The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Matthew 13:31-33 · Berean Standard Bible
Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed — the smallest of seeds that grows into a tree where birds nest — and to yeast that a woman works through a large batch of dough. Both twin parables teach that God's kingdom starts almost invisibly small yet grows to fill and transform everything around it. The lesson is that small, faithful beginnings can produce a vast, unstoppable harvest.
31He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.
32Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
33He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”
Read the wider context: Matthew 13.
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Related passages
- Jesus Walks on Water — Matthew 14:22-33
- Peter Walks on Water and Doubts (Matthew 14:28-33) — Matthew 14:28-33
- The Parable of the Wedding Banquet — Matthew 22:1-14
- The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares — Matthew 13:24-30