The Parable of the Weeds
24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The
kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his
enemy came and sowed weeds[a] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore
grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27
And the servants[b] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master,
did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done
this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather
them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in
gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 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.”
The Parable
of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And
his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of
the field.” 37 He answered, “The one
who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38
The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The
weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age,
and the reapers are angels. 40 Just
as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the
age. 41 The Son of Man will send his
angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all
law-breakers, 42 and throw them into
the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the
kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:24-30; 36-42[3]
The Word of the Gospel Bestows the Righteousness of Christ and Brings Forth Faith
The good Seed, which is “the Son of Man,” Jesus Himself (Matt. 13:37), brings forth a harvest of faith and bears good fruits in “the sons of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:38). Whatever is sown apart from His Word is of the devil, who plants the weeds of unbelief and sin, even among the people of God. Thankfully, the Lord is patient and He does not uproot the weeds, lest the plants also be destroyed. He lets “both grow together until the harvest” (Matthew 13:30) while He continues to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins.
Thus, He preserves His Church in righteousness, because He alone is “the King of Israel and his Redeemer” (Isaiah 44:6). Since all things are in His gracious care and keeping, “fear not, nor be afraid” (Isaiah 44:8).
For “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19), and in this hope we also wait with patience. Though we do not yet see it, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26) and, in truth, “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
Jesus explains the parable of the wheat and the weeds at the request of His disciples. That’s a good thing! Now we know the meaning of the parable too! The Son of Man (Jesus) sows good seed into the field of the world, producing children of the kingdom. The devil, on the other hand, sows bad seed, producing evildoers. At the end of the age, that is, at the end of all time – angels will remove from the kingdom all evildoers. When that happens, then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
There is a lesson for each of us to heed. While Jesus will be sowing His Word producing His followers around the world until His return (Acts 1:8), Satan refuses to give up! He too will also be distributing his followers to counter our message and ministry. There are in fact two forces at work. The word of God will not stop. But there is another who works just as well. The work of the devil will also continue until the end of time. Thus we must consider the planting of the Kingdom.
I.
God plants His kingdom in our world.
A. Jesus is the
one who plants and sows.
B. The good
seeds are the sons, the children of the kingdom.
C. The field is
the world; the goal of missions is the world.
“Have no
fear little flock...” Jesus has told us. “For the Father has chosen to give you
the kingdom” in spite of what the devil might attempt to do. Christ’s kingdom
will continue to flourish and grow although it is met with resistance.
Where Christ
builds a church the devil will erect a chapel. Why is there such evil in this
world? The Savior answers, “An enemy has done this!”
II.
Satan attempts to destroy the Kingdom.
A. Satan sows the “tares” or weeds in the
field.
B. God’s
children are tempted to destroy the terrors.
C. Christ warns
us to be patient.
We need not
fear that the world will overcome us. Jesus has already overcome the world.
John encourages us with these words; “Little
children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is
greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
[1] The
Parable of the Wheat and Tares Illustration from a woodcut by Baron Julius
Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known
especially for his book, Das Buch der Bücher in Bilden (The Book of Books in
Pictures) © WELS permission granted for Parish and congregational use
[2] Collect
for Proper 11, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St.
Louis
[3] The Holy
Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by
Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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