The Parable of the Weeds

Listen on

Nick Whitehead

0:19Well, welcome to the North Church. I extend my welcome to those of you who are new. My name is Nick Whitehead. I serve here as our pastor for global outreach. And it's just a joy to be together to receive the means of grace, that it is to not forsake gathering with the people of God. So another week and another encouragement to this pastor's heart, and I pray for you as well. Would you pray before we go to Matthew and study God's word? Father, your word is living. It is active. It's sharper than any two-edged sword pierces to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. So we ask now that you would do your work through your word in our hearts this morning.

1:02Would you do this cutting, piercing, changing work so that we would be transformed increasingly into the image of your son? We pray in his name, amen. A little over a week ago, the Chinese Communist Party police detained 30 pastors and staff at a very influential house church network in China. You may have heard of this. This is Zion Church. Uh, this includes the arrest of their lead pastor Ezra Jing. Many of the family members of those detained have not had contact with these people since their arrests. This is a very challenging, very heartbreaking and significant moment of persecution for the church in China, which as you know, has suffered a long history of religious persecution since the church existed there today.

1:57After the second service, I would invite you, we're gonna be praying in the prayer room at 1230 for our brothers and sisters in China. And we would love for as many of you as can cram into that little room to come and join together with us to pray and plead that the Lord would help them. It's in situations like this that we might be tempted in our flesh to doubt that the Lord is ruling and reigning and building his church. We see this and we say, Lord, what is going on here? What are you doing? It looks like you are allowing evil to just run rampant against your people. Haven't you already ushered in your kingdom?

2:36Isn't this the age in which you'll exercise your dominion over the wicked that you'll bring justice to the righteous? Some of us, we might hear atrocities like this against the church and our instinct is to execute justice ourselves is to rise up and take vengeance and physically defend the people of God. These are fairly natural reactions for a Christian to feel when there's a mass detainment of church leaders in China when a gunman tanks out an influential leader in broad daylight, as some of us saw just over a month ago. In fact, I think some of these instincts reflect the same feelings that the disciples had 2000 years ago as they watched King Jesus usher in his kingdom and then be nailed upon a Roman cross.

3:28We've said this several times in our sermon series in Matthew, but there was this expectation among the Jews at this time that the Messianic king would come in and lead a political uprising to rescue his people from their oppressors, that he would build an army to destroy their enemies and he would bring holiness and purity into the world. And these Jews were reading their Bibles faithfully because this is what the Old Testament prophets spoke of. The prophecies build a picture of a time when the Messiah would come and he would establish his kingdom. He would purge out the ungodly, he would establish the righteous, and everyone in his kingdom would walk in his law and have it written upon their hearts.

4:11And so the disciples are thinking when the Messiah arrives, he's gonna wipe out the rebels and the unbelievers. He's gonna exalt the righteous in the earth. He's gonna establish his kingdom and its full and final form. So the more Jesus is talking here in Matthew about ushering in his kingdom, I think the disciples are thinking, yeah, but isn't this the time? Aren't you going to now destroy the unrighteous and establish your people? In fact, in Acts chapter one, after Jesus's resurrection, the disciples come and ask him again, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? The disciples are so eager to play a part in bringing present judgment to those who don't respond rightly to the Messiah that they say things like this.

5:01And Luke chapter nine, verse 54, the disciples, James and John, they see this Samaritan village entirely reject Jesus and they get all riled up. They say to Jesus, Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them? They feel this pressing need to rid the world of the wicked because the kingdom has arrived. They know their Old Testament bibles, they know what they've heard about the Messiah, they know about his kingdom and they're just confused. They're just confused because things are not playing out exactly as they would imagine. And this brings us to where we find ourselves in Matthew chapter 13 this morning and this chapter, Jesus shares seven parables.

5:48Each one is designed to reveal to his followers some surprising or unexpected characteristic about the kingdom of heaven. He's trying to correct faulty expectations. He's beginning to reveal things about his kingdom that were hidden in the Old Testament. These parables are meant to help them make sense of his kingdom and the pur their purpose in the world. So the parable before us this morning, which is the parable of the weeds, directly addresses one of the chief doubts of the disciples and perhaps some of us if we're still surrounded by evil in the world, has the kingdom really arrived. And through this parable, Jesus teaches this sur surprising truth.

