The Meaning of Matthew 13:32 Explained

Matthew 13:32

KJV: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

YLT: which less, indeed, is than all the seeds, but when it may be grown, is greatest of the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven do come and rest in its branches.'

Darby: which is less indeed than all seeds, but when it is grown is greater than herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and roost in its branches.

ASV: which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Which  indeed  is  the least  of all  seeds:  but  when  it is grown,  it is  the greatest  among herbs,  and  becometh  a tree,  so that  the birds  of the air  come  and  lodge  in  the branches  thereof. 

What does Matthew 13:32 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 13:24-33 - Other Parables Of The Kingdom
The tare was a species of rye grass, which in its earlier stages, closely resembled wheat. In this world, and in the Church, professors are closely mingled with possessors. But there come great times of revealing, in the trials and difficulties of life, and in fact Satan and his angels never sleep. Let us beware of them, but be not afraid: Christ is stronger.
The mustard seed and the leaven represent the extensive and intensive, the outward and inward, the objective and subjective, aspects of Christianity. Sometimes when the Church is reaching its branches to the farthest, its heart is being corrupted by the slow spread of evil. See 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. See what stress our Lord lays on unnoticed beginnings! What seed is smaller than the mustard! Yet it may be the gateway through which Nature may pour her inner energies, forcing the rootlet down and the green shoot up. And it requires but a very small amount of leaven to permeate a large quantity of meal. Bigness is not greatness. Watch the first speck of sin; cherish each grain of holy impulse. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 13

1  The parable of the sower and the seed;
18  the explanation of it
24  The parable of the weeds;
31  of the mustard seed;
33  of the leaven;
36  explanation of the parable of the weeds
44  The parable of the hidden treasure;
45  of the pearl;
47  of the drag net cast into the sea
53  Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country

Greek Commentary for Matthew 13:32

A tree [δενδρον]
“Not in nature, but in size” (Bruce). “An excusable exaggeration in popular discourse.” [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 13:32

Mark 4:32 Groweth up [αναβαινει]
Matthew 13:32 When it is grown (οταν αυχητηι — hotan auxēthēi). [source]
Luke 6:20 Kingdom of God [ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ]
Matthew has kingdom of heaven, or of the heavens ( τῶν οὐρανῶν )a phrase used by him only, and most frequently employed by Christ himself to describe the kingdom; though Matthew also uses, less frequently, kingdom of God. The two are substantially equivalent terms, though the pre-eminent title was kingdom of God, since it was expected to be fully realized in the Messianic era, when God should take upon himself the kingdom by a visible representative. Compare Isaiah 40:9, “Behold your God. ” The phrase kingdom of Heaven was common in the Rabbinical writings, and had a double signification: the historical kingdom and the spiritual and moral kingdom. They very often understood by it divine worship; adoration of God; the sum of religious duties; but also the Messianic kingdom. The kingdom of God is, essentially, the absolute dominion of God in the universe, both in a physical and a spiritual sense. It is “an organic commonwealth which has the principle of its existence in the will of God” (Tholuck). It was foreshadowed in the Jewish theocracy. The idea of the kingdom advanced toward clearer definition from Jacob's prophecy of the Prince out of Judah (Genesis 49:10), through David's prophecy of the everlasting kingdom and the king of righteousness and peace (Daniel 7:14-27; Daniel 4:25; Daniel 2:44). In this sense it was apprehended by John the Baptist. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
The ideal kingdom is to be realized in the absolute rule of the eternal Son, Jesus Christ, by whom all things are made and consist (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-20), whose life of perfect obedience to God and whose sacrificial offering of love upon the cross reveal to men their true relation to God, and whose spirit works to bring them into this relation. The ultimate idea of the kingdom is that of “a redeemed humanity, with its divinely revealed destiny manifesting itself in a religious communion, or the Church; asocial communion, or the state; and an aesthetic communion, expressing itself in forms of knowledge and art.”-DIVIDER-
This kingdom is both present (Matthew 11:12; Matthew 12:28; Matthew 16:19; Luke 11:20; Luke 16:16; Luke 17:21; see, also, the parables of the Sower, the Tares, the Leaven, and the Drag-net; and compare the expression “theirs, or yours, is the kingdom,” Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20) and future (Daniel 7:27; Matthew 13:43; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 25:34; Matthew 26:29; Mark 9:47; 2 Peter 1:11; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Revelation 20:1-15 sq.). As a present kingdom it is incomplete and in process of development. It is expanding in society like the grain of mustard seed (Matthew 13:31, Matthew 13:32); working toward the pervasion of society like the leaven in the lump (Matthew 13:33). God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and the Gospel of Christ is the great instrument in that process (2 Corinthians 5:19, 2 Corinthians 5:20). The kingdom develops from within outward under the power of its essential divine energy and law of growth, which insures its progress and final triumph against all obstacles. Similarly, its work in reconciling and subjecting the world to God begins at the fountain-head of man's life, by implanting in his heart its own divine potency, and thus giving a divine impulse and direction to the whole man, rather than by moulding him from without by a moral code. The law is written in his heart. In like manner the State and the Church are shaped, not by external pressure, like the Roman empire and the Roxnish hierarchy, but by the evolution of holy character in men. The kingdom of God in its present development is not identical with the Church. It is a larger movement which includes the Church. The Church is identified with the kingdom to the degree in which it is under the power of the spirit of Christ. “As the Old Testament kingdom of God was perfected and completed when it ceased to be external, and became internal by being enthroned in the heart, so, on the other hand, the perfection of the New Testament kingdom will consist in its complete incarnation and externalization; that is, when it shall attain an outward manifestation, adequately expressing, exactly corresponding to its internal principle” (Tholuck). The consummation is described in Revelation 21,22. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
[source]

