The Mustard Seed and Yeast Parables
Matthew 13:31-35
We are again in Matthew 13 Jesus told His disciples “it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 13:11). In this chapter, Jesus taught about the kingdom of heaven using parables, concealing the truth from those who refuse to hear it, and at the same time, revealing the truth to those who will receive it.
In our previous lessons, we have looked at two of the seven kingdom parables. The first was the parable of the sower, the seed, and the soils. In it, Jesus explained the mystery of, “Why doesn’t everyone enter the kingdom?” We saw that the kingdom of God begins with hearing the message of the kingdom with a receptive heart that will bear fruit for the kingdom. Those with hard hearts, shallow hearts, and worldly hearts will not hear, receive, and bear fruit.
The second was the parable of the wheat and the tares. In it, Jesus explained the mystery of, “Why is evil still present, if the kingdom of God has come?” We saw that an enemy, the devil, planted “sons of the wicked one” alongside the Lord’s “sons of the kingdom,” and they only remain because the Lord doesn’t want the wheat harmed. Separation awaits the judgment at the end of the age. The Lord “is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, NASB).
Today we will look at two parables: The Mustard Seed and the Leaven. We are taking these two parables together because they are short, and they teach similar lessons. The mystery that Jesus explains is, “Why does the kingdom seem so insignificant?” Remember, Jesus came proclaiming, “… the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). He taught about the kingdom of displayed the power of the kingdom by His mighty works. And even though, at times, multitudes flocked to Him, many did not really believe in Him. Jesus’ true disciples were a very small group.
Yet, these disciples, no doubt, had great expectations of the kingdom. They knew the promises of the prophets concerning the kingdom of God. For instance, Isaiah prophesied,
2 … the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. … 11 Therefore your gates shall be open continually; They shall not be shut day or night, That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, And their kings in procession. 12 For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, And those nations shall be utterly ruined. (Isaiah 60:2-3, 11-12).
And the Zechariah prophesied,
20 Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Peoples shall yet come, Inhabitants of many cities; 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, “Let us continue to go and pray before the LORD, And seek the LORD of hosts. I myself will go also.” 22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, And to pray before the LORD.’ 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ‘ (Zech. 8:20-23).0
This is what they were expecting the kingdom of God to be like. When the Messiah-King arrives and His kingdom appears, the Jewish nation would be glorious, other nations and kings would bow before Him or perish, people would cling to them saying, “Bring us to God.”
But what has been the experience of Jesus’ disciples so far? Instead of people flocking to the kingdom, many are rejecting it. Instead of the nations bowing or perishing, they don’t even notice it. And so Jesus teaches these parables to explain why the kingdom seems so small and insignificant.
We begin with …
1. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt. 13:31-32)
Matthew 13:31-32 says,
31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 “which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” (Mat 13:31-32).
So, what is the kingdom like according to this parable?
A. The Kingdom Starts Small (Matt. 13:31)
Jesus says that “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed”. The mustard seed is not the smallest seed in the world, although it is the smallest seed that was commonly planted in Israel. Mustard seeds are proverbial in the Bible. They symbolize that which is small, and which seems—at first glance—to be utterly insignificant.
In Luke 17, Jesus’ disciples came to Him and said, “Increase our faith.” Jesus told them that it wasn’t a matter of having great amounts of faith, because He said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed”—just the tiniest little amount—“you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:5-6). In Matthew 17:20, Jesus told them, “if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
God’s kingdom starts small. And, as I said, this surely seemed strange to the disciples. Here was Jesus proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven had come. But they look around, and what do they see? It’s just Jesus and a bunch of unschooled fishermen in the remote areas of Galilee traveling around and teaching the people. They weren’t attracting worldwide attention. In fact, even by the Jews, they were being rejected, choked, and persecuted. They must have felt insignificant compared to the power of Rome with its legions of soldiers or the pomp of Jerusalem with its temple and treasure. I am sure that most people didn’t give the disciples of Jesus a second glance.
