The Parable of the Mustard Seed is of one of Jesus’ most important parables, and it is important to understand what it means.

The parable is first and foremost a parable about the kingdom of God. Jesus says the kingdom of God “is like a mustard seed.” Luke 13:18-19. The meaning though is most fully understood in the context of and against the Jewish belief of the day about the coming of the Kingdom.

The typical religious Jew of Jesus’ day believed the kingdom of God would appear suddenly, dramatically, and with political or military power. Jesus confronted this erroneous belief more directly at other times in His ministry. See Luke 17:20-21 (“The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”).

Here, though, Jesus challenges this erroneous belief by metaphor.

The mustard seed is small

The mustard seed is tiny. It was one of the smallest seeds people planted.

This analogy to a mustard seed is an indication the kingdom of God would start small, and indeed it did. It started with Jesus, who collected a core group of 12 disciples. It didn’t start as a nation already chosen by God, as the Jews of Jesus’ day believed. They believed they enjoyed God’s favor because they were “children of Abraham.” John 8:39.

But Jesus and John the Baptist both challenged this worldview. See John 8:39 (“If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham did. . . “); Luke 13:6-9 (” . . . if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.”); Matthew 3:9 (“Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father. . .”).

That the kingdom of God would start small with just a few people would have been a shock to the 1st century Jewish worldview.

The seed is “thrown” into the garden

Jesus says the Kingdom is like a mustard seed a man “threw” into a garden. He doesn’t say “planted.” The Greek word Luke uses is the word for “threw” is “ebalen”; the the Greek word for “planted” is “phyteuo.”

Jesus’ choice of words indicates the seed of the Kingdom is so hardy and potent it can be merely thrown into a garden rather than digging a hole, planting the seed in the hole, and covering it with soil. The seed of the Kingdom is potent and hardy enough to take root in even the most adverse conditions.

This is good news for Christians because it demonstrates that no place is too hostile to receive the seed of the kingdom of God. If there is any doubt, one only need look at history to see what did happen. The seed of the Kingdom was planted in a nation (Israel) that was openly hostile to the gospel, and Isreael was under the dominion of the Roman Empire, which was also hostile to the gospel.

Christians suffered persecution first primarily from the Jews and then later from the Romans, but the Kingdom survived it all and continued to grow. How much more aggressively would we be in sharing the gospel if we truly believed what Jesus said about he hardiness and potency of the mustard seed?

The seed grows quickly

Jesus says, “and it grew and became a tree . . .” Luke 13:19. This would have been a surprise to the Jews of Jesus’ day, who expected to the kingdom of God to come suddenly, dramatically, and by political or military force. Instead, Jesus says the Kingdom will start small but will continue to grow until it becomes a like tree.

For us today, understanding how the kingdom of God grows is important because of the prevalent, pessimistic and speculative eschatological view that the Kingdom will not succeed on the earth until Jesus returns and raptures us out, destroys the earth, and forcibly set’s up His kingdom. Far too many Christians today subscribe to some variation of this thinking that the kingdom will not come until Jesus’ second coming.

Jesus is controverting such beliefs with the Parable of the Mustard Seed. He is saying the kingdom of God is here. See Luke 11:20 (“But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”); Matthew 4:17 (“From that time, Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'”).

The kingdom of God is here now, and while it is true that Kingdom will not completely manifest until Jesus returns and removes the wicked (not the righteous) from the earth (see Matthew 13:41-43). This is orthodox Christian theology, that teaches of the “now and not yet” Kingdom. The problem is that so many modern evangelicals forget the “now” part.

Jesus said the kingdom is here now and it will continue to grow until it becomes like a tree. The mustard seed actually grows into a plant that can be as tall as 12-15 feet, and it can do so in 2-3 months. The mustard seed grows quickly and it becomes large. This is exactly what we see in the Books of Acts and in history.

This small group of disciples went out on Jesus’ commanded spreading the gospel in the openly hostile and adverse environment and in approximately 350 years, Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman Empire.

And, of course, the Roman Empire is just part of the story. The kingdom of God will contiue to spread throughout the world “until it is all leavened.” Luke 13:21.

The birds will nest in its branches

The Jews of Jesus’ day thought the coming of the kingdom of God was only for Israel. The believed Israel would throw off the shackles of the Romans and be elevated among the nations. The Parable of the Mustard seed would have been a shock to that worldview.

Jesus says that when the mustard seed becomes like a tree that “the birds of the air nested in its branches.” Luke 13:19. The “birds of the air” is a reference to the Gentiles. See Ezekiel 31:5-6; Daniel 4:11-12. In other words, the kingdom of God was not just for the Jews but for all the world, and it would spread to such an extent that the Gentiles would also enjoy its benefits.

This also speaks to the breadth and success of the advance of the kingdom of God. It will not be merely a local, national, regional, or even a continental phenomenon. It will continue to grow until it leavens the entire world. Luke 13:20-21.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed should be an encouragement to all Christians. The parable speaks to Christianity’s small and seemingly insignificant beginning, the hardiness and potentcy of its message, and the speed and inevitable spread of its influence into the entire world. GS