Home     

The Parable of the Mustard
  Seed

   Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52

   Good News Translation (GNT)

*************************

   The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31  Jesus told them another parable:
   "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man
   takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field.
32  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when
   it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants.
   It becomes a tree, so that birds come and
   make their nests in its branches."

   The Parable of the Yeast
33  Jesus told them still another parable:
   "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman
   takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel
   of flour until the whole batch of dough rises."

   The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44  "The Kingdom of heaven is like this.
   A man happens to find a treasure hidden
   in a field. He covers it up again, and is so
   happy that he goes and sells everything he
   has, and then goes back and buys that field.

   The Parable of the Pearl
45  "Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this.
   A man is looking for fine pearls,
46  and when he finds one that is unusually fine,
   he goes and sells everything he has, and buys
   that pearl.

   The Parable of the Net
47  "Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this.
   Some fishermen throw their net out in the lake
   and catch all kinds of fish.
48  When the net is full, they pull it to shore and
   sit down to divide the fish: the good ones go
   into the buckets, the worthless ones are
   thrown away.
49  It will be like this at the end of the age:
   the angels will go out and gather up the evil
   people from among the good
50  and will throw them into the fiery furnace,
   where they will cry and gnash their teeth.

   New Truths and Old
51  "Do you understand these things?"
   Jesus asked them.

   "Yes," they answered.

52  So he replied, "This means, then,
   that every teacher of the Law who becomes a
   disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like a
   homeowner who takes new and old things out
   of his storage room."

*************************

The commentary is a compilation taken from 'word-on-the-web' supplied by Scripture Union and
a free Bible commentary app
with readings by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel from HTB in London.

The Parable of the Mustard
  Seed

     Matthew 13.31-33 and 44-52

Today's readings encourage us to use spiritual eyes to discern God at work. The Lord, in these verses, is teaching his people about the need for patience and trust.
God's kingdom is growing!
Just as the mustard seed (vs 31, 32) and the yeast (v 33) inevitably become far greater than many might expect, so it is with the kingdom of God. The yeast underlines that growth which may seem inconspicuous is happening slowly but surely and affects many areas of life.

In between the parable of the weeds and the parable of the net, Jesus tells two very short parables about discovering the kingdom
(vv.44-46).
The only difference between the two is that in one case the person was actively searching (v.45) and in the other he seemed to stumble across it (v.44).
In both, there is something of enormous value ('treasure' v.44, 'fine pearls' v.45). In both cases it was worth selling everything to get it (vv.44,46).
This is where true 'joy' (v.44), real 'treasure' (v.44) and 'great value' (v.46) are to be found.

The kingdom of heaven is all about knowing the King.
It is all about Jesus and how you respond to him. How everyone responds to Jesus really matters both for this life and beyond.

He warns about the fate of those who cause sin and all who do evil (vv.49-50).
He says that he will

'cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage' (vv.49-50, MSG).

Lord, thank you that a relationship with you is the pearl of great value.
Keep me close to you and help me to avoid anything that draws me away from our relationship.

Other versions are available here

Return to the Home Page

  Contact the Benefice Office
  Sunday School Rooms, Church Lane,
  BUGBROOKE, Northampton, NN7 3PB
  Land Line: 01604 830373
  E-mail:
  thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
  Mon., Tues., Wed., Thur.
  9:00^am to 11:30^am

  For Baptism bookings  (Christenings)
  to arrange an appointment please contact
  the Benefice Office.

  For Wedding bookings:
  please contact the Benefice Office to arrange
  an appointment.

  Who Made This?
  Seeing as you asked, if you can give helpful
  advice or report factual corrections and
  'deliberate mistakes',email:-
  regparker3 at gmail dot com

  Email addresses shown using words in an
  attempt to avoid 'spam',
  Type the email address replacing 'at' with '@',
  and 'dot' with '.'