Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 NIV
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I listen to Alice Cooper. Some of you might ask, "Who is she?" Alice Cooper is the stage persona of Vincent Furnier. His character is the villain of Rock and Roll. His stage shows are best described as horror theatrics. In every show since the mid-seventies Alice is executed for his crimes, either by hanging, or beheading, or some other gruesome form of death.
In Jesus' parable of the wheat and weeds He tells of the end of the age when the children of the evil one will be removed from His kingdom and destroyed. Their end is gruesome. They will be thrown into a blazing furnace. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. It's a horrific picture of of death.
Imagine standing in line as you hear the screams of those in front of you bring tossed into the fire! Would your teeth be clenched with terrible fear as you prepare to meet your doom? Massive and powerful angels tower over you as you moving ever closer to the furnace. There's no point in fighting. There's nowhere to run. It's the end of the line. Would you weep for those who face such a punishment?
I realize I'm sounding rather grim. I think that is a way to read this parable, with a focus on death and the horrors of Hell. The are other ways to receive this parable. You will notice Jesus doesn't use the word Hell in His story. It would be easy to think of the furnace as a picture of Hell, but that is reading something into the story that isn't exactly there.
The blazing furnace has been used in scripture before. The king of Babylon erected a golden statue of himself to be worshipped. Three devout Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refused to bow down to any idol, for they worshipped the God of Israel. The king ordered them to be thrown into a blazing furnace.
Daniel 3:22 NIV
The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego...
But when the king looked into the furnace he saw four men. The three faithful Jews were miraculously saved from the fire by the Lord.
You can read the parable of the wheat and weeds from the perspective of salvation, rather than from the perspective of a horrible end for those who do evil. Then the parable becomes a wonderful message of hope about the nature of the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is a place for those who are faithful to God and do not place their ultimate trust in anything or anyone else. The kingdom of heaven is here on earth, right now. And it is not yet free of the infestation of evil. The church of Jesus Christ is a visible expression of the kingdom of heaven, and if you've spent any time in the church, then you know it's not perfect. The church is filled with forgiven sinners, but we are sinners just the same. It's so heartbreaking when sin gets the upper hand and Christians behave badly, staining the goodness of God's name and the reputation of His people. The church is a mixed bag with disciples at different phases of spiritual maturity. The church is like a weed infested field of wheat. There are those who do evil among those who consciously try not to.
Sometimes we do evil without truly recognizing it, much like the Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus' day. These religious men loved God and were fierce about obeying God's law, but they became arrogant and unmerciful. In their zeal for righteousness they became murderous. And so it is within the kingdom of heaven. Right now, in this period before the end of the age, God allows the evil and the good to dwell together.
In His mercy God waits for the weeds to show themselves. In order to spare the ones who may yet turn in repentance to God, He allows the mixture of sinners and saints. I appreciate God's mercy depicted in this parable. There is mercy for the Christian who stumbles into sinful habits. There's time given to repent. There's mercy for the evildoer who is living in willful rebellion. For they too are given time to turn from their sinful choices and seek God's kingdom and righteousness.
I have to admit, however, how tiresome this sinful world has become. The world infects the purity of Christ's church and it's heartbreakingly disappointing. How I long for my perfection. How I long for the perfection of the church. And yet I make decisions that run counter to my perfection. I still live comfortably with sinful habits that I know are separating me from God and His goodness. I'm certain that you have your own sins of which you cannot seem to let go. We are human, sinful and made in God's image. We are both worthless weed and treasured wheat.
The apostle Paul wrote what it's like to be human.
Romans 7:15, 18-19, 24 NIV
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
Alice Cooper wrote these lyrics.
You're your own worst enemy
You're a walking catastrophe
You're at war with yourself and nobody else
You're a danger
But there is mercy in the Lord. We aren't perfect yet, but we can be faithful. We can keep trying even though we fail. God gave us a Savior who walked into the fiery furnace for us. As such His death is an atoning sacrifice that washed away the stain of our sins. And He is with us providing grace to be freed from this wretched body subject to death. For His grace is greater than sin. Sin cannot touch us when we stand in God's grace.
When I read this parable there is a hopeful promise about our future. The kingdom of heaven will one day be purged clean of every evil doer and even causes to do evil. Can you imagine living without even the temptation to do evil? There will be nothing to trip us up. The old enemy will be bound and thrown into the furnace for destruction, never to cause us to stumble every again.
Matthew 13:43 NIV
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Far from this parable being a horror show, to me this parable is beautiful and lifegiving. The hope this story gives of one day finally being freed of this sinful world lifts a heavy burden from my heart. This world is beautiful and deadly at the same time. The weight of our sins crushes us emotionally. I look at the wickedness going on in our time and I am filled with sadness and disgust. It weighs heavy on my soul. And I look at my own walk and see where I fail and I am tired and sad. But praise God who gives us the victory in Jesus Christ! One day, when this age comes to an end, we who trust in Christ shall be glorified in the new creation without evil. I just cannot fathom how wonderful that will be.
Philippians 1:6 NIV
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Thank God for His mercy, His patience, His wisdom and His amazing grace. We will shine!
