The Wheat and the Tares
Did you see that it snowed yesterday morning? We got just a few flakes but it really did snow! I even got a video of it.
I’ve once seen a beautiful picture of a meadow with spring blossoming trees and dandelions as far as the eye can see. How beautiful! Then I realized that it’s not as pretty as I first thought. Could you imagine having a front yard full of dandelions as far as your eye could see?
So while walking around looking at the snow, another thing I noticed when walking around my front yard was I already have weeds growing in January! In January!
When you’re little blowing dandelions is really cool! When you’re older, you do everything you can to get rid of those evil things!
Every year I pull up weeds but every year I have a whole crop of new ones! So I’ve stumbled upon another immutable truth that besides death and taxes, you will always have weeds!
Now spiritually thinking, what are weeds? They are the lost or aka children of the evil one and the sower of those is the devil. So are children who blow dandelions near my yard little devils? ;-) Just kidding.
Put on your spiritual hats as we read this parable.
Matthew 13:24-30
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
Matthew 13:36-43
36 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.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Tares
In these verses we are not talking about dandelions but instead tares. Tares are a false kind of wheat! Some people say the Bible are talking about a plant called a Dardel. A Dardel looks like wheat and when it grows the roots actually intertwine with wheat so that if you were to try to pull it up, you would also pull up the wheat.
Fate of the lost
In this age, the church age, we will always be living with good and evil people. Should we get used to it? I don’t know. but that’s just the way it is. But we know, at the end of this age, the lost (or tares) won’t be going to the next age (millennial age). Instead, we know their fate which is to be cast into the lake of fire.
Fate of the saved
What happens to the saved (wheat)? They will be saved and go into the millennial age (His kingdom on earth) and shine like the sun! What does shine like the sun mean? Not sure, but it could mean that their bodies will be transfigured (glorified) as Christ’s was at the transfiguration where He shone like the sun (speculation).
Matthew 17:1,2 The transfiguration
1After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
How can we tell the difference?
So how can we tell the difference between a wheat and a tare (saved and the lost)? Only God knows for sure who is saved and who is lost but what are the indicators? In a word: Fruit!
Matthew 7:15-20
15Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
So if you might recognize them by their fruit, you sort of get an indication about people. Now don’t go around making wild assumptions about people and start accusing people but perhaps you can figure out who’s who.
Do you have any fruit?
But in your own life, if you are truly saved, by faith in Jesus and not confidence in the flesh (self), if you truly believe and are forgiven, if you are truly sold out to Jesus, what sort of fruit will you or should you have?
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
What if you have no fruit?
This is not 100% but chances are, if you have no fruit (good works to show), chances are it’s because you’re lost! If you’re lost, beware, because we know where the lost go. You do not want to go there, you need to be saved!
Mark 11:12-14 The cursing of the fig tree
12The next day, when they had left Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if there was any fruit on it. But when He reached it, He found nothing on it except leaves, since it was not the season for figs. 14Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.” And His disciples heard this statement.
James 2:14-26 Faith exhibits deeds
20O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless? 21Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. 23And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. 24As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Don’t get the cart before the horse
Do works save you? No
Philippians 3:2-9 Put no confidence in the flesh
2Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh! 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4though I myself could have such confidence.
If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.
7But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. 8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ,a the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.
What’s the best indicator?
Love
John 13:35 You will know them by their love
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So what do you need to do this week?
Fertilize your garden! Pull the weeds!
If you have no fruit start producing fruit before it’s too late and you get uprooted. - beware!
If you have fruit, great, keep and and try to produce even more fruit!
Be the kind of people God expects!
Share the Gospel and thereby pluck the lost from the fire.
When you look at the yard full of dandelions do you see a lost field that is white for harvest?
