The passage
      v31-32. As is typical of the kingdom parables, the parable begins with the statement that "the kingdom of heaven/God can be compared with the situation where ...." The situation is the planting of a very small seed in the garden with the consequent growth of a large bush. The idea of the kingdom as a great tree with birds flocking to its branches, is an image found in the Old Testament. It is most likely that Jesus is playing with this Old Testament picture, but of course, he puts his own twist on it. Jesus uses the image of a shrub and not a mighty cedar.
      The parable of the mustard seed is in the form of a typical Hebrew masal (riddle). Some commentators argue that the riddle illustrates growth, or contrast - the kingdom begins small but ends up large. So, Jesus' ministry may have been insignificant, just like the mustard seed, but his resulting reign is mighty, for it gathers a people from the ends of the earth. Other commentators, C.H. Dodd in particular, argue that the riddle has to do with the immediacy of the kingdom. The seed has been planted and the tree is now full grown, although it's not the tree everyone was expecting - Christ's reign has begun; glory awaits us.
      v33. Again, Jesus takes a commonly understood image and puts a twist on it. Leaven working in the dough was commonly used to illustrate the influence of evil, cf. Mk.8:15, 1Cor.5:6. The kingdom, being realized in the life of Jesus, was certainly not given a positive press by the religious authorities. None-the-less, Jesus uses the leavening image to again illustrate the immediacy of the kingdom.
      Often, parables are used in pairs and so some commentators see the Mustard Seed as an illustration of growth and the Yeast as an illustration of transformation - the transforming power of the kingdom. Other commentators again stress the idea of contrast. It is even possible to suggest that the hidden nature of the leaven in the dough is the point of the parable. The kingdom is a present reality, although hidden from view, but the day will come when it will bubble forth in power and glory.
      C.H. Dodd in his book "The Parables of the Kingdom", argues that the parable focuses on the bubbling dough - the kingdom now. If the parable is to stand alone, then he suggests we look at the whole picture. "At first, it is true, the leaven is 'hidden', and nothing appears to happen; but soon the whole mass swells and bubbles, as fermentation rapidly advances." The kingdom, present in the ministry of Jesus, is a "wholesome influence, propagating itself by a kind of infection."

Hidden treasure
      "The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit", Romans 14:17.
      Albert Schweitzer was a wonderful man of faith, but he argued for a form of eschatology (second coming theology) which inevitably had Jesus teaching the kingdom's immediate realization. He argued that Jesus expected to see God's kingdom come in power and glory in his own lifetime, but was proved wrong. On the other hand, commentators today tend to argue that the kingdom is slowly being realized throughout history and will reach completion in the day of Jesus' glorious coming.
      Albert was kind of on the right track because the Bible does teach the "presentness", the immediacy of the kingdom of God. The kingdom is a "now" reality, although in another sense it is "not yet." So, the kingdom has indeed come; Christ is upon the throne bringing all things into subjection to himself. Yet, although the Bible teaches that the kingdom is a present reality, it is not something easily seen for what it is. It takes a certain type of seeing. Israel was waiting for a kingdom like a mighty cedar tree, not a mustard bush. Jesus, the messianic claimant, came eating and drinking, and has anything good ever come out of Nazareth?
      There is no difference between the way people of Jesus' day viewed the kingdom, as it was realized in the person and work of Christ, and the way people often view it today. The crowd looks for the outward signs of power and glory, and so fails to see what "is within", what "is not of this world." The kingdom of God is a spiritual reality which we can neither see nor touch. Its reality is found in a "righteousness" which is ours by grace through faith, in a "peace" with God, and in a "joy" driven by the knowledge that we are forgiven and loved by God. It is impossible for us to see the eternal reality which is already ours - our very selves "raised up with Christ and seated with him" "in heavenly realms", Eph.1:20, 2:6. And this kingdom is now.
      When next we hear the success stories of power and glory transforming this or that church programme, remember that "the Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing", Jn.6:63.

v31
      omoia estin "is like" - "May be compared to the situation where ...."
      kokkw/ (oV) "seed" - grain of seed. Any seed, including a pine cone
      sinapewV (i ewV) "mustard" - the mustard seed was regarded as the smallest of seeds and was used in field planting rather than in a herb garden. Of course, in reality many seeds would be sown and not as here, one.

v32
      oJ mikroteron (mikron) adj. comp. "the smallest" - which [is] smaller / littler than. A comparative rather than a superlative, so "a very small seed". There are smaller seeds, although probably not for general agriculture at the time. It is a rather lateral idea, but is it possible that the focus of this parable is on the small seed, rather than the full-grown bush. We might then say of the parable that the kingdom comes like a thief in the night, unseen, as a little seed. "The kingdom of God does not come by looking for it nor shall they say, 'Look here! Look there', for the kingdom of God is within you (spiritual rather than physical)", Lk.17:20-21. This approach has merit, but the riddle probably lies with the end product, namely, a mustard bush instead of a mighty cedar, a mustard bush that is "now".
      auxhqh (auzanomai) "grows"
      meizon (megaV) adj. comp. "largest" - larger than. The mustard produces a plant larger than the normal plants used in the vegetable garden.
      lacanwn (on) - "garden plants" - an edible plant or vegetable
      dedron (on) "tree" - The word "shrub" may be more appropriate since the mustard only grows to around 3 metres. In English we have a greater range of words denoting size: "bush/scrub", "shrub", "tree" ...
      kataskhnoun (kataskhnow) pres. act. inf. "dwell" - perch. wJste + inf. forming a consecutive clause "with the result that." The idea of the kingdom as a great tree with birds flocking to its branches, is an image found in the Old Testament, Jud.9:15, Ezk.17:22-24, 31:3-14, Dan.4:7-23. It is most likely that Jesus is playing with this Old Testament picture, but of course, he puts his own twist on it. The mustard bush is only a shrub, not a mighty cedar. The kingdom, as it emerges in the person and work of Christ, is not quite what is expected. Of course, when it comes to interpretation, the debate rages over realized eschatology (the tree is now), or inaugurated eschatology. We face the same issue with the parable of the leaven. Inaugurated eschatology is probably the most acceptable approach, but not with a focus on growth or contrast, but rather a "now" / "not yet" approach. Of course, such lateral thinking is not something we easily sit with.