Kingdom Confusion

Good morning

All the mothers in the room, Happy Mother’s Day

Motherhood is a gift from the Lord and we all have moms and we all know moms and we should celebrate those moms today

But I also recognize that for some, today is a day that brings heartache for various reasons

That is something that our family knows well, so know that it is not lost on me.

And if that is you, know that lament is a biblical response that sees things in a broken world as not being the way they should be

And we can rest in the Lord as we lament things that are not as we would want them to be

But we can all be thankful to the Lord for the blessing that moms are in our lives

So, moms, we are grateful for you and the kingdom work that you do in your homes.

If you are a guest, perhaps you are here today because your mom said you had to come since it is Mother’s day…

my name is Stefan Wilson, I am the Pastor of Preaching here at Harvest

We are continuing line-by-line through the Gospel of Matthew and we are specifically continuing in Matthew 13 this morning

Last week we were introduced to the fact that Jesus teaches through the use of parables

And we learned what parables are

Parables are not moral stories to help you and I be better people

They are specifically teaching us about the Kingdom of God, how it works, how it comes in our lives and in the world, and what it looks like to live in the Kingdom of God

And this week Jesus is going to continue teaching through parables, but the parables he is going to use in our section this morning are going to correct our understanding of what is otherwise a very confusing reality for us

So the title of this morning’s message is “Kingdom Confusion” and we will be in Matt. 13:24-43

So, let’s take out our Bibles and turn to Matt. 13

And the confusion that Jesus is going to correct this morning in these verses is the difficulty that we have in believing that the kingdom of God has come when there is still evil in the world

I don’t think that it is unfair to assume that for any of us we would think that if the kingdom of God has come, then the kingdom of evil should be done

Yet we look around the world and we see all kinds of evidence that evil seems to be alive and well

Perhaps you are even enduring a situation right now that is the result of someone else’s perpetration of wrongdoing and evil

And if we misunderstand what it looks like for the kingdom of God to come, we will conclude that the kingdom of God must not be very powerful

And we will then look elsewhere to solve the problem of evil

But Jesus, through the use of a set of parables, is going to help us to see that the problem of evil is not a problem with God, and it is not a problem without a solution

So if we want to think well about what it means to live in the kingdom of God in a world that is marked by evil, we would do well to give these words our full attention

Matthew 13:24–43 “He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 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?’ 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?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 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.” ’ ” He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” 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.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

These are God’s words for us as a church - May we have ears to hear them and hearts to obey them

Big idea: Though evil exists, the Kingdom is not compromised [8:00]

In these parables Jesus is going to help us understand how to make sense out of the fact that evil exists in the world so that we can understand our place in this present age as people of the kingdom of God

And this is no small issue: in fact this is something that theologians and philosophers have debated for centuries

The problem of evil is one of the main reasons that people claim that God must not exist

And while we don’t have time to unpack it all here, we did address this very topic in a podcast episode a few weeks back

So if you are interested, be sure to check out the Harvest After Sunday podcast where we deal with that

But suffice it to say that the real existence of evil does not negate the existence of God, as if evil has compromised the idea of the Kingdom of God

Though evil exists, the kingdom of God is not compromised

And in these parables, Jesus is going to show us why we can have confidence in the Kingdom of God, in spite of the existence of evil in the world.

[Bridge Question] How is it that evil does not compromise the kingdom of God?

And we are going to see three truths in these verses

So we will say, “Though evil exists…” and then we will see these three truths.

So, first…

Though evil exists:

It is not from God (24-30) [10:00]

Just because evil exists does not mean that God is the author and creator of it

It is important to get this right from the outset, otherwise we will say things about God that are not true and we will distort who he is in an attempt to explain the reality of evil

So, here is what is true:

God is the fullness of all that is good and that which goes against who he is is what is evil

For good and evil to come from the God of the Bible would be a contradiction within his own nature

And we cannot have that

In the parable of the weeds in v. 24-30, Jesus tells us where evil comes from and how it is not from God

Now we are going to do something similar to what we did last week:

In the actual telling of the parable we’re going to focus in on a couple of elements and then we are going to leave the interpretation of the parable as a whole to Jesus when he interprets the parable for us in v 36-43

So, for this first point, we are going to focus in on how we can know that though evil exists, it is not from God.

Notice first in v. 24-25 that the man who sowed seed, sowed good seed

The bad seed, the weeds, are sown by an enemy.

And when the weeds grow up with the grain, the servants come to the man and say, “How did this happen?”

And his response in v. 28 is “An enemy has done this.”

So you have two agents in these two verses

One is responsible for good and one is responsible for evil.

