Wheat and Weeds, Good and Evil

Friends, would you please be seated?

Again, I just want to welcome you.

My name is Hillary, if we haven't met.

And I would love to meet you downstairs.

! Lisa and I will be down there after the service.

We'll have coffee.

If you're new, we'd love to meet you.

Our head pastor, Pastor Thomas, is away for a couple weeks.

And I checked in with him last night.

And he's doing great.

He's feeling really refreshed.

And he's praying for us.

And sends his greetings and his prayers.

So these last couple weeks, we've been looking at chapter 13 of Matthew's gospel.

Which is a collection of several parables.

And all of these parables are coming in response to this question of why are people rejecting Jesus' message?

Even John the Baptist, Jesus' forerunner.

And the one who baptized him, probably one of Jesus' best friends, asked Jesus,

Are you the one who is to come?

Or should we expect somebody else?

And John's question is one that most people were probably asking.

And it reveals the simple fact that the kingdom of heaven and Jesus as the Messiah were not what people expected.

So after the Sermon on the Mount, after all these healings and exorcisms that Matthew's been talking about,

Jesus tries another way.

He tells stories.

I was talking to a friend this week who said,

Whenever I want my kids to pay attention to me, I start by saying, once upon a time.

And they immediately, they clue in.

Because we love stories.

And Jesus uses a similar phrase with each of these parables.

Designed to get people to lock in and pay attention.

He says, the kingdom of heaven is like.

So again, this idea of the kingdom of heaven to Jesus' listeners,

People would have been like, oh, tell me what it's like.

They want to know.

So this morning, we're going to dig into that question.

What's the kingdom of heaven like?

We'll look at it in two parts.

First, what does this parable tell us about the kingdom of heaven?

And second, what does it mean for us?

Let's pray.

Lord, thank you for your great love and your mercy.

That you have lavished on us.

That is more than we can possibly imagine.

So Lord, from that place of being rooted in your love,

Would we have ears to hear and eyes to see?

Would we listen well to you this morning?

Thank you for your word.

Would you nourish us with it?

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

First, what does this parable tell us about the kingdom of heaven?

So let's take a look at how Jesus' original audience

Would have understood this parable.

Or heard this parable.

Like all of Jesus' parables,

This agrarian scene was something immediately compelling

And relatable to Jesus' listeners.

He always used these commonplace things

That people were really familiar with.

But even though these things were really common,

Even though people were used to,

They would immediately be able to have a visual image

When he was talking about these things.

Jesus also chose language that signaled

Spiritually significant realities

To his Jewish audience.

And that would have kind of served as a signpost

To say, hey, there's something else going on here.

Pause and think about this.

So the choice of seed, of a sower, of an enemy,

A harvest.

These were also spiritually significant realities.

So we'll start by looking at these things,

At these figures in this parable,

Along with Jesus' explanation to the disciples.

First, the sower goes out

And he sows good seed in his field.

Jesus clearly identifies himself

As the sower in this parable.

But he uses this language with his disciples

Of the son of man.

And that would have triggered something

For his disciples.

Because it points directly to Daniel 7, 13 and 14.

Where the prophet Daniel writes,

In my vision at night,

I looked.

And there before me was one like a son of man.

Coming with the clouds of heaven.

He goes on to describe the son of man

As being given all authority,

Glory,

And sovereign power.

All nations and peoples of every language

Worshipped him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

That will not pass away.

And his kingdom is one

That will never be destroyed.

So Jesus calling himself

The son of man

Is very significant.

He's telling us

The kingdom that he's inaugurating

Is the same kingdom

That Daniel describes in his prophecy.

Secondly, the field.

Jesus' field is the world.

Now this was small

When Jesus was ministering.

The size about the size of New Jersey.

Not very big.

But it expanded.

Especially at the end of Matthew's gospel.

He told his followers to go out

And preach the gospel

To all nations.

And again,

Jesus is setting up his sovereignty

And his rule.

He's saying,

The kingdom of heaven is my kingdom.

Third, the sower sows good seed.

This image of seed in the Bible

Stands for the word of God.

And the word of God

Can be different things.

It can be the scriptures.

The holy scriptures.

It can be word that's spoken.

But it can also be a person.

Remember, it says in the book of John

In John's prologue,

John chapter 1

John 1 · chapter mention

The word was with God.

The word is Jesus.

So when Jesus talks about this seed.

Sowing this seed.

He's bringing other people into this.