6:33The kingdom has arrived, but the wicked will cohabit the world with the righteous until the day of judgment. The kingdom has come, but it does not immediately eradicate evil. This is essentially a parable. If I had to put it into just two words, it's a parable about delayed judgment, delayed judgment. I have a very simple structure for my sermon this morning. We're gonna look first at the parable told to the crowds. Second, the parable explained to the disciples, and third, the parable applied to us. So the parable told, the parable explained the parable applied. And you'll notice that we skipped verses 31 through 35.

7:17As we read the text this morning, those verses contain a couple more brief parables, the parable, the mustard seed, and the leaven. Uh, and Jesus also spoke those parables to the crowds. But then he turned and in private began to explain a number of different parables, which is where we get the second half of the text we're preaching this morning. So instead of dividing the parable and its explanation up, we're just gonna preach them in one swoop this morning. And then in a couple weeks, pastor Steven will come back and preach those two parables that we skipped over. So let's start with the parable as it is told to the crowds, we're gonna review it quickly, and I'm just gonna draw attention to a few points.

7:56This is the second parable in Matthew 13. And again, Jesus uses agricultural uh, agricultural scenario and agricultural scene to explain the nature of the kingdom of heaven. This time the kingdom is compared to a situation in which a master sows good wheat seed in his field, but then while his servants are sleeping, an enemy tries to sabotage his wheat fields by sowing weeds in it. The weeds sewn was likely Darnell, which is a grass like poisonous weed that resembles wheat, especially while it is still a young plant. You can't recognize the difference until they begin to mature and they grow up together.

8:35The wheat would begin to get heavy and start to droop. The Darnell would keep standing straight up. The wheat grains would turn light brown. The Darnell grains would usually be uh, gray or a blackish color. And that's why verse 26 says that it wasn't until the plants came up and bore grain that the weeds became visible. And then we get this conversation in verse 27, between the servants and the master, the servants recognize the weeds in the field. So they come to the master and they ask him, how does your field have weeds? You only sowed good seed to which the master replies matter of factly.

9:13An enemy did this. The servants inclined to immediately fix the problem, ask another question, should we go then and gather up the weeds? And the master says no. Then he provides his reason. If you pull the weeds up now, you'll also uproot the weed and for the gardeners among us, you know how this goes. Okay, I had a garden this summer and when I was planting my carrots, somehow a whole bunch of grass and a whole bunch of weeds started to grow up with my carrots. And at times I got so anxious about the weeds that I started trying to pull out the weeds and the grass seed and what came up, little carrots, they were so intertwined in the soil together and the master knows this.

9:56He knows that we and Darnell are intertwined by the roots as they grow. And so he offers up this alternative instruction to his servants. He says, just wait. Let both the wheat and the weeds grow together until it is time to harvest. And then as they're gathered, they can be separated, the weeds to be burned and the wheat to my barn. So that's the parable. And I imagine that there were many in the crowds nodding their heads along because there was nothing radical about this agricultural principle described in this text. From what I can gather, this was common horticultural practice in that day and age.

10:34I think it's pretty common sense principle, even for the modern urban farmer like myself with my carrots, leave the weeds so you don't uproot the good plants. It's pretty standard principle. But Jesus is not just using this parable to offer up his best farming techniques right at the beginning of the parable. Verse 24, look at that. He says something that is meant to hint to the crowds that he is doing so much more than giving agricultural advice. He opens the story with the words the kingdom of heaven may be compared to. In other words, this is not just a nice story, this is not a tip or a trick for the farmer.

11:14Jesus is beckoning his hearers to not just resonate with the parable, but press into it and understand what it might reveal to them about the nature of God's kingdom. So if there were any first century agrarian in the crowds nodding their heads thinking, yep, that sound advice, my grandpa taught me that then they were missing the true intention of the parable. Pastor Stephen mentioned last week, Jesus speaks in parables to prompt reflection and action from his listeners. And the disciples are starting to get this and they pursue further understanding. So jump down with me to verse 36. In verse 36, we see that Jesus left the crowds and went into a house and his disciples came to him requesting a private explanation.

