Matthew 13:31-32 devotional

 Matthew 13:31-32 says:

Another parable put he forth to them, saying "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds:

but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."

In this parable Jesus talks compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed. A mustard seed was the smallest seed known to the Israelites, measuring only 1-2 millimeters long. 

The Man is Jesus and the field is the World. Jesus took the Kingdom of Heaven and brought it to Earth, where it was seen as insignificant at first. It took decades for the Romans to even recognize Christianity as its own religion, originally thinking it was just a sect of Judaism: It was the smallest of all religions. 

 But the mustard plant grows very fast, reaching heights of up to 12 feet in just a few months. In the Roman Empire, it became the most practised religion by 400 ad. Now it is the most practised religion worldwide, and unlike many religions, it has relatively little history of forced conversions. In other words, it is the greatest among the herbs. 

 The birds of the air are believers, and God planted the mustard tree for us to live in.

Four Myths About the Bible

Here are some of the common myths about the Bible, which as Christians we need to be

aware of especially if we get into an argument. Please note I have tried to remain as

unbiased as possible.

One: The Bible is to be taken literally all the time.

Two: The new testament changes everything and the rules of the old testament can

be ignored since Jesus died for us.

Three: Jesus was a Christain.

Four: There are no other gods and these are all fake and products of imagination.

Okay lets dive in. One; The Bible is to be taken literally all the time.

Firstly there is a surprising amount of the Christian population that believes this

myth so it is important that we look at this phenomenon in greater depth.

When you think about it, the Bible is not really one book; it is, in fact, a

conglomeration of many literary styles and authors living in different time periods. Some

parts of the Bible are to be taken literally, like the resurrection of Jesus, while others are

merely devices used to help the story.

For instance we are told in verse 12:37 of Exodus that the number of Israelites

leaving Egypt numbered 600 thousand men. At first glance this passage simply seems

like a hard fact and another boring number.

However this is noted by scholars to be a literary device popular at that time. It

was often used to bring glory to the nation’s god or king and the Bible using this showed

that the Israelite nation had vanquished Egypt with G-d’s help. It also signaled that the

promise to make Abraham a nation larger than all the others was in the process of being

fulfilled.

Alright, now to address the second misconception. The new testament changes

everything and the rules of the old testament can be ignored since Jesus died for us.Here is the thing; if you think that the new testament cancels out the old then you need

some time to reflect and think. The old testament is vital to the story of humanity and our

struggle, the new testament is merely the completion of that. If we completely forgot the

old testament we would have to say that we don't truly believe in the Bible.

Now that we have cleared those two points up we shall move onward. Third: Jesus was

a Christain.

This is just a plain myth. Jesus was Jewish and looked like it. Not like those pictures you

see in kid’s stories where he looks like a white European man with brown hair. He most

likely had dark curly hair and was olive toned due to the region’s ethnic population. Also

the Bible literally says he was part of the line of King David (another reason we can not

disregard the old testament, God promised he would never let David’s line die out, and

Jesus was actually of that family lineage).

Jesus did not even start Christianity. What we believe today would have been

categorized as Judaism at first. Christinity was founded in around 70 AD and became a

separate entity when the destruction of the second temple occurred.

Four: There are no other gods and these are all fake and products of imagination.

It has often surprised me that while we believe in a god ourselves ( the one true

G-d) we often dismiss all the gods of other cultures and say they did not exist, they are

figments of the ancient people's imagination, and they were stupid and ignorant and just

didn't know any better. This is the exact thing some non-believers will say about

Christians.

I am not saying that the specific gods of Egypt, Greece, China, South America and

other countries exist in those specific forms but if you believe in the Bible then it is clear

that other spirits exist.

Obviously they should not be worshiped and are vastly inferior to G-D but they do

exist. Here are some verses that might make things clearer.

Psalm 82:1 – God takes His stand in the divine assembly; He judges in the midst of the

gods (elohim).

Psalm 89:5–7 – Asks who in the skies compares to the Lord, describing Him as feared

in the council of the holy ones.1 Kings 22:19–22 – The prophet Micaiah sees the Lord sitting on His throne with all the

host of heaven standing around Him.

As we can see other supernatural beings exist and we must know how to deal with

them according to G-d’s Word. I hope this shows what a few common myths about the

Bible look like and how to explain them to those who might need more clarity

THE HEALTHY AND THE SICK

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. But go learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Matthew 9:9-13

Back in those days, tax collectors were seen as bad. They were Jewish people who collected taxes from their own people for the Roman Empire. The tax collectors would also often overcharge people and would take the excess, making themselves wealthy at the expense of their people. That’s why they were lumped with sinners.

But even though those people were tax collectors and sinners, Jesus still went to them to change their lives for the better, just as He has for so many of us from the past, present, and will in the future.

What Jesus meant by, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” Is that we who are righteous, don’t need to be saved by Jesus because we already have been. But those who sinners haven’t been saved need to be told the good news, to hear about Jesus. I mean, if we’re not sick or injured, why would we see a doctor? But if we are, then, in most cases,  we would see a doctor.

Don’t be afraid to come to Him. He is more trustworthy than anyone on this earth. He’s the one who literally died hanging on a cross for you. It’s okay if you make mistakes or have problems. Because Jesus wasn’t looking for the healthy. He was looking for the sick.

Kai