And this should call to memory the garden in Genesis 3 where, though God created a good world, Satan tempted mankind to rebel against God

It was not God who tempted them, but an enemy

And mankind lives in the consequences of their decision to rebel.

And that desire planted in the first humans by the enemy who tempted them.

Now, I know what you are thinking: Why didn’t God just wipe them out right then, rather than allowing that to continue?

Well, let’s state plainly: God would have been totally just to wipe them out and be done with it…

But he didn’t - And Jesus’ words in v. 28-30 tell us why:

Matthew 13:28–30 “So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 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.” ’ ””

We have to see the grace in that response: “Don’t remove the problem right away… lest you also destroy those who belong to me.”

Just let them coexist while the good seed matures so that it is not lost.

That is a gracious and generous response

Can we all just admit that if God had wiped out evil as soon as it showed up… you and I wouldn’t even exist

And we wouldn’t know the grace of God in our own lives…

The testimony of God’s grace would have been wiped out along with evil

And if we overlook the grace of God and instead say, “God just needs to do away with evil right now”… you and I are included in that

because apart from the grace of God, we are just as sinful as the rest of the world.

So, rather than blaming God and saying he shouldn’t allow evil to exist, we can see in Jesus’ own words that God allows evil to exist for a time so that he can show his grace to many who don’t deserve it

In fact, this is exactly what Peter says in 2 Peter 3:9:

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

God is not the author of evil, but by his grace he is patient while evil exists so that more can come to repentance

I remember sitting in class when I was in seminary

And the professor had been a missionary to Turkey for 20 years

And Turkey is the least Christian nation in the world - Christians in Turkey make up 2-tenths of 1% of the population.

And he posed the question to the class: why doesn’t Jesus just come back today?

And before anyone could answer, he said “so that 100 million Turks don’t go to hell.”

And we all had to face the same question that I am going to ask you:

Do you want evil to stop even if it means that many who would be saved, can’t be?

Or will you endure it for a time so that more can be saved?

God is not late nor is he ignorant… Evil is allowed to continue to exist because out of an evil word, many will be saved.

And God is patient

By using this parable to explain how evil temporarily coexists in the world as the kingdom of God grows, it is an implicit call to endure the presence of evil so that the kingdom can grow more.

Do we understand perfectly why evil exists… no we don’t

But God does

And evil isn’t from him

He is patient for a time so that the work he is doing isn’t undone.

[Transition] And his kingdom will advance in spite of it

Which leads us to the second point

Though evil exists…

It can’t stop the kingdom of God (31-33) [20:00]

I am sure that, if you are like me, you look around the world and think, “Nothing is getting better… things are only getting worse… and it just seems like God isn’t doing anything about it.”

And it can be discouraging

Its a lot like eating healthy and exercising

It is not fun…

And initially, it doesn’t show any results

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t working

There is much happening that is unseen

And given enough time, the results will be clear and you see that it was actually working all along.

Jesus moves to two short parables right after the parable of the weeds

And remember last week that I talked about the fact that when two seemingly related things in scripture are broken up by something that comes in the middle, that is called a sandwich

And what is in the middle of the sandwich is important for understanding what comes before and after

So these two parables are going to help us understand how it is that the Kingdom of God grows in spite of the existence of evil

Matthew 13:31–33 “He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.””

He compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed and leaven.

A mustard seed is a tiny, seemingly insignificant seed that grows into a large, mature tree that sustains the lives of other living things

Leaven is a generic term for an active agent in bread that causes the dough to rise

Since it is mother’s day, imaging the leaven as sourdough starter

The point with the leaven in v. 33 is that when it is added to the flower, it permeates it with life so that the loaf of dough expands

Jesus uses two parables to highlight two very small things that when they grow are exponentially greater than how they started

But just like with exercise… growth takes time

You cannot rush the growth of a tree

You cannot rush the way that yeast or sourdough ferments

If you do try to rush it, it will not work the way that it’s supposed to

But the fact that it works slowly does not then mean that it is not working

The point that Jesus is making here is that the kingdom of God grows slowly

Because it grows within the person and it grows in the world as it spreads from person to person

So as the weeds grow with the wheat, as evil coexists with God’s kingdom…

It might be tempting to think that the Kingdom is compromised and isn’t growing…

But just like the mustard seed and just like the leaven in the flour…

The Kingdom of God is still growing

And it cannot be stopped.

