Parable of the Mustard Seed: The Birds

We had an interesting discussion at last week’s Bible study. We considered the Parable of the Mustard Seed in Mark 4:30:

Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

What are the birds? 

Interpretation 1, favoured by most:

The birds are merely there to demonstrate the size of the tree. The Kingdom of God has grown, and the tiny seed has become a large tree, able to support the weight of our feathered friends.

Interpretation 2, favoured by me and some others:

The birds represent evil, either demons or false Christian leaders. Within the same discourse, Christ told the Parable of the Sower wherein the birds that gobble up the seeds represent Satan who snatches the Word from some hearers’ hearts. Birds have therefore been established as pictures of evil in this section of Mark. In Ephesians 2:2, Satan is called ‘prince of the power of the air’, perhaps confirming the association. Furthermore, the Parable of the Tares confirms that the field of the Kingdom is mixed with genuine believers and false brethren. The birds are not a part of the mustard tree, which is itself the Kingdom, but merely use it to obtain shelter and shade from the sun’s brightness. They build nests wherein they may breed and raise their acolytes.

I would suggest that every crooked prosperity preacher, every fake faith healer, every dry-as-dust formalist is a fat bird comfortably nesting in the Church of which they are not truly a part. Popes have claimed to be Christ’s substitute, false prophets claim to speak His words, theological liberals have sucked the transforming power from the gospel’s message. Such are fowl nesting and multiplying in the Bride’s shadow. Their time, however, is short. The farmer of Matthew 13 declares:

“Let both [wheat and tares, true believers and false believers] grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn.” (Matthew 13:30). Similarly, Jesus warns “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

In defence of the first interpretation, it behoves biblical interpreters to assume the plainest, most straight-forward understanding of a text. The simplest explanation of the parable is that the Kingdom of God keeps growing even from humble beginnings. Parables typically make one simple point; ascribing meaning to every feature of the story is sometimes not the Speaker’s intention. In Luke 18, for example, Jesus likens a praying Christian to a widow seeking justice from unjust judge. Is He likening God to the latter? No, because the parable makes but one simple point: be persistent when you pray. 

In truth, both interpretations are not without value. The Kingdom does keep on growing, even in little places like ours where we are wont to become discouraged. However, the Church will contain crooks and charlatans until Christ returns. Christians Beware.

Image by Zhu Bing from Pixabay