The Power and Influence of Christ's Kingdom, Part 1 B

Christ's rule, no matter how insignificant, no matter how despised, appears at first to be small, but it will grow and its end and consummation will be amazingly out of proportion to its beginning, such as a mustard bush to its seed. When you think about the parables that we've been studying the last couple of weeks here on Grace to You, what stands out initially?

It's probably the main characters, or maybe the objects in the stories, like the hidden treasure, or the mustard seed, or the pearl, or the wheat and the tares. And there's not really a problem with that, unless you fail to notice that the parables start by stating the kingdom of God is like, and then those details are explained. In John MacArthur's current study, he's showing you that the purpose of the parables Jesus taught in Matthew 13 is to reveal the nature of God's kingdom, and to focus your attention on the King, Jesus himself. So stay right here as John turns again to the parables of the kingdom. Open your Bible, if you will, now to Matthew chapter 13. It says that the mustard seed is indeed the least of all seeds, or the smallest of all seeds.

But when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs and becometh the tree. Now right at that juncture, theological war takes place. The critics who want to attack the Bible pounce on that statement. Here's what they say.

There you go. You see, that proves the Bible is not inerrant, because anybody knows that an orchid, a wild orchid seed, is smaller than a mustard seed. Therefore, Jesus, one, didn't know, and if he didn't know, guess who he's not?

God. Or, he knew they were wrong, but he accommodated their ignorance. And then we have what they call biblical or cultural accommodation, where sometimes the Bible writer doesn't say what's true, he says what people think is true just to be relevant. And once you've opened that can of worms, good luck, because who's to say which is which? The critics say, you see, Jesus is wrong. Now, either he's wrong because he's ignorant, or he's wrong because he's going along with their error. Either way, we're in trouble, right? You say, well, what do you say, MacArthur? I say he's right. Can we prove that?

I think so. Notice in verse 32, the word herbs, laconon. That word refers to garden vegetables, garden greens that are grown purposely to be eaten.

It is used in Romans 14 in that regard. It refers to that which is planted as a crop to be eaten in opposition to wild plants. These are plants sown purposely. So the seed then is a seed sown agriculturally to produce edible vegetables and greens.

Now listen, of all of the seeds that were sown in the east to produce edible products, the mustard seed was and still is the smallest. Jesus is speaking within a framework in which what he says is exactly correct. So when Jesus said a man sowed the smallest seed that's ever sowed, he was dead right.

Further, they say, well, look what it says in verse 32. It becomes a tree, and anybody knows it doesn't become a tree, look. He's not talking about a timber tree. He's talking about a shrub so large that it has the properties of a tree.

And what is the property of a tree which it has? What's the rest of verse 32 say? Birds can live in it. There are a lot of bushes birds can't live in. By the way, the word lodge there in verse 32, that's a very intense Greek term that means to make their home there, build a nest and stay. I mean, we've got a little bushes in our yard, but if a bird tried to build a nest, it would bend over and drop them on the ground and all the eggs would fall out.

This one gets big and they tell us too, botanists do, that in a certain time of the year, the branches become rigid and birds build their nests there. Very accurate. Now, Jesus was also speaking proverbially. He wasn't trying to give a lesson on botany, and people don't need to get nitpicky about it.

But if you want to be nitpicky, go ahead. He's right. But what He's basically doing is speaking proverbially. And to the Jew, because the smallest seed he ever dealt with was a mustard seed, mustard seed became proverbial for something small. I mean, we have proverbs, a person is as wise as an owl.

No, we don't mean that the smartest thing in the world is an owl. Well, I don't even know where that comes from, but we use proverbs like that. Now, Jesus just picked on one of their proverbs.

It happened to be that this one was right. But it was proverbially used. For example, the Jews talked about a drop of blood as small as a mustard seed. They talked about a tiny breach of the Mosaic law being a defilement the size of a mustard seed. They talked about a blemish or a spot on an animal the size of a mustard seed. To this day, the Arabs talk about faith weighing the amount of a mustard seed. And our Lord even used the same little proverb in Matthew 1720 where He said if you had faith as a grain of what? Mustard seed. You could say, did this mountain be removed?

And it would be removed. So it was proverbial. And He was simply using a story with a proverb that they used. But in His marvelous, infinite wisdom, He happened to pick a proverb they used that was right. Now you understand what the parable says.

Now I'll tell you what it means. First, the kingdom will start what? Small. It's going to start small. Can you imagine how this is important to tell the disciple? I mean, they were standing in a little group being literally smothered by oppression and rejection and blasphemy. And they were saying, well, this is a little handful of us against the whole world.

