Wheat & Weeds

The kingdom of heaven is like
Many of Jesus' parables begin with this phrase (or the parallel 'kingdom of God is like'). Why? I believe there were two main reasons he made these metaphors. First, the kingdom of heaven is, in many ways, invisible. Humans often have a hard time grasping invisible concepts. These parables help us understand spiritual realities by comparing them with physical realities. The most difficult task for us is to recognize that the invisible is the greater reality of the two realms. Fields of wheat & weeds exist, but they will pass away. The people in the world were designed for eternal dwellings. This world is full of illustration. We simply must open our eyes and ears to its stories. Second, the kingdom of heaven is so different from the kingdoms of the world that it needed to be defined in new ways. Earthly kings acquire by killing, but Jesus acquired by dying. You can point toward Rome, but the kingdom of God is within you. This kingdom was so different that the word 'kingdom' itself needed to be redefined. The word needed enlarged to fit a kingdom that, unlike all others, would last forever.

a man who sowed good seed in his field
When Jesus interpreted this parable for His disciples, He equated the man in the physical story with the Son of Man in the spiritual reality. In other words, Jesus was saying 'I am the man'. Meaning just pours out of this. Jesus was not just any man. He was what every man was made to be. He was the perfect man. And it took a perfect man to start the revolution that would produce the perfect kingdom. He was what no other man had ever been. Napoleon once said,

'Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him….I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man: none else is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than a man.'

Jesus was more than a man. Many men had started kingdoms. Now God was going to start a kingdom of His own. It's no mistake that, in Jesus interpretation, this kingdom is said to belong to the 'Son' at one point and to the 'Father' at another.

Many have submitted to the rule of this 'man' and become 'sons of the kingdom.' These are pictured as 'good seed' in the parable. They are marked by the fact that they were sown by the sower, able to call God their Father, and able to be called righteous. These are scattered throughout the world.

But while everyone was sleeping
Since Jesus doesn't give commentary on this detail of the parable, we must be careful not to read into the circumstance. But one can hardly keep from going to Gethsemane when considering these words. Three times, as Jesus agonized in that garden, His disciples slept. It was in their weakness that Jesus' will, once and for all, vowed to carry His cross. Men will inevitably sleep. Jesus, however, would accomplish His kingdom work in spite of this or, more accurately, because of this.

his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away
In the agricultural context of this parable, there were few acts more violent than sowing weeds in another man's finely sown wheat field. And yet this is what the devil had done. He came to corrupt a world that had been created 'good'. He was crafty enough to come at the prime time (while everyone was sleeping), for he does his work in darkness. He was skilled enough to provoke mutation. The 'weed' in the parable was probably the 'bearded darnel'. It was a degenerate of the wheat family. The bearded darnel was indistinguishable from the wheat in its early stages. Wheat and weed would now grow together. Once mixed, there was no instant fix. Side by side good and evil men would live their lives as seeming twins. His work being done, the devil departed.

When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared
As the wheat matured, it's distinguishing characteristics became evident (wheat often grew taller than the bearded darnel). As the church matures, its members are known by their good works. The harvest will not take place until the church reaches unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and becomes mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). At this point, the weeds will also be exposed for what they are due to their lack of good production. The secrets of men's hearts will, on that day, be plain to see.

The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
Jesus, apparently, found the identity of the owner's servants insignificant since he did not comment on them during his explanation of the parable. We can only go so far as to compare their questions with our own. We ask Jesus: 'Didn't you make men good?' and 'Why, then, are so many evil?' We don't even consider our role in the thing (sleeping). We take the problem to the source and ask His defense.

'An enemy did this,' he replied.
The weeds did not surprise the man in the story. The problem of evil does not surprise Jesus in reality. He does not blame the sleeping servants. He knows all about their frailty. He knows who the enemy is.

The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
Instead of being upset with the enemy, the servants are upset with the wicked men. They have an urge to purge the field of its ugly element. And herein lies one of the key points of this parable. Not only the Pharisees, but the disciples as well, had an intolerance and impatience toward anyone who did look like them. The Pharisees were weeds themselves, but did not know it. The disciples, however, were simply too temperamental, occasionally asking for fire to consume wrongdoers. In similar fashion, many today lack the patience and tact of Christ. We want a perfect world and perfect churches. And we want them now.

'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.
Christ, knowing the enemies hopes to destroy good wheat, gives a clear answer to their question. The roots of the 'bearded darnel' were, by this point in the parable, so intertwined with what had been good seed that tearing them out would certainly destroy some of the wheat. Still, Jesus is in control. He is fully aware of the devil's tactics and has the necessary solution. He'd rather permit the weeds for a time, than damage the wheat for eternity. The Lord knows that without the maturity of the wheat, it will not survive the weed-removing surgery. The wheat must first reach proper age.

But to depart, for a moment, from the parable, there is another reason for delay. The God of miracles is able to convert some of the weed into wheat. This is why Paul tells Timothy to instruct enemies instead of pulverize them. This parable is not teaching that there are two classes of humans by birth, but two by allegiance. One group belongs to the devil while the other group belongs to the Lord. It is also not teaching a 'pacifist' approach to church discipline. What is obviously not wheat can be weeded out before the harvest. A main point of the parable is that we must not judge by appearance, but that doesn't negate our call to, as Jesus put it, judge righteous judgment

Thus, Christ waits for both the quality and quantity of the wheat to peak before he tells the harvesters what to do.

At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'
And when the words of Malachi ring true again and we 'see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not' the harvest will be here. The order here is the same as Matthew 25:46. Everything that causes sin and all who do evil with be thrown into the fiery furnace. Much Old Testament imagery is utilized here to describe the fate of the wicked weeds. Just like ancient Babylon threw men into a fiery furnace for disobedience (though, in Daniel, unsuccessfully), so too will rebels of the new kingdom be dealt with.

Also picking up on Old Testament imagery, the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Ultimately, the inevitable will occur despite the enemies scheme. The Kingdom of heaven, and the good men in it, will prevail. In the ambiguity of our present experience, we must never forget that Christ is triumphant.