The Parable of the Mustard Seed is a parable that according to the Gospels of Luke (Luke 13:18-19), Mark (Mark 4:30-32), Matthew (Matthew 13:31-32), and Thomas (Thomas 20) was told by Jesus. Possible Hebrew Bible parallels are Daniel 4:10-12, 4:20-22 and Ezekiel 17:22-23, 31:1-9. // A parable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or verse, that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. ... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Gospel of Mark, ascribed to Mark the Evangelist, is traditionally the second Gospel of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum This article is about the term Hebrew Bible. For the Hebrew Bible itself, see Tanakh (Jewish term) or Old Testament (Christian term). ...

The parable compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed, which the parable says is the least among seed, yet grows to become a huge mustard plant that provides shelter for many birds. Much like the English saying Many an oak from a tiny acorn grows, and like the butterfly effect, the parable is usually interpreted as meaning that great things start from just tiny seeds of information, or from tiny actions ^{[citation needed]}. The Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God, Hebrew מלכות השמים, malkhut hashamayim, Greek basileia tou theou) is a key concept detailed in all the three major monotheistic religions of the world — Islam, Judaism and Christianity. ... Mustard seeds are small, about 1mm in diameter. ... Species See text The mustards are several plant species in the genus Brassica whose proverbially tiny mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into a condiment also known as mustard. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Point attractors in 2D phase space. ...

It might also be interpreted to foreshadow the kingdom of Heaven growing forth from the small actions of the historical Jesus in life ^{[citation needed]}.

The Complete Gospels notes for Matthew 13:31: "The mustard seed's smallness was proverbial, but it hardly grows up to become a tree." and for Luke 13:19: "Jewish law prohibited the growing of mustard seed in a garden. Mustard is a shrub, not a tree." The Jesus Seminar, which produced the Complete Gospels, rated this saying as one of its 15 red sayings. John Dominic Crossan has proposed that this parable^[1], and others, are intentionally provocative. He points out that in Mediterranean climates, such as Galilee, black mustard is a managed weed. It would be obvious to state that the Kingdom of God is like the mighty Lebanon cedar which also starts from a small seed, but instead Jesus says it's like the mustard weed. Does that mean the kingdom is something people try to control? Crossan claims this is part of the Historical Jesus' style, rather than taking literal quotes from the Bible and commenting on them, he uses parables to generate discussion about the topics which just happen to be part of the Bible. Crossan also points out that by teaching in parables, right from the start Jesus was open to interpretation, which he wouldn't have been if he merely taught sermons and directly told the people what to think and how to interpret the Bible. See also Parables of Jesus. The Jesus Seminar is a research team of about two hundred New Testament scholars founded in 1985 by the late Robert Funk under the auspices of the Westar Institute. ... John Dominic Crossan (born Nenagh, Co. ... A Mediterranean climate is a climate that resembles those of the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. ... Galilee (Arabic al-jaleel الجليل, Hebrew hagalil הגליל), meaning circuit, is a large area overlapping with much of the North District of Israel. ... Binomial name Brassica nigra L. Black mustard (Brassica nigra) is an annual weedy plant cultivated for its seeds, which are commonly used as a spice. ... The Kingdom of God or Reign of God (Greek basileia tou theou,[1]) is a foundational concept in Christianity, as it is the central theme of Jesus of Nazareths message in the synoptic Gospels. ... Binomial name Cedrus libani A. Rich. ... This article is about Jesus the person, using historical methods to reconstruct a biography of his life and times. ... The Parables of Jesus are a collection of parables told by Jesus that embody much of his teaching and are recorded in the four Gospels. ...

While often interpreted as being a happy prediction of the growth of the Christian church on earth, some scholars^[2] believe that this parable and The Parable of the Leaven, which immediately follows it, are a related pair which predict not just growth but growth with attending corruption, here denoted by the birds. The birds may be seen as an undesirable new presence on the farm, since they would eat up any new seeds the man sows in this field. The birds, then, may be seen to represent false teachers making their home in the church, thus preventing the church from bringing forth much fruit. The Parable of the Leaven was given by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew and Luke). ...

References

1. ^ For example, see PBS Frontline: From Jesus to Christ
2. ^ The King James Study Bible published by Thomas Nelson Publishers