In Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus teaches a parable in which His kingdom is a field in which wheat had been sown but, under the cover of darkness, an enemy planted weeds (tares) among the wheat. When the seeds germinated, both wheat and weeds appeared. The servants are told not to dig up the weeds, in case they uprooted the good wheat. They are told to wait until harvest, when both the wheat and weeds will be gathered, at which time the weeds will be burned. Jesus then walks away, not explaining the parable.

I dare say you have never heard a sermon in which the speaker told a story and walked away without an explanation. Why would Jesus teach this way, leaving listeners to wonder about the meaning? Jesus later explains that He is fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 78, but the main reason is that too many listeners would not try hard enough to understand. Jesus said this attitude was prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 6). Isaiah prophesied that some people think they see but really do not; they think they hear but really do not, and they think they understand – but in fact do not. Have you ever opened the ice box (that dates me) and in a minute or two couldn’t find what you were looking for, only to have your spouse walk over, and within five seconds push a bottle aside and point it out? I was lazy. I wasn’t looking hard enough. Many people want their religion to be “spoon fed;” they don’t want to have to “dig in” to understand the Bible. Jesus leaves the crowds back in Matthew 13:36 without giving any explanation for this parable. But Jesus’ disciples were diggers. In verse 36 we find them follow Jesus into a house, wanting to understand the parable.

The symbolism is as follows: the field is the world, the sower is Christ and the seed is the Gospel, which produces the faithful children, i.e., Christians. The weeds are those who listened to the enemy, the evil one - Satan. Finally, the harvest is Judgment Day.

In the parable we find those who belong to Jesus and those who belong to the devil growing together. The workers are told not to remove the weeds as they might inadvertently pull out the wheat. Why would there be concern about accidentally pulling out wheat? Doesn’t God recognize His children? According to 2 Timothy 2:19, the answer is yes: “The Lord knows those who are His.” One would think God would not want His children living in a world where they might be corrupted by evil companions (1 Corinthians 15:33). The answer is found in the one-verse Parable of the Leaven in Matthew 13:33, “the kingdom of Heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened.” God wants His children (wheat, or leaven in this case) to influence or act upon the sinful world (weeds). If the weeds are immediately pulled, they won’t have another opportunity to respond to the Gospel. We see here the blessing of God’s patience, which Peter echoed in 2 Peter 3:9, Christ “is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

I have often selfishly prayed that Judgment Day would come so I wouldn’t have to put up with pain any longer or see my country continue to circle the drain. However, the truth is that as a Christian my task is not to withdraw from the world and isolate myself, but to remain in the world and influence the lost to obey the Gospel. To do my part in transforming weeds to wheat. Like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth,” my task is to share the Gospel and leave the rest to God to cause the growth on His own timetable.

After explaining the Parable of the Weeds to His disciples, Jesus said “He who has ears, let him Hear.” (13:43). What did Jesus mean by that? The people heard Him speak, didn’t they? Like I do too often at home, I hear my wife but I really don’t. I don’t concentrate. I don’t listen. Unfortunately, many people have ears but they don’t really listen to Jesus and try hard to understand the parts of God’s word that aren’t crystal clear. Perhaps they don’t ask if they see a religious practice happening that’s not in their Bible, or question why their church is not doing what they find being done by the New Testament church.

As in the parable where the wheat and weeds will be harvested, a Judgment Day is coming for each of us. Paul told the Romans (14:10-12) that “we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, TO ME EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD.’ So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” You and I will either be found weeping and grinding our teeth or rejoicing with the redeemed and our Lord.

It is not our intent at the Blanco Hills Church of Christ to avoid unclear or difficult passages of God’s word. In fact, we just completed a 15-month study of the Book of Revelation. We are listening to God’s word – and I suspect you wouldn’t be reading this article if you weren’t listening as well. If you have any religious question at all, please do not hesitate to call the number below, check out our website, visit our worship and Bible classes, or stop by the “Bible Tent” on Blanco Market Days. None of us are perfect, but we’ll be happy to search the Bible with you for a Biblical answer. We meet for Bible study every Sunday at 10am and Wednesdays at 5pm. Every Sunday we meet to eat the Lord’s Supper at 11am, please join us!

Buz Turk

830-554-0701