Weeds And Wheat
Preaching
Preaching The Parables
Series III, Cycle A
1. Text
He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; [25] but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. [27] And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?' [28] He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' [29] But he replied, 'No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. [30] Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.' "
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." [37] He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; [38] the field is the world, and the good seed 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 reapers are angels. [40] Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. [41] The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, [42] and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [43] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!"
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to someone who sows good seed in his field.
Second Point Of Action
While everyone is asleep, an enemy comes and sows weeds among the wheat, then leaves.
Third Point Of Action
When the plants germinate and bear grain, the weeds also appear.
Fourth Point Of Action
The householder's slaves come to him wondering where the weeds came from as the sower had sowed good seed in his field.
Fifth Point Of Action
When the farmer says an enemy had done it, his slaves ask if he wants them to gather the weeds.
Sixth Point Of Action
He tells them that would uproot the wheat along with the weeds. At harvest, he will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first, binding them into bundles to be burned. After that has been done, the reapers will gather the wheat into the farmer's barn.
Seventh Point Of Action
[Matthew then mentions (vv. 30--36) that Jesus told two other parables, the mustard seed and the yeast, all in fulfillment of Hebrew Scripture.] When Jesus leaves the crowds and goes into the house, his disciples ask him to explain the parable of the weeds of the field.
Eighth Point Of Action
Jesus explains:
The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
The field is the world.
The good seed is the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one.
The enemy who sowed the weed seed is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age.
The reapers are angels.
Ninth Point Of Action
Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
Tenth Point Of Action
Angels sent by the Son of Man will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers.
Eleventh Point Of Action
The angels will throw them into the furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Twelfth Point Of Action
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Thirteenth Point Of Action
Jesus says, "Let anyone with ears listen."
3. Spadework
Asleep
Disastrous things can happen when one falls asleep. When Samson fell asleep on Delilah's lap, Delilah cut off his hair causing him to lose his strength. (See Judges 16:19.) God caused Saul and his protectors to fall into "a deep sleep," enabling David to remove the spear and the water jar. (See 1 Samuel 26:12.) Even worse, one might lose life when asleep. (See Judges 4:21.) The people scatter when their shepherds are asleep. (See Nahum 3:18.)
When people worshiped the god Baal from morning to noon without any response, the prophet Elijah mocked them suggesting that Baal was asleep and they needed to rouse him. (See 1 Kings 18:27.)
When the emotionally and physically exhausted Elijah fell asleep beneath the broom tree, a good thing happened to him, entering his dream. (See 1 Kings 19:5.) Both Jonah and Jesus slept without second thought in their respective boats while the seas churned. Both were awakened to summon God's help. (See Jonah 1:5, Matthew 8:24, Mark 4:38, and Luke 8:23.)
"Keep awake" was the word from Jesus. (See Mark 13:35--37.)
Devil
Unique to the New Testament, "devil" occurs six times in Matthew, five in Luke, three in John, and none in Mark. In addition to the present Matthean text and the story of separating the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:41), "devil" appears four times in the story of the devil's tempting of Jesus. (See Matthew 4:1ff and Luke 4:2--13.) The other Lukan text, Luke 8:12, follows the parable of the seed sown on a variety of soils: "The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved."
In the Gospel of John, "Jesus [, speaking of Judas Iscariot,] answered [the disciples], 'Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil' " (John 6:70) and "The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper ..." (John 13:2).
The writer of John quotes Jesus as saying to the Pharisees who search for a way to kill him: "You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).
The devil is both powerful and vulnerable. The writer of Hebrews defines the devil as "the one who has the power of death" (Hebrews 2:14); "Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8); and "The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters" (1 John 3:10).
"Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning" (1 John 3:8a). However, the devil can be conquered: "The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8b); "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7); "Do not make room for the devil" (Ephesians 4:27); and "Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). In Revelation, the devil is defeated and served its due. (See Revelation 12:9, 12:12, 20:2, and 20:10.)