People that have received

And believed his message.

Who are hearing and obeying.

The parable of the sower

Comes just before this one.

It identifies these as people

Who bear crops for the kingdom.

But like a lot of Jesus' parables,

There's a catch.

There's something that's going to make us think.

Probably multiple things.

Hopefully multiple things.

The enemy or the devil sows weeds.

So this is definitely

A very culturally specific thing.

But the idea of an enemy

Sowing weeds in someone's field

Was not uncommon

In this time period.

And we don't know how often it happened.

But we do know there were Roman laws

That addressed what to do

If this happens.

Like what are the consequences?

What are the repercussions?

And it could have been a way

If you sowed weeds

In your neighbor's field

It could have been a way

To sabotage competition.

To drive up prices.

To get back at somebody.

A dispute with your neighbor.

Something like that.

Well here with the enemy,

The devil,

It's all about sabotage.

But it's really important

To notice the order.

The enemy comes after the good seed.

And that's because

All the enemy can do

Is corrupt

And manipulate

And twist

What is good.

The enemy can't create.

He's someone who entangles.

Who destroys.

Jesus says of him,

The thief comes to steal

And kill

And destroy.

I have come

That they might have life.

And have it to the full.

And I also want to note here

That in this parable

There's not a confrontation

Between the enemy

And the sower

Between the person

That owns the field.

And why is that?

Because Satan and Jesus

Are not inverses.

Jesus is the one

With all the authority.

There's no competition.

Satan does this

Under cover of darkness.

He has no power

Compared to the Lord Jesus Christ.

He's a defeated foe.

And also notice

That in this parable

The enemy does not cause

Any kind of lasting harm

To the weed.

So let's talk a little bit

About the weeds

That Jesus is mentioning.

So he uses this word

Darnell.

And Darnell was a specific

Type of weed

That was kind of a wheat imposter.

That's probably the best way

To say it.

It looked a lot like wheat.

Especially in the early

Stages of growth.

And you really couldn't tell

Until both plants

Were pretty mature

If you had Darnell

Or wheat.

And by that time

The roots were enmeshed

With one another.

And so you couldn't harvest

You couldn't start

Pulling out the weeds

Without potentially

Harming the wheat.

So you had to wait

Until the harvest.

And if you didn't know

What you were doing

You shouldn't try

To separate them.

And if you didn't

Separate them

You just harvest them

All together

Then the flower

Would be contaminated.

Because Darnell heads

It's just like

You know

They're like wheat heads

Darnell heads

Are poisonous.

So if you just say

Like oh it's not

That big a deal

I'm just going to

Mix it all together

It could actually

Really harm people.

It could actually

Cause blindness.

But the point is

It was possible

To separate the good

From the bad.

To protect the wheat

Even if there was Darnell.

So when Jesus says

These weeds are people

Of the evil one.

Maybe these are people

Who are overtly evil.

But they could also be people

Who seem okay.

Externally.

Just like the Darnell

Seems okay.

At first.

People who are religious.

Religious.

People who may have

External trappings

Of faith.

Maybe they use

Religious language.

They do religious activities.

But the big difference

Is that they don't have

An actual relationship

With the living God.

They have not been

Transformed.

These are people

Who are sitting in darkness

But who have the

Appearance of light.

And then lastly

The harvest

And the harvesters

Or the angels.

So again

Like the son of man

The sower and the seed

These were words

That triggered meaning

For people embedded

In Jewish scripture.

Harvest is all over

The Old Testament prophets

As a sign of judgment.

And angels were seen

As carrying out

God's divine purposes.

They were his messengers

And his agents.

So now that we've been

Through the figures

In this parable

Let's connect

All these threads

And see what they tell us

About the kingdom of heaven.

So first

The kingdom of heaven

Is everlasting.

It's ruled by

A sovereign

Powerful ruler.

Jesus is that ruler.

He is

The kingdom of heaven.

Secondly

The kingdom of heaven

Comes in two parts.

There's the inauguration.

The planting of the seed.

The inbreaking

Of the kingdom

That began

With Jesus' incarnation.

And that has already happened.

But then there's

The consummation

Of the kingdom to come.

The end of the age

That he talks about.

And here's a huge point

In this parable.

The inbreaking kingdom

Exists in a world

Inhabited by evil.

And this was another twist.

Something that Jesus

Was trying to help

His listeners understand.

This combination

Of the inbreaking kingdom

And then the consummation

Of the kingdom

At the end of the age.

