The Parable about
Wheat and Weeds
MATTHEW 13:24-30
24. Jesus gave the people another picture story. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is the same-as a farmer sowing-seed for good WHEAT in his field.
25. Then during the night his enemy came and sowed WEEDS in the field among the WHEAT, and then went-away.
26. The plants-grew. The WHEAT appeared, then the WEEDS appeared also.
27. The servants came to the farmer and said, 'You sowed good WHEAT in your field, correct? Then why do we have WEEDS?'
28. The farmer said, 'An enemy did this.'
The servants said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull-out the WEEDS?'
29. The farmer answered, 'No, because you maybe will pull-out the good WHEAT with the WEEDS.
30. Let both grow until the harvest. And at harvest time I will tell my workers to pull-out the WEEDS first and tie-in-bundles for burning, but gather the WHEAT into my BARN.'"
Owner/Farmer = Field = Workers = Wheat plants = Enemy = Weeds = Harvesters = Harvest day = Fire = Barn = Application to me: |
Jesus explains the parable
MATTHEW 13:36-43
MATTHEW 13:36-43
36 Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His followers came to him and said, “Explain to us the meaning of that story about the weeds in the field.”
37 Jesus answered, "The farmer who planted the good seed in the field, he is the Son of Man -- Christ.
38 The field means the world.
The good seed means all of God’s children who belong to His kingdom.
The weeds mean those people who belong to the devil.
39 And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil.
The harvest time means the end of the world.
And the workers who harvest mean God's angels.
40 “In My story the harvesters pull-up the weeds and burn them in fire. The same will happen when the world ends.
41 I will send out My angels, and they will remove from My kingdom all people who spread sin and all who do evil.
42 The angels will throw them into the hot fire. There people will cry and grind-their-teeth because they have pain.
43 Then the good people will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. You people -- pay attention!"
Jesus like to tell stories that had a hidden lesson. Parables.
A few of His stories were about sheep.
Other stories were about money.
He had a couple stories about weddings.
And many stories were about farms,
planting-seeds,
and growing food.
Here is one more story like that.
This story is a little-bit strange.
A few of His stories were about sheep.
Other stories were about money.
He had a couple stories about weddings.
And many stories were about farms,
planting-seeds,
and growing food.
Here is one more story like that.
This story is a little-bit strange.
The kingdom of heaven is the same-as a farmer planting-seed for good WHEAT in his field. Then during the night his enemy came and sowed WEEDS in the field among the WHEAT, and then went-away. The plants-grew. The WHEAT appeared, then the WEEDS appeared also.
The servants asked the farmer, "Do you want us to go and pull-out the WEEDS?"
The farmer answered, "No, Let both grow until the harvest. And at harvest time I will tell my workers to pull-out the WEEDS first and tie-in-bundles for burning, but gather the WHEAT into my BARN."
This is not the normal way we manage our farms and gardens.
If weeds grow, we pull them out.
We learned in a previous story that weeds choke the good plants, and block their growth.
BUT this is a different story, and Jesus is making a different point.
This story has a different meaning.
What meaning?
When Jesus' Disciples heard this story,
they no idea about the story's meaning.
So later, privately, they asked Jesus,
"That story about the wheat and the weeds --
please tell us what that means."
Jesus told them.
We don't need to guess.
Here we have Jesus Himself explaining this story:
If weeds grow, we pull them out.
We learned in a previous story that weeds choke the good plants, and block their growth.
BUT this is a different story, and Jesus is making a different point.
This story has a different meaning.
What meaning?
When Jesus' Disciples heard this story,
they no idea about the story's meaning.
So later, privately, they asked Jesus,
"That story about the wheat and the weeds --
please tell us what that means."
Jesus told them.
We don't need to guess.
Here we have Jesus Himself explaining this story:
Jesus answered, “The farmer who planted the good seed in the field, he is the Son of Man -- Christ.
"The field means the world.
"The good seed means all of God’s children who belong to His kingdom [Christians].
"The weeds mean those people who belong to the devil [false Christians].
"And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil.
"The harvest time means the end of the world [Judgment Day] .
"And the workers who harvest mean God's angels.
