THE MUSTARD SEED

MATTHEW 13:3

A. "ANOTHER PARABLE PUT HE FORTH UNTO THE, SAYING, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE UNTO A GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED WHICH A MAN TOOK AND SOWED IN HIS FIELD; WHICH INDEED IS THE LEAST OF ALL SEEDS; BUT WHEN IT WAS GROWN, IT IS THE GREATEST AMONG HERBS AND BECOMETH A TREE SO THAT THE BIRDS OF THE AIR COME AND LODGE IN THE BRANCHES THEREOF"
  1. This parable of our Lord reveals the great skill and flexibility of our Lord as a teacher:
    1. In the parables of the soil and the tares, He portrays the difficulties and disappointments of the gospel worker
    2. The cunning devices of Satan to corrupt the truth and the church
  2. This parable, on the other hand, portrays the dynamic power of the gospel of the kingdom:
    1. Like the mustard see, it had a very small and insignificant beginning
    2. Judging by appearance, its influence seemed too small to be effective; yet, it was latent with divine power
B. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE OBJECT LESSON OF THE MUSTARD SEED
  1. The parable of the mustard seed is to change man's concept of true power:
    1. Human beings measure power by appearance, by volume and mass
    2. But the Creator placed great powers into tiny capsules - think of the tiny mustard seed developing into a sizable tree; the atom moving mountains
    3. Men often are influences by the bigness of a church, and not by the truth it teaches
  2. It warns us not to judge by the appearance of things:
    1. Exemplified in Goliath and David - I Sam. 17
    2. By Gideon and his little band - Judges 7
    3. The little cloud in the days of Elijah - I Kings 19
  3. The potential of the little grain of the mustard seed:
    1. It must be put into fertile soil
    2. It must be cultivated
    3. It must be watered
  4. That is true of the gospel of the kingdom:
    1. It must be preached to men
    2. It requires time and cultivation
    3. It must be watered with the water of life
C. THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED IN ITS DEEPER APPLICATION
  1. How small was the beginning of the work of the Nazarene and His little band of unlearned and inexperienced disciples:
    1. Who would have envisioned the world-wide influence of that small beginning
    2. Within a short time, the Jews testified to the influence of this power, "These that have turned the world upside down" - Acts 17:6
  2. How small was the beginning of the reformation:
    1. It began with a few men protesting against the corruption in the Papal system
    2. It shook the very foundation of the Papacy
  3. How small was the Advent Movement after the disappointment of 1844:
    1. The messengers were, by enlarge, unlearned and isolated
    2. The literature could be carried by one in a small brief case
    3. Today the influence of this Advent Movement reaches to the ends of the earth - to every Island of the seas
  4. Thus we learn:
    1. That great and mighty movements have their roots in small beginnings
    2. That we cannot judge the power of a movement by its outward appearance
    3. That one must be patient and allow the seed of truth to develop into its full power
    4. That one must not become discouraged with our small and seemingly very ineffective influence in this life
    5. Only eternity will reveal that ultimate good done by us in our small ways. What a message of hope for the Christian
    6. Never become discouraged with the slow progress of your humble effort to influence others for the truth. Do your part faithfully and leave the outcome to the Lord; He never fails - Is. 55:11


Design © John Bryant 2011