24. Jesus then told them this story:The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field.
25. But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weeds in the field and then left.
26. When the plants came up and began to ripen, the farmer's servants could see the weeds.
27. The servants came and asked, “Sir, didn't you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”
28. “An enemy did this,” he replied.His servants then asked, “Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?”
29. “No!” he answered. “You might also pull up the wheat.
30. Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I'll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I'll order them to store the wheat in my barn.”
31. Jesus told them another story:The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field.
32. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, it grows larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree. Birds even come and nest on its branches.
33. Jesus also said:The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. Finally, all the dough rises.
34. Jesus used stories when he spoke to the people. In fact, he did not tell them anything without using stories.