The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast^(A)(B)

¹⁸ Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God^(C) like?^(D) What shall I compare it to?

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(A)

³⁰ Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,^(B) or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³² Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

³³ With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.^{(C) 34} He did not say anything to them without using a parable.^(D) But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast^(A)(B)

³¹ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like^(C) a mustard seed,^(D) which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”^(E)

²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’^(A) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”^[a]

²⁰ Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶ He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.^(A) A man scatters seed on the ground.

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like^(A) a man who sowed good seed in his field.

³¹ Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?