Matthew 13:24–30 NKJV

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both 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 13:36–43 NKJV

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Living with Wheat and Weeds

Have you ever noticed how quickly we become disappointed when life doesn't turn out the way we expected?

We expect that if we follow Jesus, life should become easier. We expect that if we pray faithfully, problems should disappear. We expect that if God is truly King, then evil should be defeated, injustice should vanish, and the world should begin looking more like heaven than earth.

But then we turn on the news.

Wars continue. Families break apart. Addiction destroys lives. Children suffer. Churches sometimes fail the very people they are called to love. Even in our own hearts, we discover battles we thought we had already won.

It leaves us asking questions people have asked for centuries:

"If Jesus is King, why is the world still such a mess?"

"If God's Kingdom has come, why do evil and suffering still seem so strong?"

Those aren't new questions.

In fact, they were the very questions many people had about Jesus during His earthly ministry.

The Jewish people had waited generations for the promised Messiah. They expected a conquering King—One who would overthrow Rome, judge the wicked, reward the righteous, and establish God's Kingdom in unmistakable power. They expected immediate victory.

Instead, Jesus arrived as a carpenter from Nazareth.

He welcomed sinners.

He healed the broken.

He ate with tax collectors.

He spoke of mustard seeds, hidden treasure, fishermen, yeast, and farmers scattering seed.

To many people, His Kingdom didn't look much like a kingdom at all.

That's because Jesus wasn't simply bringing a new kingdom.

He was redefining what God's Kingdom is actually like.

Beginning today and continuing over the next five weeks, we're starting a new series called Kingdom Upside Down.

Throughout these weeks, we'll discover that almost everything we assume about God's Kingdom gets turned on its head.

The Kingdom is stronger than it looks.

It grows differently than we expect.

It provides more than we imagine.

It calls for faith instead of certainty.

And it welcomes people we might never expect to find there.

Again and again in Matthew 13 and the chapters that follow, Jesus begins with the same words:

"The kingdom of heaven is like..."

He isn't giving us abstract theology.

He's inviting us to see reality through the eyes of the King.

This morning, Jesus begins with a story that may be more relevant today than ever before.

It's a story about a farmer.

Good seed.

An enemy.

And a field where wheat and weeds grow together.

Because before Jesus tells us how His Kingdom grows...

He first tells us what kind of world His Kingdom grows in.

And that may be one of the most encouraging truths we need to hear today.

We've never lived in a time when information has been more accessible, yet agreement has seemed more elusive.

It feels like everyone is drawing lines.

Churches are divided.

Denominations are wrestling with questions that strike at the heart of biblical authority and Christian discipleship. Conversations about marriage, sexuality, gender identity, the sanctity of life, justice, politics, and what it means to faithfully follow Christ have created deep fractures—not only in society but within the Church itself.

Some of those conversations are happening around board tables. Others are happening around kitchen tables.

Some of you have family members who no longer speak to one another because of these issues. Others have watched lifelong friendships strained or broken. Still others wonder what the future of the Church will look like for their children and grandchildren.

As followers of Jesus, we cannot simply ignore these questions. Truth matters because God is truth. Holiness matters because God is holy. Love matters because God is love.

But in the middle of all those important conversations, there is another question that Jesus asks us to consider:

How do faithful followers of Christ live in a world where truth and error, righteousness and rebellion, faithfulness and unfaithfulness all exist side by side?

That isn't just our question.

It was the question of Jesus' day.

Many expected that when the Messiah came, He would immediately remove everything evil, judge the wicked, vindicate the righteous, and establish God's Kingdom once and for all.

Instead, Jesus tells a story.

A farmer plants good seed.

An enemy secretly sows weeds.

Both begin to grow together.

The servants see the problem and immediately ask the question most of us would ask:

"Master... do you want us to go and pull them up?"

It seems like the obvious solution.

Remove the weeds.

Fix the problem.

Clean up the field.

But Jesus' answer surprises everyone.

"No."

And with that one answer, Jesus begins to teach us something that completely turns our expectations upside down.

Expect Mixed Fields

Jesus begins His explanation with a simple but profound reality: until the harvest comes, wheat and weeds will grow together.

Listen again to verses 24–30...

Matthew 13:24–30 “24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both 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.” ’ ””

The servants are shocked when they discover weeds among the wheat.

Their first assumption is, "Something has gone terribly wrong."

"Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?"

It's an honest question.

It's the same question people still ask today.

"If God is good, why is there so much evil?"

"If Jesus is King, why is the world still broken?"

"If the Kingdom has come, why do sin, suffering, false teaching, and rebellion continue to flourish?"

Jesus doesn't dismiss the question.

He answers it plainly:

"An enemy has done this."

Notice what Jesus does—and what He doesn't do.

He doesn't blame the farmer.

He doesn't say the seed was defective.

He doesn't deny the reality of evil.

