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I have come up with some more references to mustard seeds.
Matthew 13:31
He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
Mark 4:30
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."
Luke 13:18
He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches."
I think I'm still confused. Can anyone help?
Posted by The Vorlon at September 26, 2006 9:06 PMTed,
My name is Don Ferris and I am your parent's pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Lake Odessa. First of all, know that you have been and remain in our prayers and in our hearts.
Your Mom asked me to catch up on your blog and see if I could shed some light on the mustard seed image Jesus is using in the particular verses you have highlighted. So here is my "two cents".
Jesus is using the mustard seed image as a point of comparison rather than an object in each of these passages. And, Jesus is also using the image in two different ways. In the first set of passages (Matthew 17:19 and Luke 17:5) he is talking about the nature of faith and in the second set of passages (Matthew 13:31, Mark 4:30, and Luke 13:18) he is speaking about the phenomenon of the Kingdom of God and using the image to describe something entirely different.
With respect to faith, Jesus is using the mustard seed's small size as the point of comparison. And, frankly, the word "size" is a bit confusing in itself. A mustard seed is a physical reality and faith is a spiritual reality. There is no such thing as the "size" of one's faith. Better decriptors along this line in our time would be words like amount or depth, or maturity. (But Jesus had to work with the language of the 1st Century rather than the 21st Century.) His point was, even with a small amount of faith - incredible events can occur. An event in Jesus' ministry that is helpful here is Matthew 14:22-33(NRSV):
"22Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
28Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”"
The points to take note of in this passage are 1) In the midst of their fear Jesus reassures them and tell them to not be afraid, 2)Peter (a regular headstrong kind of guy) asks for a proof, an impossible event, to occur, 3) Jesus says go ahead, 4) Peter (a regular headstrong kind of guy) steps out of the boat, probably expecting to sink up to his head to prove that he (Peter) had every right to be afraid (please don't lose the irony of the event, it is one of the best parts of the story), 5) Peter (a regular headstrong kind of guy) ACTUALLY WALKS ON THE WATER, 6) Peter is then reminded of "reality" by the strong wind and realizes that he isn't supposed to be doing what he is doing and begins to sink, 7) Peter (a regular headstrong kind of guy) calls out to Jesus in a panic as he does begin to sink, and 8) Jesus reaches out when called and provides the means of salvation from the situation Peter finds himself in due to a lack of faith.
The other use of the image used by Jesus is a point of comparison that takes advantage of another aspect of the mustard seed. Specifically, the common knowledge of the time that in spite of the fact that the mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds - it grows into a large bush which produces more seeds which produces other bushes. It is being used by Jesus to simply illustrate the dynamic possibility and eventuality of the coming of the Kingdom of God. In particular, a word of caution to not be deceived by how small it might seem to be now because it will grow into something substantial and multiply (refer also to Abraham and Sarah, a couple beyond the possibility of having children being told by God that they would, not only conceive but, become the start of many nations - Sarah laughed too - anyway).
I hope this helps clear up some questions and perhaps provokes some others, such is the nature of growing in God.
One closing thought, something I have shared with many in the Central Church family - as Christians we are called to focus on life from a long term perspective. Because of the Risen Christ our understanding of life is eternal rather than temporal. For those who have accepted the gift of being a part of the Kingdom of God, birth and death are to be understood as waypoints in life instead of terminal markers. As a people of faith failure is not an option because it is not a possibility. In Christ, we have already succeeded.
We will continue to keep you in our prayers and do what we can to care for you and those you love.
God bless,
Don Ferris
Don,
Wow. Thank you for your thoughtful response. It's going to take me a bit to digest what you've said.