Jesus often used parables to teach the people about His kingdom. Now parables were stories based on every day life with a spiritual meaning behind them. By using every day stories, Jesus was better able to communicate spiritual truths to the people. However, there was a time or two when Jesus' own disciples didn't get the main idea of the parable and had to have Jesus explain it to them.
Well, some of us might not understand the parable, or story, in the passage. We may understand what is happening in the story, but we may not understand the spiritual significance of the story. That's where I come in. It's my aim to explain the parable's spiritual meaning so that we might better understand Jesus' kingdom. And as a result of this understanding, we may better pattern our lives around Jesus and what He commands us to do in our lives.
In the parable Jesus says that a man planted wheat in his field. Back in those days they didn't have planting machines. Farmers sowed their fields by hand. I'm sure it was quite labor intensive.
Jesus then says that while the farmer was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds in his field. As the wheat began to grow, weeds appeared. The farmer's helpers were a little disturbed by this. They thought that the farmer had sown good seed and were confused about the appearance of the weeds. How could this be?
Farmers today know all about weeds. They do what they can to rid their fields of them. What's amazing about weeds is that a farmer's enemies don't need to plant weeds in his field. Weeds appear all by themselves. It would be nice if the plants farmers wanted to grow would appear by themselves as well, but unfortunately they don't. The wheat, the corn, the beans, etc., etc. have to be planted by hand. The weeds, on the other hand, come out of nowhere.
The farmers in Jesus' day didn't have pesticides and weed killers to help them battle the weeds like farmers do today. They either pulled them out by hand or simply left them. I'm sure by leaving the weeds, the good crop was robbed of nutrients it might have had had not the weeds been there.
In the story, Jesus says that the farmer's helpers wanted to remove the weeds by hand. They knew that the weeds could possibly choke the good wheat plants. But the farmer tells them not to do anything. He's afraid that if his helpers were to pull out the weeds, they might pull out some of the good plants as well. So he tells them to wait until the time of the harvest. At that time, the helpers will be able to pick both the weeds and the wheat without harming the wheat. The weeds will then be bundled and burned, and the wheat will be placed in the farmer's barn.
The story line of the parable is straight forward. But what is the spiritual meaning behind the story? Here is a case where Jesus' disciples asked Him to explain the meaning of the parable. In verses 37-43 of the passage Jesus explains the story to His disciples.
First, Jesus tells the disciples what the various things in the parable represent. The farmer who sowed the good seed is the Son of man, Jesus Himself. The field is the world. The wheat are those who believe in God. The weeds are those who don't believe in God. The enemy, who planted the weeds, is the devil. And the farmer's helpers are the angels. Jesus tells the disciples that the harvest is the end of the age.
Secondly, Jesus explains the spiritual meaning of the parable. He says both believers and unbelievers live together on this earth, and they do so until the end of time. On the last day, Jesus will send His angels to gather both those who believe in God and those who don't. Those who do believe in him will live forever in His kingdom. Those who don't believe in Him will be consigned to the eternal fire forever. This is the spiritual meaning of the parable.
What does this mean for us today? Jesus told this parable 2,000 years ago, and have things changed? Not really. The world is still comprised of believers and unbelievers. They coexist in the world. We believers, however, await the end of the world so that we will no longer have to live with the wicked. We're looking forward to a day when all our troubles will be over once and for all.
The biggest question this parable raises for us is, how long yet do we have to coexist with evil in this world? We get tired of having to live along side of weeds, unbelievers. They make it difficult for us to live.
In the parable the farmer's helpers were anxious to get rid of the weeds, but the farmer held them back, telling them to wait. I'm sure the angels in heaven desire to remove the wicked from among us believers, but God has a plan. He may not execute His plan as quickly as we would like Him to, but He does have a plan, as is evident in the parable. God's day is coming. The end of the world will happen, but according to God's plan, no sooner, no later.
This, of course, tests our patience and trust in God. We want to experience perfection a lot sooner. We want God to finally show Himself for us to see. We're tired of God hiding out. We want Him to make right everything that is wrong with the world. We want to see Him take care of those who hurt us and offended us. Yet from the parable we see that we have to wait a little while longer.
I know we're given to doubt. "It's all a nice story, this end of the world and all. But I don't think it's going to happen. The wicked in the world go on doing evil. When is God going to destroy the wicked? We've been hearing that He will for many, many years now." Doubting certainly isn't going to change things. Doubting isn't going to make God come any sooner, is it? If anything, doubt makes things worse. For one, it causes us to be miserable. And for two, it causes God to become upset with us.
Instead, turn to God for strength in times of doubt. Trust in Him. Trust in what Jesus did for us on the cross. He conquered evil, which means that the days of wickedness here on earth are numbered. God's angels are going to come and bring us into His eternal presence while all the evil and corruption in this world will be bound together and thrown into the fire.
The next time we find that we are the victim of some wickedness or evil intent and plan of someone, remember that God is going take the evil away. Remember that God will deliver us when He comes again. He's going to get rid of the weeds forever. He's going to get rid of those who refuse to love Him. He's going to do away with those who cause us much grief. It's guaranteed.
We already see the world winding down. The world isn't becoming a more loving and kinder place to live. It's getting rougher and rougher as more and more people turn away from God. It's becoming more evil as they let the devil rule their lives instead of the Lord Jesus. But change is on the horizon. The Lord is going to come and change it all for the better.
Let the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with faith to believe this parable that Jesus told and explained to His disciples. Let Him remove all doubt from our heart. Let Him give us a spirit that can't wait for His angels to come and harvest us for the kingdom of heaven. May our Lord give us the patience to wait a while longer.
