Good morning. Welcome. We are so glad that you've joined us this morning, as we continue to walk through the parables of Jesus. If you don't know what a parable is, it is simply a short story that Jesus would tell an audience in order to give them some framework for a moral or spiritual lesson that he was trying to tell. And we are currently in a series where we are walking through each one of his parables.
The parables were short in length and this lesson will be as well. But the parables, though short and length, are very thought provoking and are meant to change the way that we view things. So we are going to give you some time at the end and hopefully provide you with some discussion questions that will make for some great time for you to be able to really soak in and digest the meaning of this parable and how it applies to you today.
So today we're going to be taking a look at The Parable of the Weeds, maybe a little lesser known one, and it is found in Matthew 13: 24-30. This is a parable that deals with a tough subject. It deals with the prevalence and the persistence of oppression and evil in our world today. Something that we all have a hard time grappling with. But there are some very good nuggets in this story and I'm excited to take a closer look and see what's in store for us today. So follow along with me as we get right to it.
The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner's servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn't you sow good seeds in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go up and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
It's interesting because directly after this parable, Jesus went on to tell a couple more. But then it says that the disciples sought Jesus out for further explanation about the one with the weeds. And I really liked that because, I tell you what, when we take a look at how evil is just allowed to comingle and coexist with good in this world, who among us has not had a hard time questioning, at times, why on earth God isn't stopping it. Who on earth hasn't wanted to take control and take matters into their own hands to stop the prevalence of evil?
So I find that we're in good company because the disciples themselves, even after a couple other parables, sought Jesus out and were like, “Hey, can we get back to that weeds parable? Can you kind of go over that one with us?” And I love that that's a perfect example that when we have issues and things that we don't understand, particularly if they clash with what we know of God's character, that here is an example that we are invited in to ask Jesus for this. And we know that for those of us who seek, we will find that God does not turn us away because we have questions. But for those of us who seek wisdom and understanding, he wants to give that to us.
So there is reward when we lean in with the tough questions. And that's what we see here. So it kind of jumps a little bit into Matthew, 13:36-43. And that is when the parable of the weeds was explained. It says:
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he [meaning Jesus] left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 “As the weeds are pulled up 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 weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
And that word hear can also mean understand. He who has ears, looking to understand, let him understand. And that's what we're here, doing today. We're just going to pull out a couple of quick nuggets from here and then give you time to discuss this for yourself. But some things to notice are, right there in the beginning of the parable, it's very clear whose field this is. The field stands for the world, but whose field is it? It says here that it's his field. This is God's world. It's not my world. He affords me the opportunity and allows me the gift of living in His world. But we must remember this is his world.
Also, it reminds us that though it is his world that we have an enemy. He has an enemy and we have an enemy and notice when it is that he sewed these bad seeds. He did it while they were asleep. This shows us, yet again, as stated all over through the Bible, just how crafty and schemey the devil is. So we have an enemy. It is the devil and he does scheme. So we have to watch out for that.
Also, I think it's interesting that the owner's servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn't you sow good seeds?” In other words, how are we getting this bad wheat? What did you do wrong? And I think it's pretty natural when we glance, at first, at the evil that's going on in the world, or when it doesn't seem like justice is being served, that we tend to want to blame it on God, if we're honest. Why aren't you doing something God? But here he explains who it is that placed this evil, and make no mistake, God will take care of it — a time of judgement is coming. But he's very clear with the servants and of course we, the children of God, are his servants. But it is not for us to do the judging and he explains why.
It's kind of a confusing thing, but remember this parable was told to an agrarian culture, so they understood very well what Jesus was talking about. The weeds that he was talking about are actually called Bearded Darnel. And the thing about that is its roots will intertwine with the wheat. So Jesus was accurate when he said, if you try to uproot that, you'll uproot the wheat also and those people understood that. Another thing that they understood is that it's tricky because the wheat and the weeds grow and as they grow, they look identical. It would be nearly impossible for anyone to tell the difference until maturity. And once those wheats and weeds are mature, something different takes place and it has to do with the head of the wheat and the weeds.
When the wheat is mature, the head of the wheat will bend. It will droop its heavy head, but when the weed is mature, it stays upright. It's airy and it stays upright. And I think it's so cool that the posture of the wheat and the posture of the weeds, even right there, is significant. Because when we bow our heads in supplication, in reverence, it is considered worship.
The actual, original Greek word for worship is proskuneo. And it means not to sing, not to have a church service, it means to bow in reverence. So the mature Christian, the mark of the mature Christian is where he or she places their worship. Are we bowing to our Lord? Or are we independent? Do we have a posture of pride? And wasn't that the great sin of the enemy in the first place? So I love that that posture shows us that until those weeds and wheat are mature, we ourselves cannot see the difference.
