Thank you very much. Good evening everyone, it's a pleasure to be with you this evening.
Please keep Luke chapter 13 open in front of you as we study it together.
That will be a huge help for all of us as we consider what the implications are of Jesus' words for us,
not only as individuals but as a church family.
Let me pray for us before we go any further.
Father, we thank you for your word to us.
And we thank you that when you speak, you shape our hearts to look more like that of Jesus.
And so we pray that you would help us this evening to understand what it is that you have to say,
that you would help us to respond in gratitude and in obedience to you.
Please, Father, would you give us everything that we need this evening to hear your word
and to live it out in our lives so that you may be glorified.
Please, we pray, would you show us Christ.
And it's in his name that we ask for all these things. Amen.
Well, it's a beautifully sunny day.
It's the end of what I'm sure has been an academic year full of highs and lows for you as a church family.
The summer holidays often give us a chance, I think, to reflect back on what the previous 12 months have held for us
and then also to look ahead at what is coming up next over the academic year that faces us.
And so my question to us all this evening is this.
What should our gospel expectations be over the next academic year?
What should our gospel expectations be until the summer of 2023?
What should the gospel expectations be for a church family like Brunsfield Evangelical
as you look to the next five or maybe even ten years of your life here as a church in Edinburgh?
Now, there's a whole variety of possible answers to that question.
I'm sure so many of us would love to see men, women, children, those who are elderly
around our part of Edinburgh, in our social circles, who don't yet know Jesus,
to hear the gospel, to ask Jesus for forgiveness and for eternal life.
I know that I would love that myself.
I'm sure we'd love to grow together as a church family in unity and in holiness
as we study God's word on a Sunday and during the week.
I would love that too.
Having said that, I'm sure so many of us know that things are actually often in reality
much tougher for us as a church family.
People who we would love to know Jesus just don't seem all that interested.
Friends around us who we would love to grow in godliness aren't making progress like we
would want them to.
Even when we think about ourselves, when we reflect on the past 12 months, how we have grown
as Christians, we feel frustrated, I'm sure, thinking about how slow our own progress can be.
As we look at our world, we just think, where is God's kingdom?
Where is the reign of Christ?
And so for some of us, I imagine our expectations might be really optimistic, positive, bright,
as we think about what God might do in our lives and in the lives of others.
But for some of us, our expectations might be more pessimistic or perhaps realistic
as we think about the sin that permeates our hearts and the evil that permeates our world.
Well, wonderfully, in our parables this evening, Jesus sets really, really clear gospel expectations
as to what a church family like Brunsfield Evangelical can expect and should expect over the academic year ahead.
And it's a really, really important lesson for us to learn because Jesus' words are going to transform
and change our expectations to look more like the genuine gospel expectations of his kingdom.
And that in turn will stop us as Christians from having an outlook that is either too high or too low.
Overly optimistic or overly pessimistic.
See, if our expectations match Jesus' kingdom expectations,
then we'll make much better sense of what is happening around about us in our lives and in our world.
In fact, that is exactly what Jesus is teaching his disciples in Luke chapter 13.
We're following Jesus on his way to the cross.
We're following Jesus on his way to Jerusalem.
And he is showing his followers what it means to understand and correctly interpret the days in which they are living.
As Jesus teaches, as Jesus heals, as Jesus drives out demons on his way to Jerusalem,
how are the disciples to make sense of it all?
Should daily healings and the driving out of demons be the norm going forwards for anyone who follows Jesus?
How does a disciple correctly understand what Jesus is saying and what Jesus is doing as he heads towards Jerusalem?
And you'll see what I mean if you scan chapter 13.
Just before these parables in chapter 13, we read of Jesus freeing a woman on the Sabbath
from this crippling spirit that has had her bent over for 18 years.
So if you glance with me at verse 10, we read,
On the Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,
and the woman who was there had been crippled by a spirit for 18 years.
She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.
When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her,
Women, you are set free from your infirmity.
Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Now Luke records this for us because it is miraculous in the truest sense of the word.
This poor woman has suffered for 18 years,
and Jesus in his kindness and in his mercy cures her.
But there's much more going on here in Luke chapter 13.
See, this is the long-awaited kingdom of God breaking into our world,
breaking into this woman's life to set her free from the grip of Satan.
And Luke invites us to watch as Jesus, the king of God's people,
frees this woman from the grip, from the grasp of the evil one.
Someone stronger than Satan has arrived.
His kingdom has broken into our fallen world.