"In My story, the harvesters pull-up the weeds and burn them in fire. The same will happen when the world ends. I will send out My angels, and they will remove from My kingdom all people who spread sin and all who do evil. The angels will throw them into the hot fire. There people will cry and grind-their-teeth because they have pain. Then the good people will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." [Matthew 13:36-43]
Farmer = Christ
Field = World (the visible church in the world)
Servants = Church leaders
Wheat = Christians
Enemy = Devil, the world
Weeds = False Christians
Harvesters = Angels
Harvest day = Judgment Day
Fire = Hell
Barn = Heaven
Field = World (the visible church in the world)
Servants = Church leaders
Wheat = Christians
Enemy = Devil, the world
Weeds = False Christians
Harvesters = Angels
Harvest day = Judgment Day
Fire = Hell
Barn = Heaven
OK... So what?
What does all this mean for us?
Three important things:
First:
We know that in our churches we will always have false Christians --
People who know how to talk religious,
and act religious.
For false Christians, church is like a nice comfortable club.
And if they are long time members,
they can control their church club.
And it is really sad that many false Christians don't see
that they are really "weeds" and not "wheat."
Maybe they grew up going to church with their parents,
so the feel they must also come to church
for satisfying God and He will let them in heaven.
WRONG!
For many people, religion means rules, not faith.
For other people, religion is a way they can feel good,
so they don't need to obey God.
False Christians know about Christ,
but they don't know Christ.
They are the "weeds" among us.
We don't-know who they are.
We cannot see their hearts.
That is not our responsibility.
Jesus said that His angels will separate
the true believers and false believers on Judgment Day.
Second:
This story challenges each one of us to examine ourselves.
"Am I wheat? or am I a weed?"
Am I trying to please God with my religious activity?
Do I feel proud that I am a better person than other sinners?
Am I controlling my life?
Or do I understand that I have [finish] failed,
I depend on Jesus forgiving me,
I give myself to Him,
and ask Him to come in me and take control....?
And that's the third important lesson:
In a real garden, a weed is a weed and always remains a weed. One plant can’t change and become another kind of plant.
But people can change.
That's an important reason to allow the “weeds” (false Christians) worship with true believers.
God’s Word can touch their hearts,
leading them to repent and trust Christ.
God says that He wants to save ALL people,
including you and me!
Yes, God wants to save ALL people,
but that doesn't mean all people will become saved.
The Bible is clear about that, as our story today explains.
But when Jesus died on the cross,
He died for all sins of all people in all time,
in the past, now, and in the future.
And all people who trust Him will become His "wheat" forever.
What does all this mean for us?
Three important things:
First:
We know that in our churches we will always have false Christians --
People who know how to talk religious,
and act religious.
For false Christians, church is like a nice comfortable club.
And if they are long time members,
they can control their church club.
And it is really sad that many false Christians don't see
that they are really "weeds" and not "wheat."
Maybe they grew up going to church with their parents,
so the feel they must also come to church
for satisfying God and He will let them in heaven.
WRONG!
For many people, religion means rules, not faith.
For other people, religion is a way they can feel good,
so they don't need to obey God.
False Christians know about Christ,
but they don't know Christ.
They are the "weeds" among us.
We don't-know who they are.
We cannot see their hearts.
That is not our responsibility.
Jesus said that His angels will separate
the true believers and false believers on Judgment Day.
Second:
This story challenges each one of us to examine ourselves.
"Am I wheat? or am I a weed?"
Am I trying to please God with my religious activity?
Do I feel proud that I am a better person than other sinners?
Am I controlling my life?
Or do I understand that I have [finish] failed,
I depend on Jesus forgiving me,
I give myself to Him,
and ask Him to come in me and take control....?
And that's the third important lesson:
In a real garden, a weed is a weed and always remains a weed. One plant can’t change and become another kind of plant.
But people can change.
That's an important reason to allow the “weeds” (false Christians) worship with true believers.
God’s Word can touch their hearts,
leading them to repent and trust Christ.
God says that He wants to save ALL people,
including you and me!
Yes, God wants to save ALL people,
but that doesn't mean all people will become saved.
The Bible is clear about that, as our story today explains.
But when Jesus died on the cross,
He died for all sins of all people in all time,
in the past, now, and in the future.
And all people who trust Him will become His "wheat" forever.