by Dave Wilkinson

Matthew 13:31-32, Ezekiel 17:22-24

December 1, 2002

Some alumni gather for a reunion on the tenth anniversary of their high school graduation. They scatter about in little groups and reminisce about the "good old days."

In one group the conversation turns to a classmate they all remember named Harvey. They all start telling their favorite Harvey stories.

One thing they all remember about Harvey is, whenever he was asked what he was going to do after high school he would reply, "I’m going to be a millionaire." The other thing they all remember about Harvey is that he wasn’t very bright. He was an especially dim bulb when it came to math. He was a man who expected to make millions, but he couldn’t add a column of figures.

Well the members of the group are deep into their stories when up drives a brand new, chauffeur driven Rolls Royce. Out steps Harvey wearing an expensive tailor-made suit and everything that goes with it. His classmates quickly gather round and start throwing questions at him. "Hey, Harvey, where did you get that car? What happened? Wow! Did you win the lottery? How did you do it?" Harvey said, "Well, you see, I came up with an invention that cost me five dollars to make and I sell it for one-hundred dollars. You’d be surprised how fast that ten percent profit adds up!"

Harvey still didn’t understand mathematics, but it didn’t matter, it worked!

In the parable we are looking at this morning, "The Parable of the Mustard Seed," Jesus describes something else that works—even if we do not understand how it works. He said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, and this is smaller than all the other seeds; but when it is full grown it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest it its branches."

Now this yet sound like an Advent passage. A December sermon should feature a Noble Fir, a poinsettia or mistletoe — but not mustard — unless, of course, you like mustard on your Honey Baked Ham. But hold on and you’ll understand why mustard words for this Christmas season.

In the parable Jesus uses a double image familiar from nature and from Scripture. In the Old Testament, a great tree with birds nesting in the branches was a symbol of human empire. In Ezekiel 31:6, for example, the Assyrian Empire is referred to as such a tree. In the vision of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the empire of Babylon is pictured as a tree "whose height was very great—and the beast of the earth found shade under it and the birds of the air dwelt in its branches."

But the true tree of empire is not the tree of Babylon which was stripped and chopped down in the vision. The true tree of empire is the kingdom of God. Human empires rise and fade away. God looks at a human empire, writes Ezekiel, and says: "Chop it down." "And all the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.—I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dig up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord. I have spoken and I will perform it."

A Pastor named Charles Coggins wrote: "I have observed the power of the watermelon seed. It has the power of drawing from the ground and through itself some 200,000 times its own weight. When you can tell me how it takes this material, and out of it colors the outside surface beyond the imagination of art, and then forms inside of it a white rind and within that again a red heart, thickly inlaid with seeds, each of which is capable of drawing through itself 200,000 times its own weight – when you have explained to me the mystery of the watermelon, you can ask me to explain the mystery of God."

The mystery of the watermelon is indeed great and the mystery of God is much greater. But the point of Christmas is that God has chosen to reveal Himself. And when God was here on earth, in the person of Jesus Christ, He told a story about the way He works in the world.

The story tells of "a certain man" who is sowing seed in his field. The seed he sows is the mustard seed which, though botanically not the smallest seed was proverbial in Palestine for its smallness. For example, the Jews talked of a drop of blood as small as a mustard seed; or if they were speaking of a tiny breach of the ceremonial law, they would speak of a defilement as small as a mustard seed. Jesus Himself spoke of faith as a grain of mustard seed.

We Californians are very familiar with mustard. It is beautiful in the fields when the almond trees are blossoming in February. But the mustard seed in the Middle East is not quite the same. There it grows as high as twelve feet. Birds of course would perch on the tree to eat the tiny black seeds. Jesus said that His kingdom is like this tiny seed -- and also like the great plant which comes from it.

Now no pious Jew doubted that the kingdom of God would come and that it would be vast and glorious. But here Jesus teaches that there is a basic connection between His own humble ministry and that future glory. The initial appearing of the seed may go almost without notice in the mass media of the time, but the result is nevertheless a mighty plant.

In the Old Testament book of Kings, the Prophet Elijah flees south to Mt. Horeb, rather than face the vicious and vindictive Queen Jezebel. God decides that Elijah needs a "refresher course" on "Who God Is and How God Works." God tells Elijah to "go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." He does as he is told and is treated to a remarkable spectacle. First a great and powerful wind tears the mountain apart and shatters the rocks before the Lord. Shortly afterwards comes an earthquake which is followed by a fire. Now none of this surprises Elijah, because He knows that God is big. The surprise is that the Lord is not in the earthquake, the wind or the fire, but in the gentle whisper of a breeze. This is the way God likes to work so often – in quiet and silence.

We look at Jesus as He teaches – surrounded by a small group of disciples. These are the men who will turn the world upside down. The seed is growing into the tree. When they were with Him the disciples spent a good deal of their time misunderstanding Jesus and irritating each other. But they were, nevertheless, the growth of the seed. At this Christmas season we come to see a mustard seed baby in a manger. And yet, this baby is given a name which is above every name: "That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

When God decided to invade planet earth with Himself and give fallen humanity a vision of His being and an experience of His person, He did not choose to come in His unveiled, unmistakable divine majesty and blow everyone right out of their unbelief. He chose instead a baby, a poor nation, a humble stable and a servant role. This is the mustard seed method of God.

The Gospel itself doesn’t sound like much. When you proclaim "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved," it doesn’t sound very impressive to some people. It’s so simple you can teach it to a child. The world does not regard this as tremendous, world shaking philosophy.

But let someone actually believe, and see what happens, let her really trust Christ and invite Him into her life, and it is the most revolutionary thing that can happen. It is the beginning of a radical change in her whole life. I’ve seen this in other people and I’ve seen it in myself. It’s a simple step after which a person is never the same again.

David Hubbard, late president of Fuller Seminary summarizes the message of the mustard seed this way: "Parable are never given for information," he writes. "They demand our response. Jesus’ aim was not just to sharpen the thinking of His disciples. It was to shape their living.

"I am sure that Jesus’ disciples are sometimes discouraged. They are so few and the world is so big. Jesus tells this parable because He wants His disciples to know that what is happening before their eyes was the beginning of the transformation of the world."

This is the paradox of the Christian experience. The Lord pointed to this when he told the parable of the mustard seed. His point is that faith isn’t an art form or a science. You don’t need great faith. But you do need faith in the One who can do great things.

"Don’t be discouraged by small beginnings, Jesus tells his disciples and us. Don’t be disheartened because God’s work seems hidden. Don’t be depressed by your inadequate human resources. All that is needed for God’s ultimate victory is already at work.

If the entire resources of Jesus and His disciples seem inadequate to start a small business, let alone establish a worldwide kingdom, remember the seed that grows while the farmer is asleep. Then trust God and wait.

Hubbard writes: "Most of what went with royalty was absent from Jesus’ ministry. And the situation is no different with us. Our churches are small and struggling; our enterprises lack prestige and influence. In wealth, in numbers, in reputation we live in the shadow of great universities, giant laboratories, massive industries and mammoth governments.

But is we – not they – who live in anticipation of victory. God’s kingdom will come in power. On that we can depend. And we do and will have a share in it. Our God is the God of the tiny mustard seed and the great tree it becomes. His are the kingdom, the power and the glory and we belong to Him.