The Small But Mighty Mustard Seed
Have you ever stopped and really thought about what it means to have faith as small as a mustard seed? We all know it’s a teeny tiny seed but was Jesus alluding to more here? Or was He merely saying you just need a tiny bit of faith? This verse really bothered me for a long time because in the same breath Jesus would also criticize His disciples for having “little faith”. The idea of “if you just have a little bit of faith, like a mustard seed, you can move mountains”, didn’t seem quite right. So I began to dig and this is what I found . . .
Oh the small but mighty mustard seed is teeny tiny – in fact, it is only 1-2mm in size – but there is more to this plant than meets the eye. It’s not so much about the size of the plant, but the potential that the seed holds and the characteristics of the mustard plant as it grows. One of its most defining characteristics is that it is a highly invasive plant and extremely difficult to eradicate once matured. I think we’re finally getting to the real point of the humble mustard seed. It’s not just that it is small but it is INVASIVE.
As I began to dig, I noticed there are several variations of the mustard plant so I googled which mustard plant would have been most likely to be in the region Jesus lived and sure enough it is the Black Mustard plant. You may wonder, why is that important? Well it just so happens that this plant is the most invasive species of mustard plants. I do not believe that is a coincidence. Jesus, the Creator of ALL THINGS would know this very specific detail of the teeny, tiny mustard seed. He also was very careful with the words that He spoke for He knew they had the power to create life.
So let’s put this back into the context of scripture now. Jesus says in Matthew 17:20;
You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
We know that Jesus cannot be contradicting himself in a single verse so there has to be more to this. Let’s take a look at a couple other verses that might help us bring more clarity. Further down in Matthew 21:21-22 it says;
Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
Pay attention to verse 21, it says, “if you have faith AND do not doubt, you can do things like this and much more.” Then we see again in James 1:6-8;
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
Once again we see that concept of having faith in God ALONE and not wavering for they should not expect anything from the Lord. Do you see the thread yet?? Do you see the bigger picture of the mustard seed?
Like the mustard seed, our faith has the potential to be invasive if it takes root and is allowed to mature. The most effective way to eradicate the mustard plant is to catch the seed before it begins to mature, otherwise it is nearly impossible to fully uproot. This is where the enemy comes to cast doubt in your mind, but like Matthew 21:21 says we must have faith and not doubt. The enemy knows that if he can limit our belief, the seed of faith will never come into full maturity. And with that we see in James 1:6 that “a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” This is how the enemy stops the seed from ever maturing. He knows that once faith takes root, it will begin to overtake every other thought pattern previously established.
The black mustard plant isn’t just invasive; it chokes out native plant life and disrupts entire ecosystems. Its roots deplete water sources and inhibit the germination of native species. That is exactly what faith does. It chokes out every other thought and takes over our belief system to the point that doubt can no longer creep in, take root, and mature.
Another cool thing is that not only is the black mustard plant very aggressive, it also adapts well to difficult conditions – hardy and resilient. The mustard seed does not need perfect conditions to become invasive, just like faith doesn’t need a perfect vessel. It simply needs to be planted, protected, and allowed to grow.
This is what I believe Jesus was pointing to all along. Mustard seed faith is not teeny-tiny faith or weak faith. It is faith that, even with the smallest inkling of truth, can take root, mature, and spread until doubt no longer has a place to grow. Once that faith becomes deeply rooted, it begins to overtake every fear, every lie, and every wavering thought until your entire life is shaped by an unwavering trust in God.