The Message, July 26, 2026: "The Kingdom of Heaven is Like ..." Matthew 13:31-33, 44-53

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
July 30, 2026

 

“The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like …”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-53

            How do you describe something that is impossible to describe?
            For example, how do you describe how something tastes? Lots of times we say, “It tastes like chicken.” “It tastes like garbage.” “This coffee tastes like dirty water.”
            How do you describe how something smells? Or sounds?
            You compare it to something else. You compare it to something with which the other might be familiar.
            Of course, that raises the question … What does garbage taste like? What does dirty water taste like?
            Of course, it is difficult. It is inexact. Everyone senses things and experiences things in different ways. Some people cannot smell certain things, or taste certain things, or see certain things. All we can do is supply some sort of approximation to provide a frame of reference.
            So then … how do we describe the Kingdom of Heaven? What sort of approximation can we possibly use to give someone an idea of what it is like? Jesus KNOWS what it is, and what it is like, but how can he possibly describe it to us?!

            Jesus did what Jesus does, he drew upon the real, everyday lives of his listeners. Of course, it is fairly unlikely that Jesus rattled off all of these parables rapid fire one after the other. It is more likely that Matthew chose to group them together. Having identified that possibility, it is of no consequence. Over the course of his ministry, as he travelled the countryside, Jesus tried to offer his disciples and his listeners a glimpse of the unknowable.

            Now, there are those among us who struggle with that. Certain human beings, myself included, what to know. We want to understand. We want to have things explained to us. We need to figure out how things work.

            How does one describe that which is indescribable? Jesus could have said, “Just live in the mystery of it.” But he did not do that. He tries to give us a sense … a glimpse … of what the Kingdom of Heaven is. He told parables.

            The Sower goes out to sow. Okay, Jesus, what does that mean? The “seed” is the Word of God cast into the soil. The “soil” is the hearers of the Word. Some of them will hear and understand. Some of them will flourish and grow and produce a harvest that is so bountiful that it exceeds anything that you have ever experienced.

            A yield of thirty-fold, sixty-fold, one hundred-fold, would be impossible to the listener. The BEST possible yield of the BEST harvest is typically ten-fold, fifteen-fold max.

            The farmer sows good seed in the field, but weeds grow up with it. Okay, Jesus, now what does that mean? The wheat are the children of God. But it is difficult to tell the difference between the wheat and the tares when they are immature “plants.” When the harvest time comes, they will be separated, but not by you. The angels, God’s agents, will handle the sorting.

            Today’s group of parables continues from the daily lives and experiences and histories of the listeners. But there is a twist. The first pair of parables, the mustard seed and the leaven address God’s activity in the world. The other pair, the treasure and the pearl speak to the human response to God’s activity.

            The brief parables of the mustard seed and the leaven are sometimes treated as parables of growth; the growth of the church, the growth of faith, the growth of the individual Christian. And to be sure, they are both about growth. However, the emphasis of the two parables is more about transformation. They draw the sharp contrast between the initial and final state in each case. Both of these parables proclaim God’s activity in the world. God is at work in the world, even though there are times that evidence of the work is imperceptible.

            Of course, we want to see evidence. We want to see proof. “Come on God, show us your work.” These two parables are not so much “teaching” parables as they are “preaching” parables. Jesus is proclaiming that the work of God is real, and it is ongoing. He is telling us that although we may not be able to see or understand God’s work or God’s purposes, one day God’s work … God’s Will … will be completed. The parables are really a call to be faithful and to place our trust in God.

            The reality is that the work of God is a mystery. Just like the way that a seed grows from a hard, seemingly dead or inanimate object, into a living plant, or bush or tree is a mystery. Ancient farmers did not know HOW seeds worked, they did not know the science of seeds, they simply trusted that seeds worked. Ancient bakers and homemakers did not know HOW yeast worked, they just knew that it DID work. And perhaps precisely because the listeners did not know HOW they worked Jesus used them to describe God’s activity in the world.

            The term “mustard seed” was actually a common phrase in that ancient culture. It was proverbial for something that was small. For example, a drop of blood was described as a mustard seed, or a small breach of ceremonial law was seen as a mustard seed. The mustard seed was not actually the smallest of seeds, but it came to mean ‘that which is small.’ The Kingdom of Heaven starts out as something very small, and no human being knows how it will grow or how large it will grow.

