Growing Amongst the Weeds

Matthew 13:24-30New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Weeds

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “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?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 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.’”

Matthew 13:36-43New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 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.”

37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 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, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 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. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Can I just throw this out there? I am so thankful that the disciples were brave enough to continually ask Jesus for clarification.  Some of these parables are difficult enough to understand and implement into our faith even after Jesus broke it down for the disciples.  Could you imagine trying to figure out what Jesus was trying to say if we wouldn’t have received this clarification?!  As the crowds gathered and Jesus spread the message, I imagine the disciples standing there, encouraging Jesus and very much acting like they totally understood what Jesus was saying.  As Jesus dispersed the somewhat confused crowd, the disciples gathered around Jesus and asked for an explanation.  It’s kind of humorous, really, that they probably acted like they knew what he was saying but then needed the parable to be explained.  I think we have all done it before.  Acted like we knew what was being said but really had no clue.  When this happens we are left with three options: one, we remained confused; two, we ask for clarification from the speaker; or three, we do some research and try to figure it out on our own.  

Even though we are fortunate it enough to have Jesus’ explanation of the parable, I decided to do some further research.  I found out the the weed that Jesus is speaking about is called the “Bearded Darnel” or the scientific name is Lolium Temulentum.  I will post a picture on the Facebook page and send out an email with the sermon blog website so you can see the picture of just how similar the bearded darnel is to wheat.  Wheat and bearded darnel are almost indistinguishable until their seeds start to sprout.  Even for the trained eye, telling them apart is nearly impossible until they put the seed head on.  By the time they both sprout the seeds, the roots are so grown together that pulling the weeds would uproot the wheat and this is why the farmer in the parable instructs the workers to not pull the weeds.  Like I mentioned last week, Jesus is using the environment around him to provide material for his message.  There is one last aspect as to why the bearded darnel and the wheat absolutely must be separated:  in small amounts, the bearded darnel has a bitter and unpleasant taste which causes the food prepared with the seeds to not taste very good.  In larger amounts, the bearded darnel causes dizziness and sickness and is narcotic in its effects.  In addition to its poisonous effects, if the seeds of bearded darnel and wheat were not separated, then the farmer would again plant it in the following year as part of the next crop.  In their early stages, wheat and bearded darnel looked nearly the same and the process to separate them was extremely labor intensive but the effects of not doing so were very detrimental.  

From the parable, there are several faith lessons that are brought to our attention.  First, even among the confusion of the parable, Jesus is planting the seed.  He knew that he wouldn’t be around to help clarify what it meant for everyone.  The disciples asked for clarification so they could use these words to nurture the seed that was planted by Christ.  In our lives, Christ may have planted a seed in someone’s heart but we must constantly be aware that we are here to help grow that seed.  In other words, our work is never done until Jesus returns to harvest the seed.

The second faith lesson provided through this parable is that it can be difficult to distinguish the good plants from the bad.  I remember when I first started working for Dan and we drove by a field and I asked why some of the corn was so much taller than the rest.  The plants looked almost identical except some of them were much taller.  He pointed out that it was not corn (and my memory is failing at the moment to say exactly what it was) and upon looking closer, I could easily spot the difference.  It was odd to see something so similar to corn but wasn’t.  The separation of the bearded darnel and wheat was extremely labor intensive as it could not always be separated at harvest.  Once the harvest was complete, the women of Galilee would sort the seeds out by hand one by one.  The seeds were different in color and this was the best way to keep them separate at the time.  The lesson here is this, the separation process is difficult and labor intensive.  This is why God will take care of it.  Yes, there are bad seeds and we must live with those seeds just as the wheat grew alongside the darnel but in the end, it will be God who takes care of separating the two.  This job will be handled by God and our job is learning to grow and flourish alongside the possibly poisonous seeds that we may find ourselves surrounded by.  It is enough for us to be aware of the bad seeds but finding ways to grow and flourish in our faith alongside them is more important than deciding which seeds are good and which ones are bad.

One of the first things many people say to me when they find out I am a preacher is that they “could never do that.”  Not because of their faith but because of their fear of public speaking or coming up with sermon materials... There is a prominent lesson that I think is important from the last two parables I have shared with you.  Jesus didn’t conjure up some wild and over the top sermon illustration.  He used his surroundings.  He saw a farmer planting seeds in the parable last week and in this parable he simply witnessed the wheat and darnel growing in a field.  The lesson here is that when we are mindful of God, so many of the things that surround us in our everyday lives can be used to illustrate God’s will.  So many things can be used to illustrate the beauty of his love and grace.  It is important that we keep a watchful eye on the ways God spirit may already be around us. A mind and body that is healthy and focused on God can turn just about anything into a proper message.  One of the best children’s illustrations I have ever seen used rocks as an illustration.  A rock....            

The last faith lesson I wish to share with you this morning is a tough pill to swallow... Jesus is absolutely certain that there will be a time where this labor intensive separation will occur.  Instead of constantly looking to the heavens and wondering when this time will come, may we use our time to be vigilant in sharing the good news of the gospel.  I cannot stress enough that it is not our job to judge, God will take care of that in due time once the harvest begins.  

Amongst the confusion, amongst the bad seeds and within our own environment we have a duty to share the good news.  The wheat did it’s best to flourish alongside the bearded darnel and we must do the same.  We may be surrounded by bad seeds at times but our duty is to live within the realm of the good news and use our environment to help spread the message.  Amen.