“Of Weeds & Wheat” (Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43)
1. Please pray with me. Sanctify us in the truth, O Lord, Your Word is truth. In the name of Jesus. Amen. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. The message from God’s Word this 5th Sunday after Pentecost is taken from Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43, it’s entitled, “Of Weeds & Wheat,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Did you hear about the man who was going to a masquerade ball in a devil’s costume? It was a stormy night, and the man was driving along a country road. The car went off the road into a ditch. He couldn’t get the car started again, so he got out and made his way across a cornfield to a small country church. People were inside for an evening worship service. Just as the man got to the front door of the church and opened it—dressed in his devil’s costume, there was a bolt of lightning and clap of thunder. All the people looked around in amazement and saw the devil standing there. They went flying out the doors and windows as quickly as they could—except for one little old lady standing in the center aisle. With her cane in hand and shaking from head to toe, she said, “Mr. Devil, I don’t know what you want here, but I’ve got only one thing to say. I’ve been a member of this church for 40 years, but I’ve really been on your side all the time!” (David F. Burgess, comp., Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations [St. Louis: Concordia, 1988], 107).
3. As humorous as this story is, it does teach us something in connection to the parable Jesus told His disciples in our text from Matthew 13 on the parable of the weeds & wheat. As a follower of Christ, I must confess there are times when I get frustrated and discouraged by evil in the world. And since that evil is often carried on by people, I get very frustrated with certain individuals, governments, religious organizations, groups, or gangs. There are even times when I get frustrated at people in the church who profess faith in Christ, who claim to be heirs of his kingdom, like the old woman in this story, but who do some very weed-like things. Maybe you feel that way too. Like the Apostle Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane who drew his sword, we may want to take matters into our own hands. Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds is intended for our hearing, so listen up! Not only does Jesus intend that hearing His parable will ease our frustration, but much more, He also intends that when we hear His word of truth & life from Holy Scripture, that His word bears fruit in our lives to stamp out evil and continue to make us heirs of His Kingdom.
4. Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43 says, “24[Jesus] put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27And 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?’ 28He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30Let 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.’” 36Then he 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.” 37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed is the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
5. Last week in the parable of the sower, we saw that God’s Word is the seed that works in people’s hearts, bringing them to faith in Christ. This week, in the parable of the wheat and weeds, God’s working creates good seed that becomes the good plants, heirs of his kingdom. Unfortunately, the devil has also been at work in the world sowing weeds. The devil can’t create but only destroy; his sense of joy comes not from watching his weeds grow but from watching the wheat die or become weeds. The weeds that were sown by the enemy in this parable were most likely darnel, a plant that resembles wheat and barley during its early stages of growth, but eventually bears black, poisonous seeds. Because the darnel resembles wheat so much it becomes very difficult to eliminate from the field. These weeds have the characteristic of ripening earlier than wheat, so by the time the crop is ready for harvest, the seed of the weed has fallen to the ground for the following year. To get rid of this weed, one must let the field stay idle for a year and uproot the weeds before they go to seed again.
6. In this parable, the good seed are the children of God, the believers in Christ. They are you & me who have come to faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin, death and the power of the devil by the seed of the Word of God. But, as believers we still live in the world. In the field of the world, believers grow and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit as an evidence of their faith and spiritual life. Although we’re in the world, we’re not of the world. We are not to be too worldly, idolatrous and materialistic. As believers in Christ we don’t turn into weeds but, by God’s grace, we increase in faith through the hearing of God’s Word and His Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Without the good news of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to save us from our sins, we would spiritually grow into a weed.
7. As Christians we understand that the bad seed that the devil sows results in sin. Sin is lawlessness, rebellion against God. We’re born in bondage to sin, death, and the devil. Some examples of the actions of children of the devil in the world include terrorism, genocide, murder, abortion, rape, homosexuality, adultery, greed, slander, and so on. Although God works through his Word and Sacraments to plant good wheat in his Church, the devil is still hard at work even there planting weeds. Hypocrites continue to exist within the church, and because only God can see into a person’s heart, they may go undetected by the saints. Because Christians are simul iustus et peccator, simultaneously saint & sinner, we sometimes do weed-like things out of weakness. People sometimes blame God or the church, confusing marks of the church with the actions of individual people or an outward structure or form of polity instead of recognizing as the marks God’s Word and Sacraments.
8. Through God’s Word and Sacraments, He’s calling others to faith in Christ. There may be some here today who are really weeds instead of wheat and whom God is calling to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. God doesn’t want any of these heirs to be pulled up and lost!
9. Knowing this lets ears that hear patiently anticipate the way things will be. Jesus reminds us in this parable that the harvest is coming when our Lord Jesus comes again in glory on Judgment Day. Our loving Savior is the Sower, and He will send out his angels on the Last Day to gather the harvest. We’re called to trust that our Lord Jesus will do the sorting. Those who have not believed in Christ Jesus, who have really been sons of the devil, will face the torments of hell. Our loving Savior doesn’t want this parable to go in one ear and out the other. We are also called to trust that faith in Jesus Christ will distinguish us from the sons of the devil.
10. As believers in Christ we’re not disturbed by the weeds. Unbelievers, hypocrites, atheists, scoffers and those who are wise in the eyes of the world don’t upset us. As Christians we continue to grow in God’s grace & truth in our Lord Jesus Christ. And when time ends for us believers, the Lord will recognize us as His own and gather us into His heavenly kingdom.
11. As Christians we must not be anxious and irritated by the godless and wicked world that takes on at times the appearance of Christian virtues while the selfish heart continues to serve sin and self. As children of God’s family, we hold fast to His Word and Sacraments that feed and nourish our souls. We abide in Christ and His Gospel. We don’t imitate the world in its worldliness, but serve Christ and confess Him who in turn will confess us in eternity before His Father and give us a glory that is eternal. Amen.
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