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. Matthew 13:24-26
esus repeatedly says, “the kingdom of heaven is like…” Instead of giving a bullet-pointed message on the mission, vision, and values of his kingdom, Jesus tells stories and offers pictures to illustrate his kingdom. In today’s passage, Jesus uses the image of a field full of seeds and weeds. Thankfully Jesus explains the field is the world, the good seeds are people in his kingdom, the enemy is the devil, and the weeds are the evil ones (Matthew 13:37-38).
So, what can we conclude about Jesus’ Kingdom?
Kingdom people have incredible potential. Agriculturalists tells us there are close to 50 kernels in one head of wheat and 17,000 kernels in just 1 pound. When God sows, his seeds give birth to loads of reproducing and life-giving sustenance. Kingdom people produce that kind of multiplying effect in the world.
There is an enemy who tries to thwart the Kingdom. This field is full of conflict because an enemy purposefully infiltrated it with weeds. God seems to allow this enemy to try his best to destroy the harvest while God works to preserve its potential. Here we learn God’s not oblivious to evil in our life, nor does he cause it.
Jesus’ Kingdom will win. When the servants ask the sower to remove the weeds, he tells them to let the weeds grow. Although we may worry over the evil among us, God demonstrates his power over the devil by harvesting an incredible crop despite the unfortunate circumstances. Jesus’ Kingdom will always be in conflict until God finishes his harvesting plans, but if we’re with Jesus, we’ll celebrate his victory together.
Until then, it can be frustrating when God sends rain to nourish both the good seeds and the evil weeds in our world (Matthew 5:45). When we start to wrestle with this Kingdom in conflict, it’s appropriate to lament – to let out our feelings to God like David does in Psalm 73. Today, take a moment to share openly with God about the evil infiltrating your personal world and how you need Jesus to nourish you as a seed growing in the middle of evil weeds.
By Yvonne Biel
