The Parables of Jesus - The Smallest Seed

Introduction

In today’s parable, Jesus communicates a reality that He came from heaven to bring to the earth, and more precisely to God’s people: the reality of a heavenly Kingdom, coming from their long-awaited Messiah, bringing them deliverance from an earthly and temporary kingdom, escaping Roman oppression. but instead to inherit an eternal kingdom, that begins on earth and will never end, in a way that no one expected, but which was written in their Holy Scriptures.

Through this parable, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to something small and insignificant in the eyes of the world, but whose effect will become very great. This heavenly Kingdom begins small, but God alone gives it growth that goes beyond what man can produce or even imagine. Even if the world does not see it, God sees it; even if the world does not understand it, God accomplishes it.

The fact that God alone rules over nature and the elements found within it gives Him all the glory. For who can make a seed grow? Especially the smallest of them all? Who can make the Kingdom of God grow, if not by the sovereign and divine action of God? This is exactly what we are going to see today.

Reading of the passage of the day.

“And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.“ Mark 4:30-32 ESV

Jesus began to teach those around Him, as a Master teaching His disciples, those whom He had chosen not for their intellectual or human abilities, nor financial qualities, but because they had been set apart by Him for the heart they had to obey and follow Him.

But for what mission were they called? First of all, to be trained and discipled to faithfully reveal the Kingdom of God as Jesus did. The fact that this Kingdom was not physical in the same manner, rather at a deeper level of understanding, took time for them to understand, and to make the connection between what Jesus was saying and what Scripture was saying. This time, it was a question of a spiritual Kingdom coming from heaven, but they could not yet fully understand it. 

The entrance to this Kingdom was not through a physical temple, or, we could say, a physical door, but rather through a door opened only by faith in what God would accomplish through Jesus Christ. They would discover it progressively, with God Himself, made man in Jesus Christ, as the supreme example, the Lord of our souls, at their side.

As it is for all of us today, the reality of the Kingdom is revealed progressively, in order to give us, at each stage or season of our life and walk with the Lord, greater maturity and  understanding in His Word, and to bear fruit at last. All of this is so that our faith may be unshakable, knowing in whom we have believed and place our hope: in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in His promises, despite the difficult moments that may arise in our lives.

“And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?“ v.30

When Jesus uses a metaphor to illustrate the Kingdom of God, He compares it and represents it through something His listeners could easily understand, for those whose hearts have been prepared by the Father. That is why the parables use familiar things for His listeners. In this specific case, they all knew the mustard seed, in fact, the mustard plant was well known and cultivated in this area.

So, what is this Kingdom reality? It is the coming of God into the world through Jesus Christ, the Messiah and the King of the Jews, fulfilling the Law of Moses and the Prophets, revealing His power, authority, and majesty over all things, not through a people guided by visible laws and sacrifices, but through a people who belong to God.

Once again, this Heavenly Kingdom is an invisible and spiritual reality, not limited by a physical temple, but eternal and unlimited, instituted, empowered, and led by the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, by faith in the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, and not by works or any sort of sacrificial act, which were no longer pleasing God, because the time of true worship had come, loving Him and His Kingdom in Spirit and in Truth.

The prophet Isaiah spoke about this: « For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. » Is. 9:6-7 ESV

Comparing such a great and deep reality through a single parable may seem hard to understand. How can a Kingdom so great and majestic be compared to something so small and with no apparent value? Yet, what God has desired to communicate since the work of creation is a personal and relational communication with humanity, through simplicity of heart, humility, sincere love toward Him, and for what He has done for His people, and, by extension, for all who come to love Him.

Jesus clearly says that the Kingdom of God must be compared to and represented by something, which implies a true resemblance in the way He is presenting the Kingdom, not just a simple illustration, but a true heavenly reality revealed to those who listen. 

What Jesus says is what God says. What Jesus does is what God does. Nothing can be changed, added, or removed from what He says. He alone compares and represents the Kingdom. This is why, God gave humanity His living Word of life, bearing witness to Him and His glorious Kingdom, to read and to meditate on consciously, to be enlighten by It. This is what pleases God, seeking the truth in His Word, leading us to the transformation of our hearts, and applying it faithfully in our lives.

“It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ” v.31

So, what is a mustard seed? Let us have a look at it

The mustard seed is a very small round seed, measuring about 1 to 2 millimeters. When it is sown in the ground and receives water, light, and the right temperature, it sprouts quickly, often within a few days. The young shoot grows rapidly and becomes a strong plant that can reach about 2 to 3 meters in height. But the most important thing to remember is that the mustard seed produces thousands of seeds from one single seed, which becomes almost uncontrollable in number of new seeds.

The mustard plant adapts to many types of soil, even poor soil, and needs very little care. The seeds are used as a spice, and the plant can also be cultivated to improve soil structure and quality.

