The Kingdom of Heaven is Like...

NIV Matthew 13:24 

Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field."

NIV Matthew 13:33 

Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

NIV Matthew 13:44  

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field." 

NIV Matthew 13:45  

"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls". 

NIV Matthew 13:52  

"Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old. 

 Why is this ponderable?

 The seven parables of Mat 13., called by our Lord, "mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 13:11), taken together, describe the result of the presence of the Gospel in the world during the present age, that is, the time of seed sowing which began with our Lord's personal ministry, and ends with the "harvest" Mt 13:40-43. Briefly, the result is mingled tares and wheat, good fish and bad, in the sphere of Christian experience. It is Christendom.

NIV Matthew 20:1  

"For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard."

By Jacob Willemsz de Wet - The Yorck Project (2002)

Why is this ponderable?

Arland J. Hultgren writes: "While interpreting and applying this parable, the question inevitably arises: Who are the eleventh-hour workers in our day? We might want to name them, such as deathbed converts or persons who are typically despised by those who are longtime veterans and more fervent in their religious commitment. But it is best not to narrow the field too quickly. At a deeper level, we are all the eleventh-hour workers; to change the metaphor, we are all honored guests of God in the kingdom. It is not really necessary to decide who the eleventh-hour workers are. The point of the parable—both at the level of Jesus and the level of Matthew's Gospel—is that God saves by grace, not by our worthiness. That applies to all of us."