February 12, 2025 | Be God's Family
Seeds and Weeds
Scripture: Matthew 13:24-43(NIV)
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “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?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. 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.’”
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 “As the weeds are pulled up 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 weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 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 the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Devotional
Parables are stories that teach a moral, a truth contained in the story. The Parable of the Weeds is one of the few where Jesus tells the story, then gives a full explanation of what each aspect means.
In it, there are two basic outcomes for people. Either they are seeds of Jesus’ kingdom headed for eternity in heaven, or they are weeds of Satan’s domain destined for eternity in hell. There is no third alternative.
Many people prefer not to think about hell. Some theologians, pastors and church leaders teach that all humans will be saved and go to heaven. This is known as universalism. Over a decade ago, Rob Bell popularized this old notion with his book, “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.” His conclusion is that God’s love brings every person who ever lived into heaven.
However, this is not what the Bible teaches about eternity. Hebrews 9:27-28 says, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
In the Gospel of Matthew alone Jesus referred to the eternity without God as “the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:22), a place of “darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12), the “blazing furnace” (Matthew 13:42), “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41), and “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46).
In 1741 during the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon entitled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In it he scared the hell out of people, literally, telling them that God was dangling them over the pit of hell like you might dangle a poisonous spider over a fire. Perhaps there is a middle ground between Jonathan Edwards and Rob Bell.
Here's what I know. Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, then died on the cross so that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Two verses later the Lord proclaimed, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).
We must be about the business of tilling the soil to receive the good seed of Jesus! That is our call. That is the Great Commission!
Poem
Forever
Psalm 92
Forever
Let me praise You
With each morning’s breath
With each nightfall’s sigh
Forever
Let me exalt You
Despite choking stress
Despite growing evil
Forever
Let me remember You
To set my feet firm
To direct my path
Forever
Let me trust You
To defeat my enemies
To stop the wicked foes
Forever
Let me flourish
Strong standing, planted firmly
Strong lasting, all my days