Sometimes we call this

The already

But not yet.

This wasn't something

People expected to hear.

They just expected

The end of the age.

Sort of a one and done scenario.

They expected the kingdom

Of heaven

To be immediately pure.

For evil to be obliterated.

Peace to reign.

And if that wasn't

Immediately happening

People were questioning.

Well is this

The kingdom of heaven?

He says it is

But it doesn't look

Like we thought it would.

And so that's why

There was a lot of rejection

Of Jesus' message happening.

And Jesus is using

This parable to say

Hey that's gonna happen.

It will eventually.

But not yet.

Now we don't have time

To get into this fully.

But I do want to

Briefly touch

On two main responses

To God's judgment.

Because it does come up

In this parable.

And it's a hard thing

To hear.

Especially read out loud.

Right?

They'll be burned.

They'll be weeping

And gnashing of teeth.

That's an image

That can evoke a lot of fear.

And so let's just talk

About it for a little bit.

So here's the thing.

For Jesus' listeners

Most of whom were

Under oppressive Roman rule.

Divine judgment

Was really good news.

And I think that's true

For anyone

Who's been abused.

Who's been traumatized.

Treated unjustly.

A victim.

So imagine how

A concentration camp survivor.

Or someone whose entire family

Has been killed in a genocide.

Feels when they think

About divine judgment.

They're begging for it.

Right?

And there's another group

Who feels really uncomfortable

With this language.

That hears the phrase

About the weeds being burned

And thinks

How could God be loving?

And banish someone forever?

And whichever of these

Two camps you tend towards

I mean I think

It's one of those things

That we all kind of wrestle with.

I want to suggest

That this whole time

Between the already

And the not yet

Is to give the weeds

A chance

To become wheat.

To give those

That the enemy

Has corrupted by evil

The chance to turn

From wickedness.

Peter writes

In 2 Peter 3.9

The Lord is patient

With you

Not wanting anyone

To perish

But everyone

To come to repentance.

And here's the really

Important takeaway

For all of us.

Y'all

Everyone

Starts as a weed

As people of the enemy.

Paul uses this phrase

Children of wrath.

He says

You were once

Children of wrath.

But the sower

Is on a rescue mission.

He came to get us

To transfer us

From the kingdom

Of the enemy

To the kingdom

Of Jesus

To transform us

From weeds to wheat.

But there will come

A day

When those who

Persist in evil

And who reject

That invitation

From the Lord Jesus

Will receive

God's justice.

And so to answer

That question

To come back

To that question

Of how could

A loving God

Banish someone forever?

The answer is

He doesn't.

C.S. Lewis

Says it better

Than I ever could

In the great divorce.

He says

There are only

Two kinds of people

In the end.

There are those

Who say to God

Thy will be done

And there are those

To whom God says

In the end

Thy will be done.

All that are in hell

Choose it.

Without that self-choice

There could be no hell.

No soul

That seriously

And constantly

Desires joy

Will ever miss it.

Those who seek

Find

To those who knock

It is opened.

What does this mean

For us then?

And for Jesus' listeners?

Three main takeaways here.

This is not the time

For judgments

But judgment

Will come.

Friends

We will not be

The ones

Who do the judging.

We need to be

Really careful

About assuming

Who the wheat

And the weeds are.

Those we might expect

To be part of the kingdom

Might not be.

And those who are

Unexpected

Might be.

This was true

In Jesus' day.

There were a lot

Of people

Unexpected

That were part

Of the kingdom.

Take who Jesus

First revealed himself

To as the Messiah.

A Samaritan woman.

An outcast

Among outcasts.

Who did he count

Among his followers?

He counted tax collectors.

Religious zealots

Who hated Rome.

Women who had

No status

In society.

People who were

Poverty stricken.

People who were

Wealthy.

People who

Had been healed

From leprosy.

Delivered

From demons.

Raised from the dead.

People that would

Have been considered

Weak

And despised

And unlovable.

That were

Unexpected.

And most often

Jesus' biggest

Opponents

Were externally

Religious.

Even among

The twelve apostles

There was someone

False.

Judas Iscariot

Who betrayed

Jesus

To the Romans

To the

To the Jews

And turned him

Over to be crucified.

Jesus doesn't care

A wit

About externals.

He cares

About the heart.

About people

Who drop everything

And go

When he says

Follow me.

And the same

Is true

For us.

We tend

To assume

That people

Like us

Are righteous.

