Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43
The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat
24 Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
Wheat or weeds? You never know. You never know.
We again get the benefit of not just the parable but Jesus giving the disciples a teaching lesson on it. The wheat and the weeds grow up together. Our job isn’t to sort them out, but to let God take care of that.
An interesting note about this passage: the Greek word used here in the scripture for permit, or letting alone, is also the word for forgive. It could be said that the landowner is not only telling his workers to let the weeds alone, but to forgive them for their actions as well. The evil that surrounds us is not for us to judge, but instead to forgive. Jesus used this same word on the cross, “Father forgive them.”
Everyone thought Zaccheus was a weed, and he was a weed in stature and in morality, but Jesus saw that the true Zaccheus was wheat ready to burst into a golden head of good deeds.
Everyone thought the thief on the cross next to Jesus was a weed, only fit to be thrown into the garbage dump of Jerusalem. Jesus saw otherwise: this was a man who would be with him in paradise.
Every Christian thought Saul was a weed hunting down Christ’s followers, watching on as Stephen was stoned to death, but Jesus saw in him wheat that would be scattered throughout the world as he took Gospel far and wide.
In each of these examples, a hasty and early judgment by God would have meant they would have been cut off from his grace. Instead, Jesus didn’t ignore them or disregard them as hopeless. They may have looked like weeds, but in fact, they were wheat.
The parable is telling us to write no one off as hopeless, lost, irredeemable, or worthless, because he/she looks like a weed. That person may look like a weed and our gut reaction is to treat that person as a weed, but in truth, he/she is precious wheat of God’s kingdom.
That’s the way God views each one of us. We readily admit that we are “weeds” – the evil in our hearts and minds takes control. But, God refuses to write us off. He even refuses to write off the person who defies God, denies God’s existence, and allows evil to run his/her life. There is always grace.
Duane was a kid in my first confirmation class. He was a thorn in my side. He didn’t pay attention, his answers on tests and quizzes were filled with answers like, “Who cares,” and, “I don’t know,” or he just left things blank. He was disruptive and rude.
He was one of those kids that every pastor has had at one time or another that you just want to confirm and be done with him or her. Don’t believe me? Ask any pastor who has had the task of teaching a few classes!
I thought I was done with Duane. But over my years in that call, Duane grew up and became involved in some wonderful outreach ministries in the church and community. What I once thought was a thorny soul to be thrown into the fire turned out to be a rich harvest of God’s love.
God so loves us, that he gave his son for our lives, so that we might be seen in God’s eyes as wheat worthy of harvest. Because of Jesus, we are forgiven, welcomed and accepted into God’s warm embrace forever!
When I announced to that church that I had accepted a call to another congregation, it was Duane who was the first one in my office to thank me for my ministry.