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God's transforming rule is unstoppable

God’s transforming rule is unstoppable
Luke 13:10-21.

(The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast).

One time, I was leading a service in our Church in London, and a homeless man walked in and sat at a seat we had reserved for our Senior Pastor. Somehow, he had slipped past the welcome team. One of the trainee pastors stared at me to do something, but I didn’t. Then I stared back at him to do something, but he didn’t. So, to avoid further awkwardness during worship, we let him sit there. What a situation! In today’s passage, a similar situation occurs, but this time the religious leaders respond in a way that prompts a rebuke from Jesus.

In the passage today, Jesus heals a woman who was crippled for eighteen years on a Sabbath day. How transformative. She began to praise God, and the people rejoiced, but the religious leaders were upset that it wasn’t done their way (v10-14). So Jesus rebuked them, using parables to illustrate the unstoppable nature of His kingdom (v15-21).

  • It’s unstoppably reaping.
Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed (v18-19). A mustard seed is tiny, but when planted, it grows into a tree that provides a home for birds. It’s like the saying goes, “If you want to hear the sound of a bird, don’t buy a cage. Plant a tree”. The mustard seed, although tiny, once planted, can’t be stopped from being a tree and a home for birds.

So the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which the Father has already planted through His Son. The seed is planted, the tree is here, the birds are coming! The transforming rule of God is unstoppably reaping the harvest of souls. The healed cripple, whose worship has turned towards God, is proof (v13), and so is a transformed life today.

  • It’s unstoppably rising.
Again, Jesus likened the Kingdom to yeast mixed into flour, until it worked all through the dough (v20-21), which means to leaven the dough or cause it to rise. Jesus’ audience was everyday people who, for home use or business, baked their own bread, so they clearly got the point. In baking, the ratio of yeast to flour is always very small. Just half a teaspoon of yeast can work through 4 pounds of flour to make it rise.

So the kingdom of God on earth is like yeast. And like yeast mixed into flour, only one thing can happen. It will always rise. The people’s delight in all the wonderful works of Jesus is proof (v17), and so is the rising Church today.

Now, about the homeless man. After the service that day, he requested prayers. He accepted Jesus into his heart and began a journey as a beloved child of God. What seemed to be an awkward situation reaped a harvest because the kingdom of God is unstoppable.

Reflect & Pray
Can you recall a time when God did something in a way that was unusual or inconvenient? How might you always seek His unstoppable kingdom?
Father, may your unstoppable Kingdom come. May we be a people that recognise and rejoice in the wonderful things you are doing in Jesus' name, amen.

God bless you exceedingly,
Sam.

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