This seed of the Kingdom of heaven was very small at its beginning, because the ministry of Jesus was in its early stages; once it took root in the hearts of people and began to grow, it spread with power, spreading to all regions and territories, and even to the ends of the earth.

Jesus uses a particular way of speaking, that puts  the emphasis on this very small mustard seed. It’s like to saying, “I live on the other side of the world.” This exaggeration shows how important the message is.

For example, when Jesus says to us in Luke 17:6: “And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.”

So, why does Jesus speak in this way? It is to show that He did not come from man, but from God Himself; that what He says comes directly from God; and that His Kingdom will take root, grow, and spread everywhere until the end of the earth, no matter what happens or what suffering may arise, because God’s perfect plan was at work in His sovereign will.

His Kingdom has no equal int he world. Because It has one single and unique source: God the Creator of the universe Himself. Therefore, this parable shows us that even if the beginning is small, the final outcome will be great, because God alone can make this seed of His Kingdom grow by His Word through the power of His Spirit, a seed that no one can control or master. 

This is the reason why, by knowing and acknowledging the sovereignty of God, we are called to walk in humility and faith, it is not because of us that the Kingdom of God expands, it is ONLY because of His power that dwells in us and our submission to it that His will be done, and His Kingdom of glory will expand.

If the Spirit of God dwells in us, we are entrusted to take part in His work, so that the Kingdom of God will impact our lives and, by extension, those around us. Last week, we spoke about the parable of the Lamp that brings the light of Christ. This is what it is all about: living out what Christ has given us as an example to follow, speaking about Him and testifying about Him to others, so that the heavenly Father may be glorified. 

Our mission is very simple, it is only to be this pleasing fragrance to God, through our obedience and hope in His Word, not by our own effort but by His power living within us.

“yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” v.32

Here again, we can see a sequence of events already present in other parables of the Kingdom. When Jesus speaks of the Kingdom through metaphors, it is to establish a new foundation, and even a new way of life. The Kingdom of God is communicated through His people to people in a simple manner, by being living testimonies of His grace, while at the same time revealing deep spiritual realities through the work of the Holy Spirit, given for life, even eternal life.

The mustard seed is sown; it is the Kingdom of God that is sown, planted through the work of Jesus, and by extension through His Church, which proclaims the Good News of Christ. It is through this proclamation that the Kingdom takes root and expands, of course not according to our own power or abilities, since we are only His instruments, but according to the sovereign and divine action of God, manifesting His divine power from heaven to earth.

This seed, which represents the Kingdom of God, acts and spreads through the Word of God received in hearts. The fact that this verse speaks about the plant becoming greater means that whenever hearts receive the Word, it grows and becomes stronger than all our passions and the things of the world, which are represented by the other plants. 

This Word enables greater things in our lives, and also produces visible effects around us, in our close surroundings, but also wherever we are throughout the day.

The branches are very significant in the Scriptures. They represent the extension of the tree, the extended Kingdom, those who share this same root, which is the people of God, and in whom the nations are grafted into Christ. Jesus is the True Vine, and the branches will spread to all the nations, bringing salvation to the lost, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior of the world.

The birds represent the nations that find refuge under the Heavenly Kingdom that God establishes on earth. Jesus therefore reveals that the Kingdom of God, although it began small, becomes a place of refuge and rest for all who enter it. When Jesus speaks of the birds of the air that come to dwell in the branches, He uses an image already known in the Scriptures.

In Ezekiel 17:23, God declares, “On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.”

The shade symbolizes the peace, protection, and rest found in the Kingdom of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who gives refuge and rest to all who come to Him.

Let us remember that, the people listening to Jesus, who were His disciples and some followers knew the Scriptures well and had been going to the temple for generations, but some understood His Word with unbelief, a closed heart, in a religious way, while others understood because of their sincerity of heart, and above all their need for truth, their need of a divine solution, then the Word could penetrate their hearts.

In the same way, through this Word given to us today, we understand that the Kingdom of God will expand and continue to expand by the power of God, through the work of His Holy Spirit, as we walk in obedience. As God’s sons and daughters, who love Him above everything. And through this expansion of the heavenly Kingdom, those who belong to Jesus Christ, His Church, can find true rest in it, a peace that comes from God, and not from the world, a peace that brings a firm assurance of our salvation in Christ.

Conclusion

Everything is accomplished by God so that His plan of salvation may be fulfilled, and so that this expansion of His Kingdom, represented by the seed of the Word of life, may take place.

This is why it is essential for us, as children of God, born of the Spirit, to proclaim and share this Word boldly, so that the Kingdom may shine with the light of Christ, the Savior of our souls, so that lost souls may be saved while there is still time, while God’s grace is still active, before Christ comes again.

The invitation today for all of us present in this place is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, to truly understand who Christ is and what He has entrusted to us to do. 

And how is this possible? By denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Christ, by reading and meditating on His Word, and above all applying it in our lives with joyful obedience, for the glory of God.