TEXT [Commentary]

7. The mustard seed and a summary on parables (4:30-34; cf. Matt 13:31-35)

30 Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? 31 It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, 32 but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”

33 Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. 34 In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

NOTES

4:31 smallest of all seeds. The mustard seed is proverbially called the smallest seed (TDNT 7:288).

4:32 largest of all garden plants . . . birds can make nests in its shade. The background to the birds nesting is probably Ezek 17:23. The small seed produces an unusually large plant that is eight to ten feet tall and one that birds can nest in. The backdrop is the replanting of the Davidic house that results in shelter (for the image of birds in the nest, see Ezek 31:6; Dan 4:12, 14, 21).

COMMENTARY [Text]

This final parable emphasizes the shelter that the Kingdom brings. There is some discussion as to whether the birds depict Gentiles, but in Mark’s version of this parable that point is not clear. The summary in 4:33-34 simply reiterates that Jesus taught with parables and then explained everything to his disciples. This unit concludes one of two major discourses in Mark, the other being the Olivet discourse.

The Kingdom is the theme of Jesus’ teaching. God is at work in the sowing of seed, but the seed’s effectiveness is tied to the nature of its reception. The kingdom grows in mysterious ways. As light, it will expose all things and bring judgment. It will start small but grow to be a place of shelter (4:32). The kingdom may not have come in an expected way, but its coming and success are inevitable.