And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?” Matthew 13:27 ESV1
Read Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43
We live in a world full of warnings. Countless things from street signs to machinery, from weapons to toys, and from controlled substances to tags on mattresses remind us to use caution before proceeding. Before I sat down to write this morning, I was alerted to several possible dangers. Caution: Do not exceed recommended dose was printed on the label of my vitamins. Attention: Very Hot Liquid was prominently displayed on my coffee maker. And even Warning: do not use if you are allergic to aspirin was printed on my tea bag. Though some of the notices that advise us to use caution seem redundant—like hot liquid coming out of a coffee maker—others are quite practical. For instance, I am not allergic to aspirin, but if I were, the unexpected warning on my tea bag could have saved my life.
The next parable of Jesus we will consider contains purposeful admonition for us in our Christian walks. It draws our attention to fact that we may need to use discernment in our response to those around us. This parable alerts us to the fact that “all that glitters is not gold.” And it reminds us that there is One who is ultimately in control.
“[Jesus] put another parable before them, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So, when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?” He said to them, “An enemy has done this.” So, the servants said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he said, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn’”’” (Matthew 13:24-30).
“Then [Jesus] 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.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is 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 reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear’” (Matthew 13:36-43).
Warning: Things are not as they appear.
We don’t need to wonder about the meaning of this parable. Jesus was quite explicit in describing the imagery to His disciples. What is far more difficult to distinguish is the difference between the good seeds and weed seeds or between sons of the Kingdom and sons of the evil one. One would assume that there would be an extreme diversity between the two but that is just not true.
On purpose, Jesus specifically chose wheat and a certain kind of weed for this parable. You may notice that weeds is translated as tares in some versions of the Bible. We may not know much about tares, but those in Jesus’ audience that day sure would have. The tare, also known by the name darnel, is a “noxious weed of the ryegrass … genus Lolium.”2 Its scientific name is Lolium temulentum. Commonly, it is known as wheat’s evil twin.
“For many centuries, perhaps for as long as humans have cultivated cereal grains, wheat’s evil twin has insinuated itself into our crops. In a big enough dose, this grass, darnel, can kill a person, and farmers would have to take care to separate it out from their true harvest—unless they were planning to add darnel to beer or bread on purpose, in order to get high.
Darnel occupies a grey area in human agricultural history. It’s definitely not good for us. When people eat its seeds, they get dizzy, off-balance and nauseous, and its official name, L. temulentum, comes from a Latin word for “drunk.” …
Darnel is a “mimic weed,” neither entirely tame nor quite wild, that looks and behaves so much like wheat that it can’t live without human assistance. Darnel seeds are stowaways: the plant’s survival strategy requires its seeds to be harvested along with those of domesticated grasses, stored and replanted next season.”3
“Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So, it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:14b-15a). Therefore, those whom Satan has planted among God’s people, like tares to wheat, appear and behave so much like true Believers that it is almost impossible to humanly distinguish a difference. Likewise, the lies the enemy has sowed into religious teachings are based on partial truths and are so close to what is right that they are able to deceive many. Like darnel, these teachings cause confusion and, in big enough doses, kill faith and lead to eternal damnation. Sadly, these false doctrines make so much sense to human understanding that they continue to be propagated generation after generation; they are stowaways that continue to get replanted.
Notice: Causes permanent bonding.
In Jesus’ parable, no one noticed the wicked enemy secretly sowing tare seeds into the pure wheat field. In fact, they were unaware because the evil deed happened while the master’s workers were resting from the hard labor they had just performed. It was only when the plants began to bear grain that anyone noticed something was not right. Those who recognized the counterfeits were the servants of the master. Jesus didn’t tell His disciples who these characters represented in His parable. Perhaps, when Jesus identified Himself as the master, it was obvious to them that they were the servants of the master.
The word servant in this parable is the Greek word Doulos. Doulos can mean servant or attendant, but it primarily means slave, bondsman …[and] one devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interest.4 The NASB5 version of this parable uses the word slave. I believe that slave is a better translation in this instance.
I know slave has a bad connotation and rightly so. Bad masters are littered across human history. But when one has a good master, being a slave is a blessing. Servants are more like employees; they come, do their work, get paid, and go on their way. On the other hand, slaves live with their masters; they receive all of their provision, protection, and direction from their masters. Christians are slaves of Christ Jesus, purchased by His blood, and redeemed to serve Him (see 1 Corinthians 6:19 & 7:23). The slaves of a good master are closer to sons and daughters than servants. Notice how Jesus referred to the good seed as sons of the Kingdom.
This is the first of Jesus’ Kingdom of Heaven parables. The Kingdom of Heaven is primarily a Person not so much a place. It is more of a relationship than it is a realm. The Kingdom of Heaven is not only a coming expectation; it is a current experience too. To get the most out of the Kingdom of Heaven parables, we must look for what Jesus is teaching about Himself and His relationship with humans.
