The Parable of the Weeds in the Wheat

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

24 He 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.”’…

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ 37 He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

Again, Jesus tells a parable to the crowd, while the disciples, in private (vs. 36 – Jesus “went into the house”), ask for an explanation.

This story works because darnel looks like wheat, grows like wheat. Only when the grain heads fill out does it become evident that the darnel plant will not produce wheat. The wheat and the darnel grow together, and no one can tell the difference between the plants, not knowing which will produce wheat and which will not. By the time the differences appear the removal of the darnel would harm the wheat. While the farmhands want to pull up the weeds, the owner says, “No, we will separate the two at harvest time. With the wheat going into the barns and the weeds being destroyed.”   

Jesus is not just providing gardening and farming advice. He is pointing to the way the world is. The kingdom of God grows in the lives of people who are living in the field of the world. At times it is hard to see the difference between the people who are part of the kingdom of God/kingdom of heaven and those who are not. But when the grain/produce of their lives is seen – then it becomes clear who has been growing grain/wheat for the kingdom of God and who has not. But God does not separate those who have been producing for the kingdom from those who have not until the end. In the present, the two grow together in the same field, in the same world. Our calling is not that we try to clear away the weeds, but rather we are called to seek to produce the grain of the kingdom of heaven. To spend less time worrying about people who do not seem to be following God and spend more time concentrating in our lives that we follow Jesus and produce a crop for his kingdom. 

PRAYER:

O Lord, we are distracted by the patterns we see in the lives of other people that do not follow you. We want to change them, fix them, wish they were not around. Teach us the grace of growing grain/produce for your kingdom even as we live in this world. In Jesus;’ name. Amen.