Weeds & Seeds - Part 1!!!
Matthew 13:24-29, 36-43
I like gardening, I like growing things (flowering plants, fruits and vegetables), I like landscaping and putting n the reticulation in a garden (having done that back in my youth). But one thing I truly hate doing is weeding, especially when it is grass that grows into your garden beds. Weeds get into and amongst everything. And they are often hard to get out.
But what are weeds?
Weeds are plants that are in an environment where they do not belong. For example, roses belong in a garden bed, they do not belong in an Australian forest - if they are found there, they are a weed.
In the Bible, weeds are typically used in reference to something that is corrupted or invasive. The first instance we hear of weeds in the Bible is Genesis 3:17b-18a “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you..”
Weeds are quite literally a result of the curse of The Fall. Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience we are still having to fight wth weeds to grow our own food.
(Artwork by Schism)
Within the gospels especially, weeds are used by Jesus as metaphors for various things found within HIS parables. The most famous and well known example of this is found in Matthew 13 where the ‘Parable of the Sower’ is found.
Yet, later on in that same chapter Jesus provides another parable about weeds - one that is less well known, and perhaps less taught in churches and Bible study groups.
In Matthew 13:24-29, 36-43, Jesus’ words telling this parable were…
“Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
Later on in Matthew 13: 36-43, Jesus is away from the crowds of people and he is talking with HIS disciples about the things he had just said and provides them with the meaning of the parable.
“Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
What is interesting to note is that often we read the Bible, and we go “What does that even mean?” - but if you look the Bible interprets and explains itself, and the words contained within it. And in this portion of scriptures, Jesus himself provides the answer to his parable.
In this parable Jesus is actually talking about the end of times, when all will be judged. This parable serves as both an encouragement and warning to us believers. It is an encouragement because it contains a promise of eternal life in the presence of God.
The concept of a separation of righteous from the unrighteous, of judgement and of the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” is a concept that Jesus mentions half a dozen times in the gospel of Matthew. It is a clear distinction between what is going to happen to those who refuse to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and those who have placed their faith in Jesus. Those that don’t will suffer in Hell, apart from the presence of God - and those that do will be a part of God’s eternal kingdom, and will be in HIS glorious presence.
Satan sows people into our circumstances and our lives, and they are all around us. They are in positions of power, they are in positions of influence, they are people that some look up to in the entertainment industry, they are prominent people in the business world. There are evil forces at play in our world. We do not need to worry about them at all, even though they threaten our lives in some direct and indirect ways. We are not to fear them - in Matthew 10:28, Jesus says “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
What we should do is sit back and wait for God’s judgement on the evildoers. Jesus himself says that the angels are the one’s who will come and reap the harvest at the end of days. God is in control - not those that think they have the power in this world, and certainly not Satan.
In these times that we need to draw close to God, to place ALL of our faith in HIS son Jesus, who will return and rule this world as the Kingdom of God. God will sort out the righteous and the unrighteous. It is not up to us..HE will do it. All we are called to do is stay firm…which is an instruction that is given nearly three dozen times in the Bible.
So, I pray that as these days grow darker you will find peace in the knowledge that God has everything under control. May you also be blessed with the strength to stand firm against the darkness that is covering the world.