•A Sermon by Dr Bob Griffin, Pastor/Teaching Elder at Sovereign Grace Church
I. APPRECIATION OF THE PARABLE
A. MESSAGE OF THE PARABLE
Matthew 13:24-30 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man sowing good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants sprouted and began to bear grain, then the weeds also appeared.
And the servants of the master of the house, having come in, asked him, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’
He said to them, ‘A man who is my enemy has done this.’
So the servants asked him, ‘Do you then want us to go and gather them?’
But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow mixed together until the harvest and at that time I will tell the reapers, ‘Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my granary.’”
1. Picture of Man in Every-day Life
2. Picture of an Active Enemy
3. Picture of a Wise Farmer
4. Picture of Ultimate Harvest
B. MEANING OF THE PARABLE
Matthew 13:36-43 Then, having dismissed the crowds, Jesus went into the house. And his disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. (In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.) Then the righteous will radiate like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
1. Basic Understanding
a. The Sower is the Messiah
b. The field represents the world (dual meaning)
c. The good seeds represent God’s true people
d. The weeds represent false believers in the world,
e. The enemy who sowed them is the devil
f. The reapers are angels
g. The harvest is the Last Judgment
2. Responsibility
II. APPLICATION OF THE PARABLE TODAY
A. APPLIED TO THE CHURCH
1. Tares Present
I John 3:10 “By this it is evident who the children of God are, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
2. Need to emphasize TRUE conversion today
*Aware of Easy believism
*Alert to this “mixing” of weeds (II Cor 11:14-15)
*Proactively look for this “mixing” of weeds (I John 2:19)
*No excuse for folks not to come to church (Matthew 9:13)
*No one should take comfort in sin – “Simul justus et peccator” (At the same time righteous and a sinner)
B. APPLIED TO EACH INDIVIDUAL
1. Wheat IF we “Keep His Commandments”
I John 2:3 “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.”
2. Wheat IF we “Love Our Brother”
I John 2:10 “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling”
3. Wheat IF we “Love Not the World”
I John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
4. Wheat IF we “Live Righteously”
I John 2:29 “If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.”
5. Wheat IF we “Do Not Practice Sin”
I John 3:9 “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for His seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”
6. Wheat IF we are “Hated by the World”
I John 3:13 “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.”
7. Wheat IF we “See Our Brother’s Needs”
I John 3:17 “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”
8. Wheat IF we “Live in the Spirit”
I John 3:24 “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him.”
Someday the harvest will be taken and the true fruit will be forever bound with God and gathered into His kingdom. With the same assurance, false professing Christians or “tares” await a day of judgment and doom. Test yourself on the basis of God’s Word. If you fail, fall on your face before God in abject horror over sin and repentance, crying out in faith for His salvation. “Now is the acceptable time; today is the day of salvation.”