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 Leaven the Church. As with the Parable of the Lost Coin, this parable is part of a pair, in which the first parable describes Jesus' work in terms of a man's agricultural activities, and the second in terms of a woman's domestic activities. Joel B. Green writes that Jesus "asks people — male or female, privileged or peasant, it does not matter — to enter the domain of a first-century woman and household cook in order to gain perspective on the domain of God." The large quantity of flour may hint at a planned festive occasion, since the bread produced could