Sermon #17 Series:
Mark
Title: The Parable Of The Mustard Seed
Text: Mark 4:30-34
Readings: Office: Rex Bartley Auditorium: Buddy Daugherty
Subject: The Growth of God’s Kingdom in the World
Date: Sunday Afternoon - April 6, 1997
Tape # T-57
Introduction:
In our text today, our Savior employs
another of his parables to teach us spiritual truth. Remember, parables are common, familiar earthly
illustrations of spiritual, heavenly truths. In this case, the parable
is drawn from a commonly used proverbial expression during the days of our
Lord’s earthly ministry. My subject tonight is The Parable Of The Mustard Seed.
Mark 4:30-34 "And he said,
Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we
compare it? (31) 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: (32) 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. (33) And with many such
parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. (34) But without a parable spake he
not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his
disciples."
Though it is never mentioned in the
Old Testament, many varieties of mustard plants grew in abundance in and around
Palestine. Some grew in the wild. Others were cultivated for various purposes.
In the New Testament it is mentioned only by our Savior. Twice he compares true faith to a grain of mustard seed.
Matthew 17:14-21 "And when they
were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, (15) Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatic, and sore
vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. (16) And I brought him to thy
disciples, and they could not cure him.
(17) Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how
long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. (18) And Jesus rebuked the devil; and
he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. (19)
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast
him out? (20) And Jesus said unto
them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this
mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall
be impossible unto you. (21) Howbeit this kind goeth not out but
by prayer and fasting."
Luke 17:3-6 "Take heed to
yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent,
forgive him. (4) And if he trespass
against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee,
saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
(5) And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. (6) And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might
say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou
planted in the sea; and it should obey you."
In
both of these places, our Lord uses mustard seed to illustrate faith. I
cannot expound these passages now, or I could not get to my text; but I cannot
ignore them, simply because mustard seed is mentioned only five times in the
Word of God. When it is used to illustrate faith, as in Matthew 17:20 and Luke
17:6, it teaches us four specific things about the character of true faith.
1.
True,
saving faith, begins as a very small thing - A Grain of Mustard Seed.
The fact is, true believers always
recognize that their faith is a small, very small thing. We often look upon our
brothers and sisters in Christ as being men and women of great faith; but
anyone who thinks he has great faith probably has no faith at all.
2.
It
is not the greatness of our faith, but the greatness of our God and Savior, the
Object of our faith, that gives it merit, power, and efficacy.
Far too many have faith in their
faith, which is to say they have faith in themselves. We must never imagine
that there is some mystical power to faith. The power of our faith is Christ
the Object of our faith. It is not our faith that moves the mountain of our
sins or plucks up the sycamore tree of trouble; but the blood of Christ and the
power of Christ, who is the Object of or faith. The question is not, “How
much faith do I have;” but “What is the object of my faith?” Great faith in
an idol is as useless as spitting in the wind; but faith even as a grain of
mustard seed in the God of glory is mighty, effectual, saving faith.
3.
With
God, nothing is impossible; and therefore, “Jesus
said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that
believeth” (Mk. 9:23).
Nothing can stand in the way of, hinder, or defeat that man
and those people who, being called of God, believe him. It was impossible for Egypt
to destroy Israel because Moses believed God. It was impossible for the Red
Sea to stop the march of God’s elect because Moses believed God. The walls
of Jericho must fall. Joshua believed God. The land of Canaan
must be possessed. Caleb believed God. The Philistine giant had to die
because David, defending the cause of God’s glory and his people believed God. Jairus’
daughter had to live. He believed God. The centurion’s servant must
rise. That centurion believed God. Our Savior was not lying when he said, “If
thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” “If thou
wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God.”
4.
Yet,
nothing is more abominably wretched than the paralyzing effect of unbelief.
When the Lord Jesus came into his own land, among his own
people, we read, “He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief”
(Matt. 13:58). Just in proportion as we believe God, we experience his
power and grace. Just in proportion as believe him, we see his glory. Nothing
is as costly as unbelief!
Isaiah 48:16-19 "Come ye near
unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the
time that it was, there am I: and now
the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
(17) Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee
to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that
thou shouldest go. (18) O that thou hadst hearkened to my
commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the
waves of the sea: (19) Thy seed also
had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof;
his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me."
