24 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27And 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?” 28He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” 29But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30Let 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.” ’
Blog Discussion Question: What insights might this parable give us about God and evil?
6 comments:
I wrote one sermon once a long time ago and it was about the importance of evil. Strange you may say: but with out evil how can we know good.
I live in this world everyday, I see evil. I see examples of what evil does and how it hurts so many people around it. I truly believe that evil teaches a lesson to the observant.
We live next door to evil everyday, we can overlook it, or help those who have fallen victim to it. So like the wheat sowen with the weeds, we all need to grow. If we can help the weeds become wheat, then lets give it our best shot. I know you cant change weeds to wheat, but i do know you can try and help people. And in helping some one see that life living in the wheat field is better then life in the weed field could help bring peace to a troubled existence.
Maybe this parable is calling us to help our fellow foliage. To let them know they are not destined to be weeds, but maybe a life of wheat. Once they are told that they are a product of a Great farmer named God. And this great farmer has a couple of friends that want to help them out, named Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
This parable may be about being a disciple, and that there is alot of work to be done in the garden. Happy Farming =}
I believe it is showing us how in this world since Eve took that first apple; there has been evil sown in with good. God has chosen not to 'come again' just as the farmer chose to leave his wheat with the weeds so we can both grow and as 'laymen' stated try to help the wheat grow and want to live a life as wheat. God wants a bountiful harvest and yes he would have one now no doubt, but he wants the good to continue to grow and someday maybe take over those 'weeds' that are in His harvest field.
The explanation for the parable follows in Matthew 13:36-43. The disciples ask Jesus for the explanation and they go behind closed doors so only the disciples hear the explanation. Quoting Matthew 13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to 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 is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
To really understand this we need to know the culture of Palestine. The weeds were "darnel" that looked exactly like wheat until it was harvested. Then the wheat is spread out and the women separate out the darnel seeds. They had to be separated because they were slightly poisonous and had a very bitter taste. Hmmmmmm...much like evil isn't it?
I believe the lesson Jesus tries to get across in his explanation is that 1) there is evil in the world. and this evil is sown by the devil. 2) it's not easy to distinguish between those that are evil and those that are not and we do not have that ability. 3) It's not our job to decide, only God can see our inner thoughts, thus only God decides who is good and evil. And 4) Jesus clearly says in vs. 41 that His angels will separate out "all causes of sin and all law breakers and cast them into the fiery furnace" and goes on to say, "and righteous shall shine like the morning sun".
So to me, Jesus tells his disciples, and because the private meeting was leaked to the media, that there is a time of judgement. It also sounds like the evil (darnel) does not change just as the devil has not changed since the beginning of time, but instead must be separated out at "the harvest" and burned so that it cannot reproduce again. Is this what we believe? It would seem that this is what Jesus is teaching here.
Laymen, your "helping our fellow foilage" is really well stated! As Corrie tenBoom often stated, "There is no hole so deep that God's love isn't deeper!"
Parents set quite an example in their taking time to help others--even in their busiest times. What a huge responsibility it is to set a good example, right?
These parable discussions have given me a good bit to think about during the day! Keep up the blogging!
again...some great blogging...thanks for the input.
If this parable speaks about evil and God's relationship to it, here's some things that it seems to be saying:
1) Evil does not come from God. Someone else sowed the weed seeds. Something to think about when tragedy happens, does everything happen for a purpose?
2) As long as we live in this life there will be evil. Sometimes that evil is hard to distinguish between good, and sometimes that evil gets its roots so intertwined in our lives that it is impossible to rid ourselves of it. Every Sunday we say this, "We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves."
3) Even as evil exists in our world, it does not have the power to keep the good from growing. The plant that God plants may struggle against the weeds, but the weeds cannot keep the good plants down.
4) We do not need to fear the power of evil, for in the end God will take care of evil. As Paul says in Romans 7, "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do... Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
As Martin Luther says in "A Mighty Fortress" regarding evil, "one little word subdues him."...and what is that word, "I am baptized!"
I also meant to say in my 4th point, that we can live in hope because not only will God take care of evil, but more importantly, he will take care of us!
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