The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Jesus must have liked mustard seeds because he not only talks about them in this parable, but he also talks them when he tells us about how important it is to have faith. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed we would be able to say to the mountain “move” and the mountain would move. If we have just a little bit of faith, then according to Jesus, nothing will be impossible for us, but let’s be clear that faith needs to pure and complete without any hint of doubt. When Jesus talks about a mustard seed in this parable, however, he isn’t talking about how much or how little faith we need, and he’s not talking about us moving mountains. Jesus uses the image of a mustard seed to talk about the kingdom of God. So what does Jesus mean when he says that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed? Well, let’s look at the mustard seed again. We know that in Jesus day it was recognized as one of the smallest of all seeds but it grows into a very large tree, or more accurately a very large bush. The mustard plant in time will be so large that it will provide shelter for all the birds of the air.In making this comparison, one of the things Jesus is trying to communicate is that the kingdom of God isn’t going to appear overnight, it will take some time. A tiny mustard seed doesn’t become a large tree overnight, it is a long slow process of growth and development, and the kingdom of God breaking through and taking hold in our world isn’t going to happen overnight, it will also be a long slow process. Think about the time when Jesus tells this parable. It is still early in Jesus ministry but he has repeatedly said that the kingdom of God is at hand. The people were beginning to see the reality of this kingdom in the miracles and healings that Jesus performed. People’s lives were being changed and there was a lot of enthusiasm and excitement about what was taking place and people were looking for even greater things to come. What people really wanted to see the new of life of God’s kingdom become the norm for all of life. Every day they wanted to see around them and experience with in the them the healing, strength, justice and love that that would come with God’s kingdom, but that new life wasn’t going to happen instantly.
The seeds of the kingdom of God were being sown by Jesus, he is teaching people what the kingdom of God is all about and how they can live it out and Jesus is giving people a glimpse into what it will look like, but as Jesus said, the kingdom of God was close, or close at hand, but it was going to take some time to be fully established. None the less, from these small beginnings something was taking place that was going to change the world. Or to use the image that Jesus offered, from this small seed a large tree will grow, but it won’t happen overnight.
So one reason I think Jesus tells this parable to his disciples is to teach them to be patient. Jesus didn’t want them to get discouraged when things didn’t happen as quickly as they would like them too. So it was a parable that taught patience and it still teaches patience today because it reminds us that we still need to wait on God. If we are looking for the kingdom of God to break into our lives, if we are looking for God’s presence and God’s power to manifest itself in our lives in practical ways that will bring forgiveness, healing, hope and the power of God’s love, the temptation is for us to look for God to bring it all today.
I don’t know about you, but there are those times when I pray for things to change, and when day after day, week after week things don’t change, I get discouraged. Or I look to God to bring about his purpose and plan in some situation and then I struggle to find it.. We pray for healing and it doesn’t come in the time or in the way we want it to come, we pray for jobs and they don’t come when or where we want them. We pray for reconciliation in relationship, or forgiveness within our families but then all we continue to experience is the pain of brokenness and loss. When this is what we see and experience, it is easy to get discouraged and begin to wonder if anything is happening at all. It is in these moments we need to remember the mustard seed because the mustard seed reminds us that God is at work, but we need to give him some time. A seed doesn’t become a great tree overnight; it takes time. Think about it, it can often take a generation or two for a tree to reach it’s full potential.
Being patient and giving God time is the same message we hear in the parable of the yeast. When we bake bread we can’t work the yeast into the dough and then just bake it, we have to give the dough a chance to rest and the yeast some time to work. With some bread you have to punch the dough down and then let it rest and rise all over again. It’s not easy to rest and wait on God, but it is often the way that God works. Over and over again God has called people to rest and wait. God didn’t immediately take the people of Israel from Egypt into the Promised Land; it was a 40 year journey. It took a generation for the people to get there. Abraham was promised a child, but that child didn’t come for years and years, and then think about Noah. Noah really had to wait on God. You may not have thought of this before, I’m not sure I really had, but Noah wasn’t in the ark for 40 days, it rained for 40 days, but then all that water had to subside. Once the water went away and the ark came to rest on dry ground you would have thought Noah would have been able to leave the ark, but no, once again God said wait. It was several months before Noah was able to leave the ark after the ark hit dry ground. Some people have calculated that Noah was on the ark for 377 days, that’s over a year. Time and time again God calls us to wait on him.
