27. The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn't understand how.
28. It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain.
29. Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.
30. Finally, Jesus said:What is God's kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it?
31. It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world.
32. But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.
33. Jesus used many other stories when he spoke to the people, and he taught them as much as they could understand.