The passage about mustard seed type faith is often used to indicate that the size of faith is not important. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If the mustard seed referred to “small” faith being powerful, Christ would not have constantly rebuked the disciples for having too weak faith. Christ constantly taught that small faith is worthless. Now it is true that the seed itself is among the tiniest of seeds of any plants. It is like a tiny pinpoint, only one millimeter in diameter. What this tiny seed really represents is the point of light like from a laser when all the rays are focused and unified in one direction. This is the mustard seed. Gathering the rays of your intention and focusing them fully on one object with no inner conflicts. Concentration of intention. A laser appears not as a beam (as in movies) but as a burning focused point of light at appearing at the target. Likewise, the ray of faith is “unseen” (faith is the “substance of things unseen”) and we only see the final manifestation, the burning pinpoint of light. Think of a magnifying glass, it aligns the suns rays to focus on one object, thus producing real burning power to “fry some insects” with (demonic strongholds) as opposed to just mere warmth. The prophetic interpretation is read as “mustered” seed (mustered with an “E”) the power that is marshalled up or mustered up from inside of you. This is mustard seed. A person’s faith should be powerful inside them, like the Sun (sometimes it can be helpful to even visualize a large sun of faith from your center). This is our power from God. Later in verse 20 Christ teaches “the kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU.” We need to stop being weak Christians hoping God will do something and forgetting about using the power inside that he gave to us! One major hinderance is double-mindedness. For example some people unconsciously want to be sick, because they received a lot of sympathy from others for their sickness or they will be getting extra time off from a job they hate. These unconscious conflicts destroy the focus of faith, making their healing impossible until resolved. Same goes with accessing spiritual power and giftings, receiving abundance in finances or anything else.

The “sea” here refers not to the literal ocean but is an allegory related to the brazen sea in Solomon’s Temple, which purifies all things before they are allowed to come to God (this Sea is described in 2 Chronicles 4:2-6). The priests would wash in this large bronze “sea” for personal purification before entering the temple. The Mulberry tree is significant in that its wood was used by the ancient Israelites and even today to make coffins, due to the wood’s long-lasting characteristics. The Mulberry’s association with death and slow decay has to do with unforgiveness which also brings the soul’s slow deathly decay due to bitterness held in against a person (the preceding verses 3-4 before the Mulberry mention actually are about the importance of forgiveness).

This also is an allegory, related to the Mulberry tree mentioned in Matthew, the tree of unforgiveness which must be cast into the temple sea (“the waters”) and thus purified from the soul. Although modern day teaching on faith often has to do with using it for material success, the spiritual use is the most important. This powerful “mustard seed” allows us to take the mulberry tree of our personal wounds and unforgiveness and purify them in the temple’s brazen sea, giving us access to come closer unto God. God in turn, will cast our own sins in his “sea.”

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