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Then He [Jesus] put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” … And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)
Have you ever wanted to tell God how to do His job? Specifically the job of judging other people. It’s so frustrating to see other human beings who, in our opinion, are living terrible lives and deserve to be uprooted and thrown on the garbage heap. We can see the evil they’re doing—why does God keep putting up with them?
Jesus tells us why in this parable. He compares the world to a field of wheat where Jesus Himself has planted His people. But in the same field there are weeds growing—weeds that Jesus didn’t plant, the devil did!—and these people live side by side with Jesus’ own. There’s no way to get rid of them without doing damage to the people Jesus planted—they live in the same neighborhood, the same church, the same family.
And so God waits patiently until the day Jesus returns to gather His people home. He will not make a single mistake—He knows His people well. After all, He is the One who suffered, died, and rose again to save us! He will put an end to all the evils that vex and harm us now. In the meantime, we keep our own hands off—and pray.
WE PRAY: Dear Savior, help me to trust You instead of rushing to judgment. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- Is it always easy to tell the difference between weeds and good plants?
- Tell about a time you were surprised to discover that someone you thought was a weed was in fact Jesus’ own.
- Can human “weeds” be transformed into good wheat? How?
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