Wheat & Weeds

Why is there evil in the world? The world is a mixture of good and evil. Let’s discuss the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds in Matthew 13:24-43.

Lolium temulentum, darnel, tares, cockle, or false wheat exists worldwide. It has deep roots. It’s toxic, and similar to wheat until maturity. Wheat is heavier and hangs low. Darnel is lighter and stands tall. The wicked may prosper and stand tall. The righteous may suffer and be bent over. Yet, uprooting the weeds may harm the wheat. Farmers let both grow until harvest and then separate them.

He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also. (Matthew 13:24-26 WEB)

The church has done much good in the world, like schools, universities, medical care, music, arts, literature, science, human rights, opposing slavery, influencing laws, providing orphanages, and caring for the hungry and poor. But weeds are ALSO in the church.

Why did Roman Christians attack Waldensians and murder thousands during the Inquisition? Why did Catholics and Protestants persecute Anabaptists and each other? Why did Calvinists murder Catholic priests in the Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre? Why do Orthodox Christians harass Russian Protestants? Should we be shocked?

The servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then how is it that it has weeds?’ ‘An enemy has done this,’ he answered. The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’ But the landowner said, ‘No, because if you gather the weeds, you’ll pull up the wheat along with them. (Matthew 13:27-29 CEB)

Why do we tolerate sins in the church? The church is in the world and the world is in the church. Nobody evades God’s judgment. The world has always been a mixture of sinners and saints, good and evil. How long will such tares be in the church?

Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I'll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I'll order them to store the wheat in my barn. (Matthew 13:30 CEV)

Mustard Seed & Yeast

The black mustard is an herb which can grow to three meters (ten feet) tall. The “little flock” would become very large. This small beginning foretells an all-encompassing future. Exclusive small churches that think they are still that “little flock” (Luke 12:32), totally miss the point of this parable and how large the kingdom in the church will grow despite its faults.

The “least of all the seeds” is conversational speech, like saying, “Isn’t that just the cutest baby!” It is not a scientific or statistical conclusion but an informal superlative. A lot of biblical criticism comes from educated people misunderstanding the genre of literature. Jesus’ frequently taught with imagery and hyperbole.

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32 NIV)

Does yeast help us understand the kingdom of heaven? Usually leaven pictures sin, but also leaven spreads. Is it the kingdom growing or sin inside the kingdom or both?

Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” (Matthew 13:33 NKJV)

Hidden Things

Again Jesus explained why parables.

All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world. (Matthew 13:34-35 ESV)

Wheat & Weeds Explained

Of over a dozen parables, Jesus only explained two, leaving the rest open for discussion?

Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached Him and said, “Explain the parable of the weeds in the field to us.” He replied: “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. (Matthew 13:36-39 HCSB)

What will eventually happen to the weeds in the church?