Introduction
I said last week that Matthew 13 contains seven parables about the kingdom of heaven. There’s the parable of the sower, which we studied last week. And then there’s the parable of the wheat and the weeds, which we’ll study this evening. There’s also the parables of the mustard seed; and of the yeast; and of the hidden treasure; and the pearl of great price; and of the fishing net.
And so, what we have in this chapter is God’s Anointed King, Jesus Christ, teaching the people about God’s heavenly kingdom, which he has come to establish on the earth. The Lord Jesus has come from heaven; and he has brought God’s heavenly kingdom with him. And as we saw with the parable of the sower, his kingdom advances through the preaching of his word. And despite the opposition of Satan who snatches away the word, and despite the unbelief of sinful men and women who are put off by trouble and who are distracted by worries and wealth, the word will ultimately take root in the lives of people and God’s kingdom will be extended throughout the world; and the end-time harvest will be very great.
The Parable
That was last week’s parable. In today’s parable, the Lord tells us that God’s kingdom is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. However, while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away.
The Bible commentators explain for us that this weed is probably a weed called darnel, which produces a poisonous grain which is harmful to anyone who consumes it. And the thing about darnel that’s significant for this parable is that it starts off looking like wheat. You can’t tell them apart until it’s too late, because by the time it’s obvious what it is, you can’t uproot it without uprooting whatever’s around it. And in the case of the parable, that would mean uprooting the good wheat along with the bad darnel. And that’s no good. And so, in verse 28 — when the owner’s servants asked their master if he wanted them to go and pull the weeds up — the master told them not to, because when they pulled the weeds, they would only uproot the wheat as well.
And so, what was the solution? Well, the solution was to let both the wheat and the weeds grow up together; leave them like that until the harvest. So leave the weeds alone for the time being. But when the time is right, when time for the harvest has come, go and collect the weeds and tie them into bundles to be burned in the fire; and then, gather the wheat and bring them into the barn.
So, that’s the parable. It’s a simple story which would have been familiar to the Lord’s disciples and those who were with them at that time. And although none of us are farmers, we can still follow the story and see what the problem was; and we can see that the proposed solution makes sense: leave the weeds alone until the time for the harvest.
That’s the parable. But what does it mean? In what way is the kingdom of God like this?
The Explanation
Fortunately the Lord explained the meaning of the parable in verses 36 to 43.
We read in verse 36 that when the Lord left the crowd and went into a house, his disciples came and asked him to explain the parable. And he explained in verse 37 that the man who sowed the good soil in the parable stands for the Son of Man. In other words, the man in the parable stands for the Lord Jesus. ‘The Son of Man’ was the way the Lord Jesus referred to himself in the gospels. And so, he’s the one who sows the good seed. As I said last week, he did it in person when he was on the earth. And he still does it today through the reading and preaching of his word.
And the field in the parable stands for the world. Do you see that in verse 38? Now it’s important that we should note that carefully, because ever since the days of Augustine — one of the church fathers — Christians have said that the field stands for the visible church. The visible church is the church we can see: all the people who turn up for church on Sundays. And Augustine and others like him interpreted this parable to teach that the visible church will always be made up of believers and unbelievers. On any given Sunday, you’ll have people in church who truly believe; but mixed in with them will be people who don’t really believe.
And that, of course, is true. The visible church is mixed like that. Every church will contain people who are true believers and others who are not. In fact, that’s what we want, because we want unbelievers to come on Sundays, so that they will hear the good news of the gospel, because it’s by hearing the good news of the gospel that sinners are convinced and converted to faith in Christ. Faith comes by hearing. So, we want unbelievers to come to church on Sundays, so that they will hear the good news and have faith in the Saviour. And we should therefore be praying that many will come and hear and believe.
What Augustine and others said about the church is true. However, while what they said about the church is true, this parable is not about the mixed membership of the church. It’s not about how the church is made up of believers and unbelievers. It’s not about that, because the Lord makes clear that the field in the parable stands for the world. The Lord is not describing the church; he’s describing the world.
Next, the Lord explained that the good seed in the parable stands for the sons of the kingdom. Do you see that in verse 38? In other words, the good seed stands for those who belong to the kingdom. It stands for believers: all those who have turned from their sin in repentance and who have trusted in Christ the King for salvation.
And the Lord explained that the weeds in the parable stand for the sons of the evil one who is the Devil. In other words, the weeds stand for those who belong to the Devil; and who do not believe in the Saviour. And then, the enemy who sowed the weeds in the parable stands for the Devil himself.
