phrase with “kingdom,” “rule” might be a better, more helpful way to understand God’s activity on earth. After all, God has not established a kingdom as we often think of kingdoms—walled cities or geographically defined areas (ex. United Kingdom). Rather, God’s reign is beautifully fluid, undefined, able to go anywhere and everywhere. The reign of God flows through hospitals and prisons, through our lives, and through our communities—regardless of language, culture, or location.

Jesus says that reign of God is like a mustard seed…a seed that falls into the soil, puts down roots, and bursts through the soil surface to become “…the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade” (v.32).

In our own lives, when we allow God to enter—just a small seed planted in the soil of our lives, the reign of God begins to grow in us. Jesus’ teachings take root in our lives, and soon the rule of God in us bursts through in the forms of good works and good words.

The mustard plant (brassica nigra) is an invasive plant…a plant that soon pushes other plants aside and begins the fill the space. The reign of God is just as invasive—it soon begins to push aside the anger, anxiety, fears, and discontent of our lives. As the reign of God grows in us, loving kindness, joy, and peace begin to take over the garden of our lives.

We nurture and water this new growth in our lives—the reign of God—by taking time to be with God and with God’s people. When we make time for prayer, or Bible study, or inspiring music, or worship time with others—when we do this, the reign of God is able to grow and flourish within us.

May we nurture God’s reign and rule and kingdom within us. When we do, our lives become a place of shade…or rest and renewal for others.

Sunday, November 2, 2025
“Parables: Preparing the Soil”
Watch/Listen: HERE