Wheat or Weeds?
Notes
Transcript
One of the things that I really can’t stand doing in the spring is weeding. I can’t stand weeding a flower bed. The reason for it is because unless the flowers are marked and I know exactly what is a flower, I have no idea what I am pulling.
Honestly, before they begin to flower, the weeds and flowers all look the same to me. It’s one thing if it’s my own flower bed, but when it’s someone else’s I feel a TON of pressure on me to do it right. I’m always petrified that I’ll end up pulling out the wrong thing, thinking it’s a weed when it’s actually a flower.
The problem with weeds is that they will kill just about anything around them. They take away water, nutrients, and when they are big they block the sun from reaching other smaller plants. They choke, kill, and destroy the plants around them. In fact, Larissa has been doing a lot of work with weeds lately.
For the last couple of weeks she has been weed-eating around a bunch of plants that she and her co-workers planted. They are trying to keep the plants natural to the are alive while managing the weeds around them that would kill them.
Needless to say, while some weeds may look nice, they are a nuisance and pretty much everyone agrees that they need to be pulled. But, if you are like me, you’re a bit nervous that you’ll pull out the wrong thing from a garden or flower bed.
Weeding isn’t fun work, it can be tedious and difficult, but it does have to be done.
Today we will read about another parable from Jesus.
This parable comes directly after last week’s parable.
Last week we heard about the parable of the Sower. In that parable, Jesus was warning all who were listening that the condition of their heart mattered. He was warning them to not have hard, shallow, or cluttered hearts, because these hearts would hinder the Word of God from growing in them.
Parable
Now, listen to what Jesus has to say. This is from Matthew 13:24-30
24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
This is the Word of God, for the people of God! (Thanks be to God.)
Jesus presents this parable to the same crowd as last week. He is still in the boat on the Sea of Galilee and the massive crowd is still longing for more of Jesus’ instructions and wisdom. They stand on the shore and up the mountain, listening intently. He has just finished telling the disciples the meaning behind the parable of the sower when he begins this one.
Jesus starts by letting the crowd know that this parable is about the kingdom of heaven.
He then goes on to tell the story.
A man sows good seed in his field.
At night while everyone was a sleep, an enemy comes and sows weeds among the wheat.
The weeds and the wheat grew up together.
The slaves noticed and asked the man if he had planted the weeds among the wheat.
The man replies, “no, an enemy has done this.”
The slaves then want to know if they should gather them up.
The man tells them to let the weeds grow with the wheat and then when harvest comes he will have the reapers collect the weeds and burn them. The wheat will be gathered and put into the barn.
Something of interest to point out is that translations such as the NASB, ASV, KJV, and NKJV use the word “tares” instead of “weeds.” Tares is a weed that, when young, closely resembles wheat, also called darnel. Sorting between tares and wheat was an incredibly tedious task, and it was often done by women and children. If the tare is harvested with the wheat and grounded together it will spoil the flour and can cause dizziness and nausea when eaten. So, we know that it is incredibly important for the wheat to separated from the darnel, because the darnel will taint the good flour and make the consumer sick.
Again, Jesus is explaining heavenly things to finite beings. He’s using parables, not to puzzle them, but to relate to them this information as best as possible. He also uses parables because that is what the prophet Isaiah said he would use. Some would have understood easily, others not so much. Either way, Jesus was telling them great things in a way that they could understand. He was relating it to them, and was doing so with love.
Well, after telling them this parable, and then one about a mustard seed and another about yeast, Jesus leaves the crowds. He got out of the boat and back inside of a home, which is arguably the home of Peter in Capernaum.
Here, the disciples ask Jesus to again explain what he meant by his parable. It should be understood that at this point Jesus is entering into a time of private instruction to those who committed themselves to Jesus. From this point forward in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ focus shifts from instructing large crowds more to his disciples.
Explanation
So, in Matthew 13:37-43, Jesus explains to them the parable of the weeds. Hear what our Lord says,
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 are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children 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 collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
The Word of God for the people of God! (Thanks be to God.)
