Parable of the Mustard Seed
Student’s Guide
Discussion Questions: “Parable of the Mustard Seed”
1. Jesus asks the disciples: (Read the outlined in black, Mark 4:30 and Luke 13:18). Jesus asks the disciples, what is the kingdom of God like? What do most people would answer when asked this question? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why would Jesus ask the disciples what parable should be used to describe the Kingdom of Heaven? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What parables could the disciples use to describe the Kingdom of Heaven? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven: (Read the outlined in blue, Matthew 13:31, Mark 4:31a, and Luke 13:19a). How did Jesus describe the Kingdom of Heaven? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. PARABLE: Who is the man who plants the mustard seed? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. PARABLE: What is the spiritual action of planting the mustard seed? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. PARABLE: When planting the seed in the field/garden, what or who represents the field/garden? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8. Smallest seeds: (Read outlined in green, Matthew 13:32a, and Mark 4:31b.) Are the mustard seeds the smallest of all seeds? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. How do Christians defend Jesus’ statement? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Faith as small as a seed: (Read Outline in red, Matthew 13:32b, Mark 4:32, and Luke 13:19b) What does the mustard seed turn into after it is planted? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. PARABLE: What does the matured growth of the mustard plant or bush represent? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. PARABLE: What do the birds represent? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
13. How did the word or kingdom of God grow? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
14. Why did Jesus not explain what the parable means? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Let us conclude with two passages where Jesus references the faith of a mustard seed: (Read outlined in purple Matthew 17:20 and Luke 17:6)
15. What does Jesus mean when Jesus states, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there…’”? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What does Jesus mean when Jesus states, “You can tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you”? Could the tree move on its own? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________