Matters that are neither important nor impressive are brushed off and dubbed small potatoes. Small potatoes can appear small and insignificant. But one ought never to judge things according to their appearance. Small things possess great potential. Dripping water over time can cut channels into granite.
The mustard seed is something small with great potential. This tiny seed can spout into a shrub reaching up to around ten feet in height. [1] Jesus likened the tiny seemingly insignificant mustard seed to the kingdom of God: “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches” (Luke 13:18-19). [2] What a marvelous spectacle, from a tiny seed sprouts a mustard shrub full of branches for birds to nest upon.
Comparatively speaking, the mustard seed is, as Jesus said, “the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants” (Mk. 4:31-32; cf. Matt. 13:32). The disciples would have been very familiar with mustard and for them the mustard plants had the smallest seeds which sprouted to the largest of shrubs in the spice garden. Sure, an orchid seed is smaller, yet mustard seeds were the more common and familiar sort to Jesus’ audience, who were first century agrarians from the regions of Galilee and Judea.[3]
The mustard seed parable illustrates the humble beginnings of the Christian movement. During His earthly ministry, Jesus’ followers were but a small, inconspicuous group, yet over time we find people from all tribes, tongues, and nations flocking into the Church, like birds coming to nest upon the branches of the mustard plant. Yes, those who come to Christ find a place of shelter and rest within God’s ever-growing kingdom.
Another seemingly unimportant and unimpressive small thing is leaven. Leaven is basically a fermented lump of dough full of yeast spores. Knead leaven into a batch of dough, the yeast grows, fermentation happens, and the dough rises.[4] The baker can then make buns and rolls of bread rather than matza crackers. Thus, Jesus said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened” (Lk.13:20-21).
The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven lump illustrate the way that even the smallest things have the potential to become something of unparalleled significance. This is true for the first followers of Jesus. At the time of the telling of the mustard and yeast parables, Jesus’ disciples numbered no more than one hundred twenty, which included the twelve, the women, and the seventy-two (cf. Acts 1:15; Lk. 6:12-16; 8:1-3; 10:1). None imagined that “the mighty kingdom everyone expects could issue from apparently obscure beginnings—like Jesus and the disciples.”[5] The Lord wanted to assure His followers that the eventual growth and influence of their community was certain.[6]
Jesus wanted to assure His followers that the movement they belonged would continue to flourish despite their relatively small numbers and whatever resistance they would experience from opponents of the Christ.[7] Those reading Luke’s Gospel would then “have hope that despite the humble beginnings of this community, the kingdom will come to have a dominating presence and will provide shelter and calm. God’s plan is advancing. Opposition, whether human or spiritual, cannot stop its realization in the world.”[8]
Christianity grew and flourished after Pentecost, and by the latter half of the first century the followers of Christ could be found throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. To church at Colossae, Paul indicated, “the gospel…has come to you, as indeed in the whole world” and “the gospel that you heard…has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven” (Col. 1:5b-6, 23). Thomas is believed to have introduced Christianity to Parthia, India, and other faraway lands.[9]
God has come down to dwell among us in the person of Christ Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Savior. He calls us to come alongside Him to experience life in God’s kingdom. It is alongside Jesus that we experience the long-awaited Jubilee spoken of by the ancient prophets, which is good news for the poor, liberty for the captive, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed (Lk. 4:18-19; cf. Isa. 61:1, 2; Lev. 25:10). Jesus brings us to the Heavenly Father from whom flows our daily bread, forgiveness of sin, and guidance away from temptation (Lk. 11:2-4; cf. Matt. 6:9-13). God thus transforms us totally from the inside out, just as the lump of leaven leavens the entire batch of bread dough.
