The third teaching section in Matthew's gospel gathers together a group of kingdom parables. In our passage for study we look at the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast. As with all kingdom parables, these two parables proclaim the gospel, namely, the immediacy of Christ's glorious reign, and do so in the form of a riddle. The message of these parables is simple. "The kingdom of God is at hand", Christ's reign has begun, now is the appointed hour, repent and believe.

v31-32. As is typical of the kingdom parables, the parable begins with the statement that "the kingdom of heaven/God can be compared with the situation where ...." The situation is the planting of a very small seed in the garden with the consequent growth of a large bush. The idea of the kingdom as a great tree with birds flocking to its branches, is an image found in the Old Testament. It is most likely that Jesus is playing with this Old Testament picture, but of course, he puts his own twist on it. Jesus uses the image of a shrub and not a mighty cedar.

The parable of the mustard seed is in the form of a typical Hebrew masal (riddle). Some commentators argue that the riddle illustrates growth, or contrast - the kingdom begins small but ends up large. So, Jesus' ministry may have been insignificant, just like the mustard seed, but his resulting reign is mighty, for it gathers a people from the ends of the earth. Other commentators, C.H. Dodd in particular, argue that the riddle has to do with the immediacy of the kingdom. The seed has been planted and the tree is now full grown, although it's not the tree everyone was expecting - Christ's reign has begun; glory awaits us.

v33. Again, Jesus takes a commonly understood image and puts a twist on it. Leaven working in the dough was commonly used to illustrate the influence of evil, cf. Mk.8:15, 1Cor.5:6. The kingdom, being realized in the life of Jesus, was certainly not given a positive press by the religious authorities. None-the-less, Jesus uses the leavening image to again illustrate the immediacy of the kingdom.

Often, parables are used in pairs and so some commentators see the Mustard Seed as an illustration of growth and the Yeast as an illustration of transformation - the transforming power of the kingdom. Other commentators again stress the idea of contrast. It is even possible to suggest that the hidden nature of the leaven in the dough is the point of the parable. The kingdom is a present reality, although hidden from view, but the day will come when it will bubble forth in power and glory.

C.H. Dodd in his book "The Parables of the Kingdom", argues that the parable focuses on the bubbling dough - the kingdom now. If the parable is to stand alone, then he suggests we look at the whole picture. "At first, it is true, the leaven is 'hidden', and nothing appears to happen; but soon the whole mass swells and bubbles, as fermentation rapidly advances." The kingdom, present in the ministry of Jesus, is a "wholesome influence, propagating itself by a kind of infection."

"The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit", Romans 14:17.

Albert Schweitzer was a wonderful man of faith, but he argued for a form of eschatology (second coming theology) which inevitably had Jesus teaching the kingdom's immediate realization. He argued that Jesus expected to see God's kingdom come in power and glory in his own lifetime, but was proved wrong. On the other hand, commentators today tend to argue that the kingdom is slowly being realized throughout history and will reach completion in the day of Jesus' glorious coming.

Albert was kind of on the right track because the Bible does teach the "presentness", the immediacy of the kingdom of God. The kingdom is a "now" reality, although in another sense it is "not yet." So, the kingdom has indeed come; Christ is upon the throne bringing all things into subjection to himself. Yet, although the Bible teaches that the kingdom is a present reality, it is not something easily seen for what it is. It takes a certain type of seeing. Israel was waiting for a kingdom like a mighty cedar tree, not a mustard bush. Jesus, the messianic claimant, came eating and drinking, and has anything good ever come out of Nazareth?

There is no difference between the way people of Jesus' day viewed the kingdom, as it was realized in the person and work of Christ, and the way people often view it today. The crowd looks for the outward signs of power and glory, and so fails to see what "is within", what "is not of this world." The kingdom of God is a spiritual reality which we can neither see nor touch. Its reality is found in a "righteousness" which is ours by grace through faith, in a "peace" with God, and in a "joy" driven by the knowledge that we are forgiven and loved by God. It is impossible for us to see the eternal reality which is already ours - our very selves "raised up with Christ and seated with him" "in heavenly realms", Eph.1:20, 2:6. And this kingdom is now.

When next we hear the success stories of power and glory transforming this or that church programme, remember that "the Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing", Jn.6:63.

If you were looking for the mustard bush and the leavened dough, what would you look for?