Matthew 13:24-30
The thirteenth chapter of Matthew's gospel is the chapter of
the parable. If you were to read through this chapter you would
find that there are no less than seven parables each of them depicting
a different aspect of the kingdom of heaven and all told in familiar
language and using objects well known to the people with whom
he was dealing. The land of Israel was at that time a largely
agricultural community and so in these parables we have a strong
emphasis on farming and sowing and reaping. One of the most well
known parables in this chapter is the parable of the wheat and
the tares that is recorded for us in verses 24 to 30.
The man we are told about in this story was a farmer who when
the seed time came around went out into his already prepared field
to sow wheat seed. This wheat seed was good seed . There was nothing
inferior about it in any way whatsoever. And yet we find a very
peculiar hing happened because when the field was coming near
to harvest the farmer noticed that not only was the wheat in the
field but there were also tares. Now these tares were what is
thought to be Darnel and what we need to know about this plant
is that this Darnel plant was in its early stages to all outward
appearances just like ordinary wheat and could not be distinguished
from it. The difference would only be able to be detected when
the wheat began to ripen. The darnel plant, however was a poisonous
plant and it was dangerous and hurtful to man and if it was harvested
among the wheat it would have had dire consequences for anybody
that ate it.
We read that when the servants of the man, when they had discovered
the tares recognising what the tares meant ran to their master
and they said to him "Sir, didst not thou sow good seed
in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?" Where
did they come from or however did it happen. Now the farmer must
have been a very wise man for he summed up the situation immediately
and he said An enemy hath done this He was right for in
the Bible we are told exactly what had happened . An enemy who
for some reason had a spite against the farmer had stolen in at
night and had taken his tare seed and had sown it across the farmer's
wheat field so that it was now infested with these poisonous plants.
Of course the farmer was now left with the problem of what he
should do with this infested crop. His servants came up with one
solution. That he should go into the field immediately and gather
up all the tares and the weed them out of the field. It seemed
a good solution but the farmer was concerned in case the wheat
should be gathered with the tares . So what he advised is that
the wheat and the tares should be left in the field until the
harvest and then the separation should take place.
What then is the meaning of this parable? We are told quite clearly
here that the parable was meant to describe something of the kingdom
of heaven.. But here is the wonderful thing about this parable.
We do not have to interpret it in any way because not only did
the Lord tell this parable but he gave the interpretation as well.
in verse 36 of Matthew 13 the disciples asked the Lord Declare
unto us the parable of the tares of the field and in verse
36 to 42 we have the Lord's explannation of what it was about.
I want you to notice that this is not the preachers explannation
or the churches explannation but it is the interpretation of the
Son of God himself, the one who gave the parable in the first
place. Now look at verses 38-39 to see what he said the
field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom;
but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end
of the world; and the reapers are the angels. What we can
do then is to take that interpretation and apply it to the parable
to find what the Lord was trying to teach about the kingdom of
heaven. We can use the lord's own interpretation to unlock the
lord's own parable.
Some people say to the gospel preacher when he tells them about
the things of God that it is his interpretation. I hope I can't
be accused of anything like that this evening. I want to take
God's interpretation. In this harvest picture the Lord is giving
us an insight into what happens in the world. In this parable
we have a vision of the battle that goes on over precious souls.
Now we are all involved in that battle. If you are saved then
you need to understand the battle you are fighting in. If you
are not saved then I hope that as we see the Lord's explannation
of things that you will see the truth of what is happening and
turn to Christ. Particularly if you are not saved there are some
vital lessons that you need to recognise if you are ever going
to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
I The Character of the Harvest
The first thing that the Lord gives us insight into here is
the fact that there are two kinds of seed in the world. Now there
are some people who say that the field in this parable should
be interpreted as the church . They say that there are tares and
wheat in the Church. But let us keep to the Lord's interpretation
and it is clear. Verse 38 tells us quite clearly the field
is the world And as Christ looked at the field of the world there
are a number of things He could say.
