Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.” He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
Luke 13:18-21
The last Gem I gave you was a long Gem, so today I will give you a short one. I will present you with a puzzle and then leave you to work it out for yourself.
This unit is a rather surprising sequence in Luke’s order. He has told us at the beginning, that he is writing for Theophilus an ordered account. We have seen already that Luke does not necessarily mean an ordered account chronologically but rather ordered in terms of purpose and point. So we have before us, a curious flow between the opposition that Jesus has encountered over the last two chapters and suddenly, this unit related to two illustrations of what the Kingdom of God is like. Then following this there is a clear break where Luke moves into a new section.
Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as He went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied . . .
Luke 13:22-23
- So why is this unit where it is?
- Does it connect?
- Is it a bridging piece?
- Does it belong with what went before it or with what follows it?
- Or is it just simply an example of one element of a pot-pourri of disconnected units that Luke puts together.
Well, now is the time for you to work out what you think about it.
So go to it. I will give you the options in the next Gem and tell you what I think about it. But in the mean time you have a puzzle to solve. Your possible responses are as follows: Yes, No or Wait.
- Yes Ian, I will take up your challenge and see what I can make of how these units go together.
- No, Ian I don’t want to look for myself. I am not interested.
- Wait, I’ll just wait till you give us the answer in the next Gem as I usually do.
See you back here with the next Gem.
It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.
Anon
When you have exhausted all your possibilities, remember you haven’t.
Anon
I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.
Woodrow Wilson
Never give up. Never give up. Never ever ever give up!
Winston Churchill