Skip to main content

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” — Mark 4:30-32 ESV

Ground Balls in the Sun

Last Friday, my son and I went to a local college summer league baseball game. In the top of the fourth inning, a batter for the visiting team rapped a sharp ground ball that bounced toward center field. Our home standing O’Fallon Hoots’ shortstop ran over to field the ball, but then put up his hands and turned away. It turns out the setting sun flashed right in his eyes and he couldn’t see the ball, which went on into center field for a hit. My son Josh looked at me and said, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Consider a Mustard Seed

Ground balls in the sun are not the only unexpected things in life. Jesus was known for using strange word pictures for His teachable moments. In our passage above, Jesus proclaims, “Hey, if we want to talk about my reign and realm in this world, have you ever considered a mustard seed?” Now, those in the crowd at that moment would know what Jesus was talking about. The mustard seed that Jesus referred to was about a millimeter in diameter; that’s about the thickness of a credit card! It took 750 individual seeds to come up to the mass of one gram; that’s about the weight of a paper clip! So why does Jesus use something so tiny as a reference point?

I suspect Jesus is saying, “Yeah, I know this is how the kingdom of God appears to the naked eye, to the eyes of those who ignore or don’t care about God’s kingdom. But we know what the mustard seed does.” Indeed, when the mustard seed hit ancient soil, the contact between ground and seed brought about a reaction in which the seed would germinate at once. The seed’s growth would be so insanely rapid that it was impossible to get rid of (imagine kudzu plants in the American Deep South), and a mustard bush plant could get eight to ten feet—or greater—in height. Plenty of room, as Jesus notes, for birds to plop down and chill in the shade.

Yes, Jesus is saying, the kingdom of God doesn’t look like much to many people, but there is an energy and vitality to how the kingdom expands that is dizzyingly wonderful. Nothing can stop Jesus from growing and expanding His kingdom in this world, absolutely nothing.

Sheaves of Corn

The Scottish pastor William Barclay told of an event that took place in London during World War II. During the first week of September 1940, there was a church there preparing for its harvest festival the next Sunday. However, that Saturday, September 7th, brought the first of the blitzes from the Nazi air force, which would continue well into 1941. The next day, the church was a pile of rubble. There had been sheaves of corn on a table in the church and they were now under a heap of ruins. The bombing kept up during the nights, and autumn passed into winter and winter into spring. During the early days of spring, several people went into the church and noticed a splash of color among the ruins; there was a small area with little green shoots in it. Summer passed into autumn, and once again some church members came to the bomb site where the church had been. Amazingly, standing there in the midst of the rubble was a vibrant, flourishing patch of corn. No bombs or fire or destruction could stop the corn from sowing its seeds and growing.

Advancement of God’s Kingdom

This goes beyond the advance and growth of the kingdom of God, to be sure. There is more encouragement here than just for pastors and church growth specialists. There is spillover for all of Jesus’ followers, as well. Jesus is so determined to keep His kingdom going, He will stop at nothing to see the grand story of its advance reach its conclusion. If King Jesus is so doggedly passionate about the big thing of the kingdom, then surely we can trust Him for all the details of life, both great and small.

The King who rules the world is the same Friend who sits with you when you suffer loss and weep. The Monarch who expands His rule on earth is the Merciful One who provides grace in every time of need. We can indeed say, along with the Apostle Paul,

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” — 2 Timothy 4:18 ESV

So don’t panic, even when circumstances seem to push back against the steps you take on your journey of faith. Let your confidence be in the Crucified Messiah who is truly in control of His kingdom and all matters that exist within it. There is no plot of territory that is outside of His gracious reign, and His kingdom is forever.


For more from Rev. Luke Davis, check out his latest book Tough Issues, True Hope: A Concise Journey through Christian Ethics

If God rescues us to be his people, then how can our lives demonstrate our love for him? Luke Davis takes us on a journey through some of the big questions in the arena of Christian ethics, highlighting why our ideas matter. He helps us to have a firm grasp of what the issue is, what God’s Word has to say about it, and what practical impact that has on our lives.

Rev. Luke H. Davis

Luke H. Davis serves as Theology department chairman at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis. He has authored books in the Cameron Ballack Mysteries and the Merivalkan Chronicles, as well as Tough Issues, True Hope. He has also penned lyrics to over fifty new hymns and ordinarily blogs at For Grace and Kingdom. An ordained deacon in the Anglican Church in North America, Luke lives with his wife Christi and their family in St. Charles, Missouri.

Leave a Reply

Pin It on Pinterest