Parables -
Parables of the Mustard Seed and Yeast
Matthew 13:31-33
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Mustard Seed Faith — There are people all around you with low self-esteem, because everybody has insecurities.
In fact, studies have shown that the younger you are when you first experience rejection, the more serious implications it has in your life. It’s almost like a curse when people say, “You’re not going to amount to anything. You don’t matter.”
How do you reverse a curse? You start believing what Jesus says about you instead of believing what other people say about you. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:7, “If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”
Jesus wants you to believe in others the way he believes in you. Jesus affirmed people around him. When he looked at people, he saw their potential and what God intended them to be. He brought out the best in people not by labeling them but by saying, “I believe you can do it. I know you can do it.”
Look at this series of verses:
“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
“Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23b
“Then Jesus told them, ‘I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more.” Matthew 21:21
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” John 14:12
How is that possible? When Jesus Christ was physically on Earth, he could only be in one place at one time. Now, Jesus puts the Holy Spirit in me and you and anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as Savior. Jesus believes you can do great works because you have the Holy Spirit in you. He believes in you!
Jesus wants you to believe in others, too, and express to them the potential you see in them to do great things for God.
“Help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you.” Romans 1:12
Opening Questions — Get Us Thinking:
· If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.
· Can you think of a person in your past who might have planted “mustard seed” in you?
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast — Matthew 13:31-35
31He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
33He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty poundsb of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
Research Questions — “Dig Deeper” to find God’s Will
1. What is the main point of this parable?
2. In these parables, what aspects of Jesus’ ministry seem small? What is the promise if the small seed is sown?
3. What does this passage say it takes to grow spiritually?
4. If these are the elementary things of the Word — what do you think would be the “mature” things?
5. At what spiritual age should a Christian begin to feed on the “mature” things?
6. When you see a mature Christian, what makes you identify him or her as mature?
7. What are some reasons why so many Christians remain at the elementary level?
8. How does the kingdom of heaven become evident to others?
9. In what ways can a church involve “infant” Christians and make them feel like members of the family?
Reflective Questions — Live it today.
1. Where (in your life or in Christ’s church) have you seen faith like “yeast” or a “mustard seed” have a great impact?
2. What are some telltale signs that we have our spiritual life separated from all the other areas of our life?
3. What would you become if you truly allowed God’s kingdom within you to penetrate all these vital areas: your intellectual life, your professional life, your social life, your recreational life, and your emotional life?
4. Have your feelings changed as you have matured in your spiritual life?
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