THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS

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Matthew 13:24-30

Out of all of the eight parables in this section of Matthew, the concept of sowing is the key thought and theme of Jesus' answer to what the Kingdom's going to look like now. In fact, as you make your way through these eight parables you will discover that there is only one of the eight that indicates any great effort on our part. That one is the parable of the Sower.

The seed is the word-the message of the kingdom-the Gospel or good news. Sowing in those days was done by scattering seed widely, not by carefully placing a seed into a pre-dug hole, hoping to water and watch the plant grow up. Sowing is the only action step Jesus sets up for the Kingdom. Sowing is THE KINGDOM ACTIVITY! In other words, we as disciples are to be sowing the seed of the Gospel indiscriminately in all that we do. The Gospel is the most important thing! And remember, THE GOSPEL IS JESUS and THE KINGDOM-the seed is this Kingdom message regarding the King and His rule. We are to share Jesus-the life of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, the love of Jesus, the light of Jesus-simply Jesus to our world. The 4 soils describe the ways in which the seed is received as it is sown.

Now, Jesus' second parable makes an observation and gives a caution: 24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28 " 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

29 " 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "

THE OBSERVATION? When you are doing the work of sowing, you will likely find tares that are sown along side the wheat. Tares are empty wheat pods-chaff without wheat kernels-false wheat that looks like wheat, but isn't. He applies this observation in that the genuine wheat are those who believe in the Gospel and the tares or weeds are those who look good, but are not genuine followers of Jesus. They are all together in the same field and it may be difficult to tell the difference.

THE CAUTION? The servants' want them to gather up the tares out of the wheat field-to separate the wheat from the weeds. But the owner quickly responds, "Allow both to grow together until the harvest." The reason being that if you attempt to pull out the weeds from the wheat, you are likely to uproot the genuine wheat along with the weeds. In other words, it is none of your business who is IN and who is OUT. Only Jesus knows for sure! And, if we try to separate the genuine followers of Jesus from those who seem to be but are not, then we will most likely damage the genuine wheat in the process.

By the way, this is a favorite pastime of church leadership and it must be stopped! Jesus wants us to sow the seed and He will take care of the results. It's that simple, yet I find it most difficult for a control-freak like me. I want to help Jesus out a bit. BUT I must discipline myself to stick to sowing the seed of the Kingdom in the lives of everyone I meet-from the bank-teller to the toll-booth clerk to your superior to the policeman to the store clerk to the cleaning lady and to your fiercest competitor. Sow the seed of the Kingdom everywhere you go. That's the one thing you are responsible to do in this life before Jesus returns. Just what are you busy doing, if it's not sowing the seed of the Kingdom? What could possibly be more important than this?

ILLUSTRATION OF THE SOILS

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Matthew 13:18-23

Jesus illustrates receptivity (ears to hear) by the use of four soils-by the side of the road, the rocky places, among the thorns and the good soil. These represent what kind of receptivity you might expect as you participate in the sowing of the seed of the Gospel and, these soils also illustrate the various degrees of receptivity we each experience in our own lives.

Now note the interpretation of these soils: (1) The soil which is along the path. 18 "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When people hear the message about the kingdom and do not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their hearts. This is the seed sown along the path.

NOTE what the message that is being sown here is-the Kingdom. This blows my mind. I have heard this, read it, and taught this passage for many years, but I never saw that the message that is being planted is the message of the Kingdom. And, it is this message that those who are the soil along the path hear, but do not understand. Since there is no understanding of what they are hearing, the seed is snatched away.

(2) The soil which is in rocky places. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to people who hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

NOTE the Kingdom message is referred to in the next three soils as the word. This soil on the rocky ground is quite shallow, therefore the seed cannot take root and lasts for a short time. Jesus points out that the problem here is trouble and persecution. These overcome those who are the soil on the rocky ground. And, it's because of the word or the Kingdom message that they are finding trouble and being persecuted. This persecution is most likely verbal as Jesus has mentioned before.

(3) The soil which is among the thorns. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to people who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

NOTE the seed here falls among the thorns. This is where people hear the word or the Kingdom message and the word is choked. The choking or smothering of the word is due to the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. Worries of this life is when you allow the stresses that surround you and threaten your security to overwhelm you, instead of placing your trust in Him. The deceitfulness of wealth is thinking that there is some sort of security in money, places and things. This is perhaps the greatest "over-promise and under-deliver" proposition in this world, believing this stuff can make you happy or might be fulfilling. The end result is that this soil is unfruitful.

