Parable of the Mustard Seed

Intro

Recap previous teaching

Teaching thru parables

Last time we talked about Parable of the Weeds

Reality of evil

Reality of patience and grace

Reality of justice

Interesting story?

Parable

Scripture basis

Matthew 13:31–32 ESV

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. 32 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.”

First parable in the series where Jesus doesn’t explain

Again, like parable of the sower and weeds, He is using agricultural references

Like the last two parables we went over, its the imagery of a seed that is sown and a growth that is many, many times the original size of that seed

Seeds have enormous potential - redwoods

Definitions

Key terms in Scripture (Greek, Hebrew, English)

Kingdom of heaven

When He says smallest, what does He mean?

Smallest in the region?

Word is comparative in nature.… “smaller”

What do they mean in general?

What does it mean in context?

Why is it important?

Seam/Transition

Movement 1 - Re-tell the story

Characters

Mustard seed / tree

Man sowed in field

Again a agricultural reference

Birds come and rest in it

Why was the mustard seed in a garden?

Was that common?

Context - history/background

Mustard trees are not actually trees - they are shrubs

But they can grow to reach heights of 20 ft

How significant could the short ministry of Christ be? He had but a handful of followers, He was a man of no rank and without means, and He lived in what everyone considered a backwater region of the world. The life and death of Christ did not catch the world’s attention any more than a mustard seed would lying on the ground by the road. But this was a work of God. What seemed inconsequential at first grew into a movement of worldwide influence, and no one could stop it (see Acts 5:38–39). The influence of the kingdom in this world would be such that everyone associated with it would find a benefit—pictured as the birds perched on the branches of the mature mustard plant.

Plot points

Key events or ideas

Chunk - Story, testimony, and/or narrative to relate to topic

Old Testament

Jewish expectations of the kingdom of heaven

Was the mustard seed what they expected?

Use of trees in the bible

Ezekiel 17:22–23 “Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.”

While not a mustard plant; God uses the imagery of a tree and birds nesting to foretell the coming of Jesus

Used to symbolize all kinds of things

<look up bible project’s study on trees>

Ezekiel uses the cedar, which is much larger than mustard bush

Commentary says that might have been on purpose - kingdom of God maybe not meant to be huge; narrow is the road that leads to the kingdom

Tangent topic Chunk?

Seam / Transition

Movement 2 - Application

Idea or text in our modern culture

Something small and seemingly insignificant can grow into something great

Numbered (3 or 4) things to note and remember

Thing 1 Chunk

Thing 2 Chunk

Thing 3 Chunk

Thing 4 Chunk

Seam / Transition

Movement 3 - Conclusion

Summary

Practicality

Insight Chunk

Call to action

Pray to close