44 Matthew 13: 24-30; 36-43 - The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds

April 08, 2018

Christopher C. Freeman

Title: The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds Text: Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43 FCF: We often struggle being assured of the certainty of the Kingdom’s success. Prop: Because God will one day invade and expel all wickedness from His creation, if we have been given grace to understand we should take heed. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Matthew 13. Last week we began our study of the next 6 parables which focus on the characteristics of the Kingdom of God. We learned last week that there are two unequal but opposing kingdoms in existence. The Kingdom of this world, and the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of this world is allowed to exist because God has great love and mercy for us. He could have taken His creation back immediately from sin and death but would have sealed our judgment in the process. Instead in His longsuffering He allows His name to be profaned while He brings many sons and daughters to glory. We also learned last week that the Kingdom of heaven is that glorious day when God takes back what is His. And in His infinite wisdom – He has elected to do so by starting small and allowing the Kingdom to grow and permeate the world. All this was half of what we needed to see from this section of scripture. The other half is in the parable we skipped – the parable of the wheat and weeds. And if you thought you had reason to celebrate last week, well this week will take that up a notch. I’m in Matthew 13. I’ll begin reading in verse 24. I will skip from verse 30 to verse 36 and read again to verse 43. I am reading from the NKJV but follow along in whatever version you prefer. Sermon Intro: Inherent in our discussion last week but just beyond our reach, was the teaching that we have today. You see in the parable of the mustard seed we had, from humble beginnings, an herb that grows to tower over all other herbs in the garden. It takes center stage. It overwhelms the garden. [Slide 2] And like the mustard seed – 2000 years after Jesus spoke these words, in the garden of this world, the teachings of Christ in their broadest terms have grown to represent 31.5% of the world’s religious affiliation. And even that is not the pinnacle of Christianity influence. From the parable of the leaven we learned that the smallest grain of yeast can permeate the entire ball of dough no matter how large it is. [Slide 3] And in the 2000 years since Jesus spoke these words about 58% of the world has a substantial influence of Christianity. And while we should look at that percentage as a motivator to spread the gospel farther – it is also a testament to this parable’s truth. What started in Galilee –in the hearts of 11 men – has now permeated the lives of 4.3 billion people. [Slide 4] But woven to all this is one simple truth. Even though it is the largest garden herb – the mustard bush is surrounded by other herbs still. And even though the yeast has permeated the entire ball of dough, it has not taken it over. And even though Christianity has held the top spot of world religions for almost 1500 years – there are still other faiths. There is still anti-Godness everywhere. And even the nature of the word “Christian” doesn’t actually communicate a whole lot when you dig into some of those beliefs. The kingdom has grown – sort of. The kingdom has permeated the world – sort of. And the reason I say sort of – is because the world , by and large, has continued as though nothing happened. It is, at best, a stalemate. With this backdrop it can be quite difficult to be sure that this Kingdom of Heaven – will actually succeed. It seems like it has gained a foothold – but can’t quite do much more. Transition: That is where we begin today. Jesus goes back to the shore – gets off the boat - shoos the crowd away – steps into the house and His disciples – His seekers of truth, ask Him… Ok Jesus, so the mustard and leaven we think we got… but the wheat and tares… that is tricky. Jesus, patiently and lovingly, explains. We are gonna bounce back and forth between parable and explanation, but I have included both on the screen for you. I.) The two kingdoms will grow together for a time, with the kingdom of heaven increasing, if we have been given grace to understand we must take heed. (24-30a / 37-39) a. [Slide 5] 24, 37-38a – Another parable He put forth to them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.” “he answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom” i. Important to understand that the kingdom of heaven is not like this man – but this man’s situation. ii. This is made clearer when Jesus provides to us the “legend” for the parable. iii. The sower in this particular parable is Jesus. But we can’t really back track to the parable of the soils and say the sower there is Jesus too. As we will see very shortly – parables don’t work that way. iv. The field is the world. Now this is important because a lot of early church Fathers including Augustine and even up to the reformers such as John Calvin – took this entire parable to express that the weeds were false disciples. Disciples that looked like Christians but weren’t Christians. However, if that were the case the field would be the church. But the field is the world. v. There is probably a reason for these early church father’s assuming such an interpretation, which we will get to momentarily. But for now just realize that this isn’t talking about pretenders. If you want that parable – go to the parable of the soils. This is communicating something bigger. vi. The good seed is not the gospel, but the sons of the kingdom. Which is more evidence that parables must be interpreted within themselves. We also see another element here that is important. 1. When you say son of God – mostly I think what is conjured in our minds is offspring or child. However, the expression “son of” actually means owned by. Son of God speaks less to Jesus being the offspring of God and more to Jesus being God’s Messiah. 