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
- 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 as some claim, is it just simply an example of one element of a pot pourri of disconnected units that Luke puts together?
The word that starts this section is the word [oun] which is a conjunction with either continuative force (then) or inferential force (therefore).
So it either continues the flow in terms of time:
- (BBE) Then he said, What is the kingdom of God like? what comparison may I make of it?
- (CEV) Jesus said, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it with?
- (EMTV) Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
- (GNB) Jesus asked, “What is the Kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with?
- (GW) Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What can I compare it to?
- (KJV) Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
- (LITV) And He said, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
- (MKJV) And He said, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
- (MSG) Then he said, “How can I picture God’s kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use?
- (Murdock) And Jesus said: To what is the kingdom of God like? and with what shall I compare it?
- (NLT) Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it?
- (Webster) Then said he, To what is the kingdom of God like? and to what shall I resemble it?
- (YLT) And he said, `To what is the reign of God like? and to what shall I liken it?
Or it links the sequences logically:
- (AMP) This led Him to say, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
- (ASV) He said therefore, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I liken it?
- (ESV) He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
- (ISV) So Jesus went on to say, “What is the kingdom of God like? What can I compare it to?
- (NASB) So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?
- (RV) He said therefore, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I liken it?
If the link is one of continuation then it is merely a link in time and so Jesus moves on to talk about the nature of the Kingdom of God after He has healed the woman who was bent over for eighteen years. In other words there is no real connection between the two apart from the fact that Jesus went on to make this comment after healing the woman. He hardly made it in the synagogue. So when did He make it?
Let’s look at the other gospels to see where it is positioned in them.
Both Matthew and Mark keep these two units, the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of yeast, together as one, just as Luke has done. But unlike Luke they both position them in a series of Parables about the Kingdom. Both run them on to the end of the Parable of the Sower. Only in Luke are the Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast used in a different position. The question is why? And is it Jesus who is using these illustrations differently or is it Luke who is repositioning them to make a point?
What is clear is that the positioning of the Mustard and the Yeast parables are not sequential in time in the setting we find them in Luke’s gospel. So the use of [oun] more likely links inferentially or forms a logical connection. Now our task is to work out what that logical connection is. At this point I am going to leave you again and let you work out where you think the link is. I will come back tomorrow to sum it all up for you.
When you are going through a crisis, the Devil thinks he’s winning, but really he’s just helping you add another page to your testimony!
Mathias Grehn
Don’t pray in KJV English unless you are 400 years old. [Make your faith relevant]Rick Godwin
Paul of Tarsus said, “This one thing I do.”
What is the one thing you most want to accomplish?
Paul of Tarsus
God has prepared a place where every dream can find fulfillment, and every hope can find a home.
Leticia Seviraneta