12:03They say, explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field. Maybe you'll remember how the disciples responded to Jesus's first parable, the parable of the soils. Do you remember this? They came and they said, why do you speak to the crowd in parables? So with the parable of the soils, it's not just that they didn't understand the parable, it's that they didn't even know why Jesus was talking in parables. But as we saw last week, Jesus explained to the disciples the purpose of the parables, it's to conceal the truth to those who reject Jesus and to reveal the truth to those who will believe in Jesus.

12:42So now the disciples are ready, they get what the parables are about, and they want to receive the revelation of this parable and they know who can explain it to them. So they come to Jesus and we come to Jesus and they say, Lord, explain this parable to us. This is the posture we are to have as we hear Jesus's explanation. And there's two parts to the explanation. The first is in verses 37 through 39, here Jesus defines his terms, he explains the symbolism of the parable. So let's read those verses again. Jesus answered them. The one who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom.

13:26The weeds are the sons of the evil one and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are angels. So this is Jesus' little glossary for this parable. He identifies the symbolic significance of Severn different terms. And so I wanna walk through each one as we look to understand the parable rightly first term, Jesus says, the one who sows the good seed is the son of man. Son of man is Christ's title for himself. Jesus is the sower. He is the master of the field. We've already seen him use this term to identify himself multiple times in Matthew. It identifies him and his incarnation and his humanity.

14:11He's the perfect man who represents all of the human population, but it's also a messianic title that alludes back to Daniel chapter seven. We've talked about this before through Matthew, the son of man in that chapter inherits an everlasting dominion and an indestructible kingdom from the ancient of days himself. And so Jesus, this son of man is divine in nature. He's absolutely supreme in authority. He's the master who has authority to sow seeds in his field. Term number two, what is the field? Jesus identifies that the field is the world, but it is more than that. If you look closely, it is his world.

14:53You see this, if you look back at verse 24, whose field does the master sow in? He sowed good seed in his field. The world is Jesus's world. It belongs to him. We sang about this this morning. He has authority over it. It is his. The third term Jesus explains is the good seed. And the last parable, the good seed was the word of God being distributed onto different hearts. But in this parable, Jesus identifies the good seed as something else. The good seed here is the sons of the kingdom. In other words, these are the children of God, the subjects of the king. So king Jesus is sovereignly sowing children of his kingdom into his world.

15:37Christians are therefore not in the world by accident, but have been placed in this world with intentionality. He's planting his kingdom people into his world term number four, Jesus says that the weeds are sons of the evil one. So in this parable, Jesus is making it abundantly clear that there are, there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are wheat and there are weeds and are sons of the kingdom. And there are sons of the evil one. Every person is either one or they are the other. Fifth term, the enemy who sows the weeds is the devil. He is what Ephesians calls the prince of the power of the heir, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

16:21Other biblical texts refer to him as the ruler of the world, the God of the age. So under God's authority, Satan has been given permission to exercise limited power in this world. In this age, God is allowing him to sow his own children into the world. But remember, we've already seen in Matthew that Jesus has authority to enter this strong man's house and plunder it, freeing people from satanic bondage. So don't be deceived here into thinking that Satan has more power than he really does. He can only do in the world what Christ the king allows him to do. Sixth term Jesus tells us that the harvest is the end of the age, the day of final reckoning.

17:07A number of other scripture use this harvest imagery to symbolize the day of judgment. In other words, Jesus is making clear that judgment is not gonna happen now, but it is coming. It is coming. And finally, last term, seventh term, Jesus explains to us who will carry out the judgment harvest. His reapers are the angels. So at the end of the age, it will not be Jesus' disciples or any of us who will carry out the end time judgment. It will be his angels. Okay, those are the seven terms. Jesus makes a lot of things abundantly clear simply by providing definitions. And the parable begins to make a lot of sense.