Moreover, the influence of God’s kingdom affects every sphere of our earthly lives. William Hendriksen explains,
The believer’s purpose is not merely to get to heaven when he dies, or only to be an instrument in God’s hand to bring others there, but everywhere to bring every thought of whatever kind into submission to, and therefore harmony with, the mind and will of Christ (see 2 Cor. 10:5); that is, to demand that not only every tongue but also every “domain of life” shall exalt him. Therefore Christ’s true follower actively promotes such causes as the abolition of slavery, the restoration of women’s rights, the alleviation of poverty, the repatriation, if practicable, of the displaced (if not practicable then help of some other kind), the education of the illiterate, the reorientation of fine arts along Christian lines, etc. He promotes honesty among those who govern and those who are governed, as well as in business, industry, and commerce. He does all this not apart from but in connection with, in fact as part and parcel of, the evangelization of the world. That this “yeast” of the rule of Christ in human hearts, lives, and spheres has already exerted a wholesome influence in thousands of ways, and that this influence is still continuing, is clear to all who have eyes to see. All one has to do is to compare conditions—for example, the treatment of prisoners of war, of women, of workmen, of the underprivileged—in countries where Christ’s rule has not yet become acknowledged to any great extent with those existing in nations where this principle has already been operative for some time on a generous scale.[10]
Yeast effectively working in the dough then symbolizes the subtle yet powerful nature of the kingdom of God’s influence. It highlights the transformative and hidden impact of the kingdom. Life in God’s kingdom brings forth a positive spiritual transformation that extends beyond the self and into all spheres of life. The Apostle Paul writes on this diffusion of God’s kingdom throughout the world: “Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Cor. 2:14).
Luke 13:18-21 employs the vivid imagery of the mustard seed and yeast to communicate profound truths about the kingdom of God. The parables emphasize the transformative and inclusive nature of the kingdom, reflecting the historical trajectory of the Christian movement from humble beginnings to global influence. Christ Jesus’ earthly ministry had but a small following — the Twelve, the seventy-two, a group of women — but the seminal Christian community was far from small potatoes, they grew to influence the world.
— WGN
[1] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 13:19–21.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 13:18–21.
[3] See Hank Hanegraaff, The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition Revised and Updated (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 217-219.
[4] The yeast spores feed off the sugar and starches in the dough and release carbon dioxide, it is the bubbles of carbon dioxide that cause the dough to rise. The yeast spores are either carried by circulating air and deposited onto the dough or introduced via something fermented with yeast, such as the leftover must from the making of wine.
[5] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 13:19–21.
[6] The imagery of yeast in this parable is given a positive twist. God’s kingdom grows into something good. However, yeast is also used in a negative sense elsewhere in the Scriptures. Israelites were to remove all leaven from the community in preparation for Passover (Ex. 12:15; 13:7; Deut. 16:4). Grain offerings were never to have leaven in them (Lev. 2:11; 6:17). On the other hand, first fruit offerings and peace offerings were consisted of loaves made with yeast (Lev. 7:13; 23:17). The strongest negative connotation associated with yeast is the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herod, i.e., their hypocritical teachings, which the disciples of Jesus are to reject (Matt. 16:6, 12; Mk. 18:5; Lk. 12:1). Christians are to clear out the old leaven of sin and experience the Passover of Christ with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Cor. 5:7-8).
[7] Prior to the telling of the parables of the mustard seed and leaven, Luke tells of a synagogue ruler who became indignant because Jesus healed a woman on the Sabbath, though she had suffered eighteen years with a disabling spirit (Lk. 13:20-17). Jesus was also condemned by scribes and Pharisees for healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath (Lk. 6:6-11). There were even those who accused Jesus of performing miracles by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons (Lk. 11:14-26). Even after Christ ascended, Christians faced the opposition of many antichrists.
[8] Darrell Bock, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Luke, vol. 3, ed. Grant R. Osborne (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994) 244.
[9] cf. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.1.1-2; Gregory of Nazianzen, Orations 33.11; Jerome, Letter LIX: to Marcella; Gregory of Tours, Glory of the Martyrs, 1.31
[10] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke, vol. 11, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 704–705.
Love Truth Blog 