July 23, 2017 by Deacon Candidate Michael Houtchen
Matthew 13:24-43
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”
He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'”
He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.
Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Wheat and Weeds
There’s a lot going on in the parable of the wheat and weeds. Here we find good versus evil. Salvation is there, but so is damnation. We see Jesus and the angels. The Master of all Lies, the Devil, and his children, the evildoers, are present. We have a sense of the end-times. It speaks of a final judgement in the separation of the wheat and the weeds, where the wheat is saved and the weeds cast into the fire. We also see a call to conversion.
I don’t believe Jesus was in the habit of scaring people. Quite the contrary. He preached love, forgiveness, and hope. But, He also told it how it is. Throughout the Bible, it speaks of the consequences of sin. From the Book of Genesis and the sin of Adam, to the Book of Revelation with its final judgement, there are consequences. If there were no consequences, why then did the second person of the Trinity become a man, a man destined to die on a cross? For in His death and resurrection, we were given the means to escape the eternal death caused by sin.
Origen, the Greek scholar, ascetic, and early Christian theologian (185 – 254 A.D.) wrote this on the parable. “At the end of things, which is called ‘the consummation of the age,’ there will of necessity be a harvest, in order that the angels of God who have been appointed for this work may gather up the bad opinions that have grown upon the soul, and overturning them may give them over to fire which is said to burn, that they may be consumed. And so the angels and servants of the Word will gather from Christ’s entire kingdom all things that cause a stumbling block to souls and their reasoning’s that create iniquity, which they will scatter and cast into the burning furnace of fire. Then above all ‘shall the righteous shine,’ as one sun in the kingdom of their Father. The Lord thereby teaches those who are attentive that in the exposition, the parable has been set forth with such perfect clearness that it can be understood by the novice.” Origen makes it clear “the parable has been set forth with such perfect clearness that it can be understood by the novice.” Which means, even I can understand it.
In our hearts, there are two types of seed being sown, wheat and weeds. The wheat is the Word of God. The weeds are the temptations that lead us to sin. There are also weeds being sown when we tempt others to sin. Both types of seeds, good and bad, are nurtured and grow by the way we live our lives. In my life, I see both wheat and weeds. Hopefully, a lot more wheat than weeds.
If we’re not careful, the weeds in our soul will chock out the wheat. I used to watch my mom weeding her garden. And I can tell you, it was a back-breaking job. She would start early on weeding the garden, pulling the young weeds before they had time to take root. This way, her garden was weed free so the vegetables could grow and not get chocked out. She used to get me to help her, but that didn’t last long. Turns out, I was pulling just as many good plants as I was weeds. Like my mom weeded her garden, I can weed my soul. I don’t have to wait for the final harvest to separate the wheat and weeds in my life. By going to confession, and through reconciliation, the weeds can be pulled up, and the Word of God can grow.
Jesus said, “Whoever has ears ought to hear.” That’s a call to conversion. We all need to take time and honestly look at what is growing in our souls. If there are weeds in your life, in your heart and soul, you need to do some weeding. Don’t wait for the final harvest.
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