Instead, He reminds us that there is a real enemy at work in God's world.

The field belongs to the Master.

The seed is good.

But until the harvest, the enemy continues trying to corrupt what God has planted.

Resist Becoming the Judge

The servants' response seems completely reasonable.

After discovering that weeds have been sown among the wheat, they don't hesitate.

They ask the landowner,

"Do you want us then to go and gather them up?" (v. 28)

In other words,

"Let's fix this."

"Let's clean up the field."

"Let's get rid of everything that doesn't belong."

If we're honest, that's our instinct too.

When we see evil, we want to eliminate it.

When we see false teaching, we want to expose it.

When we see sin, we want it confronted.

There is something in us that longs for justice—and that longing isn't wrong. Scripture tells us that God Himself is just, and He calls His people to love what is good and reject what is evil.

But notice that Jesus doesn't say the servants were wrong to recognize the weeds.

They recognized them correctly.

The problem wasn't their observation.

The problem was their assignment.

The servants assumed that because they could see the weeds, they were responsible for removing them.

The Master says,

"No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest..." (vv. 29–30)

That answer must have shocked them.

Why would the Master allow weeds to remain?

Because the roots had become intertwined.

In the early stages of growth, wheat and darnel—a poisonous weed common in Israel—looked remarkably alike. Attempting to pull up one often meant pulling up the other. The servants could not see what the Master could see.

Neither can we.

That's an important reminder for the Church today.

We are called to exercise discernment. The New Testament repeatedly warns us to test the spirits, to guard sound doctrine, and to lovingly restore those who wander into sin.

But discernment is not the same thing as final judgment.

Only God sees every heart.

Only God knows every story.

Only God knows what His grace may yet accomplish in a person's life.

Think about Saul of Tarsus.

If the early Christians had looked at him, they would have seen a violent persecutor of the Church.

Yet God saw the Apostle Paul.

Think about the thief hanging beside Jesus.

Most people saw a condemned criminal.

Jesus saw a man whose heart was turning toward Him in faith.

Think about your own life.

Where would you be if God had judged you solely by who you were before His grace found you?

I'm grateful someone didn't give up on me before God finished His work.

Aren't you?

The Church has not always remembered this lesson.

At times, Christians have been quick to label people.

We've sometimes assumed we knew exactly who belonged to God and who did not.

We've been tempted to divide the field into "us" and "them."

Even today, as denominations wrestle with difficult questions about biblical authority, sexuality, marriage, gender identity, and other deeply important issues, the temptation is to believe our greatest calling is simply to identify who is wheat and who is weeds.

Jesus redirects our attention.

We must never compromise God's truth.

We must never stop proclaiming what Scripture teaches.

We must never redefine holiness to fit the spirit of the age.

But neither are we commissioned to pronounce the final verdict over another person's soul.

That belongs to the Lord of the harvest.

Our assignment is different.

We preach the gospel.

We speak the truth in love.

We call people to repentance.

We extend grace.

We pursue holiness ourselves.

And we trust that God is still able to transform lives in ways we cannot yet imagine.

Because every mature stalk of wheat was once a tiny seed that nobody noticed.

And many people we assume are beyond hope are precisely the people God's grace is preparing to redeem.

So if our calling is not to spend our lives trying to uproot the weeds...

If the final judgment belongs to Christ...

Then what is our responsibility while we wait for the harvest?

Jesus answers that question in the closing verses of the parable.

Remain Faithful Until the Harvest

Jesus ends the parable by reminding His disciples that the story doesn't end with weeds in the field.

It ends with a harvest.

Listen to His explanation in verses 39–43:

"...the harvest is the end of the age... the Son of Man will send out His angels... Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father..."

Notice that Jesus doesn't ignore judgment.

In fact, He speaks of it more clearly than anyone else in Scripture.

There will be a day when every wrong is made right.

There will be a day when justice is complete.

There will be a day when evil no longer has a place in God's creation.

There will be a day when sin is no more, suffering is no more, death is no more, and the Kingdom of God is fully revealed.

That day is coming.

But today is not that day.

Today is growing season.

Today is the season of grace.

Today is the season of invitation.

Today is the season when God continues calling people to repentance.

One of the reasons the harvest has not yet come is because of God's incredible patience.

Peter writes:

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise... but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

What some people mistake for God's delay...

...is actually God's mercy.

Every sunrise is another opportunity for someone to come to Christ.

Every day that Jesus delays His return is another expression of His grace.

That should change how we see the people around us.

Instead of seeing enemies to defeat...

we begin seeing people Jesus died to save.

Instead of becoming consumed with winning arguments...

we become committed to winning people.

Instead of spending all our energy trying to clean up the field...

we spend our energy planting more wheat.

That is the mission of the Church.

Jesus never called us to build fortresses.

He called us to make disciples.

He never told us to hide from the darkness.

He told us to be the light of the world.

He never commanded us to predict the harvest.

