The Gardener’s Field Series

This evening’s message is entitled “The Gardener’s Field,” and it’s taken from what is commonly called “The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares.” In Genesis 2:8-9, we read, “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” Our God is the Master Gardener, having created the Garden of Eden, having established every good tree and healthy herb, and having planted His ultimate creation - mankind.

The complete Trinity was involved in the creation of mankind, for we read in Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’.” Jesus, we know, is part of the Trinity. John tells us that He is God made flesh who “dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). We will learn this evening how Jesus, as God incarnate, is the Master Gardener as well when it comes to tending the souls of men.

In tonight’s parable we will see that Jesus sets out and grows the plants of the garden, and that He is responsible for the harvesting of the plants. Sometimes, we as believers feel that it’s our responsibility to tend the garden, and this is partially true, but Jesus reminds us that our task is not so much tending the garden, as it is making sure that we as healthy plants reproduce. We are to reproduce by bringing others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Unbelievers Mixed Among Believers (vv. 24-26)

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.”

As we expound on this parable, we will draw from some of the explanation provided in Matthew 13:36-43. I wish to begin by asking some thought-provoking questions: “Who is the man who sowed the good seed, and what is the field?” “Who are the good seeds, and who are the tares?” In Matthew 13:37-38, we find answers provided to these questions. In these verses, Jesus said, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.”

The one who sows is none other than the Gardener, Jesus Christ. So, why was Jesus called “the Son of Man” in Matthew 13:37? Harper’s Bible Dictionary says that “Jesus must have used ‘Son of man’ as a simple self-designation . . . referring to Himself simply as a human being.”(1) The term “Son of Man” was the Old Testament title given for God incarnate (God made flesh); or rather, God who came to earth in the form of the man Jesus Christ.

Jesus was emphasizing His humanity. He wanted to reveal that He was the one who walked among human beings, and had the closeness required to touch their lives on a personal level. He was the one who sowed the wheat, or planted the believers in the field. It was not God the Father who did the sowing, but God the Son, or God in the flesh. Jesus was establishing His authority as the Gardener, or the one who has the responsibility in managing the crops. Why? Because He wanted His listeners to heed the message that He desired to communicate in this parable.

Jesus revealed that the field is the world. It can also be said that the field is the church. The good seeds are revealed to be sons of the kingdom, or believers; and the tares are unbelievers. Keeping this information in mind, what application can be achieved? Henry Blackaby comments that, “Membership rolls of churches are not the true test of whether a person belongs to the kingdom. Just because a person has some resemblance to other Christians does not mean he is a Christian . . . Jesus teaches that some lost and evil people are mixed with true believers in churches.”(2)

The Christian Theology textbook sitting on my shelf tells us this passage “is to be seen as recognition of the possibility of hypocrisy and even deceit.”(3) It continues to state that “it is a reflection of the truth of 2 Timothy 2:19, which says, ‘The Lord knows those who are His.’ Even one of Jesus’ twelve disciples turned out to be a traitor.”(4) Jesus revealed that in the world, and even in the church, there are both believers and unbelievers.