Harvest
The hope of all farmers is for "[f]ullness of your harvest" (Exodus 22:29). Among the crops harvested in biblical lands were grapes (Joel 3:13), fruit and grain (Isaiah 16:9), barley (Ruth 1:22 and 2 Samuel 21:9--10), and wheat (Genesis 30:14, 1 Samuel 6:13, and 1 Samuel 12:17).
Harvest is a time of high hope: "For thus it shall be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is ended. They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; they shout from the west over the majesty of the Lord" (Isaiah 24:13--14). Because natural and other forces can interfere with a harvest, the completion of a full harvest brings joy and thanksgiving: "You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder" (Isaiah 9:3).
Harvest is the time of results. It is the time of clearing the land for the new beginning that allows the natural cycle of rest and growth to continue. After the waters subsided, God told Noah: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). However, there are times of no harvest: "For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest" (Genesis 45:6).
Hebrew law made certain that the growing of crops was accomplished with right stewardship. First fruits were to be shared with God: "You shall observe the festival of harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall observe the festival of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor" (Exodus 23:16). See also Deuteronomy 26:2.
Even at plowing and harvest time, farmers were to take care of themselves, as well as to honor the Sabbath: "Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest" (Exodus 34:21). On the other hand, "A child who gathers in summer is prudent, but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame" (Proverbs 10:5). Planned land management was necessary: "That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines" (Leviticus 25:11).
Farmers also were to take care of the land: "You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land" (Leviticus 25:5).
Awareness of community needs prompted hospitality at harvest time: "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:9--10). This passage repeats word for word four chapters later, Leviticus 23:22. (See also Deuteronomy 24:19.)
Harvest is a time of great expectation; however, a successful harvest does not always work out:
"[T]hough you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow; yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain" (Isaiah 17:11);
"[F]or that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my harvest" (Job 31:12);
"Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that the wickedness that you have done in the sight of the Lord is great in demanding a king for yourselves" (1 Samuel 12:17);
"And I also withheld the rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would be rained upon, and the field on which it did not rain withered" (Amos 4:7); and
"In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent ones; for the vintage will fail, the fruit harvest will not come" (Isaiah 32:10).
As apt as metaphors of nets and fishing are for the fisher are metaphors of harvest for the growers of grain and crops: "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved" (Jeremiah 8:20); "But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come" (Mark 4:29); and "Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together" (John 4:35--36).
Of the 61 biblical references to "harvest," the following passages from the New Testament letters return the reader to the present text about reaping what we sow for ourselves by our behavior: "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:7--9) and "a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace" (James 3:18).
What have you sown? "[T]hose who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same" (Job 4:8); "[You] make me reap the iniquities of my youth" (Job 13:26); "May those who sow in tears / reap with shouts of joy" (Psalms 126:5); "Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity" (Proverbs 22:8); "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you" (Hosea 10:12); and "You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies" (Hosea 10:13).
The writer of Revelation concludes that the hour has come to reap the fully ripe harvest: "Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, 'Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe' " (Revelation 14:15).
Kingdom Of Heaven
See Parable 3A.
Good Seed
"Seed" and its derivatives occur 55 times, 35 of which are in the Hebrew Scripture. Seed is God's gift for survival: "Then God said, 'Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.' And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:11--12). See also Genesis 1:29, 8:22, 26:12, 47:19, and 47:23--24. Moreover, "[God] will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures" (Isaiah 30:23). See also Isaiah 55:10--11. In return for this gift, "All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord's; they are holy to the Lord" (Leviticus 27:30). "Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field" (Deuteronomy 14:22).
"Good" and "seed" appear only three times in this parable. Good seed is clean seed in that it has a minimum of weeds in it, hence the farm hand's panicked question about where the householder got that seed. Terrorism took many forms, enemies destroyed the sustenance in several ways, among them salting the land (Parable 1A) and planting weed seed in a field: "For whenever the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them. They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land, as far as the neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep or ox or donkey" (Judges 6:3--4).
