The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³¹ He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;^{(A) 32} it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”^(B)

The Parable of the Yeast

³³ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with^[a] three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”^(C)

The Use of Parables

³⁴ Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.^{(D) 35} This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:^[b]

Three Parables

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.^(A)

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;