The Parable of the Weeds
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 root up 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.’”
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
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 sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons 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 fiery 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. He who has ears, let him hear.
After hearing the parable of the sower and the soil, and realizing that only 1 out of the 4 soils would produce fruit, the disciples were no doubt wondering what would happen to the other 3. And, in all likelihood, were wanting Jesus to just burn them up right now.
And so Jesus tells them another parable about another sower. And Jesus explains the parable quite clearly. The sower is Jesus, the Messiah. The field is the world. The good seed are the believers. The weeds are the unbelievers and the enemy who sowed them is Satan.
The point is, we, as Christians, can't judge exactly who is a believer and who is not. And if we took it upon ourselves to weed out the unbelievers we would make mistakes - both by destroying Christians and allowing non-Christians to remain. (Crusades, anyone?!). As humans, we cannot see inside men's hearts, only God can. Only God can judge. And at the end Jesus will instruct the angels who to weed out of His kingdom.
In the meantime, as Christians, since the weeds are right in there with the good wheat, we need to be influencing the unbelievers around us. This is a time of grace and patience and we need to use that time wisely! We need to be very careful not to be influenced by the unbelievers around us, and instead influence them for the kingdom.
For nonbelievers this is a wake up call. Yes, judgment has been delayed. But it is coming, it is inevitable and when it comes it will be far worse than we could even imagine. And we don't know when it is coming, so delay no longer. Take advantage of this time of patience and grace by our merciful God!
The parable of the mustard seeds and the yeast shows us that though the kingdom starts small (12 disciples!), it will grow and produce great results. There are Christians throughout the globe working to advance the kingdom and impact the world for God. And ultimately, when Jesus comes to establish His Kingdom in His Thousand Year reign, it will encompass the entire earth.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Matthew 13:44-52
1 comment:
So sorry you had to do this one for me! I intended to do it in advance before we left and in the rush of packing and preparing I totally forgot. :(
Great job, by the way. :)
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