The Parables of the Lord Jesus Christ
9 - The Mustard Seed and the Yeast
This time we are discovering two short parables of the Lord Jesus found in the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 13 verses 31 to 33. They are the stories of the mustard seed and of the yeast. Here they are:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
The people to whom Jesus told these parables were very familiar with the pictures he used. The mustard plant has yellow flowers and tiny black or white seeds in pods and, as this story tells us, it is capable of vast development. Yeast is still used in making bread, to make the dough rise during the baking process. Yeast is also known as leaven and is translated in this way in some versions of the Bible.
These two parables are a pair and they actually go together to make the point that Jesus wanted to teach the people. You will note that both refer to "the kingdom of heaven." This first one, about the mustard seed, refers to the kingdom's outward growth. The yeast refers to its inward growth. The two cannot be separated for what is true inwardly must be expressed outwardly. The Holy Spirit of God does His work in the human heart and it becomes evident in the outward life. The spiritual root is in the heart and then the spiritual fruit is in the life. So if there is no root there will be no fruit.
These two parables are actually a great encouragement to us as believers in Christ. They remind us that God is at work all through this age in which we live. It is the age of the Gospel and of his grace towards mankind. The story of the mustard seed is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, perhaps emphasising its importance. Here is a tiny, seemingly insignificant seed planted in a field and yet it grows and grows until it is a tall tree and the birds can perch in its branches. This plant is still seen in Israel today and can grow to some three to five metres in height. In the Autumn when its branches have become strong and rigid, birds of many species find a welcome shade from the heat of the sun or a shelter in the storm. According to Jesus the kingdom of God, in its outward visible form, is just like that. From what was a seemingly insignificant beginning there will be very great and remarkable results.
The disciples and the other followers of Jesus were often impatient. They were small and weak and insignificant in the world's eyes and at times they were tempted to despair. So often it seems they were looking for revolutionary changes to take place there and then. They had their eyes on the material rather than the spiritual. They were thinking about the many Old Testament prophecies regarding Israel and its glorious future prosperity and final significance. The same Old Testament teaches us that spiritually, great results generally develop from very small beginnings. The New Testament teaches the same principle and the message of this first little parable is that we must be patient, be faithful, trusting that God will work out his purposes concerning his kingdom. Keep on praying, keep on working for your Master. There is precious seed to sow and there will be a wonderful harvest.
This parable is actually a prophecy that has already been partly fulfilled, as we can see from Matthew chapter twenty-four and verse fourteen where Jesus says: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." The progress of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has taken many centuries. That which began with just a handful of disciples has grown and grown until millions have been brought by faith in Christ into the kingdom of God. From the beginning on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles the message has been proclaimed in nation after nation. It is a wonderful story of how that which was small and seemingly insignificant has gone around the world bearing fruit.
This parable is about the establishing of the kingdom of God in individual lives. The Holy Spirit begins his work within as He convicts of sin and of righteousness and the judgement to come. His work continues as He brings repentance and new birth and faith in the Saviour. The Spirit will continue his work until the day of grace is ended and the church of the Lord Jesus is complete. Christ said that He would build his church and the very gates of hell, all the opposition of Satan and his servants, will not prevail against it. Jesus is the Lord and Saviour of the Christian believer and the work He has begun in us He will bring to completion. Although there may be times of failure on our part, and times when we are spiritually low and weak, He remains faithful.
The second parable about the yeast also reminds us that the work of the Lord in establishing his kingdom in hearts and lives goes on quietly but powerfully, out of sight, but with very visible results. The woman in this story takes a huge quantity of yeast with which to make her bread. It amounted to around twenty-two litres! Yeast once mixed into the dough continues its process of fermentation until the whole batch has risen. So also the citizens of God's kingdom are to be the leaven of the societies in which they live, working to bring about the rule of Christ. They are, to use another picture, to be salt and light in a corrupt and dark world. As Christians we should care about society. We should care about justice and speak out against oppression and indecency and dishonesty. That which speaks the loudest must be the way we live our lives as upright, honest, decent and pure citizens, so influencing, like the active yeast, the societies where God has placed us.
Above all we must recognise that the greatest need of our families and friends and colleagues at work, is spiritual. We do not ignore the material and physical needs of those around us for the Lord Jesus Himself reached out in love to heal and to feed the needy, but it is the desperate need of the human soul that is the greatest need. So as Christians we should be those who take the message of Christ to those around us with hearts that are burdened for the lost. God is at work and He calls us to work with Him in the evangelisation of the world.
As we look back over the history of the church, we see God working in hearts and lives. We see one of the great persecutors of the early Christians, Saul of Tarsus, becoming an apostle of Jesus Christ and the church's first great missionary. So as believers in Christ we must be encouraged by these two small parables told by Jesus. The kingdom of heaven is like a tiny mustard seed which, when it is finally grown, becomes like a great tree in which many find salvation and a place of security. That "tree" is still growing and will do so until Christ comes again to take his church home to glory. It is like yeast which, when put in the measures of flour, causes great growth. So it is with the gospel of Christ when it is sent out into the world, it spreads and grows and brings spiritual life and blessing to all who will believe.