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
The Good Samaritan Window, Chartres Cathedral (the "dextera domini") extruding from foliage(?) apparently blessing the work and the window of the shoemakers. Panels 5-12 present the parable of the Good Samaritan; they are preceded by Christ telling the parable to two Pharisees who had asked "Who is my neighbor?" One of the Pharisees wears the "Judenhut" or "pilleus cornutus", a cone-shaped pointed hat worn by Jews in medieval Europe and some of the Islamic world. Jesus is seated with his right hand raised and his left hand holding a book, perhaps the book of the Gospels (Panel 4). The parable panels then follow: A traveler, described