Matthew 13:31-35. Mustard seed | Jemuel Bariuan | 260809 | Whoever has ears

I think I could speak for most of us here when I say that there's something exciting about an underdog story.

There's a thrill supporting a person, a group, a team maybe, anything that is much smaller than whatever it's up against, and hoping that they beat the odds.

And in Matthew 13, we find ourselves looking into an underdog story.

We see Jesus and his disciples have been telling those around them that the kingdom of God has arrived.

And initially, it looked like they were very popular.

Matthew recounts the impressive teachings and miracles done by Jesus, which has led to large crowds following them, like the one mentioned here at the start of chapter 13.

But behind the very large crowds, the reality was quite different.

despite many hearing Jesus speak with authority and many seeing his divine power through the miracles, the majority response is actually indifference.

We see in chapter 12, Jesus' own family, at this point of Jesus' ministry, they did not understand Jesus' mission.

Mark chapter 3 tells us that they thought Jesus was out of his mind.

And by the end of chapter 13, Jesus will only be addressing the small group of followers, his disciples, because the crowds, they were unaffected by what he said.

And scattered throughout chapters 1 to 13 of Matthew are events showing that there is growing opposition against Jesus, like scenes of the religious leaders and teachers publicly accusing him that he's doing all that he's doing in the power of the devil.

And whilst Jesus was doing this, they were plotting to kill him, plotting to get rid of him.

And you, hopefully like me, find yourself rooting for Jesus and his followers, hoping that they will beat the odds, that they will tell the world that the kingdom of God has come.

And I know most of you here probably know how the story ends, where it goes, and where it's going.

But right here, right now, in Matthew chapter 13, looking into the story where we are, it feels exciting.

Let's be honest, it's only exciting when you cheer for the underdogs at arm's length, when it doesn't cost you, when your safety, your comfort, your reputation isn't on the line.

But what about if it is you? And maybe you've already experienced that belonging to God's kingdom often feels like belonging to something small.

That the underdog story isn't just a story you're looking into, that we're looking into now, but actually it's your reality.

It's your life at the moment.

For example, you might be the only Christian or part of a small group of Christians at work, at university, with your friends and family circles.

Maybe you've been proactively telling people about Jesus, but feeling discouraged because you can't remember the last time someone has come to Jesus.

And maybe part of the discouragement comes because as you're sharing who Jesus is, you're met with sarcastic remarks or accusations that you're spreading a message that's hateful.

Or maybe it's just that attention and the awkwardness that fills the room because you know that they know that you're someone who follows Jesus.

Maybe you're not getting that response at all, but you are finding that when you're sharing who Jesus is, You're not met with, wow, impressive.