The Parable of the Weeds: True and False Believers
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
When I plant my garden in the spring, I usually start off pretty well. I don’t have a lot of weed pressure to begin with, but if I am not careful, they will come with a vengeance and if I don’t pull them out when they are small and don’t have a good root system developed, I might not can get them out at all because I would damage my good plants trying to get them out.
That lesson is one that Jesus teaches and applies to the world and the kingdom of God in yet another parable involving gardening.
24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,
25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’
29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,
42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place 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.
Prayer
In the previous parable that we looked at, we saw that the parable of the sower teaches us that God’s kingdom will be sown through the seed of the gospel, but it will meet with different responses.
In the parable of the weeds, we see that not only is the seed sown in the world, and not only is there an enemy that is actively working to snatch the seed up, but he is also sowing his own bad seed in the world.
There are a few things that we can learn about the kingdom of God from this parable.
1. This World Consists of Two Groups of People (vv. 24, 37-38)
1. This World Consists of Two Groups of People (vv. 24, 37-38)
24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,
37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
We’ve already seen this, but it bears repeating. God is on a gospel mission to save people. We have sinned and are separated from God by that sin. We deserve God’s judgment, but rather than leaving us in our sins, God sent His Son to save us.
Jesus tells us that he is the one sowing the seed. The seed sown broadly and generously
Just as we saw in the last parable, there will be those who respond to the gospel and are admitted into the kingdom of heaven. Their righteous, Jesus says will shine like the sun. We will have a radiance of the glory of God about our lives.
While there is good seed, we will see that there are also tares, or weeds. These we are told are the sons of the evil one.
This is not a parable about the church being composed of mixed believers and unbelievers. Jesus makes it clear that the field is the world and not the church. It is about the existence of both good and evil people in this world and the fact that God will allow them to remain together until the final judgment.
As Jesus sows the kingdom, the question we have to ask ourselves is how are we helping to spread the seed? What am I doing to help the kingdom grow?
2. There is An Enemy Who is Working Against the Kingdom (vv. 25, 38-39)
2. There is An Enemy Who is Working Against the Kingdom (vv. 25, 38-39)
38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
While Jesus is sowing the gospel and spreading the kingdom, the enemy is actively at work doing the same
The weed that is sown is a weed that looks a lot like wheat but actually has poisonous black seeds
Isn’t that just like the enemy. He’s been a liar from the beginning and has been obsessed with fruit that leads to death.
What lies has the enemy promised you that you have believed?
You are either a son of God or a child of the Devil
You cannot be neutral
You are in the enemies domain by default, but Jesus breaks into the strong mans house and binds him up to free you if you will believe on Him by faith
While Christ is saving the elect out of the world, the enemy is not just trying to stop the gospel from going forth, he is counterfeiting it with his own bad seed.
The gospel the enemy sows is that you don’t need God, you need to focus on the pleasures of this world, you can make yourself right with God, etc.
3. There is a Coming Judgment (v.27-30; 40-43)
3. There is a Coming Judgment (v.27-30; 40-43)
27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’
29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,
42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place 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.
Jesus is growing His kingdom over time in this world. Many of the people believed that the Kingdom would come immediately, and yet Jesus is teaching that the Kingdom will exist alongside the wicked until the final judgment
Things to Consider:
The Lord knows those who are His
The Lord is patiently waiting
God’s grace is intended to lead you to repentance
What does it say if you refuse?
The Lord WILL remove the wicked to judgment
Not just evil people but the one who brought evil into the world
Those who commit evil and those who cause others to commit evil
Conclusion
While this passage is not about the church, it is still true that there are true and false believers in the church as well as in the world.
The real question that all of us must ask ourselves today is what kingdom do we belong to?
Are you a wheat or a tare?
The interesting thing about the darnel plant that is most likely in view here in this parable is that it is not until the fruit is produced that you can tell the difference between the wheat and the tares.
Once the fruit is produced, it is obvious which is which. Both may start out similar and look the same, but in time the real wheat will be demonstrated by a life lived in obedience to Christ.
If someone were to look at how you live your life today, what would they think you are -wheat or a weed?
Jesus said that the righteous would shine like the sun. How is your light shining today?
