I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Isaiah 5: 1-4, NIV.
Blessed LORD, how much we need You. As we seek You today through the study of Your Word, please come very close and bless us through Your Spirit. In the holy name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Yesterday we looked at the indictment and the judgment pronounced upon the people of God. But there were also glimpses of His mercy and grace. Today we will turn our attention back to Matthew 13, and this time we will look at The Parable of the Weeds. “Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ” ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up’ ” ‘ ” (Matthew 13: 24-28)?
In the parable of Isaiah 5, the owner of the vineyard is disappointed with the quality of the grapes that He reaped at harvest time. In the Parable of the Weeds, the owner of the field is disappointed to find, among the good seed that He sowed in His field, weeds. In both parables, the harvest is not representative of the effort put forth during the sowing time. In Isaiah 5, the disappointing results seem to be caused by the vineyard itself. They turned out to be sour grapes. In the Parable of the Weeds, the disappointment at the time of the harvest, is due to the scheme of an enemy! The weeds planted by the enemy sprung up among the wheat.
As I study both parables, the thought that is impressed upon my mind, is that the enemy is our adversary the devil (1 Peter 5: 8), who works within us (in the case of the vineyard) and without us (the enemy who sows the weeds). Notice that the action taken by the owner (the Lord) after seeing the results, is different in each case. In dealing with His vineyard, punishment is meted out immediately; with the wheat, there is a time of waiting, until the final harvest. In both instances, I see grace at work. God’s disciplining of the Israelites, was done in an attempt for them to repent and be saved. In the twenty-first century, God, who is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3: 9) is giving people of every nation, kindred, and tongue, an opportunity to get ready. He will let the harvest reach full maturity, lest anyone be rooted up before they are fully ripened.
When the servants asked the owner of the field if they should pull up the weeds, notice His careful answer: ” ‘ ” ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn’ ” ‘ ” (Matthew 13: 29, 30, emphasis provided).
What more can the Lord do, than He has already done for you and me to be saved? He has pruned us to encourage our growth; when necessary, He disciplines us, to bring us to repentance. At all times, He shows His mercy, love, and grace, to encourage and enable us. Therefore, we are without excuse! May God help us, to make good use of the grace that has been provided for our salvation! And may we, by His grace, bring forth fruit unto eternal life!