The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Matthew 13:31-32

31 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

Some background on mustard plants in Israel/Palestine: There are two kinds of mustard – one being called "Egyptian mustard," and the other simply called "mustard." Of this second kind of mustard, given favorable conditions, the plant reaches a height of more than six feet. An ancient Jewish text tells the story of a man having sown "a single seed of mustard… would climb it as he would a fig tree." The seed of this species is very small (1–1.6 mm.) and the line “as small as a mustard seed” was used as an idiom when the speaker wanted to indicate how small something was.

With that background, Jesus’ parable begins to make sense. The tiny seed is so small it is hardly visible (1 millimeter is very small – 1/25th of an inch), if you dropped it would be very hard to find again. Yet it can grow into something more than 6 feet tall that people can climb. The tiny grows into something many times larger than itself.

In a conversation with my mother recently she commented that the church in Iran is an example of the kingdom of God growing this way. In 1976, it was estimated that there were about 3,000 Farsi-speaking Christians. Today the estimate is there are over 2 million Farsi-speaking Christians in Iran and around the world. Out of very small beginnings the kingdom of heaven/the kingdom of God grows unexpectedly large. It grows often without the intervention of human beings. In 1978 when the Islamic Revolution took place in Iran all missionaries were forced to leave, in many ways Iran became an isolated nation. But even as Iran was cut-off from many outside influences, the good news of Jesus Christ began to grow. The kingdom of heaven grows because it is designed to grow, its purpose is to grow. And left on its own it will do exactly that, as it has in Iran.

PRAYER:

O Lord, your kingdom grows unexpectedly, in places where we least expect it. We rejoice in its unexpected astounding growth. Thank you, Lord, that your kingdom is growing in the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.