Our Lord gives two parables about the progress of the kingdom.
In Matthew 13:33, the kingdom is compared to the way leaven works in a huge amount of flour: It works by quietly transforming the dough.
In Matthew 13:31-32, the progress of the gospel is also illustrated. It begins very small and grows into something really big.
We must never forget that before the time of Christ, the mass of humanity was lost and without hope. Except for a small piece of land on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea and synagogues scattered here and there, the world was in utter darkness.
But following our Lord's instructions, his first disciples took the gospel throughout the nations, not only within the Roman Empire, but into India and China as well.
Jesus's words about the birds in the branches of the mustard plant demonstrate that his kingdom is an empire, not unlike those of the Assyrians and Egyptians (Ezekiel 31:2-6).
Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 4:10-12, 14) reveals the Babylonian Empire as providing shelter to the birds and beasts.
Ezekiel also prophesied that following the restoration of the Jewish people from their Babylonian Captivity, she would one day become an empire providing shelter to the birds of the air (Ezekiel 17:22-23). This is the empire about which Jesus speaks in Matthew 13:32.
The preaching of the gospel produces two results: the conversion of individuals and the transformation of society. The one secures heaven; the other makes the world of healthier and happier place.
Christians conquered Rome within less than three centuries, not by killing those who refused to repent, but by being willing to die for their faith.
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After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
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