Parable of the Mustard Seed

one of the shortest parables of Jesus recorded in the Synoptic Gospels

The Parable of the Mustard Seed is one of the parables of Jesus. It is found in three of the Gospels of the New Testament: Gospel of Matthew (13:31–32), Gospel of Mark (4:30–32), and Gospel of Luke (13:18–19). The differences among the three tellings are minor.

Picture by Jan Luyken from the Bowyer Bible.

In Matthew and Luke, this parable is followed by the Parable of the Leaven. The Parable of the Leaven also has a theme about the Kingdom of Heaven growing from small beginnings. A version of the parable also occurs in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas 20.[1]

The parable from Matthew reads: "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." The parables from Mark and Luke are similar.

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