Who Do You Say That I Am, Matthew 16:13-20

This past Sunday's sermon covered the verses found in the Gospel of Matthew 16:13-20.  Here we find a story that is found in all three Synoptic Gospels, (though Mark and Luke exclude the perceived establishment of Peter as the 'rock' upon which Christ built His Church, in Greek the Ekklesia) this is the story where Christ first asks who do the people say He is and then He asks the Disciples "But who do you say that I am".

It's a rich text but, I chose at the end of the sermon to turn it around and ask the congregation, "but who do we say that we are".  The answer to that question should be of course, that we are the followers of Christ.  But as the followers of Christ, we need to remember our calling.  We are not called to battle over overly simplified concepts, nor are we called to over complicate the words of Christ, we are called to love one another.  I personally, don't see either the left or the right in this Country doing a particularly good job of 'loving' these days.  Too often we are lumping others into generalized categories rather than seeing them as individuals and recognizing that their concerns (both those on the left AND those on the right) do in fact have merit.

As I say in the sermon; "Do our actions identify us as followers of Christ.... As we read these words today, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God", let us remember who it is that we follow... let us remember who it is that we advocate for... who it is that we represent in this world, let us be His hands and His feet for a hurting and wanting world."

Matthew 16:13-20 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[a] the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter,[b] and on this rock[c] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was[d] the Messiah.[e]

Footnotes:

a) Matthew 16:16 Or the Christ
b) Matthew 16:18 Gk Petros
c) Matthew 16:18 Gk petra
d) Matthew 16:20 Other ancient authorities add Jesus
e) Matthew 16:20 Or the Christ

The warning at the end of the Scripture was a warning for the Disciples in their time, not ours... we need to daily proclaim the reign of the risen Messiah.  Let us proclaim it loudly through our actions, by loving each other and by being in dialogue with those with whom we disagree.  Let us seek to caution and to calm those who attack and demean those with whom they disagree, whether it be on either side of the ever widening divide.  Once you call someone Satan, or evil, a fascist, or a communist, or pronounce that your opponent is sick or condemned to Hell... well then all hope for reasoned conversation is gone.  Let us, the followers of Christ throw off those blinders, these gross misrepresentations of those with whom we disagree... and seek to find the love and grace that resides in Christ.

Matthew 5:43-48 New International Version (NIV)
Love for Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Let us simply love one another...

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Unending and Unlimited Love,
Roy

Faith -vs- Humility, The Canaanite Woman, a lesson in humility : Sermon given 8/20/17

Well, this week certainly raced by in a flash, and as a result, I am again late in getting my blog updated.  On Monday, we traveled to Falls City, NE to try and see the Solar Eclipse.  Unfortunately, the weather was against us and the cloud cover prevented us from seeing more than a few glimpses of the actual eclipse.  What little we were able to experience though was amazing and well worth the trip.  After this experience, I'm convinced that if I am at all able, we'll travel and take in the next eclipse in 2024.

The rest of this week was filled with moving the final items out of the Baptist Church building.  As of today, everything is out of the building and this morning Bill Hungate signed the paperwork to transfer the buildings ownership. So, the final pieces of the puzzle are quickly falling into place and the merger will soon be complete.

This last week's sermon was over Matthew 15:10-28 with supporting Scripture taken from Mark 7:24-30.  It's the story of the Canaanite Woman and whereas this scripture is generally used to preach about her 'faith', I took a different angle and discussed her 'approach' to Jesus.  It's an interesting and hopefully revealing twist and though I need to run (with everything else going on I'm sorely behind on sermon prep for this weekend) and don't have time to elaborate the video is linked below.  Please take a look and listen, it's not a long sermon at only about nineteen minutes long.

I hope that this blog post finds you all well and blessed!

