Matthew 13:31-32
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
American history is littered with stories of business ideas that started small and became enormously successful. We ca start, of course, with the McDonald brothers, Mac and Dick, who opened a single BBQ drive-in restaurant in 1940 that eventually became over 34,000 restaurants world wide. Then we can look at a college drop out named Steve Jobs, who found a way to make computer technology available to the masses and grew his tiny company named “Apple” from $25,000 in sales in 1975 to revenues of over $150 billion today. We can even study a man named Mike Illitch, who turned a $10,000 investment in one pizza shop into the multi-million dollar Little Caesar's pizza empire.
Whatever we think of their products, we are amazed at the vision and persistence it takes to turn an idea into a world-wide phenomenon.
In a way, that’s what Jesus is teaching us about the kingdom of God:
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
How does something so small grow to be so large?
For an entrepreneur it’s a combination of having the right idea at the right time; the financial backing to produce the product; and the vision and passion to market the idea.
How and why does the kingdom of heaven grow?
Well, first, the gospel is the right idea at the right time!
Romans tells us:
At just the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6
And it’s also the very nature of the gospel to grow. In Colossians, Paul writes:
All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing... Colossians 1:6
One interesting thing about the mustard plant in the ancient world is that the plants tended to grow wild, that is, they were rarely cultivated. It simply was the nature of a mustard seed to grow wherever it was sown.
Second; God possesses all the resources needed and, indeed, has already produced the product. Romans tells us:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...Romans 1:16
In other words, the plant is already grown - there is room for everyone in the branches - all you have to do is trust!
But what about the marketing strategy? How will the message get out? How will the ‘birds of the air” know there is a place of rest and safety already prepared for them?
Those are questions we will look at tomorrow, but I’ll give you a hint! How did you first come to hear and understand the gospel in a personal way?
Pastor Brian Coffey
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