Parables Of Jesus Christ

The parable of the weeds

The parable of the weeds
Matthew 13:24-30
Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared."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?'"'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
"'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 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.'"
When i read The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, or Tares(a type of weed) i thought wow!!! isnt this parable filled with spiritual significance and truth. Of course when looking into it it is never quite what it seems, always much more. Looking through the net i seen some interpretation of this parable day that it is the condition of the church(church of jesus christ) the wheat being the true believers and the false proffesors being the weeds. Although this maybe true of th church as a whole and individual churches I dont believe this is what jesus meant. After jesus taught the parable he explained it. Matthew 13:36-43
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
"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."
He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 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, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 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. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear."
Jesus very plainly and simply tell us the field is the world. In my opinion i think even if the lord hadnt told us specifically it was the world i think it is still obvious. The landowner tells the servants not to pull up the weeds in the field, but to leave them until the end of the age. If the field were the church this command would directly contradict Jesus's teaching in Matthew 18:15-19, which tell what to do with unrepented sinners in the church. Jesus never instructed us to let impenitent sinners remain in the church until the end of the age. To me Jesus is teaching about "the kingdom of heaven" in the world.
Looking back in jesus's time the quality of crops was most important to the farmers. A direct sabotage to the business would be if a enemy planted weeds. Tares was a weed that until mature looked like wheat. Of course there was no weed killer in those days so only option was to pull out the weeds. This landowner in this parable was wise and wanted to wait until harvest. After harvesting they could be seperated.In the explanation of parable, jesus reveals himself as the sower. He spreads His redeemed seed, true believers, in the field of the world. Through His grace, these Christians bear the fruit of the Spirit. They are the reason the "kingdom of heaven" is like the field of the world. When Jesus says, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17; Mark 3:2), He means that there is a evil realm on earth as well .When the kingdom of heaven comes to its fruition, heaven will real, there will be no "weeds" among the "wheat." . Not as now with both good and bad seeds maturing in the world.The enemy in the parable is ovo Satan. Who tries to destroy Christ's work by placing false believers and teachers in the world . But we are not to pursue such people in an effort to destroy them. Thinking of this i remember in history lessons being taught the Crusades, and the reign of "Bloody Mary" in England to see the results of man taking the responsibility of separating true believers from false. Which is not ours to do only god can do that a task . Instead of requiring these false believers to be rooted out of the world. They possibly hurt and lose immature believers in the process. Christ allows them to remain until His return. Then angels will separate the true from false believers. Just like the farmer he could have ripped out good wheat to get to the weeds. Just as tares resembles wheat we cant not take it upon ourselves to uproot believers as a false believer may resemble a true believer. Matthew 7:22, Jesus warned that many profess faith but do not know Him. So we should examine our own relationship with Christ and not judge others . Jesus will one day establish true righteousness. After He raptures the true church out of this world, God will pour out His righteous wrath on the world. During that tribulation, He will draw others to saving faith in Jesus Christ. At the end of the tribulation, all unbelievers will be judged for their sin and unbelief; then, they will be removed from God's presence. True followers of Christ will reign with Him. What a glorious hope for the "wheat". So be a wheat, only you can sort your relationship with god. Not only in eternity but right now you will reap the blessings of being wheat.