Are There Weeds In Your Garden?

ARE THERE WEEDS IN YOUR GARDEN?

Anyone who has ever gardened or landscaped knows the battle with weeds.

You don’t plant them. You don’t encourage them. You don’t want them.

But there they are. But, literally, they go with the territory

And you have to deal with them.

Weed and Feed product feeds the good and kills the bad.

I’m not sure how it knows which is which.

Dr. Jay’s definition of a WEED: Something growing where it should not be.

Back in February when I was planning my sermons for this year, I decided to take some time this Summer to preach on several of Jesus’ parables.

Last week we looked at the Parable of the Waiting Father

Two weeks ago our attention was on the Parable Of The Pearl Of Great Price.

Today we return to Matthew 13 to a story called The Parable of the Weeds.

Read Text.

Question is not, What do you IF I get weeds?

Rather, the question is, What will I do about the weeds?

Things to keep in mind:

JESUS IS AT WORK DOING GOOD

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Matthew 13:24 NIV

I like that the disciples ask Jesus in private to explain the parable.

In public they acted like the understood. But behind closed doors they could ask Jesus what he meant.

Then he 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.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man Matthew 13:36-37 NIV

Here is something we take by faith: Jesus is at work doing good.

There are forces in this world: personal forces, political forces, economic forces.

Frankly it does not take a lot of faith to believe they exist because we can see them.

But as Christians, we hold close that Jesus is at work through us.

The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. Matthew 13:38a NIV

In the parable the good seed the man sowed was for wheat.

Ultimately became food, bread, a staple, an essential need.

Maybe I should note that this man is growing wheat not flowers.

Its purpose is not beauty alone, but the production of a food commodity that is complete at harvest.

If you have a weed deterring the beauty of your flower garden and landscaping, by all means pull it up.

Jesus is reminding us that there is a present aspect of God’s agenda, but there is a future aspect that we believe is there and we take by faith.

Our perspective must not just be upon what is happening now, but what will happen in the future.

THERE IS AN ADVISARY AT WORK

But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. Matthew 13:25 NIV

Now THAT’S just MEAN. It’s a nasty little case of agricultural terrorism.

The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. Matthew 13: 38b-39 NIV

This means that people doing God’s work live in the midst of a world influenced by Satan.

As parents and grandparents, we are rightfully concerned about what our children are exposed to. At best we try to delay the inevitable until they are better mature to handle it.

The Kingdom of God is not a monastery where we get away from all the darkness and problems of the world.

Until the Lord returns, we are left in a world where wheat and weeds grow together.

INTENDING TO DO GOOD, WE CAN DO HARM

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ Matthew 13:28 NIV

“Master, we’ve got a problem. Weeds among the wheat. Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?”

This seems like a logical response. (Nip It. Nip It. Nip It.)

· In Jesus’ day there were Hebrews called Zealots who wanted to eradicate every foreign influence from the land. (These was a disciple called Simon the Zealot)

But the servants receive a very different command.

Often, Jesus parables have some element of surprise, the unexpected:

The caring man was a Samaritan.

The person sold all he had to acquire a magnificent pearl

The father welcomed the rebellious son hone with open arms.

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Matthew 13:29 NIV

The overarching concern for the farmer is the health of the wheat, not the destruction of the weeds.

There may come a time when a wrong needs to be addressed, but not before considering if the way we approach it will do more harm than good.