The Mustard Seed, Part 1

It is so hard for us to come to grips with the emotions of the disciples as they would sit and listen to the words of our Lord as he explained to them the mysteries concerning the kingdom of heaven. They would read verses like Isaiah chapter 11. Verse number one, then a chute will spring from the stem of Jesse and a branch from his roots will bear fruit and the spirit of the Lord will rest on him, spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, spirit of knowledge in the fear of the Lord, and he will delight in the fear of the Lord, and he will not judge by what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears here, but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth, and he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked.

Also righteousness will be the belt about his loins, and faithfulness, the belt about his waist, and the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze. Their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the wean child will put his hand on the vipers' den.

They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples in his resting place. will be glorious. That's what they hope for. That's what the disciples long for. That's what they wanted. They wanted their Messiah to rule in righteousness and in fairness. They wanted him to slay the wicked, the evil, those who are opposed to his kingship.

And yet, when the Lord Jesus Christ came, these things didn't happen. They were confused. Oh, they experienced his power. They saw his great work. They saw how he was able to do things unlike they had ever seen before. But After a while, they've begun to wonder, why isn't he setting up its kingdom? Why does he rule there in Jerusalem from the throne of David? Why is there a mounting rejection against his rulership? And why does he do anything about it? If he's the Messiah, if he's the king, these things should all take place.

Now, we today understand what was happening, because we know about the mystery of the kingdom age. We know about what God was going to do. do we know about his plan. They didn't. All they had was the Old Testament prophecies. And that's what they went by. And so they expected the kingdom to come in all of its glory, and all of its wonder, and all of its majesty, and all of its power. And when it didn't happen like the Old Testament prophets prophesied exactly, they began to be confused, began to wonder what was going to happen next.

It took them a long time to realize that the kingdom of God would not come until sometime later. They didn't really recognize that until basically the Book of Acts. It took them a while to get it to sink in. But once it sunk in, they were able to preach about it. But until that time, they had trouble grasping what God was doing. And instead of talking about what Christ was going to do to those who rejected him, he began to talk about what those rejectors were going to do to him. They were going to kill him.

And he was going to die, a horrible death. And they really had a hard time with that. If he can call him to sea, if he can raise the dead, I mean, can he handle his rejectors? Why would he let his rejectors kill him? That doesn't seem to match with what the Old Testament prophets said. They had a hard time grasping what was happening in the life of Christ. Then came, that great day, the day which Christ wrote into Jerusalem, the day we call the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And people would take off their garments and lay them in the ground, and they would take their palm branches and begin to wave them.

Hosanna, glory to God, the highest. They would praise his name. And then there was this expectation that this was going to be it. I mean, now he's going to Jerusalem. And now, now this is the time he's going to do what the Old Testament prophets had spoken up. But it didn't happen that way. In fact, he said, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground, and dies, it abideth alone. And they begin to scratch their heads again and wonder, why is he talking about death again? His death. Why is he talking about life, the righteous life, the holy life, the great life?

And we as subjects ruling and reigning with him in his wonderful kingdom. They were looking for a kingdom of glory, power, majesty, the worldwide wonder that would immediately destroy those who were the unbelievers. didn't happen that way. So Christ would take some time in Matthew chapter 13 to explain to his men what he calls the mystery. A mystery that was concealed in the Old Testament and now was going to be revealed to them. And they would be blessed because they would hear it. They would be able to reap the benefits of something that those in the Old Testament did not see because God had concealed it from them until this time.

And now was going to reveal it to them. Jesus tells the disciples about the mystery kingdom that was to precede the millennial blaze of glory where he would rule and reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem. Matthew 13 gives us seven parables that explain the mystery of the kingdom. It began by talking about the parable, the soul, and the soil, helping us to understand that there would be a lot of people who would reject the gospel, a lot of cold hearts, a lot of counterfeit hearts, very few converted hearts.

And disciples would begin to wonder, well, if that's the case, and there's going to be that many rejectors, you're going to definitely deal with the rejectors, right? You're going to handle those people who don't want to follow you and submit to your kingship. You're going to deal with them, right? And so Christ will give another parable. No, that's not the way it's going to happen. In fact, they're going to coexist together, the parable of the wheat and the tears. They're going to coexist together until the end of the age, until the harvest time.

