And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." – Mark 4:30-32 (ESV)
Inerrancy – are the scriptures reliable for matters of not only faith, but can the reliability of the scriptures extend into areas of science, history, sociology, psychology, etc.? People who say that scriptures are unreliable outside of the realm of faith, would point to this verse and note that the poppy seed is much smaller and the sequoia is much taller, therefore, the Bible is wrong. For those of us who think that the Bible can be trusted and is the reliable Word of God, this passage seems to present a difficulty. In response to this difficulty, I would like to note several items. The association of it being planted by the hearers shows that Jesus is describing something that is actually planted by the hearers, and the planting context is in a garden. This implies that the smallest on the earth is confined to the types of seeds they actually plant in a garden. Also, (and in my mind, more importantly) this is an analogy not a botany lesson. With proverbial wisdom and other analogies, the intention is to bring light to a greater principle, not to make absolute statements regarding the illustration. This type of statement should prevent us from ascribing intention from Christ that was not meant. Taking into consideration authorial intention is taking scripture literally. Reading into the passage statements that were not meant to be taken out of it is doing violence to the author. Jesus is using comparison and contrast to illustrate a greater lesson. The takeaway: let’s not miss the forest through the trees (to continue the theme of plant life).