Notice first of all THE REALITY of the Two seeds. If the field
is the world then quite clearly there are two kinds and only two
kinds of seed in it. There was the good seed and the bad seed.
And as we think of that it will immediately safeguard us from
a number of errors. The first is that there is only one kind of
seed in the world. There are those who believe that we are all
good and at the end of the day we will all get to heaven.Michael
Ramsey the former Archbishop of Canterbury declared that he believed
he would see prominent atheists in heaven. So, according to him,
if you deny God and turn your back on God you could still end
up in heaven. In grave yards in this country nearly every person
is buried in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to
life. But the Lord speaks of the bad seed. There is not just one
type of seed-there are two. there are those who are termed good
and those who are termed bad and of course the only way that a
sinner can become good in the eyes of holy God is to be washed
in the precious blood There is the good seed which is God's seed
But then there is another seed and the Bible says that this seed
is the children of the devil. At the end of the day that is the
only difference between men that matters. It does matter what
gender you are or what race or what colour. The question is which
seed are you? Are you the Lord's seed or the devil's seed because
the Lord makes it clear that those two kinds of seed are in the
world. We see the Reality of the two seeds
But then I want you to see the RECOGNITION of the Two seeds. How
can you tell which of the seeds you are? Of course to answer that
question is perhaps the most fundamental question that a man or
a woman can face. It is absolutely vital to your soul's eternal
welfare that you are able that you are able to say that you are
the lord's seed. Now in doing that
(a) There is a difficulty to be overcome: We have to recognise
first of all that to truly tell whether or not you are the Lord's
seed will not perhaps be as easy as we might like it to be. One
of the main points of this parable is that as these plants were
growing there was no discernible differnce between them. They
looked the same to the outward appearance. This is one of the
points that many people cannot get over and cannot understand.
We are all sons and daughters of Adam we are born in sin and shapen
in iniquit. We all have the same kinds of desires and we all have
many of the same aspirations. In many ways there is absolutely
no difference between the good seed and the bad. In their day
to day life most people act the same and they work for their living
and get married and try to bring up a family. In fact many unsaved
people are good moral and upright people. A Man said to me about
his unsaved wife. My wife is a lady. I don't think the Lord would
turn her away. She was a lady. She was a person who would care
for others and do things that many saved people do not do. This
is something that many people just genuinely cannot understand
-that you could be good and upright and yet be the devil's seed.
But does not this parable lead us to expect that. Does it not
show that there is often going to be a dicfficulty in discerning
who really are the Lord's seed. There is a difficulty to be overcome.
Of course that difficulty is often needless. Very often God's
people look more like the world than they should. There is also
(b) There is a difference to be observed: There was something
different about these seeds in the end. What was it? There was
a difference to be observed in their fruits. The wheat brought
forth good fruit while the tares brought forh what was poisonous.
It was only when the plants reached the stage where the fruit
began to show that the men could see the real difference. Now
the Bible tells us of the Christian in Matthew 7:20 Wherefore
by their fruits ye shall know them. The true good seed will
bring forth fruit. Now the Bible speaks of the fruit of everlasting
life and it is only the person who is saved and washed in the
precious blood who can bring forth that fruit. A man who has never
confessed His sin and asked the Lord to save him no matter how
strong and upright he may be can never bring forth those fruits.
But that is not the only fruit the Bible speaks of a Christian
bringing forth. In Galatians we have a list of the fruit of the
Spirit. It speaks of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith,Meekness, temperance: Those are the inward
fruits of a holy life. There will be a marked difference in the
Christian. There must be something of this fruit in his life.
It may be only there in seed form. He may be a very immature Christian
but it has to be there in some form. He cannot be living the way
he did before he was saved His life is going to change. He is
going to have new interests. He will forsake his old sinful ways.
That is what it means to be born -again. That is what it means
by the new birth. It means a transformation.
And then Paul also spoke of the fruit of his labour. That is the
outward fruit of a holy service. A true Christian will show that
he is the Lord's seed will show it by the way he serves the Lord.
