Parable of the Mustard Seed size." The Parable of the Leaven (which in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke immediately follows) shares this theme of large growth from small beginnings. As with the Parable of the Sower, which in "Matthew" and "Mark" occurs earlier in the same chapter, the man sowing the seed represents Jesus, and the plant is the Kingdom of God. The nesting birds may refer to Old Testament texts which emphasize the universal reach of God's empire, such as Daniel 4:12. However, a real mustard plant is unlikely to attract nesting birds, so that "Jesus seems deliberately to emphasize the notion of
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard to justify the principle of a "living wage", though generally conceding that this is not the main point of the parable. An example is John Ruskin, who quotes the parable in the title of his book "Unto This Last". Ruskin does not discuss the religious meaning of the parable but rather its social and economic implications. A somewhat different parable in Islamic faith has been recorded in Islamic Hadith: The Jews and the Christians got angry and said, ‘Why should we work more and get lesser wages?’ Allah said, ‘Have I withheld part of your right?’ They replied in the