According to the common sense of Levitical law, "You shall keep my statutes ... [Y]ou shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed ..." (Leviticus 19:19). "If any part of the carcass of insects that are allowable for eating falls upon any seed set aside for sowing, it is clean; but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you" (Leviticus 11:37--38).
Also, "[Y]ou shall not sow your vineyard with a second kind of seed, or the whole yield will have to be forfeited, both the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard itself" (Deuteronomy 22:9). Neither were the returned Israelite and Levite priest exiles to intermix with others: "For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way" (Ezra 9:2).
"Seed" is a metaphor for the realm of God: "[Jesus] also said, 'The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how' " (Mark 4:26--27) and "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11).
In addition to the present "seed" parable, the parable of "The Sower" (Parable 4, Cycle A, Matthew 13:1--9, 18--23) tells the hearer that not only must seed to be good, it must be sowed in good, that is, productive soil. (See also Mark 4:4--8 and Luke 8:5ff.) Another parable, that of "The Mustard Seed" (Matthew 13:31--32), returns us to the hope that faith carries: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." (See also Matthew 17:20, Mark 4:31, Luke 13:19, and Luke 17:6.)
Son Of Man
See Cycle C, Parable 1, "The Sign of the Fig Tree," Luke 21:25--36.
Weeds
Five of the eight references to "weed" occur in the present text. Enemy--sown weeds appear as the wheat bears grain (vv. 26--27). The slaves question the quality of the master's seed (v. 27). If weeds are gathered at the time of discovery, tender wheat will sustain damage (v. 29). At harvest time, collect and bind weeds first (v. 30). In the presumed later explanation of the parable, the disciples ask about the parable of the weeds (v. 36). The weeds represent the "children of the evil one" (v. 38) who, like weeds, will be collected and burned at the end of the age (v. 40).
"Weed" as presented in Hebrew Scripture is of no good. Hosea uses "weed" as a metaphor: "They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field" (Hosea 10:4). Job and Jonah use "weed" in a literal, choking sense: "[L]et thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley" (Job 31:40) and "The waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head" (Jonah 2:5).
In Parable(s)
See Parable 4, Cycle A; Parable 1, Cycle C; and Parable 15, Cycle C.
4. Parallel Scripture
Let Anyone With Ears Listen
This phrase is used in two other instances, Matthew 11:15, when Jesus spoke about John, and Matthew 13:9, when Jesus told the parable of planting seed in different types of soil.
5. Chat Room
Arvid: Okay, is anyone else online here? I have some questions about parables.
Jarrod: I will join your chat room.
Arvid: Great. So what do we do when the parable is told and then explained? Does that not kill the essence of the parable by limiting it to that one explanation?
Jarrod: It might be argued that this clarification was not from Christ but rather a later interpretation or explanation.
Arvid: Then, is the second part of this parable, the explanation, invalid?
Jarrod: I would not say so. I wonder rather if the source of the explanation matters that much. The given interpretation made sense to those of Jesus' time, and it survived to become part of our scripture. I would prefer to approach a parable with an open heart.
Arvid: An open heart?
Jarrod: Yes. It is something like listening to classical music. Most symphonies are identified by only a number. They leave understanding to the listener's depth of spirit. It often takes me several listenings to follow a symphony. On the other hand, if I sit back and absorb it with my whole self, I come to an understanding of the music, the universe, and my own self that I had not supposed could happen. Other pieces of music have been given a name either by composer or tradition that enhances one's experience of that music. I think of Ferde Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite." Each section title - "Sunrise," "On the Trail," "Cloudburst," etc. - suggests where one's imagination might travel. Such direction also enhances a musical experience.
Arvid: Or like studying a work of visual art with or without the benefit of an explanatory guide.
Jarrod: Exactly. The choice is a matter of preference at the time. While a parable can be dissected and judged piece by piece, I learn more by considering what is important now, that is, what the parable points to in my own situation.
Arvid: You mean, what is the truth about the parable, for instance in this parable that God is in charge despite all the apparent worldly impairments? Christ, the Son of Man, sows the good seed in the field and in the end harvests that good seed. No matter what else happens in the meantime, that truth is trustworthy.
