Matt 13 Together for Now- The Joy of the Wheat
Planted in God’s field
v. 24 a man who sowed good seed in his field, . . . 37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom.
The sower is the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s the farmer sowing the seed. v 38 The field is the world. So, the Lord is sowing seed in the world. The world is His field. It belongs to Him. He is sovereign. He is monarch. He is King of the earth. He holds in His hand the title deed The Lord is sowing seed in the world which belongs to Him. God sows His children of His kingdom throughout the world. God is going to put His people all around the world. We are children of the kingdom. We are the subjects of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been planted in the world, His world. The church is placed in the world. And we are placed within the world’s system. We who genuinely love the King, who genuinely affirm His Lordship, who truly are subjects of His sovereignty; we are planted in the world. You know, that we’re not here by accident; we’re planted by the Lord in the place He wants us in the world. (Mc Arthur)
Purposeful in God’s Field
25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And 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?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 29 But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest , . . . The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age
The Lord allows Satan to plant the weeds among the wheat. We are to be in the world but not off it. We are not to be incased in our Christian bubble isolated from the world and its influences (John 16:33, John 17:15), but to be an influence upon it (Matt 5:13-16). We are to be among them, but not like them. We are to be separate but integrated (Mark 2:15-17, Mat 11: 18-19, Acts 10;9ff, 2 Cor 6:14-18, ). Why doesn’t he allow the weeds to be destroyed that the wheat might grow unhindered? What is the purpose of the weeds among us, if any?
God leaves weeds for two reasons: 1) Perfect the wheat (us). We are matured by the trouble the world gives us (1 Peter 5:10, John 16:33). The Lord plants us there so we can develop. 2) Proclaim to the weeds – We are among the weeds to be an influence upon them and shine the light of Jesus upon them. We are to influence the “weeds” around us. We are to demonstrate Jesus to them and dialog about Jesus with them. We’re in the world to influence for good those who don’t know Jesus. Everybody who is wheat was once a weed. We were all bad seed before we got converted. The Lord puts us in the world not only to be perfected and to be matured by the pressure that it brings, but to influence the weeds into becoming wheat like we did (Eph 2: 1-8).
Problem in God’s Field
28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' Satan is in the business of sowing tares among the Lord's wheat. Why? Well, he knows that if he can place the enough of the artificial among the genuine, then he can devastate the entire crop. Satan is in the business of undoing all that the Lord is doing! If he can fill the church with lost church members, then he can fill hell with a multitude of deceived people. If he can mix enough goats in among the sheep, then he can disrupt the harmony and the blessedness of the church.
The Problem in God’s field is not only that Satan has his children everywhere, but that the Children of God want to ‘pull them up” But, if you yank out the weeds, you’re liable yank out some wheat also. If you go about trying to judge the world, without divine insight, you’re going to wind up condemning the Christians. You can’t do that. God didn’t call the church of Jesus Christ to judge the world. That is what Jesus aill do at the end of the age. That is not the church’s function to go around ripping out the weeds of the world. That’s not what we’ve been called to do. We are not to attack the world. God hasn’t given us that ministry. Jesus’ attitude toward sinners was one of meekness, love and kindness. He was patient. And this is the time of patience. He was tolerant. He was gracious. We must never forget the fact that we were once a weed and maybe God knows those around us that are weeds need time enough to become wheat. If we go out destroying everybody, we may be totally out of line with God’s plan. You see, the Lord knows how many people belong in the kingdom. He knows who it is who will believe. And if we acted as a church against the ungodly of the world, we would be interfering with God’s patient, gracious waiting for those people to come to Him in His good time. That’s not our calling. We are not to do that. We are not to pray that God would destroy them. We’re to pray that God would save them. . We cannot act as executioners. We must be lovingly, patiently, graciously tolerant like our Lord was. We have a heart of compassion, not a heart of condemnation. Salvation, then, calls us to a place that is, in a sense, precarious because we’re commingled in the world. We may be next to the weeds, but they can’t change our nature of the wheat, but the converse is not necessarily true. Their nature can be changed by the influence of godliness. v 39. Angels are called to judgment. Christians are called to righteous influence. We are not called to judgment. We are not called to condemn the world. We want to preach against its sins, we want to preach against its evils. But we want to love its sinners and evil doers and be gracious and patient with them.