You will want to do something for the God who has saved you. You
may never be a preacher. You may never be one who labours in a
public way although there may be some of you here and the Lord
does want you to labour in a public way and you are fighting against
it. But whatever it is that the Lord wants you to do you will
show the fruit of service. I am afraid that there a lot of people
who by that standard would have to question themselves. There
are those who profess to be Christians and they come once on a
Sunday and as far as the work of God is concerned they are useless.
Those of you who profess to be saved. Is there fruit in your life.
Is there an interest in spiritual things. Do you pray? There has
to be a difference!
But there is a second difference here. Not only in their fruit
but in their origin. The Wheat came from the Lord's seed but the
tares came from the devil's seed. The wheat could never have brought
forth fruit if the Lord had not planted them. The child of God
could not bring forth the good fruit if he had not been planted
by the Lord. Christ is the originator of the god seed. Are you
Christ's. The Bible speaks of being Born from above Have
you the life of God beating in your breast That is the question.
Are the marks and characteristics of being a child of God in your
life?
But there is a third difference. Wheat abides. Wheat seed will
survive a very sharp winter which some other grains do not. The
Bible says of the true child of God that he will abide. It says
He that perservereth to the end shall be saved Are you
abiding in Christ? Tell me are you the true seed?
We see he Characteristic of the harvest. But then we see.
II The Contamination of the Harvest
Notice that the devil uses the tares in an attempt to stifle
the wheat. The devil has a plan to sow tares among the wheat and
he does that in order to try and hinder the harvest of the Lord
In the Bible there is the story of the great battle between the
seed of the devil and the Lord's seed. Right back in the book
of Genesis where we have the first gospel promise we read of the
devil seeking to briuise the heel of the Saviour and of the Saviour
bruising the devils head. That battle has raged right down through
the ages. You will remember the two sons of Adam, Cain and Abel.
They were two brothers and yet they fought because one wanted
to go God's way and the other wanted to go the devil's way. At
the end of it all Cain slew Abel. Do you know why he did that?
Because the devil thought that if he could cut off the Lord's
seed he would destroy the Messiah. Of course he was thwarted because
Seth was born. And in the Bible there are a series of attempts
by the devil to cut off the Lord's seed. Time and again he tried
to destroy the essiah's line. He thought he might destroy David
by the hand of his own son Absalom and he caused Absalom to rebel
against his Father and raise an army against him. But he didn't
succeed. Do you remember the rage of Pharaoh when he ordered the
death of all male Jewish babies. That was a Satanic rage. Do you
remember Herod's attempt to have the young Christ slain by the
slaughter of the little babies. Once again that was Satanic. But
He did not succeed. He could not stop the Coming of Christ and
He could not stop Christ going to the cross. He could not destroy
the line of the Lord. But he has not given up. His purpose now
is to undermine the gospel message. In 2 Corinthians 12 even in
the early days of the Church Paul expressed this fear for the
people of God. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth
another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive
another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel,
which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
The serpent is trying to beguile and notice how Paul said he had
done it. He had done it by corruting the simplicity of the gospel
and it was such a clever couterfeit that Paul was concerned that
it was such a clever counterfeit that even these first century
Christians might be beguiled. He has sown tares among the wheat.
In this world today there are a number of versions of the gospel
message. there are those who say that you are born again when
you are baptised. There are those who tell you you must work for
your salvation. There are those who tell you that you can be born
a Christian. There are false gospels and many people believe them.
There are unconverted ministers in the pulpits and they are blind
leaders of the blind. And it has come to the point where people
do not know what to believe. But that is no new thing. Even away
back in the NT Church there came in false preachers trying to
deceive They tried to tell the people that they had to go through
the rites and ceremonies of Judaism. . Indeed does not the Bible
tell us that the devil transforms his angels into angels of light?
Do we not read how Eve, even in her innocence was willing to listen
to that evil Spirit. Does the Bible not tell us that when John
saw the Antichrist that he marvelled. Dear friend there is only
one true gospel and that is the gospel of salvation by grace through
faith but there is also a false gospel.
