Intro

Do you like hunting for treasure? Treasure maps are intentionally vague. They begin with a few key landmarks and a big red X where the treasure is to be found. Usually the adventurer knows just enough to find the first landmark.  

Completing the first step, the adventurer then acquires enough knowledge to find the second landmark. The information is sequenced. Clues are dropped. To find X you have to start walking, turning over stones, and asking questions.

Jesus is the master communicator. With His parables, He puts a big red X on the kingdom of heaven. You want to find it, understand it, and experience it. Then He begins with the landmarks the crowds already know.  

Four soils. Wheat and weeds. Mustard seed. Leaven. He begins with things that are familiar to everyone. Here is what you know. Now here is what you’re missing. There is a secret, a mystery. Do you want to understand?

The kingdom of heaven is like a single grain of mustard seed that a farmer planted in his field. It can be compared to a woman who mixed leaven into three measures of flour.  What is Jesus talking about?  

Reflection Questions:

• How are you encouraged by the knowledge that the kingdom of God is growing relentlessly and permeating societies around the world?
• What are the major influences on your understanding of what is happening in the world today? Scripture, social media, television, academia, your friends?
• What might you do to keep your eyes on what God is doing in the world today?  And how might you join God in what he is doing?