559th Post Jesus Said Concerning Parables Con't. - Parables about Growth in the Kingdom Con't. - Parable of the Mustard Seed 1st Post - Matthew 13: 31 -32.

Parable of the Mustard Seed Matthew 13: 31 - 32; Mark 4: 30 - 32; Luke 13: 18 - 19; 1st post.
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than all the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.
This was spoken by Jesus about 1 - 1.1/2 years into His earthly Ministry. To try to understand this parable, you need to look at all the parables mentioned in Chapter 13 of Matthew.  Some of these parables Jesus explained to His disciples, you should remember what Jesus applied to the parables He explained, and apply the same meaning here.  In all the parables in this chapter, the man is Jesus, this is true here as well.  The Mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds known. When the Mustard seed reaches maturity, it can be almost 10 feet tall.  This would make it seem like a tree to the other herbs, but is dwarfed by the regular trees.  A 10 foot tree would be considered a sapling (an immature tree).  The birds of the air come and nest in its branches.  If you have read all the parables mentioned in Matthew Chapter 13, you will notice that every one has a negative aspect to it.  The same goes here as well.  I am running out of space for this post and will have to continue next post.