Wheat and Weeds

Jesus told his disciples another parable about the kingdom of heaven.

Like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

His enemy came and intentionally sowed bad seed with the good seed.

The good wheat and the weeds grew up together. (looking the same)

The servant asked the master where the weeds came from, and the master knew right away, they were sown by his enemy.

The servant asked if they should be pulled up, but the master said no, because there would be a good chance that the wheat would be pulled out as well. With roots intertwined and looking very similar, most of the harvest could be ruined by mistake.

Instead, when it is harvest time, the wheat and the weeds will look very different and the master will judge them by their fruit. Wheat grain is light in color, while darnel (European Ryegrass grain) are black in color, then it should be obvious by the color of their fruit.

Vs. 26 When the hay (wheat) sprouted and fruited (formed heads), the weeds appear evident.

Vs. 27 The servants question the master about what he sowed and where it came from. (as we often do when we think something is unfair or unjust)

Vs. 28 The enemy of the master sowed the weeds in secret of night. (at an unknown time)

Vs. 29 The master did not want to chance pulling up the wheat, losing most of the harvest.

Greek zizanion for weeds throughout this passage;

sperma seed;

chorto hay;

sito wheat grain

Vs. 30 The weeds will be gathered and burned up in a fire, while the wheat will be gathered and stored in a safe place.

Vs. 36 What does this parable mean? (What/who are the weeds to be burned?)

Some say that fake Christians should be immediately and publicly identified and weeded out of the church, much like the servants who ask the master about the disposition of the weeds.

They say that those who claim to be Christians but don’t act like Christians or talk like Christians are like a malignant cancer that needs to be cut out.

But those who make these accusations forget that they themselves were once without knowledge of the love and full grace of God. Yet, God adopted them into the family of God.

Until they were adopted by God, they were just as lawless as the ones they accuse.

Matthew 7:2 NIV

2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Did those who were in the church before them cut them out from the Body of Christ?

In some corner of Christianity, this may have been the case.

What do you think happens when someone is forcefully rejected?

What ripping and sundering of relationships happened at such an action?

An appeal to innocence cannot be claimed from the side of the accuser, when Jesus commanded them to do the opposite.

Only those who do not know or understand can appeal to ignorance, but once they know, they are held accountable to it.

The problem is that we do not want to feel out of control, and we don’t want to feel impotent, but we do need to know that good will triumph over evil.

Jesus Christ, God incarnate says to be patient, let them grow, and he will sort them out in the end.

In Vss. 37-39 Jesus gave the interpretation:

The Sower is the Son of Man, God Incarnate, Jesus Christ himself.

The Field is the World.

The good seed are the people of the kingdom of God.

The weeds or darnel are the people of the evil one.

The enemy is the devil, who has no kingdom, he is said to be a Prince.

The harvest is the end of the age, the age of the growing kingdom of God.

The harvesters are the angels, servants, messengers, priest and prophets of the Lord, those whose purpose is to gather the people of the kingdom of God together.

Christ has only sown good in the whole of Creation, and the Good News of truth in the church.

Vs. 40 Here is the sober reality of Scripture: the people of the evil one will be uprooted and burned in eternal fire. (Taken alone, this is NOT a pleasant thought.)

Vs. 41 God will send his angels to weed out everything that causes sin (skandalon: scandal) and all who do evil (anomia: lawlessness, lawless deeds) at the end of the age.

Even when those who serve under the guise of the law, act as if the law does not apply to them, they are said to be, by definition, lawless.

Vs. 42 The bundled weeds will be thrown into a furnace, for fuel, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, a sign of pain, anguish or anger.

Today, this truth is often denied because of the hurt that some feel when a loved one dies. It makes us feel more comfortable that people will suffer forever in eternity.

But, by definition, eternity does not end.

And, for us to deny what is true does nothing to take away the stark reality of the truth.

Thankfully, Jesus gives us a way out, believe in him and we will be saved.

The Abundantly Fruitful Harvest (the gathering or calling) versus the Squandering, Scarcity, and Scattering.

The gathered wheat (which is light in color) is stored for use in feeding, giving life by way of being made into bread to eat.

Those who believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation are the fruitful gathered wheat, through whom share in the bread of life.

Those that squander the reality of God’s grace will be scattered and burned by relying on their own power to grow.

God gave us grace to receive him, before we acknowledged his presence.

But, when the truth is revealed to us, we feel convicted and convinced that only God can save us.

We repented of sin and received forgiveness for entry into the life of faith.

Should we not also seek to extend that same grace to our neighbor, especially those who are among the people of God who have an error in judgment?

Do we allow our resentments to keep us from extending compassionate understanding to another? Did Jesus?

Matthew 10:16 NIV

16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

How can we demonstrate firm grace with our brothers and sisters in Christ?

How can we demonstrate the compassion of Christ even why revealing sin to unbelievers?

We all fall short of the glory of God, the difference is that Christ followers seek to hear from the Holy Spirit where they have fallen short, so that we can be reconciled to God and grow in faith of God’s eternally effective grace.

Once reconciled to God, we are convinced that others will be reconciled to God themselves and others.

Then, like us, they will be given new eternal life with God their loving Savior.