For the Love of Weeds (Matt 13:24-30)
• Verse 24 Jesus tells a parable using language and concepts they would have been understood. But of course, adding new meaning and symbolism.
Verse 24 The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God. Jesus tends to use these terms interchangeably.
• The man or farmer here is representing Jesus.
o Verse 37 Son of man is how Jesus often referred to Himself
• With the term “good seed” Jesus is referring to wheat. But in parable form it represents us.
o Verse 38 From this verse we also see that Jesus is referring to the whole world, not just a small geographical area. It’s actually the word cosmos.
Verse 25. The weed seeds are darnel, which was a poisonous weed that also carried a fungus that would also attack the wheat. The weed darnel was also very hard to distinguish from wheat when it’s young.
• In the real world this would have been an enemy or competing farmer. In the Spirit world this is satan.
• This covert operation from the enemy happens at night, the enemy always tries to hide and conceal his work.
Verse 26 Of course, by the time you can recognize the weeds it’s too late.
Verse 27 In the parable the servants are questioning the quality of the seed that Jesus used.
• But in the spirit realm, there will be those that question the goodness of God when troubled times come.
Verse 28 The owner has seen this before and calls out what the real problem is, an enemy has done this.
o But the farmer is God, and the seeds are us, so the enemy is trying to destroy God’s work in us.
• Then the servants ask a logical question. Do you want us to pull the weeds?
o But this is still how many people think today. If there are weeds, we must get them out.
o In our gardens that works, but with people it does not.
Verse 29 The owner or farmer wisely tell his workers not to pull the weeds but to leave them.
• First, wheat is planted very closely, very dense population of plants.
o Then the weed seeds have been sown into that, further increasing the density.
o So, if you pull the weeds you will also uproot the wheat.
• Second, the fungus carried by the darnel would easily spread by spores when disturbed.
• So, the moral of the parable is God will leave the “evil ones” or weeds in our midst.
• The evil people or weeds also don’t get an opportunity to hear the Gospel and repent.
Verse 30 The farmer’s advice is to leave the weeds and let them grow together with the wheat.
So how do we live in light of this?
• 1. Stop trying to ______________ and ____________ what we cannot.
• 2. P_____________
• 3. E______________
• 4. See the ________________ in it.
• 5 _____________ well
For the Love of Weeds
