“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Okay we want to bring up a similar passage in Luke 15, beginning in verse 1:

“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.
And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’
So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

Luke 15:4-5 Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.

You see, Matthew gives us this parable in the context of believers — little ones in the family of God who have strayed. Luke gives us the same parable in the context of sinners — those who have not responded to the call of God in salvation. Jesus came to save sinners.

And as we say often, He doesn’t leave us like that.

He gives us a new identity in Him.

Put the two together, and you get a much fuller picture of the heart of Jesus for the wanderer— whether they are lost in sin or lost in soul.

I want to give some context of this passage this morning on the wandering sheep. Let’s look at Mt 18:1-5 The disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

(Jesus' response to their question.)

We have been learning all about the parables in Matthew 13. I like how Matthew is grouping these parables on the Kingdom of heaven in one chapter. Jesus is using parables to speak to the crowd, but when the crowds disperse Jesus explains the parable of the sower and the wheat and weeds to the questioning disciples.

Some of the parables are not explained.

So Jesus asks them.

(51) “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

(52) “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old”.

The US and many nations around the globe are experiencing an identity crisis. This isn’t a sudden event but a culmination of interconnected issues like economic inequality, mental health deterioration, moral degradation, housing instability, political polarization, open borders, social ideologies, and eroding social and political trust. We are divided, untrusting, and confused. For example, I remember being in Jr. high thinking about, dreaming about that all I wanted was a wife, 2 kids, a station wagon, and a dog in my own house with a white picket fence. That used to be the American dream which became our identity until it wasn’t a reality for everyone, so the land of opportunity became a hoax and was replaced with social justice and equity issues which Christ is very concerned about BTW because we don’t know who we are, why we matter or what our identity truly is…

All that to say, our identity matters. Finding purpose matters. You matter.

Mt 13:44-52

(44) “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

(45) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. (46) When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

(47) “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. (48) When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. (49) This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous (50) and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Spoiler Alert:

We are THE precious treasure. We are the pearl of great price.

We are on the topic of the parables of Jesus.

Today we will be talking about the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Turn to Matthew 13:31-35 …Mark 4:30-32, and Luke 13:18-19,

In the first two parables Jesus gave an explanation to His disciples but He doesn’t explain the parables we are studying this morning.

Matthew 13:31-35 ESV this morning

(31) “He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. (32) It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

(33) He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’

(34) All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. (35) This was to fulfill 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.’” (THIS IS GOD WORD)

Biblical scholars interpret these two parables about the mustard seed and leaven (yeast), in two contrasting ways. We would like to give you both sides from experts in biblical expository research, but first let’s do some review on what we already know.

(24) “Jesus told them another parable: ’The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. (25) But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. (26) When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
(27) The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
(28) ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
(29) ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Matthew 13:18-23

(18) Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: (19) When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. (20) The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. (21) But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. (22) The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. (23) But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

This is God’s word.

Quick review, what is a parable? It is the comparison of two subjects for the purpose of teaching. It proceeds from a known truth to add meaning to something unknown. It is an everyday story that “comes alongside” something not known or difficult to understand. It is, similar to what the Hebrews called a mashal, ‘a riddle’. Jesus used parables as a means to teach truths that were not evident to hearers. The parable of the sower describes even though the Kingdom of God is available to everyone, not everyone chooses to enter in. It is an example of why the gospel falls on deaf ears, is turned down, and not worth the struggle or hardship of the journey to abundant life, a fruit-bearing purposeful life.

I want to make a statement about the events of this week because if I were sitting where you are I would want to know what my Pastor might say at a time such as this. Before I begin I want to read,

I Peter 3:15-16 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

And it is how people are led to online extremism.