The Parable of the Mustard Seed - Matthew 13:31-32

(The parallel passages are Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19)

Introduction: How many of you are old enough to remember the Old Grey Poupon television commercial?(Show video). Did that commercial bring back a few memories? If you have a computer and an Internet connection you can visit YouTube.com and watch many old commercials, including the various Grey Poupon ones.

How many of you like mustard as a condiment? A hot dog is so plain without condiments. Can you imagine buying a wiener at Costco, and all you get is a dog and a bun? No! Costco has large quantities of condiments – relish, mustard, ketchup, onions, etc. Why do they provide these things? So that you can enjoy the finer things of life! (A playoff the grey Poupon commercial).

Years ago, you could buy a hot dog and a bun in the lobby of Lowe's hardware store in Coeur d'Alene. Again, they served a dog on a bun, and near the doors, there was a condiment stand with mustard, ketchup, and relish. Why? A hot dog is boring without condiments.

And are you aware that at one time at most Quick Stops you could buy two hot dogs for a dollar? Condiments included! That was back when the dollar went further.

Why would I spend this time talking about mustard? Well, it's not because I'm hungry. I had a very good breakfast. No, in this chapter we're going to look at one of Jesus's parables that deals with mustard. Now, why do you suppose the master teacher would talk with his disciples about the mustard seed? He did so to provide them with a panoramic picture of the church from its inception to the end of the age. Let's look at what Jesus taught.

I. The Beginning of the Church – 13:31-32

31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

Do you remember what the word parable means? The definition that I like is – an earthly story that reveals a heavenly truth. Isn't that great? Jesus taught in parables, so those who desired to learn would learn and comprehend, and He also taught in parables so that those who cared less about His teaching would not learn or comprehend His truth.

True learners want and desire spiritual truth.

A parable is a story that reveals a deeper truth. Friends, there is some awesome truth in these two verses. Don't miss it. Open your eyes and turn on your ears. Let the truth enter the portals of your eyes, and into the audio canals of your ears. Allow the Holy Spirit to instruct you as we make our way through this parable.

Matthew 13:31 speaks of the kingdom of heaven. In the same parable found in Mark 4:30, it speaks of the kingdom of God. If you are a part of God’s kingdom then you have been placed into the kingdom of heaven – your place is secure! The Kingdom of God is the sphere in which God rules over the affairs of man, and in that sphere, we have our eternal home – the kingdom of heaven. Here in this parable, Jesus pictures the kingdom of heaven like a mustard seed.

What do we know about the mustard seed?It is the smallest of all the seeds, according to verse 32. But is it? Today we know that there are seeds even smaller than the mustard seed. For instance, the “orchid seed” is so small and fine that it's almost dust-like.[1]However, I want you to know that Jesus was speaking locally. He was speaking to First Century people who handled seed every day, and in this culture, the mustard seed was the smallest of all seeds. Jesus knew exactly what he was saying. Critics of the Bible will use this as an argument that the Bible is wrong. No – they are wrong, and they know nothing about First Century culture, or how to interpret Scripture.

There's an old proverb that says, “Small as a mustard seed.”

Jesus elsewhere spoke of the “faith of a mustard seed” (Matthew 17:20). What did that mean? It meant that if you have a small faith, you can accomplish great things for God.

This parable paints a picture for us of the startup, or the beginning of the Church. God's institution called the Church began small. How small? Well, I would say that it began in the council of the Throne Room of God with the Holy Trinity. It was manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, and it began to take shape in the disciples that Christ chose. Jesus chose twelve men, and these men became the bricks of the early church (Matthew 10:5-15; Mark 6:7-13’ Luke 9:1-6). Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 12:28,

“And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, variety of tongues.”

