The Problem with Compromise

Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

— Matthew 13:33

 

Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like leaven, a comparison that may not mean a lot to us today. But it would have been immediately understood by the people of His day. Leaven is like yeast, and it always has negative connotations in Scripture.

Before the Passover, Moses instructed the Israelites, "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses . . . " (Exodus 12:15). Picking up on this theme, Paul wrote to believers in Corinth who were actually boasting about welcoming a compromising believer: "Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:6–7). Jesus also said, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees" (Matthew16:6).

What Is a Disciple?

In the Great Commission, Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. But what does it mean to make disciples? And more to the point, what exactly is a disciple?

As I have stated before, every disciple is a Christian, but not every Christian is necessarily a disciple. So, before I can make disciples, I have to be sure that I myself am one, because it takes one to make one.

In Luke 14, Jesus laid out His requirements for discipleship. Let's look at one of them here: The disciple must love Jesus more than anyone or anything else.

The Weapon of Compromise

Here is another illustration Jesus used: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches."

— Matthew 13:31–32

 

When Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed," people of His day would have understood that Jesus was comparing it to the smallest of things. A mustard seed was regarded as one of the smallest of the seeds.

But here is the thing we need to know: Mustard seeds don't grow into trees; they grow into bushes or shrubs. So it was unnatural growth. Jesus was saying the kingdom of God is like something small that grew really big. It would be like a Chihuahua that grew to the size of an elephant. The idea was that it is something that is not normal.