He
set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”
He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”
Matthew 13:31-33
Matthew 13 [29.] “But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Matthew 13 [31.] He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”
Matthew 13 [33.] He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”
Matthew 13 [34.] Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,
“I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”
Meaning:
Jesus tells two short parables side by side, one about a man in his field and one about a woman in her kitchen. Both answer a question his followers must have asked: how can this small movement, a teacher from Nazareth with a handful of fishermen and tax collectors, really be the Kingdom of Heaven? Jesus’ answer is that the Kingdom starts small and hidden but grows to fill the world.
- “A grain of mustard seed… smaller than all seeds”
The mustard seed was proverbial among the Jews for being tiny. It was the smallest seed a Galilean farmer would normally sow. Jesus is not giving a botany lesson but using a familiar picture. The beginning of God’s Kingdom in Jesus looked insignificant: no army, no palace, no political power. Yet God often works through small beginnings. Through Zechariah he asked, “who despises the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10).
- “becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches”
The mustard plant of Galilee could grow to the height of a man or more in a single season, large enough for birds to perch in. The picture of birds nesting in a great tree echoes the prophets. Through Ezekiel God promised to plant a tender twig on a high mountain that would become a great cedar, and “under it shall dwell all birds of every wing” (Ezekiel 17:23). The birds suggest people from many nations finding shelter in God’s Kingdom. Mark records the same parable (Mark 4:30-32).
- “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast”
Yeast, or leaven, was a small piece of fermented dough kept back from a previous batch and worked into new dough. Elsewhere in the Bible yeast often stands for the spreading influence of evil, as when Paul warns, “Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?” (1 Corinthians 5:6). Here Jesus uses the same quality, its quiet power to spread, as a picture of good.
- “Hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened”
Three measures was a large amount, about 39 liters according to the PIB footnote, enough bread for a great gathering. Sarah used the same amount when Abraham welcomed his heavenly visitors: “three seahs of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes” (Genesis 18:6). The yeast is “hid”, working out of sight, until the whole batch is changed. So the Kingdom works quietly from within, changing hearts, families and communities.
- Two pictures, one message
The mustard seed shows outward growth: from tiny beginnings to something great and visible. The yeast shows inward change: hidden but thorough, until everything is transformed. Jesus told his disciples they would be his witnesses “to the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8), and history has seen that small beginning spread to every nation.
The Significance of Matthew 13:31-33
- Do not despise small beginnings
A small prayer group, a single conversation or one act of kindness can be the start of something great in God’s hands.
- God works quietly
Much of God’s work is hidden, like yeast in dough. We may not see it at once, but he is changing lives from within.
Cross-References:
Mark 4:31: "It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth," Mark’s version of the parable.
Ezekiel 17:23: "and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shade of its branches shall they dwell." The great tree of God’s planting.
Zechariah 4:10: "Indeed, who despises the day of small things?" God’s small beginnings.
Conclusion: Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a tiny mustard seed that grows into a tree where birds nest, and to yeast hidden in a large batch of meal until all of it is leavened. The Kingdom began small and hidden, but it grows outwardly to shelter people from every nation and works inwardly to transform everything it touches.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible