THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED

“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is 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.” (Matt 13:31, 32)

There is a well-known saying, “One thing leads to another.” Notice this principle of cause and effect, running through all these parables. Mark how the over-seeding of wheat with tares in the second epoch of the Church’s history, was that which led to the conditions which characterized the third epoch, the Pergamos period, as unfolded by our Lord in the third parable, that of the Mustard Seed.

To begin with, the Mustard is a plant which, strictly speaking, is not a tree at all. It is properly classified as a pot-herb or a garden-vegetable. Nevertheless, in this parable, as also often in nature, it actually does grow into a tree.

“The plant referred to here is generally considered to be black mustard, a large annual plant up to 9 feet (2.7 m) tall. A grown black mustard would still be considered an herb, botanically speaking, but sometimes a very big herb, popularly considered a shrub. There are wild mustard plants over ten feet tall near the Jordan River, and even in moderate climate a mustard plant may grow that tall, provided it gets enough sunshine.”

A closer look at the text is warranted:

Note that our Lord states that when the mustard seed has grown, “it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree”. The implication here appears to be that when fully grown it becomes the largest amongst the herbs, a shrub or small tree in essence.

Nevertheless, there is evidently SOMETHING WRONG HERE for, from the account of creation in Genesis, we have learned that God would have every seed to develop after its KIND.

“And God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to ITS KIND, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to ITS KIND. And God saw that it was good.” (Gen 1:11, 12)

There are three “kinds” of plants, Herbs, Shrubs, and trees. (Five if you count Creepers and Climbers).

Herbs are seed-producing non-woody plants with soft stems, with few if any branches, they also tend to be short.

Shrubs are medium-sized, woody plants taller than herbs and shorter than a tree. Their height usually ranges between 6m to 10m tall. Their features include bushy, hard, and woody stems with many branches.

Trees on the other hand are woody perennial plants with a single trunk with several if not many branches extending from this trunk. They also can grow to a considerable height.

It may well be that we are attempting to read too much into this picture, after all this is a parable, a parabolic picture or illustration. In a parable the thing said is not the thing meant. A parable is defined as “a short narrative in which some important truth is veiled,” or hidden. 

In becoming a tree, the mustard plant throws out great branches. And as a result, note what happens. The birds of the air which, in the first parable, sought to devour the good seed, are now able to come and lodge in its branches!

What is the prominent characteristic of this Pergamos epoch, paralleled here in the Parable of the Mustard Seed?

Ah! it is the epoch characterized by a further decline into worldliness. The Paganism of the Smyrna period has not been able to entirely obliterate the heirs of the Kingdom (the wheat), notwithstanding its fierce onslaughts, so the Adversary tries another method. Under his malign influence Christianity is adopted by the emperor and his successors.

Now, as everyone knows, a ship is safe as long as it is in the ocean; but as soon as the ocean gets into the ship, the ship is in real danger. And that is precisely what was taking place.

The grain of mustard seed represented the principles of the Church as they were sown by Christ; the description of its unnatural growth FROM AN HERB TO A TREE-signified that those principles would be abandoned as the Gospel Age rolled on; a prediction by our Lord which was very manifestly fulfilled.

The wheat field of the first parable has become, in this third epoch of the Church, the Pergamos period, almost, but thank God not quite, a tare field. Christ’s Kingdom, which the great Head of the Church, when he witnessed his good confession before Pilate, declared was “not of this world” is now seen by him, in this third parable, as having become a vast world kingdom!

Another look at this parable as explained in R2635

“The third parable-picture of the Kingdom in its present embryonic condition of development is intended to show that from a very small beginning the nominal church of this Gospel age would attain to quite considerable proportions. Its start is likened to the small mustard-seed, which attains to the largest size of its class (or “kind”) of herbs. Yet this large development does not necessarily signify advantage or anything especially desirable, but on the contrary, it becomes a disadvantage, in that the fowls of the air come and lodge in its branches, and defile it.

The “fowls of the air” in the preceding parable of the Sower represented Satan and his agents (Ministers, and teachers of error), and we are, we think, justified in making a similar application here, and interpreting this to mean that the Church planted by the Lord Jesus flourished rapidly and exceedingly, and that because of its attainments, strength, etc., Satan, through his agents, came and lodged in the various branches (denominations) of the Church. They have been lodging in these various branches for all these many centuries, and they are still to be found there, a defiling element, beginning first with the Roman church and then subsequently following the Reformation in the Protestant branches. They come in, not for the benefit of the mustard-seed tree, but for their own convenience and benefit.

It is in harmony with this that in the present time the Lord speaks of Babylon, nominal Christendom, as “the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”–Rev. 18:2. This contamination of the original good planting, by the Adversary and his agents, is as prominent in this parable as in the parable of the tares, merely showing it from a different standpoint.”

In our next post we’ll take a look at the Parable of the Leaven.