The Kingdom is like…a
man who sowed good seed in his field. (Matt. 13.24-30; 36-43)
Or…
Have you ever just looked around and seen people just
steeped in evil or wickedness? Have you ever just wondered why God didn’t just
remove them from the face of the earth? Or, at least, could God just remove
them from your life?
I know of some people who have tried to do that in reverse,
they withdrew out into a place in the country or the wilderness so they could
live in community, love Jesus and each other and not be stained by the
corruption of the world.
Unfortunately, that’s just doesn’t seem possible at this
point. Or is it unfortunate? Maybe it is part of God’s plan? Perhaps there is a
purpose for committed followers of Jesus to live in and amongst the people of
this world, even those who are bent on doing evil.
Let’s look at Matt. 13:24-30.
Purpose of parables – About 1/3 of Jesus’ teaching is in
parables. They can be proverbs (Luke 4.23), a riddle (Mark 3.23), a comparison
(Matt 13.33) a contrast (Luke 18.1-8) and both simple stories (Luke 13.6-9) and
complex stories (Matt. 22.1-14). Parables demand interpretation, they point to
something else. There not just clever stories. They are ways in which Jesus
tried to help people understand the kingdom. Jesus told these stories to
confront people with the character of God’s kingdom and to invite them to
participate in it and to live according to it. Jesus was calling his hearers to
changed behavior and asking them to commit to being his disciples.
The primary focus of the parables is the coming of the
kingdom of God and the resulting discipleship that is required. When Jesus
proclaimed the kingdom he meant that God was exercising his power and rule to
bring forgiveness, defeat evil and establish righteousness in fulfillment of
the OT promises. In Jesus’ own person and ministry, these acts were happening,
and the kingdom was made available to people. The kingdom comes with limitless
grace, but it comes with limitless demand. As we have and will see, it is both
present and still awaits fulfillment in the future.
This parable seems designed to answer the question “How can
the kingdom have come if evil is still present?” The kingdom is present and
growing even in the midst of evil, and judgment will take place in the future.
Therefore, the kingdom invites both involvement and patience.
There seems to be an underlying issue with this parable that
Jesus is addressing. Jesus has been preaching the kingdom and has been saying
that the kingdom has come near and he has been displaying the power of the
kingdom in his healings and exorcisms. These miracles have been displays of
Jesus and his intent on attacking the power of Satan on his turf (prince of
this world). They were visibly displaying that he has ultimate power over
Satan. Thus and obvious question has to arrive: if the kingdom is near and
Jesus (as the king) is more powerful than Satan, then why are we still
surrounded by evil. Why are the wicked still among us?
The details of the parable
Jesus talks about a farmer who has sown wheat into his
field. But an enemy sowed a type of wheat in his field while he was not aware.
For a time, the wheat and the weeds looked very similar. It was hard to tell
them apart. But when they started to sprout, it became obvious that there was
something else among the wheat stalks. What the enemy of this farmer has sown
was something called darnel. It looks very similar to wheat, but it does not
grow as tall and its head is a different color. So, it takes a while before it
is apparent that something else is in the field. The workers want to pull up
the weeds but it seems that the roots become intertwined while they are
growing. The farmer merely says let them grow until harvest and then the
harvesters will separate the two. The wheat goes into the barn and the weeds
get burned up.
So, the field did not turn out as he desired. He had sown
good seed, but an enemy had sown weeds in the same field. The result was a
mixture of wheat and weeds. The solution was NOT to be in an immediate
separating of the two. For the time being the two were to be allowed to grow
together, so that the field was not an ideal field. But, eventually, the wheat
and the weeds would be separated.
On this occasion (and on one other) Jesus gives a point-by-point
explanation of this parable. This parable becomes an allegory, where the
elements of the story stand for a deeper meaning. Now, not every parable is an
allegory, but this one is because Jesus makes it one.
The elements
The sower The
Son of Man
Good seed People
of the kingdom
Field The
world
Enemy Satan
Weeds People
of the evil one
Servants Angels
Harvest End
of the Age (Judgment)
Jesus is the Son of Man. What did he mean by calling himself
that?