“Of all the sad words of tongue and pen,
The saddest are these:
‘What might have been!’”
Now, I want us to look at our text. In
this passage, Mark records the same parable recorded by Matthew (13:31) and
Luke (13:19).
Proposition: The
purpose of the parable is to assure us of the certain growth and blessedness of
Christ’s church and kingdom in this world.
Divisions: As
we look at this short prophetic parable, I want to show you five things from it.
1.
The Veracity of Scripture
2.
The Growth of God’s Kingdom
3.
The Sanctifying Influence of the Church
4.
The Mixed Inhabitants of Zion
5.
The Method of Our Lord’s Teaching
I.
The Veracity of Holy Scripture
Ignorant men who think themselves
wise, reprobate men who think themselves spiritual, pass judgment upon the Word
of God. They claim to be Christians, claim to be people of faith, and claim to
honor Christ, while denying the veracity of the Bible. Just a day or two ago, I
heard a man in an interview with ABC News say, “I believe the Bible; but I
don’t take it word for word.” A woman, in the same segment said, “I believe the
Bible is the inspired Word of God; but I do not think you have to take it all
literally.” Regrettably, those comments fairly well represent the opinions of
most who profess to be Christians in our day.
In this day of spiritual darkness and
perversion, there is almost a universal abandonment of belief in the plenary
inspiration of God’s holy, inerrant Word. Rejecting the veracity and
consequently the authority of Holy Scripture, men and women everywhere are
turning to necromancy, astrology, and sorcery for spiritual counsel and aid.
“Satan assumes the garb of an angel of
light and his deceptions in this disguise are deadly.” John Hazelton
Isaiah 8:19-20 "And when they
shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards
that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the
living to the dead? (20) To the law
and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
You may be thinking, “Pastor, why are
you talking about those who deny the veracity of Holy Scripture in the
exposition of the parable of the mustard seed?” I am glad you asked.
Frequently, those who think they are
smarter than God point to this parable to show that our Savior was either
ignorant or misinformed, because he spoke of the mustard seed as the smallest
of all seeds and of the mustard plant as a tree. Those who make such judgments
are ignorant and misinformed.
A.
When our Lord
said that the mustard seed is “the
smallest of all seeds in the earth, he was not talking about all seeds
without exception, but all the seeds a man sews in his garden.
B.
Though we
usually think of mustard plants as bushy, leafy plants, there is a variety of
mustard that grows into a pretty good size tree like plant, sort of like a
banana tree in size.
We must never allow men, with their
imaginary proofs of inaccuracies in the Bible shake our faith in the Word of
God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto
all good works."
II. The Growth of God’s Kingdom
Like faith in the heart, the church and
kingdom of God in this world began as a very small thing. The expression, as a grain of mustard seed was a common,
proverbial saying among the Jews, referring to anything small and
insignificant. As a rule, God’s works in the world are always looked upon by
men as trivial, insignificant. Certainly, that is the way it was with the
Church of the New Testament.
A.
Those who were chosen to be the foundational apostles of
Christ’s kingdom were poor, unlettered fishermen.
B.
He who is the Lord and Master of this Church, the King of
this Kingdom, was a despised Nazarene, a crucified Jew.
C.
The doctrine proclaimed by this Church, the doctrine which
they preached everywhere, was the doctrine of grace, life, and eternal
salvation by the merit and efficacy of a crucified Substitute.
In the eyes of men, nothing could have
been less likely to be successful, nothing could have been more despicable,
nothing could have been more offensive. Yet, this was God’s work, God’s Church,
and God’s Kingdom.
D.
Once planted, this Church and Kingdom grew into a great
Kingdom.
Our Lord’s parable here was prophetic.
He was telling his disciples not to despise the day of small things. Though it
appeared a small, despicable thing, like mustard seed, the Lord here prophesied
that his Church would become a great, large Kingdom. He said, As the mustard
plant grows to be the greatest of all herbs, so shall my church grow to be the
greatest of all kingdoms.
So it has come to pass. It began to
grow on the day of Pentecost. 3000 were born into his Kingdom on that day. The
Church grew so rapidly that nothing can account for it except the finger of
God. A few days after Pentecost, 5000 were added to the Church at once.
Wherever God’s servants went preaching the gospel, it proved to be the power of
God unto salvation.
