Tuesday
Tuesday
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds
Let both grow together until the harvest.
Matthew 13:30
This parable introduces us to the strange phenomenon known as “nominal Christianity.” That is, it is possible to be a Christian in name, not in heart, in appearance, not in reality.
The story is clear. There were two sowers, one a farmer and the other his enemy. There were two crops, one wheat and the other weeds. And there would be two harvests, for the weeds would be burned and the wheat garnered. But the same field is in mind throughout. The parable teaches three lessons.
Firstly, the church is a mixed community. Just as the field contained both wheat and weeds, so the church contains both believers and unbelievers. Some deny this. They point to verse 38, where Jesus says that “the field is the world.” But the enemy sowed weeds “among the wheat” (v. 25), not in a different field, and in the end evildoers will be gathered out of the kingdom, that is, out of the community that acknowledges Jesus as King. So the church contains within its membership the true and the false. This justifies the distinction between the visible church (all baptized members) and the invisible church (all who truly belong to Jesus Christ).
Secondly, the devil is at work in the church. I am aware that some church leaders no longer believe in the devil. But Jesus did, and that should be enough for us. The devil infiltrates the church with his agents, who often look exactly like genuine believers. For the so-called weeds are darnel, which, at least in its early stages, is almost indistinguishable from wheat.
Thirdly, the separation will take place at the end. Counterfeit Christians will not be able to preserve their disguise forever. The Day of Judgment will unmask them. Meanwhile, we should not attempt to do God’s sifting and separating work for him. This does not mean, however, that the church should be a totally inclusive community and that there is no room for discipline. Open heretics and open evildoers should be disciplined, but we cannot read hearts and must not pass judgment on those who profess and seem to be true believers.
For further reading: Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43