Matthew 13:24-30 The Parable of the Weeds (Ezekiel 17:1-10)
“Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away. When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, 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.
So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot 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 into my barn.’”
Once more, Jesus is telling stories to village people, many of whom are farmers. God has sown the good seed of His Word into people’s hearts; however, Satan has been equally busy attempting to deceive. There are those who have believed God’s Word and those who have not. But God is merciful, giving people every chance to turn to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
Quite honestly, from a human standpoint, God is sloppy! Given the chance to have divine insight into people’s hearts, many of us would zap people out of existence the first time they did something reprehensible. God, on the other hand, gives people years and years filled with opportunities to turn to Him. In this parable, part of the reason the land owner orders his servants to wait until the plants are fully grown is that wheat and weeds can closely resemble each other for much of the time they are growing. Only when the wheat is fully mature will the farmer be able to tell the wheat from the weeds.
Many times we wonder why good people sometimes die at a young age while nasty ones seem to linger forever. We fail to realize that God is giving the evil people every possible chance to change. Sometimes it’s only as people are aging and facing the possibility of death that they finally become serious about turning to God.
Notice something else: The land owner warns his servants that if they attempt to pull out the weeds before the wheat is ripe, they may also uproot the wheat. Only God knows the proper time for harvesting souls. Disrupt things too soon and someone who has yet to decide to follow God may be destroyed.
One difference between people and wheat is that a wheat crop will ripen all at the same time while people ripen spiritually on an individual basis. Only God knows the potential of a person for good or evil. Years ago, I heard the testimony of a man who had been heavily involved in the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang in California. This man had helped supervise drug sales and prostitution; meanwhile, his godly mother was continuing to pray for his salvation. Eventually, the man came under conviction and decided to leave the gang, only to realize that gang members would rather kill him than allow him to quit. This man holed up in a telephone booth and called his mother in South Carolina, who then advised him to call the closest minister. Gang members surrounded the phone booth, waiting for the man to come out so they could kill him.
Miraculously, there was a phone book in the booth and the man called the first minister whose name he found. When the minister arrived, he proved to be a huge man who was probably an ex-marine. The minister escorted this man out of the booth and into his car, speeding away and leaving the gang members behind. That man gave his life to God that day and served Him for the rest of his life. Later, when I worked in Charleston, South Carolina, I met the man’s mother and she confirmed the entire story.
The point is clear: Had we seen this man during his days as a Hell’s Angel, we would have assumed that he would follow an increasingly evil path for the rest of his life. But God knew better. Only God knows human hearts and only God knows those who will turn away from their sin and serve Him.
The question for us personally is this: Are we weeds or are we good wheat? Are our lives bearing fruit for God or are we wasting our time pursuing things that don’t matter in the light of eternity? Weeds can’t help being weeds, but we have free will and can make choices. We can choose to serve God. Today, ask God to show you whether you are living for yourself or living for Him. If you need to change, God will gladly help you if you will only ask.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Help us to live for You so that our lives will bear Your fruit. We confess that we are sinners who cannot free ourselves from our sins. Forgive us our sins and help us to live for You from now on. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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