The good seed are the followers of Jesus. The followers of
Jesus are not removed from the world. In fact, it seems that they are allowed
to mingle in and amongst the people that belong to the evil one. And, it seems
that Satan is active in putting his representatives among the people of Jesus.
I want to go back to our examples at the beginning. It seems
that the original disciples themselves wanted to remain with Jesus and away
from all of the influence of the wicked. We see Peter, James and John on a
mountain and they get a glimpse of what Jesus is going to look like after his
resurrection. Peter doesn’t want to leave. He wants to stay with Jesus and his
friends for a while. He must know that when he comes down from the mountain,
Satan and his representatives are going to be waiting for him.
Some of the disciples have a different reaction. They want
the evil removed.
Luke 9:51-56.
Two of Jesus’ disciples want a village of Samaritans
consumed with fire from heaven because they did not welcome Jesus properly.
God allows the righteous and the wicked to coexist at this
time. Eventually there will be judgment and separation. But for now we need to
live amongst each other.
Why didn’t God just take care of them when Jesus came and
inaugurated his kingdom? Why wait?
Maybe it is because of God’s graciousness? Some in the early
church were mocked because it seemed that Jesus was slow in returning and
setting up his kingdom.
2 Peter 3.3-4, 9 – You must understand in the last days
scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own desires. They will say,
“Here is this ‘coming’ he promised? The Lord is not slow in keeping his
promises, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not
wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
What we need to understand is that there is this timeline
where the present (evil) age exists for a time along side the age to come. But
ultimately, the present age will end when Jesus returns.
Diagram
Now, knowing all of this, what should our response be?
One is realize that God is not going to pull us out of this
world before Jesus returns. (Pre-Tribulation Rapture stuff?) We need to know
that not only do we exist in and among people who belong to Satan, but it seems
like Satan is active in not only aggravating believers, but he is also active
in trying to prevent the Word of God from being spread (see Matt. 13. 19, …the
evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart.) We need to know
that our battle is not with each other or even with the people that Satan is
using to tempt and distract us. It is with Satan himself. Paul gives us instructions to put on
spiritual armor so we can stand against the devil’s schemes (Eph. 6.11-12).
Two, we need to realize that judgment is a reality. There
will be a great separation of those who belong to Jesus and those who don’t.
The fate of those who are not disciples of Jesus is grim. Jesus uses metaphors
like being cast into darkness, and fire and separation. Whatever it is, we know
that there is an eternity separated from God and the fellowship of his people
for those who are do not belong to the kingdom.
Which leads us to three, we need to live like salt and light
in the midst of these people. We shouldn’t long for separation, but we should
long to be a positive influence on them so that they would long to be a part of
the kingdom. It is interesting that Jesus uses the world as a field analogy
here. He does it in several places.
In Matt. 9.37-38 – The harvest is plentiful but the workers
are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his
harvest field. Immediately after that, we see Jesus sending his initial
disciples (the 12) out into the world to carry forward Jesus’ message of the
kingdom (10.7 – The kingdom of heaven has come near…). He sends them out
because judgment is coming.
Jesus spoke of love and freedom and a release from bondage
to sin and Satan, but he also spoke of judgment. The basis of that judgment was
allegiance to Jesus the King. That should motivate us to be salt and light in this
world (not to be taken away from it). We are to be salt and light. Salt in
Jesus’ day was used as a preservation agent to keep meat from rotting. To be
salt implies that this world is corrupt and dying and we need to be agents of
preservation. To be light implies that this world is dark. Darkness often stood
for evil and for those outside of the kingdom. We need to be the light in a
dark world to point people to the true source of light: our King Jesus.
That is why we call ourselves Missio Dei. It means the
Mission of God. God sent his son to seek and save the lost, the dying, those in
the dark. As God sent the Son, he sends us to join him in the fields of the
world so that we join him in sowing good seed and for the harvest at the end of
the age to be great.
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