Matthew 13:24-52 – A Sword, the Family, and Rewards, Part 2. c.

The first parable recorded by Matthew, and the focus of last week’s blog, has much to say about the soils of the world, but I believe its primary focus is on the sowers and their call to remain faithful. The following parables, however, shift their focus from the sower to the seed: the kingdom of heaven. Matthew writes,

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Matthew 13:24-30

When reading this parable, I’ve usually pictured a weedy field with a bunch of thistles, dandelions, and milkweed spread amongst the stalks of wheat, but the Greek word used here, zizanion, refers to a plant that looks very much like wheat with two exceptions: the budding pattern of zizanion kernels is different than wheat and the kernels eventually turn black. While this doesn’t change the interpretation of the parable, it does offer an additional element to consider: during the growing season, the weeds can be easily confused for the wheat; only a trained farmer knows the difference.

Jesus interprets this parable later for his disciples, but for now, let’s focus on the last sentence where the master tells the reapers “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” While the weeds, the fake wheat, will eventually be destroyed, the real wheat will be gathered for the Master. This parable indicates yet another reward given to the faithful sowers: when the time is right the real wheat will be gathered and taken into the presence of the Master. Certainly, such rewards do not come without problems — bad soils, destroyed and consumed seed, false wheat in the harvest — but even with those problems, Jesus encourages his disciples to be single-minded and focus on sowing while trusting the Father to take care of any problems.

Following this encouragement to continue sowing, Jesus tells his disciples two parables about the nature of the seed itself. He said,

31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Matthew 13:31-32

This is not the first time Jesus mentions birds. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Matt. 6:26). This, coupled with the fact that God declared the trees he created to be pleasing to the eye and good for food (Gen. 2:9), seems to suggest that Jesus is saying that the kingdom of heaven is a thing of beauty when it provides food and shelter for even the most humble of people. The kingdom does not grow into a tree for its own benefit; the kingdom increases in size so it can provide food and shelter to those in need and to members of the kingdom’s family. Kingdom growth, at first glance, seems to be the primary focus of this parable, but the real focus is the reward indicated: those sowing the seed are rewarded by seeing the kingdom grow into a place of shelter for those who trust the Father for their daily bread.

But the kingdom is more than just an isolated mustard tree. Jesus said,

33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Matthew 13:33

Leaven once added to dough cannot be removed. In other words, there is no way to say, “here is the kingdom and there is something else;” the kingdom is everywhere. If we look only at the parable of the mustard seed, we might be tempted to think of the kingdom of heaven as an isolated place for others to seek out, but the kingdom is not isolated; it pervades every nook and cranny of the world. It also invades every nook and cranny of our lives. If, however, we have places in our lives not invaded by the kingdom, there are only two reasons possible: either the leaven hasn’t reached that part of our life, or we haven’t yet been seeded with the leaven of the kingdom. We must keep this in mind when we get to Jesus’s interpretation of the parable of the good and bad seeds, but before we get there, Matthew interjects a comment explaining why Jesus spoke in parables. He wrote,

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Matthew 13:34-35

Jesus previously told his disciples he used parables to hide the word of the Father from those with hard hearts (Matt. 13:14-15), now we are told parables are also used as a mechanism to reveal things hidden since the foundation of creation. This means, at the very least, that the kingdom is not arbitrary, reactionary, or unplanned. Before God created the universe, the kingdom of heaven existed at the very core of God’s being. It is this about which Paul wrote, “This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:11). Jesus’s teaching of the kingdom is not a reaction to a fallen world; it is the revelation of God’s design for the created and soon-to-be redeemed world. Jesus used parables to speak of those things that were lost to us so long ago in the garden.

Following Matthew’s explanation for Jesus’s use of parables, we return to Jesus’s interpretation of the parable of the sower and his enemy. Matthew writes,

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Matthew 13:36-43

The first thing we should notice is that this parable describes a future event. That future event is told to us in Revelation 14:14-20 when God sends his angels to gather the wheat and the weeds for the final harvest. As a result of this final harvest, the faithful sowers receive another reward: a purified future kingdom. God will send his angels to purge “all causes of sin and all law-breakers” from the kingdom, but that is in a time yet to come. Until such time, however, we must continue to sow. Remember, Jesus said, “the field is the world,” and in the context of this parable, that means that the earthly kingdom of heaven is filled with both good seeds bearing wheat and enemy-sown seeds bearing weeds and false wheat.

We might be tempted to quote Matthew 18 where Jesus teaches about confronting sinners and kicking them out of the church, but such teaching is focused on church discipline; this parable is talking about the entire world. We would do better, in this instance, to look to Paul and his writing in I Corinthians 5 where he says, “What have I to do with judging outsiders?… God judges those outside.” This is, however, something I fear Christendom has often failed to understand. We, like Jesus, have not been sent into the world to condemn the world but to show the world that through Jesus they might be saved (John 3:17). This parable is a statement about future judgment and the promise that we don’t have to be the ones muddying our hands with judging the world. We have been called to sow. That is it.

Then, to emphasize the value of the seed we are sowing, Jesus told two more parables.

