Kingdom Adversary

Good Morning, Thank you for being with us today. Last week we started a series in which we are looking at a group of parables that Jesus told about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus had spent the first part of His ministry teaching the crowds and religious leaders plainly and in ways that people could understand, but after the people began to resist and reject His message, He shifted His teaching method and started using parables. We learned last Sunday that this was because the people had hardened their hearts to God’s message, so the deeper secrets about the kingdom of heaven were reserved for those who listened to Jesus and obeyed His teaching.

Today we are looking at the next parable Jesus shared, and its interpretation. If you have your Bible with you, please turn with me to Matthew 13, starting in verse 24. We will read to verse 30, and then skip to verse 36 where Jesus explains the parable.

Matthew 13:24–30 CSB

24 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The landowner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ 28 “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he told them. “ ‘So, do you want us to go and pull them up?’ the servants asked him. 29 “ ‘No,’ he said. ‘When you pull up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but collect the wheat in my barn.’ ”

Matthew 13:36–43 CSB

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He replied, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world; and the good seed—these 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 harvesters are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let anyone who has ears listen.

Let’s Pray...

Once again, we see Jesus using an illustration taken from farming, but in this case, the various parts of the story represent different things than they did in the previous parable about the four types of soil.

In the first parable, which we looked at last week, the focus was on the different types of soil, and the soils represented different kinds of people who heard the word of God (represented by the seed), and how they responded to His word. In THIS case, Jesus explains that the field is the world in general, and the good seed represents the children of the Kingdom, while the weed seeds represent the children of the devil, or the evil one.

The first parable emphasized the importance of bearing fruit as a priority for those who heard the message of God.

This parable encourages Christians that the kingdom of heaven is both present and future.

What that means is that while we are here on earth, we already experience some limited aspects of the kingdom of heaven; it is already here now in a limited fashion, but we will experience the FULLNESS of the kingdom of heaven in the future. In the previous chapter, some of the religious leaders were accusing Jesus of casting out demons using the devil’s power, but Jesus explained to them that a kingdom divided against itself could not stand, not even Satan’s kingdom. Jesus went on to explain that He cast out demons by God’s power, and if Jesus cast demons out by the Holy Spirit’s power, then the kingdom of God had arrived, or come upon, the people. In other words, the kingdom of heaven had already arrived, in limited fashion.

At the same time, Jesus corrected a misunderstanding that the Jews had at that time, and that some Christians have too. They thought that God’s kingdom would come completely and all at once, and when that happened, all their enemies would be defeated. The Old Testament prophesies about the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven and of God’s Messiah weren’t specific about the time period and process of this coming. The reality was that the kingdom of God would come, but it would co-exist with evil for a period of time until the final consummation of the kingdom occurred at the second coming of Christ. This process was something that was new for the Jews, and that even some Christians don’t understand.

So, to recap, the Kingdom of God came to earth with Christ’s birth, death and resurrection, in a limited fashion and with limited power and purpose for a specific season. However there is a time when the full kingdom of heaven will come in its full power and authority, no longer sharing space, power or authority with the devil after Jesus’s final victory over evil at His second coming.

The Jews had a hard time understanding this and accepting that the kingdom was both present and future in different degrees. Let me use an example for us to understand it differently. Our own nation celebrates its independence on what date? July 4, 1776 is the day that we say we became an independent nation. That’s the date when the representatives of the original thirteen colonies declared their independence in writing, and signed the document that is now in a museum in Washington D.C.

However, Signing the Declaration of Independence was only one step in the process. Our nation’s forefathers had to fight to gain that freedom, and for a while the outcome of the war for independence was uncertain. In fact, two years later, in 1778, we gained one of our nation’s first allies when the French decided to help us against the British. Eventually we gained allies in Spain and the Netherlands as well, but we did not sign a peace treaty wi th the British crown until September 3, 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was signed in which the British recognized the United States as a nation. We don’t celebrate September 3 1783, we celebrate July 4, 1776, even though that was just the beginning of our independence fight (or middle, if you look at the history that led up to our independence).

When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He did everything He needed to do to guarantee His followers salvation and adoption into God’s family and kingdom. Unlike with the U.S. Declaration of Independence, there is no doubt about the outcome of the war, Jesus has already won the war. Nevertheless, we are in an in-between time when Satan is still fighting God for the souls of humanity, and God’s people are advancing God’s kingdom into nations and peoples that do not yet know Him. In this in-between time we enjoy some of the blessings and advantages of God’s Kingdom, but the fullness of the Kingdom has not yet come to pass. The current reality is that...

There is an enemy (the devil) who tries to destroy the good things God does.

From early on in the history of humanity, the devil has been intent on destroying the good things God has created and stealing God’s glory for himself. He sowed the seed of doubt in Eve that led her to sin when he asked her, “Did God really say, ‘you can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” When she and Adam sinned, God’s creation was corrupted. And ever since then the devil has been actively involved leading a rebellion against God. He has led the masses of humanity away from the One True God and into following false gods, selfishness, and pride. The result is that the good seed (the people of the kingdom) that God has put in this world lives side by side with the weed seed that the enemy of God planted in the field.

Even though the Jews did not have this developed understanding of the kingdom of heaven being both present and future, the Psalms expressed what many others have thought throughout the ages, why does God allow evil to exist? One of the best Psalms that expresses this feeling is Psalm 73.

Psalm 73:1–5 CSB

1 God is indeed good to Israel, to the pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped; my steps nearly went astray. 3 For I envied the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 They have an easy time until they die, and their bodies are well fed. 5 They are not in trouble like others; they are not afflicted like most people.

