Mark 4:30-34 (ESV)
And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
The teaching of Jesus is such an amazing course to study. However, not just what he taught (which was completely out of the mindset of those listening), but how He taught it. Jesus taught in “parables.” This is a great explanation of the Greek word used here:
(Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary) parabole (παραβολή, 3850), “a casting or placing side by side” (para, “beside,” ballo, “to throw”) with a view to comparison or resemblance, a parable, is translated “figure” in the KJV of Heb. 9:9 (RV, “a parable for the time now present”) and 11:19, where the return of Isaac was (parabolically, in the lit. sense of the term) figurative of resurrection (RV, “parable”). See No. 2 (a)
In the above text, Jesus is using the “parable” of the mustard seed to explain the amazing growth of God’s Kingdom. It will start out with eleven disciples who believe Jesus’ words and grow to what we are seeing today around the globe. A mustard see plant is almost impossible to uproot. It spreads and spreads and spreads. The key to the above passage is to understand “what” Jesus is teaching (this particular truth), how He is teaching it (parables), and how ONLY He can interpret it for them. This is the amazing part of the Gospel message. Only Christ can give us the interpretation and explanation for His own teaching. God uses the power of the Holy Spirit, through the mere teaching of men, to do this. But, it is the Spirit of God who unveils our eyes. Note what Paul told the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 4. Only God can reveal what Satan is desperately trying to hide:
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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