The beloved physician Luke wrote how Jesus asked, “Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?”, and in chapter thirteen and verse nineteen of his book Luke shared how Jesus said the Kingdom of God, “is like a grain of mustard seed” where we read:
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden;
and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
The verse reads, “It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden;” Luke began with the words, “It is like a grain” or “the Kingdom of God is similar to and resembles a kernel” “of mustard seed” which means “of a plant which in oriental countries grows from a very small seed and attains to the height of a tree, 10 feet (3 meters) and more”, “which a man took” or “that a male human being held, lay hold of, took possession of and selected”, “and cast into his garden” which means “and threw and scattered into the man's garden”. Luke shared how Jesus likened the Kingdom of God to the “seed or kernel” of a “mustard plant” which a man possessed and “threw” or planted in his “garden”.
The verse continues, “and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.” Luke added the words, “and it grew” or “and the mustard seed augmented and became greater in size”, “and waxed a great tree” which means “and arose, appeared and became a large and massive tree”; “and the fowls of the air” or “and the birds or winged animals flying in the air” “lodged” which means “fixed their abode and dwelt” “in the branches of it” or “within the tender shoots, twigs and branches of the tree”. Luke shared how Jesus said the “mustard seed” “increased in size” so that “birds” began to “fix their abodes” or “live” within it.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we see how Jesus gave an agrarian example for what “God's Kingdom” is like. The “mustard seed”, which is one of the smallest of seeds, was “cast” into this man's garden and “grew” to the size of a “tree” which was so large that “birds” made their nests within it. “Birds”, throughout the Bible, were used as a “symbol” of evil, and like unto the “leaven” Jesus will share about in the next verses, the Kingdom of God begins small and grows into such a large Kingdom that all kinds of people and nations will be a part of it. Some of these do not believe Jesus is the Messiah and Christ, and God's Kingdom “accommodates a wide variety of beliefs and systems” so He can lead them to the truth. God loves every person, and His desire is for them to have a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus. When they align with God's only plan of “salvation” through Jesus they are forgiven of their sins, become His children and are promised “everlasting life”.
Next time Luke shares how Jesus, “again he said, whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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