Author: Gary Witcher

Parables Four

As soon as Jesus completes His explanation of  the parable of  the sower, He presents another story recorded in Matthew 13:24-30.
	"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field," the Master begins.
"But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed  tares also among the wheat, and went away.  But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
"And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then does it have tares?'
"And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!'
"And the slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?'
"But he said, 'No, lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up  the wheat with them.  Allow both  to grow  together  until  the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers,  "First gather up the tares; and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
What is the earthly story that Jesus is using here?  He  tells of  a landowner who plants good seed in his field.  But an enemy comes along by night and sows tares or darnel, a weed resembling wheat.  The workers are surprised when they find tares growing among  the wheat,  and  they ask whether they should remove the weeds  from  the  field immediately.   The owner instructs them to wait, instead, until  harvest  time  to make  the separation.
What is  the heavenly meaning behind  this story?  Remember  our discussion last week of the parable of the sower.  We saw one sower  and one kind of seed, identified as the word of  God.   The  four  kinds of results were the fruit of different types of soil.
In the parable of the tares, though, there are two sowers.   One  is good and the other is evil.  There are two kinds of seed, one good and one bad.  The soil remains the same.
As was the case with the parable of the sower,  Jesus explains  the parable of the  tares  in Matthew  13:37-43.   We  learn  that  the good landowner is Jesus, and that the enemy  is  the devil.   The good seed produces children of  Christ's kingdom,  while  the bad seed produces offspring of the evil one.  The field is the world.  The harvest  is  the end of the age.
What lessons can we gain from this parable?  For one thing, we  learn to expect a great deal of false teaching in the so-called religious world. Nearly every book in the New Testament has some kind of  warning about false teachers.
"I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;"  Paul  warns  the elders  from Ephesus  in Acts 20:29,30, "and from among your  own selves men will  arise,  speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them."
"Now I urge you, brethren," Paul says in Romans 16:17, "keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances  contrary  to  the  teaching which you learned, and turn away from them."
"Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied  to myself and Apollos for your sakes," Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 4:6,  "that in us you might learn not to exceed what is written, in order that no one of you might become arrogant in behalf of one against the other."
"But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you,"  Paul  affirms  in Galatians 1:8, "let him be accursed."  The apostle repeats the warning  in the next verse.
	The list of similar passages goes on, but the conclusion is obvious. The field contains more than wheat plants, and  the world contains more than children of Christ's kingdom.
Oh, the tare plants look like wheat plants, and some religious groups look like others, but the real test  comes at  the harvest.   Good seed produces plants which in turn produce more good seed.  Remember  that  the good seed is the New Testament teaching.  Human doctrines and philosophies produce more of the same.
Does this parable help us understand why having greater numbers does not prove the faithfulness of a religious body?  An area of a  field  that is full of tares may appear to be more crowded than others, until the time comes to bear fruit.
Do we ever wonder why God allows so much false teaching and religious division to exist? Perhaps the wise answer  of  the  landowner  in  this parable gives us some insight into God's decision.
Farmers quite wisely select seed that is as  free as possible  from weed seed.  Why are we not able to apply this same wisdom  to  religious matters?

Jesus has grouped together in His discourse three parables dealing with seeds.  The third, recorded in Matthew  13:31,32,  Mark  4:30-32 and Luke 13:16-19, deals with a tiny mustard seed.
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,"  Jesus  teaches  in Matthew's account, "which a man took and sowed in his field; and  this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air  come and nest in its branches."
The earthly story here is quite simple;  a  tiny mustard seed is capable of producing a very  large plant.   Actually,  Jesus  could have chosen any kind of seed  to  teach  this  lesson.   It is  impossible  to anticipate the size of the resulting plant based on the measurement of  a small seed.  It has been said that it is simple to count  the number  of seeds in an apple, but it is impossible to count the number of apples in a seed.
But Jesus chooses one of the smallest seeds to drive home His point. And just what is this point?
The Lord states that the kingdom of heaven is like the mustard seed. Humble beginnings can bring grand results, especially when the word of God is involved.
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel," Paul  writes  in Romans  1:16, "for it is the power of God for salvation, to every one who believes,  to the Jew first and also to the Greek."  Other  passages  that stress  the power of the New Testament include 1 Corinthians 1:16-21 and 15:1,2.
"For the word of God is  living and active and sharper  than any two-edged sword," we read in Hebrews 4:12, "and piercing as  far  as  the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to  judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
Although those in the world may view the Bible as an out-dated,  weak book, it is in reality a tremendous power when allowed  to work  on our hearts.
Another thing that Jesus compares to a mustard seed is faith.
"Truly I say to you," Jesus informs His followers in Matthew  17:20, "if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall  say to  this mountain, 'Move from here to there,'  and  it shall  move;  and nothing shall  be impossible to you."
A little faith goes a  long way,  especially when  that  trust and obedience is directed toward God.
In Matthew 13:33 Jesus follows with a parable about leaven.
	"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven," He points out, "which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all  leavened."   The same parable is also found in Luke 13:20,21.
Just as a small seed is sufficient to start a towering tree, so also a small amount of yeast is enough to leaven a large amount of dough.
The same is true in our lives.  A little bit of sunshine can  fill  a room with light.  And a little bit of cheer  can  illuminate  the darkest day.  Do our conversations merely fit in with those of the people around us, or are we willing to be the yeast that leavens the situations for  the better?
"Like apples of gold in settings of silver," the wise man Solomon instructs in Proverbs 25:11, "is a word spoken in right circumstances."
A little bit of influence goes a long way.  Unfortunately, this works both ways.  A little bit of bad influence can result in tremendous damage.
The church in Corinth was guilty of allowing gross immorality among some of its members to go unchecked.
"Your boasting is not good," Paul brings to their attention in 1 Corinthians 5:6,7.  "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?  Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump.
Sadly, many of us are the dough, waiting passively to be leavened by whatever influence happens to come our way.  Sadder, still, is the fact that some of us are leavening the lump in the wrong direction.
Haven't we all been standing nearby when a fresh loaf of good bread was removed from the oven?  And haven't we all seen or even tasted bread made with yeast that was dead?  Which kind of bread would we rather eat? Which kind of yeast would we rather be?
"But thanks be to God," 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 comments,  "who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
"For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life."
There are many influences that will leaven us in the wrong direction. But there is only one thing that will cause us to grow in the right direction: the teaching of God revealed in the Bible.
	False values and false teaching will doom us to a tasteless, unfruitful life and eventual destruction.  But the truth will set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)