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I listen to Alice Cooper. Some of you might ask, "Who is she?" Alice Cooper is the stage persona of Vincent Furnier. His character is the villain of Rock and Roll. His stage shows are best described as horror theatrics. In every show since the mid-seventies Alice is executed for his crimes, either by hanging, or beheading, or some other gruesome form of death.
In Jesus' parable of the wheat and weeds He tells of the end of the age when the children of the evil one will be removed from His kingdom and destroyed. Their end is gruesome. They will be thrown into a blazing furnace. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. It's a horrific picture of of death.
Imagine standing in line as you hear the screams of those in front of you bring tossed into the fire! Would your teeth be clenched with terrible fear as you prepare to meet your doom? Massive and powerful angels tower over you as you moving ever closer to the furnace. There's no point in fighting. There's nowhere to run. It's the end of the line. Would you weep for those who face such a punishment?
I realize I'm sounding rather grim. I think that is a way to read this parable, with a focus on death and the horrors of Hell. The are other ways to receive this parable. You will notice Jesus doesn't use the word Hell in His story. It would be easy to think of the furnace as a picture of Hell, but that is reading something into the story that isn't exactly there.
The blazing furnace has been used in scripture before. The king of Babylon erected a golden statue of himself to be worshipped. Three devout Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refused to bow down to any idol, for they worshipped the God of Israel. The king ordered them to be thrown into a blazing furnace.
Daniel 3:22 NIV
The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego...
But when the king looked into the furnace he saw four men. The three faithful Jews were miraculously saved from the fire by the Lord.
You can read the parable of the wheat and weeds from the perspective of salvation, rather than from the perspective of a horrible end for those who do evil. Then the parable becomes a wonderful message of hope about the nature of the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is a place for those who are faithful to God and do not place their ultimate trust in anything or anyone else. The kingdom of heaven is here on earth, right now. And it is not yet free of the infestation of evil. The church of Jesus Christ is a visible expression of the kingdom of heaven, and if you've spent any time in the church, then you know it's not perfect. The church is filled with forgiven sinners, but we are sinners just the same. It's so heartbreaking when sin gets the upper hand and Christians behave badly, staining the goodness of God's name and the reputation of His people. The church is a mixed bag with disciples at different phases of spiritual maturity. The church is like a weed infested field of wheat. There are those who do evil among those who consciously try not to.
Sometimes we do evil without truly recognizing it, much like the Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus' day. These religious men loved God and were fierce about obeying God's law, but they became arrogant and unmerciful. In their zeal for righteousness they became murderous. And so it is within the kingdom of heaven. Right now, in this period before the end of the age, God allows the evil and the good to dwell together.
In His mercy God waits for the weeds to show themselves. In order to spare the ones who may yet turn in repentance to God, He allows the mixture of sinners and saints. I appreciate God's mercy depicted in this parable. There is mercy for the Christian who stumbles into sinful habits. There's time given to repent. There's mercy for the evildoer who is living in willful rebellion. For they too are given time to turn from their sinful choices and seek God's kingdom and righteousness.
I have to admit, however, how tiresome this sinful world has become. The world infects the purity of Christ's church and it's heartbreakingly disappointing. How I long for my perfection. How I long for the perfection of the church. And yet I make decisions that run counter to my perfection. I still live comfortably with sinful habits that I know are separating me from God and His goodness. I'm certain that you have your own sins of which you cannot seem to let go. We are human, sinful and made in God's image. We are both worthless weed and treasured wheat.
The apostle Paul wrote what it's like to be human.
Romans 7:15, 18-19, 24 NIV
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
Alice Cooper wrote these lyrics.
You're your own worst enemy
You're a walking catastrophe
You're at war with yourself and nobody else
You're a danger
But there is mercy in the Lord. We aren't perfect yet, but we can be faithful. We can keep trying even though we fail. God gave us a Savior who walked into the fiery furnace for us. As such His death is an atoning sacrifice that washed away the stain of our sins. And He is with us providing grace to be freed from this wretched body subject to death. For His grace is greater than sin. Sin cannot touch us when we stand in God's grace.
When I read this parable there is a hopeful promise about our future. The kingdom of heaven will one day be purged clean of every evil doer and even causes to do evil. Can you imagine living without even the temptation to do evil? There will be nothing to trip us up. The old enemy will be bound and thrown into the furnace for destruction, never to cause us to stumble every again.
Matthew 13:43 NIV
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Far from this parable being a horror show, to me this parable is beautiful and lifegiving. The hope this story gives of one day finally being freed of this sinful world lifts a heavy burden from my heart. This world is beautiful and deadly at the same time. The weight of our sins crushes us emotionally. I look at the wickedness going on in our time and I am filled with sadness and disgust. It weighs heavy on my soul. And I look at my own walk and see where I fail and I am tired and sad. But praise God who gives us the victory in Jesus Christ! One day, when this age comes to an end, we who trust in Christ shall be glorified in the new creation without evil. I just cannot fathom how wonderful that will be.
Philippians 1:6 NIV
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Thank God for His mercy, His patience, His wisdom and His amazing grace. We will shine!
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