THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS

Matthew 13:24-43

Key Verse 13:24

“Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.’”

In the parable described here (24-30), what do all of the elements represent? (37-39)  What harm do the weeds do?  Why doesn’t the farmer destroy all of the weeds now?

He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons 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.

The weeds represent the sons of the evil one.  They cause confusion, discourage, deceive and persecute.  We may come to the point when we question our salvation; which means we have not held onto the promises of God.  The wicked look like they prosper and that holding onto our faith is not worthwhile, but this is deception and not the case at all.

The farmer does not destroy the weeds because he does not want to pull up any of the wheat too early.  The wheat and the weeds look alike at first, it is not until the wheat finally ripens and the grain comes out that you can tell the difference.  If you pull up the wheat too early than the young shoots will have no grain.  It must ripen fully before real fruit comes out.  Jesus is looking for us to bear fruit in our lives.  He will not pull us out too early even if that means we must live side by side with the children of our enemy.

How do the two types of plants appear similar?  What is the difference?  What will happen to them in the end?

When the two are young the look exactly the same.  Darnell is a weed that looks similar to wheat when it is young.  You can not tell the difference until the wheat ripens and grain begins to appear.  Then you can tell the two apart.

The weeds will be bundled and placed into the fire, whereas the wheat will be gathered and stored into the barn and the grain will be removed and the rest will be tossed away.  The farmer is looking for the fruit from the wheat plant, not the whole plant only the grain.

Because Jesus told us what will happen to the weeds we don’t have to worry about the weeds at all.  Often times we concern ourselves with the weeds, but we don’t have to concern ourselves at all because Jesus tells us that in the end He will take care of them and they will end up in the fire.

In what way is the kingdom of heaven like a mustard seed?  Usually, mustard plants are small bushes.  What does it mean that the kingdom grows instead into a tree, with birds perching in its branches?

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed in that it looks small and insignificant.  No one can see the Kingdom of Heaven, it is only a promise for us here on earth.  It is not tangible or real for those who do not care about anything but what they can perceive with their five senses.

The work of the Kingdom of Heaven started with one man, Abraham, a single person.  God’s work looked very insignificant and small.  Then it grew and grew to become a nation.  And when that nation turned from God, God chose Twelve men to proclaim Jesus.

Joseph and Mary in the manger look small and insignificant to all those who were in town.  No one even noticed them or had any room for them.  But it was the Kingdom of Heaven coming down to men.

Twelve men told to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth looks insignificant and so small, but eventually the Gospel conquered the whole Roman Empire, through them and their disciples.

Mustard plants can grow to the size of 10 or 12 feet in height.  They are a very pernicious plant and grow quickly, even though they start out as a very small seed.

The Kingdom of God can grow so large that even birds of the air can perch in their branches.  Birds can mean either good or bad.  Some interpret them both ways.  Look at Dan. 4:21 for an example of birds finding a nesting place to dwell in the branches of the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.  Earlier in chapter 13, birds come and swoop down and eat the seed being planted.  This would be a bad thing.

Who can think that a bird can get rest and perch in the shade of a seed that is thousands of times smaller than itself?

The Kingdom of God has that potential.

God is very clever in that he uses birds to eat seeds, but they are unable to digest them, so eventually the birds actually are useful in that they scatter the seeds, after passing them through their bodies.

In what way is the kingdom of heaven like yeast?  What does it mean that the yeast worked all through even a large amount of flour?

The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast in that it has hidden power to influence everything it touches.

Some say that the yeast is only used in the Bible in a bad connotation.  Yeast is the bad teaching of the Pharisees.

Yeast makes bread to be tasty.  The Kingdom of Heaven makes life to be good and tasty.

Yeast makes bread to rise and expand.  Some say that the Yeast represents the Holy Spirit, that transforms a person inwardly to bear good fruit.

When it says that the Yeast works throughout the dough it reveals that the Kingdom of Heaven can work inside a person and outside a person as well.

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