Lighthouse scribes

Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43

The Parable:

Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ ‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. ‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. ‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’

This parable is only recorded in the gospel of Matthew, and while there are no ‘perspectives of other writers’ to it, there’s an interpretation for us because the disciples asked. I am happy that they did, because if they didn’t, there’s a tendency to read it in light of the parable of the sower. After all, they follow a similar agricultural pattern.

So, what does this parable tell us?

Taking the parable and its interpretation from Matthew 13:36-43, we know that

1. The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

Wait. What is the kingdom of heaven? 

The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God. God is sovereign over all things and beings, spirit or men, seen or unseen. Psalm 103:19, Psalm 24:1.

This reality tells us one thing: God is in control.

2. The field is the world. Unlike the previous story, the field here is the world, not a human heart.

3. The Sower/field owner is Jesus (Son of Man). The good seed (wheat) are the sons of the kingdom.

These three realities tell us that God reigns over the affairs of the world and all creation. Although there are kings, kingdoms, and jurisdictions, God is sovereign over them all. Psalm 2.

4. The devil is the enemy who planted weeds, and the weeds are sons of the devil.

5. The harvest is the end of time, and the reapers are God’s angels.

6. There’s an appointed time for judgement, and it’s not the call of the workers but of the farmer. In the same way, we know that God is in control. We see within the perspective of time, but God is timeless, and all of his plans and acts align with eternity. He told the workers that pulling out the weed would do collateral damage to the wheat, but a time would come when the reapers would do the separation.

8. Jesus did not tell us who the workers were, but what we do see is that they were seasoned in their master’s affairs and concerned enough to not only recognise the weeds but also want to do something about it. They didn’t pretend like it was ‘okay’. In the same way, we shouldn’t act as though the evil in the world is okay, even the evil in our midst and our Christian communities. Like the workers, we should clearly be able to distinguish what is good and true from what is evil and a seed of the devil. Like the workers, we can take our concerns to the master because He knows how best to deal with them. Like the workers, we are not supposed to be overzealous. Overzealousness is wanting to take the place of God. It’s saying that we care more or know how to handle matters better than God. We have not been called to be religious crusaders but to be advocates of the truth.

I’ll be happy to know what you learnt from the parable and Jesus’ interpretation.

See you next week.

Love,

Osi