So listen to Jesus' words in verse 16.
Hear the authority, hear the compassion in the words that he speaks.
Should not this woman, he says,
a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for 18 long years,
be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?
And when he said this, all his opponents were humiliated,
but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
All the people see what Jesus does, and they rightly rejoice.
Finally, here is someone who can fully fix the world in which we live.
After years of oppressive Roman rule,
after years of oppressive religious tyranny,
after years of disease and death,
there is finally a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.
And yet, as Jesus' kingdom breaks into our world,
he needs to make sure that his disciples understand
understand what things will look like going forward.
They've just witnessed something wonderful,
their right to rejoice,
but Jesus will tell his disciples in these parables
that his kingdom will not always look as powerful as it does
in verses 10 to 18 of chapter 13.
In fact, Jesus' kingdom will grow spectacularly,
but it will grow from small, unseen beginnings.
Jesus' kingdom will grow spectacularly,
but it will grow from small, unseen beginnings.
The two parables are very similar to one another.
There's a slightly different emphasis each time.
They're not especially tricky or hard for us to understand.
The word at the start of verse 18
that was read out for us there is,
actually, therefore, therefore, Jesus asked,
what is the kingdom of God like?
This is Jesus' direct response
to the rejoicing of the disciples around him.
He doesn't want to spoil their fun.
He's not telling them to tone down their rejoicing,
but he is clarifying and adjusting
their understanding of what is to come.
As Jesus compares the kingdom of God,
he speaks firstly, in verse 19,
of a mustard seed,
which a man took and planted in his garden.
And then he speaks in verse 21,
of yeast that a woman took and mixed
into about 30 kilograms of flour.
See, as Jesus describes the kingdom of God,
he speaks here in Luke of very ordinary,
everyday things.
We would walk right past mustard seeds and yeast
if we were at the local market there 2,000 years ago.
We wouldn't even notice they were there.
And yet listen to what happens to both of these things
in these verses.
In verse 19,
the mustard seed grew and became a tree
and the birds perched in its branches.
That small, weak, ordinary, unimpressive mustard seed
grows into something that offers shelter
and provision for the birds that come
and perch in its branches.
And then again, verse 21,
the yeast that a woman took and mixed,
that word there is literally hid,
the yeast that a woman took and hid
in about 30 kilograms of flour
works its way through all the dough.
That tiny amount of yeast
grows into the rest of the flour,
which I'm told would be able to provide enough bread
to feed over 100 people.
Now we might have walked past the yeast
and we might have walked past the mustard seed,
but we would not walk past that tree
nor that amount of bread
without noticing them.
We would see them very, very clearly.
Jesus' kingdom will grow spectacularly
from small, unseen beginnings.
And you can understand why Jesus would want his disciples
to understand this
in light of what's just happened in chapter 13.
You can understand why Jesus would want his disciples
to know this, given where he is heading.
If you glance down at verse 32 of chapter 13,
Jesus is responding to very, very false concern
from the Pharisees.
They don't want Jesus anywhere near Jerusalem.
And so they attempt to ward him away from Jerusalem
by trying to explain that Herod is out to get him.
And Jesus responds by saying, verse 32,
I will keep on driving out demons
and healing people today and tomorrow.
And on the third day, I will reach my goal.
In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow
and the next day,
for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem.
See, in Jesus, the kingdom of God
has broken into the world with all of its power.
We've seen that in the healing of the women on the Sabbath.
But healing people physically
before going to the cross
is not Jesus' ultimate goal.
He says that he will keep on driving out demons.
He says that he will keep on healing people,
but he will only do it until he reaches,
on day three, his goal,
which is the cross of Calvary.
Now that is when the kingdom of God
will look at its least impressive.
That is when the kingdom of God
will look at its most hidden.
That is when the disciples
will need to hang on to Jesus' words here
in chapter 13.
See, as Jesus hangs on the cross,
he looks weak and he looks frail.
As Jesus hangs on the cross,
the glory of the kingdom will be small,
just like the mustard seed.
As Jesus hangs on the cross,
the glory of the kingdom will be hidden,
just like the yeast.
And yet,
just as Jesus teaches his followers
in these parables,
it will grow.
See, the cross, if you like,
is the moment where
the gospel seed is planted in the garden.
The cross, if you like,
is the moment where the gospel yeast
is hidden in the flower.
But Jesus' promise to his followers
is that slowly,
surely,
over the months,
over the years to come,
his kingdom will grow.
