Matthew 13:31-32

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 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.

This is the parable of the mustard seed. The passage says that the kingdom of heaven is like that seed. What conclusions can we draw from this?

We will recall in Matthew 13:4 that when Jesus used the illustration of birds, called fowls of the air in that verse, they were a bad thing. They were the enemy, if you will. The birds came and snatched away the seed that was sown. Birds are not a good thing.

I think this parable well illustrates the covenantal aspect of Christ’s Church. The birds and the branches are both identified with the tree, yet the birds are not branches. They are not part of that tree. In the same way, there are those who are identified with Christ and His church, but they are not truly a part of that church. They are members of the visible church, but they are not members of the Universal, or Invisible Church. Maybe these have even been covenantally united to Christ by their baptism, they have taken on the name of Christ. They have lodged in the branches of the tree, they say Lord, Lord. But when they say to Christ that they did mighty works in his name, he will tell them to depart because he never knew them.