Jarrod: Another truth speaks that someone will always attempt to frustrate good seed with weed that attempts to crowd out cultivated plants. However diminished one might appear by the evil in the world, in the end the good still is recognizable.
Arvid: Does that suggest good people will always be compromised in some way by evil? We are strong enough to survive the weeds, but we do not shine until the weeds are actually removed by God. In the end, the good wins out but not without the help of God. God, good, is stronger than evil.
Jarrod: It may appear that the bad seed will slip through and prevail. Meanwhile, take strength because even though good and evil grow side by side, God comes out on the side of the good seed. God still is and God is still creating. It is not that the good seed is as strong as or stronger than the bad seed but that God's truth is sound.
Arvid: Yes, I begin now to understand how I can bring myself in my present situation to a parable and let that parable talk to me. It sort of free flows. I ask myself, with what need do I come to this parable, then let the truth of that story open up to the truth of my being.
Jarrod: Another way of saying that is to ask, what is the surprise or the unexpected dimension of this parable. Again, the surprise differs for each person according to that person's need at the particular time of reading the parable.
Arvid: For me, the surprise is also the mystery that the good seed could continue to thrive when every farmer knows that weeds will take over a field. You know, this parable had not made a lot of sense to me - letting the weeds grow as if never noticed. Weeds guzzle available moisture and snuff out the life of the cultivated seed. Yet the weed received its due at harvest. I had viewed it from the farmer's perspective rather than that of God.
Jarrod: So tender is new growth, so easily uprooted. So delicate and fleeting is a creative idea, so easily lost in a maze of weedy attitude. To give what is fragile a chance to emerge sometimes means letting it grow side by side with what one despises, a strange coexistence of balance that I can only trust will emerge triumphant.
Arvid: That same trust of balance and triumph lies with the clean seed and the weeds within us. Jesus' stories open the imagination. They nudge us toward insight, widening our perception. Instead of dissecting the details and killing the soul of the parable, come with your heart. Identify its mystery and keep its mystery in your heart.
He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; [25] but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. [27] And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?' [28] He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' [29] But he replied, 'No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. [30] Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.' "
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." [37] He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; [38] the field is the world, and the good seed 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 reapers are angels. [40] Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. [41] The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, [42] and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [43] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!"
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to someone who sows good seed in his field.
Second Point Of Action
While everyone is asleep, an enemy comes and sows weeds among the wheat, then leaves.
Third Point Of Action
When the plants germinate and bear grain, the weeds also appear.
Fourth Point Of Action
The householder's slaves come to him wondering where the weeds came from as the sower had sowed good seed in his field.
Fifth Point Of Action
When the farmer says an enemy had done it, his slaves ask if he wants them to gather the weeds.
Sixth Point Of Action
He tells them that would uproot the wheat along with the weeds. At harvest, he will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first, binding them into bundles to be burned. After that has been done, the reapers will gather the wheat into the farmer's barn.
Seventh Point Of Action
[Matthew then mentions (vv. 30--36) that Jesus told two other parables, the mustard seed and the yeast, all in fulfillment of Hebrew Scripture.] When Jesus leaves the crowds and goes into the house, his disciples ask him to explain the parable of the weeds of the field.
Eighth Point Of Action
Jesus explains:
The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
The field is the world.
The good seed is the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one.
The enemy who sowed the weed seed is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age.
The reapers are angels.
Ninth Point Of Action
Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
Tenth Point Of Action
Angels sent by the Son of Man will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers.
Eleventh Point Of Action
The angels will throw them into the furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Twelfth Point Of Action
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Thirteenth Point Of Action
Jesus says, "Let anyone with ears listen."
3. Spadework
Asleep
Disastrous things can happen when one falls asleep. When Samson fell asleep on Delilah's lap, Delilah cut off his hair causing him to lose his strength. (See Judges 16:19.) God caused Saul and his protectors to fall into "a deep sleep," enabling David to remove the spear and the water jar. (See 1 Samuel 26:12.) Even worse, one might lose life when asleep. (See Judges 4:21.) The people scatter when their shepherds are asleep. (See Nahum 3:18.)
