Matthew 13:32

32. Least of all seeds The point of the parable is to exhibit the contrast between the smallness of the Gospel beginnings and the greatness of the result. The mustard was the least of seeds that produced the genuine tree. Greatest among herbs Though a tree in size, it was a herb by proper classification. Birds of the air This is added to complete the image of a goodly tree; but it is also a sweet illustration of the character of the Church, as a refuge and a protection for the souls that resort to her shadow. See Ezekiel 17:23: “Under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing.”

This parabolic image of the growth of the kingdom of Christ is beautifully parallel to many passages in the Old Testament, where the rise and expansion of kingdoms are compared to the growth of a stately tree. (Daniel 4:10-12; Ezekiel 31:3-9.) It is also strongly accordant with the image in Daniel 2:34-35, of the kingdom of God, which at first was a small stone, but finally became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. And this last image describes the growth of the kingdom, as being completely universal, more explicitly even than our Lord’s simile here of the mustard spreading its branches.