his kingdom (Mt 13:31-43)

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Psalm 114; Matthew 13:31-43


Matthew gives us another reason for Jesus' speaking in parables: to "fulfill what was spoken by the prophet" in Psalm 78:2. Jesus again is the fulfillment of the prophets' words. This seems like a second reason in addition to the one Jesus gives in verse 11 and following, especially if you read the context in Psalm 78. I encourage you to look at this and give it some thought. Taken with the disciples asking "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field" (v. 36), we see there's a reason for parables beyond just keeping secrets from the crowds that aren't really Jesus' followers / disciples.

On to Jesus' explanation of the parable of the weeds. Most of the explanation involves discussion of the harvest so it seems that the "gotcha", the big or main point, is found there.

But first I think it's important to note that Jesus says that the field is the world. Into the field / world are sown the children of the kingdom and, by the devil, sons of the evil one. The children of the kingdom grow in the world alongside the sons of the evil one. We still have no mention of "the church" (the ekklesia, the "called out" congregation; that is, called out of the world). Those references come later in chapters 16 and 18.

Secondly, "the son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace" (v. 41). Somewhere here it seems that the world becomes the kingdom, as I read the explanation. Now, we have to be very careful about making a parable more than it is. Robert knows, I've beat him up on this point a few times... (I'm sorry, brother). But this is Jesus' explanation to his dull disciples who need the explanation of "what has been hidden since the foundation of the world" (v. 35). Jesus says that the angels will gather out of "his kingdom" all causes of sin and all law-breakers (all the sons of the evil one). In other words, in his kingdom are all kinds of sin and all kinds of sinners.

Now, somewhere I'm hearing "the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever." It's not just Handel's Messiah, it's also Revelation 11:15. I think this ties in somehow.

One parable cannot be the "be all and end all" of theological discussions of the kingdom and the church, but here we note that the kingdom grows in the world, and in or amidst the kingdom are people who are not children of it but rather who live according to a non-kingdom principle, somehow derive life from the kingdom's enemy, who are of their father the devil. At least from the perception of the children of the kingdom, these people are in the kingdom of the son of man, which is in the world. And they (we) are not to try to remove causes of sin and law-breakers from his kingdom which is in the world, but to leave it to the angels at the close of the age. And thus both the parable and Revelation 11:15 will be fulfilled.

In chapter 18 we'll hear from Jesus about dealing with sinners within the church. But for now, it is not our prerogative to decide, and thus remove, those who are in and out of the kingdom, which apparently goes beyond the bounds of a group of "called out ones".

I'm intrigued by this concept of the kingdom being in the world. I'm going to post a quote from E. Stanley Jones (that Lisa Yearwood gave me last week) and comment at my other blog site:
www.dicristina-mark.blogspot.com