Last week we acknowledged the existence of two spiritual kingdoms. There is the kingdom of sin that established itself in rebellion against God’s rule. And there is the Kingdom of Jesus that is crying out for us to rise up against the kingdom of sin.
We also acknowledged the fact that we were originally born into the kingdom of sin but Jesus purchased us with his blood and transferred us into his Kingdom. There we were established, counted as one of his beloved subjects. However, He is a jealous King that will not permit us to remain a subject of the kingdom of sin. If we insist on doing so, we run the risk of being guilty of rebellion and may find ourselves expelled or running the risk of spiritual death. One of the saddest passages in the Bible is when Samson’s unfaithfulness to God caught up with him. We read in Judges 16: 20- 21 “Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.
So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.”
We learned last week that we have been permitted to understand the secrets to the Kingdom of God. This is a privilege not offered to everyone. The secrets are implanted into our hearts like a pace maker so we can have the opportunity to grow in our knowledge of the Kingdom of Jesus.
Today we will venture into unlocking another reality of the Kingdom of Jesus. We will be reading from Matthew 13:24-30 and Matthew 13:36-43. We will be doing a simultaneous reading of these scriptures.
Let’s begin with reading Matthew 13: 24- 26.
“Here is another story Jesus told: “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.”
Now we will read Matt 13:36-39 where Jesus explains the meaning of this parable.
“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.” Let’s consider what we can gleam from this parable.
The first thing we recognize is that Jesus is describing the condition of the world. He makes that very clear. He makes no reference to this being about his church or hypocrites abiding with the saved. The field is the world. And in the world are wheat and weeds. Jesus takes credit for sowing the good seed that would produce the wheat. John 1:3 tells us that Jesus created everything. He created the field. He created the seed. He chose that seed to be wheat. The seed did not get to choose. John 15:16 reads “You didn’t choose me. I chose you.”
But as Adam was sleeping, that is not being alert to the wiles of the devil; the devil came and planted the seeds of sin in the field. After corrupting the perfection of God’s world he was forced to slither away like a serpent.
So now we have a picture of the field we live in. It is a world filled with wheat and weeds. It is a field that co-exists and will continue to do so until the return of Jesus. And the only difference between the wheat and the weeds is that the wheat will grow and produce grain. (Matt 13:26)
This is how Jesus stated it. “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:20) It’s our actions that identify us as wheat or weeds.
He also stated “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” (John 15:8) Wheat brings glory to God, weeds brings shame to his Kingdom.
He concludes with this statement, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”
(Luke 6:45) It’s our heart that reveals our true nature. Wheat produces good things, like bread and cereals. Weeds produce evil things, like allergies and chiggers.
Now back to the story. Let’s look at the workers reaction.
Matthew 13:27-30 “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.”
Who are the farmer’s workers in the story? Those who work for the farmer. This is a picture of the church. We often approach those in sin, the weeds of the world, as deserving nothing more than to be plucked up and cast into the fire. The church often has a reputation, sometimes earned, of being high minded and judgmental. We place labels on the weeds to insure that at the right time we can expose them and pull them into public spectacle. The workers are ready, almost eager to get out there in the field and begin to rip those nasty weeds right out of the ground. But Jesus says “Hold on. You might just uproot some wheat if you do.”
Can I give you some reality here? I was once a weed. We all were. The first thirty years of my life was weedy. I was a party animal, uncaring lout, and totally anti-God. The church looked at me and screamed “Weed” but Jesus looked beyond that and whispered “Wheat.” He knew what we had chosen me to become. And regardless of how the world viewed me, He viewed me as one of his own. We can’t spot the weeds. Only He can. If we try to eradicate the weeds and damage the wheat, we will answer to the farmer. Listen to his warning in Matthew 18:6 “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” The Greek word for “little ones” can mean “lesser ones”. If we are a negative influence on one these “lesser ones”, these weeds, by being judgmental and in doing so cause them to hesitate in accepting Jesus, the consequences could be severe.