But I think

It would be good

For all of us

To ask ourselves

This question.

How often

Do we make

An effort

To spend time

With people

Who are really

Different than we are?

Elizabeth Oldfield

Is a British author

Who just wrote

A book called

Fully Alive.

She also has

A podcast

Where

It's a podcast

Called The Sacred

And she hosts

People that are

Kind of all over

The map

Belief wise

And she calls

People that are

Different than us

She really exhorts

People in her book

To hang out

With other people

That are

She uses the term

NLMs

Not like me's

And she says

The goal

Is an agreement

But understanding

And something

I really appreciate

About her approach

Is that

When you listen

To these conversations

On her podcast

There's a way

That it sharpens

Discernment

What's truly evil

And what's a

Difference of opinion

What's true fruit

And what's

External posturing

And figuring this out

Takes a lot of

Patience

A lot of humility

And a lot of courage

And frankly

Y'all

It's not our job

Christians are

To be out

In the world

In God's field

With whomever

God has placed

Us next to

To love them

To be in

Relationship with them

To help the weeds

Become wheat

So remember

What Jesus says

To the servants

When they say

Well do you want us

To pull up these weeds

He says no

Because you could

Harm the wheat

When we start

Trying to sort

People

We can cause

A lot of harm

We have to

Trust the Lord

With that

Secondly

Suffering and evil

Shouldn't surprise us

In this time

Between the already

And the not yet

We live in this world

That's still inhabited

By evil

And that's a hard

Thing

To reconcile

The evil

In the suffering

In the world

With the promise

Of God's kingdom

Or even with

God's power

And his love

Let's come back

To John the Baptist

Question at the

Beginning of the

Sermon

Are you the one

Who is to come

Or should we

Look for another

So John didn't

Get to ask that

To Jesus directly

He sent some

Of his followers

And that was

Because he was

Sitting in prison

He had been

Unjustly thrown

In jail

By Herod

And immediately

After this chapter

Of Matthew's

Gospel

Herod orders

John's beheading

In the middle

Of a drunken

Party

And John's

Experience

The story

Of John's

Life

Is not uncommon

When you look

At saints

Throughout history

When you look

At the

Apostles

All of them

Except for the

Apostle John

Were martyred

For their faith

And it would

Seem like

If you're just

Looking at the

Physical reality

That evil wins

Doesn't it

But let's think

About the passage

That Tom just

Read for us

In Romans

Because it shows

This is something

Different

Instead of being

Hopeless

The decay

And the evil

And the pain

Are birth

Pangs

I remember

When I was

Pregnant

I did a lot

Of pregnant

Lady

Diligent pregnant

Lady sort

Of reading

And listening

To things

And one of

The things

That stuck

With me

Was they

Encouraged

You in labor

To cry out

To moan

To groan

It can help

You

And it might

Sound strange

Why is this

Because it's

An expression

It's a release

Of the big

Intense

Difficult work

Your body

Is doing

And that's

True for the

Spiritual groaning

Too

It's okay

To groan

In fact

It'll help

It's honest

It's saying

This isn't

Okay

I don't think

This is what

I don't think

This is what

The Lord

Created the world

To be

Jesus groaned

And the

Greek word

For groaning

Here

Is one

That Mark

Uses

In his

Gospel

In chapter

7

Verse 34

And Jesus

Is about

To heal

A man

Who can't

Hear

And just

Before he

He heals

Him

He groans

As he prays

And it's

The same

Word that

Paul uses

It's this

Groaning

That expresses

A longing

For things

To be made

Right

It's an

Ake

At the

Pain

And the

Brokenness

Surrounding

Us

But it's

Not a

Groaning

That's

Hopeless

Because it

Recognizes

That this

Isn't

The end

Paul and

Jesus both

Use this

Incredibly

Hopeful

Beautiful

Language

To describe

What those

Who belong

To God

Have to

Look forward

To

Paul writes

I consider

That our

Present

Sufferings

