The Wheat, The Weeds, & The Warning – The Wheat

Matthew 13:24-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

I. The Wheat

In this passage, Jesus presents another parable dealing with a sower and some seed. He wants us to know that when we consider the Kingdom of Heaven, we have to realize that a harvest is involved. If we ever lose our vision of that harvest, we will become ineffective in our outreach.

Jesus didn’t die for the church so that it would become a social club or a place where we fulfill our Christian obligation. He died to reconcile us back to the Father. He made us ambassadors for Christ. We are tasked with the responsibility of reconciling men back to the Father with the message of the Gospel through faith in Christ.

In verses 37 and 38, Jesus explained the meaning of this parable to His disciples.

Matthew 13:37-38 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; . . .

In the parable of The Sower, The Seed, And The Soil (which is discussed in the prior 3 blog posts), there isn’t a specific sower. “The sower soweth the Word.” (Mark 4:14) I believe Jesus was saying that every Child of God should be a sower. Ministers sow the Word. Plumber’s should sow the Word. If you have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, you should be sowing the Word.

In this parable, Jesus tells us specifically that the sower is the Son Of Man. That term is used to describe the humanity of Christ. Jesus often used this term for Himself when He discussed His purpose for coming.

Matthew 26:1-2 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

It was Jesus, the Son of Man, who was betrayed and crucified. He was the Son of Mary. He was Immanuel, the Son of God made flesh and dwelling among men. And it is the Son of Man who is the Sower in this parable. He explained that the field in the parable is the world.

We know and believe that the truth of the gospel is the Word of God. Those who have heard the Truth and have believed are the good seed in the parable. We have been planted in this field (world) for a reason. The Sower, Jesus, has planted each of us here with the desire that we would bear fruit. He wants us to accomplish the will and purpose of God in our lives.

In the Gospels, Jesus likened us to various things in describing our effect on the world. We are to be the light of the world shining through the darkness. We are the salt of the earth. We season and preserve the world. It is obvious that in every situation of life, God is intent on our affecting this world. He wants us to be fruitful. That is one of the most important reasons that we are here.

John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: . . .

He revealed that His will is for us and our fruit to endure. Jesus wants us to endure to the end. He also wants those that we win for Christ to endure as well. There is only one way for that to happen. We must abide in Him. We must remain connected to the Vine.

John 15:4-5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

So we are the good seed that Jesus has planted in the field of this world. As we grow, our root system, or the vine, is not of ourselves, it is of Christ. We cannot sustain ourselves or each other. We can encourage and exhort one another but if we are not connected to the Vine, we will die spiritually. If we remain connected to the Vine, we become the branches whose sole purpose is to bear fruit that we might bring glory to the Vine. (to be continued…)