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.
Verse 25 says, “While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat.” The men who slept are believers. The word “sleeping” does not mean that these believers were being lazy, and not tending to the spiritual welfare of others; it just means they were caught off guard. They were not specifically looking to identify and single out any tares. In fact, it is not our job as Christians to judge the souls those who come into the church. We are to trust that the Lord knows their hearts. Our job is to love and nourish the people in our care.
Verse 25 reveals that if we are obedient to the Lord by caring for others, and people are coming to know Jesus Christ, then the enemy, or Satan, will become angry. The devil always wants to mess up a good thing, so he plants tares among the church. Sadly, Satan can fool some individuals into believing they have given their life to Jesus Christ, when in reality they haven’t. The person whom he fools will go to church, but he or she will not show forth any spiritual fruit in his or her life.
This person will claim to be a Christian, but outside the church walls he or she will gossip about other church members, or practice an immoral lifestyle. Inside the church this person might try to turn members against one another, or bring other believers down by causing them to question whether or not God is real or if the Bible can be trusted. Satan has indeed planted tares in churches in an attempt to thwart kingdom purposes. So, what are we expected to do about this?
Believers Must Not Do the Weeding (vv. 27-29)
27 “So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them’.”
These verses reveal that a believer is not supposed to strive to get rid of the tares. A Christian’s task or purpose is reproduction. Whoever heard of the wheat in a field reaching down and plucking up the weeds surrounding it? Weeding of the ground should be left to the Gardener, Jesus Christ. Blackaby says, “God is the one who will make the final judgement about each person’s relationship to Him. We should give ourselves to helping true believers grow and bear fruit. God will do the weeding out of unbelievers. That is His job. When a person is not bearing fruit, we should let God work through us to help the person with His deepest spiritual need.”(5)
So, why should we leave the weeding up to the Gardener? Verse 29 says that we must not do the weeding of the garden because, “while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.” A good example of the wheat trying to pluck the tares is seen in the Salem witch trials of 1692. In the Salem witch trials the church accused anyone who did anything out of the ordinary as being a witch, executing numerous people; and in the process, the church actually killed many innocent Christians. In trying to assume the role of the gardener, when it didn’t have any gardening skills, the church uprooted and killed believers along with unbelievers.
Jesus is the Only True Gardener (v. 30)
30 “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn’.”
Matthew 13:39-43 shines some light on the meaning of verse 30. Listen closely as I read these verses for you:
The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
What must be acknowledged here is the fact that it is the Son of Man, or Jesus, who will sort out the good and the evil in the day of judgement. Earlier, Jesus called Himself the Son of Man in establishing His authority. It will be Jesus, God incarnate, the Son of Man who will judge men in the final judgment, not God the Father. J. I. Packer states, “It is not always realized that the main New Testament authority on final judgement, just as on heaven and hell, is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.”(6) For example, in 2 Timothy 4:1, Paul proclaimed that “the Lord Jesus Christ . . . will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom.”
Why is it important for us to realize that Jesus has the final say so in judgment? Because if we realize that Jesus reserves the right to this authority, then we ourselves cannot judge others, and we must focus on our assigned task. Our assigned task is the Great Commission. There is not enough time in this life for us to waste it on judging other people. What little time we have is precious, and should be used on more important matters, like winning souls to Christ.
In Matthew 13:42 Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Why did Jesus say this? In reference to this statement commentator C. Barry McCarty says, “In addition to calling us to reach lost people with the gospel, the parable also reminds each of us to seriously face the question of whether or not we are wheat or a weed.”(7)
Time of Reflection
There are two things we can take from this parable. First, Jesus warns believers not to take it on themselves to judge the souls of other people. It is Christ who will take care of judging on the final day of judgement. We only have enough time in this life for witnessing, not judging others.
Secondly, Jesus asks us to consider whether or not we are wheat or tares. Only you know in your heart whether or not you are a Christian. The test of a believer is whether he or she bears fruit. Are you helping others come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, or are you just taking up space in the field, or perhaps even blocking the light from penetrating where it needs to go? “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:42).
NOTES
(1) Paul J. Achtemier, “Son of Man,” Harper’s Bible Dictionary, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985), 1995-1998 Logos Research Systems, Inc., Oak Harbor, Washington.
(2) Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God (Nashville: Lifeway Press, 1990), p. 188.
(3) Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985), p. 1047.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Blackaby, p. 188.
(6) J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1973), p. 144.
(7) C. Barry McCarty, Parables and Miracles (Cincinnati: Standard, 1999), p. 42.
