Here you supply your own negative spin. Yeshua nowhere suggests, as you do, that the growth and flourishing of a healthy mustard tree should be seen as some kind of ominous development. But your pessimistic interpretation is just the negative version of the traditional take on this story. Tradition says the 'kingdom of heaven' is the coming 'church' that the storyteller is here to 'establish.'
Your first erroneous assumption to which you vigorously leap, is that because I said that the parable of the deformed mustard seed is negative, I am pessimistic. Not true.
There can be a negative parable without there being the prevailing triumph of that negative situation. Clearly, the deformation of the facade of the kingdom of the heavens will not prevail. So do not assume pessimism on my part or on the part of Christ.
The church and the kingdom of the heavens in Matthew are very closely related. This is proved by chapters 16 and 18 of Matthew. The keys to the kingdom were given to the Apostle Peter who just so happened to preach the first gospel messages in the book of Acts. In those messages of Peter thousands came into the new testament church life.
There was a key for the Jews to come in. And there was latter a key for the Gentiles to come in. Peter was there speaking on both occasions. I think the "keys" have to do with Peter's gospel preaching.
But did Rabbi Yeshua of Nazareth know he was 'establishing a church'? Why would he even think in such terms? No church existed in his day. He showed no interest personally in being anything other than a Jew and this applies to others he met.
Read Matthew 16. And pay special attention to the words
"I will build My church"
We may fairly ask what he anticipated. What kind of kingdom did he proclaim? That's not the same as asking what new organized religion came to be in the decades that followed. Yeshua could easily have understood something very different by the term 'kingdom of heaven.' It may have been nothing like a church at all, good or bad.
The church is a matter of grace. The kingdom is a matter of authority and discipline. The kingdom is the discipline aspect of the church. To be in the kingdom is to submit to the authority of the King. You may be saved and forgiven but go on and live your own life as before. Or you may be saved and forgiven and go on to grow in the divine life, learning to be in submission to the authority of Christ.
So the kingdom and the church are very closely related. Since God's will is not simply that people be saved and forgiven, but that they change and live differently, the gospel of the kingdom is preached first. Matthew comes first as the welcome center of the New Testament. "I save you so that you may live in My kingdom."
Now the church is a matter of receiving grace and mercy. But the kingdom is a matter of excercise and discipline. So these are two aspects of the same thing. Or they are very closely related. The Savior is also the King.
I'll look to your other comments latter.
Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.