Pentecost 9 (3)

Matthew 13:24–30 (NIV84)

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

Matthew 13:36–43 (NIV84)

36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The Weedy Wheatfield

The Sowing

The Growing

The Mowing

The original state of the field under discussion is described as one in which good seed was intentionally sown into it by the owner of the field. Jesus teaches that the original condition of the world was good and that God intended that the people he created be good. This is in agreement with the creation account in Genesis. God is presented as the creator of the earth and everything in it. In just six days he created and organized the vastness of the universe, the geography and climate of the earth, and the flora and fauna of the earth. Recall the evaluation of what was created at the end of each day. It was very good. Man is described being created in the image of God which means that originally man was holy and without sin. It was indeed a paradise.

God is good and therefore his creation would have also been good. This is the preferred state. The Bible often describes God’s blessings in positive examples of favorable weather, crops, and animals. (See examples)

Leviticus 26:3–5 NIV84

3 “ ‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

We can all imagine and long for a world in which there is no sin, corruption, catastrophe, or wicked people. But that is not the world we live in, is it? Just as the field in the parable was soon infected with weeds that threatened to choke out or destroy the good plants, we live in a world that is filled with violence, destruction, and the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth.

How did this happen? “The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil.” Although modern man denies the existence of a personal being which the Bible clearly describes as the devil and that evil comes from outside of visible creation. the Bible presents a different picture, doesn’t it.

The devil was originally created as a good angel who reflected God’s glory.

He sought to usurp God and led a rebellion against God and was defeated and caste out.

He has the ability to wreak havoc and demonstrated that in tempting Adam and Eve into sin and bringing about the Fall so that all creation is subject to frustration.

Until Jesus returns, mankind will have to contend with evil.

This is one of the main points of the parable. We can see that there is a distinct difference between good and evil by using the standard of God’s Word. Although there are those who call “evil”, “good” and vice versa. We are not to be persuaded by them.

Isaiah 5:20–21 NIV84

20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

Good and evil will remain side by side throughout our lives. In the parable and its explanation the decision is made not to aggressively root out evil for the sake of the good. This does not mean that we are to ignore evil or never do anything to combat it in our lives. If that were the case criminals would go free and there would never be any discipline. There is still room for confronting sin and disciplining those who do wrong.

Ezekiel 33:7–9 NIV

7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

Hebrews 12:7–13 NIV84

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

But Jesus is warning about being overly aggressive and pursuing attempts to root out evil so strongly that the good are harmed.

Historically we may think of Senator Joe McCarthy’s campaign against communism during which many no communists were impacted or how during wars the war against evil leaders resulted in the deaths of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of civilians such as the bombings of entire cities with conventional and nuclear weapons.

On the other hand, we have God’s promise not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if he could find at least ten righteous people but since he could not he rescued Lot and his family (the only righteous ones) before destroying those cities.

Well, if evil cannot be eradicated, what are the good to do?

Fight for justice and goodness.

1 Timothy 6:6–15 NIV84

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

Trust in God to exact justice.

Romans 12:17–21 NIV84

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Trust in what Jesus teaching in the parable about the future. How in the end God will come and remove all that is evil and protect that which is good. This is in keeping with the hope expressed in the Old Testament and the Bible’s teaching about the future.

Ezekiel 34:20–31 NIV84

20 “ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken. 25 “ ‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 31 You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”

Revelation 21:3–8 NIV

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”