(4) The good soil. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to people who hear the word and understand it. They produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

NOTE that the entire goal has to do with fruitfulness. Only one out of four of the soils is productive or fruitful. And, the fruitfulness listed as the "good soil" here is monumental-phenomenal fruitfulness.

Fruitfulness depends upon four things: FIRST-Open up your heart, being interested in seeing and hearing all God has in store for you.

SECOND-Keep your focus on Jesus and the Kingdom no matter what kinds of trouble and persecution come your way.

THIRD-Refuse to be caught up in the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth. This is trusting in everyone and everything else other than the God of gods.

FOURTH-Let God bring about the fruitfulness. Stop trying to do it yourself.

I see each of these 4 soils as fluid. In other words, we have all been each one of these soils at one time or another. Can you remember the times you were one or more of these soils in your life? One more question: Where are you now?

THE SECRETS OF THE KINGDOM

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Matthew 13:1-17

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear."

10 The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" 11 He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Those who have will be given more, and they will have an abundance. As for those who do not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'

Here in Matthew 13 we have just passed the miracle section of chapters 8-12. The Jewish leadership has clearly rejected the Jesus movement of the day and the disciples had to be quite discouraged. Things weren't going their way to move into power with Jesus as the King and to expel the Roman oppressors. So, the logical question in the minds of the disciples is: "Jesus, what's the Kingdom going to look like now?"

Jesus answers this question with a series of 8 parables that describe the present nature of the Kingdom. He used parables to reveal Kingdom truth to those who were leaning in and to conceal the Kingdom truth from those who were dead-set against it.

Since the disciples had eyes to see and ears to hear, Jesus gave them the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven. The secrets of the Kingdom make up the message Jesus came to present to the world.

NOTE Jesus says that those who have the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom will be given more and will have an abundance. For those who do not have the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom, what they have will be taken away.

It all boils down to problems with the eyes and the ears. Check out what Jesus says next: 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Jesus says that many prophets and righteous people longed to see the Kingdom that He came to bring to the world. Now that the Kingdom is here, it's vital to HAVE EYES TO SEE AND EARS TO HEAR. Be sure to frequently check out your eyes and ears so that you can see and hear what God has brought to you. By the way, having eyes to see and ears to hear is just another way of saying IT'S A MATTER OF THE HEART. So, how well are YOUR eyes seeing and YOUR ears hearing? Check your heart!

KINGDOM SOUNDS OF AUTHENTICITY

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Matthew 11:11-19

11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

16 "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 17 " 'We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."

The world conditions were ready for something different to catch their attention and turn their hearts toward God. There was much religiosity and secularism thriving at that time, but "authenticity" was woefully lacking. John's attractiveness was that he was authentic-the real deal. He took on a pose in announcing the Kingdom that was almost the opposite of the religious setting of the day and people were hungry for it. He didn't wear the flowing robes of the priestly or religious class, didn't operate in or around the beautiful Temple, didn't have a religious air to him, and was not playing games any longer. This authentic message of turning back to God (repentance) and looking for the Messiah was most refreshing, even if they had to travel out into the country to hear it. It was a Kingdom message.

NOTE that John came with a serious tone like singing a dirge at a funeral to catch the attention of those who were playing games with their faith. Jesus, on the other hand, came with more of a tone of a wedding party where music was being played for dancing. Yet, Jesus says that this generation responded negatively to both! To John they claimed he had a demon and to Jesus they were critical of His partying, calling Him a drunkard, gluttonous and a friend of sinners. "Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds" means that the actions of those who respond will speak most clearly and loudly.

It seems we live in a very similar context today in our world-filled with religiosity, spiritualism and secularism. We are in need of a breath of authenticity like never before. In a day when the mega-church is easily made into a distant show to watch and enjoy without personal engagement and where the small church can easily be so boring with the predictable program and needs, where personal engagement leads to certain burnout. We desperately need authenticity! I believe that authenticity is to be found among those who are interested in walking with Jesus, walking with others and waiting for Jesus to lead out. In other words, authenticity today must come from many Elijah-like followers of Jesus who are preparing the way for the Messiah to show up. John showed up with great authenticity and then Jesus continues to show up as promised-"where two or three gather in My name, there I will be in their midst."

Also, in addition to this authenticity introduced by John and Jesus, Jesus offers Himself as the answer to all of the inauthentic religious approaches on the planet.

