Stories of Mustard Seed and Yeast

³¹ Then Jesus told another story: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. A man plants the seed in his field. ³² That seed is the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows, it is one of the largest garden plants. It becomes a tree, big enough for the wild birds to come and make nests in its branches.”

³³ Then Jesus told another story: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour. The yeast makes all the dough rise.”

Stories of a Treasure and a Pearl

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. The man was very happy to find the treasure. He went and sold everything that he owned to buy that field.

⁴⁵ “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ One day he found a very valuable pearl. The man went and sold everything he had to buy that pearl.

A Story of a Fishing Net

⁴⁷ “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was put into the lake. The net caught many different kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets. Then they threw away the bad fish. ⁴⁹ It will be this way at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the good people. ⁵⁰ The angels will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace. In that place the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

⁵¹ Jesus asked his followers, “Do you understand all these things?”

They answered, “Yes, we understand.”

⁵² Then Jesus said to them, “So every teacher of the law who has been taught about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house. He has both new things and old things saved in his house. And he brings out both those new things and old things.”