Weeds in God’s Garden

Matthew 13:24-43

Intro:

1. Video: The Kingdom is…
2. Parables are like windows that let the soul of man see and understand the things of God.  What is God’s kingdom like?
3. The setting: Jesus sitting by the Sea of Galilee. Mark tells us what had been happening (3:20- 21, 31-35): Great crowds came to hear Jesus preach and teach. The news of these crowds unsettled his family and his relatives came to “take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.” What did Jesus do? He kept on teaching.

What I want to say:  There are aspects of God’s kingdom that are not immediately evident. In these parables Jesus helps us to understand what we do not see.  We find three traits of God’s kingdom: it is presently mixed, it is powerful and it is pervasive.

What is the Kingdom of God like?

I.      Weeds among wheat - God’s kingdom is present though mixed (:24-30; 36-43)

A.    Jesus is the planter of good seed (:37)

1.    The good seed is God’s people (:38)

a)    Here the seed has a different meaning than in the Parable of the Sower

2.    The field is the world. God has planted good seed in this world.

B.    Satan only wants to destroy the work of God (:39)

1.    An enemy plants darnel

a)    The darnel is the enemy’s imitation of God’s wheat

b)    Because they look alike, it is difficult to tell the difference between the darnel and wheat

2.    We live in a world corrupted from God’s plan by sin. If it was not for the hope of the promises of God, we would despair hopelessly.

a)    Daily we read about murders, robberies, rapes, violence. We read about greedy people having a lot of money and poor people struggling with little.

b)    Someone said recently that she did not believe in God because little children get cancer and suffer. The implication is that God must not be good. Children do not get cancer because God is not good but because sin is evil. But God is patient and He allows mankind to go along in rebellion for a season so that there is no doubt of the reality of sin.

C.   A day of reckoning is coming.

1.    The weeds grow alongside the wheat until the harvest (:39)

ILLUS> I’ve got weeds in my front lawn. They are wild violets. Stubborn things. Once I tried spraying weed killer on them and I killed some.  My son came by and asked, “Dad, why are there all those dead spots in the grass?”  You see, the weed killer not only got on the weeds but also on the good grass because they grow right next to one another.

2.    The harvest is the end of the age (not the end of all things) but the end of this present season of God’s grace.

a)    This is the end of the time frame between the first coming of Christ and the Second Coming:

b)    the Judgment which is followed by the Millenium where Christ rules on the earth.

3.    In the world today, there are only two kinds of people – saved and not saved

I heard a radio commentator speaking about the death of Jerry Falwell.  He played a recording of a conversation that Dr. Falwell had with him at the end of which Dr. Falwell quoted Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 ESV.  Afterward, the commentator said that to his mind, all religions lead to God and that a Muslim, a Jew, a Buddhist or a Christian all seem the same to him. This is exactly Jesus’ point.  In our world we are surrounded by believers in Christ and nonbelievers. But often we cannot tell them apart by outward appearances or even practices. Religious people seem to be good because they are religious. But the reason we cannot generally tell if a person is a believer or not is that faith is a matter of the heart which only God can read.

     A drunken man got on the bus late one night, staggered up the aisle, and sat next to a woman who was clutching a Bible.

     She looked the wayward drunk up and down and said, "I've got news for you, mister. You're going straight to hell!"

The man jumped up out of his seat and shouted, "Oh, man, I'm on the wrong bus again!"Keith Todd, www.sermonfodder.com

4.    The reapers are the angels (:39)

5.    The tares or weeds are gathered and burned with fire

6.    It is interesting to note the nature of the separation:

a)    First the weeds are gathered and burned (there is a destiny for those who reject Christ)

…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 ESV

7.    The place where the wicked go is a place of weeping. Jesus uses this phrase to describe hell seven times. The weeping seems to refer to everlasting regret.

8.    The place where the wicked go is a place where the constant conscious pain causes them to grind their teeth. Hell is a very real place reserved for those who rebel against God.

D.   There is a reward for those who love God! (:43)

1.    The wheat is harvested and stored in the barn of the Master.

2.    The concern is that at all costs the wheat is preserved

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,  1 Thessalonians 5:9 ESV

3.    God will preserve His saints!

4.    They will shine!!!

And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3 ESV

II.    The Mustard Seed – God’s Kingdom is powerful (:31-32)

A.    Even the smallest things have great potential

1.    Although there are smaller seeds known in the world, in that day the mustard seed was the smallest commonly known thus giving rise to the saying, “Small as a mustard seed.” (cp. Matthew 17:20)

B.    Size does not determine impact   Disproportionate growth

1.    The mustard seed grows to be between 12 and 15 feet tall – in one season!

C.   Great blessing comes from a small beginning

1.    It is surprising that something so small could grow large enough to be a place of nesting for birds.

2.    In the same way, the kingdom of heaven began small and will grow to be a great blessing to the whole world.

III.   Yeast in dough – God’s kingdom is pervasive(:33-35)

A.    The influence of yeast spreads persistently

1.    Given time and the right environment, yeast spreads with no limits except the boundaries of the dough.

2.    The Holy Spirit nurtures the word of God in lives.

3.    The kingdom of God spreads from one person to another

B.    The influence of yeast is pervasive

1.    It spreads until it has filled the whole lump of dough.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 ESV

IV.  You have a role in God’s kingdom – now!

A.    God’s kingdom presently is not what it will be

1.    like a garden that has weeds and good plants mixed together

a)     One Day the weeds and the wheat will be separated.

b)    In the mean time, it is as if the weeds take comfort in the deception that they secure because they are among the wheat plants.

2.    The weeds are protected by the presence of the wheat.

a)    The only thing holding back the wrath of God against sin is the Holy Spirit.

3.    Today the Holy Spirit is in every child of God and that presence is providing shelter even for the nonbelievers.

a)    We read that when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the world at the Rapture of the Church, the world rapidly becomes hell on earth.

And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 2 Thessalonians 2:6 ESV

b)    Make no mistake, brother or sister in Christ, it is your presence here that continues to influence this world and allows this world to continue.

B.    God’s kingdom is growing

1.    It is like a small seed that grows and has a great effect in spite of its small beginning.

2.    Jesus came to this earth as a baby – small and apparently helpless.

3.    But He left in the power of the resurrection having planted the small seed of His kingdom.

C.   God’s kingdom will spread relentlessly

1.    It is like yeast that spreads invisibly throughout the whole of a lump of dough

2.    Although in many other places in Scripture, yeast is used to picture the way sin spreads, that is not the picture here.

3.    Once the process of leavening begins, it cannot be stopped.

4.    In our world, God’s kingdom will grow until the whole world has been touched by it.

Concl:

1. God’s kingdom is present, powerful and pervasive.
2. In our day we are asking questions about God’s work in our world because we sense that we are under attack from radical forces. Never underestimate the outcome. God is building His Kingdom and it will not fail.