He
presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like
a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is
smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger
than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come
and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES."
Insights: The mustard seed describes how small the
kingdom will start. Can you imagine how
important this truth was to the disciple?
Think about it, they were standing in a little group, being literally
smothered by oppression, and rejection and blasphemy. It is as if they were saying, “Well, there
are just a little handful of us against the whole world.” It’s as if Jesus were saying to them, “It's
okay. Everything starts from something very, very small, but you have the potential
to take this kingdom to the ends of the earth.”
All of disciples put together wouldn't add up to a mustard seed. They were so small, so inadequate, so inconsequential,
so unqualified, so fearful, so faithless, so weak, and yet, they were the
kingdom Jesus planted. Sometimes our
lives feel small like this as well. The
mustard seed also describes how large the kingdom will grow. The prophets in the Old Testament saw a great
kingdom whose extent was staggering. For
example, in Psalm 72:8-11, it says, "He shall have dominion from sea to
sea, and the abundance of peace as long as the moon endures. He shall have
dominion from sea to sea from the river to the ends of the earth that they
dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him, and His enemies shall lick the
dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the islands shall bring presents, the kings
of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. All kings shall fall down before Him, all
nations shall serve Him." Isaiah
saw the same end result, "Enlarge the place of thy tent, let them stretch
forth the curtains of thine habitation, spare not, lengthen thy cords and
strengthen thy stakes (54:2)."
Jeremiah saw it. Amos saw it. Micah saw it. Zechariah saw it. We could read Scripture after Scripture stating
the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, would stretch from sea to sea,
from land to land, and cover the globe. Ultimately
the millennial kingdom will come and Jesus will reign like these verses
describe over the entire earth. God
wants to take our lives and make something large out of it for His glory. Not large in the earthly sense, but in the
kingdom sense.
Questions:
- Does your life sometimes feel incredibly small?
- Are you amazed that the Lord wants to take your small beginnings and turn them into something miraculously large?
Prayer: Father, so
often I pursue my own personal kingdom agendas and choose to remain small. Break through my sinful stubborn heart and
transform me into something large that brings You glory. Amen.
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