II. The Growth of the Church – 13:31b-32

31b which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

As I read these two verses, I saw five symbols being employed. After thinking about those symbols, I came up with five questions:

1. Who is the man in this parable?

2. What is the field in this parable?

3. What is the seed in this parable?

4. How does a mustard seed grow into a tree?

5. What do the birds in the parable represent?

As we seek to answer these five questions, we must interpret this parable considering how Jesus explained the other parables here in Matthew 13. Use what Jesus taught earlier to interpret this parable. Does that make sense? Scripture interprets Scripture.

Here's how I would answer those five questions, and I base my answers upon how Jesus explained the first two parables (Matthew 13:18-23; 36-43).

· The man that sowed in this parable is Jesus Christ – 13:37

· The field in this parable is the world – 13:38

· The seed in this parable is both the written word and the living word. In the parable of the Sower, the seed was the word of God. In the parable of the wheat and tares the seed were the children of the kingdom. In this parable, the seed is both the Word of God and the children of God – 13:19 (word of the Kingdom).

· The mustard seed growing into a tree is the growth of the worldwide Church. It started very small and has grown into something very large – 13:

· The birds in this parable represent the devil and his demons. We see this also from the parable of the Sower – 13:4,19

As I studied this parable, I concluded that the emphasis is on the abnormal growth of the mustard seed (the Church) into a tree. Mustard is an herb, and normally herbs don't grow into trees. Perhaps they grow into a bush, but not a tree. However, in this parable, the mustard seed becomes a tree. It becomes large enough for the birds of the air to nest in its branches.

In 1995, Debbie and I stood at the Mount of Beatitudes in Israel. Off in the distance, you could see the sea of Galilee. You could hear the water lapping along the shoreline. It was a most awesome sight! On that morning, Dr. Chuck Messler was teaching somewhere in Matthew 5-8, on The Sermon on the Mount. As Chuck was expounding upon the teaching of Jesus Christ, I leaned over and picked a small mustard plant with my hand. As I was looking at it, some of the seeds fell into the palm of my hand. The seeds were so tiny.

Mustard seed is very small. Jesus says, “It is the least of all the seeds.” Here in this parable, Jesus uses it as a picture of the way the church started. It started very small, but it didn't stay tiny – it grew into something very large.

For the most part, the church rooted itself in the city of Jerusalem. This is where the early believers lived. However, God never intended for the Christians to stay in Jerusalem. No, He told them to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Matthew 28:19-20) The early church needed a push, and so God permitted it to face persecution (Acts 8). This persecution pushed the church beyond its comfort zone, and out into the world – from Jerusalem to Rome, and even beyond.

The Book of Acts is a record of the growth of the early church. 120 believers had gathered in a home in Jerusalem. They were having a prayer meeting (Acts 1:12-14), Peter preached a powerful, powerful message and on that day 3000 people were saved and brought into the church (Acts 2:41). If you have never read the Book of Acts, you need to do so. It only has 28 chapters. Read a chapter a day and you'll finish it in less than a month. You will find amazing story after amazing story of individuals who came to faith in Jesus Christ. As you make your way through the book you will read of the wonderful growth of the church within its first 30 years.

In Acts 8, Philip preached Jesus to the Ethiopian who carried the gospel back to Africa. Paul and Silas traveled to Philippi, the region of what is known today as Europe (Acts 16). The book of Acts ends with Paul in Rome. Rome was the capital of the known world (Acts 28). Yes, the gospel was permeating the then-known world. And think, it all began with a small band of disciples.

The church started as small as a mustard seed, but it has become something very large.

Even in dark spots like North Korea (the world's leader in human rights violations), there is a thriving church. Communist China has the world's largest Christian population. Even in Muslim countries, believers are meeting behind closed doors. The church started small, like a mustard seed, but it has grown into something extremely large.

