Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” [Mark 4:30-32 NIV]
[Photo by Karren McPherson on commission. Only one of these seeds was required to produce a mustard tree]
This is another parable which speaks about the remarkable growth in the kingdom of God. The previous parable emphasised that this growth is a divine work. It is entirely independent of human activity [See Day Share entitled Parable of the Growing Seed 09/03/2022].
In today's study the lesson is about the contrast between the small insignificant beginning (the mustard seed) and the end product (a huge plant which dominates the garden). When it is fully grown, the 'mustard tree' is larger than all the garden plants and is so large that birds are able to build their nests in its branches. The mustard 'tree' grows to a height of 8 to 12 feet (2.4 - 3.7 metres). One ancient writer said that a mustard tree was as tall as a horse and its rider. One of the rabbis said: "A stalk of mustard seed was in my garden, into which I used to climb, as men do a fig tree." This made the mustard seed unique among the herbs - it had the capability to grow into a tree, shoot out great branches from the main stem and give shelter to the birds of the air.
So Jesus chose the mustard seed to convey his message. He was speaking in parables which was the Jewish way of conveying a message. It meant that not everyone understood the meaning of his teaching. It needed to be unpacked and revealed by the Holy Spirit and many fail to grasp the significance of Jesus teaching. Notice that Jesus chooses a very homely image to convey his truth. Before we look at the message, it is worth comparing this imagery to that of two Old Testament prophets. Isaiah speaks about the coming of the kingdom and he uses the image of the victorious conqueror and he needs a straight level path for his journey and so the mountains have to be levelled and the valleys infilled (Isaiah 40: 3-5). There is a sharp contrast too with Daniel's vision of four beasts (lion, bear, leopard and the terrifying beast with ten horns and the one like a son of man approaching the ancient of days - Daniel 7). These are very powerful and dramatic images. But the mustard seed is very unpretentious and homely. This would have resonated with his hearers who would have known what he meant by the growth from a comparatively small seed. Jesus is presenting the birth of the kingdom in very humble terms.
However, the message would not have been welcomed by the Jewish people of Jesus day. They wanted a powerful Messiah who would deliver them from the powerful Roman empire. They wanted something more like the visions of Daniel and the powerful deliverer of Isaiah 40. They wanted cosmic signs such as a special star or a moon or a comet. They were expecting the dramatic and the spectacular.
"And indeed, what germ of religious teaching could be less promising than the doctrine of a cross, held by a few peasants in a despised province of a nation already subjugated and soon to be overwhelmed?" [The Gospel of St. Mark: G.A. Chadwick D.D.].
And yet from such a small insignificant beginning there has been a tremendous growth and development and the kingdom of God is still growing. I know that we often focus on the negatives. Churches are in decline in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. Not only has there been a drop in church attendance but the respect for Christian values has been eroded. There is a growing culture of opposition to the Gospel and the message of the Bible - especially in the West. But the church is growing even, and perhaps especially, in countries where the opposition is strongest. According to "The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion", in mid-2005 estimated that approximately 15.5 million converted to Christianity annually from another religion while at the same time approximately 11.7 million gave up their Christian faith each year. So according to this estimate there is a net gain of 3.8 million every year. This is maybe a gross exaggeration and there is conflicting evidence from other sources. However, there is evidence that a huge number of Chinese have converted to Christianity and the number of Chinese Christians has increased significantly; from 4 million before 1949 to 67 million in 2010. The net growth in the Christian church is seen in areas such as Latin America, Africa and Asia (that is the number of conversions exceeds the number of people renouncing their Christian faith).
One source suggests that about one third of the world's population is nominally Christian with almost 2.38 billion people practising some form of Christianity globally. This is only referring to nominal Christianity and it is a very misleading statistic but it gives some idea of the global impact of the Christian faith which began with a man from Galilee who was crucified on a Roman cross and this had the temporary effect of demoralising his disciples and putting them into disarray.
To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, Melvin Bragg wrote a book where he argued that this version of the Bible had made a profound impact on our society in Britain and beyond. This book has been the best-selling book in the world and its impact extended to the following
Growth of democracy
Abolition of slavery
Influence on social movements especially the rights of women in 19th and 20th Century
Influence on politics
Enrichment of English language.
[Melvin Bragg: The Book of Books: The Radical Impact of the King James Bible, 1611 - 2011].
All of this started with a man from a peasant family in an obscure part of the Roman Empire with 12 apostles who were social misfits. This is the mustard seed which has grown and will continue to grow until the Second Advent. There is no way that we can begin to estimate the impact of the Christian Church - the Church of which Jesus is the Head. There is a principle here that applies to individuals and churches. If God is at work, we can anticipate growth from a small insignificant starting point.
I have heard you mention this book. I will need to make time to read it. Thanks, Peter.
Another good book on this theme is Tom Holland: Dominion - The Making of the Western Mind, which documents how Xny shaped our entire culture over last 2k.