3.Parable of Weeds among the Wheat
Matt.13:24-30, 36-43
24He 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?'28 He answered,'An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'29 But 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.'"
36Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him,saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." 37He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.Let anyone with ears listen!"
‡T. Outline and Explanation by Jesus
A.Outline
Someone sowed good seed in his field. While everyone were asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants asked, "Do you want us to go and pull the weeds up?" "No," he said, "Let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time I will tell the harvesters to collect the weeds to be burned, and gather the wheat to be brought into my barn."
B. Explanation by Jesus
The man who sowed the good seeds is Jesus Christ.
The enemy who sowed the weeds is Satan.
The field is the world.
The good seeds are the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of Satan.
The harvest is the end of the world.
The harvesters are the angels of God.
At the end of the world, those who causes sin and all who do evil will be weeded out and thrown into the fiery furnace.
On the other hand, the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
‡U. What the parable teaches
A. The reason why the Lord does not judge the evil ones in the world is that He wants to protect the sons of the kingdom.
1. It is not the best way in Agriculture not to pull the weeds out and let both of weeds and wheat grow together. It is usual and easy to weed out when they are young.
This parable, however, is not told to teach how to cultivate the wheat, but to explain the mystery of the kingdom.
Furthermore, Jesus told these parables to put Pharicees and Scribes through sieve, who are hypocrites with evil will to try to find a fault in Jesus.
Therefore, those who ridicule Jesus, saying "This parable is a silly talk from the view point of farmers" are put through sieves together with Pharicees.
2. In nature the weeds can not change into wheat, but in Christian churches evil ones sometimes and often repents and turn to sons of the kingdom.
The lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 2Pet.3:9
B. There will be some in the kingdom of God (church) who will be judged with the evil ones at the end of the age, for the weeds sown in the world extend their power into the church.
1. It was the world where Christ,the Son of man, sowed his good seeds (sons of the kingdom). At the end of the world sons of the kingdom will be called out of the kingdom to be saved, but evil doers also will be collected out of the church to be thrown into the fire of furnace.
This means that those who are not suitable to be invited into heaven will come forward from the church.
This parable reveals only the judgement against the kingdom of heaven (church) on the world.
It makes it clear that the judgement will begin with the family of God, and the people of this world will be condemned more severely if the church will be judged rightly.
For the time has come for judgement to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?" 1Pet4:17,18
2. It is the business of states to judge the evil ones outside the church, and the duty of the church is to judge and excommunicate unrepentant sinners out of it carefully and patiently according to the Word of God (Matt 18:15-17; 1 Cor5:1-13).
C. It is impossible to pass judgement on the good and the bad by measure of the length of the history or numeral strength of followers of the party or organization. But it is the work of Christ at the end of the age.
1. This parable tells us that it is the will of the Lord for the sons of devil to stay unpunished until the harvest time of the world.
2. Because of the speech delivered by Gamaliel in Acts 5:33-41, there are many who think in the church that the group of people which outlive the trial of history may be the party blessed and attested by God.
The Speech delivered by Gamaliel, a teacher of the law: "Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. After him Judas Galilean rose up at the time of census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them-in that case you may even be found fighting against God!" Acts 5:35-39
If the theory of Gamaliel is correct. not only Christianity but also Buddhism and Islamism are the religions theoretically endorsed by God. There are many who think that the Catholic church having lengthy history and the Korean church people say to be the biggest local church in the world might be the ones blessed by the Lord.
The genuine worth, however, of the party or organizations are decided by the Lord Jesus at the end of the age, and never by the length of history or the numerical power of the followers.
D. The judgement and reward at the end of the world
1.The judgement to the evil ones
The phrase "All causes of sin"(v.41) is explained by the Amplified Bible "persons by whom others are drawn into error or sin". Those evildoers are gathered out of the kingdom and thrown into the furnace of fire.
The reason why they could stay alive until the end is not shown. They might have been so shrewd as to keep their evil deed in secret. Or the church they belonged may have not purified herself by the practice of reprimand or excommunication. Or that the church leaders may have led their flock into the false belief which could not save them.
2. The reward to the righteous
"The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father"(v.43).
Our lord Jesus said to us Christian, "You are the light of the world".
When Moses stayed talking with God on Mt.Sinai and handed two tablets of the Ten Commandments, the skin of his face shone and the people were afraid to come near him (Ex.34:29,30).
At the Second Advent Our Lord Jesus Christ will transform the body of our humiliation into the same glorious body with His (Phil.3:21).
In the case of Moses, only his face shone, but in the end of the world our whole body will shine like the sun to live eternally in the New Heaven and New earth.
Blessed are those who have ears to hear, understand and believe in Christ the Savior.
1 Dec. 2007 Published
URL http://31church.net
