Wheat and Weeds

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.

This is the second and only other parable Jesus explains and it has similarities to the 4 soils from last week.

It is a farming parable and it is about a farmer sowing seeds in a field.

Though last week the focus was on the soils, in this parable the focus is on the seed and the sowers.

There are 2 sowers instead of one and there are 2 kinds of seed

Both kinds of seeds (wheat and tares/weeds) are sown in the very same field, amongst one another.

It is likely the weed was bearded darnel, which looks a lot like wheat until it matures.

Jesus explains the parable:

Telling us the good seed is sown by Him and represent the children of the Kingdom, His people, whom He has chosen, saved, and who are being redeemed.

The other sower is the devil, who we are told elsewhere in scripture was once an angel of the Lord, but rebelled against God and was cast our of heaven.

He is the sower of the weeds, who are his children, those who reject God and follow the ways of the world.

The field, Jesus say, is the world, the whole of this created space we call home.

This parable doesn’t seem quite as easy to decipher as last week’s, but like last week’s this parable has three intentions.

It seeks to reveal the Kingdom of God in some way to us, like a puzzle piece in a huge puzzle.

It confronts us with the truth of the Kingdom, seeking to cause us to pause and evaluate or diagnose the condition of our hearts.

And it invites us to surrender our lives to the Kingdom and it’s values and ways.

The KINGDOM is growing in an EVIL world.

Unlike the parable of the soils, there is only 1 soil in this parable, but there are 2 kinds of seed and the fact that they are growing in the very same field is the point.

It would not have been an unfamiliar story to the crowd Jesus was speaking to.

There were Roman laws forbidding someone from sowing weeds in another farmer’s field.

They would have recognized the circumstance and would relate to the questions the servants asked.

The servants questions are helpful for us to consider.

The first: “Didn’t you sow good seed in the field?”

They are really asking about his competence as a farmer. Does he know what he is doing? Is he good at this farming gig?

I think we can all admit to asking similar questions of God.

“I know God is suppose to be good, but why is there so much bad in the world? Does He know what He is doing?”

The disciples and the crowd, like us, experience the brokenness and evil in our world and are likely asking “Why?” and “What’s wrong?”

What Jesus is showing us is that the farmer isn’t out of control or incompetent, but that the seed He has planted was planted in a field infested with weeds planted by an evil adversary.

We have to be careful not to look to this, or any, parable to answer every question that we have, because we will not find the answers to all our questions in one place.

But what we can see here is a farmer who was very intentional about planting His field and an enemy that is intent on doing everything in his power to hinder or destroy all he can.

Jesus tells his disciples in John 16:33

John 16:33 (NIV)

33 “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Following Jesus is not an easy road.

We are called to live a life that is very much counter-cultural.

We are constantly pushing against the current of society, seeking to discern what is looks like to follow Jesus and stay faithful to Him.

All the while there are weeds growing among us, that don’t look all that much different from us, and yet are robbing us from the health and nourishment that strengthens us.

A few weeks ago, my dgroup read through the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 and I was struck by what Jesus says in Matthew 7 13

Matthew 7:13 CSB

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.

Two paths are often, and I think rightly, understood to be 2 roads we can choose, one has a wide gate and a broad road, easy to travel down, but that ends in destruction.

On the other hand, there is a narrow gate and a more challenging path that can be chosen, yet one that leads blessedness and joy everlasting.

What struck me is an alternate understanding of the image presented.

We can often look at this as a fork in the road with 2 paths presented.

But what is feels like is one path with the gate at separate ends and 2 groups of people walking toward the gate they have chosen.

Like a person who forgot something in the stands as they walk out of a sporting event, going against the crowd is a challenging thing.

And the more we push through, the more we are going to be beaten down, tripped up, and mocked for walking the path of righteousness.

The Kingdom of God is like that, but it won’t alway be.

Be AWARE and be EQUIPPED.

Jesus confronts us with the reality of the evil one, whom we know as the Devil.

1 Peter 5:8 CSB

8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

I watched the first couple of seasons of a show that came on the FX channel several years ago called “The American”

It was about a Russian couple during the Cold War posing as a suburban family outside of DC.

They had all these secret relationships, covert mission, and hidden lives and no one in their everyday life had any clue who they actually were.

They were enemies behind the lines, posing like they were just one of the neighbors.

The enemy was at their doorstep and they didn’t even know it was there, because they couldn’t recognize it.

When CS Lewis wrote “The Strewtape Letters” this is what he had in mind as he framed the conversations between Screwtape (a high-ranking demon) and Wormwood (his mentee).

Satan doesn’t walk around wearing blood-red clothing and carrying a pitchfork, he blends in, acting and speaking like there isn’t too awful much different between him and us.

And yet all the while his goals and aspirations are to distract us, lure us, hinder us, and even kill us in order to keep us from follow Jesus.

Jesus is confronting us with the questions: Do you know your enemy? And what are you doing to fight?

Paul helps us a great deal to understand both the nature of our battle and the tools necessary to stand up and fight.

Ephesians 6:10–17 CSB

10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.

We struggle in our western culture with the concept of a spiritual world.

The idea of demons and angels all around us, fighting for our souls and effecting aspects of our lives.

Now it is important to note that not everything bad or painful that happens to us is directly tied to demonic activity, sometimes we just screw up or life in a broken world just happens.

But our bigger struggle is failing to see the effects our inattentiveness on our lives.

Jesus is calling us to be aware of our enemy that we might be on guard to his evil schemes.

Don’t DELAY, come TODAY!

We may struggle with the idea that the farmer let’s the field grow up with weeds in the midst of wheat, but there is beauty in this picture.

The farmer’s concern was more for the perseverance of the wheat than the destruction of the weeds.

He saw it as too risky for the healthy plants to go about weeding out the bad.

This points to the sovereign, gracious patience of our father in heaven.

But it won’t stay that way.

Jesus is pointing to a day of judgement, when the wheat blooms and the weeds are shown for who they are, then the harvest will come.

The harvest is the day of judgement where the weeds and the wheat are separated.

The reality of judgement is something that elicits a lot of fear, and rightfully so.

Over and over again in the gospels Jesus warns of the coming day where the wheat and tares will be separated, the good and bad fish will be dispersed, the unfruitful will be destroyed.

Judgement is inevitable and that ought to cause us to pause and consider, to examine and respond.

But watch Jesus is saying here, and we all need to hear this, is the judgement is not NOW, not yet for those with breath in their lungs.

God’s patience is a gift.

There are those who have not yet believed, have not yet received, and have not yet come.

God’s patience is an invitation to come to Him, but when certain things are in place.

Not when you get yourself in a better position

Not when timing is better, but to come NOW.

It is an invitation that we who follow Jesus are responsible for bring to those in our lives.

There is still time.

The Gospel is good news, even though this world is saturated with evil and brokenness, God’s Kingdom is growing in us and around us.

And though the day of judgement is drawing near, there is yet time for us to come to the King and receive that promise to “Shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom.”