Psalm 73:12–20 CSB

12 Look at them—the wicked! They are always at ease, and they increase their wealth. 13 Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing? 14 For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning. 15 If I had decided to say these things aloud, I would have betrayed your people. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless 17 until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood their destiny. 18 Indeed, you put them in slippery places; you make them fall into ruin. 19 How suddenly they become a desolation! They come to an end, swept away by terrors. 20 Like one waking from a dream, Lord, when arising, you will despise their image.

Psalm 73:23–28 CSB

23 Yet I am always with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me up in glory. 25 Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. 27 Those far from you will certainly perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.

Many of us see the evil around us, the wicked who are successful, drug dealers that make millions, warlords that murder and rape, dictators who rule with violence and intimidation, innocent women and children victimized by modern-day sex slavery, and the brokenness of sin and abuse that happens in communities and neighborhoods all around us, and we wonder why God allows such evil to exist.

Jesus answers the question that often crosses our minds when we see evil people succeed and the righteous suffer. Even though for a season God allows the good and the evil to exist side by side, there will be a day of reckoning.

God allows evil for a season, but will deal with it in the end.

The forces of evil won’t always get away with their sin. There won’t always be things in this world that cause others to stumble and sin; there won’t always be lawless people in the world. The day of judgment for them will come. As much as we long to be separate at times from the evil in this world, that will not happen until the end of time (the harvest).

But the point of this parable isn’t to complain and moan that evil coexists with God’s kingdom, it is to reassure those who are a part of the kingdom that one day the world will be judged and only the good will remain after that day. This is encouraging to those of us who are part of God’s kingdom, but it should also motivate us to actively share with our friends, family, coworkers, and people around us who do not yet know Christ because...

Judgment will come to God’s enemies and those who follow them.

Judgment Day, or the End of the Age, isn’t just an idea or a metaphor, it is a certainty. It is a real event that will happen and every day that passes we get one day closer to its arrival. In our culture, we often talk about the ideas of “good and evil” and yet our culture often dismisses the idea that there are real spiritual forces and spiritual beings that are actively battling each other. For most people, those are more for movies that make us sit on the edge of our seats and make us jump every once in a while. They put angels and demons in the same category as vampires and werewolves, or fairies and elves.

The 20th Century master storyteller and theologian, C. S. Lewis, wrote a book in which the main Character is an older demon named Screwtape who writes a series of letters of advice to his younger nephew, Wormwood, who is just starting out in his demonic efforts to influence the “patient” he has been assigned, an unnamed person who the younger demon is supposed to keep away from “The Enemy”, God. It is a creative way in which Lewis teaches about the different methods that Satan and his minions use to keep humanity away from God. In one letter, the elder demon advises the younger apprentice to not let the “patient” believe that demons are real. He says, “If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in THAT (it is an old textbook method of confusing him) he therefore cannot believe in you.”

However, angels, demons, good, evil, and a day of judgment are all very real.

Matthew 13:39–42 CSB

39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Hell is a real place of justice and punishment for Satan, the demons, and those who have not put their faith in Jesus.

Other prophesies and Scriptures speak of the judgment at the End of the Age. A consistent description of this judgment for Satan, his demons, and the people who have not put their faith in Jesus is the image of a fire or furnace where those who are judged are cast and endure punishment throughout eternity. As much as I look forward to heaven, and to evil being destroyed, I also want to help as many people as I can to avoid this eternal punishment. This is part of why we have not experienced Christ’s return yet.

For many centuries Christians have looked forward to the return of Christ, and have wondered why God has delayed almost two thousand years to send His Son to claim His throne. The Apostle Peter wrote in his second letter to the churches and gave an explanation for the delay...

2 Peter 3:9 CSB

9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

God has allowed this time of extended co-existence with evil to remain because He is waiting for us to take His message of salvation to the ends of the earth.

More and more nations have received the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and the possibility of reaching the nations that haven’t heard the Gospel yet is becoming more and more real, so more than ever, we are to be diligent in sharing the hope and healing that is available through Jesus with those around us. Even though the Bible tells us that we don’t know the day or the hour when Christ will return, one thing is for sure, every day that goes by we are one day closer.

Jesus finishes His explanation of the parable by telling His disciples that...

Matthew 13:43 CSB

43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let anyone who has ears listen.

This is the final focus of this parable. The righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. There will come a day when all is made right, when evil is dealt with, and when the righteous will remain and shine. The kingdom of heaven will be fully expressed and will have conquered all other kingdoms and only it will remain. For the good seed, even though they will have endured times of co-existence with the evil kingdom, their faithfulness and endurance will have a positive end.

The children of the kingdom are promised a glorious future without evil and all its effects.

Jesus promises His followers an eternity in God’s kingdom. This is when the kingdom finally comes to its full expression. One of the blessings we have as believers is that unlike the men and women who fight for an earthly kingdom’s cause, our victory has already been won, and our outcome is assured.

Some time after the events of chapter 13 of Matthew, Jesus has a conversation with His disciples. Here is how it went...

Matthew 16:13–18 CSB

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

We could do a whole other sermon on this passage, but for today, let’s just rest on the promise that Jesus made that the gates of hell will not overpower Christ’s church. The kingdoms exist side by side for now. There is a battle going on between good and evil, and sometimes it seems more intense than other times, but in the end we know that Christ has overcome the gates of Hell, and the people of His kingdom have a great kingdom to enjoy for all of eternity.

Let’s pray...

Hebrews 13:20–21 CSB

20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.