The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mark 4:30-32:
³⁰ Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³² Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

Now there are 3 interesting features of this parable that illustrate the truth that Jesus is teaching to his disciples about the growth of the kingdom of God.

1. First, there is the small and seemingly insignificant beginning. The minuteness of the mustard seed. "It is like the mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground."

The mustard seed that Jesus is referring to here was likely the common black mustard seed that was a tiny seed that birds loved to feed upon. This plant would grow in the wild and it was also cultivated by farmers for both its leaves and its seeds were of value. The leaves of the mustard plant were eaten as a vegetable, much as we would eat the leaves of a lettuce plant in our salads, and the mustard seed was used as a condiment, either powdered or made into a paste. The first point that Jesus makes about the mustard plant is the conundrum of such a large plant coming from such a small seed. The mustard seed is the smallest seed known to the Middle East. It is roughly the size of the head of a pin, or a grain of sand.

 

2. And this brings us to the second feature of this parable. For Christ also focuses on the phenomenal growth of the mustard plant. "Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants." While it is true that the mustard plant in Palestine starts with a very tiny beginning - a seed the size of a grain of sand, it is also true that the mustard plant soon shoots by the other garden plants, growing with thick stems to a height of 10-12 feet. Christ illustrates the size of the plant when he says that the birds of the air can perch in its shade. The verb that Jesus uses in the original language here literally means to pitch a tent.

It implies more than birds just sitting on the branches. It rather indicates birds living in the mustard plant, building nests, and raising families. This plant that began with such a humble beginning becomes a home for families of birds. It is phenomenal that such tremendous growth comes from such a little, tiny seed.

3. Now let's move to the 3rd feature of this parable. Yes, the mustard seed starts from a very small

beginning, and it grows phenomenally to pass the other garden plants. But finally, notice with me the blessing that the mustard seed brings in its growth.

There is blessing to people as they eats of the leaves and enjoys the seed paste as a condiment.

There is blessing for the birds that build their nests in the branches and eat the mustard seeds as part of their diet. *The mustard seed, though small and seemingly insignificant, brings great blessing to all.