Other Parables
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interest upon the throng, which was composed of all classes of society
and every nationality. There were the poor, the illiterate, the ragged
beggar, the robber with the seal of guilt upon his face, the sick, the
maimed, the dissipated, high and low, rich and humble, jostling each
other for a place to stand and hear the words of Jesus.
As they gazed, they asked themselves incredulously, Is the king-
dom of God composed of such material as this.? Jesus read their
thoughts, and replied to them by another parable:—
“Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what
comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed,
which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in
the earth. But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater
than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of
the air may lodge under the shadow of it.” Far and near the mustard
lifted itself above the grass and grain, waving its branches lightly in
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the air. Birds flitted from twig to twig and sang amid its leafy foliage.
Yet the seed from which sprang this giant plant, was the least of all
seeds. At first it had sent up a tender shoot; but it was of strong vitality,
and grew and flourished till it was of large proportions, and the birds
lodged under its shadow.
The people look upon the mustard, growing so vigorously about
them, and their minds are vividly impressed by the illustration Jesus
has used to point the truths of his doctrine. He thus declares that not
by force of arms, and the pomp and heraldry of war, is the kingdom of
Christ to be set up. But the work is of gradual development. Though
the beginning may be small, it will grow and strengthen till, like the
grain of mustard seed, it will reach, through imperceptible stages of
development, the majesty of greatness.
Jesus takes this poor little seed to illustrate his mighty truths. The
merest trifle is not beneath the notice of the great Teacher. Many were
there whose Christian experience began that day, and would be like
the symbol he had used, growing into strength and beauty, trampled
upon, yet still maintaining its vigorous life. This figure was indelibly
written upon the minds of hundreds who listened to the words of Jesus.
Never would they behold the rank-growing mustard, so plentiful in
that region, but they would be reminded of this parable of the Saviour,
and their hearts would remember the lesson that he taught concerning