In the midst of our busy world where we expect instant results and quick transformations it is not easy to wait and so maybe some of the most powerful and yet difficult words of scripture come from Psalm 46:10 where God says, Be still and know that I am God. It’s funny, we may know that verse really well, but we may not know the larger context from which it comes. Look at Psalm 46:1-3. What is the picture we have here? It’s a world in turmoil, and it’s not just the rocks and seas that are in upheaval, it’s the tribes and the people. There is uncertainty and problems that people are facing and in the midst of all this fear, brokenness and confusion God says be still and know that I am God.
At the very moment when we may want to work harder, push further and run faster to get ahead and make things right relying on our own power and strength is the very moment God says stop and wait. Be still and know that I am God. Know that I am with you and know that I am here to help you. Look at Psalm 46:4-9. In the middle of the turmoil God is the one who brings peace, strength, health, power and new life, and that is exactly why we are supposed to wait, because ultimately it is God who brings us life. Ultimately God is the one who will bring to us the power of his kingdom.
Think back to the mustard see. Who is it that turns that seed into a tree? Is it the farmer? Is it the land owner? Is it the birds of the air that find rest in the branches? No – it’s God. And who is it really that makes the bread to rise? While the women may mix in the yeast, they don’t make the bread rise, the bread rises as it rests. The bread rises as it waits. God is the one who takes that yeast and makes it do it’s thing. You see, this is not just a parable of patience; it is also parable of trust. It’s not enough for us to be still we also need to know God and knowing God means trusting God to do his thing. Knowing God means trusting God to bring us the all the new life that we will experience in his kingdom.
Can we trust God to answer our prayers in his time? Can we trust God to work out his good purpose in our lives? Can we trust God to bring forgiveness and life in his way and in his time? We may not get the answers we want and it may not come as quickly as we want them, but can we trust God to bring his kingdom into our lives? While we might say YES with all our heart and soul that we do trust God, the kind of trust we are talking about is not easy because it calls us to do something which in many ways goes against our nature. The kind of trust called for in this parable is a trust that requires complete surrender to God.
Again, think about that mustard seed, how does it grow into a tree? Can it grow into a tree and still remain a seed? No. For a mustard seed to become a tree it must die, and the yeast can’t remain yeast in the middle of the bread, it has to break down completely, we dissolve yeast in water and once it has yielded itself to the dough it can make the bread rise. So not only is this a parable calling for us to be patient and trusting, but it is also calling us to surrender ourselves fully to God. If we want to experience the kingdom of God in our lives, if we want to experience the full power of God at work within us then we have to be willing to give ourselves completely to God, and that really does go against our nature at times. God created us to be strong and work hard and care for those around us and so it’s hard sometimes to let go of doing things on our own and trust God to be at work in our lives, but we have to because it’s when we start holding back from that we stop growing. It’s when we hold back from God that we stop living and experience the fullness of life that God offers us, and the same is true for us as a church. When the church holds back from God and decide to play it safe instead of surrendering ourselves fully to him and the work of his kingdom we begin to die.
I don’t believe that the decline of the church today is due to a lack of money, or the lack of people who need to hear about the love of Jesus , the decline of the church is due to the church being unwilling to give ourselves fully to Jesus. Every time the church tries to play it safe and hold on to what we have, the church will fail. It is only when the church gives itself fully to God that we begin to experience the power of God’s kingdom in our midst, in our community and in our world. It’s only when together we surrender ourselves to God and embraces what God wants for us that the kingdom of God grows both inside us and outside of us. It’s only when the mustard seed dies that it becomes a tree that can provide a place for the birds of the air and it is only when we are willing to die to ourselves that we will be able to offer life to others.
If we look at the history of the early church in the book of Acts, we find the church growing when people were willing to die to themselves. The church grows in number and in power and influence when people let go of their fear, their need to be in control and even their money and possessions. Look at the growth of the church in Acts 2:44-46. The early church didn’t hang on to what they had, they shared it, they gave it away, they died to themselves and surrendered to God and when they did that, look what happened, the Lord added to their number – the tree grew, the bread rose, the kingdom of God expanded into the world.
I’m thankful for the example that many of our mothers and fathers in the faith have given to us. They gave their time, their energy, their money as well as their patient faith and trust in Jesus so we could be here today. They gave of themselves so that the kingdom of God could keep growing in their lives, but they surrendered fully to God so that the kingdom of God could be experienced in our lives and our world today. So the call for us is to trust God through these uncertain times and step out in faith to give God all that we can and all that we have and all that we are so that in his time his kingdom may come. We may not feel like we have a lot to offer, but remember a mustard seed is pretty small, so whatever we have to offer to God today, let us offer it to God with faith and trust that in his time and in his way, God will use us to bring about his kingdom.
