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Matthew 13:24-43—²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵ but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷ And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

³¹He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³²It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” ³⁴All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, ⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

It is an age-old question: If God exists and is all-powerful, why is there still evil in this world? We ask this question all the time. Why are babies murdered in their mother’s womb when the eggs of endangered species are protected? Why are dangerous murderers released from prison only to kill again? Why are godly Christians allowed to suffer? Why do the sons of the evil one have so much freedom to work their harm and damage in this world?

People throughout history have been asking this question – even people in Jesus’ day. Jesus came proclaiming, “The reign of heaven is at hand” (Mk. 1:15). He brought that reign with Him as He proclaimed forgiveness, healed the sick, and raised the dead. Jesus won the final victory over sin, death, and the devil on the cross. Yet two thousand years later, it still appears as though evil has the upper hand. Generation after generation of Christians have all thought that it can’t get worse. The evil of sin in this fallen world continues to progress, and believers think that this world can’t last with so much evil. Even we Christians doubt the salvation that Jesus really, truly brought. Jesus came and brought the reign of heaven, but we forget that. We forget that when we allow the evil around us to cause doubt in our minds.

As the crowds stand on the beach, Jesus sits in the boat teaching the crowds of people who do not believe in Him and have hardened their hearts. Jesus teaches them in parables about the reign of heaven that He brings. And He says that the reign of heaven does not look like what we would expect. The reign of heaven isn’t a place. Instead, it is the action of God which is made manifest in the person of Jesus Christ.

After explaining the Parable of the Sower privately to the disciples, Jesus teaches the crowds another parable that has to do with seed and harvest to describe what the action of God’s reign looks like, and it is scandalous.

The reign of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but in the night an enemy comes and sows weeds. The weeds Jesus speaks about look identical to wheat as they grow, but at harvest time the grains of this weed are a different color than the wheat. The servants of the master ask if they should go and go and gather the weeds, but take careful note of what the master says:

“No, lest in gathering the weeds you mistake the weeds for wheat and uproot the wheat along with the needs. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at that time I will tell the reapers to first gather the weeds and burn them. Then gather the wheat into my barn.”

Pause here: note that word “let” – it is the same word that gets translated most often in the New Testament as “forgive.” The Lord extends grace – even to the weeds – until the harvest time. Then, and only then, will the weeds be separated from the wheat.

The crowds would be shocked by this parable. What kind of farmer would ever do something as foolish as to let the weeds remain alongside the wheat? How can God’s action in this world be so gracious and patient? This is absolutely absurd.

Jesus puts two other parables before the crowds to explain what the reign  of heaven – God’s saving action in the world – looks like:

God’s saving action in the world looks like a tiny mustard seed which is planted and hidden under the soil. It doesn’t look like much to begin with, and it looks like nothing once it is planted and hidden in the ground. But it will grow and become the largest plant in the garden – so large that birds will nest in it.

God’s saving action in the world looks like a woman who put some yeast in three measures of flour. This amount of flour will produce over one hundred pounds of dough. Once the yeast is in there, you do not see the yeast at work, and it will be impossible to remove all of it. But once the yeast is in the flour, you can’t stop it from spreading throughout every last bit of the dough.

These parables teach that the reign of heaven is small and hidden, but just wait. It will be huge eventually. The reign of heaven is little and invisible to the eye, but it will fill every last bit of dough. The reign of will permeate everything.

After these parables, Jesus leaves the shore and returns to the house. The disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable of the weeds of the field. Jesus gives the disciples, those who believe His words, more hope than the parable would give to the crowds who have rejected Him and do not believe Him. Point by point Jesus explains the aspects of the parable to the disciples:

• The one who sows the good seed is Me, the Son of Man.
• The field is the world (the κόσμος).
• The good seed is the sons of the reign.
• The weeds are the sons of the evil one.
• The enemy who sowed the weeds is the devil.
• The harvest is the end of the age.
• The reapers are angels.

Only at the end of the age will Christ send the angels to gather out of His kingdom the causes of sin and law-breakers and throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the reign of their Father.

We wrongly wait for and anticipate with rabid desire God’s judgment to come upon evil. We forget that God’s grace extends even to the weeds. Christ, the Master, says, “Let (allow, forgive, permit) both to grow together until the time of the harvest.”

We live in a fallen world where there is evil and sin. But that evil and sin does not thwart God’s saving action in Jesus Christ. He is the tiny mustard seed which has been planted and will grow. He is the yeast which has been placed into the three measures of flower and will leaven the whole massive mound of dough. Even if you don’t see what you ought to see in your life, even if you don’t see what you ought so see in the church, even if you don’t see what you ought so see in the world, God absolutely is acting in your life, in the Church, and in the world through Jesus and His reign – forgiving your sin and extending His grace to the whole world until the great and awesome day.

Living in this fallen world, we often wish that God would come and eradicate the weeds. Even if He doesn’t uproot the evil weeds continually, we wish that God periodically destroy those sons of the devil every year, or every five years, or every fifty years. But He simply will not. For now, this is what we get.

“God may seem slow, but He is never late” (Gibbs). God is still Lord over the field of this world. In His time, and only in His time, will evil be punished by His righteous decree. Until then, believer, live as His children among the weeds covered with in God’s forgiveness which extends even to the wicked – even to you. He who has ears, let him hear. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.