Let’s break down some of the connections that Jesus makes here regarding His parable.
The sower = The Son of man, aka Jesus.
The field = the world
In this parable The good seed = the children of the Kingdom of Heaven, not the Word of God as it did in the parable of the Sower
The weed/tares = the children of the devil
The enemy = the devil
The harvest = the end of the world
The reapers = the angels
Jesus explains that at the end of the age the angels would gather all of the wicked people and cast them into a furnace of fire, here they will experience the weeping and gnashing of teeth. People either belong to the kingdom of heaven, or to Satan.
Let’s read the parable again, but this time knowing what it means.
24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
Jesus’ explanation of the parable makes it very clear what he was trying to get them to understand. The role of Christ in the world is to bring forward and sow good seeds, aka, children of the Kingdom of Heaven. He was to come and take on the burden of their sins, to bear that weight, so that the wheat could crow large and bountiful.
The problem that we are having is that while Jesus does this to this very day, the enemy is still sowing seeds as well. He is planting evil into the world, watching it burn, rot, destroy and decay anything around it. Last week we were told that given the chance Satan would snatch away the Word of God, His lessons and understandings from us. And, in it’s place, he sows sin.
We have grown accustomed to the sin. We love our sin. We desire it, long for it, crave it.
This parable brings to us the very truth of the Gospel. There will be those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ, and there will be those who do not.
Jesus took on the cross, He defeated death, so that we could choose to no longer be the weeds.
Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, so that death by sin could be defeated.
He took on every wrong, carried the cross, and died simply because He loved you and His Father in heaven.
And here he is, explaining that very thing before it even happened.
Are you the wheat, or are you the weeds?
Are you a child of the kingdom of heaven, or are you child of Satan?
Now there are many of us here today who will say, “Well I’m forgiven by Christ, so I’m a child a of the kingdom of heaven!” But, maybe your life doesn’t reflect that. Maybe your life reflects that you are actually a child of the evil one.
Christ tells us through this parable that when He comes again, when that trumpet sounds, there will be a collection. A collection of the children of the kingdom of heaven, and a collection of the evil weeds. One will be bundled and put into the barn for safe keeping, the other will be burned.
While we must analyze ourselves and see whether or not our lives are demonstrating that we are children of the kingdom of heaven, or children of the devil, there is an even deeper and important meaning through it all.
Christ has died; Christ is risen; and Christ will come again.
The very man who shared this parable with his disciples and the crowd on the shore of the Sea of Galilee took on everything for you. We are evil and wicked people. None of us are good people, only Christ was good!
We deserve absolutely nothing good, we deserve the death that Christ faced. Yet, we were spared. Through God’s graciousness and loving heart, we were spared. He came to earth as Jesus, lived a life rooted in perfection, the only human to be “good,” and He died so that we would not be punished.
He died so that we, an unperfect, broken, and evil people, could be freed from our slavery to sin and death. This is the Gospel message. Christ took on all of the punishment that we deserve, so that when He comes again, we too will be resurrected like Christ and live in eternal glory.
He took it all on so that we could be the wheat instead of the weeds.
In those moments where you contemplate succumbing to your temptations to sin, think about the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. Think about whether or not you want to be the wheat that is stored away, or the weeds that are burned and succumb to weeping and a gnashing of teeth.
But, we too must remember this, we are not the sowers in this story. We are not the ones that will do the harvesting either. That is for Christ to determine. So while you consider whether or not you are a weed or wheat, spend time helping others become the wheat.
Because, if there is anything that I know, it’s this. When Christ comes again, He will separate the weeds from the wheat. Not only do I not want to be a weed, but I don’t wish for anyone on the face of this earth to be a weed either.
So, I’ll let Christ do the sifting and harvesting. My job is to remember the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, share that Good News with the world around me, and pray that others will come to be wheat instead of weeds.
Take today to stop being weeds, and live like the wheat.
Let us pray.