What are the parables of the kingdom about?
Jesus' kingdom parables answer one question: how does God's reign come? His answers are deliberately small and slow: a mustard seed, hidden yeast, buried treasure, seed growing while the farmer sleeps. The kingdom arrives quietly now, grows irresistibly by God's power, is worth everything you have, and will one day be sorted and revealed in full.
This question arose from studying What is the gospel? and What did Jesus teach about the kingdom of God?.
Begin by reading
Go into the Word
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
The kingdom starts small on purpose
'The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed,' the smallest of seeds, yet it becomes a tree where birds lodge. A handful of Galileans in an upper room became a people no empire could stamp out. Jesus never promised spectacle at the start; He promised growth from tiny beginnings.
He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”
It grows by God's quiet power, not human force
Yeast hides in the dough 'until it was all leavened'; the seed grows 'first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear' while the farmer sleeps. And Jesus told Pilate, 'My Kingdom is not of this world,' which is why its servants do not fight for it with swords. The kingdom advances through the word sown and the Spirit working, not through armies or campaigns.
He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measuresof meal, until it was all leavened.”
He said, “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed on the earth, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn’t know how. For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.”
It demands everything, and it is worth it
Two men find treasure beyond price: one sells all he has in his joy; the merchant sells everything for 'one pearl of great price.' The parables are honest that kingdom citizenship costs everything, and more honest still that it is a trade anyone would make. Joy, not duty, drives the transaction.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ
God's reign is present now, before it is visible everywhere
'Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you,' Jesus said, meaning it does not arrive with signs you can point at. Paul writes that God has already 'delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love.' Believers are not waiting to enter the kingdom; they have been transferred into it, even while they wait for it to come in full.
neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”
who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love;
But if I by the finger of God cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come to you.
A final separation is coming
The wheat and weeds grow together until harvest; the dragnet gathers fish of every kind before the sorting. The parables keep present patience and future judgment together: do not uproot prematurely, and do not despair at mixture in the field. The King Himself will separate at the end of the age.
He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also. The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?’ “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind, which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away. So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.”
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
Studying the Word naturally opens more of it. Follow what you just read: it leads somewhere.
Explore further
Will Jesus return literally?→Our Hope trail“who also said, “You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the sky.””Did Jesus treat Scripture as the final authority?→The Word of God trail“But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’””Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
He said, “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed on the earth, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn’t know how. For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love;
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Worth visiting