From the small to the great.
From the hidden to the visible.
And as we look back
at Jesus' promise to his followers
2,000 years ago,
wasn't he telling us the truth?
From the 11 apostles
and the handful of others
left after Jesus died
and rose again,
right the way through the centuries,
where millions and millions of people
have come to place their faith
and trust
in the cross of Christ.
So you can go and see
what remains
of the Roman Empire
sitting in the British Museum.
And whilst you're there,
you can have a look at
what remains
of the Babylonian Empire as well.
A lot of it has been
very well,
very carefully preserved
for us to go and see.
Even more carefully preserved
is the kingdom of Christ.
preserved by him.
And if you want to go and see it,
you just need to look around
about you at church
on a Sunday morning
or a Sunday evening.
The kingdoms of the world crumble.
The kingdom of Christ continues.
Carries on.
And so as I draw things
to a close this evening,
let me suggest just two ways
in which this parable
should shape,
should adjust
our gospel expectations
as a church family.
The first one is this.
When we feel tempted
to think that the kingdom
of Christ looks defeated,
it looks beaten,
these parables
show and remind us
that Jesus' kingdom
is actually in reality
growing unstoppably.
I know the frustration
of meeting up with somebody
who is struggling
with a particular issue,
who needs generous applications
of the gospel.
They listen
and then they go right back
to doing what they were doing before.
I know the frustration
of looking at sin
in my own life
and thinking,
I will never ever
do that thing again.
And then I do it
within the hour.
I know the frustration
of trying to reach out
with the good news
of Jesus
towards those
who just aren't interested
and every single time
feeling the pain
that comes with that.
When we look at the life
of an individual,
when we look at the church
in this country,
when we think of a mission
partner overseas,
we think to ourselves,
this just looks so weak,
so small,
so hidden.
Jesus' response is,
just wait until
what you see in eternity.
Jesus' kingdom
is growing spectacularly
into an eternal kingdom
that will offer shelter
and provision
for anyone
who would seek to enter.
In that sense,
we need to be
very, very careful
that we don't listen
to our senses
too much.
Or rather,
that we listen
to God's word
and what Jesus has said
over what we often see
and hear
and perceive
around about us.
That's the first thing.
The second thing is this.
When we feel tempted
to think that
the kingdom of Christ
should actually
be moving quicker
or faster
than it currently is,
these parables
show and remind us
that the growth
of Jesus' kingdom
will not always
look impressive
or sudden.
That's such a big
encouragement for me
and for any one of us
who are trying to press
the truth of the gospel
either onto our own hearts
or onto the hearts
of those
that we know and love.
And I think at times
it's easy to be tempted
to think,
should we be doing
things quicker?
Should this be moving
faster than it is?
I've been reading
through a gospel
with this friend of mine,
with this brother
or sister
from the church family
for the best part
of two years
and it just doesn't look
like anything is happening.
Should we be trying
something else
to maybe just
speed things up?
Is there something
that we're missing out on
that other churches
are doing
and enjoying
the fruit of that
but we're missing out?
Well, Jesus would say
that if you are doing
his kingdom work,
then growth
will not always
be quick.
His kingdom
has broken in.
He has defeated Satan.
He has liberated us
from sin
and sickness
and will do
for eternity
in the future
but kingdom growth
is gradual
in our lives,
in our world.
So my encouragement
from these parables
is not to lose heart.
His power
is undeniable.
He will reign forever
and his eternal kingdom
will grow.
It will grow spectacularly
but it will grow slowly
from our perspective
at least.
And with all that
being said,
let me stop there
and let me pray
and pray that God
will give us
these gospel expectations
that Christ would want us
to have
for his kingdom.
Father, we thank you
for Jesus' honesty here
and we thank you,
Father,
for Jesus adjusting
our expectations
so that they are
in line with his.
And we thank you,
Father,
that we can
know with certainty
that Jesus' kingdom
will grow
from that which
often looks
small and unimpressive
and weak
but it will grow
into something
that provides
and nourishes
everyone who belongs
to it.
Thank you,
Father,
for the guarantee
that despite what we
often see around
about us
in our world,
your kingdom
will grow
and will reign
forever.
So please
help us to keep
going,
help us to keep
growing in you
and please help us,
Father,
not to be distracted
or to be persuaded
by the world
around about us
but instead
to trust in you
and to trust
in Jesus' kingdom.
Thank you
that you have saved us
for an eternity
with you
where we will know
all of this
forever.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.