17:48Jesus, the master of the world has placed sons of his kingdom into the world. God has also granted permission for the devil to sow his own children in the world. And these two types of people, God's children, Satan's children, they're growing up together in this world. They breathe the same air, they eat the same food, they ride the same buses, they live in the same cities. They exist together in the world all the way up until the day when Jesus will send his angels to judge them. And I think what Jesus is doing here is he's providing a reality check for his disciples. The question that they have that we often have is how can the kingdom be present now if evil is still in the world?

18:30And Jesus uses this parable to manage their expectations. He says, in this era of my kingdom, I'm letting evil coexist with good until the final judgment, the presence of evil in his kingdom is no surprise to Jesus and it is not derailing his plans. Jesus is ruling and he is reigning. And for a season he's allowing sons of the evil one to remain in the world. And in a second we're gonna see his glorious purpose in doing it this way. But first, Jesus moves on from his definitions to give a full interpretation of what will happen on the day of harvest. And here's where the emphasis is, verses 40 through 42.

19:10Look at those again. I'll read them just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire. So will it be at the end of the age the son of man will send his angels and they'll gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin in all lawbreakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. And that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the son and the kingdom of their father. He who has ears let him hear. So as surprising as it is to us that Jesus is going to let the wicked live alongside the righteous in his kingdom, these verses provide a sobering word of clarity and hope for God's people.

19:51At the end of the age, God will distribute his just punishment to the wicked and he will reward the righteous. Verse 41 and 42, describe what will happen to the weeds. All those who cause sin and break God's law, the son of men will send his angels to gather these wicked out of his kingdom. So notice here now Jesus interprets the field to be not merely the world but the field to be the kingdom. In other words, Jesus is reiterating that all along this is his world and he reigns over it as his kingdom. So even though Satan has sown children in it, Jesus has always been in control. And now he's commissioning his angels to purge the wicked from that kingdom to purify his kingdom by plucking them out and tossing them into a fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

20:44The fiery furnace is a biblical image of hell. It alludes to the same place that revelations 19 calls the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. The same place described in Mark nine as unquenchable fire. It's the same place Matthew 25 calls the eternal fire. This burning, unquenchable eternal fire is horrific beyond what our minds can imagine. And we see how terrifying and terrible it is by the reactions of those subject to it. They weep, they shriek, they nash, they grind their teeth and the picture of hell is definitely not pretty. But the reality is that Jesus is going to bring justice, though judgment will be delayed, it is coming and all the wicked will get what they deserve and they will eventually be rooted out of the kingdom.

21:39Only then the righteous will remain in the kingdom of their father shining like the Son. And at the end of verse 43, you see Jesus close with these words of application that we've heard before. He who has ears let him hear. In other words, listen up, listen up. Consider this parable, examine yourself. That's what these parables are for. They were meant to unsettle us, to get us thinking, to examine ourselves and to take action. So what might you do with the parable of the weeds? I wanna offer up a few applications. The first is this, brothers and sisters patiently trust God when the wicked surround you and assai you, when the wicked are everywhere around us and perhaps even persecuting us.

22:30The temptation is to doubt that God is really in control, that he is really working good on your behalf. But Jesus intends for this parable to remind his disciples that this is actually what his kingdom will look like in this present age. So don't be surprised and do not be confused. You are living as kingdom citizens and a kingdom that is not yet fully consummated. It isn't already, but not yet Kingdom. He hasn't fully laid claim to his land, but he's already purchased the title deed. And Jesus is helping us manage our expectations because when we have accurate expectations, we have better experiences.

23:08This is why when my kids are playing with their friends and it's time to go home, I don't just call them immediately to stop what they're doing. I give them a two minute warning to help manage their expectations. Because proper expectations protect us from disappointment. And in this case, Jesus sets expectations in order to empower your patients, to strengthen you, to persevere, to sustain your hope in the midst of an evil age. He's giving you a two minute warning this time, the time you're waiting for has almost come, but it's not yet brothers and sisters so do not grow weary or disappointed or impatient when the enemies are abundant.

