The PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED is mentioned three times. We find it in:
• Matthew 13:31-35
• Mark 4:30-32
• Luke 13:18
The Lord must have considered this parable to be important to allow it to be mentioned three different times in the Scriptures.
We want to look at Matt. 13:31-35, we read, “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
Notice, the Lord takes two things:
• The Mustard Seed
• The Leaven
He uses them to teach us a spiritual lesson. These were two things that his audience was familiar with.
WHAT DID THE LORD TEACH THEM ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD FROM A MUSTARD SEED AND LEAVEN?
A very important lesson. These two parables are so easy to understand that the Lord does not interpret what they mean. However, in Chapter 16 He does touch on what the Leaven represents.
But the reason He does not go into a big explanation of what these parables mean is because the meaning of these parables is obvious.
What can mustard seeds and leaven teach us about the kingdom of God? Basically the reason He gave us these two parables was to teach us what the song writer said, “Little is much if God is in it!”
That is, God can take something that is small and insignificant and make it into something GREAT!
By using the MUSTARD SEED and the LEAVEN He is showing us how this can be done in a POSITIVE manner and in a NEGATIVE manner!
I. LOOK AT THE POSITIVE (The Mustard Seed)
Look again at verses 31-32, we read, “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.”
There are several kinds of mustard seeds that have to be considered as we look at this parable of the Mustard Seed.
(1) Many of the botanists suggest that the kind the scripture is speaking of here is “The Khardah” mustard seed.
• This particular seed is known among all the various kinds of seeds as the smallest in size
• It is known to grow from a small seed to a tree 10 to 15 feet tall that attracted the birds
(2) Westminster Dictionary of the Bible suggest that the seed that the Bible is speaking of is the common mustard seed that is in Palestine, which was the “Sinapis Nigra”, or black mustard.
According to the Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, it grows wild, attaining the height of a horse and rider. “…it is also cultivated in gardens for its seed, which is used as a condiment."
The type of the seed is not important. What is important is that both of these seeds were known to be the smallest of seeds and grew very rapidly into trees that the birds of the air could land on and receive nourishment from.
Many have the idea that:
• Everything that is big has always been big
• Everything that is successful has always been successful
But this is not the case.
Illus: Look at the success of Bill Gates. Bill Gates dominates the home computer market. He is known around the world for his success, but he was not always successful.
Before his success came into existence, he was a student at Harvard. He, and his friend Paul Allen, came to recognize that the home computer business was preparing to prosper because many folks wanted them in their homes. They recognized that people would soon have computers in their homes just as they have radios and televisions.
He quit Harvard Law school and he began to read everything he could get his hands on that dealt with computers.
Today he is reported to be the richest private individual in the world, with a net worth of over 50 billion dollars.
You can do research in the areas of business, politics, entertainment, and sports, and you will find that the individuals who have been successful started off small but grew into something great.
Illus: Isn’t it amazing that the Lord Jesus, the greatest individual to ever walk on this earth, started off as a helpless baby, probably weighing 5 or 6 pounds!
The Lord is picking up on this idea of SMALLNESS to GREATNESS, to encourage them and to teach them a very valuable lesson. God does the opposite of mankind.
Man would start off big to attract the attention, but God does not do it that way. He begins everything He does in a small way, such as:
• With a seed
• With a desire
• With and idea
• With a word
• With a baby
Let us examine this spiritual concept of “Small beginnings” to see how the Lord wants to work in our lives. Let us look at a few examples in the Scriptures to see how the Lord uses “Small Beginnings”
A. GIDEON IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF SMALL BEGINNINGS
Look at Judges 6:14-16, we read, “And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.”
It is easy to reach the conclusion that Gideon had a self-esteem problem. In fact, it seems he could not think of anyone that was under him. He made it clear:
• He did not have money, he said he came from a poor family
• He said he was the least of all in his family
God wanted to use a small insignificant creature like him to deliver His people from the Midianites.
He said he found this hard to believe. He wanted a sign so he would know beyond a doubt that he was not imagining this!
Everything that Gideon said about himself was true. But the God of heaven knew this. This is why He took something that is small and insignificant and used it for His glory.
It wasn’t Gideon that would win the battle to start with, it was the God of Gideon who won the battle. This small insignificant fellow was used by God to defeat the Midianites.
WHY DID GOD CHOOSE TO USE HIM? If God had used someone that was powerful and influential, that individual would have robbed God of the glory that belongs to God.
