As a Grain of Mustard Seed...

The hidden power of the Kingdom of God

During the Second Temple period it was common to liken a very small amount of something to be a “mustard seed,” as for example when Yeshua said: “If you have faith as grain of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there, and it shall move” (Matt. 17:20). Yeshua also likened the transformation of the tiny mustard seed into a large plant to illustrate the how the kingdom of God grows from a minuscule beginning into something prodigious and wonderful: “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field, which is the among the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown it becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches" (Matt. 13:31-32).

Yeshua points to the hidden workings of a tiny seed buried in the earth that would mysteriously bring forth a place of refuge and beauty. The mustard seed is inconspicuous, lowly, and does not produce a mighty tree like the exalted cedar or brawny oak, but it produces a habitation for life where the birds of the air find refuge and perch among its branches.

Man looks on the outside, but the LORD looks upon the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). Yeshua’s parable of the lowly mustard seed was intended to teach that we should consider matters from an eternal perspective. Recall that that the Tabernacle (or “Mishkan”) was a relatively small tent-like structure when compared to the grandiose monuments of ancient Egypt, and yet that is where the LORD chose to symbolize his Presence among his people. The world is impressed with proud structures and symbols of temporal power, but God's kingdom is marked by the seemingly small, the overlooked, and the insignificant… Like the hidden light of the menorah in the Tabernacle, the deeds of the humble are beheld inwardly, where the Heavenly Father sees in secret (Matt. 6:4). To the heart of the trusting one Yeshua says: כִּי מַלְכוּת הָאֱלהִים בְּקִרְבְּכֶם / “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).

As I have mentioned before, there is a “transposition” of values, a “holy irony,” in the realm of the Spirit. From God’s perspective that which considered great in the eyes of men is considered of little account, and that which is considered insignificant in the eyes of men is considered of great importance (Luke 9:48). The wisdom of this world (i.e., pragmatic, self-promoting egotism, etc.) is regarded as folly before God (1 Cor. 1:20, 3:19). Therefore Yeshua “made himself nothing” and disguised himself in the form of a lowly servant (ἀλλὰ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών).

Like the seed that has to die and be buried in the earth to bear fruit, so we must mortify ourselves in humility (John 12:24). “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life will save it” (Luke 17:33). Yeshua Himself was crucified in weakness. He did not overcome evil in his own strength but yielded himself to God's providential will. By so doing, his weakness was transformed into the power of the redemption of God (2 Cor. 13:4). To the jaded eye of godless worldliness, Yeshua's death signaled defeat and failure, and yet God's way of doing things is often the very opposite of what we might expect. Again, the LORD chooses the lowly, the inconsequential, and the powerless to overthrow the vanity and variegated delusions spawned from human pride.

This is the basic pattern. God begins small, in hidden ways, and with the most unlikely of people, to do his will. From a carnal perspective Yeshua's disciples were a gaggle of misfits and nobodies, but from God's perspective they represented the miracle of a heart transformed by his power and splendor. God's kingdom is “not of this world,” and that means that it will never enjoy the prominence of worldly glory.

The “mustard seed” of faith means that it is not our great faith in God that matters as much God’s great power to transform our hearts. We must be careful not to turn faith into a disguised form of works righteousness: Our faith is what it is only by virtue of the greatness and goodness of the Living God who delivers and heals us from our fallen estate.

The life of the seed is a hidden miracle (i.e., nes nistar: נֵס נִסתָר), its death, burial, and regeneration reveal the principles of the kingdom embodied in Lord Yeshua our Savior. Just as the cross of Messiah appears foolish and confounds the eyes of the world, the eye of faith beholds it as the revelation of the power of God. As it is written: “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:27-29). Indeed, as the world regards the message of the gospel to be “foolishness,” the Lord regards the “wisdom” of the world to be a trap for the proud of heart: For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them” (Job 5:13).

The seed of faith represents the divine life of God within the heart (1 Pet. 1:23). And just as the seed works “automatically” to yield its fruit (Mark 4:26), so the Spirit of God produces the fruit of God's Spirit in the life of the believer. This is an unconscious process realized by the grace and mercy of God. “Who despises the day of small things?” the Lord asks (Zech. 4:10).” Be still and know that I am the LORD who heals you” (Exod. 15:26; Psalm 103:1-3).

God hides that we may seek him. “Behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12). The Hebrew phrase for “still small voice” (i.e., kol demamah dakah: קוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה) means “a calm, crushed voice,” that is, the voice of the Savior of Israel who surrendered himself as the Promised Seed who would die, be buried, and be raised up to produce the fruit of the Spirit in those who put their trust in Him.

Yeshua, indeed, is the "Mustard Seed" of our confession -- seemingly small but when sown within the heart of faith becomes the habitation of the very presence of God...

Psalm 97:11

אוֹר זָרֻעַ לַצַּדִּיק וּלְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵב שִׂמְחָה

“Light is sown [shines] for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.”

Psalm 97:11 Hebrew page (pdf)

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