30“What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?” asked Jesus. “What parable shall we use to explain it?31It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground.32After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade.”
33Jesus preached his message to the people, using many other parables like these; he told them as much as they could understand. 34He would not speak to them without using parables, but when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.