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace,
Roy

Matthew 15:10-28  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.[a] And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Footnotes:

a) Matthew 15:14 Other ancient authorities lack of the blind


Mark 7:24-30  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir,[b] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Footnotes:

a) Mark 7:24 Other ancient authorities add and Sidon
b) Mark 7:28 Or Lord; other ancient authorities prefix Yes

Walking On Water - Matthew 14:22-33 - Sermon from August 13, 2017

Here is the video of last Sunday's sermon.  The scripture referenced was Matthew 14:22-33, best known as the miracle of Jesus walking on the water.  Since I'm so very late in getting this up (it's been a crazy week) I will only expand upon the end of the sermon.  Very (very, very) often these verses are used to talk about faith.  It's related to Peter's sinking in the waves due to his lack of faith.  If only he, and we by extension... had enough faith we could too walk on water.  I have a bit of bad news for you, no matter how strong your faith the laws of physics aren't going to bend to allow you to stroll around on top of liquid water without some additional form of floatation... but you're welcome to walk around all you like once winter hits and sufficient ice has formed... but back to my point.  Is it really the point of sinking in water where Peter's lack of faith is realized?  Or is it at this juncture:
Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

It seems to me that Peter is doubting already, and worse he's asking for proof from Christ as to his true identity.  He's in effect putting "God to the test", testing or bargaining with God isn't really a good idea.  I know this from personal experience... 

Peter really never had absolute faith, to begin with, or he wouldn't have asked for proof.  In the sermon, I comment on why one doesn't necessarily have to believe that this was a supernatural event, and one doesn't by logical extension have to believe that Peter wanted a supernatural proof from Jesus.  He just didn't have adequate faith.

But what happened?  Even though he lacked faith, Jesus still came to his aid when he called out to Him for salvation.  This is how it is for us too... none of us has adequate faith, we just don't...  But, if we call out to God, in the words of the father in the 9th Chapter of the Gospel of Mark;
Mark 9:23 & 24
 23 Jesus said to him, “If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!
If we call out as Peter did sinking beneath the waves, then our Heavenly Father, will reach out His hand and pull us to the shore.

I pray that you've all had a wonderful and productive week!

Be a blessing to someone today!

In Christ,
Roy

Matthew 14:22-33  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,[a] for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind,[b] he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Before I launched into the sermon, I did address the situation that unfolded in Charlottesville, VA on Saturday.  I no doubt took a somewhat different track and view on this horrible incident than many of my fellow clergy members.  We must firmly and constantly renounce racism and antisemitic rhetoric in this world... but, we must recognize racism and hate from all sides.  To give one side a 'pass' simply ratchets up the hate and conflict.  For far too long groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter have been given kid gloves treatment.  This not only emboldens and rewards them but, it emboldens and encourages groups like the KKK and White Supremacists.

Clearly, in this conflict, there is also blame to assign to the way the City of Charlottesville chose to handle (or not handle) the protestors.  The police were woefully unprepared it would appear, as the protesters and counter-protesters should never have been allowed to be in such close quarters to one another.

The injuries and sadly the deaths that resulted are absolute tragedies and we all need to pray for those involved whether we agree with their politics and their actions or not. 

May our Lord comfort and sustain the families of those who have died and comfort and heal those who have suffered injuries.  May the love of Christ soften those hearts filled with hate and those focused upon revenge and retribution.  May grace alone stand at the end of the day.  Amen.

August Newsletter Article, Pastor Roy Karlen

Here is my article for the August Newsletter, I'm sorry that I'm so slow on putting this on my blog page.

Be a blessing to someone today!

Roy

The Pastor's Ponderings:

It's really hard to believe that I'm sitting here working on the newsletter article for the AUGUST newsletter... where has the year gone already? August is always a busy month for the Karlen household, it brings with it Gail's birthday, our son Creath's birthday, and then right around the corner in the first few days of September comes our daughter Maddie's birthday. All of these birthdays fall within a period of two and a half weeks, so it's an expensive time of the year for Gail and I. But, it's always been one of our favorite times, these birthdays remind us all of the great blessing that we have with our family. It's easy to get lost in the stress and forget the blessings, but each of us has so much to be thankful for with each new day; let us never forget to lift up a word or song of praise for God's good gifts, which are given daily. Praise God!

