The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(A)

³¹ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ^(B)“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, ³² which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a ^(C)tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven^(D)

^33 (E)Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three ^[a]measures of meal till ^(F)it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and the Parables

^34 (G)All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, ³⁵ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

^17 (A)From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ^(B)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven ^[a]is at hand.”

³² “Do not fear, little flock, for ^(A)it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Glory Only in the Lord

²⁶ For ^[a]you see your calling, brethren, ^(A)that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many ^[b]noble, are called. ²⁷ But ^(B)God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the ^[c]base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence.

⁴¹ Then those who ^[a]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And ^(A)the Lord added ^[a]to the church daily those who were being saved.

⁷ For ^(A)unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ^(A)“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

³¹ “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. ^32 (A)This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and ^[a]thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of ^[b]clay. ³⁴ You watched while a stone was cut out ^(B)without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. ^35 (C)Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became ^(D)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that ^(E)no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image ^(F)became a great mountain ^(G)and filled the whole earth.