Now follows the second parable in this series of three, all three of which have a negative meaning. They speak of what goes ‘wrong’ with regard to the Kingdom of Heaven. We can see that we can classify these three parables together not only from the content, but also because they all start the same. With the next three parables we will see that they also form a series, with the same beginning.
31 He put forth another parable to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man takes and sows in his field.
mustard seed
Mustard seed is small (Mark 4:31), about 0.5 to 1 millimeter in size, but very powerful. The mustard made from it is concentrated and spicy in taste. The mustard we consume is also diluted, with water or vinegar. Mustard seed is a picture of faith in the Bible. It is nothing in the world, but it can move mountains (Matt. 17:20; Luke 17:6).
This is the third consecutive parable in which we find someone who sows. The sower (:3) and the man who sows (:24,31), are the same each time, it is the Lord himself (Matt. 13:37). We saw earlier that the field is a representation of the world (Matt. 13:38).
32 It is indeed smaller than all seeds, but when it is full-grown it is greater than vegetables, and it becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.
teaching about secrets of the Kingdom
We must realize that the Lord is not giving a biology lesson here about how a mustard plant develops. The Lord tells a parable and in this story there is hidden teaching that relates to the time in which the Kingdom would be hidden. After all, the parables speak about the secrets (>hidden things) of the Kingdom (:11).
In the parable of the sower, which has a neutral meaning, we saw that most of the seed does not fall on good soil and some does and that produces fruit. The parable of the tares has a negative meaning and we saw that tares are sown among the wheat that looks exactly like the wheat, but it is the work of the adversary.
mustard tree
And also in the parable of the mustard seed something negative happens. Because it is not normal for a mustard seed to grow into a tree. The mustard plant is a shrub that grows to about 1-1.5 meters high. It also says that it grows larger than all vegetables or garden crops. That is not normal, because mustard belongs to the vegetables. In the parable it grows into a tree and that is not right. Just like in the parable of the weeds, it speaks about what would go wrong.
Mustard seed (>faith) was sown by the Lord in the world, something that is nothing in the world. But religion would take control of the words of the Lord and (the Christian) religion would become great, with roots and branches in the world and with political and financial power.