When people worshiped the god Baal from morning to noon without any response, the prophet Elijah mocked them suggesting that Baal was asleep and they needed to rouse him. (See 1 Kings 18:27.)
When the emotionally and physically exhausted Elijah fell asleep beneath the broom tree, a good thing happened to him, entering his dream. (See 1 Kings 19:5.) Both Jonah and Jesus slept without second thought in their respective boats while the seas churned. Both were awakened to summon God's help. (See Jonah 1:5, Matthew 8:24, Mark 4:38, and Luke 8:23.)
"Keep awake" was the word from Jesus. (See Mark 13:35--37.)
Devil
Unique to the New Testament, "devil" occurs six times in Matthew, five in Luke, three in John, and none in Mark. In addition to the present Matthean text and the story of separating the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:41), "devil" appears four times in the story of the devil's tempting of Jesus. (See Matthew 4:1ff and Luke 4:2--13.) The other Lukan text, Luke 8:12, follows the parable of the seed sown on a variety of soils: "The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved."
In the Gospel of John, "Jesus [, speaking of Judas Iscariot,] answered [the disciples], 'Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil' " (John 6:70) and "The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper ..." (John 13:2).
The writer of John quotes Jesus as saying to the Pharisees who search for a way to kill him: "You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).
The devil is both powerful and vulnerable. The writer of Hebrews defines the devil as "the one who has the power of death" (Hebrews 2:14); "Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8); and "The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters" (1 John 3:10).
"Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning" (1 John 3:8a). However, the devil can be conquered: "The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8b); "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7); "Do not make room for the devil" (Ephesians 4:27); and "Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). In Revelation, the devil is defeated and served its due. (See Revelation 12:9, 12:12, 20:2, and 20:10.)
Harvest
The hope of all farmers is for "[f]ullness of your harvest" (Exodus 22:29). Among the crops harvested in biblical lands were grapes (Joel 3:13), fruit and grain (Isaiah 16:9), barley (Ruth 1:22 and 2 Samuel 21:9--10), and wheat (Genesis 30:14, 1 Samuel 6:13, and 1 Samuel 12:17).
Harvest is a time of high hope: "For thus it shall be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is ended. They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; they shout from the west over the majesty of the Lord" (Isaiah 24:13--14). Because natural and other forces can interfere with a harvest, the completion of a full harvest brings joy and thanksgiving: "You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder" (Isaiah 9:3).
Harvest is the time of results. It is the time of clearing the land for the new beginning that allows the natural cycle of rest and growth to continue. After the waters subsided, God told Noah: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). However, there are times of no harvest: "For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest" (Genesis 45:6).
Hebrew law made certain that the growing of crops was accomplished with right stewardship. First fruits were to be shared with God: "You shall observe the festival of harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall observe the festival of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor" (Exodus 23:16). See also Deuteronomy 26:2.
Even at plowing and harvest time, farmers were to take care of themselves, as well as to honor the Sabbath: "Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest" (Exodus 34:21). On the other hand, "A child who gathers in summer is prudent, but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame" (Proverbs 10:5). Planned land management was necessary: "That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines" (Leviticus 25:11).
Farmers also were to take care of the land: "You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land" (Leviticus 25:5).
Awareness of community needs prompted hospitality at harvest time: "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:9--10). This passage repeats word for word four chapters later, Leviticus 23:22. (See also Deuteronomy 24:19.)
Harvest is a time of great expectation; however, a successful harvest does not always work out:
"[T]hough you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow; yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain" (Isaiah 17:11);
"[F]or that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my harvest" (Job 31:12);
"Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that the wickedness that you have done in the sight of the Lord is great in demanding a king for yourselves" (1 Samuel 12:17);
"And I also withheld the rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would be rained upon, and the field on which it did not rain withered" (Amos 4:7); and
"In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent ones; for the vintage will fail, the fruit harvest will not come" (Isaiah 32:10).
