Jesus' point is that Kingdom of God is a historical process that has begun inconspicuously in his appearance and work but will grow towards a conspicuous result, which no one will be able to deny.

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>

> " This mission of the Paraclete, like that of Jesus Himself, is two-

> sided; for to the world which has rejected Christ it brings

> judgement... This cannot take place until Jesus has been exalted

> (17:7). " Dictionary of the Bible...

>

> But we will overcome those against us, even if it is the entire SY

> organization itself. The Last Judgment CANNOT take place until Jesus

> has been exalted. The Paraclete has done just that for more than

> three decades. We must sustain Her work without any fear and make

> sure the rest of humanity realizes it is the promised Blossom Time.

> There is no question that the Paraclete and Lord Jesus will triumph.

>

 

Jesus Parabolic Teaching about the Kingdom of God

 

A large part of the content of Jesus' teaching relating to the

Kingdom of God that has been preserved is in the form of parables,

which are metaphors or similes used as means of describing the nature

of the Kingdom of God....

 

Mark 4:30-32

30 And he said, " With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what

parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed,

which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on

earth; 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of

all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the

air can make nests in its shade. "

 

Matt 13:31-32

31 Another parable he put before them, saying, " The Kingdom of Heaven

is like a grain mustard seed which man took and sowed in his field;

32 it is the smallest all seeds but when it has grown it is the

greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that birds air come make

nests its branches.

 

Luke 13:18-19

18 He said therefore, " What is the Kingdom of God like? And to what

shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man

took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the

birds of the air made nests in its branches. "

 

 

There are two different versions of the Parable of the Mustard Seed,

a Markan and non-Markan represented by Luke. (The parable is found

also in Gospel of Thomas 20.) The differences between them, however,

are negligible with respect to the meaning of the parable. Jesus

compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed, or, more accurately,

to what happens to a mustard seed when it is planted. The mustard

plant begins as most inconspicuous, " the smallest of all seeds, " but

becomes conspicuous, a large plant (to lachanon) (Mark) or tree (to

dendron) (Luke). (To call a mustard plant a tree emphasizes its size:

it is almost as large as a tree.) In the parable both the contrast

between the beginning and culmination of the Kingdom of God and the

process of growth from the one to the other are emphasized. Jesus'

point is that Kingdom of God is a historical process that has begun

inconspicuously in his appearance and work but will grow towards a

conspicuous result, which no one will be able to deny. (A tree as

metaphorical of a kingdom occurs in Ezek 17:23; 31:16; Dan 4:10-12.)

His parable serves as both an encouragement and a warning not to

judge prematurely what is being experienced in the present. It is

possible that the depiction of the mustard plant as large enough to

support birds on its branches is a metaphor of the Kingdom of God as

offering protection to those within it.

 

http://www.abu.nb.ca/Courses/NTIntro/KingdGod2.htm