BIBLE STUDY LESSON 05

SERIES R --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

THE SEED THAT GREW BY ITSELF

From Mark 4:26-29

Yeshua told another story about the kingdom of heaven. [There was once a man who planted seed in the ground. Each night he slept and each day he worked as the seed sprouted and grew. But the man was not aware of how all that happened. The soil gave the plant the strength to grow -- first a small stalk, then the head grew on the stalk, then the head filled in with grain. When the grain ripened, the man cut it with his sickle, for the harvest time had come.]

A STORY OF WHEAT AND THISTLES

From Matthew 13:24-30

Here is another parable that Yeshua told: [The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while he and his neighbours were asleep one night, an enemy scattered some thistle seed in the same ground and ran away. Because the thistles began to grow among the stalks of wheat, the man’s servants questioned him about them. ‘Didn’t you sow good wheat in this field? Why are there so many thistles?’ ‘An enemy must have done this,’ the man answered. Then the servants asked, ‘Would you like us to pull the thistles now?’ ‘No,’ the man answered. ‘It is too easy to pull up the stalks of wheat by mistake. Let the thistles grow with the wheat until harvest time. Then I will tell the reapers to gather the thistles into bundles and burn them. After that, they may gather the wheat and put it into my storehouse.’]

A STORY OF THE SMALLEST SEED

From Matthew 13:31-32

Another story that Yeshua told was about the smallest Seed in the land: [The Kingdom of heaven is like the tiny mustard seed which a man planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all the seeds, it grows into a plant as large as a tree, so large that wild birds make their nests in its branches.]

THE LEAVEN THAT CHANGED THE WHOLE LOAF

From Matthew 13:33

There was another parable or story that Yeshua told: [The Kingdom of heaven is like leaven, or yeast, which a woman mixed with some flour. The leaven affected all of the bread dough and caused it to rise.]

COMMENTARY

STORYTELLING IN BIBLE TIMES

People had to use their own imagination to keep themselves entertained in Bible times. One of the most popular ways was by storytelling. In the evening, when all the work was done, families would often gather together and share stories. They told tales about the deeds of famous people or the events of the past. Some of the stories were true, some imagined, some humorous, some serious. Storytelling was such a popular amusement that people became professional storytellers. They travelled from town to town, telling their tales in public places where everyone who lived in the area could gather around and listen. But storytelling was more than just entertainment. It was also a way of teaching without books or paper. In Jewish homes, the father taught his children what it meant to be one of YHVH’s chosen people by telling them a story. Every year during the Passover meal, called a {seder,} a family ceremony was acted out. The youngest son asked, [Why is this night different from all other nights?] In answer to this and other questions, the father would repeat the story of how YHVH led Moses and the people of Israel out of their slavery in Egypt. The practice is still followed today. Yeshua also used storytelling as a way of teaching the crowds that came to hear Him speak. He taught about many things in parables. A {parable} is a special kind of story that compares something that is unknown to another thing that is known. The word means {to lay alongside,} because in a parable the known and the unknown are mentioned side by side to make an easy comparison. Yeshua was telling a parable when He said that [The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed] -- Matthew 13:31-32. Everyone knew that a mustard seed is so small that it can hardly be seen. But when it is planted and watered, the mustard seed grows to be a tree that is larger than all the other plants in the garden. When Yeshua compared the Kingdom of heaven to things on earth, He was making an important point. By adding familiar details to the story, He made it interesting and understandable to the people.