²⁸ And when he had ^(A)entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰ He said to them, ^(A)“Because of your little faith. For ^(B)truly, I say to you, ^(C)if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^(D)you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^(E)nothing will be impossible for you.”^[a]

¹⁷ And when he had entered ^(A)the house and left the people, ^(B)his disciples asked him about the parable.

³⁴ He did not speak to them ^(A)without a parable, but ^(B)privately to his own disciples he ^(C)explained everything.

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ And ^(A)when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

¹⁵ But Peter said to him, ^(A)“Explain the parable to us.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into ^(A)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^(B)“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”