The Parable of the Mustard Seed
The Parable of the Mustard Seed is one of Jesus’s Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven, and it is found in Mark Chapter 4. When considering any teaching that deals with the Kingdom of Heaven, it might be a good idea to think of this on multiple levels, including the Kingdom of God that is present in the earth through his church and the Kingdom of God that lives within the hearts of those who belong to Jesus Christ.
30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it (Mark 4:30-32).
Meaning of the Parable of the Mustard Seed
Before considering the meaning, it might be helpful to have a little background information about the mustard seed and mustard tree. The mustard tree begins as a very small seed that is about 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter. This small seed grows into a tree that is 20 to 30 feet tall. What’s notable about the tree isn’t its height, but the branches that reach a span of about 20 feet.
When Jesus, the Son of God lived in the earth, He taught many things about the Kingdom of Heaven. Some of these teachings were hard to hear, like the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. It seems as if the way to the Kingdom of Heaven is in-fact narrow, as He taught. However, this parable provides another take.
This parable is one of hope, letting His to-be church know that though in their infancy they are going to be the smallest of all, they will not remain so. In the beginning, the rebel sect of Jesus followers were vehemently hated, and the church endured a lot of hardship for the sake of the gospel—a gospel that was planted in the earth when Jesus died, but just as He rose, so did His church. As His church grew, so was the gospel spread throughout the nations—and within His church there is rest for the weary, just as the mustard tree provides rest for the birds.
When we accept the gospel of the Kingdom of God, we embark on our own journey toward that Kingdom. In-part, we find that through fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. When we gather in worship, we are participating in the Kingdom. There is another way that we participate in the Kingdom of God, and that is through the Holy Spirit, Who “writes the laws of the Kingdom of Heaven on the fleshly tables of the heart.”
The Holy Spirit, Who “leads us to all truth” reveals the truth of Jesus to us, makes His teachings alive within us, and provides us with strength to face our sin honestly and repentantly so that we can be forgiven and find healing. The Holy Spirit is also compared to a seed—a seed of the Kingdom of God. This seed also grows overtime, and as this growth takes place, we can start doing the work that Jesus would want us to do. This work can take various forms depending on the gifts we are given, but the aim is the same, and that is to point people to Jesus, to help them grow in Him, and to live as He did. As we grow in this, our lives can also bring a measure of rest to the weary.
Striving in the Christian faith is hard, and sometimes it seems as if we have nothing more than a small, mustard-sized amount of faith. If we persist, then our faith will increase. It is through consistent pursuit of a relationship with God that we are given grace enough to grow, because without grace and faith it is impossible for us to do any good thing.
As we grow in faith, sometimes all we have are small efforts at living out that faith. We might have small efforts at prayer. Small efforts at reading the scriptures. Small efforts at showing kindness to others. Small efforts at trusting in God during hard times. Small efforts in dying to our love of this world and growing in our love for God. However, all of these small efforts, when mingled with faith and watered by the Holy Spirit, will eventually result in everlasting life in the Kingdom of God eternal.
Let’s not forget the humble and seemingly impossible difficulties that our brothers and sisters of the past and present have to endure in faith, and what their efforts mean for us. Let’s not forget the humility of our Lord and God Jesus Christ Who died so that His church could be planted, and rose so that His church could live—and because He lives, no effort that we make is too small to amount to great things in the Kingdom of God now and forever.
This is a series of articles focusing on the Parables of Jesus.
PREVIOUS PARABLE POST: The Parable of the Wheat and Tares
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