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.
35. So God's promise came true, just as the prophet had said,“I will use storiesto speak my messageand to explain thingsthat have been hiddensince the creationof the world.”
36. After Jesus left the crowd and went inside, his disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the story about the weeds in the wheat field.”
37. Jesus answered:The one who scattered the good seed is the Son of Man.