Parables of the Kingdom

And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.” (NASB) Mark 4:30-32

Dr. L. H. Shinners, director of the herbarium at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and lecturer at the Smithsonian Institution, stated in a conversation that, “the mustard seed would indeed have been the smallest of those to have been noticed by the people at the time of Christ. The principal field crops (barley, wheat, lentils, and beans) have much larger seeds, as do other plants which might have been present as weeds and so forth. There are various weeds and wild flowers belonging to the mustard, amaranth, pigweed, or chickweed families with seeds that are as small as or smaller than mustard; but they would not have been known or noticed by the inhabitants. They are wild and they certainly would not have been planted as a crop . . . The only modern crop plant in existence with smaller seeds than mustard is tobacco, and this plant of American origin was not grown in the old world until the sixteenth century or later.”[2]

So Jesus referred to a plant that the audience would have understood starts out very small, almost dust-like, and becomes very large. In Matthew 13:31-32, the same parable is recorded, but there we are told that the mustard seed becomes a tree. Multiple sources indicate that the Palestine mustard plant can grow to twelve or fifteen feet in height. It is tall enough for the birds to nest in and hide under from the sun.

Some believe that the birds of the air are symbolic of demons and demonic activity. They believe the birds are the same as those in the parable of the “Sower and Seed” in Matt. 13:4. There we are told that the birds ate the seed that fell beside the road. Matthew 13:19 indicates that the birds are symbolic of the evil one who comes and takes away the Word of God so that people will not believe. Thus they conclude that all birds represent demonic activity. But the rest of scripture does not always refer to birds in a negative sense. In Matthew 6:26; 8:20; Luke 12:24; and James 3:7, birds are viewed in a positive sense.

Jesus’ parable very closely resembles the illustration given in Ezekiel 17:22-24 where God promised the Jews that He would establish Israel as a kingdom some day. In that passage God used the illustration of a sprig from a cedar tree that He would cultivate and grow into a tree. Eventually, the birds of every kind would nest under it. The birds in the Ezekiel passage represent the different nations of the world. Jesus and the ancient Israelites would have been familiar with the Ezekiel passage. This reveals that the point of Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed is that the kingdom of God will become enormous and spread over all the other kingdoms eventually becoming the greatest kingdom.

Parable of the Leaven. Jesus’ next parable is about a small lump of leaven that is put into some flour and eventually permeates all of the dough. In some ways it is similar to the parable of the mustard seed.

He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.” (NASB) Matt. 13:33

Some have concluded that the leaven has a negative meaning. It is important to notice that although leaven generally has a negative meaning in scripture, there are times when the meaning is positive. Leviticus 23:17 is a positive example. Notice that the kingdom of God is described as being like leaven. If the leaven has a negative meaning, then the kingdom of God has a negative meaning. Therefore, it is best to understand the leaven as simply an illustration of the fact that the kingdom of God will eventually be everywhere. It will be in every part of the world and in every city. The parable of the mustard seed taught us that the kingdom of God will be the greatest kingdom, and the parable of the leaven reveals that the kingdom will be everywhere at the end of the age.

Holy Spirit’s Side Note. At this point the Holy Spirit reminds us once again that Jesus spoke to the crowd only in parables and in no other way. He spoke in parables because they had rejected Him.

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” (NASB) Matt. 13:34-35

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (NASB) Matt. 13:44

Jesus does not describe the treasure or the field. That is not important to the parable. In Jesus’ day only wealthy people had financial banks for their riches. They would construct a building and then hire guards to protect their valuables. But there were no banks for the common person. As a result most people would bury their valuables in the ground inside their homes or out in a field. In this parable someone had hidden his treasure in his field. Unexpectedly, some man accidentally found it, probably while he was digging. Rather than tell the owner of the field, he quickly sold everything that he had and purchased the field from the unsuspecting and forgetful owner. Once he had bought the field, the treasure was his.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (NASB) Matt. 13:45-46

This time Jesus uses two Greek words to communicate the idea that this individual was very wealthy. The first Greek word is “all,” and the second word is “as many as” or “great.” The second word is not translated in our English Bibles. But both words together indicate that all of his many things were sold. This person was extremely rich, and he sacrificed everything he had in order to purchase the pearl. In the parable of the “Hidden Treasure,” the person sold all that he had. But the wealthy man in this parable buys the pearl after sacrificing his many riches. His sacrifice was very great. Both men sacrificed. The average man and the rich man sacrificed all to obtain the kingdom of God. Jesus used both parables to tell us how valuable the kingdom of heaven truly is.

Both parables teach us that we must be willing to sacrifice our treasures if we want to belong in the kingdom. What are your treasures? We all have them: entertainment, books, a boat, sex, money, stocks and bonds, status, church, ministry, a leadership position, friends, the kids, or the family. Are you willing to sacrifice them for God? If you are unwilling to sacrifice everything, then you are not like the man in the parable of the “Hidden Treasure” or the “Costly Pearl.” They sold everything. Jesus said this,

2. MacArthur, John. Matthew. vol. 2, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Moody Press. 1987. p. 369.