Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

[HKHaugan]

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

 “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 birds of the air come and perch in its branches (13:31-32).”

 Three things really stand out here. The size of the seed, the way it grows and what it produces.

 First, its size as a seed. If we think about ourselves as individuals in the world, we are really talking about being one in 7 billion, small, insignificant and immediately confronted with our inadequacies. By horizontal comparison, we struggle to exist and search for something that will give us meaning and purpose. So, we follow the example and direction of our parents and local culture. They are largely non-relational goals. Educated and choosing some basic profession, we make our way through the world of people, trying our best and learning as we go. Still the smallest of seeds, we hope to find our place somewhere. But the choices may bring us into competitions we lose, disillusions that slow us down and realizations that finally shape a negative and rigid set of attitudes about the world in general and about people in particular. This is our self-protective attitude without God.

 But suppose we have a different attitude.   Suppose we accept the fact that we may be small seed, one in 7 billion, but our source is the Lord God, this turns everything around and means we have a meaning and purpose. Our size is determined by the quality of our relationships and what they produce, not our physical appearance or economic success. We are images of God designed to be creative and productive like Him. We are huge in the Spirit and created to live with an eternal perspective. When we discard the temporary worldly standards of success and let the Lord Jesus be our example, a wholly different attitude consumes us. Smallness, insignificance and fear take a back seat. It is our spiritual relationship, our relationship with the Lord of relationship, that gives us our real size, meaning, direction and purpose each day. Out of that relationship our choices become influenced by the One who created us, and we find that His purposes prevail for each and every moment we are here.

Second, growth is not determined by how much we accumulate, the number of people we know casually or the fame we achieve. Again, growth is found in the quality of the relationships we work at. In Jesus, we build our relationship with Him, grow in that relationship by dealing with everyone we meet in terms of His direction through the Holy Spirit. It is growing in our knowledge of the Lord, the faith we have in Him in every next moment, that opens the doors to the hearts of others, opens the doors to the professions we are led to seek and become involved in, and opens the doors to the enjoyment of the world He has given us. Real growth is in the stability, confidence and peace we sense along His way.

 Third, personal faith is the key to growing and what we produce spiritually is what we contribute to the lives of others. That is the tree. For each of us being a tree, the branches we grow are those along the relational way He has set for us. But it is not a lonely tree. It is one that possesses the branches of spiritual gifts and the fruit of the Spirit that bring that growth. It is one in a forest of productive trees where many birds come and find nourishment in their branches. The trees and the forest make up the worldwide Body of Christ. The birds are those not only inside but outside the Body who have benefited from its presence. Its mission is to draw as many as possible to perch and then to become part of the tree. So, the tree has a mission and a ministry, to draw others to it and to minister to all who perch on it, whether they believe or not.

 “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 (vs.33).”

 Yeast generally is used negatively in regard to the attitudinal bearing of the Pharisees and Sadducees, but in this case carries a positive quality. Think of how a woman kneads bread. She takes the dough and rolls it over and over until it is ready for baking. She makes sure the yeast is totally mixed in. So, it is the consistency of belief, trust and faith kneaded together that produce over a period of time. When Jesus talks about forgiveness, he goes beyond seven times but calls for it to be given seventy times seven. He also tells us about the persistent widow who, many times, brings her concern before a judge who finally gives her what she wants (Lk.18:1-8). And, of course, we have the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk.15:11-32) whose patient faithful father gave his son the right to exercise his desire to leave the family compound. The growth took place as the son faced, failed and finally found himself as his father’s son and returned to him. Our hearts do really belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus returns us to Him. In the prodigal we see the yeast of repentance, faith and humility kneaded together to bring him home.

 In the final analysis, it is the overcomer, the one who understands repentance and forgiveness, who lives life in the Lord’s context, the overcomer is the one who enters the Kingdom and eats from the tree of life (Rev.2:11). The cares of this world with all its distractions, the mistakes we make, the learning when hard times come, these are the overcomer’s experiences. For the overcomer, the Lord rewards him because He was faithful.