The Kingdom Parables

As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the long-awaited Jewish Messiah-King, and the Son of God, who entered our world as a man. Additionally, Jesus was a prophet in the tradition of the great Hebrew prophets and had much to say about the future.

While we often think of Jesus’ teachings on the future in relation to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25, He had already addressed this topic earlier in His ministry through the kingdom parables of Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 13. These parables reveal a crucial message: that the Kingdom of God would come in two distinct phases. This perspective was radically different from what first-century Jews, including Jesus’ disciples, expected. They anticipated that the kingdom would arrive abruptly, dramatically, and publicly with the triumphal coming of a warrior Messiah-King, as clearly foretold by the Hebrew prophets. Therefore, when Jesus declared “The kingdom of God is at hand,” people were ecstatic. To convince them that He was the prophesied Messiah-King, Jesus either had to set up the kingdom immediately or persuade them that the kingdom would come in two phases.

But oddly, though He clearly wanted people to believe, Jesus chose to hide this message in parables. Why? He didn’t want to compromise His mission of suffering rejection and dying as an atonement for the world’s sins—a Messianic mission also prophesied by the Hebrew prophets. Thus, He intentionally concealed the two-phases teaching from the crowds, but explained everything to His disciples. Even today, understanding that the kingdom comes in two phases is fundamental to our faith. The rejection of this idea remains a significant reason why most Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah.

All of Jesus’ kingdom parables in Matthew 13 teach that the kingdom would come secretly and gradually rather than abruptly and openly, as was expected:

The Parable of the Sower — Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23, Mark 4:3-9, 14-20: With this parable, Jesus taught that entry into the kingdom was currently being offered, much like a farmer sowing seed. For those who accept “the word of the kingdom,” there is a season of growth that culminates in various amounts of grain at the harvest time.

The Parable of the Weeds — Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43: This parable also teaches that the kingdom will unfold over time. The Son of Man sows the word and the righteous respond to it. However, the devil’s children also thrive, and both grow together until the harvest, which represents the “end of the age.” At that time the Son of Man will send out His angels to uproot from His kingdom the children of the evil one and cast them into a fiery furnace. The kingdom will then be established in its fullness and “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

The Parable of the Seed Growing — Mark 4:26-29: Again, the kingdom will come over a period of time, like seed that is sown and grows until the harvest.

The Parable of the Mustard seed — Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13:18-19: The kingdom will come gradually, like a seed growing. It will start out extremely small, hardly noticeable, but become “larger than all the garden plants”—seen by all.

The Parable of the Leaven — Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:20-21: The kingdom will start small and hardly noticed, like leaven in dough. Over time, it will spread and influence everything.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure — Matthew 13:44: The kingdom will come secretly, akin to a treasure hidden in a field. Some will find it and recognize its value, choosing to “buy that field” to obtain it. Most however, will remain unaware of its existence until it is publically revealed in the future.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value — Matthew 13:45-46: Again, the kingdom will come secretly. It will be like a merchant searching for fine pearls. Upon discovering one of exceptional value, the merchant sells all he possesses to buy it.

The Parable of the Net — Matthew 13:47-50: Jesus compares the coming of the kingdom to a net that gathers fish of all kinds. Once the net is full, the good fish are separated from the bad. This separation symbolizes the final judgment at the “end of the age” when angels will separate the wicked from the righteous and cast the former into the fiery furnace.

From these parables, it’s evident that Jesus presented a markedly different vision of the kingdom of God compared to what first-century Jews expected. Rather than arriving in a public and sudden manner, the kingdom would come in a secret and progressive way. This dual-phase understanding aligns with the role of the Messiah-King: He would first come to inaugurate the kingdom, then depart for the age, and ultimately return to consummate His reign. In the end, He will rule from Jerusalem (Jeremiah 3:17) over Israel (Luke 1:32) and all nations (Revelation 12:5), bringing peace and harmony to humanity and nature and restoring all that was lost in Eden (Revelation 21:5).

For Christians today, the concept of the Messiah’s two comings is so familiar that we miss just how radical Jesus’ proclamation was. Yet, this teaching on the kingdom’s unfolding is central to Christianity. Yes, the kingdom has come. But it is also coming. It has come in the total forgiveness achieved through Jesus’ death, in the opening up of membership in the people of God to all nations, and through the giving of the Holy Spirit who transforms our hearts and inscribes God’s laws upon them. Yet, the kingdom is still to come. Its full realization awaits the return of the King, when “they will beat their swords into plowshares” (Isaiah 2:4) and “the wolf will dwell with the lamb” (Isaiah 11:6). In that day, “They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of YHWH as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).


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