MATTHEW 13 MARK 4:1-34 LUKE 15
John the Baptist had exploded on the scene, a whirlwind spitting fire and brimstone at the gawking crowds who came to witness the spectacle of it all. And he never failed to put on a show for them, with his astonishing claim that the Kingdom of heaven, the long-awaited fulfilment of all of God’s promises, was finally close at hand.
And then Jesus showed up. John pointed to Him and said, “There He is. He is the Kingdom-bringer!”
Jesus didn’t look like the Kingdom-bringer; He looked like a homeless rabbi, roaming the countryside and surviving by the kindness of strangers. But Jesus knew something no one else knew, that the Kingdom of heaven did not look like what they were expecting. Still, He wanted them to understand what the Kingdom is and what life is like for a citizen of that Kingdom. Mostly, Jesus wanted them to understand what the King of that Kingdom is like and what He wants for His people.
So Jesus devised a brilliant strategy. The Kingdom-bringer became the Storyteller. He told them stories about a plucky widow who wore down a judge with her persistence and about a farmer whose seed found several different types of soil in the same field. Two men went out to build two houses in two very different locations. A traveler was jumped by bandits and left for dead until a stranger showed up and offered assistance. A middle manager was caught cooking the books and forced into an audit. A king offered to let three servants manage more money than they’d ever seen in their lives.
He moved. He healed. He told stories. His teaching was amazing. Folks came from miles around to hear His captivating tales of ordinary people who had sons, served as attendants at weddings, threw extravagant parties. The stories were mesmerising. They stuck in people’s heads. They found themselves repeating them to people who hadn’t heard them firsthand.
Sometimes the stories were about human nature. We all procrastinate, getting caught up in doing foolish things and frittering away our lives (even though we know we shouldn’t). Sometimes the stories were about the community God has been trying to build since the beginning of time.
Mostly the stories were about what kind of God this YHWH is. He’s like a shepherd who goes out looking for that one little sheep who keeps getting himself lost. He’s like a woman who loses a coin and refuses to give up looking for it. He’s like a father whose son has gone far, far away. He may wish he could be content to sever that relationship once and for all, but he just can’t bring himself to do it. He catches himself looking to the horizon in the afternoon sun, his breath catching every so often. Is that him? Is he coming home?
Jesus’ miracles were explained away by many. His teaching and understanding of the Scriptures were called into question and disputed. But these stories of His, they stick in your head.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the most wonderful Teacher the world has ever known. Your words, which have been recorded for all time in the Gospels, reveal wisdom and truths that are unprecedented and unparalleled. And because of Your boundless understanding of human nature, You knew that many would scoff at and reject the gospel of the Kingdom because the human heart in its natural state is opposed to Your rule and authority. I marvel at the way You used parables to conceal truth from those who would reject it and at the same time reveal truth to those who would receive it. Your stories penetrate the heart and cause us to see things we could not see directly. I ask that I would be a part of the good soil in which the seed of Your Word penetrates and sends roots into my inner being so that it bears fruit on the outside.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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