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Parable of the mustard seed:
v. 31. Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
v. 32. which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
He set before them choice spiritual food for their instruction and edification. The kingdom of Christ in its growth is like a grain of mustard seed, whose size and appearance give no intimation of the force of its sprouting nor of the size of the herb at its full maturity, whether one restricts the word to the garden herb or includes the mustard tree of the Orient, whose great size is often referred to by Jewish writers. So large does it become that the birds may make their roosts in its branches. It seems almost incredible that such a tiny seed can produce such a large, treelike plant. But even so, as Christ here predicts, the kingdom of Christ grows from small beginnings until it extends over the whole earth, and becomes a place of rest and of peace for all people. The few despised disciples whom Christ gathered about Him were the nucleus of the great Christian Church, which came into existence and is maintained through the power of the Gospel.