23:52It may seem like evil is winning, but the Lord is allowing both the weed and the weeds to grow together. Until that final day, this is his plan, it is not failing. Rest assured his kingdom has come. He's in total control and we patiently await his final victory. Let me say this here, part of what it looks like to trust God in this wicked, wicked age is to not take judgment into your own hands. Look back with me quickly at verses 27 through 29 in the parable. I'd like to show you this, this, this is the conversation between the servants and the master. Did you notice that Jesus never explains to us who the servants are in the story That's not included in his glossary.

24:36And I think we are meant to understand that the servants symbolize the disciples and by extension all followers of Jesus and these servants, they come and they ask the good master in verse 27, how does your field have weeds? Isn't that the exact question we often ask? Sovereign king of the universe, how is their evil in your kingdom? And the response of these servants and the disciples and us is to want to take matters into our own hands and eradicate evil ourselves. You see what they say in verse 28, should we go tear out the weeds? But the master's response warns us against taking destruction of the wicked into our own hands.

25:18He says, don't tear up the weeds lest you also root up the weed. Don't seek to condemn and destroy unbelievers and evil doers because your lack of clear judgment may lead you to actually harm people who God intends to bring into the kingdom. And this present age, we are not crusaders brothers and sisters. We are not inquisitors trying to physically root up and destroy the wicked and unbelieving. Yes, we're called to keep the church pure. We're called to exercise church discipline on unrepentant sinners in our midst. But we are never called to take physical action in the world to wipe out unbelievers to destroy the wicked.

26:01Look what the master does. He actually selects a whole other group of workers, the reapers, not the servants to do the harvesting. And this is an interesting part of the parable because it's not actually how the farming system would've probably worked. The servants who sowed the seeds would've been the same ones who reaped the harvest. But here Jesus speaks of two separate workers to make abundantly clear to us that though we are the servants in the field, the judgment harvest is not our job. He has angels to do that work and he will send them in his perfect time. Our job now is to wait and trust that he will do what is right.

26:41The question is, is that all we are to do in this age? Do we have any responsibility towards the weeds before the judgment comes? And to answer that, I would offer this second application, take advantage of God's delayed judgment. God is right now at this time delaying judgment upon those who are rebelling against him. He does not have to do that. He does not have to do that. And so hidden in that phrase, delayed judgment is a whole lot of mercy. Every second that God patiently waits for more sinners to come to him is a second more of gloriously undeserved kindness. Romans two, four says, God's kindness and forbearance and patience is meant to lead sinners to repentance.

27:34Delayed judgment means our God is incredibly merciful. He is giving the wicked opportunity to repent. So then let us as his children also take advantage of his delayed judgment. A judgment day is coming for the wicked, but it is not today, which means today is the day of God's mercy. We are not to take a posture of resignation to evil. Oh it's evil. We'll hide away. Stay away from the evil doers rather, we're to take a posture of leaning towards unbelievers while there's still a chance for them to be reconciled to this God. It is not our duty to destroy the weeds, but to seek their spiritual good and to persuade them of truth, we're to operate with compassion, not condemnation.

28:24Our work in the world is one of persuasion, not a force. And our weapon is not the sword, it is the word. Listen to how Jesus prays for us to his father in John chapter 17. You could find it if you'd like otherwise just listen. Jesus prays this for you. He prays this concerning his disciples. Father, I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world. Just as I'm not of the world, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They're not of the world just as I'm not of the world sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth as you sent me into the world.

29:10So I have sent them into the world. Here's what Jesus is saying about us sons and daughters of the kingdom. He says that we don't belong to this world. We are not of it. But this does not give us license to isolate ourselves from the world or hide in a bunker or join a Christian commune because Jesus says they're not of the world. But I've sent them into the world. We have been placed by Christ into this world with a mission good seed into the field for a purpose. So if you're living as a Christian in this evil age, hated by the world, God has placed you here intentionally to influence it before the day of reckoning.

29:55And here, here what Jesus prayed to his father in verse 15, father, don't take them out of the world. In other words, they need to be here to accomplish my purposes. Do not take them out of this world. Rather protect them from the evil one. Brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ is interceding for us as we dwell in the midst of weeds. He has placed us among the sons of the evil one for a purpose and he's praying for our protection as we minister in the midst of them. So maybe we take advantage of this delayed judgment and the intercession of our savior. Don't just see the evil around you as evil.