            The “smallest of seeds” will grow into a large bush. Matthew ups the scale of the transformation and adds in that the tiny seed will grow into a tree. Why not. It is in keeping with the Parable of the Sower and the impossibly abundant yield of the harvest. In the Ancient Near East, one of the most common images for a great kingdom was a tree. There were many references to a great tree under which and within which animals of every sort and variety could find shelter and sustenance. (Ezekiel 31:6)

            This was a powerful and personal message for Jesus’ disciples. They were a tiny group in comparison to the mission to which they were called. Make disciples of all nations. There were just twelve of them. How could they possibly do that? They must have been terribly afraid, and overwhelmed and dismayed at the mission that was theirs.

            And then there is the parable of the leaven …
            Are there any bakers here? Any bread makers?

            Do you know how much “three measures” of flour is? Fifty pounds! Have you ever dumped fifty pounds of flower into a giant mixing bowl? If you work in a commercial bakery, this would be a morning’s work. But for the average baker, especially a first-century baker, this is a monumental task. His listeners knew about baking bread. It was likely a daily activity in their homes but making that much bread was generally beyond their experience or their ability. That would be enough bread to feed one hundred people.

            But again, the point of the parables is not to try to explain them or comprehend them based upon our human experiences. Jesus uses them to get us to open our hearts and minds to something beyond. Jesus wants us to puzzle with it and wrestle with it. He wants us to ask questions, “What does this mean … for me?”

            The words of Psalm 46 come to mind.
            “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
            I will be exalted among the nations,
            I will be exalted in the earth.’” (Psalm 46:10)

            Later in Matthew’s Gospel we read: “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” (Matthew 19:26)
            In John’s Gospel we hear Jesus reassure his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1)

            With God, all things are possible. God can work in the heart of one person. God can work within the heart and soul of a whole community. The seed’s work is hidden underground. It sends out and establishes its root before it pokes its head up through the soil. Otherwise, it would fall over. The yeast does its work unseen. It transforms the flour and other ingredients into something completely different. (No one wants to eat a bowl of flour.) But the result of the work of the leaven IS seen, it rises and bubbles up.

            The work of God can happen … does happen … mysteriously and “secretly” in the world and in human hearts. But the result can clearly be seen. The work of God changes lives and changes the world. 

            I laugh a little when I read the verse in which Jesus asks the disciples, “Have you understood all this?” (v. 51) And the disciples reply, “Yes, yes.” We have seen time and time again where the disciples struggle to comprehend the things that Jesus was showing them and telling them. Do they really understand?

            I always take some comfort in the struggle of the disciples. It takes some of the pressure off the rest of us.

            In that parable of the treasure in the field, the man just stumbled upon the treasure. There is no indication that he knew that it was there. He was going about his job of plowing or preparing the field for planting, and he discovered the treasure buried there.

            And then in the parable of the pearl of great price, the merchant hunted and searched for the pearl. The merchant was intentional in his search for the “treasure.”

            But in both cases, they sold everything in order to secure their treasure. In both cases the treasure, whether sought or stumbled upon, was the Kingdom of Heaven. Both cases speak to our response to the Kingdom, the Realm of God. The parables challenge us on two levels: first to understand, and then to respond.

            To be clear, the two parables are not to be taken literally. (Not that I think that you would.) The Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, is not something that can be purchased or acquired. We cannot “earn” it. It cannot be possessed. The Kingdom of Heaven is a gift given by God. It is to be received as a gift. The Kingdom of God is not a THING that we can clutch or cling to. Rather, it is a sphere, a realm, into which we enter, within which we live.

            And again, the point of the parables is our response to the gift of the Kingdom. Jesus is calling us to trust and faithfulness, and he is calling us to participation. The man who found the treasure and the merchant that found the pearl sold everything. Jesus is telling us that our participation is not partial or part-time. It is complete. Total. Those who hear and understand, those who discover what God is doing in the world must commit themselves wholeheartedly in faithfulness and obedience.

            When the Pharisee asked Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment?” we know how Jesus answered. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

            Sometimes I feel like a broken record. Maybe it feels that way to you as well. But the message of Jesus is clear. 
            Be faithful.
            Love God with everything you have and with all that you are.
            Love God by loving your neighbors.
            This is a 24/7 call. It is full-time, total commitment.
            We can do this. God is with us.
            Do not be afraid. Jesus is with you.
            Amen.

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