Matthew 13:24

Verse of the Day Devotion Matthew 13:24 

“He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.” –  Matthew 13:24

Today we will look at the Parable of the Weeds.   Here is this parable as found in Matthew’s gospel.

“He presented another parable to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? And he said to them,  An enemy has done this!  And the slaves  said to him, Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?  But he  said,  No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers,  First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:24-30.

The parable of the wheat and weeds speaks of two different kinds of seed sown by two different individuals, a farmer, and his enemy.  First, the field is a picture of the world, not simply the Jewish nation.  The good seed is the children of the Kingdom of God sowed by God, essentially the true Christians, while the bad seed are those who are not of this Kingdom that were sowed by the enemy.  Now some time later both seeds sprouted.  “But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.” Matthew 13:26. Now, as they grew, the slaves of the landowner noticed that not everything that sprouted up was wheat. “And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?”  Matthew 13:27.  They were diligent servants who questioned him regarding how this could have happened.

He then answers them saying that an enemy has sowed these weeds in the field.  Then the slaves asked, “Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?” Matthew 13:28b. But the landowner says, “No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them.” Matthew 13:29. Just as the wheat and weeds were often superficially similar in appearance and if sown too close to each other were too intermingled in their root systems to be pulled up separately, so too God’s people are sometimes outwardly hard to distinguish from his enemies. They can be too interconnected with them in society for anyone to try to purify the world from evil without hurting those who are good. Unfortunately, during that time many Zealots, and at times even his disciples, were often eager for precisely this to happen. We see an example of this in the gospel of Luke.  “And it came about, when the days were approaching for His ascension, that He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him. And they went, and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make arrangements for Him. And they did not receive Him, because He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? But He turned and rebuked them, and said, You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went on to another village.” Luke 9:51-56.  He then tells them, “Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 24:30.

There are definitely bad/evil people intermixed in this world with the people of God.  However, can we really tell the difference in all cases?  It is not our place to judge people by what we see for many times we cannot see their heart, nor can we see where they will be in the future. I have known many who were looking into the Christian life before excepting Him while still living a worldly life. But also, there are people who wish us to believe they believe. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.” Matthew 7:21-23.   

In closing, it is not our place to make judgements one way or another. Our job is simply to go out and live the Christian life openly so that all can see it, while declaring the truth of the Gospel. We may be able to help them give their lives to Jesus. And we are called to disciple Christians to understand this life more clearly. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Matthew 13:31

Verse of the Day Devotion Matthew 13:31 

“He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field”. – Matthew 13:31

The parable we will look at today is the Mustard Seed.  Here is this parable as told in Matthew’s gospel.

“He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.” Matthew 13:31-32.

Jesus continues his parables with one that brings out the thought of growth.  This parable is important because over against the mighty numbers of the worshipers of heathen gods, along with the Jews who acknowledged the true God but not the Christ, those who proclaimed the kingdom Jesus spoke of were a small minority. He teaches them not to be convinced by size or numbers. These tiny beginnings would grow into something greater by far than any of the religions found in the disciples’ contemporary world.

The formula Jesus uses is one contrasting the smallness of the seed with the greatness of the plant.  He begins this parable by saying “The Kingdom of Heaven”.  This refers to the kingdom in which He, Jesus, is the King.  He predicts the amazing growth of this kingdom of heaven. The mustard seed is quite small, the plant that comes from it is quite large, up to ten feet in height, and Jesus uses this is a picture of kingdom growth.

The point of this Parable is that something big and blessed, the kingdom of God, had humble beginnings. Many were thinking, how significant could the short ministry of Christ be? He had but a handful of followers, He was seen as a man of no rank and without means, and He lived in what everyone considered a backwater region of the world. The life and death of Christ did not catch the world’s attention any more than a mustard seed would lying on the ground by the road. But God had an amazing plan. What seemed inconsequential at first grew into a movement of worldwide influence that no one could stop.  Gamaliel, speaking to the Council in Jerusalem said, “Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody; and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. And he was slain; and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After this man Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away some people after him, he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered. And so, in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action should be of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.” Acts 35-39.

And the kingdom is prophesied in the same way in Ezekiel. “Thus says the Lord GOD, “I shall also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and set it out; I shall pluck from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I shall plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the high mountain of Israel, I shall plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit, and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches. And all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will perform it.” Ezekiel 17:22-24.

The influence of the kingdom of God would be such that everyone associated with it would find a benefit, pictured as the birds perched on the branches of the mature mustard plant. And in comparing the picture in Matthew with the prophesy in Ezekiel, we see that even large mustard bushes pale in comparison with the lofty cedars ; still Jesus may be employing deliberate irony. What may not look like much to the world will in fact fulfill all God’s promises.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.