Read Matthew 13.24-30. Pray.
Introduction
They are likely the two worst spy cases in US history. Beginning in April of 1985 and continuing until his arrest in February of 1994, Aldrich Ames sold intelligence secrets to the Soviets (and then the Russians) for $4.6 million. Early on, the CIA realized that agents were disappearing, but they were reluctant to admit that a mole could have penetrated their highest levels. It is estimated that Ames compromised at least one hundred U.S. intelligence operations and that his betrayals led to the execution of at least ten U.S. sources.
Ames’ was the worst breach until Robert Hanssen was unmasked seven years later. Between 1979 and 2001, Hanssen worked for the KGB as a mole in the CIA, selling intelligence-gathering secrets, exposing CIA agents and double agents, and compromising computer security and passwords. The 2007 film, Breach, dramatizes the crimes and arrest of Hanssen.
The stories of these two men disturb us more than simply finding out we have enemies. In a fallen world, we expect opposition. Gadhafi hates Americans, in part, because our freedoms call his citizens to throw off shackles of tyrannical power. We embody ideals that threaten his god-like control and opulence. But when one of our own betrays sacred trusts and assists in the exposure and execution of those who believe in God-given and inalienable rights, we shudder.
In the church, we realize that an adversary prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. We must resist the devil, firm in our faith, suffering if necessary, knowing that the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. But like a mole in the most sensitive departments of the CIA, this parable speaks of weeds and wheat sharing the field until the harvest. Not an adversary outside the fellowship, but one among us. What is Jesus saying, and why, and what are we to do about it?
Parables lasso abstract and multi-dimensional realities to corral them in specific and understandable ways. Pastor Tim Keller describes them as “concrete depictions of cosmic truths.” The kingdom of heaven may be compared to…. The kingdom of heaven is like…. Heaven exists outside our reality; it cannot be understood directly, but only by simile and figure of speech.
To appreciate this parable, we benefit from considering the context of the Jewish world of Jesus’ day. Israel survives as a nation and people, but under the yoke of foreign, oppressive power. They are not economically self-sufficient, but live in significant poverty and with a general lack of political and social freedom. In this cauldron of frustration and oppression, Messianic hopes constantly bubble to the surface.
Messiahs also rose with frequency, as did their followers. Jesus was neither the first nor the only charismatic leader to draw crowds and ignite hope of revolution. Rome’s political power deeply offended Jewish people and they clamored for a leader to overthrow the hated government.
Now certainly, Jesus is the Messiah promised of old, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. However, Jesus was not the king anticipated; his rule is different than all other kings. As he explained: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting…. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18.36).
So he tells this parable to contradict expectations and encourage perseverance. Contradicting expectations: the people held in their hearts hope for Messiah. Jesus’ failure to fulfill their desires does not disqualify him from the office. He is the promised one, proven by his life, death, and resurrection. The promise is true, and God’s provision is perfect, even if we misunderstand his plans. In fact, Jesus often corrected expectations, both by his teaching and by his living parables, actions which both proved his Messianic claim and also taught greater theological truths.
Jesus not only explained grace, he changed water into wine to show that that God’s grace is an intoxicating truth, a hilarious and happy mercy. He healed the lame so we would trust him to heal our sin-sick souls. He spoke of himself as the bread from heaven, and he multiplied bread and fish into a feast for thousands so we would come to him for spiritual nourishment. Jesus heals the man born blind in order to demonstrate his solution to a religion that cannot see. As a result, each of us must ask with whom we identify – the spiritually blind or those who imagine they can see? The miracles proved the deity of Christ, certainly; they are also signs pointing to the nature of God and of grace. In all these, Jesus contradicted false and merely human expectations of the promised Messiah.
When our cherished dreams are crushed, we tend to give up and go another way. So this parable not only corrects our expectations, it also encourages perseverance. Though life may not turn out as we had thought or hoped, it does turn out. There is an end, a reckoning, a plan for the fullness of time when all things are brought to culmination and conclusion. Stay the course; you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
For these reasons, then, Jesus puts another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to….” Notice, please, three features of this parable.
First, the work of the farmer, “who sowed good seed in his field” (Matthew 13.24). “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man” (Matthew 13.37). Jesus claims that he is the Messiah, the promised one. He may not do exactly what they want in the way they would like, but he is the sower of good seed. He is the Savior of mankind, the solution to sin’s dominion, the head of the church, the firstborn of creation, the true God and eternal life, the way to the Father, our righteousness and our sanctification. He is the true light, and to all who receive him, he gives the right to become children of God. He offers eternal life to his own, and they will never perish, and none can snatch them from his hand. Jesus sows the good seed.
Second, notice the work of the enemy: “while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also” (Matthew 13.25-26). “The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil” (Matthew 13.38b-39a). Even though the reign of the King of righteousness has broken into our fallen world, the battles are not over. Two kingdoms are locked in mortal conflict; neither will give up until one is destroyed.
To illustrate, Jesus compares those who oppose his rule to weeds sown by the enemy. The weed is zezania, also known as darnel, or in the King James, tares, related to ryegrass. This noxious plant looks like wheat as it grows, but produces no useful crop. Instead, it steals nutrients and moisture, hindering the true crop. No wonder the servants of the master wanted to pull up these weeds by the roots! So it is in the world today – the children of the kingdom of evil strive against the godly for influence and control. Wherever good would flourish, the enemy sows seeds of destruction and discord. No field is safe; whenever and wherever the church sleeps, the enemy sows.