That being said, one can conclude that the primary objective of the enemy sowing tare seeds among the wheat was an attempt to inhibit the relationship between the master and the good seed and between the master and his slaves. Satan raises up treacherous teachers and faithless followers in an attempt to drive a wedge between Jesus and bona fide Believers. Believers include the sons of the Kingdom, who the Son of Man has securely planted and tirelessly tends, and His slaves, who are also sons of the Kingdom and who, because of their devotion to and dependence upon Him, have the special job of helping Him care for other children of the King. Jesus taught this parable to alert His followers to beware of false teachings and fake disciples because too close association with these could hinder His connection with them. On the other hand, abiding in Christ provides an inseparable bond (see John 15:5-10).
Caution: Do not attempt.
The slaves in this parable aren’t the only ones who had a relationship with the master. The master also had reapers in his employ. Humans aren’t the only ones who serve God, angels do too. When the indignant and enthusiastic slaves noticed the darnel beginning to mature among the wheat, they were willing to go through the difficult work of removing the weeds. But when they asked the master if they could gather us these unwanted plants, he specifically told them not to remove the weeds and why he did not want them to do it. The job was reserved for others—the reapers. The only time the wheat would really be in danger was if the weeds near them were uprooted prematurely. The slaves respectfully obeyed their master though His request may have troubled them.
When we, as slaves of Christ, notice something which is not right within the Church or in the world around us, we should go immediately to God and ask Him if He would like us to have a part in taking care of the situation. We need to wait for God’s answer and respectfully obey His instructions even if His commands don’t make sense to our human understanding. Perhaps we have noticed all kinds of problems and injustices, deceptions and distractions, and yet, it is not our responsibility to right these wrongs. Maybe we have been able to discern fact from fiction and the sincere from the phony so that we can turn our concern into prayers for God to act and use our devotion for Christ to point others to the Truth. It could be that if we insist on attempting to fix the troubling situations we see around us, we might make a bigger mess.
That is not to say that we should do nothing to help others from being misled, that we should never speak the truth in the presence of lies, or that we should refrain from fighting for Christ’s honor. To what advantage is a lazy slave who sits on his/her hands and waits for his/her master to do all the work? What good is a selfish slave that does absolutely nothing to benefit his/her master? That slave will soon find him/herself out on the street! Good slaves spend their time so near their master and are so attentive to the needs of their master that they often act according to his/her expectations before being commanded. But they never disobey their master and they always immediately and without questioning obey their master when they are given direct instructions.
Attention: Road splits up ahead.
In Jesus’ parable, the master was not surprised that there was darnel growing among the wheat. He knew exactly how those noxious weeds came to be in his field. He did not panic even when his slaves came to him with great concern over the situation. He calmly reacted because He already had a plan of how to get rid of what his enemy had planted. The timing of His plan was perfect. And he had skilled workers who were prepared for the process of carefully separating the weeds out from the true harvest.
God is not up in Heaven wiping sweat from His brow and wringing His hands wondering what He is going to do now that Satan has placed so many lies and liars in His Church and among His people. No, “the God of peace will soon crush Satan” (Romans 16:20a). The timing of the All-Powerful God’s plan to punish His enemy and destroy his work will be impeccable. And the way in which the All-Knowing God of Love will, through the work of angels, tenderly and skillfully separate the sons of the Kingdom from the sons of the evil one will be jaw-dropping, to say the least. “‘The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father’” (Matthew 13:41-43a).
Imprinted on the passenger’s side mirror of your vehicle is likely: Objects in the Mirror are Closer Than They Appear. Similarly, things in Jesus’ Kingdom, as it is currently displayed on Earth, may not be as they appear. Do you have the God-endowed discretion to perceive what is the truth?
The label on a bottle of Super Glue reads Warning: Bonds Skin in Seconds. Jesus desires to be in a permanent bond with you, one that is so permeating that He is in you and you are in Him. Is that how you would describe your relationship with Jesus?
The small print on the bottom of the screen during a TV commercial depicting a vehicle performing amazing feats may contain the words: Caution: Professional Drivers. Do not attempt. Likewise, there may be things happening in the Church to which your eyes have been opened but are not your responsibility to remediate. Do you trust Your Master and His timing enough to let Him, in His own way, make wrongs right?
One of the signs sometimes seen on a highway states, Freeway Ends. All Traffic Must Exit. Your life on Earth will not go on forever. Are you in the correct lane to exit on the right road? Are you aware of those around you who have the potential of inhibiting you from making your desired exit?
Jesus concluded His explanation of this parable with, “He who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 13:43b). Are your ears attentive to the voice of God? If so, having ears that hear means you are able to heed all applicable warnings and that you are exactly where Jesus wants you to be.
1 Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.
2 https://www.britannica.com/plant/darnel
3 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/wheats-evil-twin-has-been-intoxicating-humans-for-centuries
4 https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1401&t=KJV
5 Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright the Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995.