Romans 1:14-17 "I am debtor
both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. (15) So, as much as in me is, I am
ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. (16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek. (17) For therein
is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The
just shall live by faith."
1.
Today the Church of God is the greatest Empire the world has
ever known.
2.
It is not done growing yet.
3.
God still employs the same means today as he did in the
beginning for the building of his Church.
1 Corinthians 1:21-31 "For after
that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (22) For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after
wisdom: (23) But we preach Christ
crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; (24) But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. (25) Because the foolishness of God is
wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (26) For ye see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: (27) But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (28) And base things of the world, and
things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea,
and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: (29) That no flesh should glory in his
presence. (30) But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption: (31) That,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
Matthew 16:18 "And
I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
“In spite of all the predictions of
Voltaire and Payne, in spite of foes without and treachery within, the visible
Church progresses, - the mustard plant still grows!” J.C. Ryle
E.
That which is true of the Church as a whole is true of each
member of it.
The beginnings of grace in the life of a believer are very
small; but where there is life there is growth; and those who are born of God
are grown by God. The more they grow, the smaller they appear in their own
eyes. Yet, when God is finished with us, we shall at last be transformed into
the very likeness of the Son of God!
III. The Sanctifying Influence of The Church
Though no one in the world knows it,
and few in the Kingdom of God realize it, the Church and Kingdom of God has a
profoundly sanctifying effect upon the rest of society. That is, at least in
part, what is meant by the birds of the air flocking to and nesting in the
mustard plant. The Church and Kingdom of God, like a great tree, provides
shelter for the world and influences it for good. We have an example of what I
am talking about in 1 Corinthians 7.
1 Corinthians 7:14 "For the
unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is
sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they
holy."
As in a home the unbelieving are
sanctified by the believing, in a moral sense, so in the world, the unbelieving
are sanctified by the believing. Read your history books. Education did
absolutely nothing to improve the moral condition of the Greek and Roman
worlds. Plato and Aristotle made absolutely no impact upon society for moral
good. That which has improved every society, every culture, every family, and
every relationship under its influence is the gospel of Christ.
IV. The Mixed Inhabitants of Zion
The fowls of the air also represent
the mixed multitude in the visible Church and Kingdom of God in this world. The
visible Church has always been inhabited by both the clean and the unclean.
There is no such thing as a perfect
Church in this world. Every true Church has within its fold both goats and
sheep. It is a nesting place for birds clean and birds unclean. It is not a
garden enclosed; but a garden with wheat and tares growing side by side.
What are we to do about this? Nothing!
Do not try to scare off the crows. If you do, you will drive away the red
birds. Do not try to pull up the tares. You will pull up wheat very time. Never
try to separate sheep from goats. We are not equipped for it.
·
Only the Lord can
distinguish the true from the false.
·
It is his work to do
the separating.
V. The Method of Our Lord’s Teaching
Mark 4:33-34 "And with many
such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. (34) But without a parable spake he
not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his
disciples."
When the Lord Jesus preached, he always preached in the
plainest, simplest manner imaginable. He who is the embodiment of wisdom and
knowledge never used complicated words and phrases. He never once referred to the original language, or even defined a word.
He did not use words that required definition. Instead, he told stories and
illustrated the truths he taught by parables.
In contrast with today’s preaching,
our Lord’s example of preaching speaks volumes. He preached in such a way that
people understood what he preached. He never tried to impress his hearers with
how smart a man he was or how much he knew. He did not display knowledge. He taught knowledge. There is a huge
difference. Those who follow the Master’s example do not try to impress men.
They instruct men.
A.
Our Master taught with plainness and simplicity.
He did not preach what he could not
illustrate; and when he was finished, the people who heard him understood what
he had said.
B.
Our Savior taught with knowledge and understanding.
Jeremiah 3:15 "And I will
give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge
and understanding."
He knew exactly what they needed, and
what they could bear, and taught them accordingly.
C.
The Son of God expounded all things to his disciples.
He kept back nothing from them. He
expounded to them all the Word of God. Faithful men follow his example.
Application:
1.
We must never despise the day of small things. God is building his Church, gathering in his elect, and
establishing his Kingdom
Isaiah 56:8 "The Lord GOD
which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are
gathered unto him."
2.
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