 The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. ?The farmer?s workers went to him and said, ?Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds!
Where did they come from?? ??An enemy has done this!? the farmer exclaimed. ??Should we pull out the weeds?? they asked. ??No,? he replied, ?you?ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.??
Matthew 13:24-30 (New Living Translation)
Jesus explains the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds to his disciples:
Matthew 13:36-43
Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, ?Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.?
Jesus replied, ?The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.
?Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father?s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
Here's my commentary:
As with many passages from God?s word I get something new almost every time I read them. Jesus tells us quite plainly here that the wheat represents those who have become sons of God by believing in him and the weeds are those that are children of the devil. I was reading one interpretation earlier that likened this story to the Garden of Eden. God had planted the goods seeds of Adam and Eve there for the purposes of being fruitful and multiplying. But then the serpent came along and planted the seeds of evil. As a result Cain was born as a child of the devil and ultimately became the first murderer when he killed his brother Abel.
Notice how he says that the enemy came in at night when the workers were asleep, planted the weeds and then slipped away? That?s just the way the devil operates. He?s a wimp. He has to sneak around in the dark. He is a thief and a liar.
I also read this morning that the weeds that are often found in wheat fields tend to look a lot like the wheat itself. However, unlike the weeds, the wheat eventually sprouts a head and produces more seed. The weeds however do not produce anything. They simply attempt to choke out nutrients that would ultimately be beneficial for healthier and more productive wheat. It sounds a lot like the church today. Sure, there are some there who look just like Christians. They walk the walk and even talk the talk but ultimately produce no fruit! Here?s what Jesus has to say about them:
Matthew 7:21-23 (New Living Translation)
?Not everyone who calls out to me, ?Lord! Lord!? will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ?Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.? But I will reply, ?I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God?s laws.?
Where do the weeds come from? They come from thoughts, actions and words of anyone who isn?t a true child of God. Jesus says this:
Matthew 12:30 (New Living Translation)
?Anyone who isn?t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn?t working with me is actually working against me.?
We know that the only way to become a true Child of God is through Jesus. So there are no gray areas. Either you are a born again believer or you are not. If you are not then you my friend are a weed in the eyes of God.
Those evils seeds are thrown around us each and everyday. They come from the television we watch, the music we listen to, the websites we visit, the magazines we read, the billboards we look at and on and on and on. Satan is the prince and power of the air. He is the god of THIS world.
Should we pull out the weeds? Isn?t it just like us Christian to be the first to casts judgment on non-Christians? We want them out. We want to see them punished. Jesus says here, No! I?ll take care of that.
He tells us to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth. We are representatives of Christ and it is our responsibility to approach ALL others with love, kindness, meekness, gentleness, patience and so on.
He tells us that pulling out the weeds will actually uproot the wheat. This one is a little tough. I have thought for a while now how we would be uprooted by the removal of evil. One thing that came to mind is that he sends rain onto the entire field. We are all his children. Even though the weeds are of no essential value. It is possible for us to draw excess nutrients from them. Water would surely run off from their branches and we could use that water to sustain out own growth.
Matthew 5:45 (New Living Translation)
?In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.?
The last part is the part that most people want to just look right over as if it were any less important than the rest. I myself like to tell people about how God IS love and how he is willing to accept them just as they are. I speak of his grace and his mercy. But the fact remains that this earth is going to pass away. On judgment day each person, dead, or alive, man or woman, Jew or gentile, saved, unsaved, slave or free will have to face up to or account for whether or not we believed in Jesus. And if so, what did we do with our lives. Were we fruitful? Did we enhance the Kingdom? Did we make disciples? Did we feed the hungry? Did we give shelter to the homeless? Did we give to the poor?
I love the last line??put the wheat in the barns? When I was a child I spent summers with my grandparents on their farm. It was fun doing the chores in the field, mending fences, running the tractor and such, but what I really loved was being in the barn. It was fun milking the cows and feeding the smaller animals. It was warm and lots of times, after the chores were over, I would go up in the hayloft and sleep the afternoon away! There was always plenty to eat and it just felt like home!
You are in the field of life my friend. Will the day come when you will grow a head and begin to produce fruit? Tied up in a bundle to be burned or put in the barn to lounge in the loft? The choice is yours.
You may be saying or thinking that it?s too late. I am already a weed and cannot become wheat. I have news for you. God has the ability to graft you into the wheat stalk. Check this out:
Romans 11:17 (New Living Translation)
But some of these branches from Abraham?s tree?some of the people of Israel?have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God?s special olive tree.
It?s never too late but the sooner you make the right choice, the more fruitful you can be. There is no greater joy!
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Leave a comment.
Michael
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