13:24 kingdom of heaven. On the meaning of “the kingdom of heaven,” see note on Matthew 3:2. The earthly aspect of God’s kingdom (essentially churches and other organizations participating in the work of the kingdom in the name of Christ) is in view here, since its constituencies include false Christians as well as true believers. From the preceding parable, it seems that both emotional believers and worldly believers (Matthew 13:20-22) may provide the “soil” in which the “tares” sown by the enemy can thrive, in which the “leaven” of false doctrine can spread (Matthew 13:33) and “birds of the air” that devour the good seed can lodge (Matthew 13:32).