Many years ago, I was attending the Christian Workers Conference in Spokane WA (what a heartbreak that the CWC went by the wayside). During the lunch break, I went to Dick's hamburgers on Third and Division, and I bought a hamburger, fries and a coke. I sat in my car, and I ate the burger – it was so good, and the greasy fries were so delicious! As I sat in my car enjoying the burger, ketchup, and mustard dripped off the burger and fell onto my white dress shirt. There I sat with this huge stain on my white shirt, and I needed to be back at the conference very shortly. Are you aware that condiments, in particular, mustard will leave a mark on you if it gets on your clothing? As I thought about that incident, I couldn't help but think about how the church is supposed to leave a mark wherever it goes – just like mustard!

Not only does mustard leave a stain, but it has quite a bite. The ancients knew this. It was known to be an irritant, something fiery and biting, stirring up the blood.

I have read that when Darius, the king of the Persians, invaded Europe with a great army he was met by Alexander the Great. Darius sent Alexander a bag of sesame seeds as a kind of taunt, indicating by the number of these small seeds the vast multitudes of soldiers that he added to his command. When Alexander received it, he sent back by the same messenger a bag of mustard seed as a way of saying, “You may be many, but we're tough and biting and pungent. We can handle you.” And they did!

Look the world over and you will find the mark of the Church there. There is not a place where the impact of the growth of the Church has not been felt. Recently when Debbie and I were in Iceland we saw the mark of the Church throughout the country. Just about every community had a Church building.

III. The Defilement of the Church – 13:32

32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

When you and I read the Bible, we must always allow the Scripture to interpret itself. Be careful about those who automatically conclude the meaning of a “like” without using the Bible as the reference. Jesus himself told us in His interpretation of the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:18-23) that the birds that ate the seed from the field were the wicked ones (Matthew 13:4,19). In the second parable, the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the wicked one is called the enemy, and Jesus made it clear that He was speaking about the devil (Matthew 13:25, 39). And again, in this third parable, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the wicked one is pictured as birds that come and nest in its branches.

One pastor wrote, “Satan has his loons of liberalism, crows of compromise, and Marlins of modernism.”

The teaching is that the enemy is among us. The devil is in the church. We have all heard the statement, “The devil is into the details.” Well, the devil is often into the details of the church business meetings. I can remember at one of our ministry meetings when we took over an hour or longer to discuss whether this church should provide donuts on Sunday mornings. I believe that the devil has us waste a lot of time on the non-essentials. The devil has no greater delight than to distract us from the most important – to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified!

The apostle Paul wrote the following to the Corinthian believers,

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an Angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers possible transformed themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Well friends, if you were to look at the size of Christendom today (2.1 billion worldwide), and you were to look at the various branches of the church you would discover corruption everywhere. Look at the number of churches today that are embracing that which goes against the very word of God – everything from abortion to transgender clergy. These corrupted liberal churches do not believe Scripture to be the breath of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

I have heard people say, “The Bible is the word of God, but I live in this world, or the Bible is black and white, but life is Gray.” Those statements are from the pit of hell. They were created by the enemy of your soul. The Bible is the word of God and brother and sister it does not change. You and I do not get to Cherrie pick the parts of the Bible we are going to accept and throw the other parts out.

Liberal Christendom says, “Take the Bible and conform it to society.” Biblical Christianity says, “Take the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to conform society into the image of Jesus Christ.”

Do you know why there seem to be so many people that disdain the Bible today? Because the Bible demands life change, and people only want a hint of godliness – they don't want the power that goes with it (see Romans 1).

Church family, we are in a battle today (Ephesians 6:10-21). The Church is not on a picnic in this world. Spirit Lake Baptist Church is not a Country Club for Saints. We had better wake up out of our apathy and get busy doing the will of God, which is revealed to us in the Word of God.

What is the Church to be doing today?

