Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 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?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 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.’”
The kingdom of heaven is like a man who goes out in the field and sows good seed, seed that will produce an abundant crop. But while the field was unattended, an evil enemy went out into that same field and sowed other seed, seed that would produce a crop not worth saving. These weeds entangle themselves within the good plants, either choking them out or damaging their growth. The servants questioned whether the man had sowed only good seed, for they wondered how the weeds got into this good soil. If the land is good, why are weeds growing in this field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The above parable can be interpreted in many ways. But we know that history clearly reveals to us that the church has been infiltrated too many times by the contamination of the evil one. Within good, sound doctrines, weeds of division, hurt, and corruption have been sown. Destructive, misleading ideas have torn the church apart many times and will continue to do so as Satan attacks the church. Sound dogma is often replaced by self-interested and fleshly pursuits with people worshipping men rather than God and anointing anti-Christ teaching as sound doctrine. Because the true kingdom of God exists in Christians, it is a spiritual dimension, one of the heart, mind, and soul. This makes falseness in the visible church hard to identify at times, for who can know the hearts of those who intend to deceive the church. However, the Bible says by their works you will know them, and bitter and sweet water cannot come out of the same well. Now when He (Jesus) was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21) Weeds that are the most troubling are those weeds that look like the real plant, act like dedicated, loving Christians. Their actions and words are so close to the real thing that they are hard to detect, and when the field is left unattended, without close adherence to the word of God, these weeds thrive. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. Many times in their syntax, they avoid words such as savior, saved, salvation, repentance, sacrifice, the cross. In place of these words, they insert the concept of working hard to please God to achieve a utopian society or heaven on earth where everyone gets along, where peace is finally realized, and we finally do what God wants us to do: act with love and cooperation. Of course, the kingdom of god should express love and cooperation above all else, but that condition is not achieved by unrepentant hearts through human efforts. John called the people who came to watch him vipers, in need of repentance, in need of turning to God. These people were not a special group of evil people, they were just people in the crowd who came to watch his activities. In this parable Jesus focused on what can happen when a field is unattended and evil mixes with good seed. The kingdom of God consists of plants that produce an abundant crop. But within this good environment there can be contaminating ideas, seemingly rational, good approaches to life, but these thoughts and words stray from dependence on God and his holiness, on his mystery of salvation through Jesus Christ. They mislead and corrupt, eventually leading to death.
Jesus is the mystery of salvation, IN WHOM ARE HIDDEN ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE. (Colossians 2:3) Paul tells us emphatically, no other wisdom or knowledge of man will lead to God. As participants in the kingdom of God, Christians are planted in the good soil of Jesus Christ. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. (Colossians 2:6-10) If we substitute our spiritual wisdom for dependence on Jesus and his righteousness, we are beginning to be crowded by the thoughts of this world. When we accept the religious traditions of men above our roots in Christ and a strong belief in his works, not ours, we become stunted in our growth. If stunted, our heads of grain will never come to fullness, for only IN CHRIST will we come to complete growth. The fruit of the Spirit will not be harvested from our lives in the productiveness that God desires if we fail to mature in our dependence on Jesus and his works. If the cares of this world and its standards supersede our interest in living for Christ alone, we will become anemic, lacking the hardiness of those plants that are rooted deeply in Jesus Christ. Paul and Peter were concerned about weeds invading the domain of God’s kingdom, his church. Paul tells the elders not to leave the garden untended. He tells the overseers that wolves will invade the church’s domain, mutilating and destroying the sheep. Diverse, destructive ideas and behaviors will come amongst them, dividing the flock. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. (Acts 20:28-31) Peter tells us that false teachers will come in the midst of the church leading many away. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. (2 Peter 2:1-2) Of course, the enemy to God’s plan is the evil one. He sows discord among God's people. He introduces weeds that will hamper the harvest. He sends wolves to raid the flock. The evil one is always present in the society of men. Consequently, the church must always be on guard to his wiles, his deceptions. The weeds will often look like the wheat, often interweave into the midst of the real plants. Therefore, pulling up the weeds can destroy the true plants. When the servants asked about pulling up the weeds before the harvest, the owner of the field rejected that idea. ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. This reveals how much love the planter had for the wheat. He did not want any of the wheat to be destroyed by weeding; he looked for a bountiful harvest from his precious plants. Of course, once the harvest commences then the weeds will be separated safely from his precious plants. Then the weeds will be destroyed; the works of the evil one will be burned up. Even though the field had been contaminated by the weeds, God will save his precious ones from being destroyed. Those with the fruit of the Spirit will be in the household of the Lord forever.
As the true planting of the Lord, all of us must be alert and strong in our faith, awaiting the day of the Lord. Just as the early church, we know that this world is not our home. We have our eyes fixed on a better place, our true home. As with our brother, Paul, we have a goal in mind, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14 KJV) We want to serve one master, and He alone is our Lord, the sower of the seed. We do not want to become intertwined with any false doctrine or fleshly idea that would pull us away from our Lord. We want to have the mind of Christ, to have his thoughts and to speak his words. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5 KJV) Jesus said that if we saw him, we saw his Father. So that becomes our goal. We want people to see Jesus in us, to see his spirit in action in us, to hear his words come forth from our mouths. Jesus said that people would know we were his disciples because we love one another. Do people recognize the love of Jesus in your life? Do you stand out in a group of people because of your loving actions and caring choices. In the love chapter, we read, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (1 Corinthians 13:4) We must all ask ourselves, is that what people think about when they think about us. Do they say that we are loving, patient, and kind? Or do they say, Well, you don’t want to get on his bad side because he tends to hold a grudge, and he is not very forgiving. Robert Burns said, “Oh the gift that God would give us, to see ourselves as others see us.” As Christians, our lives are on display. We are living epistles, revealing to the world what Christ has done for us. Our words are not nearly as important as our walk. We want to encourage you today to take advantage of every nutrient that Lord has provided for you to grow in his field. Read his word, pray, meditate, congregate with other believers, testify to unbelievers, practice hospitality, do good deeds, love largely an often, and above all listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. Beware of the weeds and you will grow strong. God is with you and in you and He will lead you into green pastures. Bless you all breakfast companions.
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