Parable of the Mustard Seed

Text and Content

The parable appears in Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32, and Luke 13:18-19. It tells of a grain of mustard seed that a man sows in his field. Though it is smaller than all other seeds, when it grows it becomes greater than the herbs and like a tree, so that the birds of the air lodge in its branches. Matthew likens this to "the kingdom of heaven," while Mark and Luke liken it to "the kingdom of God." In Matthew and Luke, the Parable of the Leaven immediately follows as a companion parable. In Mark, the parable comes after the parable of the seed that grows by itself (Mark 4:26-29). The slight differences in wording among the three Gospels are also cited as an example in discussions of the Synoptic Problem.

Background

The Greek word for mustard in the New Testament is sinapi. Scholars commonly identify it with black mustard, which grows in Palestine, though the exact species is difficult to determine. Although the plant is an annual, it is known to grow taller than a person. In the Jewish society of the time, the mustard seed is said to have served as a proverbial expression for "something very small."

Significance in the Wider Biblical Context

The image of birds lodging in the branches of a great tree recalls Old Testament imagery. In Ezekiel 17:22-24, birds of every kind dwell in the branches of a cedar that God has planted, and in Ezekiel 31 and in Nebuchadnezzar's vision in Daniel 4, a great kingdom is likened to a great tree. The parable is commonly interpreted as drawing on this imagery to teach that the kingdom of God, though insignificant in its beginnings, will grow large enough to embrace the nations. It is also read together with the other kingdom parables of Matthew 13, namely the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Tares.

Interpretation and Issues

• Interpretation as growth: Most interpreters read the parable as a contrast between a small beginning and a great outcome. Some pair it with the Parable of the Leaven, explaining that the mustard seed depicts the outward spread of the kingdom of God, while the leaven depicts its transforming influence working from within.
• Negative interpretation: Some dispensationalist interpreters point to the Parable of the Sower, in which birds appear as agents that snatch away the seed. They regard the birds as evil forces and interpret a garden plant growing into a tree as a picture of the church's abnormal overexpansion.
• The "smallest seed" question: Botanically, there are seeds smaller than the mustard seed. Many explain the statement as an ordinary figure of speech used by people of the time, and the issue is sometimes raised in discussions of biblical inerrancy.
• A passage easily confused with it: The saying "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed" (Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6) is a separate saying about faith. It should be distinguished from this parable, which concerns the growth of the kingdom of God.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, this parable is frequently used as a sermon text to encourage church plants and small groups in their early stages. It is also cited as an illustration of church growth in Korea. However, the text does not present growth in size or numbers as the measure of success. For this reason, some take a critical view of interpretations that link the parable directly to a church's outward growth.