Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mustard seed or mustard plant

The parable of the mustard seed is one of the shortest parables in the Gospel: 2 verses in Matthew, 3 in Mark, 2 in Luke. In Maria Valtorta, it takes up a whole page. Exegetes see it as a symbol of the Gospel, others of the Church, and still others of the Kingdom of God. Jean-François Lavère therefore sought to compare the meaning Maria Valtorta gave to these explanations. In his article published in 2010, he noted:

"The mustard plant is the common name for the plant whose seeds are used to make mustard. It belongs to the same family as rapeseed and can easily be mistaken for it. Depending on the variety (white or black mustard), the plant ranges in height from about 80 cm (Sinapis alba) to nearly 2 metres (Brassica nigra). White mustard (Sinapis alba) typically grows between 0.80 m and 1.50 m tall. In Palestine, the plant appears to reach a height of about 1.5 metres. Goldfinches are particularly fond of its seeds and are often seen perching in groups on its branches."

What do the Gospels say?

Underlined passages are added to facilitate comparison between the Gospel version of the parable and the one from The Gospel as Revealed to Me, below.

Matthew 13:31-32:

"... when it has grown, it is larger than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come to dwell in its branches."

Mark 4:30-32:

"... when sown, it rises, becomes larger than all the vegetables, and grows large branches."

Luke 13:18-19:

"It is like a mustard seed that a man took and cast into his garden; it grows, becomes a tree, and the birds of the sky dwell in its branches."

What does Maria Valtorta say?

On Wednesday, February 23, 28 (10 Adar I 3788), Jesus wants to please a hostess who hosted Him and asked for a teaching. Jesus then draws from a heard reflection:

"Listen. Here on My knees I have a little boy who has spoken very wisely. He said: “Everything that is obtained by deceit, becomes straw”. His mother taught him that truth. It is not a tale. It is an eternal truth. What is done dishonestly is never successful. Because falsehood in words, deeds, and religion is always a sign of alliance with Satan, the master of falsehood. Do not believe that the deeds worthy of achieving the Kingdom of Heaven are very noisy or showy. They are common, continuous deeds, but performed with a supernatural purpose of love."

Then he begins the parable:

"Love is the seed of the plant that sprouts in you and grows up as far as Heaven, and in its shade all the other virtues sprout. I will compare it to the tiny mustard seed. How small it is! It is one of the smallest seeds that man sows. But look how big and leafy it becomes when it has grown up and how much fruit it bears. Not one hundred per cent, but one hundred to one. The smallest. But the most diligent in working. How much profit it gives you. Love is the same. If you enclose in your hearts a tiny seed of love for your Most Holy God and for your neighbour, and if you accomplish your deeds guided by love, you will not fail in any of the precepts of the Decalogue. You will not lie to God by means of a false religion of practices but not of the spirit. You will not lie to your neighbour, behaving as ungrateful children, as adulterers, as too exacting husbands and wives, as thieves in business, as liars in life, as violent avengers towards your enemies. Look how many birds have taken shelter, in this warm hour of the day, among the branches of the trees in the garden. Before long that mustard plant, which now is still very small, will be a real perch for birds. All the birds will come to the safe shade of those thick and comfortable trees and their little ones will learn to fly safely among those branches which are like steps and a net, which they can climb without falling. Such is love, the foundation of the Kingdom of God."

As can be seen, the version given by Maria Valtorta differs slightly from that delivered by the synoptics. It also seems more "realistic", since the mustard plant is a plant, and does not usually exceed, according to botanists, 1.20 to 1.50 m.

Where The Evangelists say: "becomes a tree" and speak of "branches", Maria Valtorta simply evokes a "perch" and "branches", which better corresponds to the description of this plant.

What does exegesis say?

Father Jean Carmignac performed an exegetical analysis of this parable. Noting that the mustard seed can hardly be compared to a tree, he explained (Cambrai Conference 1986) that "having branches", (branches) is said “anaph” in Hebrew, while "becoming a tree" is said “etz”. But if in the word "anaph" the two letters (the “nun” and the “pe”) touch, it becomes a “tsade” (the final letter in etz), so that if the two letters touch it means "becomes a tree", and if the two letters do not touch, it means "produces branches", (branches). So a tight writing on an original Hebrew manuscript would be enough for the Greek translations to have deviated from the original Hebrew meaning.

The fact that Maria Valtorta gives a slightly different version from the Gospel versions already proves that she does not simply "copy" them.

But that this version is coherent with a credible hypothesis formulated by Jean Carmignac 40 years later is an element that can certainly be credited to the authenticity of the revelations received by M. Valtorta!

Jean-François Lavère

In the Catholic context, usually refers to the first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) because of their common framework. Broader definition: those offering a general overview of a whole. (Example: a synoptic table).

Analysis of the historical, cultural, and literary context of Biblical texts to better understand what they meant at the time they were written and how they can be interpreted today.

Analysis of the historical, cultural, and literary context of Biblical texts to better understand what they meant at the time they were written and how they can be interpreted today.