As you all know, the congregation met on July 16th and voted overwhelmingly to approve the merger with First Baptist Church. Those gathered also voted on a new set of By-Laws for Woodlawn Christian Church to accommodate the new merger and our now dual affiliation with the Disciples of Christ and the American Baptist Church. Bill Hungate was selected to sit as a member of the Church Council until the Annual meeting in December when new officers will be elected. Minnie Huster was appointed to be an additional At-Large Member on the Christian Council and will also serve until the Annual Meeting. Let's all make sure to be as welcoming and excited as possible to have all these wonderful Baptist souls here worshiping and in fellowship with us! Praise God!!

This past Sunday was our first worship service as one congregation and if you missed it, you missed a great service. Not because of the sermon mind you... But rather because Kathy Holm has agreed to be our Song Leader here at Woodlawn (she as most know led the singing at First Baptist for many years) and her mother Clarice O'Tool played the piano for us. We had 83 souls in worship and with Kathy's strong voice leading us, well, it was just wonderful to hear the singing. I really can't tell you all how happy I was during worship. Make plans to get to Church this Sunday, there is a wonderful new sense of spirit and it's just a joy-filled experience! Praise God!!!

This coming Sunday, July 30th, we will be starting a new session in our Adult Sunday School class. We will be starting a study of the Gospel of John, even if you miss the first session please feel free to start coming if you have any interest. The Adult class goes from 9:00 am to 9:50 am every Sunday morning. We have been meeting in the Chapel but will be meeting in the Courtyard Room for the next few weeks. Please come and join us!

Also, this coming Sunday, July 30th, the Sunday Night Group will start a new session on the book of Galatians. Galatians is one of my favorite letters from Apostle Paul and we'll be studying it for the next few weeks. The Sunday Night Group meets at 6 pm in Fellowship Hall. We always have a meal, prayer time, sing a few songs, and then have a lesson or perhaps watch a video. If you're free and have an interest, please come on down to the Church at 6 pm and join us! And again, even if you miss the first night (or any other session) come on over anyway. We'd love to see you all there!

The members of the Church Council, Christian Council, and the Elders will also be starting a new study in August. All three groups will be meeting together to complete a study of the program entitled “Catch, a Church-wide Program for Invitational Evangelism”. This program will be done in six sessions, each of approximately an hour in length. The class dates (all on Tuesday nights) are August 15th, August 29th, September 5th, September 19th, October 10th, and October 24th. The sessions will start at 6:30 pm and be held here at the Church in Fellowship Hall. The program is about becoming (or improving upon) a church that 'fishes for people', it's a lesson on evangelism put out by a Methodist Church in Kansas City. If anyone who isn't a member of either Council or an Elder would be interested in taking the class, please let me (Pastor Roy) know. There is a Participants book for the class so I need to know at least approximately how many are going to be attending. But, even if you're just curious, please come to the first session to see if you're interested, I can always photocopy from another book until we can get one purchased for you.

Make sure you've marked your calendars for the concert on September 16th! And make sure you're telling all your friends and relations to make plans to be here for the concert! This year it will be on the Church grounds and we'll also have a full concession stand so folks can just come on over to hear the music (WHICH IS FREE!) and purchase their supper here. Tell everyone to bring along a lawn chair and to be ready to hear some wonderful Christian Music!

This week has been VBS here at Woodlawn and it's been a great week for certain. The kids have been very good this year and the program has worked very well, Ryan Daisy has been a big hit during the nightly skits. Good job Ryan! Janet Daisy and Jodi Frank have done another great job with preparing and pulling off another VBS program. I can't begin to list all of those who've helped with VBS this year but THANK YOU to each and every one of you. Without all of your assistance and hard work, we couldn't pull this very important program off each year. Thank you to everyone!

Well, I need to wrap up this long article, so I'll just close with this...

Be a blessing to someone today! (and every day!)

In Christ,

Pastor Roy

Sermon over Genesis 32:3-32 - Wrestling with God

This Sunday (August 6th) the sermon was over Genesis 32:3-32, the story of Jacob wrestling with whatever the entity was that he wrestled with next to the Jakkob River.  There are nearly endless commentaries on this piece of Scripture and a multitude of ideas as to who or what the entity was which 'wrestled' with Jacob.