Are not

Worth

Comparing

To the

Glory that

Will be

Revealed

In us

Jesus

Says

The righteous

Will shine

Like the

Sun

In my

Father's

House

I would

Encourage you

This week

To spend

A little

Time

If you

Have a

Book of

Common

Prayer

To look

Up the

Anglican

Funeral

Liturgy

It might

Be one

Of my

Favorite

Liturgies

In the

Book of

Common

Prayer

Because at

Its heart

It's a

Resurrection

Service

It's

Recognizing

In the

Face of

Death

That we

Have this

Hope

So listen

To these

Words that

Are said

As the

Body is

Taken

Out of

The

Church

This is

The

Prayer

Christ

Is risen

From the

Dead

Trampling

Down

Death

By

Death

And

Giving

Life

To

Those

In

The

Tomb

The

Son

Of

Righteousness

Is

Gloriously

Risen

Giving

Light

To

Those

Who

Sat

In

Darkness

And

In

The

Shadow

Of

Death

The

Lord

Will

Guide

Our

Feet

Into

The

Way

Of

Peace

Having

Taken

Away

The

Sin

Of

The

World

Christ

Will

Open

The

Kingdom

Of

Heaven

To

All

Who

Believe

In

His

Name

Saying

Come

Oh

Blessed

Of

My

Father

Inherit

The

Kingdom

Prepared

For

You

Inherit

The

Kingdom

Prepared

For

You

Paul

Says

We're

Heirs

That

Means

One

Day

We

Will

Inherit

This

Kingdom

And

This

Leads

To

Our

Last

Point

How

Do

We

Know

That

The

Inheritance

Is

Coming

Because

The

Holy

Spirit

Is

Our

Down

Payment

To

Deposit

Paul

Uses

The

First

Fruits

To

Describe

The

Spirit's

Presence

In

The

Life

Of

Believers

The

Spirit

Anticipates

And

Guarantees

What's

Coming

The

Spirit

Bridges

The

Gap

Between

The

Already

And

The

Not

Yet

And

Friends

This

Spirit

Is

The

One

Who

Opens

Our

Eyes

To

The

Power

Of

God

That's

Available

To

All

Who

Believe

So

Where

Does

This

Leave

All

Of

Us

This

Morning

First

If

You're

Not

Sure

What

You

Believe

And

If

You've

Struggled

With

Some

Of

These

Questions

We've

Mentioned

That

Is

Okay

It's

Okay

To

Ask

These

Questions

About

God

Are

You

Loving

What

Does

This

Mean

See

If

You

Can

Find

A

Quiet

Place

To

Sit

And

Ask

The

Lord

Those

Questions

This

Week

Ask

Him

To

Speak

To

You

And

Remember

Christ

Will

Open

The

Kingdom

Of

Heaven

To

All

Who

Believe

In

His

Name

Saying

Come

Oh

Blessed

Of

My

Father

And

Inherit

The

Kingdom

Prepared

For

You

The

Lord

Longs

For

You

To

Come

Home

He

Loves

You

He

Loves

You

He

Loves

You

He's

Holding

His

Hand

Out

To

You

Will

You

Take

It

And

If

You're

Suffering

Or

If

You're

Looking

At

The

State

Of

The

World

And

Groaning

And

Longing

For

Renewal

If

You're

Grieving

Beloved

Know

That

You

Have

A

Savior

Who

Groans

And

Grieves

With

You

And

Know

That

Evil

And

Grief

And

Decay

And

Sadness

Will

Not

Have

The

Final

Word

Jesus

Christ

The

Savior

Will

Have

The

Final

Word

And

One

Day

He

Will

Bring

You

Into

His

Father's

House

Where

You

Will

Shine

Like

The

Son

In

Glory

Reigning

With

The

Lord

Jesus

Christ

Forever

Let's

Pray

Lord

Would

You

Expand

Our

Hearts

To

Be

Be

Be

To

Receive

More

Of

You

Lord

Pour

Your

Spirit

Out

On

Us

Thank

You

For

The

Gift

Of

Your

Spirit

Thank

You

That

You

Are

Mighty

And

Strong

To

Save

All

Who

Cry

Out

To

You

Lord

I

Pray

That

Those

Who

Are

Sitting

In

Darkness

Would

Come

Into

Your

Glorious

Light

As

You

Call

Them

!

Pray

For

The

Broken

Hearted

And

Place

That

They

Would

Feel

You

That

They

Would

Know

You

That

You

Would

Sustain

Them

And

Lord

As

A

Community

Will

We

Be

Those

Who

Bring

This

Truth

To

A

World

That

Is

Needy

And

Broken

and desperately in need of healing.

We pray that you would flood this city

with your grace, your mercy, and your healing.

Give us your imagination

and give us a willingness to go when you call us,

when you say, follow me, to follow.

Thank you that you are good and that we can trust you.

And we pray these things in the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.