Wheat and Tares

Matthew 13: Kingdom Extravaganza (3)

Pray Psalm 80.1-3.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!
Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

Sing Psalm 80.1-3.
St. Theodulph: All Glory, Laud, and Honor
O God of grace, restore us, and shine on us Your face!
O save us, LORD, work for us; renew us by Your grace!
Give ear, O gracious Savior, Who leads us as Your flock:
Stir up Your pow’r and favor, our King and LORD and Rock!

Read Matthew 13.1-30, 36-43; meditate on verses 24-30, 36-43.
What do you see yourself doing as you “sow” your part of the world-field?

Prepare.
1. What does the field represent in this parable?

2. What do the wheat and tares represent?

Meditate.
In many ways, this is the defining parable of Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God. It portrays conditions in the whole world (v. 38), from the beginning of Christ’s sowing of the Kingdom seed to the final days of harvest (vv. 37, 40, 41). The parable embraces the whole of humankind, dividing them into two nations, or cities as Augustine would have it, those who bear true Kingdom fruit and those who do not. It provides an earthly stage for the great spiritual warfare that has gone on since Satan’s rebellion against God in heaven. The parable addresses the final disposition and estate of all human beings. And it looks past the events of time and history to the final shining forth of the eternal Kingdom of the Father (v. 43).

We are engaged in a great spiritual warfare, and our calling, as we follow Jesus, is to sow, cultivate, defend, and tend to the good seed of the Kingdom of God. We are co-workers with Christ in bringing His Kingdom to expression on earth as it is in heaven.

We have a great, relentless, powerful, but bound foe who works continuously to thwart and undo all our Kingdom efforts. But as Jesus goes forth each day, conquering and to conquer, so must we, each of us into our own niche and sector of the world, for as long as the Lord is pleased to keep us here, working to sow and nurture good Kingdom fruit in every area of life.

Two more things: Note that Jesus says on the last day (Rev. 6.2), His angels will gather “out of His Kingdom” all whose lives show that they don’t belong there (v. 41).

Then, finally, we note that the world is the field in which Kingdom fruit is being sown and produced. The world is not a weed field, waiting to be burned: it is a wheat field, brimming with vast potential for bringing forth Kingdom fruit to the glory of God. It awaits laborers to join Jesus in His yoke, as He works to make all things new.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Jesus is The Sower of good seed.
We are evidence of His work of casting seeds into His Kingdom field… 
“sons of the Kingdom” (Matt. 13.38).

We seeds, need to be strong, to stand should-to-shoulder with the tares the enemy sows near our lives.
Our roots will be touched by the tare roots, and yet, we must stand firmly on God’s covenant promises and upon His Law to prevent root rot and subsummation by the blight close at hand.

Many seeds have confused vocality with stability. 
We need not always say something to be His noble and hardy seeds.
To live within the Law is the first and best stance to take.

“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
but such as keep the law contend with them” (Prov.28.4).

Paul offers some good gardening tips for the Church as a whole: 
Each person, fully equipped, has a job for the establishment of a good crop.
“For the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and 
of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, 
by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, 
may grow up in all things into Him Who is the head—Christ—
from Whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, 
according to the effective working by which every part does its share, 
causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4.12-16).

Peter also offers help with the garden’s success:
“You, therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, 
beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, 
being led away with the error of the wicked; 
but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 
To Him be the glory both now and forever” (2 Pet. 3.17, 18).

“Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4.2).
Being ready demands daily adherence to God’s Law and all His Word.
This is the only way to remain good seed “sons of the Kingdom”.
Ready to bloom, flourish, and stand strong amongst the tares.

“So I will sing praise to Your Name forever,
that I may daily perform my vows” (Ps. 61.8).

Reflect.
1. To what kind of fruit should we aspire as “good seeds”?

2. What are the best ways to keep from being overrun by the tares of this world?

3. Where will you sow good Kingdom seed in the week ahead? How?

This parable represents the present and future state of the gospel church; Christ’s care of it, the devil’s enmity against it, the mixture there is in it of good and bad in this world, and the separation between them in the other world. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43

Pray Psalm 80.8-19.
Pray for God to renew you and all His vine, to cultivate the field of the world for revival and awakening, and to call His people to repentance and renewal in all things.

Sing Psalm 80.8-19.
St. Theodulph: All Glory, Laud, and Honor
You set us free from sin, LORD, and planted us in grace;
we rooted in Your strong Word have spread from place to place.
Our shadow covered mountains, our branches reached the sea;
Your grace flowed like a fountain of life, abundantly.

Now You in wrath have spoken and bruised Your chosen vine.
We languish, LORD, are broken by wrath, deserved, divine.
Once more, LORD, hear our pleading: return and heal this vine!
Look down on us, so needy, and show Your love divine!

Though we be burned and perish because of Your command,
revive us, LORD, and cherish this son of Your Right Hand.
Then let us not return to our sinful, selfish ways,
but call on You and learn to surround You with our praise.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.

Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast is turning into the home stretch of our book, The Kingdom Turn.Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. TheReVision column continues our examination of the hope for the church, especially struggling churches. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.