30:38See it as opportunity. Opportunity for more to be brought into the kingdom. But I do wanna also apply that same point to the unbelievers in the room this morning to you also. I say take advantage of God's delayed judgment. The clearest point of this parable is that the day of judgment is coming if you come away from anything else, that's what this is saying. Judgment is coming. The righteous judge of the universe will do what is right and he will not delay his judgment forever. So if you're living in rebellion against your maker, you are a weed, you are a weed, and you are destined for the flame.

31:24And God's judgment towards your sin is inevitable. It is imminent, it is sure. The good news for the weeds is that every analogy breaks down somewhere including this one. Let me explain. When I watch my garden grow, I never expect that my weeds will turn into tomato plants. That's not how it works. Weeds will always be weeds. So as weeds grown as weeds, but in God's kingdom, weeds can turn into wheat. As Colossians one 13 says, God can rescue you out of the domain of darkness, the kingdom of Satan where we all once lived and transfer you into the kingdom of his beloved son. He can do this because his beloved son was also sent into this world and he lived as the perfect son of the kingdom.

32:23And when the proper time came, he offered him himself up to experience the fiery wrath of God on behalf of weeds. So that any son of Satan, which was once all of us, any son of Satan, who renounces the kingdom of darkness, can turn and enter the kingdom of this beloved son by faith and his sacrifice. So if you find yourself today in this moment and slave to a life of sin and rebellion against the king of the world, I remind you judgment is coming. But that means it has not yet arrived, which means the Lord is patiently waiting for many to come to him. And so my plea to you is to take advantage of this delayed judgment, repent of your sins, turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, be gathered into his barn with the righteous.

33:18On that final day he's waiting for you, his he has delayed his judgment for you. Come to the good master. Now as we conclude, I hope you notice that though this is a parable of judgment, it ends on a note of joy. Look again at verse 43. What happens after final judgment? When the lawbreakers are thrown into the fire, it says, then the righteous will shine like the son and the kingdom of their father. Once Jesus gathers the wicked out of his kingdom to destroy them, the sons of the kingdom will remain and they will be transformed. The language of shine like the sun is a reference to heavenly glory.

34:07This is the language Matthew uses later in chapter 17 to describe Jesus's very own face when he is transfigured. It's the language used in Daniel chapter 12 and in one Corinthians 15, to describe what happens to God's people when they're raised from the dead. We are talking about resurrection glory. We're talking about that day when we will shed these perishable bodies and we will put on immortality. We are talking about that day when God finally removes all sin and suffering from the life of his saints when we are perfectly conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. We are talking about that day when we will no longer see dimly, but we will see our savior, Jesus Christ face to face.

34:55Moses got a glimpse of God's backside and his face was so radiant that the people couldn't even look upon him. Imagine how radiant we will be when we are staring at him face to face. Right now it may be hard to tell the weeds from the wheat, the sons of the devil, from the sons of the kingdom, we're all just growing up together. We're all just enjoying the same common graces in the world. But one day Jesus says, the sons of the kingdom will not be hidden in the weeds. They will shine in heavenly radiance for all to see. They will share in glory with their heavenly Father and they will be pure and blameless alongside their savior.

35:37Jesus Christ. May that be our hope. May that be the hope of these Chinese brothers and sisters to his disciples, to you who believe Jesus is saying the kingdom will become all that you are anticipating and more it is coming just as surely as the judgment, but not yet. So let us wait and let us trust as we anticipate this glorious hope. Let's pray. Father, in this present evil age, our souls wait for you. You are our rock and you are our salvation. You will bring justice to our enemies. And in this time of delay, we ask that you would bring more into your kingdom. Would you help us not only to endure life among the wicked, but lean towards them in love and compassion and boldness as we seek to draw them into fellowship with your beloved son?

36:35We ask in his name. Amen. Amen.

Jump to live

Jump to live

Sermon Text

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43