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.
Back to the weeds in the field…
I think the whole “mustard and leaven” thing would seem more plausible if somebody would just get rid of the weeds. You remember the “weeds”…the strap-hangers at Church who are not truly part of the Body of Christ. It’s hard enough to thrive without obstacles in our way, right?
There is a method to God’s plan. Right here we have the cosmic truth: Jesus and Satan are engaged in “The Mother of all Battles” over the eternal destiny of man and the church is the battleground upon which this contest is waged.
Jesus and Sun Tsu must have discussed this because ingenious. One of the principles of warfare is to choose the terrain. Jesus decided to wage battle on his “home court”. Advantage, Kingdom!
Somebody once said “keep your friends close…and your enemies closer”. Maybe this is what Jesus had in mind when preparing for this cosmic struggle. What better way to influence a lost and dying soul than have him (or her) sitting next to us in church?
Just remember…the weeds are not our friends. They have been planted there to destroy us. To some degree they have been successful. Why do you suppose the church looks so much like the world? Many churches have lost their home field advantage.
Prolonging the battle…
Live boldly out there today…
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