Jesus said the mustard seed is "smaller than all other seeds" in Matthew 13:31-32?

Question

It is well known that Orchid seeds, among thousands of other types of seed - many local to the area Jesus was apparently in, are smaller. How can you believe he was divine when he makes such a blatantly ignorant error?

This is not taken out of context. He didn't clarify that he meant 'locally' later on, or that he was talking about seeds used on the farm around the corner. He said "ALL other seeds"

Isn't it ridiculously obvious to everyone that this was just a man, working with the information that was available to him at the time?

It appears that, according to the eager Christian apologists that have answered, that the following logic applies: The people Jesus was talking to couldn't have known any better and therefore it was best just to lie to them. Their little brains can not handle real facts so just tell them anything, true or not, as long as it supports your agenda. Well it seems that the church has taken that message very much to heart over the centuries. Unfortunate for them however, that they constantly get proven wrong by the people among us that still have the will to think freely.

Answer 1

I know, he must really have meant smaller than all other seeds stuck together into one giant seed-ball. The Christers can rationalize anything.

Also, it says the mustard seeds will grow into trees, but there are no trees in the mustard family.

Answer 2

The size comparison was really between a mustard seed and what it blossomed. That was the point. It was not about the comparison between seeds. That is why it is called a parable. The 'know it alls' of Jesus' time couldn't understand parables either. They became too entangled by the words on the surface to grasp the meaning of the message. Even though they were educated in the law, they understood not its deeper meaning. They had no spiritual wisdom. And, spiritual wisdom is of a much higher caliber than intelligence.

Intelligence is only one dimensional. Spiritual intelligence is immeasurable. That is why man has made so many scientific accomplishments and still lives like a beast. He is still an infant at heart. He hasn't matured as of yet.

BTW. Alcohol is to the brain as smoking is to the lungs.

Answer 3

Given the people Jesus was talking with, their knowledge
of the day, and the crops they would harvest, Jesus had
told them the truth. For them, the mustard seed is the
smallest seed that they would've sown and later harvested.

There is no contradiction in what Jesus had told them.
The parable that Jesus was giving out is an analogy, it's
not meant to provide any sort of science education, but
to convey a concept using common terms that they would
have understood, common concepts being used to explain
something they didn't understand.

Jesus's point was that the mustard seed starts out the
smallest of that grouping of seeds: common seeds that all
them would know about at that time, seeds that were sown to
harvest as a crop, but that even though it's the smallest
of all those seeds, it grows into something big enough to
seem to be a tree to the birds that would rest on the
branches of it.

Jesus said that is what the kingdom of heaven is like,
it starts out small and grows very big... it's initial
size not being a good indication of it's final size.

Answer 4

[18] Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? [19] It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."
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Imagine the Garden as the whole Earth

Imagine the Seed to be each and everyone on Earth

Imagine the Tree as Vast Network Of Energy which Links All together

Imagine the Birds of the air being each and every ones Spirit

Now Imagine everything all at once and you shall understand how the Kingdom of God is Like

Look no further for the Answer is Truly Within........!

The Next thing he also said confirms prity much the same thing.. It is how we truly Look at things which can sometime give us better understanding off all things..
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[20] Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? [21] It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." Luke 13:18-21

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Love Always

Answer 5

well the mustard plants are not that big either that birds can put their nest.

Anyway, this contradiction itself proves that Jesus was telling something which people of that generation could understand easily. Looking at the track record of Jesus and his wit and wisdom, it is impossible that he was making a "big mistake" when using mustard seeds in the example in public speach.

Answer 6

Also this proves that all Christians have a faith that is smaller than a mustard seed.

After all, how many mountains have you seen moving around?

ANYTHING is possible to these people, yet none of them have solved world hunger, stopped an earthquake, drought, flood, etc, etc, . . What is it that these guys are doing with their power of faith?

Answer 7

What is really ridiculous is that you don't realise that He wanted to make a point about faith, when talking to a illiterate crowd and had no time to explain them about smaller seeds in other parts of the world when they hardly understood the very soil they were stepping on.

Answer 8

*sigh*
They lived in the desert! The only seeds they planted were ones that could produce something useful. I doubt any of them had even seen an orchid in their life let alone an orchid seed!

Answer 9

The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds within the context of the parable.

Answer 10

Or perhaps he was the son of God and knew that those he was trying to teach could only work with the information they had at the time.

So i guess the obvious answer to your question is no it isn't ridiculously obvious that Jesus was just a man.