Bible Strands
Mark 4:31
It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples in Mark 4, answering his own question in verse 30 about how to illustrate the kingdom of God after teaching a crowd by the sea.
The words — The Greek phrase κόκκῳ σινάπεως (kokkō sinapeōs) translates literally as "a grain of mustard," denoting the seed's minimal physical dimensions before it is sown upon the earth.
The thread — The text's claim of small beginnings expanding into widespread coverage runs parallel to Mark 4:32 and aligns with the multiplied descendants promised in Genesis 22:17.
Why it lands — The verse demands the reader acknowledge that the kingdom of God begins in a concealed, unimpressive state before fulfilling its intended expansive purpose.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
Cross-references
- Acts 19:20 So the word of the Lord powerfully continued to spread and prevail.
- Genesis 22:17 I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- Luke 13:18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?
- Daniel 2:44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
- Malachi 1:11 For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Psalms 72:16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land; may it sway atop the hills. May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon, the people of its cities like the grass of the field.
- Isaiah 2:2 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
- Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
- Isaiah 49:6 He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
- Isaiah 53:2 He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.