INTERPRETATION OF WHEAT & TARES

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Matthew 13:36-43

Matthew interrupts the series of the parables of the Kingdom by inserting what Jesus said concerning the wheat and the tares (false wheat): 36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." 37 He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

NOTE that it is Jesus-the Son of Man-Who is the Sower of the good seed and the devil is the sower of the seed that is called the tares-false wheat. Also note the devil isn't sowing a seed that is much different than the wheat. In other words, he is not sowing seeds that might grow into fruit trees. The devil is sowing seed that looks so similar to the wheat that it can be hard to tell the difference at a glance. The devil is the great counterfeiter of all that God is doing.

Jesus is the sower. So, how does He do this through us? FIRST-Jesus works in us through Incarnation. He lives His life in us. You want to be able to see Jesus at work in and through you. So you are to take on being like Jesus in everything you do!

SECOND-Jesus works through us through the process of Infiltration. Here you are able to see Jesus going along with you. In this way you are a part of God's movement-His Kingdom on earth.

THIRD-Jesus works in and through us through a universal Invitation. That universal invitation is attractive to others. The Kingdom movement is one of attraction, not promotion. The invitation is triggered by a question on the heart of each follower of Jesus: "What can I do to help?"

THINK ABOUT IT IN THESE FOUR WAYS: #1-Jesus is calling you today. a) You who are interested-Believe in Me-whosoever will. b) You who are believers-Follow Me. c) You who are followers-Make Disciples of Me. #2-Jesus believes those He calls are good enough-you can do it. #3-Jesus believes you can be like Him-to perpetuate His Kingdom. #4-Jesus empowers you by His presence as 2 or 3 gather together in His name.

"The Lord says, 'this is a special invitation to all of you who don't have all the answers. Who struggle with life. Who are tired. Who are burned out. Who are bruised. Who struggle with grief. Come to me I will teach you how to trust. I will teach you how to learn. Walk with me, work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to trust and live with joy and freedom.'"

SO, we take on the characteristics of Jesus, because we seek to embrace His teachings and principles as a lifestyle. That's incarnation at its best! We allow Jesus to work through us to infiltrate the society around us. And, we become channels for Jesus to invite the world to Him through us. The wheat-kind of people get this privilege. Those who are tare-like will never know the joy of working that closely with Jesus.

So, in the Kingdom there are two kinds of crops-genuine wheat and weeds that are a counterfeit wheat. Don't worry yourself about sorting them out. It's really none of your business. Jesus will do all of the sorting out at the end. Just focus on being that genuine wheat and be responsive to the One who planted you-Jesus.