Then, third, notice the patience of the farmer. “The servants ask, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather the weeds?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn”’” (Matthew 13.28b-30). “The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace” (Matthew 13.39b-42a).
We must wait, Jesus insists, until the consummation for the clarity we desire. Now is the time “between”; the chance for patience. We work and wait, while we trust God to bring all things to the proper end.
I think I easily see how the disciples are misled and how their demands of God must be contradicted. I find it harder to recognize the same in myself. So let’s think about how this might apply to us.
First, the kingdom comes incrementally, not instantaneously. I think every follower of Jesus has, at some time, wondered why God does not simply end it all now and bring all things to the culmination. If not that, then at least the church could be pure and undefiled. Why do we continue to have problems and pain, when we are already members of his body, adopted children of the king?
It is because there is both an already and a not yet. In every faithful and true congregation, just as in every business and school and family, there are both wheat and weeds, true believers and those who look the part but whose hearts are not really his. Neither the purest preaching of the gospel will provide this, nor will the strictest discipline prevent it. In fact, Jesus makes clear that we risk damage to the weak if we pursue purity too extremely. “Lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them, let both grow together until the harvest.”
God calls for patience and prudence. Let the plants grow; those who are his will be revealed. Faithfulness where we are planted, rather than rooting out others’ failures is the sign of true faith. Plus, as Augustine said, “Those who are weeds today may be wheat tomorrow.” The kingdom of God advances slowly, step-by-step, along side of the work of the enemy.
Second, the kingdom is radical, not revolutionary. The Jews wanted to overthrow the humanist government of Rome and replace it with a right-wing theocracy. Jesus’ answer is completely different – much more radical and comprehensive than they ever imagined. They envisioned a political solution, one with a different person in power. Jesus brings a whole-person solution, with an entirely different power.
The people knew that life was bad and that the government was corrupt. So they assumed a political answer would solve their problem. But Jesus tells us that the reason life is bad is that reality is broken. The whole cosmos groans under the effects of sin. The solution must be more than politics, more than psychology, more than a war on poverty. Yes, those will be affected; but the disease must be healed. It is not by revolution; it is more radical.
The primary meaning of “radical,” is “proceeding from the root or origin.” The kingdom strikes directly at the source – it heals people’s hearts, for out of the heart flow the springs of life. Jesus’ kingdom is not a government which merely wars against poverty, or enforces peace, or provides for every illness, or outlaws hatred and injustice against the marginalized of society. Jesus’ kingdom brings a world without strife, without loneliness, without mental illness; a world without sin and suffering; a world of justice and love and mercy and compassion for others. Jesus’ kingdom does not clamp down on sin; it removes it entirely and then heals the hole left in the heart. The kingdom comes 1) incrementally, and 2) radically.
Third, the kingdom promises ultimate justice, not earthly fulfillment. Listen, please, as I read the explanation of this parable in Matthew 13.36-43 and also Matthew 13.47-50, both of which teach us that the ultimate solution to the quest for justice awaits a future conclusion.
Read Matthew 13.36-43 and Matthew 13.47-50.
The present mix of wheat and weeds will not remain forever. A separation is certain and will not tarry, nor will the angels mistake profession or pretense for true faith and perseverance. The godly will receive glory in eternal joy; the wicked and worldly will be cast away.
This parable ends on a solemn and serious note. Yes, there is great comfort for those who follow Christ, whose faith is genuine and true. But there is a “fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10.27). Surely all who read this passage would agree that knowing whether we are children of the kingdom or sons of the evil one is the greatest question to answer in life.
Two things to observe in answer.
First, what makes a real Christian? The Bible explains conversion by a variety of images: adoption, born again, planted, grafted. All have this in common: the work begins with a miracle, the effect of an outside force. Do you know that someone else is working in your heart and soul? Pastor Tim Keller notes that true Christians can’t believe that they believe what they believe. Is that true of you? Or do you suppose faith is a matter of self-reformation, your decision to finally straighten up your life? “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3.8). Have you experienced the work of the Spirit, a work you cannot explain where it came from or where it is taking you, but one which leaves you saying with wonder and delight, “I can’t believe that I believe what I believe?” Is your faith the result of God’s miracle, or your resolve? One is Christianity; the other self-congratulations. Is your conversion all of grace?
Second, are you growing in a way that reveals fruit of union with Christ? Are you growing in both humility and joy at the same time? Are you, each day, more and more aware of your faults and weaknesses, yet more and more convinced of the Father’s love? The only people who really get better are those who are certain that if they never get better, God still loves them. Are you certain of his favor and acceptance while convicted of your sin?
I have met plenty of people who recognize some fault in their life, then put their mind to it, and reform that area. Those who are lazy can learn to be disciplined. The one who is demanding can develop patience. The gossip can bite his tongue and the quick to anger can count to ten. But the end of these is self-congratulations.
The Bible says that the end of all things is the praise of his glorious grace, not the praise of the greatness of my willpower. His kingdom comes by hearing. He who has ears, let him hear. Are we taking care how we hear?
