Jesus loved to use examples from the nature that He created. He also liked to make thought-provoking statements, such as this one in Luke. If we have faith as small as a grain of mustard seed, we can order a sycamine tree to be plucked up by the roots and to be planted in the sea. This provokes a question: why would I want to do that? In a parallel passage, He said that having faith as a grain of mustard seed would enable us to move mountains, which has obvious uses in our lives. But why would we want to do this to a tree? Wouldn’t planting it in the salt water of the sea kill it? However, if we examine this enigmatic passage closely we can learn a lesson from Jesus about faith and forgiveness.

The sycamine tree in Luke should not be confused with the similarly named sycamore. Instead, preeminent Israeli botanist Michael Zohary identified the tree in Luke as the black mulberry. The black mulberry is an invasive species from around the Caspian Sea and it was introduced into Israel in ancient times. The tree reaches up to thirty feet in height and produces a bitter, barely edible fruit. It has the deepest root system of any tree in the ancient near east, reaching depths of more than thirty feet. This enables it to thrive in the harsh climate of Israel in areas with uncertain rainfall. The deep roots also make it nearly impossible to eradicate. If it is cut down to the ground, it will spring back up in the same place from the roots. If one starts growing near a cistern or well, its roots will push their way in and consume large amounts of water. The owner of the water source has to dig the roots out of the sand and rock, which is a backbreaking job. Even then it will come back if a small amount of the roots are left behind.