Saturday, March 7-Matthew 13:31-35

31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.
-Again another parable relating to plants and seeds. This must have been a very agricultural people.
-Again another parable relating to the kingdom of heaven.
-This time the main object of being seeded is the mustard seed. Some how the kingdom is like a mustard seed. Again we must ask the question why is it?

32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
-A description of how it grows. It starts small, then gets really big. So big that even as a garden plant birds can sit in it. This is a pretty large feat coming from such a small seed.
-yet the kingdom of God is like this. The gospel can start out small, but as it grows in the believer it can turn out to be something very strong.
-If this is true we must believe that even though the faith we have begins small, it can do great things for the kingdom if raised properly.

33He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
-Again another parable about the kingdom of heaven and what it's like. This time its very different and has to do with baking.
-This time it is like yeast that a baker works thru all the dough. The kingdom will effect everyone. And it will also cause it to change drastically.

34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.
-Why parables? So that those who hear may hear, but those who don't do not. This must've left many confused.
-This was Jesus way of doing things. Make people think a bit.

35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
"I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."
-Why parables? to fulfill prophecy. Some of the mysteries revealed in these parables have been hidden since the very beginning. As Jesus talks much about the Kingdom of heaven these may have been things about it that nobody had ever known before.

-When we look at prophecy we realize that many of these things were prepared in advance for Jesus to do. We have the same thing going on in our lives. God has prepared good works for us as well. Who knows why we live in such a time as we do, but we must do our best to let the kingdom become part of our lives.