And so, there are two sowers: there’s the Lord Jesus; and there’s the Devil, his enemy. And there are two kinds of people: there are those who belong to the Lord Jesus; and there are those who belong to the Devil. And it’s interesting — isn’t it? — that there are only two kinds of people. The world is full of lots of people; and they all differ from one another in lots of different ways. No two people are the same, but everyone is different. However, here’s the Son of God — who made all things and who knows all things — and he makes clear that you can divide the whole of humanity into two basic groups: you either belong to the Lord Jesus Christ; or you belong to the Devil. You’re either part of God’s heavenly kingdom; or you’re still under the tyranny of the Devil. It’s one or the other.
Now, in the natural world, weeds do not become wheat. You can’t take weeds and change them into wheat. It doesn’t work like that in the natural world. But when it comes to people, God is able to take those who once belonged to the Devil and he can add them to his kingdom by enabling them to trust in Christ for salvation. And while that’s true, that’s not the point of the parable. The point of the parable is not to teach us about how sinners are converted to Christ. The point of the parable is to teach us something else, which we’ll get to in a moment.
For now, notice that not only are there two kinds of people, but there are also two destinations. The Lord explained in verse 39 that the harvest in the parable stands for the end of the age. And at the end of the age, at the end of history, the Lord Jesus Christ will come to earth in glory and with power. And when he comes, he will send out his angels who are his harvesters. And just as the weeds in the parable were pulled up and tied into bundles and burned in the fire, so at the end of the age, when the Lord comes again, he will send out his angels to weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. In other words, just as the harvesters in the parable will gather up the weeds, so the angels will gather up all those who still belong to the Devil. And look: they’ll be thrown into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The Lord is using picture language to describe how those who never believed in him will be condemned when he comes again; and will be sent away to be punished forever for their sins and for all that they have done wrong.
So that’s the final destination for those who belong to the Devil and who never repented and never believed the good news of the gospel. But there’s a different destination for those who belong to the Lord Jesus, because the Lord tells us in verse 43 that the righteous — and he’s referring to all those who through faith in the Saviour have been accepted as righteous in God’s sight — they will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Their destination is everlasting life in God’s everlasting kingdom. And the image of shining like the sun speaks of the joy they will enjoy in God’s presence; and the glory that will be their’s for ever and for ever. And the Lord is perhaps alluding to what we read in Daniel 12 which is about the end of the history and the resurrection of the dead. And Daniel refers to the Lord’s people as those who are wise. And those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens.
So, there are two — and only two — sowers: the Lord Jesus; and the Devil. And there are two — and only two — kinds of people: those who belong to the Lord Jesus; and those who belong to the Devil. And there are two — and only two — destinations: everlasting life in God’s everlasting kingdom; and everlasting punishment, away from God’s everlasting kingdom.
Application
That’s the parable and it’s explanation. But what’s the point of the parable? Why did the Lord tell this parable?
We can imagine the disciples being puzzled by the Lord Jesus. After all, if the Lord Jesus is God’s Anointed King, who has come to establish God’s heavenly kingdom on the earth, why won’t he act now and do something about all the unbelievers in the world? Isn’t that what David did? When David was made king, he gathered an army together and went out to fight against the Philistines. And now that the Son of David has come, why won’t he do the same? Why won’t he gather an army and destroy his enemies? Why not rid the world of those who do not belong in God’s kingdom? Why not destroy them now and let all of God’s people live in peace and safety as they did in the days of King David?
But by means of this parable, the Lord Jesus made clear that even though he is God’s Anointed King, and even though he has come to establish God’s heavenly kingdom on the earth, nevertheless God’s judgment on his enemies will not take place immediately. It will not take place now. It will come later. The day of judgment will come; and when it comes, the wicked will be condemned; and they will be sent away from the presence of God to be punished forever. That day will come, but it won’t happen until later.
If the disciples were expecting God’s Anointed King to condemn the unbelieving world immediately, they needed to understand that Christ did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world. That is to say, he did not come into the world the first time to condemn the world, but to save it by laying down his life as the ransom to pay for our sins and to make peace for us with God. That’s why he came the first time. When he comes again, at the end of the age, he will punish the wicked. But that time has not yet arrived. And, as we learned from the parable of the sower, until that time comes, the Lord Jesus will continue to sow his seed in the world through the reading and preaching of his word so that, when he comes again, and he sends out his angels to gather the harvest, the number of those who believe will be very great.
And so, that’s the point of the parable. That is its purpose. The Lord is making clear that even though the King has come to establish God’s kingdom on the earth, the day of judgment has not yet come. The time for reaping has not yet arrived. It’s still the time for sowing: for the reading and preaching of God’s word in the world. And when the end finally comes, and the wicked are judged and condemned, the end-time harvest of the righteous will be very great and they will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
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