Do You Understand?

Text: Matthew 13:31-35, 44-52

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          ‘Do you understand?’ We ask our kids that question multiple times every day. From the simple ‘Do you understand why that word is spelled the way it is?’ to the more complex ‘Do you understand how we arrived at the answer to that math problem?’ And beyond school, ‘Do you understand why mom and dad made that rule?’ or ‘Do you understand why you can’t stay up until midnight every night to watch television?’ And of course, it’s not just in our families, but everywhere we go we’re constantly trying to make sure that whatever message we have to convey that it’s understood by the hearer.

The same is true with Jesus. As He speaks to His disciples in parables, He lays before them 5 separate “The kingdom of heaven is like…” statements. And when He’s finished, He  asks them, “Have you understood all these things?” ‘Do you understand that…’

• The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed…
• The kingdom of heaven is like leaven…
• The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field…
• The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls…
• The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea…

After hearing these 5 questions and their explanations, which we’ll get to in a moment, the disciples dutifully answer, “Yes” we understand them. But there’s so much depth to this teaching of Jesus that I tell you, I’d be more likely to be able to explain to you how information can be sent from a wireless router through the air, be caught by my phone and translated into words and pictures on the screen, than I would be able to explain what the kingdom of heaven is like after hearing this teaching for the first time.

Jesus uses the parable form in at least one third of His teaching to unwrap the mystery of God’s kingdom. There are seven of them here in Matthew 13 alone. We dealt with the sower and the seed two weeks ago, the wheat and the weeds last week, and now we have 5 more today. Each of them deals with something that would have been commonplace to the hearer of the time, and even today they’re outwardly understandable to us. And yet, parables are meant to both conceal, and reveal. “All these things Jesus said to the crowd in parables; indeed, He said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” As we look at the parables we think about where we can see ourselves in each of them, but even more importantly what God is trying to reveal to us about Himself.

The first two parables, the mustard seed and the leaven, can be seen together as they both contrast the small beginnings of the kingdom of heaven with its exceptional, though hidden, growth. Jesus reveals here that He is active in even the smallest things. Even that which might seem inconsequential to us, the smallest of all the seeds of the garden, is significant to the birds who take their rest in the branches of the largest of plants that emerges from it. The leaven seems like an insignificant ingredient, hidden in the mass of dough, until without it, the loaf fails to rise. In the same way, the ministry of Jesus Himself had the humblest and most seemingly insignificant beginnings.

‘Do you understand?’ God is able to use even that which seems insignificant and inconsequential to accomplish His goals. Even you. Sins and shortcomings and small as you may seem. God can and will use you.

Jesus goes on to say, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes out and sells all that he has and buys that field.” And again, to the same point, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” For thousands of years the Christian church has interpreted these parables by placing us in the position of the searcher, who locates the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. Which means that God is that treasure and that pearl. In many ways, there’s nothing wrong with this interpretation. The kingdom is a treasury of all good things, which is raised up as the most valuable to the one who has found it. As such, it demands our exclusive and radical commitment to it. We’re called to leave father and mother, sister and brother and sell everything that we own because the treasure is so valuable that nothing else matters other than possessing it.

‘Do you understand?’ The kingdom of heaven is so valuable that all else is insignificant and inconsequential compared to it. Including everything you possess. No matter how hard it all might be for you to part with.

And yet, there’s another way for us to look at the treasure and the pearl. What if God is the searcher, and you are His treasure? I like this interpretation much better. For a couple of reasons. The first being that if you were the one seeking to find God, your success would depend on your particular ability as a seeker. The Scriptures clearly tell us that it is God who seeks out His people and that His grace is never dependent on our ability. If it were, we, in our sin, would be in great trouble. Secondly, what do we have that we might sell that would be worthy to acquire that great treasure that is God Himself. On the other hand, Jesus paid the ultimate price, that which none of us could possibly pay, in order to cover the debt of each of us. He was willing to give everything He had in order to obtain the treasure that He desires us to have with Him in eternity.

‘Do you understand?’ You are so valuable in the eyes of God, that He is willing to search you out, and having found you, was willing to give up everything to have you with Him forever.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.” Just as we heard last week that God would send His angels to gather in both the wheat and the weeds, here too we see a picture of the last day, when all will be sorted out, the evil from the righteous.

‘Do you understand?’ The time will come when repentance and faith are no longer an option. For those who believe and trust in Him, this is a day to welcome, not one to dread.

‘Do you understand?’ that just as we so often say that

WE ARE SINNERS IN NEED OF A SAVIOR.

we can also confidently proclaim today, and every day, that

GOD HAS PROVIDED THAT SAVIOR TO US IN HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST.

          ‘Do you understand that Christ came humbly to usher in His kingdom and uses that which might seem insignificant to us to further that kingdom?’

‘Do you understand that God values you more than anything else, and gave His only son that you might know what a treasure you are to Him and that He desires that you would be with Him for all eternity.  

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, all seven of the parables of Matthew 13, He asked His disciples, “Have you understood all these things? They answered yes.” To you has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. That is to say that you have the Word of God, that you’ve been given the Son of God, and that you have and that you are a precious treasure. All these things are yours to have and to hold until the end of the age. ‘Do you understand?’ My fervent prayer is that you too can answer this question as simply as the disciples did. With an emphatic, YES. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.