He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13: 31, 32, NIV.
My Father and my God, today as we turn a new page of a new month, we pray that it will also represent a new beginning in our lives. As we study Your Word, may we discover “newness of life” in You. This is our prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
We are looking at the third parable on the kingdom of heaven today, the Parable of the Mustard Seed. The motif of sowing and harvest continues to appear in these parables of the kingdom. Notice that there is always One who begins the process of sowing or planting. The first thing we will do is to take a quick look at the mustard seed. In the Bible, it is commented for its size (Matthew 17: 20; Mark 4: 31; Luke 17: 6). It goes from being the “the smallest of all your seeds,” to “the largest of garden plants.”
I read that it was “proverbially small (1 mm) in diameter.” It ‘s color goes from “yellowish white – black.” It requires “3-10 days to germinate under proper conditions” which consists of “a cold atmosphere, and relatively moist soil.” What I found of special interest in the on-line Encyclopedia was the fact, that “Mustard seeds grow into shrubs, not trees” (See Wikipedia, on the mustard seed).
Yesterday, for the first time, I referred to the kingdom of heaven (the Garden of the Lord) as the Church of God. I am not referring to a denomination, but to God’s true people scattered throughout the world, and found in every church. We must not miss the obvious diversity and all-inclusiveness of the kingdom of heaven. This outstanding attribute of the kingdom will once again appear when we comment on other aspects of God’s kingdom.
Christ began His church with a handful of fishermen, a tax collector, a devout Jew, and others, from different walks of life. A young, ambitious, “lover of money,” joined himself to the group and became their treasurer. Scripture later refers to him as “a thief” (John 12: 4-6); Jesus referred to him as “a devil” (John 6: 70). Yet Jesus did not reject Judas. Before Jesus came to the end of His ministry, Scripture informs us, that women were having an active part in it’s up-keep (John 8: 1-3). For in Christ, and in His kingdom, we are all one (Galatians 3: 26-28). Because of this, Christ’s Church which began as a little handful, has become one of the strongest, and largest, and most impacting, movements on earth! It went from, “the smallest of all your seeds,” to “the largest of garden plants.”
Beloved, the kingdom of heaven is made available to all, just as Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary was to atone for the sins of the entire world (John 3: 16; 2 Corinthians 5: 19). That some will avail themselves of this sacrifice and be saved, and that others will not accept and be lost, is obvious in the parable of the Sower. But the message that we, who are members of the kingdom of heaven should be preaching, and that should be heard loud and clear, is that all “the birds of the air [can] come and perch in its branches.” There is always room for one more.
We will continue.
NOTE: I did some necessary editing to yesterday’s devotional, and today’s, as well. My regrets.