2. There is also a layer of similarity. We say “chip off the old block” or “the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree” These expressions indicate that the son is very much like his father. So when we say Son of God – not only are we saying that Jesus is God’s Messiah – but that He is like God. To the extent that they are indistinguishable 3. So then – son of the kingdom not only means this person belongs to the kingdom, but also that they personify the core elements of the kingdom. They embody what the Kingdom is. Later we will see exactly what this means – but let’s leave it here for now. b. [Slide 6-8] 25-29, 38b-39a “but while the man slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. but when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘an enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ but he said ‘no, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.” “but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil” i. There is so much for us to understand here, so buckle up. ii. First, what is the meaning behind while the man slept? Exactly. Jesus does not say. What does that mean for us? It means one of two things. 1. There is a meaning behind it but Jesus did not care to give it to us. 2. There is no meaning behind it, it only serves as a illustrational segue. 3. In either case – guessing at their meaning to get some kind of application for ourselves is a fruitless task. We must focus on what Christ HAS revealed. iii. What are tares? Well they are weeds. More specifically they are probably Darnel – which is a weed that looks very much like wheat until it begins to bear seed. At which point the wheat and Darnel look different from one another. 1. This is probably where Augustine and Calvin and many others get their interpretation for the weeds being false disciples. 2. However it is important to note that the workers in the parable notice the weed prior to the harvest. So this isn’t really talking about the visible and invisible church here. 3. Another major reason that we know that it can’t be talking about false converts specifically is because Jesus would then be telling the workers to not root them out of the church until the end of the age, even though they have already identified them. But isn’t there a major teaching that we would violate if this were talking about the church and false believers? Yeah –Church Discipline goes out the window. Which Matthew in 5 chapters will uphold. So this CAN’T be talking about the church. iv. So what is the danger of uprooting the Darnel ahead of harvest? v. It may uproot the wheat with it. 1. Darnel’s roots would grow together with the wheat. And as far as plants go, Darnel is the heartier plant. So – as any farmer in Palestine would have known – it is pointless to try to get the Darnel out before harvest time. 2. Looking ahead we see that the weeds are the sons of Satan (Ephesians 2) They belong to him and bear characteristics like him. And he put them in this world. 3. So what does this mean – that the wheat may be uprooted? Does it mean that if God judged the wicked now that some who would be saved would not get the chance to repent? Does it mean that some who are saved would get killed? Does it mean that unicorns and Big Foot dance on the moon at night? WE DO NOT KNOW. Jesus doesn’t tell us. Although it probably isn’t the unicorn thing. 4. The bottom line is that we don’t have a direct spiritual correlation for this – and it may lead to some bad soteriology to try to force one in. 5. If Jesus didn’t tell them – then maybe we just assume that God has a reason to not divide these two until harvest time 6. And when is that? c. [Slide 9] 30a, 39b “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers’” “the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.” i. The harvest time is the end of the age. It is the end of time. It is the end of this war between these two kingdoms. ii. And until all of this is said and done – regardless of whether you believe in the rapture or not – regardless of your eschatological position – it is 100% true that until the end of time – The sons of Satan and the Sons of the Kingdom will be entwined. Always there is a remnant of God’s among the tares. Always there is the infestation of Satan’s sons among the wheat. Transition: So from this parable and it’s interpretive key, we have seen that the kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God will be woven together. Even as the kingdom of heaven grows, even as it permeates the world – it will never truly be able to expel the other kingdom, or vice versa. But now that all the components are identified, Jesus moves to explain how these pieces move toward God’s endgame. Look with me at the second half of verse 30. II.) Soon this time will end, and the kingdom of heaven will be all that remains, if we have been given grace to understand we must take heed. (30b / 40-43b) a. [Slide 10-12] 30b, 40-43a “’‘first gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn’’” “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. “ i. In the parable, the farmer instructs his reapers to first take up the tares, bind them in bundles and burn them. But to gather the wheat into the barn. ii. What is clear here is that this is one reaping. The point of waiting until harvest is so it doesn’t matter if you pull up wheat with the Darnel because you are harvesting both. iii. Therefore all that you would need to do is sort out the wheat and the tares. First pulling all the tares out to burn, then collecting the wheat and putting it away in the barn. iv. The reason I put all that out there is to try to mitigate some of the eschatological discussions we could have on this. 1. Many here believe in a pre-tribulational rapture. Good people disagree with that position. 2. Many here believe in a premillennial rapture and a millennial reign of Christ – but good people disagree. 3. This is really the first major eschatological reference we have unearthed in Matthew, but it will not be the last. Going forward it will be helpful for us to remember a couple things. a. Matthew is writing to who? Jews. Saved and unsaved. b. Jesus is speaking to who? Jews primarily. c. The promise of an earthly kingdom was made to who? David, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham. Israel in general. d. There are a lot of moving parts to the end times. And we can never really be sure of where they all fit. But one thing we HAVE to realize is that National Israel – those actually in the bloodline of Abraham – have a significant part yet to play in God’s future plans. Specifically a National Israel that repents and turns back to God. e. Some may disagree strongly with what I just said – but friend it is so very difficult to interpret the bible in such a way to insist that God’s plan for them has been abandoned. 