And Jesus says, OK, that's the plan. Everything starts from something very, very small. And boy, they were small. In fact, it was so small they couldn't even recognize the kingdom was there. In Acts chapter one, they're still saying, Will you at this time restore the kingdom to us? Well, where is it?

I mean, it was so small and it was buried in the ground, it was practically imperceptible. I think that's why so many modern theologians don't know where to find it in the Gospel of Matthew either. Luke 17, 20 says this.

Listen to this. And when He was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, the Pharisees said, When is the kingdom of God going to come? I mean, you say you're the king, you go parading around it, you're the king. When are you going to bring the kingdom?

I love his answer. The kingdom of God comes not with observation. You can't see it. You can't see it.

Not this form. So you're not going to say, Lo, here it is. And you're not going to say, Oh, there it is. For behold, the kingdom of God is what? In your midst, within you.

It's already here, guys. But it's a little seed starting very small. You can't see it. Just like when you plant that mustard seed in the ground, you can't see it.

But it's here. And in that seed is the potential for a massive bush. And in that little seed planting of the kingdom is the potential for a kingdom that extends to the ends of the earth.

It starts very small. Think of a manger, a feed trough. Think of a stable, smelly animals, people wandering around ankle deep in the manure of that filthy place, and a baby born in obscurity, in a country that was nothing but an infant wriggling in the arms of imperial Rome, with two districts, Judea and Galilee, that were just dots on the earth, and Samaria, which was less than the other two. And think of Nazareth, where Jesus spent 30 years uncouth, uncultured, uneducated Nazareth. And think of the disciples.

All of them put together wouldn't add up to a mustard seed. They were so small, so inadequate, so inconsequential, so unqualified, so fearful, so faithless, so weak, and that was the kingdom that was planted. But in the breast of that little infant in that feed trough in the manger was eternal life that would burst forth into an eternal kingdom. Seed was planted, small beginning. You see, this is a marvelous truth because this is not seen in the Old Testament.

This is mystery revealed. Start small. Just that little tiny group. And when Jesus ascended back into heaven, there were just 120 of them. If you talk to a pastor today who has a church of 120, he feels cheated. You'll hear people, well, our church is so small, we've only got 120. Well, when the kingdom started, it only had 120, and so far it's doing very well.

Before it's done, it will cover the entire globe. That takes us to the second lesson. The kingdom started very small, the kingdom ends very large. Pretty simple outline, right?

Started very small, ends very large. The prophets saw a great kingdom. I mean, if you go through the Old Testament prophets and you read about what they looked for in the kingdom, its extent is staggering. For example, in Psalm 78...or 72 rather, verse 8, it says, He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and the abundance of peace as long as the moon endures. He shall have dominion from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth, that they dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him. And His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the islands shall bring presents.

The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. All kings shall fall down before Him. All nations shall serve Him. Now that's the extent of the kingdom. That's how big the bush gets. I mean, from a very little seed to a massive bush. And that's the thing the Lord wants you to see, that you get the largest result from the smallest beginning in the case of the kingdom.

Isaiah saw the same end result. Chapter 54 of Isaiah, verse 2, Enlarge the place of thy tent, let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations. Spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes. You better get this tent bigger and bigger and bigger.

Something is expanding. Thou shalt break forth on the right hand. Thou shalt break forth on the left. Thy seed shall inherit the nations. Messiah's kingdom shall extend from shore to shore, from one end of the globe to the other. Jeremiah saw it. Amos saw it. Micah saw it. Zechariah saw it.

And I could read you Scripture after Scripture after Scripture. That the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God would stretch from sea to sea, from land to land, to cover the globe. And we know this to be true, don't we? Ultimately, the millennial kingdom comes, Jesus reigns over the whole earth.

That's coming. In fact, it says in Revelation 11, 15, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever. So these parables actually take us into the millennium, into the fullness of the ultimate growth of the kingdom. Christ's rule, no matter how insignificant, no matter how despised, appears at first to be small.

And I think they probably rubbed their hands when He died and said that's that with Him. But it will grow. And its end and consummation will be amazingly out of proportion to its beginning, such as a mustard bush to its seed. Now this parable is meant to encourage us, people. It really is. I mean, I don't know about you, but sometimes I get discouraged. I just think that no matter how hard we try, we always seem to be sort of crushed and crowded out by the evil world around us. If I feel that way, can you imagine how they felt? I mean, I know there are believing people in this city and in other cities and in other states and in other countries and around the globe, God's people are there and people are coming to Jesus Christ.

