“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:24-30
“Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. And when the wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident.’
And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’
The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”
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Matthew 13:36-43
“Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’
And He said, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire;
in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
The one who has ears, let him hear.’”
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I believe that it is important to notice what may be seen as subtleties in this parable. Jesus said, “the field is the world.” This leaves no room for speculation, and the one who sows good seed is the “Son of man.” This is a term used to refer to Jesus throughout scripture.
Let’s think about this for a minute, is it saying that this “good seed” are the people, or is it the disciples of the Good Word, “The Word of God?” I believe that He is referring to those who were sown in the good soil, (of a previous parable,) those who have heard the Word of God, the sons of the kingdom, “the ones who hear the word and understand it, who indeed bear fruit and produce, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much,” Matthew 13:23.
These people are in the world, surrounded by rocks, chaff, and every influence that challenges others, but seasons them with the salt of truth. They allow the Word of God to be the filter through which they see these influences.
The believer is surrounded by weeds, (the sons of the evil one,) who, “although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.”
Rom 1:32
Notice that it is not God, but people who thought it would be a good idea to uproot those who practice evil, and approve of others that do the same. In His wisdom, God reveals that this would be likely to also uproot the fruit of the good seed, or the wheat. God’s righteous judgement requires that the weeds, and the wheat be allowed to mature in the same environment. They will obviously react to this same environment differently, and in the end will be judged, or rewarded accordingly.
How we react to our environment, and the sons of the evil one, has an effect on the righteousness of our daily walk. Are we to allow the weeds to choke us out, or are we to establish righteousness through our discipline to the Word of God?
God bless you, Dave