Well, if that's the case, well, why don't you let us do something about that, Lord, and Christ said, no, that's not the way it's going to happen because you're not called to be executioners. You're called to be evangelist. You're called to reach out to the tears and lead them into a loving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The angels, they're the reapers, and they will do the reaping at the end of the age. And so you will coexist. You will co-mingle with the tears until that time. And then the Son of Man will return, divide the wheat from the tears.

The disciples had to wonder, well, the kingdom is going to be full of rejectors. If our calculations are correct and most of the people don't receive the gospel, and only if you do, then we're going to be outnumbered. There's going to be more of them than there is of us. That doesn't look too good for us. So what's going to happen to us? I mean, after a while, if we're to coexist with these tears to the end of the age, I mean, we're in big trouble because they're going to be more of them than there is of us.

So God would give a third parable and a fourth parable, the parable of the mustard seed, the parable of the leaven, to explain to his men the impact of his kingdom, to explain to his men the power of his kingdom, to explain to his men the influence the gospel message would have, and the wheat, the believers would have, those hearts that had been converted.

what kind of impact they will have during the kingdom age. They're designed to encourage. They're designed to answer questions that the disciples were asking, to help them understand that in spite of the opposition, in spite of being outnumbered, the kingdom of God will grow. It will grow big. It will grow wide. It will grow deep and have tremendous influence in the world, unlike anything they had ever seen before. so Christ would give those two parables. And the Lord doesn't explain the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the 11th and Matthew chapter 13.

We know that he explained the parables to his men because the Bible tells us that. But somehow they're not recorded, but that's okay because the Spirit of God is going to reveal to us those things that we need to understand concerning the Word of God. We know that he explained the parable of the soil and the soils to the multitude that were there on the seashore. We know that he explained the parable the wheat and the tears to his men in a house by themselves when they ask about that parable. But Christ does not explain this parable in a way that is recorded for us.

But the Spirit of God will teach us so we can understand the parable of the mustard seat and the parable of the 11. One will cover tonight. The parable of the leaven will cover next week. Matthew chapter 13. If you have your Bible, I would invite you to turn there with me if you would, please. Matthew 13, verse number 31. verse number 32. Just two simple verses. He presented another parable to them saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a musseld seed, which a man took and so did his field. And this is smaller than all the other seeds.

But when it is full grown, it is large within the garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. It's easy to follow. The parable, very simple to understand. It's a parable about a far. farmer. Farmer who goes out and plants a crop of mustard. Mustard was used in those days for many things, mainly for oil, for medicinal purposes, for flavoring. Oil is used a lot today. In fact, oil is used in the producing of a film. Mustard seed is used in the producing of film in order for us to be able to get clear and concise pictures when you receive your film back from Savon or Thrifty or Walgreens, wherever you decide to put your film in to get developed.

But it's a very simple parable. A man, we're not to sow some mustard seed. And the potential... So you'll realize that this particular mustard seed being spoke of here, when it grows, it becomes a tremendous tree or a tremendous shrub or a tremendous bush. It grows to a height in Middle Eastern times of somewhere up to seven to eight feet. A mustard seed can grow fairly big. The mustard is a large herb, and sometimes they grow even 10 to 12 feet high, so high that some commentators have said that a man riding a horse can go underneath that shrub.

It became a huge, huge bush, huge tree, as the Lord would say. The Lord is emphasizing that there's no connection between the smallness of the seed and the largest of the plant. It's a big contrast there, but that contrast is significant, as we will see in a moment. The small mustard seed can become a very large bush. You can plant a barley seed, and the barley plant becomes a fairly good size. You can plant corn, and it comes to a fairly good size plant as well. But you plant a mustard seed. They go fairly big.

