Gospel Meditation

Luke 13:18–30

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven &

The Narrow Door

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         Jesus, with two parables, that of the mustard seed and leaven, lets His followers know that the Kingdom of God will grow a little bit while appearing to be small and weak. This is like the very tiny seed of the mustard plant that can produce a large plant even resembling a tree. Then just a tiny bit of leaven can penetrate and produce a large amount of bread.

2. In “The Narrow Door” are two more parables, the first having to do with a “narrow” door, and we see in John 10 that Jesus Himself is that door. The kingdom of God, which the Jewish nation was waiting for, will be entered only through a narrow door.

3.         The second parable, our fourth being covered here, tells the story of a master of a house who will shut the door and when those outside ask to come he will respond “I never knew you.”

4.         The master of the house even says to the late comers “depart from me, all you workers of evil!” Thus, it is more than a case of not knowing, it is also that these are “workers of evil.”

5.         But, there will be those coming from all over the world who will be invited into the kingdom of God, and these likely are from the Gentile world.