Luke 13:18 Meaning and Explanation

Then said he — on the heels of the healing and the joy of the crowd — unto what is the kingdom of God like? The doubled question is a teacher gathering his hearers in. What has just happened in the synagogue is itself a glimpse of that kingdom: bondage broken, a daughter restored, God glorified.

Jesus answers His own question with pictures from gardens and kitchens rather than definitions. The kingdom — the reign of God among His people — must be shown even more than defined. The question invites every hearer to lean forward and watch for a reign that arrives, as the next verses tell, like seed and leaven: small, quiet, and unstoppable.