In fact, so big, you can even ride a horse underneath it. That's very significant, as you will see in a moment. But I want you know what's the problem, because the critics will come along and say, time out. Wait a minute. The mustard seed is not the least of all the seeds. The critics will come and say the mustard seed is not the smallest of all the seats. There are smaller seeds. So the critics will say, well, that tells us one or two things. One, Jesus didn't know what he was talking about. And if Jesus didn't know what he was talking about, he doesn't know everything, meaning Jesus can't be God.

Or number two, Jesus knew that the people he was talking to were ignorant. So he played to their ignorance and deceived them and lied to them. So therefore, Jesus is a liar and a deceiver. Now, is that the case? Of course not. So what is going on here? Is the mustard seed the smallest seed? Or is it not? That's important to understand. Because if it's not, Jesus is a liar. You can't take what he says at face value. If it is, well, then Jesus is right. Now, what is it? Well, you know what it is. Of course he's right.

Jesus is never wrong. The word in verse number 31, the word in verse number 32 for seed, is a word that very clearly refers to seeds that are sown in an agricultural manner. The critics will come and say, well, the wild orchard seed is a smaller seed than the mustard seed. And because it is, Jesus is a life. He didn't know he's talking about. Ah, but the smallest seed sown in an agricultural setting is truly the mustard seed. The wild orchard seed is not a seed sewn to produce a plant that's edible.

But the mustard seed is planted, specifically designed to produce something that is edible. And because it is, it is the smallest of all the seeds. that you can sow that once produced you can eat. So Jesus was right. The critics are wrong. Jesus knew what he was talking about. And that's important for you and me to know, right? Because you see, if you can trust the Lord when it comes to learning a lesson in botany, then you can trust the Lord and everything, right? That's important. If God is so concerned about these little intricate details, then we know that we can trust him and believe him about everything.

So if Jesus says, guess what, the world was created in six days. We can believe that it was created in six days. We don't have to do spiritual gymnastics around the Genesis 1 passage. We believe that the world was created in six literal days because that's what God says.

No matter what anybody else tells you, that's what God said. If God said he destroyed the world with a flood, he destroyed a world with a flood. It happened just like he said it happened. If God said that I'm going to one day come back, but before I do, there's going to be a great tribulation on the earth such as the world has never seen before, guess what? It's going to happen just like he said. And if Jesus says, I'm going to come back in blazing glory, guess what?

He is going to return, just like he said. So the important lesson for us to realize is that God, whenever he speaks, we need to listen because what he says is always true. He's never wrong. He's always right. You can believe him. You can take it to the bank. Why? Because he never deceives. He never lies. He always speaks the truth. If Jesus said, there's only one way to heaven. It's through me. Guess what? There's only one way to heaven. I don't care what anybody else says. And Jesus was very clear about that, wasn't he?

And so if Jesus says that the mustard seed is a smaller seed, guess what? It is. It is a smaller seed that when sown. produces an herb, that's edible, and that is the smallest seed. That can be sung. Since then, there has become a smaller seed. It's called the tobacco seed. But the last time I checked, you don't eat the tobacco seed. You can chew on it. You can smoke it, but you don't eat it. Swallow it. At least you better not. It also says, when it is grown, small to the whole seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and become.

a tree. The skeptics will say, the critics will say, well, you can't become a tree. Well, to understand the grammatical structure of what Christ is saying, he is saying that this is going to be such a large tree. And people tell us that the mustard branches become so huge that birds can come and actually lodge in the branches of mustard seed plants. Once they grow, they become so big, so sturdy, so strong that this actually does happen. So, Christ, Christ knew exactly what he was talking about. And he used a specific illustration to help the disciples understand something about the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is something that starts out very, very small. So small you can hardly even see it. So small it looks insignificant. So small, nobody cares about it. But becomes so big, so grand, so enormous that the birds of the air can come and rest in it, and nest in it, and feed off of it. That is very significant. So what is Christ actually saying? It tells us this. The kingdom of heaven starts out really, really, really small. Really small. The disciples needed to get that because their connotation of the kingdom was that, man, this is going to be a grand, glorious, magnificent, huge, humongous, unbelievable kind of kingdom.

And Christ says, I want to illustrate something for you by taking an everyday occurrence, the planet of mustard seeds, and let you know that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like.