Jesus teaches that the smallness and seeming insignificance of the kingdom is not an anomaly. It’s not a mistake. It’s God’s plan. The kingdom of heaven is not about huge crowds, a flashy show, or worldly power. The kingdom comes by changing people’s hearts and lives one at a time. Jesus did not come seeking the brightest and the best, He came to seek sinners who would repent and believe. This is the way the kingdom works.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church,
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
God’s kingdom starts small. It has humble beginnings. There didn’t seem to be much about it that would have impressed anyone that it would come to much of anything. It began with a humble Teacher who organized no army or assumed no political office. He gathered a group of men around Himself—a tiny band of twelve. One of them would betray Him, one of them would deny Him, and all of them would flee and desert Him. And He Himself would be rejected by the people to whom He presented Himself as King. They would crucify Him as a despised criminal. And from these humble, “mustard seed” beginnings, who would have expected anything great?
The mustard seed aptly illustrated the lesson that Jesus was seeking to teach—that something so remarkably small grew into something far beyond proportion with respect to its beginning. Even though the kingdom seemed small and insignificant …
B. The Kingdom Will Grow Large (Matt. 13:32)
The tiny mustard seed grew into a large brush—almost like a tree in size. The mustard bush sometimes reached a height of ten to twelve feet! Such mustard bushes had branches that spread out, and were strong enough for birds to light on and rest. And that’s the picture that Jesus is seeking to paint for us—that the kingdom of heaven is like that seed. At its beginning, it was something very small and tiny—something that no one would ever expect to grow into something so big that birds could rest on its branches.
The of a tree with the birds of the air resting in its branches is a common image for a prosperous kingdom in the Old Testament. In Daniel 4, God gave King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon a vision. In that vision, Nebuchadnezzar saw his own kingdom as,
“10 . . . a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became strong; its height reached to the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of all the earth. 12 Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it” (Daniel 4:10-12).
In Ezekiel 17, God uses these same terms to describe the downfall of Babylon and the future glory of Israel when Jesus returns to reign, saying,
22 Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.” (Eze. 17:22-24).
Jesus promised that even though His kingdom starts small, it would grow to be like a great tree whose branches would spread out, where the birds could find shelter and blessing. His kingdom is that very kingdom that was promised to Abraham when God told him that, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Jesus’ kingdom is that kingdom foretold by the prophet Daniel, “the stone cut without hands” that struck all other nations at the base and caused them to crumble, and that then “became a great mountain” that “filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34-35).
The point to Jesus’ disciples is that although the kingdom may look unimpressive now, just wait, it is like a mustard seed, it will become the most glorious. That is a good lesson for us today. Sometimes it can become discouraging, as we wait for the return of Christ. Jesus’ church isn’t popular in the world. The Lord isn’t honored. Our church is small, most overlook it or think we are weak and insignificant. That is not the end of the story. One day, the kingdom of heaven will rule the world.
So in this parable, we learn that even though God’s kingdom starts small and seems insignificant, it will eventually grow to be the greatest of all kingdoms in the world—the kingdom that will truly bring about the blessing to all the families of the earth.
Second, Jesus taught …
2. The Parable of the Yeast (Matt. 13:33)
33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” (Matt. 13:33).
Jesus says that His kingdom is like “leaven”. Leaven is that substance that is used to ferment a lump of dough. It causes the bread to rise. The chief characteristic of leaven is that it spreads throughout whatever it is put into until it permeates the whole thing. In the Bible, leaven can picture the spread of something negative or positive.
In Matthew 16, Jesus taught His disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” (Matt. 16:6)? He called their hypocritical behavior and teaching “leaven” because, once allowed to make an entry into our hearts, such hypocrisy spreads itself throughout our whole life and thinking. The apostle Paul had to rebuke the Corinthian believers for tolerating sinful behavior in the church warning, “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Cor. 5:6). Once sin is permitted to come in, and once its presence is tolerated, it spreads itself and corrupts everything!
So leaven pictures something small that, when introduced, eventually spreads or permeates the whole thing. Only in this parable, the leaven does not picture sin spreading in the kingdom, but the kingdom spreading throughout the world. The truths it teaches are, first …
A. The Kingdom Is Initially Hidden (Matt. 13:33a)
And just as the parable of the mustard seed teaches us that God’s kingdom starts small, the parable of the yeast teaches us that God’s kingdom remains hidden at first. Jesus says woman who took a bit of leaven and “hid” it into three measures of meal. This is no small batch of dough. It would have been the rough equivalent of about three dry gallons of meal, making enough bread to feed dozens of people. By the way, it’s the same amount that was used in the Old Testament by Sarah, Gideon, and Hannah when they were making bread (Genesis 18:6; Judges 6:19; 1 Samuel 1:24).