You’re to coexist in this world and you’re to influence the world for good, not be influenced by it. You’re to be used by God to reach that weed near you that’s going to become wheat. So use it as an opportunity. Not to condemn the world, not to blast the world, not to judge the world. That’s God’s business. But to love them while condemning their sin and loving the sinner. That’s the plan. Are you doing that? Are you planted in the world for good and for God and for salvation?
Product from God’s Field
28 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.'" 38 and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Determined event: There will be a harvest of souls at the end of the age. It is inevitable and unavoidable. God will come with his angels in judgement (Matt 25:31-46,)
Different ends:
The weeds, those who do not know Jesus will be cast away from the presence of their creator into a fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Rev 9:2, 20:1, 10-15) The wheat will be gathered into the God’s barn. They will shine like the sun. They’ll shine as the brightness of God’s glorious, marvelous heaven.” (Matt 25:46,
See the wide distinction between the lot of the Lord’s people and Satan’s people! Burn the wheat? Oh, no—“Gather the wheat into My barn.” There let them be happily, safely housed forever! Oh, the infinite distance between Heaven and Hell!—the harps and the angels, and the wailing and gnashing of teeth! Who can ever measure the width of that gulf which divides the glorified saint, robed in white and crowned with immortality, from the soul which is driven forever away from the Presence of God and from the Glory of His power? It is a dreadful, “but” of separation! The separation is eternal. There is no hope or possibility of change in the world to come. Spurgeon
“GATHER the wheat into My barn.” Then the purpose of the Son of Man will be accomplished. He sowed good seed and He shall have His barn filled with it at the last. Be not dispirited, Christ will not be disappointed. “Gather the wheat into My barn.” Then Satan’s plan will be unsuccessful. The enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, hopeful that the false wheat would destroy or materially injure the true—but he failed in the end, for the wheat ripened and was ready to be gathered. Christ’s barn shall be filled—the weeds shall not choke the wheat. The Evil One will be put to shame! The angels of God were sent to “gather the wheat,” and they must gather none else! It will be a gathering from very great distances. Some of the wheat ripens in the South Sea Islands, in China, in Saudi Arabia, in Africa, in and in Japan. Some flourishes in Europe, other grows in the US—there is scarcely a land without a portion of the good grain! There is a remnant, according to the election of Grace, among every nation and people, but the angels will gather all the good grain to the same barn. “Gather the wheat.” The saints will be found in all ranks of society. The angels will bring in a few ears from palaces and great armfuls from cities! Many will be collected from the lowly villages, and others will be raised up from the back slums of great cities! From the darkest places angels will bring those children of sweetness and light who seldom beheld the sun, and yet were pure in heart and saw their God! The hidden and obscure shall be brought into the Light of God, for the Lord knows them that are His—and His harvest-men will not miss them. We shall meet Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and David, and Daniel, and all the saints made perfect! I do not know how that will be, but I have no doubt that we shall have fellowship with all the saints of every age in the general assembly and Church of the First-Born, whose names are written in Heaven! No matter when or where the wheat grew, it shall be gathered into the one barn—gathered never to be scattered— gathered out of all divisions of the visible Church, never to be divided again!Every process with the wheat is tending towards the granary. So is it with us—everything is working towards Heaven—towards the gathering place—towards the congregation of the righteous—towards the vision of our Redeemer’s face! Our death will cause no jar in our life music! It will involve no pause, or even discord—it is part of a program—the crowning of our whole history! To the wheat the barn is the place of security. It dreads no mildew there. It fears no frost, no heat, no drought, no wet when once in the barn. All its growth-perils are past. It has reached its perfectionSpurgeon
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