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In the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast (vv.18-21) Jesus contrasted the small beginning of God’s kingdom in his ministry with its great climax in the future. The birds of the air in v.19 may symbolize the Gentiles who enter the kingdom (see Da 4:20-22).
Jesus stressed the urgent need for a response to his message (vv.22-30). “Make every effort” (v.24) translates the Greek agonizesthe. “Agonize, therefore, now by faith, prayer, holiness, patience” is the interpretation given by John Wesley (Notes, 255). Jesus warns the Jews that Gentiles might enter the kingdom of God while they might be left outside. The feast he mentions is the messianic feast expected by Jews in the coming kingdom (v.29).
Fear of Herod Antipas did not deter Jesus from his mission. He predicted his own death in Jerusalem and the destruction of the city itself. At the same time he predicted that ultimately the people of Jerusalem would give recognition to him, though he did not specify when that would happen (vv.31-35).