Five Parables

1. The Mustard Seed parable compares the kingdom to a mustard seed that grows to be huge. Possible meaning: from small beginnings of the kingdom of heaven will flourish and become unexpectedly great.

2. The Yeast parable describes nature and growth of the kingdom: the three measures of flour are roughly equivalent of fifty pounds of flour. So a little yeast goes a long way, and the effects of the kingdom of heaven are both transformed and beyond expectation.

3. The Hidden Treasure parable suggests joyful discovery. Invasion and marauding thieves made the burying of valuables a common practice. Note the sheer joy of discovering something so valuable that all other possessions are expendable in order to buy this field that contains the treasure.

4. The Pearl parable: ditto to #3.

5. The Fishing Net parable is complex-contains ideas of final judgment.

Comment- Central to the theology of Matthew’s Gospel is the kingdom of heaven. All five of the parables deal with the element of surprise. The runt of the seed world-the mustard seed-becomes the greatest of shrubs; a tiny amount of yeast can leaven many loaves; a person unexpectedly finds treasure, a merchant finds a pearl, and a fisherman, hauls in an unexpected amount of fish. [1]

 

In the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast (vv. 31-33), what aspects of Jesus’ own ministry might have seemed small?

Hidden treasures: what needs sorting out in your garage this summer? What too often ends up in storage: trivia, trash, or treasure?

What do the parables in vv. 44-46 teach about the value of the kingdom?

What does the parable of the net teach about the kingdom of heaven? How does it compare with the parable of the weeds (vv.24-30)?

 

Lillian C. Smith offers a fine meditation on these parables in her homily, “The Kingdom of God.” [2]

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[1] New Proclamation 2002 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), page 150.
[2] The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2002 Ed. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001), page 267-269.