4/1/2020 – The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat
Passage: Matthew 13:24-30
Written By: Joy Biebighauser – U of A Wesley Intern
Growing up a triplet, I often was mistaken for my sister, especially when we were younger. My Mom would dress us up in identical outfits and we looked so similar that it was easy for us to be mistaken as the other. However, as we grew older we also started to look differently and it was easier to tell us apart, not only in our looks but also in our personalities. People who once had a hard time telling us apart now could easily identify who we were.
Likewise, the man tells his servants not to gather up the tares or weeds that have been sown by the enemy because they are so similar in appearance that the servants could possibly tear up the wheat instead of the tares. If this occurred, the harvest would be ruined as well as the owner’s income for that year. When it was time for harvest, the tares would look different from the wheat and they could easily be separated. This is very similar to what will happen in the kingdom of God. At the end of the age when the Lord comes back in glorious splendor, he will take with him those who believe in him and cast those who do not into the abyss, and they will be eternally separated from the Lord.
Jesus’ teaching tells us that it is not our job to decipher who is of good seed or who is of bad seed. Jesus instructs in his sermon on the mount in Matthew 7:1 to “judge not, that you not be judged.” This relates to The Parable of the Wheat and Tares because it can often seem like we, as Christians, are trying to root out who is actually a believer and who is a “cultural Christian”. We focus on the bad things that people do, and this leads us to judge people when the Lord calls us to love others. We do not want others to judge us for our spirituality, so we should also not do this to our friends. Therefore, we should not try to dig others up too quickly, lest we hinder their walk with the Lord or others walk with him. It is only at the end of the age that everyone’s allegiance will be known. For it is only God who will judge the world and he will cast out all those who do not know him, and bring unto him all the ones who do.
Therefore, try to love others and not tear others down. Do not let your own sin and fears and doubts hinder someone else’s faith. Let the Father decide when it is time for his righteous judgement. For his plans are better and greater than any that we could come up with, and like the servants in the parable, if we listen to the owner of the world we will have a joy that knows no bounds and a plentiful harvest that numbers more wheat than tares.