Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “What is God’s Kingdom like? To what shall I compare it?
- KJV Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
- NKJV Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
- NASB So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?
- NLT Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus asks what God's kingdom is like and how to compare it. He turns from controversy to teaching the nature of the kingdom He brings.
Overview
The healing just performed is itself a sign of the kingdom's arrival, prompting these parables. By posing the question, Jesus invites reflection on a kingdom that often looks small and hidden. The two following parables answer how God's reign grows and works in the world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Mark 4:30–34Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?
- Matt 13:31–32He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.
- Luke 17:21Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
- Mark 4:26Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.
- Luke 13:20Again He asked, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God?
- Matt 13:24Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
- Lam 2:13What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?
- Luke 7:31“To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 13:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.