In the sermon, I touched upon a few of the likely candidates but, here I will just leave you with one possibility.  Was this entity either Esau himself, or Esau's guardian spirit, or perhaps just Jacob's anxiety overwhelming him on the eve of his reunion with his brother.  It is very worth noting the verses that follow so nearly the scripture verses for today.

4 But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the maids drew near, they and their children, and bowed down; 7 Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down; and finally Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. 8 Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor with my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 Jacob said, “No, please; if I find favor with you, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God—since you have received me with such favor.

Jacob is afraid of what was coming during his encounter with Esau, we are told this over and over in the verses leading up to this reunion.  His fear is well warranted, for he has cheated and betrayed his older brother and Esau himself threatened to kill Jacob.  But, the reality of the reunion is so vastly different than Jacob had felt it might be... Esau extends grace to Jacob and embraces Jacob before Jacob has a chance to beg for forgiveness or to even say a word to his brother.

I have to wonder about this action, a story so reminiscent of the story of the Prodigal Son, a story in which it's obvious that Esau is modeling God towards Jacob... Jacob even says so...

In our lives we worry about meeting God when our days end here in this world, but, I believe that both the story of the Prodigal Son and the story of the reunion of Jacob and Esau tell us quite clearly that no apprehension is warranted.  God wants to reconcile with us even more strongly and completely than Esau wanted to reconcile with his long lost brother.

Praise be to God!

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Glory,
Roy

Genesis 32:3-32New International Version (NIV)

3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”

6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,[a] and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,[b] the group[c] that is left may escape.”

9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”

13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”

17 He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”

19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[d] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[e] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”


31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[f] and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Footnotes:
a) Genesis 32:7 Or camps
b) Genesis 32:8 Or camp
c) Genesis 32:8 Or camp
d) Genesis 32:28 Israel probably means he struggles with God.
e) Genesis 32:30 Peniel means face of God.
f) Genesis 32:31 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel

Sermon on the "Wheat Among the Weeds", Matthew 13:24-43

This past Sunday, July 30th, the sermon was over the Parable of the "Wheat and the Tares" also called the "Wheat Among the Weeds".  It was a fitting bit of scripture to follow the sermon which I gave on the 23rd, as it drove home the message of remaining in association with those who disagree or even are in contention with you.

The bottom line is that we are all called to live our lives here on this side of the veil in fellowship and cohabitation with the 'weeds'.  We are not to try and carve out a nice comfortable space where everyone is in perfect accord and thinks and believes as we do.

If I were to chastise the church today, especially mainline denominations, it would be concerning the trend towards ostracizing those voices that are in disagreement.  But, this trend is all too present in the more Fundamentalist denominations as well, it seems that whether it be the right or it be the left, we have lost the ability to have calm and reasoned conversations and disagreements. 

The parable of the 'Wheat and the Tares' is a story of being 'non-judgemental'.  It is not up to us to judge the weeds of this world, in fact, who among us has not been... and still is at times a weed in God's garden?  In ripping up those perceived as 'weeds', we will all too often rip up those that are, or will eventually be 'wheat'.  God has the capacity to change hearts, minds, and souls.  God can and will turn the weeds into wheat.  Besides, far too many of us regard ourselves as 'wheat' and any that disagree with us as 'weeds', and those we disagree with believe themselves to be 'wheat' and we to be 'weeds'... who judges rightly?  Let's just live and learn together and not pass judgment upon our neighbor, for judgment is reserved for God and not for any mortal man.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Love,
Roy

Matthew 13:24-43  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat
24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with[a] three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

The Use of Parables
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. 35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:[b]
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
 I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”[c]

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears[d] listen!
Footnotes:
a) Matthew 13:33 Gk hid in
b) Matthew 13:35 Other ancient authorities read the prophet Isaiah
c) Matthew 13:35 Other ancient authorities lack of the world
d) Matthew 13:43 Other ancient authorities add to hear