Jesus, the Subversive, Part 2 of 4

Reflections on Matthew 13.31-33, 44

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that grows into a great tree where birds make their nests.”[1]

No, it doesn’t!

The mustard seed is small, but the mustard plant is no tree. Rather, it’s a weed. (A shocking comparison to the kingdom of heaven when the well-known and fabled cedars of Lebanon would have been a majestic and, perhaps, readily anticipated and, surely, eagerly accepted image!)

And the mustard seed plant, as a weed:

1. Spreads relentlessly,
2. Is difficult to uproot, and
3. Impossible to eliminate.

This, Jesus teaches us, is the nature of God’s kingdom!

More to come…

© 2022 PRA

Illustration: The Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jan Luyken (1649-1712)

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[1] Matthew 13.31-32; my revision