Friday, October 30

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.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.   - Matthew 13:36-43

Jesus told many parables in His teaching, but He only took the time to explain the exact meaning of two of them: The Parable of the Sower, and this one - The Parable of the Wheat & the Weeds.  

In the agricultural society of Christ’s time, many farmers depended on the quality of their crops. An enemy sowing weeds would have sabotaged a business. The weeds in the parable were likely a poisonous darnel called zizania. This kind of weed appears almost identical to wheat until it nears maturity. Without modern weed killers, what would a wise farmer do in such a dilemma? Instead of tearing out the wheat with the tares, the landowner in this parable wisely waited until the harvest. After harvesting the whole field, the tares could be separated and burned. The wheat would be saved in the barn.

Jesus tells His disciples, and us, that the enemy in the parable is Satan. In opposition to Jesus Christ, the Devil tries to destroy Christ’s work by placing false believers and teachers in the world who lead many astray. 

We don’t need to look any further than the latest televangelist scandal to know the world is filled with professing “Christians” whose ungodly actions bring reproach on the name of Christ. But we are not to pursue such people in an effort to destroy them. For one thing, we don’t know if immature and innocent believers might be injured by our efforts. 

When we look back at our own history, at the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, and the reign of “Bloody Mary” in England, we see the results of men taking upon themselves the responsibility of separating true believers from false - a task reserved for God alone. Instead of requiring these false believers to be rooted out of the world, and possibly hurting immature believers in the process, Christ allows them to remain until His return. At that time, angels will separate the true from false believers. 

In addition, we are not to take it upon ourselves to uproot unbelievers because the difference between true and false believers isn’t always obvious. Tares, especially in the early stages of growth, resemble wheat. Likewise, a false believer may resemble a true believer. 

In Matthew 7:22 Jesus warned that many profess faith but do not know Him. 
On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

Jesus did not give us this parable so that we could spend our energy determining who is wheat and who are weeds. However, I think He does desire that we look into our own hearts to determine if we are living as wheat in God’s Kingdom, or as weeds in the world.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!  - 2 Corinthians 13:5 

Jeff Frazier