Mustard seed
The Greek word for 'mustard' is sinapi. The Hebrew word 'sinapir' אסנפר thorn sounds very similar to awsone 'hurt' אסון and api 'anger' אפי . Is it plausible that this is word-play pointing back to the seed of the woman? [1] |
|
| |
The seed of the woman had a bruised heel. [1] |
Great herb [∞]
The nature of a riddle is that you don't know the answer from the riddle, but you discern the riddle from the answer. The answers to the riddles come from scripture. |
|
We need additional information: |
|
One of the clues that the mustard seed represented Jesus was that he and it were both the least of all the seed. Jesus was the least because he served us all. The seed grew into the greatest herb, which was given to man to eat. What is the greatest thing that man can eat? The body of Christ.[1] |
|
We conclude that he became the great teacher. However, when we apply close reading rules, we catch the error. It does not say that the herb was given to men to eat, but to serve men. Though our first conclusion was a technical error, it was nonetheless true. Jesus was a teacher. Upon closer examination, the riddle is clarified. Now it can be said that his service is referenced in both parts of the riddle. He not only taught us about the cross, but he taught us about 'bruising our heel', or making the instincts of the flesh weak in order to be obedient in the Spirit. [1] This was teaching by example. He served us, by overcoming his desire to not die, and fulfilled the Father's will on the cross. |
|
The Rules for interpretation [1] were applied to clarify the teaching. Scripture is the source of all the answers. Not our memory, doctrinal interpolations, tradition, history, etc. A child could have noticed that originally it was said that the herbs were given to man to 'eat, but that the scripture did not say that. Where did it come from? It wasn't a total fabrication. Everyone knows that herbs can be eaten. So it was 'penciled in' in our mind to make sense of the riddle as it was examined more closely in each pass. It wasn't heretically wrong, it just wasn't precise; which further digging corrected. |
|
The Greek, undoubtedly would call someone a heretic, and doctrinal battles would ensue, if they had ever recognized the riddle to begin with. Studying the mystery is a collaboration. In Greek studies, they say it is a collaboration by asking "what does it mean to you?". In these studies, we share in the observation of what it says by close reading. |
Great tree [∞]
The parable [1] progresses from the seed, which represents Jesus in the event of his birth [2], to the herb, which also represents Jesus in the event of his life [3] and then to the tree , which we can safely say also represents Jesus, and the event of the cross. |
|
|
|
Jesus has pointed backwards now to Ge 1:11, 12 [1][2] He references the seed, the herb and the tree and is giving a commentary on it. It would be fulfilled by him. Please notice that this is a reference to the cross on day 3 of creation, and man was not created until day 6. It displays God's love that he had a plan to reveal himself to us through Christ and the cross before he made man. |
|
If we use Greek methods of interpretation, we must read Ge 1:11,12 literally. They determine that God literally made grass and herbs with seed and trees with fruit which had seed. However, the purpose of scripture is not to give us a history, though it does. It's purpose is to reveal the invisible Father through the Son [1]. If we miss the son in it, we have missed the point. [2] |
|