I have a fig guy. His name is Vadim. I recently bought two trees from him because after a friend gave me some figs, I wrapped bacon around them and grilled them, and let me tell you… Anyway, Vadim knows everything about figs. He told me the appropriate pot size, what to put in it, what to spray on it for pests, when the figs should come and all sorts of stuff. He even talked about it being a “biblical plant.” Vadim the fig guy plants his trees in the best spots, cares for his trees, helps them to bear fruit, and he looks forward to the harvest. I can get a hold of Vadim any time for his wisdom and help. Today, Jesus shares with us a story about planting and harvesting that tells us that God does certain things—and does certain things for us—that are very similar to what Vadim the fig guy does and what he does for me. Mine is just a little earthly story; Jesus’ story is an earthly one with a spiritual meaning. It is the story of how Christians Live as Wheat Among the Weeds.
Jesus begins, The kingdom of heaven is like... So, we know, right off the bat, what this story is going to be about, that is, as long as we know what “the kingdom of heaven” is. Now, our first guess might be that Jesus is going to talk about what heaven itself is like. But that’s not the case. You’ll see, as Jesus talks, that he’s not really talking about a place but an activity. The kingdom of heaven as Jesus talks about it here, is God’s gracious rule in human hearts and minds while they live here in this world. That’s what the story is about.
A field owner planted some good seed. This field owner is none other than Jesus himself. The field is really the world. And the good seed Jesus plants in this world are Christians. He calls them the sons of the kingdom the heirs of God’s riches given by grace.
We know how we became the wheat in God’ field. The Son of God lived and died and rose so that all who put their confidence in him and what he did will be saved eternally. Then Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to make us part of his kingdom by putting that saving faith in our hearts. You and I are not who are by accident or by some choice we made. The Spirit worked with the tools of his powerful Word and the miracle of Baptism to make us wheat in his field.
The Holy Spirit continues to make that faith grow in our hearts day by day through his Word. And so, we are the good wheat seeds which Jesus, the owner of the field that is the world, planted.
Everything would be just fine if we were the only seeds to be sown in the big field of the Earth, but unfortunately, we’re not. There is other seed out there. While people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
Crafty move, sowing the weeds all over where the wheat was planted. And doing it under cover of darkness too! Who does that sound like? We could probably guess
since it says that it was the owner’s enemy. If the owner is Jesus, his enemy is obviously Satan. But we don’t have to guess. Jesus tells us straight out: ...the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. Satan has been the enemy since he led the revolt in heaven and was thrown out and since the Garden of Eden where he led humanity into sin. He was Jesus’ enemy as he tempted Him in the Judean wilderness and when he “bit him in the heel” so to speak, causing his death on the cross. Yeah, something like sowing deceptive weed-seeds in the field in the dark of night is just like him.
Jesus explains that those weeds are the sons of the Evil One. They belong to the devil. They are sons of darkness. They are unbelievers. They are the ones about whom Jesus says, You belong to your father, the Devil, and you want to do your father’s desires (John 8:44a) and they have been planted right next to the wheat!
As the two different seeds begin to grow, it’s hard to tell the difference between the two for a while. Jesus did not use just any old word for ‘weeds.’ He talked about “zizanium,” a kind of darnel. Darnel has actually been nicknamed “wheat’s evil twin.” It grows in wheat fields and looks just like wheat when it is small. It’s hard to distinguish the wheat from this weed until the heads form.
The same goes for believers and unbelievers. If we just look around at people, we can’t always tell if someone is a Christian or an unbeliever. People appear to be pretty much the same. They even share many of the same qualities. Both can be funny, charming, smart, helpful, nice or whatever. So, we may have a difficult time distinguishing the ‘wheat’ of the world from the ‘weeds’ of the world.
But you can tell if you keep on watching as the weeds grow. When the heads of grain begin to form on the zizanium, the difference between the weeds and the wheat becomes obvious. The heads of the zizanium are black, not wheat-colored—and they are dangerous! The ancient Greeks called it “the plant of frenzy” because its poison affects speech and balance and causes dizziness and other problems. In big enough doses, it can even kill a person. You can see why the servants wanted to get them out of there. You don’t want poison mixed in with your grain!
It’s like this with people. Christians are like the ripened wheat. You can tell what they are by their words and their actions. At another time, Jesus said something similar: Every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. So then, by their fruit you will recognize them (Matthew 7:17-18,20). We can also tell unbelievers by some of the things they say and do. They produce black fruits, so to speak, and their sinful rebellion against God is the poison that leads to their eternal death.
The weeds in Jesus’ story were grown to the point where the servants could tell what they were. They were astonished that they were even there! After all, they knew that good seed was planted in the field. And so, you and I, servants of Christ, may often be astonished that those who reject God are allowed to continue on, living life their own way, maybe even thriving more than we seem to be, and even posing a threat to us and God’s kingdom.