And these men were just a hand full of disciples. And they were against the whole world. It was just them. And Christ is encouraging them by saying, you know what? It's going to be okay, guys. This is the way I've planned it. It's going to start very timing, very small. And this is the way I want it to happen. Disciples, of course, remember in Acts chapter 1 when they ask, Lord, is this the time you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is now the time? It's almost like, you know, today, remember the commercial, the wind's commercial, you know, where's the beef?

You know, the disciples are saying, you know, where's the kingdom? Where is the kingdom? Where is it? Is now the time you're going to start it? Is now the time it's going to start it? take off is now the time it's going to really grow into that big bush into that big tree is now the time of course christ said no it's not the time for you to know any of those things the father is fixed by his own authority but the the kingdom of god was going to start small remember over in luke chapter 17 let me read it to you verse number 20 now having been questioned by the pharisees as to when the kingdom of god was coming the pharisees wanted to know about this kingdom see they knew the old testament they could read it they knew Isaiah chapter 9 they knew Isaiah chapter 11 They knew what Jeremiah said.

They knew what Amos said. They knew what Zachariah said. They knew about the kingdom coming. And so they said to Jesus, explain to us how the kingdom is going to come. If you're the king, you've got a kingdom, then tell us how that kingdom is going to come. We want to know. That's a fair question. He answered said to them, the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed. Hmm. That's not what we read in the Old Testament. So you, this Messiah, this anointed one, comes from a different angle.

What do you mean? He says this, the kingdom of God is not coming with science to be observed, nor would they say, look, here it is, or there it is. For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. Hey, fellas, guess what? You've missed it. I'm the king. If you subject yourself to me, guess what? You'll be a part of the kingdom of God. But I want to know something. You guys are not going to be walking in the street one day. They're going to say, hey, there's the kingdom. Oh, yes. Now I reckon. There it is, because it's not easily observed.

Why? Because the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. A man who went out to sow a mustard seed in the field. And when it was planted, when it was watered, the sun came out, it began to grow. And it grew to such an enormous size that the bird, birds of the field were able to rest in that tree and feed off that tree. Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is not in a form like you'll ever, ever understand. You see, before people would realize the extent of a literal kingdom, they had to understand the spiritual essence of that kingdom.

And that's where the people missed it. And that's what Christ came to emphasize to show them that he was that king. He said, the kingdom of God is already here. It's in your midst and you've missed it completely. Isn't it not true that the circumstances of Christ's birth help us understand the parable of the mustard seat? Here was this great creator of the world deciding to become created. to be in the womb of this little girl named Mary, be born in a stable, smelly, stinky grotto, all kinds of animals.

And then this king would be born in an area of the world that is so tiny, so small. And that this king would live among people for some 30 years, completely unrecognized. Live among people who were uneducated, uncouth, uncultured in a little town called Nazareth. And then he would choose some men, some men that none of you would ever choose to go to war with. None of you would ever choose to start a business with. And none of you would ever want in your church. He chose 12 men, 12 most unlikely men, fishermen, tax gatherers, men that were different, men that were unqualified, men that were fearful, men that were faithless, men that were weak, small.

inadequate, and for all practical purposes and consequence. Nobody cared about these guys, except Jesus, and that's the only one who needed to care about these guys. And God would use them in a unique way. And that is a marvelous truth that was not seen in the Old Testament. That was the mystery. And that was something they didn't understand. That's why Christ had to explain it to them. That's why he wanted to teach them about it. And then when he finally ascended in the glory, when you read Acts chapter one and Acts chapter two, what do you have?

You got a little band of people, 120 of them gathered together in an upper room, having a prayer meeting, the kingdom of heaven. It's like the mustard seed, smallest of all the seeds. But when planet grows, it becomes absolutely enormous. And little did they know that as these 120 would gather together in this upper room, a miracle would happen in the next chapter. That's Acts chapter two. and 3,000 people would get saved and be baptized. And you read a couple of chapters more. What do you have? You have 5,000 more people being added to the church.

And now they're finally starting to catch on. This thing is really going to grow. It's really going to take off. Just like Jesus said it would. Let's pray. Thank you.