As apt as metaphors of nets and fishing are for the fisher are metaphors of harvest for the growers of grain and crops: "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved" (Jeremiah 8:20); "But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come" (Mark 4:29); and "Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together" (John 4:35--36).
Of the 61 biblical references to "harvest," the following passages from the New Testament letters return the reader to the present text about reaping what we sow for ourselves by our behavior: "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:7--9) and "a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace" (James 3:18).
What have you sown? "[T]hose who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same" (Job 4:8); "[You] make me reap the iniquities of my youth" (Job 13:26); "May those who sow in tears / reap with shouts of joy" (Psalms 126:5); "Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity" (Proverbs 22:8); "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you" (Hosea 10:12); and "You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies" (Hosea 10:13).
The writer of Revelation concludes that the hour has come to reap the fully ripe harvest: "Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, 'Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe' " (Revelation 14:15).
Kingdom Of Heaven
See Parable 3A.
Good Seed
"Seed" and its derivatives occur 55 times, 35 of which are in the Hebrew Scripture. Seed is God's gift for survival: "Then God said, 'Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.' And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:11--12). See also Genesis 1:29, 8:22, 26:12, 47:19, and 47:23--24. Moreover, "[God] will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures" (Isaiah 30:23). See also Isaiah 55:10--11. In return for this gift, "All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord's; they are holy to the Lord" (Leviticus 27:30). "Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field" (Deuteronomy 14:22).
"Good" and "seed" appear only three times in this parable. Good seed is clean seed in that it has a minimum of weeds in it, hence the farm hand's panicked question about where the householder got that seed. Terrorism took many forms, enemies destroyed the sustenance in several ways, among them salting the land (Parable 1A) and planting weed seed in a field: "For whenever the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them. They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land, as far as the neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep or ox or donkey" (Judges 6:3--4).
According to the common sense of Levitical law, "You shall keep my statutes ... [Y]ou shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed ..." (Leviticus 19:19). "If any part of the carcass of insects that are allowable for eating falls upon any seed set aside for sowing, it is clean; but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you" (Leviticus 11:37--38).
Also, "[Y]ou shall not sow your vineyard with a second kind of seed, or the whole yield will have to be forfeited, both the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard itself" (Deuteronomy 22:9). Neither were the returned Israelite and Levite priest exiles to intermix with others: "For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way" (Ezra 9:2).
"Seed" is a metaphor for the realm of God: "[Jesus] also said, 'The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how' " (Mark 4:26--27) and "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11).
In addition to the present "seed" parable, the parable of "The Sower" (Parable 4, Cycle A, Matthew 13:1--9, 18--23) tells the hearer that not only must seed to be good, it must be sowed in good, that is, productive soil. (See also Mark 4:4--8 and Luke 8:5ff.) Another parable, that of "The Mustard Seed" (Matthew 13:31--32), returns us to the hope that faith carries: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." (See also Matthew 17:20, Mark 4:31, Luke 13:19, and Luke 17:6.)
Son Of Man
See Cycle C, Parable 1, "The Sign of the Fig Tree," Luke 21:25--36.
Weeds
Five of the eight references to "weed" occur in the present text. Enemy--sown weeds appear as the wheat bears grain (vv. 26--27). The slaves question the quality of the master's seed (v. 27). If weeds are gathered at the time of discovery, tender wheat will sustain damage (v. 29). At harvest time, collect and bind weeds first (v. 30). In the presumed later explanation of the parable, the disciples ask about the parable of the weeds (v. 36). The weeds represent the "children of the evil one" (v. 38) who, like weeds, will be collected and burned at the end of the age (v. 40).
"Weed" as presented in Hebrew Scripture is of no good. Hosea uses "weed" as a metaphor: "They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field" (Hosea 10:4). Job and Jonah use "weed" in a literal, choking sense: "[L]et thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley" (Job 31:40) and "The waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head" (Jonah 2:5).
In Parable(s)
See Parable 4, Cycle A; Parable 1, Cycle C; and Parable 15, Cycle C.