I like what one author penned. He said, “The church is to grow:

· Warmer through fellowship – Acts 2:41ff

· Deeper through discipleship – 2 Peter 3:18

· Stronger through worship – Mark 12:28; Matthew 4:10; Psalm 34:3

· Broader through ministry – Ephesians 4:12; 1 Corinthians 12-14

· Larger through evangelism – Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8”[2]

What does the parable of the mustard seed teach? The Church started very small with just a handful of disciples, but it is growing into something large – it has become something big, but because of its size the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. To “nest” means that they have made it their home. There are a lot of churches today where the devil feels right at home. In Revelation 2:12-17, Jesus spoke to the Church of Pergamos and said,

“I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is…”

The branches on this mustard tree may represent the various denominations in existence today. I recently read that right here in America alone there are 1500 different faith groups[3]The devil thrives in religious groups.

Somewhere I read that the Parable of the Mustard Seed speaks of the outward growth of the organized church. When I read that I laughed out loud. I would like to restate that – This parable is about the growth not of the organized church, but of the disorganized and dysfunctional church. One major picture of Christendom today is that it is disorganized. Consider the following George Barna poll.

The Barna Poll

Barna polled 6,038 adults with random telephone interviews nationwide, and Tim Ellsworth of the Baptist Press summarized the findings. Below you will find some of the pertinent data:

The study’s findings identify an alarmingly high number of church members whose beliefs fall far short of orthodox Christianity. For example, 41% of the adults surveyed believed in the total accuracy of the Bible (that means 59% didn’t). Catholics had the lowest percentage 23% who believed the Bible to be accurate, while 81% of those attending Pentecostal churches held to the same belief. Only 40% of those surveyed believed Christ was sinless (that means that 60% didn’t), while 27% believed Satan to be real (that means that 63% didn’t believe Satan to be real).

The numbers were better for Baptists (this includes all kinds of Baptists) than for the whole sample, but not by much. Of the Baptists surveyed, 57% believed works play a part in salvation, and 45% believed Jesus was not sinless. Only 34% of Baptists thought Satan was a real being, while 51% believed Christians have the responsibility to witness to others. 66% of Baptists considered the Bible to be accurate, 81% considered their religious faith to be important and 85% believed that God is the all-powerful Creator of the universe.

The two denominations with the highest number of members who hold to Orthodox Christian beliefs were Pentecostals and Assemblies of God. Catholics and Episcopalians have the lowest percentage of members reporting a belief in traditional Christian teachings. Just 20% of Episcopalians and 17% of Catholics believe Satan was real; 33% of Catholics and Episcopalians believe Jesus was sinless; and 26% of Episcopalians and 9% of Catholics believe works don't earn salvation.[4]

My friends, the Church has been defiled!

Conclusion: The Church started small. Many at that time believed that Jesus and His disciples were just a flash in the pan. Christianity began with just a handful of men and has grown into something big! 2.1 billion people around the globe claim to be Christians. Christendom today includes, Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists, Protestants, Greek Orthodox, and on and on it goes.Because of the abnormal growth of the Church, a mustard seed to a tree, the birds of the air, the enemy, the devil has come and nested in its branches. Let us not be surprised then that within Christendom there is a defilement of every sort and like the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares within Christendom you will find those who are truly born again, and those who are lost and have never come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is why even in the country of Iceland you can have clergy who are unsaved.

Friends, you had better know that you know Jesus Christ. This is not a joke. Biblical Christianity is not a game. Are you a part of the true church? Have you turned from your sins and turned to Jesus Christ for salvation? Do it today, right now, right where you are. Call upon Jesus Christ through prayer. My Bible tells me if you call upon Him that He will save you (Romans 10:9-13). My beloved, become a part of God's forever family today.

Pray a prayer like this: “Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I opened the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.”

A message to the Church – We started small, a humble beginning. Let us not forget our beginning. The Church has grown into something BIG – we are doing what God commissioned us to do (Matthew 28:19-20). The Church has become defiled. So, then, we must guard against the birds that would seek to rest on the branches of Christendom. Jude told us, “to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

[1]http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aiia/mustardseed.html [2]Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life [3] http://christianity.about.com/od/denominations/a/denominations.htm [4]http://www.ccwonline.org/pbarna.html