Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” Matthew 13: 24-30, NKJV.
Dear Heavenly Father, as heirs of the kingdom, we long to know more about it, that we might rightly represent You in all that we do. This is our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Yesterday we began studying about the parables that Jesus used to teach different aspects of the kingdom of heaven. We studied about the Parable of the Sower, which has several details in common, with the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. Perhaps the most significant common aspect between these two parables is that both have to do with the spreading of the gospel seed, or sowing. The most significant difference between the two, is that there is more than one sower, in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares.
In the first parable that we discussed yesterday, there was only one Sower – God. In the parable that we will be discussing today, there is God, and there is an “enemy,” or, the Adversary, the devil. God is the first to sow the pure seed. The enemy then comes and sprinkles his contaminated seed among those sown by God. Note the element of deception which is characteristic of the Adversary. His method is to mix the genuine with the counterfeit; truth with lies (Genesis 3: 1-5; John 8: 44). When the Adversary tampers with the garden of the Lord, which I will refer to as God’s church, it is very difficult to distinguish the wheat from the tares.
Following, I would like to highlight two very important aspects of dealing with those who make up the kingdom of heaven, here on earth:
1) Only God has the right to separate the wheat from the tares, because only God sees beneath the surface, and is able to distinguish the make up of the kernel, the core within the husk. Only He sees the heart. There are times when wheat act like tares (Peter). And there are times when tares act like wheat (Ananias and Sapphira). Just a simple look would not suffice to determine who is who. Therefore, we must leave all judgment in the hands of the Lord – “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16: 9a).
2) The seed are precious in the sight of God. The Scripture says that the Gardener – God – “sowed good seed in His field.” When God created humankind in the beginning, He made us “good.” But sin, sown by the Adversary, has produced a bad harvest. Those who are members of the kingdom of God are precious in His sight. They have accepted the sacrifice that Christ made on their behalf to redeem them. God has made Himself responsible for them. Even though counterfeit seed have been sown in the same garden, the Gardener knows those that are His. On the final day, the day of the harvest, He will gather them into His kingdom of glory.
We will continue.