We are astonished that we good, growing, active wheat can live in the same house or family as someone who rejects God and they never seem to “come around” —but there we are, planted right next to them. We might be astonished that we can work alongside unbelieving people as good examples and maybe even share our faith, but they remain weeds and there we are planted right next to them. We are astonished that even though the gospel has been preached for many years all around the world, wickedness seems to run rampant. So many weeds, and we’re planted among them. It’s very possible that we might have questions about why God allows this.
We are astonished at the seemingly unchecked violence in our world. Why does God sit there on his throne in heaven while wars are allowed to rage on with seemingly no end in sight? I wonder if my Ukrainian fig guy, Vadim, asks that. We might. How are peaceful Christians expected to live with hateful and violent people in our city? Do Christian police officers every wonder, as evil people commit unspeakable acts against others, why God stands down?
It seems like the wheat is threatened by the weeds. Why doesn’t God stop it? We are not be able to understand all those things or answer all the questions that arise, but we can take the matter to our Lord and Savior. We can pray. We ask him what to do. We can trust whatever answer his Word provides. You notice that the servants in the parable did that with the owner of the field.
Understandably, they wanted those weeds out of there! It is no surprise then that they asked the owner, Do you want us to go and gather up the weeds? The workers were willing to do the work and didn’t presume to do it without first asking the owner. That’s good because the owner knew how best to handle this.
Jesus wants his servants today to also be zealous for his work. And he wants us to always check with him to see what his will is regarding the spreading of his kingdom and fighting against the Devil’s work. His Word is where we go to receive this
We are sometimes not content with our Field Owner’s response though. We might feel that the solution to the world’s problems and the frustration of Christians is to mow down all the unbelievers. We are surrounded by people who don’t believe in Christ as their Savior from sin and who pose a threat to the faith of Christians. Should we be angry and frustrated that they are here…and complain and gripe…and even question God’s wisdom in letting this go on? Should we ask God to weed them out so that only believers the wheat will be left? What a peaceful and happy world this would be then, right? Everyone a believer—the way it should be!
Did you know that Jesus’ disciples thought of that once? They were all going into a Samaritan village one time and the people in the town didn’t want Jesus there. So, James and John asked Jesus, Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them (Luke 9:54)? Jesus’ answer to us is the same one he gave to his disciples. Definitely not! He told them, “You don’t know what kind of spirit is influencing you (v.55).”
When we react with sinful anger and consider unholy actions like the disciples did, the Devil is influencing us too. These kinds of sins reveal an arrogance that suggests that we can do a better job than God can when it comes to field management. It shows a lack of trust in God. Or an unwillingness to wait patiently. We look kind of weed-like when we are impatient or untrusting or ignoring the comfort of God’s promises about his approach to the field and the coming harvest.
But remember that we are the wheat. Because of Jesus, we are forgiven for these sins & sinful attitudes. Forgiven people of God listen when he talks to them. As we listen to this story of Jesus, we find good examples in the story’s characters, the servants of the field owner. They were rightly concerned about what they saw. They knew that farmer would feel the same way. They went to him, told them what they saw, and presented a possible solution. They accepted his answer: Don’t do that. Just let it go, and it will be handled later. We don’t want to disrupt the wheat. We’ll take care of that at the harvest.
Human reason and emotion say, “Can’t we just rip out the weeds?!” But Jesus doesn’t see it that way. ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because when you gather up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the weeds, bind them in bundles, and burn them. Then, gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
You and I are unequipped to handle that job of weed-pulling. We can see above the surface and see unchristian behavior. We can tell by their fruits. But what about the intertwining roots? What if the wheat suffers when the weeds are yanked out?
And how do you and I really know if a person has saving faith or not?
And how do you and I know if a weed might become wheat by the working of the gospel in their heart?
And how do you and I know if a stalk of wheat might tragically become a weed by the constant working of sin?
We don’t have to worry about all this. These are God’s things and you can see that he cares for Christians in not wanting to disrupt them by taking strong action against those who reject him. What would that damage look like? I don’t know, but I can see his love for the wheat there So don’t worry, or fret, or sin in your anger or frustration over what you see in the field of this world. God knows what he’s doing, and he says, “Just wait it out until the harvest.” The angel harvesters will carry out Christ’s will at the Judgment Day harvest. The weeds and the wheat will have to grow together until that day of burning and barning. Then we will know for sure who the weeds are and who the wheat are. The weeds will be thrown into the fires of hell and burn for all eternity, far away from God and his wheat. The wheat will be taken into the barn of heaven. Then what Jesus says about believers will come true: Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear. Amen.
Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.