The Mustard Seed PrincipleSample

What was the meaning of a mustard seed in the Jewish context?

Matthew 13:31-32 (BSB) - "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."

The mustard seed is not the smallest of seeds; the seed of the cypress tree, for instance, is still smaller, but in the Middle East, it was proverbial for smallness. For example, the Jews spoke of a drop of blood as small as a mustard seed; or, if they were discussing some tiny breach of the ceremonial law, they would speak of a defilement as small as a mustard seed. Jesus used the phrase this way when he spoke of faith as the grain of a mustard seed. For the Jewish mind in Jesus' time, the point Jesus made was crystal clear: the kingdom of heaven often grows from small beginnings.

The point of the mustard seed is that we must not focus on the smallness of a kingdom seed. The Bible applies the smallness of a mustard seed in two ways. The first refers to small beginnings leading to remarkable results. Look at the story below.

A story: Edward Kimball was an ordinary, unremarkable man in the world's eyes — but he cared about the boys in his Sunday school class and took personal responsibility for them, not just by teaching them but also praying for them and trying to win them to Christ individually. One of those boys was Dwight L. Moody — a rough, unchurched teenager working at a shoe store. Kimball felt burdened for Moody's soul. Right there in the stockroom, Moody gave his life to Christ. Moody became one of the greatest evangelists of the 19th century, preaching to millions across America and Europe, leading 750,000 people to Christ.

Moody influenced a young preacher named F.B. Meyer, who became an influential evangelist in his own right. F.B. Meyer influenced J. Wilbur Chapman, who also became a well-known evangelist. Chapman mentored a young professional baseball player turned preacher named Billy Sunday, who rocked the early 20th century with massive evangelistic crusades. Billy Sunday heavily influenced a group of young businessmen, who invited Mordecai Ham, another evangelist.

In one of Mordecai Ham's meetings, a lanky teenager named Billy Graham walked forward and trusted Christ. And we all know the story of Billy Graham. But nearly nobody knows about Edward Kimball, who planted a mustard seed. (I wonder who Edward Kimball’s mother was.)