free". This might therefore be classified as an exorcism. The gospel account relates the story as another example of Jesus clashing with religious authorities over how the Sabbath should be honoured: when the synagogue ruler tells the woman she should have come to be healed on a different day, Jesus denounces the synagogue leaders as hypocrites because they would release their animals to feed on the Sabbath, so why should this "daughter of Abraham" (verse 16) not be set free on the Sabbath from what is keeping her captive? Verse 15 has the singular , hypokrita, in the Textus Receptus, but the plural , hypokritai, in critical Greek texts such as the SBL Greek New Testament. Hence the King James Version reads "Thou hypocrite", addressing the synagogue leader only, whereas the New International Version reads "You hypocrites!". Free church minister William Robertson Nicoll suggests that the comment was "directed against the class", i.e. the synagogue leaders collectively. Parable of the Mustard Seed (verses 18-19) This parable is one of the shorter parables of Jesus. It appears in three of the canonical gospels of the New Testament. The differences between Gospels of Matthew (), Mark (), and Luke (), are minor. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, it is immediately followed by the Parable of the Leaven, which shares this parable's theme of the Kingdom of Heaven growing from small beginnings. A version of the parable also occurs in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas 20. The plant referred to here is generally considered to be black mustard, a large annual plant up to tall, but growing from a proverbially small seed: this smallness is also used to refer to faith in Matthew 17:20 and Luke 17:6. According to rabbinical sources, Jews did not grow the plant in gardens, and this is consistent with Matthew's description of it growing in a field. Luke tells the parable with the plant in a garden instead; this is presumably recasting the story for an audience outside Palestine. Parable of the Leaven (verses 20-21) The parable of the leaven (also called the parable of the yeast) is one of the shorter parables of Jesus. It appears in two of the canonical gospels of the New Testament and a version of the parable also occurs in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas (96). The differences between Matthew () and Luke () are minor. In both places the