4. That all being said – it is obvious to me – that Jesus is talking about after the millennial reign on earth. When the final judgment comes. When the New heaven and New earth are installed. That is when this dividing occurs. v. What are the two ends and how do we know which one we fall into? 1. [Slide 13] The tares – the children of Satan – are characterized by Satan and His Kingdom. They live a life that creates opportunity for sin (which translates stumbling block) And they themselves are chronic lawbreakers. A person who leads people to sin or continues in chronic and victory-less sin is a child of Satan and they will be cast into the lake of fire – the second death – and there they will forever be separated from the presence of God. 2. [Slide 14] The wheat – the children of the kingdom – are characterized by the King – they live a life of obedience and righteousness. Not perfect but experiencing the victorious grace of God over their passions and pleasures and given power and passion to do as God has foreordained them to do and be who God predestined them to be. Their end will be to finally be free from impurity and finally reflect the glorious light of their God as they live a defeat-less eternity on His New Earth. 3. So even though this isn’t talking about false converts in the church – it does speak more broadly about two types of citizens that inhabit this world – the kingdom of God or the kingdom of Satan. And with those – each has a description. 4. Which means that we cannot ignore the application of false converts – Jesus’ point would certainly include that- but this parable has bigger implications beyond that. b. [Slide 15] 43b – “he who has ears to hear, let him hear!” i. Again Jesus’ go to application ii. If you understand what I am saying. If you have been given grace and provided understanding… iii. Then take heed. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! iv. Don’t leave unchanged. Transition: [Slide 16 (blank)] But we are left to wonder, what exactly should we do with this? Conclusion: Well first, even though Jesus isn’t talking about false converts in the church– and even though he is speaking to the disciples only here… we know he is also speaking to Judas. So I think the first step here is to ascertain whether or not you are a Son of Satan or a Son of the Kingdom. We all begin sons and daughters of Satan – Ephesians 2 tells us that. But have you made that team change? Are you now a son of the Kingdom? How would you know? Do you look like the Kingdom? Do you look like a citizen would look? Are you producing fruit of wheat or fruit of Darnel? The fruit of the Spirit or the works of the flesh? If you are fairly confident that you are still a son or daughter of the kingdom of this world – then what you have to see from today is that your kingdom has already lost. And one day, every last one of you will be utterly destroyed. But if you have been given understanding. If you here and you understand what you are – what kingdom you are in – then perhaps God is giving you grace. To see behind the curtain. To understand to some degree. The only question is – what do you do with that? My only words are – you better do something. If you are a son or daughter of the Kingdom – then I see two other ways we can hear and heed Jesus’ parable of the Wheat and Weeds. First what we spoke about last week. Celebration. This is the definitive victory of our Lord over the forces of darkness. He puts down all His foes. But for now – since we are taught to love our enemies and to share the gospel with those we meet day in and day out - it may seem a bit odd for us to think of celebrating the eternal punishment of the wicked. We may prickle against that and that is probably good that we do, because for now their destiny is not clear to any who are not God. But we must realize what this is saying in context. God offering grace to even one of us is more than we could have ever hoped for. We were all sons and daughters of Satan. So the same God, who we do not question on offering an of us salvation, why do we start questioning Him when He stops offering it and instead moves to judgment? If we know our God – we know that at this time – when His judgment finally falls – when the age is over and the harvest is here – we can rest assured that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. And that is exactly it! Here – at the end of the age – NO MORE WILL. Therefore, all that remain are the obstinate rebels. The kind of people who see God peel back the veil of heaven revealing that He is the one bringing judgment and they shake their fists at Him and beg to die rather than to be in his gaze. No more will come to repentance friend. And our proper place is to love God above all else. So we will celebrate in His defeat of wickedness. And yes – that even includes His defeat of wicked men. Because although God does not delight in the death of the wicked – since they rejected what was so freely given – it pleases God to judge the wicked, because it honors His holy name. That is who He is. He is THE judge. If He won’t enforce His law – no one will. And if no one will the cosmos would blip out of existence because He would cease to be God. And I don’t think we want that… So – we celebrate this as a glorious promise that one day it will end. God will win. And His creation will be reclaimed. And all that polluted it will be expelled. And finally – to followers of Christ – even in light of what we just discussed – this passage just lights a fire in my soul to be busy about the work of the kingdom. My role to further it is much like the role a hammer plays in building an actual kingdom. I am a tool available to be used. And as we see this passage I hope that you desire greatly to be a marvelous hammer for your King. To build His kingdom with you. That you would be His soldier – His ambassador – announcing His victory. That you would personally grow to be more and more like Him – and desire greatly to lead others in that path also. Knowing the end, places in me a great desire to play my part. And my part is to preach the gospel to whoever might listen. Grow to be more like my savior in every way. And Help others to do the same. And I think it is safe to conclude that that should be all our desires. That we should be seeking the Kingdom of God first and His righteousness. Being Salt and Light – that others may see our faith in action and bring glory to our King.