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Weeds, Wheat, Seeds, and Dough (Matthew 13:24-43)

First Baptist Church https://fbcbartow.org

“Weeds, Wheat, Seeds, and Dough”

(Matthew 13:24-43)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

September 15, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 13:24-43

24 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The landowner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he told them. “‘So, do you want us to go and pull them up?’ the servants asked him. 29 “‘No,’ he said. ‘When you pull up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but collect the wheat in my barn.’”

31 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.” 33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds of flour until all of it was leavened.”

34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and he did not tell them anything without a parable, 35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: I will open my mouth in parables; I will declare things kept secret from the foundation of the world.

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He replied: “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let anyone who has ears listen.

Introductory Comments:

We’re back in the book of Matthew after a short break.  

We’re right in the middle of a section where Jesus is teaching in parables. He has gained a lot of followers, made some enemies, and is continuing to teach through parables and bless others through miracles. 

Today, Jesus is going to teach us more about the kingdom of heaven. 

Before we dive into these parables, let’s go to God in prayer.

(prayer)

Have you ever had some things mixed together that all of a sudden became a pain to sort? In our house, it’s Legos. We get Legos mixed up with things all the time. I firmly believe that at this point we don’t have any container of Legos in our house that doesn’t have something else mixed in. 

Well, today Jesus shares a parable about some things being mixed together. Through this parable, and others, Jesus is teaching us about the kingdom of heaven. 

Remember, Jesus has already been sharing through parables. Last time we were in Matthew we heard about the message of the kingdom being received in four different ways. We learned that the good seed that takes root will eventually lead to someone who produces good fruit in the kingdom of God. 

Today, Jesus will talk about the kingdom of heaven. There were a lot of ideas about what the kingdom was like, so Jesus sought to bring clarity about what it’s really like, and He did so through these parables. 

So, let’s discover three truths about the kingdom of heaven. 

First, . . .

I. A significant sorting of the kingdom will take place (vv. 24-30, 36-43) [on screen]

Jesus shares this first parable about the weeds and the wheat. Let’s check it out again and see what He’s teaching us. Look again at verses 24-30. 

24 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The landowner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he told them.

“‘So, do you want us to go and pull them up?’ the servants asked him.

29 “‘No,’ he said. ‘When you pull up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but collect the wheat in my barn.’”

Well, we can discern a lot about what Jesus might be saying here, but thankfully Jesus interprets this parable for us. He doesn’t always do this, but He does here, so let’s see what He says. Look at verses 36-43. 

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37 He replied: “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let anyone who has ears listen.

We’ll spend most of our time on this point because this is such a significant passage. 

This parable and its explanation address a question that the followers of Jesus probably had at that time, and that we still have today. The question is this: Why doesn’t God just take out sinners right now?

Jesus is saying that there are followers of Jesus, or children of the kingdom, and there are those who are not followers of Jesus, and these are children of the evil one. 

Jesus is planting seeds of redemption and calling people to follow Him. 

Meanwhile, Satan is working in the field and trying to sow seeds which lead to judgment.

The children of the kingdom and the children of the evil one are all mixed together on the harvest field of the earth. They are mixed up like the wheat and weeds in the parable. 

For the most part, God is not planning on pulling out the weeds during this age of time. However, God does have a time of harvest planned at the end of human civilization as we know it. 

All of the weeds will be sorted from the wheat. All of the children of God will be separated and experience great joy, while all of the children of the evil one will be separated and experience great judgment. 

At the end of the age, the weeds will be, “gathered and burned in the fire . . . where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This is an absolutely terrible time of judgment for sinners. There will be weeping because of the spiritual, psychological, and emotional pain; and there will be gnashing of teeth because of the great physical pain. 

Jesus is describing the fiery judgment of Hell reserved for sinners. 

Oh, but thank God for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that sinners can become children of the kingdom! We can be saved from the fiery judgment of the blazing furnace of Hell. 

Jesus says of the children of the kingdom, in verse 43, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom.” Isn’t that beautiful? Those of us who are followers of God and have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus will shine like the sun!

Jesus says that we need to listen to this. We need to pay attention. He says, “Let anyone who has ears listen.”

Let us listen to this, church. 

A significant sorting of the kingdom will take place. 

Second, . . .

II. A small dose of the kingdom has great power (vv. 31-33) [on screen]

Jesus gives us these two short parables to describe more about the kingdom of heaven. 

Look at verses 31-33. 

31 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.” 33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds of flour until all of it was leavened.”

Jesus provided these two illustrations that would have made a lot of sense to His hearers. 

First, the mustard seed. A mustard seed is a very small seed, yet it grows into a tall bush, as tall as a tree, tall enough for birds to nest in it.

Next, the leaven. Leaven is put into dough to make bread rise. Just a little leaven can go a long way; it can cover a lot of dough. 

Here’s the obvious meaning: what is small and seemingly insignificant in the kingdom of God can actually become something great. 

We would see this play out in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ. A ragtag group of apostles who were confused and helpless after the crucifixion of Jesus would be encouraged by the resurrection of Jesus, equipped by the Holy Spirit, and unleashed into the world to bring about a supernatural explosion of the kingdom of God. 