But even then, I sometimes feel like the battle is intense and that we're sort of the minority. Can you imagine how they must have felt when their very leader was being blasphemed in their presence? The sense of hopelessness, the sense of defeat, the bewilderment, the discouragement. And especially when, boy, once John the Baptist came and he was such an impressive person and the cities were flocking out to him and it looked like, boy, everything was going to happen and it was all so exciting. And John was saying, I must decrease and this one who comes after me must increase and they were all getting caught up in the sweep of the establishing of the kingdom. And then the crowds came and the miracles and the healings and the multiplying of food and all the wonders walking on the water and they could see it all beginning to happen and then something shifted and there began to be a mounting hate and bitterness and rejection. And so the Lord says it's going to start small, but oh, it's going to end big. We're going to win in the end. The kingdom is going to stretch across the face of the earth and on into eternity forever and ever.

And we're going to be a part of that eternal kingdom. Then there's another note that I think is so interesting. He says this thing gets so big that the birds of the air come and take up their residence, build their nest, live in its branches. Now, what are these birds to represent? Some people think they represent demons.

Some people think they represent evil. And the reason they think they represent demons is because of the earlier parable where the birds snatch it away and it talks about the birds sort of representing Satan who takes the word away. But birds, keep this in your mind, could represent anything because they're simply an illustration.

And I think you have two thoughts here. First of all, what the birds mean is that the tree is very big. It's so big birds can lodge in it and it's Jesus' way of telling us how big it is.

But there's another thought too that I think is just profound. These birds live in the tree. You know why they live there? I'll tell you why they live there because there's seeds in that mustard bush to eat. And they can eat at home.

They don't have to eat out. Now, if I was a bird, I think I'd go in a place where I could eat while I was there. You always read about mother bird going to find the food. A mother bird in this deal stays home. But more than that, they build a nest.

There's shade, there's protection, security, and food there. That's interesting. Look with me for a moment at what I think is a great explanation of this. Daniel chapter 4, Daniel chapter 4. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the greatest of all world empires, has a dream. And this is his dream, really an interesting dream.

Verse 10 of Daniel 4, Thus were the visions of my head in my bed, I saw. And behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height of it was very great. And the tree grew and was strong, and its height reached unto heaven. Now that's a tall tree. And the sight of it to the end of the earth. I mean it goes up to heaven and its branches cover so that all parts of the earth can see. That's a big tree.

Its leaves were fair, its fruit was much, and in it was food for everybody. The beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in its boughs, and all flesh was fed from it. Now what is this?

What in the world is he looking at? Daniel answers that, verse 20. Daniel comes in and says, let me tell you what that was. The tree that thou sawest, which grew and was strong, whose height reached to heaven, and the sight of it to all the earth, whose leaves were fair, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation. It is you, O king. You are grown and become strong, for your greatness is grown and reaches unto heaven, and your dominion to the end of the earth.

What's he saying? He's saying the Babylonian empire has become like a tree, and all of the nations of the world are finding their comfort, their security, their food in that tree. You know, Babylon brought culture to the world, brought education to the world, brought architecture to the world, brought prosperity to the world, brought a sense of peace to the world. There were lots of nations, the birds of the nations, lodging in the tree of the Babylonian empire. Look at Ezekiel chapter 31 now. Ezekiel 31 verse 3. And here we find Assyria described as a cedar with fair branches, shadowing shroud, high stature, thick boughs at the top, and it was big because the waters had made it great, rivers running around it, little rivers and all this.

Its height, verse 5, exalted above all the trees of the field, its boughs multiplied, its branches long because of the multitude of waters it shot forth, all the fowls of the heaven made their nests in its boughs. And all this is saying is when you have one great, massive, dominant world power, a whole lot of other little ones get sheltered in the branches. Now, we could take that politically into today and we could say that traditionally and historically, for example, the United States has been a great tree in which many, many other nations have been sheltered in our branches. True?

Foreign aid, education, in many, many ways. That's the secular illustration that He's using. But when you bring it now into Matthew and to what our Lord is saying, He's saying that ultimately the kingdom of Christ grows so extensive that the nations find their shelter and protection in the kingdom.

Now, the birds are not the mustard bush. They're not necessarily part of the kingdom. They just benefit by its presence in the earth as the non-Babylonians benefited by the presence of the Babylonian empire. Now, that's what you have to understand, that as you teach the kingdom, sometimes the kingdom refers specifically to the true saints in the kingdom. Sometimes it's bigger than that. And in this sense, it's bigger. You're looking at the kingdom in terms of God's sovereign rulership over everything.

And think of it this way. Wherever Christianity flourishes, the people who climb in the branches prosper because of the flourishing of Christianity even though they don't know Christ. America is what America is today because of its Christian heritage.

