Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 - The Parable of the WeedsAnyone who does gardening knows that there are some weeds that look just like desirable plants. In fact, I have grown some plants to a large size, only to hear from Tina, "Oh, honey. That's just a weed." And I had been watering it and fertilizing it on a daily basis! In Palestine, the imposter wheat is actually the bearded darnel, a pesky and damaging weed. The weed wraps itself around the wheat so that it is very difficult to remove without destroying the wheat. You may be surprised to know we have a Texas version of the same thing. One expert in grain production told me that sometimes the intermingling is so bad that they bag the mixture and eventually have it destroyed. But the assumption of this parable is that at harvest time it will be easier to separate the wheat from the weeds.
The parable is interpreted for us. We might read into it real discipleship vs. hypocrisy, but Jesus tells us this is really about disciples and non-disciples being side by side in the world. In the end, each will be held accountable for the lives they have led (wheat and weeds will be separated). From other words of Jesus as well as the writers of the epistles, this waiting period is really an opportunity for some weeds to turn into real wheat, to become followers. Just as the weeds are thrown into the fire and burned, so those who live their lives for "the evil one" will experience fire with weeping and gnashing of teeth.
As I have mentioned before, we are those who live in the gap between the first and second comings of Jesus (along with those in the twenty centuries before us). While we may long for the coming to happen quickly, the truth is each day of delay is another opportunity for us to share our faith and for someone else to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. There is both patience and urgency in this parable. The patience is that those who follow the evil one are not immediately judged. We are to also be patient with those we share so that they have room to grow to the point of responding to the grace of God. The urgency is that eternity is at stake. For me, that is not only eternity in the hereafter, but also in this life. We not only help people not be in hell in eternity, we also help them get out of the hell they're in right now. I fear that sometimes we emphasize the hell to come (something that we can do little about) to the exclusion of helping people in their present hell (something we can do much about). By making our witness and working for a different world now we help people out of their present hell and help them discover eternal life that becomes everlasting life.
Matthew 13:31-35 - Mustard and YeastThe parable is given in a hyperbole. The mustard seed is small, but not the smallest. The mustard plant is not a tree but it can shoot up as a bush to about 6 feet high or more. As William Barclay observed, this seed is able to find its way to maturity by either going around large rocks, or if necessary, to break through them. So it makes sense that Jesus would next use the picture of yeast that gradually works its way through the whole dough. The point here is that the progress of the kingdom is assured. The kingdom is coming and is already here at the same time. In Isaiah 55:11, the prophet speaks for the LORD, "...So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." There is inevitability about the purposes of God. Things may be diverted or delayed, but God eventually gets it done. We are witnesses of those purposes and we actually are called to work in this life to help bring those purposes to pass. Sometimes we get to see and experience the results and sometimes it will just have to wait for someone else (again, Moses and Joshua come to mind). But one thing is sure, we will overcome as he has overcome. Victory in Christ is, well, inevitable. Have a great day.
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