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Jesus now offers the most simple explanation of what it means to believe in Jesus' way versus the ways of the religious. Remember the call of Matthew that illustrated how it works? The whole world is out to try to make themselves right before God by jumping through all sorts of hoops. That's religion-trying to avoid going to hell-conduct life in such a way so as to be accepted by God. Jesus only requires a personal relationship with Him-"Come to Me." It's a relationship-been to hell and don't want to go back. Much of the hell we experience in life is trying to conduct our lives in such a way so as to be accepted before God.

Jesus invites all who are sick and tired and weighed down by all of the do's and don'ts of trying to be acceptable to God, to simply come to Him. Just come to Jesus and He will give you rest. He gives you rest in two ways-salvation rest (you are accepted by God just the way you are) and rest for your soul (stop the treadmill of stress). This is the most amazing thing ever! Jesus is the only one who can make you acceptable, simply by coming to Him. He'll do the rest!

You see, when you are called to be a disciple, you are called to rest. I am just now understanding this. Although I have known the grace of God, I have been frantically "doing" everything I could do to prove that I am acceptable. I have acted more like a human "doing" rather than a human "being." Jesus wants me to simply come to Him, take on His yoke and learn from Him, so that I will find REST for my soul. This blows my mind! How about you?

JESUS SENDS OUT 12 REVOLUTIONARIES

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Matthew 10

We are dipping into every mention of the Kingdom in the book of Matthew. After examining the Kingdom Manifesto Jesus presented in chapters 5, 6, and 7, we have viewed chapters 8 and 9. Now, we come to one of the most fascinating scenes in the life of Jesus and His disciples.

Here in chapter 10 Jesus is sending the twelve out on a special field trip. NOTE what happens here: Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'

Jesus gives His disciples the authority and power to deliver people from the bondage of evil spirits and heal every disease and sickness.

Now, what's interesting to me is that this is early in the training of the disciples. They weren't even believers yet! They are on a learning track, but they are not there yet. However, in a real sense, this is what the Kingdom is all about. The Kingdom isn't about how well or spiritually healthy or powerful the subjects are; it's all about the King. As they moved out in the name of Jesus, it was that name and the message of the Kingdom that produced the positive results and impact.

Now NOTE the message that was to be proclaimed by these fledglings: "THE KINDOM OF HEAVEN HAS COME NEAR." Ever since Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, there has been a constant theme throughout the ages-regaining the Garden of Eden experience. Ever since the first couple lost the Kingdom, the abiding presence of God and the personal relationship with their Creator-God, mankind has been seeking to be restored to that Garden.

NOW, Jesus shows up with the answer to all that was lost. His humanity gives us the opportunity to re-establish a personal relationship with the Creator-God. He introduced the abiding presence of the Creator-God for all to enjoy again on a permanent basis through the Spirit. And, as the King, Jesus re-introduces the long awaited Kingdom. For the disciples to be announcing everywhere that the Kingdom of heaven has come near is the most revolutionary and welcomed message anyone could utter.

Jesus goes on to specify what this Kingdom message includes: Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Luke records an interchange between the disciples of John and Jesus that is very instructive about the Kingdom: When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' " At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

John was looking for certain Messianic acts that specifically were to be performed by the Messiah. These acts were all indicative of the King and His Kingdom.

· The sick are healed. · The dead are raised. · The blind receive sight. · The lame walk. · The lepers cleansed. · The deaf hear. · The demonized are freed. · The poor are given the good news.

In other words, the good news of the Kingdom-the key message Jesus wanted proclaimed-is all about restoration of those who are in some way "marginalized" in our society.

What's interesting to me is that Jesus wasn't about sharing a list of things to do or to believe. Jesus was into practicing these good news themes of the Kingdom.

NOW bringing this down to today, how might this apply to you and me? To me there seem to be three primary lessons from this passage in Matthew 10:

FIRST-The message we are to be sharing with the world is the good news of the Kingdom.

SECOND-The Kingdom message is to be aimed at the marginalized-those who need Jesus and His healing touch the most.

THIRD-As we focus ourselves on this message of the good news of the Kingdom to the marginalized, we can be highly confident that Jesus is with us and gives us the power and authority to do what He wants.

You see, Jesus sent out the 12 as Kingdom of God revolutionaries and nothing changes today. You and I are to be Kingdom revolutionaries to the marginalized in our world today. You see, THE REVOLUTION IS STILL ON and Jesus is the great revolutionary leading the way.