But when God uses someone like Gideon, who was small and insignificant, then God receives all the glory because we know God brought about the victory.
B. THE LITTLE BOY IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF SMALL BEGINNINGS
Look at John 6:5-11, we read, “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.”
There are three things that stand out immediately in this passage of Scripture.
• A little lad
• A little lunch box
• A little bit of food
Do you know the effort and expense it would take to feed five thousand people? Yet, the Lord took this small boy, his small lunch box and his small fish and bread, and fed five thousand people. This passage of Scripture gives the liberals a fit.
Illus: If the Lord had seen a young man at the seaside with a fish, they would say, “This was no miracle, this was a whale, and the Lord used that whale to feed five thousand.”
But the way the Lord describes this situation, we are left to believe one of two things.
• We could believe this never happened
• We could believe it did happen in a miraculous way
We believe that God took this small, young, insignificant boy and used him to feed 5000 people.
C. THE SMALL NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF SMALL BEGINNINGS
In Acts 2:41-42 we read about 120 disciples, but yet that small church got on fire for the Lord, and in Acts 4:4 we read that they had grown into five thousand.
• In Acts 6-7 it continued to grow
• In Acts 9:31 it continued to grow
• In Acts 20:21 it had grown into thousands
• Today the church has grown into millions
The Parable of the Mustard Seed teaches us to never underestimate what God can do through “Small Beginnings!”
Never imagine that poverty, weakness or insignificance disqualifies you from being effective in the work of God's Kingdom. The lack of size, power, wealth, good appearance and talent are no handicap in spiritual matters.
If anything, being small may be a positive advantage. God is looking for Mustard Seed Christians (least of all the seeds) that He can use for his glory. Be a mustard seed in the Garden of God!
We have looked at THE POSITIVE, (The Mustard Seed) but now-
II. LOOK AT THE NEGATIVE (The leaven)
While we have seen what God can do with “Small Beginnings”, we need to understand that the devil can also work in “Small Beginnings!” To illustrate this, God gives us the parable of “The Leaven.”
As you do a study on the Parable of the Leaven, you will find many Bible students trying to explain what the Leaven represents. We do not have to do any guessing as to what it represents, the Lord later explained that to his disciples.
Look at Matthew 16:11-12, we read, “How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”
He lets us know that a little leaven (false doctrine) can destroy a church.
Look at the Parable again in our key text, Matthew 13:33-34, we read, “Another parable spake he (Jesus) unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them.”
The point of this parable is that this woman secretly hid a little LEAVEN in three measures of a meal, and soon the leaven affected the whole meal.
Illus: Webster’s Dictionary defines leaven as a substance which causes bread dough to rise due to fermentation.
The devil knows that he can not walk into a church and make drastic changes, but he can do it gradually and soon the whole church will be affected.
Illus: The way the devil works, like leaven, reminds us of a frog in water.
• You can place him in a pan of hot water and he will jump out.
• You can place him in a pan of cool water and gradually turn up the heat, and he will adapt to the gradual change and you can boil him alive!
The devil must feel pretty confident that he can turn up the heat today, because we have churches that have made a complete change when it comes to the teaching and preaching of God’s Word. As you look back in their church history, it is amazing the changes they have made for the worse over these years.
But thank the Lord for those churches that are aware of the leaven that is being spread, and are contending for the faith as the Book of Jude teaches we should.
Conclusion:
“Small Beginnings” are something that God and Satan know are important.
I believe the Lord wanted to teach these early Christians about “Small Beginnings” because so many times Christians feel that there is not much they can do for the Lord. But they are absolutely wrong. God has always used people in “Small Beginnings” and will continue to use them.
Illus: Rivers gain more attention than the little streams that create them. You can name the great rivers of the world, but you cannot name their tributaries.
However, without the tributaries there would be no river. It must be remembered, too, that the smaller streams, while less well known, are purer and are found on a higher elevation.
Some of our lives are tributary lives. It is our role to provide the pure water from the higher elevation that enables another to be a mighty river of power and influence. (Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
Illus: Like football, the quarter back gets all the attention. But if it wasn’t for the linemen no matter how good he is, he could never throw a touch down past.
There is a great need in the church today for Christians to recognize that it is the many millions that you never see in the spotlight of attention that keep the church flourishing for the Lord.
As a Christian, you may not feel that important, but I can assure you that God and Satan know the value of “Small Beginnings!”
We have looked at:
I. THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED
II. THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN
