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 Good Samaritan centuries by Chrysostom in Constantinople, Ambrose in Milan, and Augustine in North Africa. This interpretation is found most completely in two other medieval stained-glass windows, in the French cathedrals at Bourges and Sens." The allegorical interpretation is also traditional in the Orthodox Church. John Newton refers to the allegorical interpretation in his hymn "How Kind the Good Samaritan," which begins: <poem> How kind the good Samaritan To him who fell among the thieves! Thus Jesus pities fallen man, And heals the wounds the soul receives.</poem> Robert Funk also suggests that Jesus' Jewish listeners were to identify with the robbed and