"Are You A Weed?"

Are You A Weed?

Matthew 13:24-30 (NASB)

Gloria thought of herself as a good Christian mother. One day she allowed her son, Timmy, to play in the back yard of their home. Afterall, it was fenced on all sides, and nothing could really hurt him. When Gloria went outside to the backyard to take Timmy a glass of Kool aide, he was nowhere to be found. Gloria was frantic. She searched everywhere and in desperation went to the house next door where Timmy’s best friend, Carol lived. Carol’s mother searched the house and yard and couldn’t find Carol. Both mothers were now frantic. In desperation they searched the neighborhood ending at the park where they found both Carol and Timmy. When they returned home, Gloria asked Timmy why they went to the park. He said Carol knew the way and she persuaded Timmy to go with her. Gloria shared this parable of Jesus with Timmy and told him that sometimes, people can be a “weed” that lead us to do bad things. Timmy said, “So Carol is like a weed.” “Yes,” Gloria answered. The next day at preschool Timmy was passing out the snack napkins and when he placed the napkin in front of Carol he said, “And one for Carol, the weed.”

Are you a weed? That’s a strange question isn’t it. But that is just the question our gospel lesson is asking each of us. Are we weeds? Our gospel text concerns the difference between weeds and wheat in a field. Jesus tells a parable about farmer who sowed some wheat seeds into his field. Everything was going well, until one day his servants noticed that some weeds which looked just like the wheat were growing up in the field also. They ran to the owner and asked him about the kinds of seeds that he used. He said that an enemy had sown the bad seed in his field and that he had used good seeds. Then the servants, eager to make the field look good again, asked if they should go and pull out the weeds. But the master says no, because until the weeds and the wheat ripen no one could really tell them apart and they might disturb the good wheat along with trying to pull up the weeds. He tells them that they should leave the fields alone, and then when the wheat is ready for harvest, the weeds will have bloomed also, and one could tell the difference. Then the harvesters could come and pull out the weeds and burn them and gather the harvest of wheat next.

Jesus goes on to explain that he, himself, is the farmer in this story, his workers are heaven’s angels, and the enemy that infiltrates his field is the “evil one” or devil.

But it’s the weeds that I want to focus on today. The wheat represents believers who have been born again into God’s Kingdom. But the weeds represent everyone else. Jesus then says that you cannot tell the difference between these two groups of people, but when the close of the age comes, and the harvest of the world is ready, then the angels will separate the evil ones from tile righteous ones. The evil ones will be burned, and the righteous people will live with him for eternity.

Now the question can be asked, which are you, the weeds or the wheat? This parable was not told so that we might go around and judge others and decide who is a weed and who is wheat. Jesus says loud and clear that is his responsibility, it is the function of the Father and his angels. But the parable is for one to take a close look at his or her life with the understanding that one can judge one’s own heart and then repent and bear good fruit. So today, we don’t want you to look at your neighbor and say, well, pastor is really talking about you. Today’s sermon is addressed to each of us individually, it is a time to look at one’s own sins, at the way one conducts one’s own life, then make a decision about repentance for your own life and turning around and bearing fruit fur Jesus.

As we look at ourselves this morning, as we compare ourselves to the example of weeds or wheat, we can ask ourselves this question. Do we want to look like wheat when it is convenient for us, and then be like weeds the rest of the time? Or putting it another way, does our faith in Jesus and the responsibility for living a committed kind of life get turned on and off when it is easy for us? Many people label Christians as hypocrites. They say one thing or expect one thing from others and not themselves. Are you like that? