Starting Small

Starting Small

Luke 13:18-21, NLT

Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? 19It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.” 20He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? 21It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

Setting the Scene

Jesus used the parables about the mustard seed and the yeast to explain that his Kingdom would have a small beginning but then grow quickly from there. Most of Jesus’ hearers assumed the Messiah would come as a great king and leader, freeing the nation from Rome and restoring Israel’s former glory. But Jesus’ Kingdom began quietly. The “mustard seed” is so small it would take almost twenty thousand seeds to make one ounce. But one tiny seed can produce the largest shrub among all the herbs in a person’s garden, growing ten to twelve feet in a few weeks. Just as the tiny mustard seed becomes a large plant, the Kingdom of God would eventually push outward until the whole world would be changed.

“Yeast” is another symbol of something small producing something much larger. Although yeast looks like a minor ingredient in making bread, it is responsible for the dough’s rising. In the same way, God’s Kingdom had small beginnings but would grow to have a great impact on the world.

Getting Personal

How can you “water” and “weed” in your faith-garden?

What evidence of growth can you see from when you first gave your life to Jesus?

What stories have you heard recently about the spread of God’s Kingdom in other nations?

What can you do to support your brothers and sisters in other lands?

Imagine how encouraging these parables would have been to the disciples, surrounded by hostile religious leaders and living under Roman occupation. How could this insignificant band of Christ-followers dare hope to have any impact? But they did. The mustard seed, the yeast, grew and expanded from tiny Israel to the whole earth. When you trusted Christ with your mustard seed–size faith, the Holy Spirit took up residence in you and began to change you from the inside out. Your growth may be slow and quiet, but it’s sprouting and reaching for the sun.

Talking to God

Thank God for the faith seed he planted in you. Ask him to help you live out your role in spreading his Kingdom, a part in his wonderful plan to grow the church around the world.