The Faith of A Mustard Seed: Combining Parables

I was thinking today. About mustard seeds. Jesus famously twice made mention of mustard seeds in his parables. In Matthew 17:20 he talks about how "faith as big as a mustard seed" can move mountains. And in Matthew 13:31-32, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed, that grows from something small into a mighty tree, where birds take shelter. The stories appear in other Gospels as well, though I'm just gonna go with Matthew for now.

These are two of Jesus' most famous teachings and anyone that grew up in a church has surely heard them before. But as I said before, I was thinking about these parables today. In conjunction. Warning: this is more of an illustration, postulation discussion than a strictly theologically sound one (I feel somewhat wary about combining separate passages in general, but I like this so I'm gonna try it out here). For serious theological advice, consult someone with an M.Div...

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

First of all, I've always thought that the mustard seed reference to "moving mountains" seemed a little extreme. Was this meaning that God would reward the smallest amount of faith with the mightiest of deeds? What then could be done by someone with a lot of faith? Or was this more about how the real power lies with God and not with anything we can do but believe? (very possibly, but like all scripture I think there's more that can be gleaned from it, so stick with me).

It always seemed almost condescending to me how he rebukes his disciples as well. These were the apostles he was talking to. Was he really saying they didn't have a mustard seed's worth of faith? How can we hope to surpass the faith of the men Jesus was closest to on earth, who couldn't even muster a miniscule mustard seed's worth of faith? Or was he really just saying that their faith was too little and trying to illustrate that?

I've been thinking about it in terms of a God that keeps sculpting us and perfecting us throughout our life, even using mistakes we make along the way. I misspoke (miswrote?) before when I called them "the apostles". They weren't really. Not yet. Jesus was still before them and we are told that they were kept from fully understanding all that they saw. They were not "complete" if you will.

Maybe Jesus didn't use the mustard seed in both of these illustrations by accident. I think it was, in fact, done deliberately. Because faith and the Kingdom of God are intertwined. The Kingdom of God is within those that believe.

What I see, when I combine these passages, is Jesus saying "Give me even the smallest amount of faith, faith as small as a lowly mustard seed, and I will make it grow up within you. I will cultivate your faith until it becomes a safe place for those in need of shelter and rest."

In 1 Corinthians 3:7, it says:

⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

Continue to grow up my faith Lord and help me to move mountains in your name.