And this generous amount of flour and small bit of leaven is meant to serve as an illustration—something “big” into which something “little” was hidden. You can’t see the yeast in the dough at first, but it is still there—it is growing and spreading. The leaven will end up permeating every part of the very large lump of dough. So the kingdom of heaven is initially hidden in this world, but …
B. The Kingdom Will Spread through the World (Matt. 13:33b)
The Kingdom of heaven is like leaven. It has an amazing way of growing, by spreading to those around it. In this way, God’s kingdom will spread through the whole earth. The kingdom spreads when you (as one person) go and share the gospel with another person. It doesn’t require fancy gimmicks, huge platforms, or any elaborate programs.
Jesus started with twelve ordinary men. They had no degrees, no fame, no great musical talent, no riches. They just went and proclaimed Jesus everywhere they went to everyone they could. And like leaven, the kingdom began to spread. The book of Acts records how the kingdom spread in those early days:
Acts 2:47 says, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 4:4 says, “However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.” Act 5:14 says, “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.” Act 6:7 says, “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” Acts 12:24, “But the word of God grew and multiplied.” Acts 19:20, “So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”
And on and on it went even until today. Here we sit two thousand years later—in a building dedicated to His worship, reading His word, and encouraging one another to walk faithfully with Him and to serve Him until He returns to this earth—and we’re doing so in a spot that is on nearly the exact opposite side of the globe from where it all began. We’re just one church hundreds of thousands scattered across our nation—and just one nation among many in the world—that worships Him! His kingdom has truly spread throughout this vast globe like leaven throughout dough! It has permeated the whole world; and is spreading in the world all the more even as we speak!
Like the yeast, the kingdom of God exerts its influence from within, not from without. God first changes the heart of a person, and that internal change has external manifestations. The gospel influence works the same way. One Christian influences someone in their family, or a friend, or a co-worker, or a neighbor. Their heart is transformed by believing the gospel. Slowly and sometimes almost imperceptibly, the kingdom spreads. The nature of yeast is to grow and to change whatever it contacts. When we trust Christ, His grace grows in our hearts and changes us from the inside out. As the gospel transforms lives, it exerts a pervasive influence in the world.
So we see that the kingdom is initially hidden but will spread throughout the world. Finally look at …
3. Jesus’ Use of Parables (Matt. 13:34-35)
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 13:34-35).
Here again, we are reminded just how wonderful it is that we have been given these truths, for not all have been granted them. Jesus spoke these parables to all, only explained them to some. That’s why we’re told that Jesus spoke these things “to the multitude in parables”; and that, “without a parable He did not speak to them . . .”
Jesus said that this was so “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet” (Matt. 13:35), and He then quoted Psalm 78:2. Psalm 78 is a long psalm that outlines the history of the Jewish people. It was a psalm that the Jewish people knew well. It speaks of God’s constant grace to them, and of their persistent hardness of heart toward Him. And it begins with an appeal:
Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us (Psalm 78:1-3)
The Psalmist called, “Give ear! Incline your ears!” That was Jesus’ cry to the people; “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:9). Jesus, the Messiah-King, is speaking to them in the very manner that it was foretold that He would speak to them—in parables. Only those with hears to hear would receive it.
And this reinforces what Jesus just taught. The kingdom didn’t grow by marching armies and political conquest. No, Jesus invested these truths in 12 men, and let them spread it to the rest of the world. Jesus’ method was to teach those who received the word and then they would go and spread the truths they learned.
And now, let me ask you: How do you hear these things? Do you have ears to hear? Do you tune out when you hear them? Do you fall asleep when they are presented to you? Do you close your ears to them? Or does your heart thrill; and do you long to hear more? And are you influencing others around you with the gospel of Jesus Christ?
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then I hope—dear brother or sister—that you draw encouragement and strength from the truth being taught to us in these two wonderful little parables! Never despise the apparent “smallness” of the success of Jesus’ kingdom on this earth. It began as something very small; but its expansion and growth is assured, and it’s success in this world is absolutely guaranteed—no matter what.
And if you are not yet a follower of this great King, then the good news of His kingdom is being offered to you. He will, one day, return to this earth to claim His rightful rule; and you will stand before Him then. May you be given the ears to hear the news of His kingdom now—in this day of grace; and may you trust Him today as your Savior and Lord!