John 3:16 For so [ουτως γαρ]
This use of γαρ — gar is quite in John‘s style in introducing his comments (John 2:25; John 4:8; John 5:13, etc.). This “Little Gospel” as it is often called, this “comfortable word” (the Anglican Liturgy), while not a quotation from Jesus is a just and marvellous interpretation of the mission and message of our Lord. In John 3:16-21 John recapitulates in summary fashion the teaching of Jesus to Nicodemus. Loved First aorist active indicative of αγαπαω — agapaō the noble word so common in the Gospels for the highest form of love, used here as often in John (John 14:23; John 17:23; 1 John 3:1; 1 John 4:10) of God‘s love for man (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4). In John 21:15 John presents a distinction between αγαπαω — agapaō and πιλεω — phileō Αγαπαω — Agapaō is used also for love of men for men (John 13:34), for Jesus (John 8:42), for God (1 John 4:10). The world The whole cosmos of men, including Gentiles, the whole human race. This universal aspect of God‘s love appears also in 2 Corinthians 5:19; Romans 5:8. That he gave The usual classical construction with ωστε — hōste and the indicative (first aorist active) practical result, the only example in the N.T. save that in Galatians 2:13. Elsewhere ωστε — hōste with the infinitive occurs for actual result (Matthew 13:32) as well as purpose (Matthew 10:1), though even this is rare. His only begotten Son “The Son the only begotten.” For this word see note on John 1:14, note on John 1:18; and John 3:18. The rest of the sentence, the purpose clause with ιναεχηι — hina -εις αυτον — echēi precisely reproduces the close of John 3:15 save that εν αυτωι — eis auton takes the place of πιστευων — en autōi (see John 1:12) and goes certainly with εχηι — pisteuōn (not with εν αυτωι — echēi as μη αποληται αλλα — en autōi in John 3:15) and the added clause “should not perish but” The same contrast between “perish” and “eternal life” (for this world and the next) appears also in John 10:28. On “perish” see also John 17:12. [source]
Acts 2:26 Shall dwell [κατασκηνωσει]
Shall tabernacle, pitch a tent, make one‘s abode (cf. Matthew 13:32). See note on Matthew 8:20 about kataskēnōseis (nests) In hope (ep' elpidi). On hope, the hope of the resurrection. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 13:32 mean?

which smallest indeed is of all the seeds when however it is grown greater than the garden plants it is and becomes a tree so that come the birds of the air perch in the branches of it
μικρότερον μέν ἐστιν πάντων τῶν σπερμάτων ὅταν δὲ αὐξηθῇ μεῖζον τῶν λαχάνων ἐστὶν καὶ γίνεται δένδρον ὥστε ἐλθεῖν τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνοῦν ἐν τοῖς κλάδοις αὐτοῦ

μικρότερον  smallest 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular, Comparative
Root: μικρός  
Sense: small, little.
μέν  indeed 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: μέν  
Sense: truly, certainly, surely, indeed.
πάντων  of  all 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: πᾶς  
Sense: individually.
σπερμάτων  seeds 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: σπέρμα  
Sense: from which a plant germinates.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
αὐξηθῇ  it  is  grown 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐξάνω 
Sense: to cause to grow, augment.
μεῖζον  greater 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular, Comparative
Root: μέγας  
Sense: great.
τῶν  than  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
λαχάνων  garden  plants 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: λάχανον  
Sense: any pot herb, vegetables.
ἐστὶν  it  is 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
γίνεται  becomes 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
δένδρον  a  tree 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: δένδρον  
Sense: a tree.
ὥστε  so  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὥστε  
Sense: so that, insomuch that.
ἐλθεῖν  come 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
πετεινὰ  birds 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: πετεινόν  
Sense: flying, winged.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὐρανοῦ  air 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
κατασκηνοῦν  perch 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: κατασκηνόω  
Sense: to pitch one’s tent, to fix one’s abode, to dwell.
κλάδοις  branches 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: κλάδος  
Sense: a young tender shoot, broken off for grafting.
αὐτοῦ  of  it 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Neuter 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.