But not only is there a false gospel. There is a false word. Today
we have many versions of the wod of God. They are nearly all based
on a corrupt text. Those texts are those that play down the deity
of Christ and leave out many verses and passages. And with all
the versions many people are confused about what the word of God
is. There is a confusion today.
And not only that but 2 Corinthians 12 tells us that there is
another Spirit. There is a false Spirit abroad. The apostle John
told the saints Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try
the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets
are gone out into the world. I have heard young people going
to gospel rock concerts and they justified it because it felt
good. They said that they felt the Holy Spirit there. There may
have been a spirit of excitement there. There may have been a
spirit of feeling good but was it the Holy Spirit? We need to
try the Spirits. You say How do I try the Spirits? Well is it
something first of all that uplifts Christ? Let us take Gospel
rock as an example. What do you find with most gospel rock. Well,
they copy the antics of secular rock. They do the same movements,
they dress in similar ways and the whole thing says. look at me.
The performer is the centre of attention And often times you can't
hear the songs. It is not to uplift Christ. It is to uplift the
performer. That should sound the alarm bells to start with. What
is the devil doing? He is sowing tares among the wheat. He is
trying to confuse. You know some people think that we are bigoted
when we preach against some of the false messages of this day.
But it is the job of the preacher to warn against the false way.
Jude urged that we Earnestly contend for the faith which was
once deliveered to the saints But listen sinner! The devil
will do anything to stop you from responding to the Word of God.
He has brought all the means at his disposal to try and confuse
the message that you hear. Do not be foolish enough to fall into
the trap. Read the Word of God. See that it offers salvation to
all who trst in the Saviour and turn to Christ.
III The Conclusion of the Harvest
Notice first of all how gracious the Lord was in leaving the
tares in the field until the time of harvest. The servants wanted
it rooted out but the Lord said No Let it alone for now. The devil
has sown tares in the field of the world. and they are growing
in the Lord's field. Some people who are the devils seed take
the fact that they are still alive and that nothing has happened
to them for their sin as a sign that nothing ever will happen.
I want you to see that in the end the tares will be taken out
and burned. Remember that the harvest eventually came and the
wheat was taken up and put in one pile and the tares were put
into another bundle to be consigned to the fire. Rememeber once
again the interpretation of this parable that is given to us by
the Lord Himself. We are told that the harvest is the end of the
world or the end of the age. And the word of God tells us that
at the end of the world there is going to be a judging process.
The Bible speaks of the Lord taking the good seed or the sheep
and he puts them on his right hand and the tares or the goats
he puts on his left. And those that are on his left hand will
be consigned to the Lake of fire that we read about in the book
of Revelation. That fire is everlasting fire It is fire that will
never come to an end. There are people who question whether there
is a literal lake of fire. They wonder if there is actually a
place where the fire is not quenched and where the worm dieth
not. However in the Word of God we read of this time and tme again.
Time and time again a place of eternal punishment is mentioned
and it is always associated with despeate sufering . It is depicted
as a place of fire. Indeed there is a passage in Matthew 9 and
the fire is repeated ly mentioned. Listen to it And if thy
hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into
life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire
that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it
off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having
two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall
be quenched:Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee
to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two
eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire,
and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Why if it not
a place of fire does the Lord over and over agian emphasise the
fire? And why if it is not a reality does the Lord speak of it
time and tie again?
Dear friend we cannot misinterpret God's patience with the ungodly.
That patiience will not last forever. Those of us who are saved
have only a limited time to win them and those of you who are
not saved I warn you that God's patience will not last forever.
You need to be saved
But notice that the wheat was gathered into the Barns. There will
come a day when God's wheat will be gathered ino his barns. We
will go to be in His presence and we will bask in His light. What
a bliss it will be to be in the Lord's place and all gathered
in from this world forever.
So which are you? Are you God's seed or he devils? What is your
destination? Thank God if you are saved that you will never experience
this fire.