Further, just a little godly love shown to someone, just one person who is faithful in sharing the Gospel, just one missionary family who moves to a foreign land, just one small church can be used by God greatly in the kingdom of heaven. 

Don’t ever underestimate the power of the kingdom of God!

A small dose of the kingdom of God has great power!

Finally, . . .

III. A special message about the kingdom has been proclaimed (vv. 34-35) [on screen]

Check it out. We can skip over these verses if we’re not careful. 

Look at verses 34 and 35. 

34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and he did not tell them anything without a parable, 35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: I will open my mouth in parables; I will declare things kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Matthew is pointing us to the fact that it was prophesied that Jesus had secrets about the kingdom of heaven to tell us; secrets that had been kept secret since the foundation of the world. 

Remember, that we discover all throughout the Gospel of Matthew that the kingdom of God is being accelerated through the ministry of Jesus. 

The secret is out: Jesus saves sinners! God has not only chosen the people of Israel, He is also calling sinners from every people, nation, tongue, and tribe to repentance. The gates to the kingdom are wide open. 

This very explosion of the kingdom was prophesied. The proclamation of this parable is the fulfillment of the promises of prophecy, so pay particular attention. 

Remember, also, that Jesus said earlier in chapter 13 that He spoke through parables in such a way that those who truly wanted to know more about the kingdom of God could do so through listening and learning through the parables of Jesus. 

A special message about the kingdom has been proclaimed. 

Concluding Thoughts:

All of this comes down to the fact that there is something special and significant about the kingdom of heaven. 

Jesus wants us to learn this and understand this. Jesus wants us to grasp and treasure the kingdom of heaven. He’ll talk even more about this later. 

There is something special about God’s kingdom. 

That takes us to our bottom line:

Bottom Line: There is great joy and power in the kingdom of heaven.  [on screen]

(repeat)

We can look forward to the kingdom of heaven with hope and promise and joy!

Do you have an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven? If you’re a child of God, you better believe that you do! 

If you don’t know if you have citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, you can be sure that Jesus will purchase your citizenship with His own blood. 

Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:

Weekly Challenge: [on screen]

  1. Identify which type of plant you are.  [on screen]

Are you a weed, or are you the wheat?

We don’t always know which category people fall in by our own observation on this earth, but God certainly knows, and many of you know in your own hearts. 

Take some time this week and examine your present heart condition and consider your future place in the kingdom of heaven or in the place of fire reserved for the children of the evil one. 

  1. Spread the message of the kingdom of heaven.  [on screen]

We should be challenged by this series of parables to continue to spread the message of the kingdom of heaven. 

When we share the Gospel, we are told that some of the seed which we sow will take root; some people will be rescued from judgment and will become children of the kingdom. 

Keep spreading the seed. Keep sharing the Gospel. 

Remember, there is great power in just a little dose of the kingdom of heaven. God can use one person, one conversation, one act of love, one faithful church to change the world.

Let us be faithful. 

Closing:

Let us be encouraged and moved by these parables of Jesus. 

King Jesus will exercise His authority over all things. He will return again, He will send His angels to bring His judgment, and He will welcome His own into eternal joy. 

The Lord Jesus will have His angels completely sort out the weeds and wheat. 

There really is weeping and gnashing of teeth reserved for those who reject Jesus and there really is great joy reserved for those who trust in Jesus. 

When we ask, “When will God remove sin from the earth? When will God take away my pain and suffering?” Let us remember this parable from Jesus. 

All of this world will be purged of sin. Jesus will judge. His angels will do their work. 

Those who say that they don’t care what happens to them after they die don’t really understand the biblical day of judgment. It will be devastatingly terrible for the wicked and supremely joyous for the redeemed. 

The fact that God the Father is waiting to send Jesus back to the earth is actually a demonstration of His great grace. 

You see, Jesus could wipe out all sin and all sinners any moment now. However, He’s giving us more and more time to repent. He’s giving us more and more time to turn from being children of the evil one to children of the kingdom of heaven. 

2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.”

He’s waiting because of His grace. However, He won’t wait forever. 

One day He will make the whole earth new and set it free from sin. Today, He can make you new and set you free from sin. 

(Gospel presentation)

(closing prayer)

Invitation Song – Wherever He Leads I’ll Go

Benediction:

Please be seated as we have a few announcements and then something extra at the end of our service today. 

If you have any sort of spiritual decision that you would like to make, you can contact me or any of our staff and we would be glad to talk to you anytime.

We have a few reminders to discuss quickly. 

Don’t forget about baptism Sunday. If you need to be baptized, grab a Connection Card and write your name and check the box on the back that says, “Being baptized.” We’re having a special Sunday on October 6 where we try to baptize anyone and everyone who needs to be baptized. 

Also, don’t forget about our ministry to Floral Avenue Elementary school tomorrow morning.  We’ll be providing breakfast to the teachers and staff there. If you’re interested, see Trish Scarbrough or Barbara Johnson. 

Also, don’t forget our ministry to Florida Baptist Children’s Home and One More Child. We’re collecting $2,000 and 2,000 diapers. Look in the bulletin for more info about that. 

Finally, we’ll be back here tonight at 5:30 for our series called “Discovering Church History.” I hope you’ll join us.  

Let’s dismiss by singing the Doxology. 

(Sing Doxology)

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