THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS

TODAY’S PASSAGE: 

Matthew 13:24-30 (NLT) – 24 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. 27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. 29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”

• Jesus explains this parable by saying that he is the farmer, believers are the seeds, and the world is the field.
• Jesus intentionally placed us in this world with a purpose, not by accident.
• It is God’s plan that we be “good seeds” that produce a harvest.
• We are also called to be a “light” in a dark world.

Matthew 5:14 NLT “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

• Jesus says that we are the light of the world. This means that God has called us to be in this world to glorify him and bring others to him.
• The harvest God is looking for is souls being saved.

• In this parable, Jesus describes the devil as the enemy who planted weeds among the wheat.
• The weeds represent the people who belong to the devil. They have been planted by the enemy and are used by him to oppose God’s work in the world.
• The weeds at this time were known as “bearded darnel,” which grow to look just like the wheat. This means the enemy will deceive many to think something is good, when it is not.
• The enemy wants to deceive people to think they can be made right with God without repentence or true surrender to Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV – 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

• Jesus is offering us freedom from sin and bondage. We must repent and turn to Him to be saved.

• God will separate his children from those that have rejected him
• What makes us right with God is not our good works, but our faith in Jesus Christ.
• God is being patient when it comes to his ultimate judgement so that more can be saved.

2 Peter 3:9 NLT The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

• Today you can be saved and set free because of the love and mercy of God
• While you have time, give your life totally and completely to God in surrender, and He will give you a new life.