The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (NRSV) (SERMON)

The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat

²⁴ He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” ²⁸He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” ²⁹But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ ³⁷He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

My text is written in Matthew13:43:

⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

This parable is peculiar to Matthew; here he is not concerned with soil, but with seeds: the good seed sown by the farmer and the weeds sowed by the evil one. The weeds referred to here were darnel and they were particularly troublesome because the weeds that grew from them so closely resembled wheat and so it was impossible to tell the difference until the ears appear ready for harvest. In addition, the roots of wheat and darnel became intertwined, so it was impossible to get rid of the weeds without getting rid of the entire crop.

It seems clear that Jesus is using this as an allegory for the Church: in every Church there is a mixture of saints and sinners and it is impossible to have a pure undefiled Church. It is also unwise to try to achieve a pure Church, because in the process, one would be getting rid of saints that appear to be sinners – because it is impossible to tell them apart until the final harvest. We are the labourers, and so we need to leave the sifting to the Master – Jesus – for only he has the expertise to tell them apart. It is not our job to judge; rather it is our responsibility to make sure that we are being cleansed so that we can be found worthy.

While it is impossible for us to distinguish between those who are good and those who are evil, Barclay stresses that there must be a separation eventually, because the grain of the darnel is poisonous. In the agricultural situation, the separation is usually done after the threshing and it is a laborious process, but it needs to be done or else the consequences can be serious.

Barclay also reminds us that darnel is probably degenerated wheat which issues the warning that we should never become complacent; because we have accepted Christ, we still have a responsibility to keep ourselves pure.

I am saddened to hear that in some developing countries this practice still takes place, i.e. sowing bad seed in a neighbour’s field. In ancient times it was something that was so common that it was codified in Roman Law and so the people listening to Jesus would have been aware of what he was talking about in a particularly sensitive way. But I am even saddened that this happens in more vicious ways in so called civilised and developed countries where justice, love and goodness are often polluted; where what appears to be right is often a distortion, and those who are on the Lord’s side are forced to suffer as a result.

Barclay suggests that there are lessons to be learned: Firstly, there is a hostile power at work in the world, waiting and seeking opportunities to damage good seed. There are two types of influence on our lives – good and evil - and so we must be forever on our guard.

Secondly, it is hard to distinguish between those in the Kingdom and those who are not. A person may appear to be good, but can turn out to be bad – and some who appear bad, who turn out to be good. It becomes clear why our Lord warns us against judging others and so we are reminded once again that we must not be too quick to classify people and label them.

Thirdly, we need to leave all judgement to Jesus and so wait until the time of the harvest. We are not going to be judged on single acts, but on the whole of our lives. (I am grateful for this, because I still so often feel that I get things wrong and need God’s grace and the forgiveness of others).

William Barclay makes a sensitive and beautiful point: “A man may even make a great mistake, and then redeem himself and, by the grace of God, atone for it by making the rest of his life a lovely thing.”

A good reason why one should never judge is because we can never be party to the whole experience – and ‘... no one who knows only a part of a person’s life can judge the whole person.’

But there is a sense that judgement is still necessary in the interests of justice and fairness. In this life, sinners often seem to get away with things, and this seems so unfair. But we know that this life is not all there is for there is a life to come and here the balance will be redressed.

We also know that the only one qualified to judge is God, for it is God alone who can discern the good and the bad.

So, this passage is one with two warnings: (i) the warning not to judge others and (ii) the warning that we too will be judged and must take great care not to be found wanting.

The commentator, Meier makes some interesting observations.

Jesus returning to the house symbolises his break with the crowds and with Israel. This seems to be a turning point in the Gospel narrative and from now on Matthew shows a marked increase in hostility that the people of Israel show Jesus and he concentrates on Jesus forming and developing his disciples for the task that lay ahead. The allegories Jesus used seem to be filled with vocabulary specific to Matthew, who, we must remember is writing to a Jewish audience, trying to convince his readers that Jesus is the long awaited Jewish Messiah.

Matthew’s use of Son of Man refers to Jesus himself as the sower of the good seed – which represents the sons of the kingdom, which are the true disciples. The implication here is that not all followers are true disciples. This is a difficult thought, and as Meier suggests, it suggests that not all members of the Church are true disciples and that no disciple ‘... can feel smug and confident about his final election ...’

The sons of the devil are all those who do evil and lead others to do the same. Sadly, this group exists both inside and outside the Church. (Matthew could well be referring to Judas Iscariot here).

The allegory of the harvest is a frequent image for the last judgement in both Old and New Testaments. Matthew refers to the close of the age, which is a reference both to the fulfilment and conclusion of this world and its history.

Here we are in the presence of a deliberate paradox: how can we imagine anyone – even an enemy – sowing bad seed in someone else’s field? Sadly, such is the situation in the world: God is the legitimate owner, who has sowed the seed of his word in the world, but there is another – the Adversary – Satan – who ‘... surreptitiously labours to destroy the work.’  The Jews of the day expected the Messiah to do the work of judgement in the present and in the process gather around him the community of the pure. But Jesus was there – and is here with us in the present – but the Evil one continues to do his work as well. Even among the twelve there was a traitor lurking. This raises the question: Why? The disciples reveal their impatience because the Kingdom that Jesus was talking about did not come quickly enough!

But this is the point of the parable – that there is a mixture of wheat and tares, good and evil, and this is going to be the case until the harvest – to the end of the age. And people are not permitted to pre-judge until the Last Judgement.

This is the way things are, and we need to be on our guard, not judge others, but ourselves, and in the process make sure that we are open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allowing the fruits of the Spirit to blossom in our lives.

This is how we know: we love, because we were first loved; we are open to the Spirit, because God’s love has been sent into our hearts. We want to be transformed not because we have to, but because we want to, because we have fallen in love with God as revealed in Jesus Christ. We do not fear judgement, because Jesus has revealed to us that God is a God of love and grace. This does not make us complacent; it keeps us on our guard, because as children of God we want to please God, because we love God, not because we are afraid of him.

Jesus put it this way:

⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

Amen.