What’s the answer to this dilemma? Jesus says “Let the wheat and the weeds grow together.” We are to occupy this world together. In John 17 we find Jesus praying for his disciples and all future believers. In the middle of this prayer He prays “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.” (John 17:15) We have the challenge of living a balanced life in the field of wheat and weeds. Jesus says “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” (Mark 12:17) We must balance our obligations to the world and to God. Plus we might want to ponder the question “What do we have that belongs to God?” The answer is obviously “Everything.”
Jesus said “Let them both grow together until the harvest”. I would imagine that this statement shocked the workers. They could have argued that when the wheat would be nourished so would the weeds. Any attempt to make the wheat more fruitful would also influence the growth of the weeds. They could have declared “I don’t like it. It’s not fair.” If they felt this way they wouldn’t be alone. The prophet Jeremiah was quite vocal on the subject. “Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. So let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy? You have planted them, and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but you are far from their hearts. But as for me, Lord, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. Drag these people away like sheep to be butchered! Set them aside to be slaughtered!” (Jeremiah 12:1-3 )
But what if God made us more fruitful to influence the sinner? What if instead of being judgmental we loved? Perhaps we would fulfill what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 5:45 “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.” God sends his blessings on the wheat and the weeds alike. Should we do any less?
We all know the history of Rome. We have heard the accounts of Christians being tortured, imprisoned, and put to death. Now when we hear of Rome we think of the Catholic Church and the Pope. Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire by 312 AD. How is it that an Empire could change its view point of Christianity 180 degrees in only 3 centuries? This is the secret of the influence of the wheat with the weeds.
Around 165 AD a plague swept through the Roman Empire. About 100 years later a second plague followed. During these plagues it is estimated that one fourth to one third of the population of the empire died. Christians and pagans alike were affected, both the wheat and the weeds. Pagans had no one to turn to. Their priests were ineffective. Their gods were of no help. They had no offer of eternal life except in the dark underworld.
In 260 AD Pope Dionysius wrote this account of what occurred. “Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead…The best of our brothers lost their lives in this manner, a number of presbyters, deacons, and laymen winning high commendation so that death in this form, the result of great piety and strong faith, seems in every way the equal of martyrdom.”
“The heathen [pagans] behaved in the very opposite way. At the first onset of the disease, they pushed the sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into the roads before they were dead and treated unburied corpses as dirt, hoping thereby to avert the spread and contagion of the fatal disease; but do what they might, they found it difficult to escape.” (The wheat caring for the wheat, the weeds disregarding their own.)
Julian the Apostate, he last pagan emperor of the Roman Empire complained in a letter to a pagan priest “The impious Galileans support not only their poor, but ours as well; everyone can see that our people lack aid from us.” (The wheat caring for both the wheat and the weeds)
The Roman historian, Eusebius, wrote the Christians’ “deeds were on everyone’s lips, and they glorified the God of the Christians. Such actions convinced them that they alone were pious and truly reverent to God.” (The wheat convincing the weeds)
The emperor Julian later launched a campaign to institute pagan charities in an effort to match the Christians. Julian complained in a letter to the high priest of Galatia in 362 that the pagans needed to equal the virtues of Christians, for recent Christian growth was caused by their “moral character, even if pretended, and by their benevolence toward strangers and care for the graves of the dead.” In a letter to another priest, Julian wrote “I think that when the poor happened to be neglected and overlooked by the priests, the impious Galileans observed this and devoted themselves to benevolence.” (The wheat overcoming the weeds)
We are called to change the world just as these early Christians did. It may not be global. It may only be in your neighborhood or your work place. It’s a four step program.
First, let the world see us caring for each other.
“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” (1 John 3:16-18)
Secondly, care, don’t criticize those in sin.
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. (Romans 15:7)
Thirdly, let your actions be the Gospel.
“Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.
When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. (1 Cor 9:19-23)
Fourthly, expect your love to overcome sin.
“Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30)
In this world there will always be wheat and weeds. We will never completely conquer sin. But we can make a difference. In fact we must. Here is the end of the story. “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!” (Matt 13:39-43)
Listen and understand. Apply this teaching to your life and obey it. There is a whole field of weeds that need us.
