A drunken man got on the bus late one night, staggered up the aisle, and sat next to a woman who was clutching a Bible. She looked the wayward drunk up and down and said, "I've got news for you, mister. You're going straight to hell!" The man jumped up out of his seat and shouted, "Oh, man, I'm on the wrong bus again!"
Seven parables of the kingdom
In Matthew 13, Jesus shares seven parables of the Kingdom of Heaven. (The phrase ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ used eight times in this chapter, more than any other chapter in scripture. Parables: Sower, Wheat and Tares, Mustard Seed, Leaven, Hidden Treasure, Pearl of Great Price, and Dragnet.)
The word ‘parable’ means literally, “to cast or place alongside” or “to compare.” When Dalene and I were at the coast recently we came across an unusually large jellyfish washed up on the sand. I had my camera with me so I was able to get a picture of it. But I realized that with a picture of the jellyfish by itself there is no way to get an accurate perspective of its size. So I had Dalene put her foot in the picture next to the jellyfish. Then you can tell how big it is.
A parable is a illustrative story laid beside another truth to give greater perspective. Jesus gives seven different parables here, each one given a different perspective on the kingdom of heaven. Some of these parables support and complement one another. Others show an entirely different characteristic of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let me say one other thing before we go on. There are a lot of people that have some insightful, revealing or amazing thing to say about the Kingdom of Heaven, but there is no one who knows this topic like Jesus. What He has to say isn’t, like all the rest, speculation or interpretation. It’s the real deal.
A REAL DILEMMA
The parable we will be looking at is the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares.
Matthew 13:24-30 (NKJV) 24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 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?’ 28 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?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 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 13:36-43 (NKJV) 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 He answered and said to them: [cast and credits] “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Tares
A tare, as used in this story, is what is know as the bearded darnel. It is plentiful in the region of Israel and current-day Palestine. In its earliest stages it looks identical to wheat, until time for the head to form and fruit to be shown. Only then can it be distinguished. Not only is it unfruitful, but it is actually poisonous. If parts of the darnel make it into the harvest it can cause serious illness. The servants were understandably concerned.
1. REMEMBER: It’s not your field.
The servants in the story notice something that seems to almost shock them at some point, “Hey! There are tares in this wheat field! How did that happen?!” Didn’t you only plant good seed? How did these evil things appear?
That question in the real world goes something like this, “How did evil get in the world? God, did you put it there?” Does that sound familiar?
Notice the answer: An enemy did this. There was only good seed planted in this world but an enemy brought the evil. When did he do it? While men slept (v.25). So the field was established and planted with nothing but good seed. The care and protection of this wonderful field was then given over to the care of men who were careless and allowed an enemy to bring all the evil. Again, sound familiar?
No matter how bad you think things are in the field, it’s not your field. The servants wisely went back to the owner, because the field didn’t belong to them. They had a real dilemma on their hands.
- They don’t belong to you.
Romans 14:4 (NKJV) 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
James 4:11-12 (NKJV) 11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
- You don’t belong to you.
You don’t even have the right to judge yourself, because you belong to God.
1 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NKJV) 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
- It’s not time.
Not only that but, this is key, it isn’t time for judgment yet. A time will come, but not now.
1 Corinthians 4:5 (NKJV) 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
2. RESTRAIN. You’ll do more harm than good.
The servants recognize the seriousness of the situation and they have a good solution, it is a logical solution, “Let’s go into the field and judge between the tares and the wheat and just rip them up right now.
Good intentions gone bad
These are good servants. They want to help. They want to do something about the problem that they are noticing in the field. They are zealous for a pure field of wheat. But notice what the Master, the Son of Man, tells his servants, “No.” (‘No’ in the Greek means ‘no’ by the way.) Don’t do it. Don’t lay your hand on a single tare. That is not the assignment I have for you. I know you want to help, but you will hurt the situation.
First of all, you damage my wheat, which is so precious to me. I am not willing that one single wheat plant be pulled up. While pulling up tares you may accidentally uproot some wheat nearby, or you may even misidentify the two and pull up wheat thinking it is a tare. Judging like will have destructive consequences.
- Don’t develop a critical spirit.
Not only that but it will develop in you a critical spirit. I don’t want you going through my wheat field (which is the world) always looking at people with a critical eye, “Are you a wheat or are you a tare? I’m not sure but I think you’re a tare. Just to make sure I better pluck you up.” If you’re not plucking up the tares you don’t even have to worry about it.
3. RELAX. Trust God’s judgment.
Then the Master tells the servants, “I’ll take care of it when the time is right. There will be a judgment. Not a single tare will make it into the wheat harvest, I can guarantee that.” Do you trust in His final judgment?
Abraham said, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25) Yes!
I think people that are highly judgmental and accusatory don’t really trust God’s judgment. They are either afraid that God won’t catch someone or that He is taking to long. Either way is an indictment on God’s judgment.
In Deuteronomy 32:25, Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30 we are told, “‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Hebrews 10 adds, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God.”
- Care for the tares.
Jesus said to love your enemies. Real servants care for the tares.
A real life example
I was driving home from Portland this last week, listening to the developments in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As all of you know, ten young Amish girls, ranging in age from 6 to 13, were taken hostage and shot by a 32 year old milk truck driver. Five of the girls died, one is not expected to live, and four are hospitalized.
There is a group from Topeka, Kansas known as the Westboro Baptist Church (though they are not a part of any known Baptist affiliation). There are about 70 members of this wild cult who believe that they alone are ‘wheat’ and everyone else is a ‘tare’. They are ripping people up by the roots. For years now they have been protesting at funeral sites – Aids victims, soldiers killed in Iraq, even Mr. Rogers – and have held vulgar signs of hate. This group was planning to protest with very personal and hurtful accusations against the young girls that were killed and their community, claiming God gave them what they deserve. These are 'tare-pullers'.
A radio talk show host heard of this and offered a deal: one hour of air time in exchange for leaving these funerals alone. They agreed to spread their hate on the radio.
Now, let me bring the sharp contrast.
In the meantime, without fanfare or publicity, the Amish community has been quietly dealing with the loss in the only way they know how. They have forgiven the gunman and his family, who live in that area. They have communicated complete forgiveness and even compassion to the man’s widow and children. They family was invited to attend the funerals. The Amish community has begun collecting from their community financial support for the families of the girls and for the family of the gunman!
4. REFOCUS. Be the wheat!
What if we stop looking with critical and judgmental eyes at others and leave them up to God? Your job isn’t as judge, you are to be the wheat. You grow. You bear fruit, don’t worry about the ones on the right of you or on the left of you. Be a son or daughter of the kingdom.
Do you have a critical spirit? Is there an individual or a group of people that you have judged? What is God saying to you through this parable?
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