Sunday 20 July 2014
- Bible Book:
- Matthew
“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.” (v. 30)
Background
The parables of Jesus are a keyfeature of the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, thoughnot John. The parables are typically about the kingdom of God andare a teaching tool intended to achieve a number of disparateends.
On the one hand a parable is aliterary device which makes use of familiar ideas, objects orexperiences to describe the unfamiliar (eg the kingdom of God).Parables that fall into this category often begin, "The kingdom ofGod is like … a mustard seed, a pearl of great price, treasure in afield, lost sheep" etc.
However, on the other hand someparables can also be a way of speaking hidden truth that is onlyavailable to the initiated. In other words, some parables aredesigned to ensure that the casual hearer does notunderstand. Thebest example of this is the Parable of the Sower (
So it is with the Parable of the Weedsand Wheat. The disciples are instructed later what the parablemeans. It suggests that this parable falls more easily into thelatter rather than former category.
Parables, of course, do notnecessarily have fixed meanings. They seem to be able to be appliedto different contexts, either by Jesus himself or by the writers ofthe Gospels. So, for example, Jesus tells the Parable of the LostSheep in Matthew 18:10-14 to make a point about pastoralcare. However, when the parable is used in
One helpful reading of the Parable ofWeeds and Wheat is that it offers some insight into the problem ofevil as well as into the nature of God's kingdom.
In traditional Methodist three-pointsermon style here are three points:
- Sometimes evil appears inexplicable - the enemy who sows weedsamong the wheat is not explained but simply is
- Evil sometimes appears unavoidable - the weeds are completelyintermingled with the wheat
- Sometimes evil appears irresistible - the weeds cannot beremoved from the wheat because to do so will put the wheat at riskas well.
However, this not the end of thestory; evil does not triumph. Rather the Lord of the harvestensures that even though it takes some time the weeds ultimatelyare destroyed and the wheat safely gathered in.
To Ponder
- Sometimes the problem of evil can seems overwhelming. Theage-old question, 'Why does an all powerful and loving God allowevil not only to exist but also to flourish?' does not allow foreasy answers. How do you maintain your faith in a loving God in theface of evil?
- The parable suggests that it is at the end that the problem ofevil is dealt with finally. How do you make sense of the kingdom ofGod in the here and now?