24 Jesus told the crowd another story. “Here is what the kingdom of heaven is like,” he said. “A man planted good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came. The enemy planted weeds among the wheat and then went away. 26 The wheat began to grow and form grain. At the same time, weeds appeared.
27 “The owner’s slaves came to him. They said, ‘Sir, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’
28 “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The slaves asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’
29 “ ‘No,’ the owner answered. ‘While you are pulling up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the workers what to do. Here is what I will say to them. First collect the weeds. Tie them in bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat. Bring it into my storeroom.’ ”
36 Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him. They said, “Explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who planted the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world. The good seed stands for the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 39 The enemy who plants them is the devil. The harvest is judgment day. And the workers are angels.
40 “The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. That is how it will be on judgment day. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin. They will also get rid of all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace. There people will weep and grind their teeth. 43 Then God’s people will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Whoever has ears should listen.
Read Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Part of me wishes that Jesus explained more of His parables. Or if He had, then I wish the gospel writers had included more of the parable explanations. But while I wish some of the parables were clearer, the parable of the wheat and the weeds does include an explanation in Matthew’s gospel. In Jesus’ explanation of this parable, we can learn something interesting about God.
This parable describes the judgment day. In the parable, it is the day when the grain in the field is fully ripe and the day when God chooses to harvest the field. The order of events is important for us to uncover, because Jesus describes something backward from what we might be thinking.
When the farmer gives instructions to his servants, he tells them, “First collect the weeds. Tie them in bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat. Bring it into my storeroom.” (v. 30b)
This order is significant because there is a theory going around that God will first collect the wheat into His storeroom before gathering the weeds. This theory is called the rapture, and how Jesus describes the judgment in this parable stands opposite of it. Jesus’ parable does not suggest in any way that any wheat will be gathered before the weeds are all collected. This means that God’s people will exist until the end.
In a strange sort of way, this parable also describes the idea that no wheat is collected into God’s storeroom until judgment day. The harvest of the wheat happens after the weeds are collected into bundles. Perhaps this parable also reflects God’s kingdom in a way that He waits until the second coming and resurrection to bring His people home. While this idea stands counter to popular theory, it better fits with the timeline described in this parable and Jesus’ explanation. “The harvest is judgment day. And the workers are angels. The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. That is how it will be on judgment day. The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin. They will also get rid of all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace. There people will weep and grind their teeth. Then God’s people will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Whoever has ears should listen.” (v. 39b-43)
God is preparing a place for each of His children, and when the harvest is ripe, He will separate the weeds from the wheat, and He will do it in a way that allows for the greatest number of wheat to be saved. While it is challenging for us to live as wheat among the weeds, we can trust that God will protect us when the harvest/judgment comes.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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