He commanded us to be faithful until it comes.

So what does faithfulness look like?

It looks like raising children who know and love Jesus, even when the culture pulls in another direction.

It looks like loving your spouse with covenant faithfulness in a world that often treats relationships as disposable.

It looks like opening your Bible when everyone else is letting social media shape their thinking.

It looks like extending grace without compromising truth.

It looks like serving your neighbors, praying for those who oppose you, forgiving those who hurt you, and continuing to proclaim the gospel even when it is unpopular.

Faithfulness isn't flashy.

Most of the time, it looks ordinary.

It is choosing obedience one day at a time.

And while the world often celebrates what is loud, dramatic, and immediate...

God is quietly growing a harvest.

Every act of obedience...

Every unseen prayer...

Every word of encouragement...

Every lesson taught to a child...

Every invitation to church...

Every cup of cold water given in Jesus' name...

None of it is wasted.

The King sees it all.

One day, the harvest will come.

The same Jesus who sowed the good seed will return.

The Judge of all the earth will do what is right.

And Matthew tells us that on that day,

"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

What a beautiful promise.

The weeds do not get the last word.

Evil does not get the last word.

Division does not get the last word.

Christ does.

His Kingdom does.

The harvest does.

So don't lose heart.

Don't become cynical.

Don't stop planting.

Don't stop praying.

Don't stop loving.

Don't stop trusting.

Remain faithful.

Because the field still belongs to the King.

Jesus never promised that His followers would live in a weed-free world.

He promised something far better.

He promised that the field belongs to Him.

He promised that the harvest is certain.

And He promised that those who remain faithful will one day "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

That changes how we live today.

Because when you know how the story ends...

you can remain faithful in the middle of the story.

CONCLUSION

As we come to the end of this parable, I wonder which character you identify with the most.

Maybe you're like the servants.

You look at the world and wonder, "Lord, what are You waiting for?"

You watch the evening news.

You see violence and injustice.

You grieve over the moral confusion in our culture.

You see churches struggling, families divided, and people walking away from God.

And deep inside you pray,

"Lord, why don't You just fix it?"

Jesus understands that question.

But His answer is not what we expect.

He says, "The harvest is coming—but not yet."

Then perhaps some of us need to hear a different word.

Maybe we've become so focused on identifying the weeds that we've neglected growing as wheat.

It's much easier to point out someone else's sin than to allow the Holy Spirit to examine our own hearts.

Jesus doesn't tell this parable so we can become experts at identifying who is in and who is out.

He tells it to teach His disciples how to live faithfully while they wait for the King.

Because here's the truth...

One day there will be no more weeds.

No more cancer.

No more addiction.

No more broken homes.

No more abuse.

No more racism.

No more hatred.

No more temptation.

No more funerals.

No more tears.

No more death.

The harvest will come.

Justice will be complete.

The Kingdom will be fully revealed.

And on that day, Matthew tells us,

"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." (Matthew 13:43, NKJV)

What a promise!

Until that day...

We don't give in to fear.

We don't give in to anger.

We don't give in to despair.

We don't stop believing that God is still changing lives.

We don't stop telling people about Jesus.

We don't stop praying for prodigals.

We don't stop loving our neighbors.

We don't stop standing on the truth of God's Word.

And we don't try to take the place that belongs only to the Lord of the harvest.

Instead...

We faithfully grow where the Master has planted us.

Because every day we choose obedience...

every act of kindness...

every prayer whispered in faith...

every conversation that points someone toward Christ...

is another reminder that God's Kingdom is already growing, even when we cannot yet see the full harvest.

Church, this is what Kingdom living looks like.

Not panic.

Not compromise.

Not self-righteousness.

Faithfulness.

Quiet, steadfast, joyful faithfulness to King Jesus.

The world may still look like a field filled with wheat and weeds.

But don't forget whose field it is.

It still belongs to the King.

And because it belongs to the King, we can trust Him with the harvest.

This morning, perhaps the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart.

Maybe you've been carrying discouragement as you've watched our world become increasingly divided. You've wondered if evil is winning. Jesus reminds you today that the field has not been abandoned. The King is still at work, and the harvest is still coming.

Maybe you've found yourself becoming more angry than compassionate. More focused on winning arguments than winning people. Ask the Lord to give you His heart—a heart that loves truth deeply and loves people enough to keep pointing them toward the gospel.

Or perhaps you've never entrusted your own life to Christ. Before we concern ourselves with the condition of the field, we must first ask whether we belong to the King. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died for sinners, rose again, and invites every person to receive His grace and become part of His Kingdom.

As we sing in a moment, the altar is open. Come if you need encouragement. Come if you need forgiveness. Come if you need renewed faith. Come if you simply want to tell the Lord, "Help me to be faithful until the harvest."

Because in the end, that is Christ's call to every one of us:

Live faithfully. Trust completely. And leave the harvest to the King.