And there are lots of birds in our bush. They're not Christians, but they benefit, don't they? The dignity of life in America, the jurisprudence system, the law, the sense of right and wrong that's traditionally been ours, education, free enterprise, the dignity of a woman, the caring of children, all of these rise out of Christian truth.

Every great reformation, every reform movement in history has had at its roots biblical truth. Wherever the kingdom has extended, you have an environment of protection for the people who aren't even in that kingdom, truly. It's kind of like in macrocosm what 1 Corinthians 7.14 is in microcosm where it says, If you're married to an unbeliever and the unbeliever wants to stay, let him stay because he is sanctified in the presence of a believer. In other words, an unbeliever married to a believer benefits just by hanging around somebody receiving the blessing of God. I mean, if I'm married to you and you're not a Christian and God's pouring out blessing on me, you're going to get some of it.

If only for here and now, and so you're sheltered in my tree. And on a macrocosm level, when the kingdom expands around the world, the people who find lodging within that kingdom, listen, you can look at it any way you want, it all comes out the same, are the most blessed people in terms of human life. You contrast what it is to be in part of Western culture under the influence of Christianity as opposed, for example, to being in India or being in an aboriginal part of the world where Christianity's never been, where the mustard seed bush hasn't grown.

That's what He's saying. The kingdom will grow so that many will find lodging in its branches. And what the parable is trying to tell us is that in spite of the opposition, in spite of the three bad soils, in spite of the presence of the Darnells, we're going to win. The kingdom is going to grow and grow and grow and grow and grow. That's the promise of the Lord to encourage us.

So we're not this poor little group of people trying to hold the fort. Hey, we're on the winning side, and the kingdom is growing. This is Grace to You with John MacArthur.

Thanks for being with us. Today John showed you that even as the culture grows more and more hostile to Christianity, you can be confident that God's eternal kingdom will prevail. An encouraging reminder from John's current series from Matthew 13 titled The Parables of the Kingdom.

Well, John, as you said today, when we look toward the future, there is reason for encouragement. The world may be accelerating away from God, embracing immorality at a faster and faster pace, but God's purposes are being accomplished, and His purposes and His plans cannot be thwarted, right? Well, that's what it says in Isaiah 46, 9, and 10, that the Lord purposes what He wills, and nothing can change that. God is absolutely sovereign. And I think what's so important about that is that it is not vague when you think about God's sovereignty.

And I'll give you the classic and greatest illustration. You have all these plans that God laid out in the Old Testament, and you might say, well, should we believe them or not believe them? But when you come to the New Testament, you realize that they were all fulfilled.

And that's the end of any question or any doubt. Christ comes and fulfills all the—hundreds of prophecies are fulfilled by Christ in His first coming. So, we look at all the second coming promises and prophecies, and we'd have to assume the same thing.

God's purposes will be fulfilled in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we see a lot of things happening in the world that line up for the patterns that we're going to see prior to His return. So, we're getting previews of coming attractions, namely the second coming. Looking at the second coming is really important.

The end of the story matters. I want to tell you, if you haven't got a copy of the book I wrote called The Second Coming, you need to get a copy of it. You need to know what's going to happen. Everybody's interested in the future. This is the truth about the future.

It's not speculative. I'm not looking at headlines in the internet and political leaders and conspiracy theories, but rather looking at the specific things the Lord predicts related to His coming. Is it imminent? What about the coming rapture? What about the Great Tribulation? What about signs in the sky? Does anybody know what time it is eschatologically? What about amillennial, premillennial, pretribulational views? What should we believe? What does the future hold? It's all in the book, The Second Coming. Reasonably priced is always from grace to you. You can order a copy today.

That's right. You don't have to wonder what the Bible says about this world's final days. To help take the confusion out of end times prophecy, pick up a copy of John's book, The Second Coming, when you contact us today. The book costs $15 and shipping is free. To order, call 800-55-GRACE or visit our website, gty.org. Like many of John's books, The Second Coming is also available in Spanish. To order a copy for yourself or perhaps a few to give out at church, call us at 800-55-GRACE or visit gty.org.

That's our website, gty.org. When you visit there, make sure to download the Study Bible app. It's a free app that gives you the full text of Scripture in the English Standard, King James, and New American Standard versions, along with instant access to thousands of online resources, including our blog, devotionals, and John's entire sermon archive. That's 3,500 messages from more than five decades of pulpit ministry. The app, again it's called the Study Bible, is free to download from gty.org. Now for John MacArthur and the entire staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Keep in mind, Grace To You television airs this Sunday, and I encourage you to watch with your family. And then be here Monday when John continues his series on the parables of the kingdom with another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth, one verse at a time, on Grace To You.