No matter how hard evil may try to overpower the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God will not be stopped

Jesus says in Matthew 16 that the gates of hell will not prevail against his kingdom

I don’t know if you’ve thought much about this, but gates are a defensive tool, not an offensive tool

When Jesus says that the gates of hell will not prevail against his kingdom he is saying that no matter how hard evil tries to stop the advancement of his kingdom, it will not be able to stop it

When we look around the globe, it is the places where Christianity is the most persecuted that it is spreading the most

One of the early church fathers, Tertullian, wrote that “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

Even when the forces of evil seek to put Christians to death, that only fuels the fire of the spread of the kingdom of God

How unstoppable is God’s kingdom that killing us simply makes it grow more?!

That’s the point that Jesus is making with these two short parables:

The kingdom may seem small for a time

But in a world bent against the kingdom of God, God’s kingdom will grow and it will not be stopped

And here is the deal: As people of the kingdom of God, who live by faith in Jesus, we can live as his people in bold opposition to the evil in this world.

We can stand for truth in a world of lies

We can go to the ends of the earth, knowing that evil cannot stop the Kingdom from advancing

And we can sing those familiar words:

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill: God's truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever!

Do you fear evil and so you stay quiet?

You don’t need to.

Evil is not an equal force that can undo the work of God

It is Impotent to stop the kingdom from advancing

Evil is not forever… God’s kingdom is

[As an Aside]

I want to look at v. 34-36 really quick

Matthew 13:34–36 “All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” 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.””

Matthew here is reinforcing what Jesus said about why he teaches in parables.

Remember, Jesus teaches in parables so that those who want to understand, will

And those who don’t want to understand, won’t

And we see that he leaves the crowds after teaching in these parables

And the disciples come and ask to understand

But the crowds are content to not ask

And those who want to understand, get the understanding they see as Jesus explains it to them in v. 37-43

And the point that Jesus helps them to understand is our third point this morning

Though evil exists…

It will be dealt with by God (37-43) [30:00]

In these verses, Jesus breaks down what each of the elements of the parable are

Matthew 13:37–39 “He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.”

So the image is that the world is a field in which Jesus is sowing seeds, he is spreading the message of the kingdom of God that is being embraced by people who will then produce fruit in the world

But at the same time, the enemy, Satan, is sowing seeds of his message of lies, that are embraced by people in the world

And those people will live alongside the people of God.

But I want you to look back at verse 26

Matthew 13:26 “So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.”

Jesus says that the wheat eventually bears grain while the weeds do not.

At first they appear similar, but over time the difference becomes clear.

And the point is that though evil and righteousness coexist in the present age, God is not confused about which is which.

He knows those who belong to him.

And there is coming a day when he will finally separate evil from his kingdom, and deal with it for good.

Look at v. 40-43

Matthew 13:40–43 “Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

Though evil presently coexists in the world as the kingdom of God spreads, that will only be temporary.

Jesus says that he will send his angels to “gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace.”

Evil will not last forever

God will deal with it.

Now, this requires some very specific reflection on our part:

If you are here today you have not embraced Jesus by faith for the forgiveness of your sins so that you can be reconciled to God who created you, you need to hear from me in the plainest of terms that right now you are in a state of being opposed to God and his kingdom

And if you do not turn from that and embrace Jesus you will be among those thrown into the fiery furnace of judgment

Because your sin deserves judgment

But Jesus Christ took on human flesh to live a sinless life that you couldn’t live and he died on the cross in your place as a substitute to pay the penalty for your sin

And if you will believe in him, placing your faith in him, Depending on him for the forgiveness of your sins so that you can then live in his kingdom as a child of God, then you no longer need to fear judgment.

Because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

But if you hear that and you say “no thanks, I’m doing just fine on my own”…

That day is still coming and when it comes it will be too late

So turn now

And for those of us here today who have placed our faith in Jesus and can say that we belong to him

The day when God deals with evil once and for all will be a glorious and beautiful day that scripture actually tells us precisely what it will be like

I want you to turn to Rev. 21 so that you can see the image that the scripture paints of this final day when God deals with evil once and for all

Jesus said in Matt. 13 that “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

Listen to how Rev. 21:22-27 describes it:

Revelation 21:22–27 “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

When evil is gone, it will never be able to enter again

And those who belong to God will live in his presence - The light of his glory that was once unapproachable, we will reflect as we are with him forever.

And so today as you see evil in the world

You can know it won’t last forever

As you suffer because of the brokenness of this world

You can know that a day is coming when that suffering will be gone

As you face persecution because of your faith in Jesus

You can know that a day is coming where your faith will be vindicated

And that day we will know that it was all worth it

[Conclusion]

Though evil exists…

It does not come from God

It will not stop the kingdom of God

It will be dealt with in the end by God

The kingdom of God is not compromised

It is conquering - And we who belong to his kingdom can live today in the confidence of knowing that we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who saved us, and we look forward to the day when we will be with him forever, shining like the sun in his glorious presence.

Amen.