I think it’s also very interesting that we can’t tell the difference because it is a reminder of what makes God GOD and us NOT God. See, man only sees outward appearances. Man does not see to the heart, but God does. And God is pictured as a patient farmer waiting for his crop to mature. In fact, scripture says that he is not lazy or slow in terms of bringing righteousness and judgment, but rather he is patient with us, wishing for none to perish and all to come to repentance. So it's so important that we remember that it is not for us to judge. We are to love. We are called to love, but love without judgment, because when we allow God to be the judge, that's just another way that we get to practically put our faith in him, his character, his authority, his supremacy and his superiority.
So a couple of takeaways for you to consider and think about are this. Number one, God, himself, is the judge. We don't have the ability to know a person's heart. And aren't you glad that it is not up to other human beings? Something that has really gotten me to think and be appreciative of how patient God can be waiting for my own maturity is I think about seasons where I may not have, to man, have represented a mature Christian.
What if it had been up to men? What if they'd looked back on my life and seen certain seasons where I didn't necessarily reflect that of a Christian on the outside. I wonder if you've had seasons like that too. But, see, God...he's not bound by time and he has always seen who I would become, who you would become, and he sees who you're going to become. He sees your potential. He sees the plans that he has for you, how he created you and why. And he does not do away with you and root you out even when you're in a season where you're not producing much fruit. He will wait for the harvest. He will wait for the maturity.
Also, another thing is when we take the responsibility of judgment off of ourselves, it relieves us of a burden. We don't have to be burdened with the idea of judgment. We can simply place that in God's righteous judgment hand, right there, and he will do it. And it's just another example of how we can put our faith in him.
And then finally, when you go through times where, maybe something is happening personally, or maybe it's something that's happening on the news or in the world around us, when we go through hard times, and it happens for all of us, where evil just seems to prevail, bad things seem to happen and it doesn't seem like God's doing anything about it. Instead of sinking in despair, it is so important to remember the hope that we hold onto. The reality that Jesus spoke of when he explained the parable in the end, where he reminded them, not only will I be taking care of this (weeding out the wheat from the weeds), but when I do, there will be an eternity with no evil and nothing that will even cause evil. And then the righteous, which the righteous are all who call on the name of the Lord, will shine like the sun. And for me, I like to think of it as shine like the sun, S-U-N; shine like the son, S-O-N. He who has ears, let him hear. Let him understand that you are called, I am called, to love without judgment. That we can leave the judgment up to our father and we can take a moment to thank him for being patient with us, in season and out of season. And we can hold on to hope in times of turmoil and great oppression remembering that one day, and this is real, one day there will be no hint of evil, no darkness at all. The righteous will shine like the Son, we will see him for as he is, every tear will be wiped away from every eye and every knee will bow and confess the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
So here are some questions for you to consider in your discussions if you are in a house church right now. If not, perhaps you could discuss them with your family. And if you're alone, I think these are great journal prompts for you to do in your own time, when you get your best quiet time. Remember these aren't in succession and you don't have to get through all of them. If there's one particular question, you really just know you're supposed to camp on, go for it. You don't have to do all of them, but they're here for you if you want to.
So the first is this: maturity is the goal of every human being, right? You want to become independent, do things for yourself and grow in maturity. But as a Christian, spiritually speaking, our goal as Christians are to become mature believers. And so the question is this, what does a mature believer look like? Discuss in your mind what a mature Christian looks like. Maybe you even have an example of someone and explain that person and why? Ephesians 4:15 is also a great reference to look up in your discussions regarding that question.
The second question is this: have you had a season in your own life where a human could have looked at you and judged you harshly? But God was patient with you and he saw what he was doing and he brought you through it. Now that's a personal one. You may want to discuss with the people around you and you may just want to have that be a prompt in your personal time, but it's a great way to express gratitude, once again, to God for his patience.
The third question is this: why do you think that God does not want us to be the judge? And, with that, why is it so hard for us to love without judgment? It's hard for us. It's hard for us to love without judgment. Why do you think that is? And a great scripture reference as you're discussing that question could be Matthew 7:1-6.
And then the final question is about heaven, where there will be no hint of evil and no darkness at all. This is a great topic to discuss. And why don't you discuss what you are personally looking forward to about heaven? And this is a great way to remind ourselves of where we're going and generate hope in our hearts, once again.
I hope you have enjoyed this parable. There's more to it. I hope you'll take your own personal time to look in it yourself. And I hope you have an awesome Sunday