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Matthew 13:44-46

The obvious inference to draw from these two parables is that material possessions can easily shift our focus away from the kingdom of heaven. We are all at risk because it doesn’t take many possessions to draw our eyes away from God’s kingdom and toward what we have or what we want. As such, Jesus tells his disciples that all they could ever possess in this life is nothing compared to the invaluable kingdom of heaven. But, there is another inference I believe we can draw from these two parables.

Paul wrote, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16) Certainly, our hold upon material possessions can keep us from gaining the kingdom of heaven but don’t we also hold onto our pride, our lust, our anger, and greed? We might give up all we have in this world, but unless we let go of our favorite sins, we will never gain the kingdom of heaven. Such a transaction, however, will never occur until we realize those things we hold tightly are nothing compared to the great worth of the kingdom; the kingdom itself is the most valuable thing we can ever possess.

After emphasizing the value of the seed being sown, Jesus tells his disciples one last parable. He said,

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:47-50

When Jesus repeats something we should pay attention, but when he repeats it three times, we are a fool if we do not take notice. First, Jesus tells a parable of the man who sowed good seed and his enemy who sowed bad (Matt. 13:24-29), then Jesus explained what that parable meant (Matt. 13:36-43). Now, Jesus tells another parable, this time about a fisherman who captures good and bad fish. Jesus clearly wants his disciples to take notice of this point: any disciple of Jesus is called to sow the valuable seed of the kingdom and leave the sorting of the good and bad harvest to God and his angels.

Clearly, as a church, we must abide by Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 18:15-20 and Paul’s teaching in I Corinthians 5, but we would do well to remember that Jesus also pardoned the adulterer in John 8 and told us not to judge in Matthew 7. And Paul, after speaking harshly about sin in the church (I Cor. 5), told the Corinthians to forgive that same sinner and welcome them back (II Cor. 2:5-8).

Sowers are not called to judge the seed based on its productivity or non-productivity, they aren’t even called to remove the false wheat; sowers are only called to sow the seed of the kingdom, period. Then, after the angels of God remove the bad harvest from the good, the good harvest will be taken and housed in the Father’s barn where they will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. This is the reward for faithful sowing.

But Jesus doesn’t speak of only sunshine and future promises for the sowers. Jesus also reminds the sowers of the consequences for those who do not accept the seed of the kingdom. I realize punishment and hell are not the most politically correct topics, but Jesus doesn’t seem to care about political correctness. Jesus cares about the kingdom and the truth, and the truth is that those who reject the seed of the kingdom bear consequences. But notice, if you will, that Jesus is telling all of this to his disciples, the sowers of the seed, not to the bad seed. Jesus said he used parables so only his followers would understand him (Matt. 13:14-16, 34-35); clearly, this parable is being told for his disciple’s benefit. And in those times when Jesus did call down judgment, it was only upon the religious leaders; to any others he offered forgiveness. Such is the message of the kingdom and such is the seed we are called to sow.

Jesus concludes this series of parables about rewards with a question. Jesus asked,

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Matthew 13:51-52

We might want to debate whether the disciples really did understand all he had been teaching, but that isn’t the point of this section. When they affirmed that they did understand, Jesus explains to them what they are really saying. Jesus called them scribes — people were well-versed in the Mosaic law and the sacred Jewish writings — because, unlike their contemporary religious leaders who had their eyes closed when they read scripture, they would be able to understand both the old and new interpretations of the scriptures, the word of God. But I don’t think he called them scribes because they, at that moment, understood.

Remember the road to Emmaus? Luke wrote, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scripture the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). And then the two disciples, after Jesus left “said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’” (Luke 24:32) The disciples at that time, after Jesus’s death and resurrection, were finally beginning to understand. Then when Jesus returned to the full company of disciples and said, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-45). It was only at this time that the term “scribe” could actually be used for the disciples because it was only at this time when the disciples finally understood.

While we of the 21st century do not have Jesus to meet us in an upper room to “open our minds,” we do have the Spirit. Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). God’s Spirit, who searches and knows the mind of the Father (I Cor. 2:10), is the one who guides us into all truth. But he can’t guide us into truth if we do not study the treasure of inestimable value sitting on our shelves. We must pick up the Bible, open it, and study it; the Spirit will not do that for us. But sadly, many of us are unwilling to give up those treasures that decay, devalue, and take up so much of our time for the treasures, both old and new found in the word of God, the seed and message of the kingdom. These parables, quite interesting on their own, when read together tell us that if we do not trade our worthless treasures for the priceless treasure of God’s word will never be able to sow the seed that shelters the homeless and leavens the whole of life.

Keep in mind that we who live in the 21st century have resources at our fingertips that none of the disciples or other people in the Bible ever had: we have the entire Bible, both Old, and New Testaments, and most likely, multiple copies. With such ready riches laying around us, we must ask ourselves if we are scribes. We must ask ourselves if we study the Word with enough diligence so as to be able to pull out of its treasure what is old and what is new.

David wrote “Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress. Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever” (Psa. 48:3,12-14). It is only when we trade that which we hold valuable for the priceless treasure of God’s word that we are able to receive the invaluable seed of the kingdom to sow upon this very earth at this very moment. And then, when we are found to be faithful sowers, we will receive the priceless reward of the kingdom as a future promise.

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