4. Parallel Scripture
Let Anyone With Ears Listen
This phrase is used in two other instances, Matthew 11:15, when Jesus spoke about John, and Matthew 13:9, when Jesus told the parable of planting seed in different types of soil.
5. Chat Room
Arvid: Okay, is anyone else online here? I have some questions about parables.
Jarrod: I will join your chat room.
Arvid: Great. So what do we do when the parable is told and then explained? Does that not kill the essence of the parable by limiting it to that one explanation?
Jarrod: It might be argued that this clarification was not from Christ but rather a later interpretation or explanation.
Arvid: Then, is the second part of this parable, the explanation, invalid?
Jarrod: I would not say so. I wonder rather if the source of the explanation matters that much. The given interpretation made sense to those of Jesus' time, and it survived to become part of our scripture. I would prefer to approach a parable with an open heart.
Arvid: An open heart?
Jarrod: Yes. It is something like listening to classical music. Most symphonies are identified by only a number. They leave understanding to the listener's depth of spirit. It often takes me several listenings to follow a symphony. On the other hand, if I sit back and absorb it with my whole self, I come to an understanding of the music, the universe, and my own self that I had not supposed could happen. Other pieces of music have been given a name either by composer or tradition that enhances one's experience of that music. I think of Ferde Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite." Each section title - "Sunrise," "On the Trail," "Cloudburst," etc. - suggests where one's imagination might travel. Such direction also enhances a musical experience.
Arvid: Or like studying a work of visual art with or without the benefit of an explanatory guide.
Jarrod: Exactly. The choice is a matter of preference at the time. While a parable can be dissected and judged piece by piece, I learn more by considering what is important now, that is, what the parable points to in my own situation.
Arvid: You mean, what is the truth about the parable, for instance in this parable that God is in charge despite all the apparent worldly impairments? Christ, the Son of Man, sows the good seed in the field and in the end harvests that good seed. No matter what else happens in the meantime, that truth is trustworthy.
Jarrod: Another truth speaks that someone will always attempt to frustrate good seed with weed that attempts to crowd out cultivated plants. However diminished one might appear by the evil in the world, in the end the good still is recognizable.
Arvid: Does that suggest good people will always be compromised in some way by evil? We are strong enough to survive the weeds, but we do not shine until the weeds are actually removed by God. In the end, the good wins out but not without the help of God. God, good, is stronger than evil.
Jarrod: It may appear that the bad seed will slip through and prevail. Meanwhile, take strength because even though good and evil grow side by side, God comes out on the side of the good seed. God still is and God is still creating. It is not that the good seed is as strong as or stronger than the bad seed but that God's truth is sound.
Arvid: Yes, I begin now to understand how I can bring myself in my present situation to a parable and let that parable talk to me. It sort of free flows. I ask myself, with what need do I come to this parable, then let the truth of that story open up to the truth of my being.
Jarrod: Another way of saying that is to ask, what is the surprise or the unexpected dimension of this parable. Again, the surprise differs for each person according to that person's need at the particular time of reading the parable.
Arvid: For me, the surprise is also the mystery that the good seed could continue to thrive when every farmer knows that weeds will take over a field. You know, this parable had not made a lot of sense to me - letting the weeds grow as if never noticed. Weeds guzzle available moisture and snuff out the life of the cultivated seed. Yet the weed received its due at harvest. I had viewed it from the farmer's perspective rather than that of God.
Jarrod: So tender is new growth, so easily uprooted. So delicate and fleeting is a creative idea, so easily lost in a maze of weedy attitude. To give what is fragile a chance to emerge sometimes means letting it grow side by side with what one despises, a strange coexistence of balance that I can only trust will emerge triumphant.
Arvid: That same trust of balance and triumph lies with the clean seed and the weeds within us. Jesus' stories open the imagination. They nudge us toward insight, widening our perception. Instead of dissecting the details and killing the soul of the parable, come with your heart. Identify its mystery and keep its mystery in your heart.
