Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Click here to read the Scripture text in the NRSV and here to read it in the Message.

Road trips are fun and unpredictable.  On our road trip this summer, we are taken a quick diversion into the parables of Matthew.  The author of Matthew has spent the previous chapter (chapter 12) discussing Jesus' activities on the Sabbath.  Jesus and his disciples have plucked and eaten grain and Jesus has healed several people.  These activities are prohibited by the Jewish laws that state that no work is to be done on the Sabbath.  

These actions against the law give the Pharisees reasons to call Jesus demonic (12:22).   In this interchange with the Pharisees, Jesus claims that he casts out Satan by the power of the Spirit.  And because this is true, then the Kingdom of God "has come to you" (12:28).   Jesus then warns the Pharisees of seeking signs.  

It is then in chapter 13 that we read the parables of the sower and the wheat and the weeds.  These parables are Jesus' first attempts at helping the disciples understanding the Kingdom of God.  And following these scriptures is where we pick up the stories.  We hear about the mustard seed, the yeast, the hidden treasure, the pearl, and the net.  What might Jesus be saying about the Kingdom of God through these parables?  Are we to stand by and watch the Kingdom happen?  Can the Kingdom be created through one simple task?  And how do we go about finding the Kingdom?

This chapter is followed by stories of the death of John the Baptist, feeding of the five thousand and Jesus walking on water in chapter 14.   What do you think the author of Matthew might be telling his audience about Jesus?  The Kingdom?  The Gospel?