Mustard Seed and Yeast

Luke 13

 
 

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

 18 Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches."

 20 Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough."

 
 

Pasted from <http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+13&version=NIV>

 
 

• What are your first thoughts when you hear these parables?
  

   
   

  Test Yourself Before We Begin
  

  What does Jesus mean in these parables?
  

1. Mustard is a holy herb, much holier than ketchup
   
2. Unleavened bread lacks spirituality.
   
3. The kingdom of God has room for all - like the branches of a tree for birds.
   
4. The kingdom can start small and grow large.
   

    
    

• What do you know about mustard seeds?
  

   
   

• Are they large? What correlation does this have with the kingdom?
  

   
   

• The plant that Jesus was talking of grew to an average of eight feet tall from a very small start. How does the seed get its start?
  

   
   

• What do we have that is comparable to that seed? What must you do to see it grow?
  

   
   

• What kind of faith does planting imply?
  

   
   

• How does it become a tree?
  

   
   

• The birds in Palestine loved this tree - it had many seeds - they would flock to it - its branches covered as they pecked at and ate the seeds. Why are the birds significant? Who would they represent to us?
  

   
   

• All kinds of birds would share this tree - why is that significant?
  

   
   

• Does service in the kingdom require you to shed that which makes you, you?
  

   
   

• Does Jesus seem to say that this tree has room , and food enough for all?
  

   
   

• How do we endeavor to make that so in our church?
  

   
   

• The leaven that Jesus mentions was a bit of fermented dough that a woman would keep - a tiny piece. What can we gather from the introduction of the leaven? Does it have a big beginning? Does it even seem pleasant (it is rotten dough)?
  

   
   

• Can Jesus use what we have? How does he do this? Do we need much for him to do much?
  

   
   

• Can you witness leaven working - affecting the dough at the molecular level?
  

   
   

• Can you see the affects?
  

   
   

• Is the work of the dough internal or external? And the work of the kingdom?