Exposed but not Infected

Thesis:

Kingdom servants should take courage in the midst of an evil world, finding hope in the justice and reward of the final judgement.

Introduction:

As children of the most high God and Kingdom citizens we recognize that God is almighty and all powerful. Yet he allows certain hardship to exist not only in the world but also in the lives of His children. Because of this the questions persist:

Why do the children of God have to live in the midst of evil?

Is there any hope of justice and freedom from this evil and unfaithful world?

I know we wonder sometimes will this ever change and if it doesn’t change what does that say about our future prospects. Well Jesus wrote this parable to help the faithful understand why we must tolerate evil for a time and at the same time be hopeful of the ultimate justice and reward that will be revealed in time to come. We must remain in this world but not of it. And God plants and sows us where wants to. While we are there we must grow and thrive in the midst of evil.

Exposition:

Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament Parable of the Weeds (13:24–30)

Like many other parables, this one is introduced as being about the kingdom of heaven. Using another horticultural analogy, the parable describes a man who sows good seed in his field. As the man sleeps, an enemy sows darnel weed in his field. The man’s slaves report this to him, and the man declares that an enemy has done this to his field. When the slaves ask whether they should pull the weed out, the man says no. He does not want the wheat to be damaged when the weeds get pulled. The solution the man provides is to let the wheat and weeds grow together until harvest time.

The Seed is Good because of the Sower

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

the Man is the Son of Man and the seed are the children of the Kingdom and the field is the World

the kingdom is like a man sowing good seed in His field

good seed are seeds that are pure true and unmixed

the good seed are those who have trusted Christ

A Counterfeit God Sows Counterfeit Seed

25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

the enemy is Satan, the devil, the adversary, beelzebub, slew foot

the tares are the children of evil, those who have rejected Christ

Satan is always trying to infiltrate God’s kingdom

in the parable the Gospel writer is alluding to a weed called the darnel plant

the darnel is undetectable at its early stages from wheat. So are counterfeit Christians at there early stages

they look the same, they ask the same questions, they make the same mistakes,

we must realize that wherever Christ sows a true Christian satan comes and sows a counterfeit

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Ten: The King’s Secrets (Matthew 13)

We must beware of Satan’s counterfeits. He has counterfeit Christians (2 Cor. 11:26) who believe a counterfeit Gospel (Gal. 1:6–9). He encourages a counterfeit righteousness (Rom. 10:1–3), and even has a counterfeit church (Rev. 2:9). At the end of the age, he will produce a counterfeit Christ (2 Thes. 2:1–12).

You Shall know the Sower by its Fruit

Imposters Can’t Stay Hidden Forever

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?’

You shall know a tree by the fruit that it bears

it was only after the wheat and the tares matured that they were distinguishable.

it was later on that the sower was seen in the seed

the Good master cannot sow bad seed, so we must not get caught eup in wondering why am I in the midst of vile and sometimes ungodly circumstances but just bear fruit where God plants you

So How do we have such confidence to declare that we have been exposed but not infected when for so long we looked like, acted like, smelled like, had motivations and attitudes like what we grew up??

THE SOWER IS NOT SURPRISED BY WHO DID IT

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?’

God knows who his enemy is. Do you?

your enemies are those who try to choke out your progress in righteousness

they are those that try to influence you because they have relationships with you.

the servants asked if he wanted to pull them up and discard of them

that seems to be our answer to everything if I don’t like it I desire not to be around it to the point that I isolate myself from it

SIMILAR IS NOT THE SAME

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,

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary (a) The Weeds (13:24–30, 36–43)

A light infestation of darnel could be tackled by careful weeding, but mistakes would easily be made. In the case of a heavy infestation the stronger roots of the darnel would be tangled with those of the wheat, making selective weeding impossible.

THE SOWER says don’t take them up because you may unwittingly hurt the wheat trying to get at the tares

let them both grow until harvest time. because it was only until harvest where they truly distinguishable

not only did the Darnel look like the wheat but there was a time when the wheat looked like the Darnel

the Darnel plant (tares) with its strong roots looked the same up top but different below the surface.

THE COUNTERFEIT CAN’T CHANGE THE AUTHENTIC

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.”

what was good will remain good

the good seed will produce a good yield regardless of what grows next to it

THE REAPERS OR ANGELS through divine instruction and appointment will be able to separate the right from the wrong

THE AUTHENTIC CAN CHANGE THE COUNTERFEIT

When two tree branches or stems grow in close proximity to each other, it is possible that they’ll eventually grow large enough to touch. If the bark becomes abraded, say through rubbing caused by swaying in the breeze, it is possible for them to become physiologically – or functionally – connected. This is the basis for grafting.

People have been grafting plants for thousands of years, most commonly to propagate desirable traits such as flower color, fruiting, size, or shape by intentionally joining together two different plants. But both shoot and root grafting occur naturally in trees, without human assistance

For successful grafting to take place, the vascular cambium tissues of the stock and scion plants must be placed in contact with each other. Both tissues must be kept alive until the graft has "taken", usually a period of a few weeks. Successful grafting only requires that a vascular connection take place between the grafted tissues.

Because of the vascular connection I’m reminded of another vascular connection. That explains why I can declare that the authentic can change the counterfeit.

The Bible says :

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

the vascular exchange is because we were willing to spill some blood on someone else

and so was Jesus