Too far? Ask any California Park Ranger or conservationist about Brassica nigra, and they are likely to give you an earful; whether it is the offshore islands like Catalina, or the Coachella Valley, this plant is supplanting (haha) rare native species. And yet B. nigra is the subject of a parable Jesus told, to represent the Kingdom of God to His listeners.
Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
Mark 4:30-32, NIV
Before we start, it is worth noting that of all the Synoptic Evangelists, Mark (or perhaps, his presumed source, Peter) has the best understanding of which plant Jesus was talking about. He describes it as greater than all the garden herbs (λαχάνων); Matthew suggests it grows past the λαχάνων and becomes a (fruit) tree; Luke thinks it is just a fruit tree. I have grown B. nigra, and can assure all my readers that it is bigger than the herbs – and definitely smaller than any fruit tree I have come across. And hang in there: this is part of the point of this parable.
Let’s break the parable down. Jesus asks the rhetorical question, “what shall be say the Kingdom of God is like, and in what parable shall we establish it (literally ‘stand it up’)?”
“Well, it is like a mustard seed.” What does He tell us about mustard seeds? (and by the way, everything here is not only true of B. nigra, which is definitely the mustard found throughout that end of the Mediterranean in that period, but also of the other species of mustard, B. alba a.k.a. Sinapis alba, and B. juncea.)
First, they are small, and in terms of things that get sown (by men) on the earth, they probably are about as small as it gets in 1st Century Palestine. Cress might be smaller, but may not have been known in Israel. Here in NZ, we have a number of trees (Pohutukawa, Manuka, Kanuka) which grow into full sized trees from tiny threads you can hardly see; but I am reasonably confident that no one was sowing Metrosideros excelsa or Kunzea robusta in Judaea.
What is interesting is that there were definitely things Jesus could have used if His point was “the seed is tiny, but the result is huge”. Cedars of Lebanon would have been an easy choice for someone who grew up, a carpenter. So I think that we can assume that was not the point He was making. But yes, you could easily overlook a mustard seed.
And when it grows, is it huge? No; what is more impressive is that it gets bigger than a herb – and really really tangled. If you wanted to find a picture of something representing a rather nondescript network, that spreads new seed from every tangled corner, and which is big enough that birds can sit out the heat of the day on the ground in its shade (but definitely not sit on its branches, not unless they are way smaller and lighter than sparrows), then mustard is a great choice. Look at some of those photos of invasive mustard in California; when it spreads it covers the hillsides with its yellow flowers; but trying to work out how to rip it out is taxing the patience and ingenuity of ecologists and plant scientists.
I realise that if you have spent your life visualising “the mighty mustard tree of the Kingdom”, you might be suffering some disappointment right now. That just isn’t it. But as a picture of something whose origin looks insignificant and its final form fruitful but only passingly pretty (when it is in flower, before it all dries off), B. nigra certainly has a charm of its own.
And if you have ever had a sneaking suspicion that the Church is meant to operate under the radar and get absolutely everywhere; then this picture may actually be cheering you somewhat.
So what about the birds of heaven? What do they represent? I am not sure I know. The angels? The angels find rest and shade when the church gets on with its low-profile growth and existence? Could be. The birds could easily have gobbled up the mustard seed if they had seen it, but now they find it useful; so are they those who might have been inclined to be opposed to the Kingdom, but now take their ease in its shelter and find comfort there? Also plausible.
At the end of the day, perhaps what we said a couple of posts back is what matters; stay in the presence of this parable and see what it produces in you!
Seeing the Kingdom 