The Kingdom of God is Like a Mustard Seed

The Kingdom of God is Like a Mustard Seed

Mark 4:30-32 NKJV

30 Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 

31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 

32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

   I read of a man who was curious about the mustard plant mentioned here in this passage.  A truck driver friend of his had given him a big box of seeds that had been discarded at the depot where the driver worked.  Among the contents was a packet of mustard seed.  The man thought it might be fun to plant the mustard and see what it looked like, and so he planted some.  What a mistake!  He had to deal with mustard for several years until he was finally able to get rid of it all.  It turns out that mustard is really a weed.  It infiltrated his garden and began to choke out his other vegetables.

   When we read this little parable, we tend to think of the mustard plant as something good.  If you are planning to make some prepared mustard or possibly can some pickles, you might want to raise mustard for the seeds.  If you like greens, you might want to raise mustard. But you certainly don't want to raise it among other vegetables. It may be good for the birds, but pity the poor farmer.  He has to deal with those weeds, and with the birds that eat his crops and his good seed.  So why did Jesus compare the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed?  What was Jesus trying to say with this metaphor?
   Much of the land in Jesus’ time had been taken over by a political system based on the domination of others.  The Romans made slaves of landowners who could not pay their debts.  People become impoverished by the high taxes imposed by the Romans and their Jewish puppet kings.  The poor in Galilee were looking for a Messiah to overthrow the system that dominated them.  They were looking for a huge event.  What does Jesus do?  He compares the kingdom of God to one tiny mustard seed.  

   But, that tiny mustard seed becomes a large shrub.  It bears many seeds.  The birds eat the seeds and spread them throughout the fields where they grow and infiltrate the farmer’s other crops.  A tiny seed beginning can take over a whole farm.  And Jesus brings in his kingdom which began mustard seed sized with a handful of Disciples and a few hundred other followers; a tiny beginning that had the power to turn its world upside down.  Or, rather, right side up.  When the church works as it should, it has the potential to grow like weeds that will take over neighborhoods and change the lives of the people in them. 

   Jesus presents an alternative way of life.  If we share the Gospel and pray for the souls of our family and friends, we can see new plants spring up where none existed before.  Jesus said the Kingdom of God was like a weed taking over the garden.  So go out and plant seeds and water them and let God give a harvest of souls.

Stephen Cram                            November 4, 2012               Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8