A Story About Mustard Seed^(A)

³⁰ Then Jesus said, “How can I show you what the kingdom of God is like? What ·story [parable; see 3:23] can I use to explain it? ³¹ The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest seed you plant in the ground. [^CThe mustard seed was the smallest seed known to Jesus’ hearers.] ³² But when planted, this seed grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants. It produces large branches, and the wild birds can make nests in its shade.”

³³ Jesus used many ·stories [parables] like these to teach the crowd God’s ·message [word]—as much as they could ·understand [hear]. ³⁴ He always used ·stories [parables] to teach them. But when he and his ·followers [disciples] were alone, Jesus explained everything to them.

Stories of Mustard Seed and Yeast^(A)

³¹ Then Jesus ·told [presented to them] another ·story [parable]: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man ·planted [sowed] in his field. ³² That seed is the smallest of all seeds [^Cthe mustard seed was the smallest seed known to Jesus’ hearers], but when it grows, it is one of the largest garden plants. It becomes ·big enough [^La tree] for the ·wild birds [^Lbirds of the sky] to come and build nests in its branches.”

³⁴ Jesus used ·stories [parables] to tell all these things to the people; he ·always used stories to teach them [^Ldid not speak to them without parables; Mark 4:33–34].

Stories of Mustard Seed and Yeast^(A)

¹⁸ Then Jesus said, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it with? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed that a man plants in his garden. The seed grows and becomes a tree, and the ·wild birds [^Lbirds of the sky] build nests in its branches.”

²⁰ Jesus said again, “What can I compare God’s kingdom with? ²¹ It is like ·yeast [leaven] that a woman took and ·hid [mixed] in a large tub [^CGreek: three sata; about fifty pounds] of flour until ·it made all the dough rise [^Lthe whole was leavened; Matt. 13:33].”