Introduction:

1. People are enamored with the grandiose things in life.

2. This can skew our expectations and cause us to miss many great things.

3. Such was the case for many of the Jewish people as they awaited their coming Messiah, which caused them to reject Him when He came.

4. We must remember great things often come from humble beginnings.

Discussion:

I. Israel’s Messianic Expectations

A. The golden age of the Messiah was a recurring prophetic theme.

B. His kingdom would be the greatest of all time (Isaiah 2:1-4; 11:1-16), and it would crush the others (Daniel 2:31-45).

II. An Otherworldly Kingdom

A. Most of the Jews expected a conquering king who would cast off their pagan oppressors (Matthew 2:1-12; John 18:33-35; 1 Corinthians 1:23).

B. Jesus plainly taught His kingdom was neither political nor military in nature (Matthew 20:20-28; John 6:14-15; 18:36).

C. Discerning minds saw this in the prophets (Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Zechariah 9:9; John 12:13-16).

III. From Obscurity to Notoriety

A. Jesus and His disciples were men of little consequence from the earthly perspective (Matthew 13:53-58; John 1:46; Acts 4:13).

B. However, their message was brought with the power of God (John 14:10-11; Mark 16:17-20; Hebrews 2:1-4).

C. This enabled the gospel to permeate the known world in about thirty years (Colossians 1:23).

1. To this day, friends and foes alike know Jesus’ name.

2. To this day, wherever true kingdom living occurs, people reap its benefits in every possible way.

3. Like mustard seed and leaven, so the kingdom of heaven began with such seeming insignificance only to grow to astounding proportions.