SMALL SEEDS—BIG KINGDOMS!

BERT THOMPSON

In Matthew 13:31-32, Jesus told a parable to explain something about His spiritual kingdom, the church. Jesus wanted His followers to know that the church might have had a really small beginning, but as time went by it would grow into something much, much bigger—and very important. To get his point across, Christ said that the church was like a mustard seed "which a man took and sowed in his field, 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." Why would Jesus have compared the church to a mustard seed? And why did He say that it was "the least of all seeds"?

The mustard seed is a really tiny seed. But what a huge plant it can produce! On the average, the mustard plant grows to be about 4 feet tall, but some have been known to grow as high as 15 feet. When full grown, the plant has spindly branches and is a favorite of birds, which like to roost in it and eat its tasty seeds. Jesus was trying to teach those around Him that the church is like that seed and its full-grown plant. The church—like the mustard plant—may have started out in a small and insignificant manner (after all, Christ, its head, was born in a manger!). But, just as the little mustard seed produced a big, strong plant, the gospel message would produce a big, strong church.

Some people have suggested that the Lord made a serious mistake when He said that the mustard seed was "the least of all the seeds" because such a statement is not scientifically accurate. There are other seeds smaller than the mustard seed (orchid seeds are the smallest). So, was Jesus wrong? No. He was talking to people in the Middle East, and was using examples they could see in their everyday lives. In that area of the world, the mustard seed is the "least of all seeds." Jesus’ point to them was right on target. And it was very impressive, too, because they could look around and see the large mustard plant that had grown from the small seed (smaller, in fact, than a flake of pepper from the pepper shaker on your kitchen table). If a 15-foot plant could grow from something that small, Jesus was saying, then surely His church could grow from its tiny beginnings in Jerusalem to something much bigger.

And it did! Today, the church of Christ has spread all over the world. Millions of people are members of it (they are known simply as "Christians"—a word that means "Christ-like"). Now you know what mustard seeds and the church have in common!

November 2000
11[11]:85