19. but the worries of this life, the temptation of wealth, and many other evil desires keep the teaching from growing and producing fruit in their lives.
20. Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit—sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more.”
21. Then Jesus said to them, “Do you hide a lamp under a bowl or under a bed? No! You put the lamp on a lampstand.
22. Everything that is hidden will be made clear and every secret thing will be made known.
23. Let those with ears use them and listen!
24. “Think carefully about what you hear. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you, but God will give you even more.
25. Those who have understanding will be given more. But those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them.”
26. Then Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who plants seed in the ground.
27. Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still grows, but the person does not know how it grows.
28. By itself the earth produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head.
29. When the grain is ready, the farmer cuts it, because this is the harvest time.”
30. Then Jesus said, “How can I show you what the kingdom of God is like? What story can I use to explain it?
31. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest seed you plant in the ground.
32. But when planted, this seed grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants. It produces large branches, and the wild birds can make nests in its shade.”
33. Jesus used many stories like these to teach the crowd God’s message—as much as they could understand.