Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 13:19

"It is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his own garden; and it grew, and became a tree; and the birds of the heaven lodged in the branches thereof." — Luke 13:19 (ASV)

And it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

"The fowls of the air," that might once have eaten it, "lodged in the branches of it." See, in this emblem, an illustration of the growth of the kingdom of God, the vitality of the truth of God, the energy with which, from a small beginning, God's kingdom advances to a great ending.

Have you this mustard seed in your heart? It may seem a very little thing even to yourself; others may scarcely perceive it yet; but let it alone, and it will grow.

Yet it will not grow without watering. Seeds may lie long in the ground, but they will not sprout until the rain has fallen to moisten the earth. Pray God to send showers of blessing upon your soul tonight, so that, even if you have no more than a grain of mustard seed in your heart, it may begin to grow. Is the grain of mustard seed sending up its shoot above the ground?

Then pray God that it may grow yet more until it is not only just visible, but is so prominent that it must be seen, so that those who once hated it will be compelled to see it and to wonder at it as they behold the birds of the air coming and lodging in its branches.

I pray that, in many hearts here, the grace of God may not long continue to be a small thing, but that it may advance to tree-like stature, until you yield comfort to fifties and hundreds, and many of you become like some of the trees in this great city and its suburbs.

Did you ever notice them, at nightfall, when all the sparrows of the street come and lodge in the branches, and merrily twitter before they go to their rest? There are some Christians like those trees; they have hearts so big, and they do for Christ's service so much, that they harbour hundreds of poor little birds of the air who otherwise would hardly know where to go for shelter. God make us such Christians that we shall be a blessing to multitudes all around us!

It is like a grain of mustard seed,–

You can hardly see it; you can, however, taste it. Try it, and you shall find it pungent enough; but it is so small that you may easily pass it by: It is like a grain of mustard seed,

Which a man took, and cast into his garden;

It must be sown in prepared soil; and there is "a man" who knows how to cast it so that it shall fall where it will live, and where it will grow.