Weeds
and Wheat (Matthew 13:25 -29; 36-40)
Matthew 13:25-29 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat,
and went his way. 26) But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27) So the servants of the householder
came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from
whence then hath it tares? 28) He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The
servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29) But
he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with
them. 30) Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest
I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matthew 13:36-40 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his
disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of
the field. 37) He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is
the Son of man; 38) The field is the world; the good seed are the children of
the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39) The enemy
that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the
reapers are the angels. 40) As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in
the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. (KJV)
Whenever I have, in the past, read this
passage, my mind automatically went into “them and us” mode, with “them” as the
tares, naturally.
The word used in the Greek for “tares” is “zizanio”, and more than likely refers to
darnel (Lolium temulentum), a weed that resembles wheat, that may be found
growing in wheat fields and is regarded as poisonous. Darnel is sometimes called
false grain.
When we look at this passage in context,
between Matthew 13:29 and Matthew 13:36 , Jesus tells two other
parables, one about tiny mustard seeds that grow to enormity, and a second
about yeast that permeates the entire loaf. Noticably, verse 41 says, “The Son
of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom
all things that offend, and them which do iniquity”
There are two subjects mentioned in this
verse: ‘Things that offend (Gk. “skandalon”
– “stumbling-block”)’ and ‘Them which do iniquity (Gk. “anomia” – law-breakers)’.
Based on the content of the accompanying
parables and the two subjects of verse 41, I would like to suggest that the
wheat and tares are not just referring to people that the Enemy has planted in
our midst (them which do iniquity), but to behaviours that we display when we
fail to reflect a Christ-like character (all things that offend) especially when
this behaviour becomes a stumbling block to ourselves or others.
This means that at some time or other we
are all tares for the Devil (See Romans 3:23 , 24). I observe that James
3:2 says, “For in many things we offend all.” (offend = Gk “patio” – “stumble” – the NIV says, “We
all stumble in many ways.”)
Darnel or false grain produces no usable fruit.
So if I desire to reveal the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22 ,
23) I ought not to wait until the sickle is used before using the hoe (see Heb 3:12 -15).
In times past when we lost a loved-one
through death, we men would wear a black arm-band as a sign of mourning and the
women would wear black dresses. The arm-bands or black dresses are historically
referred to as "weeds" (from the Germanic word for
"garment"). Now-a-days we don't always publicly display our grieving,
but endeavour to contain it within ourselves. Likewise we are inclined to be
very quick to see weeds around us but fail to see the festering within. I need
to remind myself that criticising the weeds in my neighbour's garden does not
remove the weeds from my own.
So, what can I do about this?
Firstly, I believe I need to abandon my
‘them and us’ mentality (See Matthew 7:1-5).
Second, I believe I need to invite God’s
Spirit to enable me to examine myself in order to weed-out undesirable traits
in me (See Psalm 139:23, 24).
Thirdly, I believe I need to reflect on and
confess my past judgement of particular individuals as being weeds while I
considered myself as wheat (See 1 John 1:9).
And fourthly, I believe I need to follow
the admonition of Romans 12:3-21, specifically verse18, “If it be possible, as
much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men”.
May God help me in this endeavour.
-- Lionel Hartley
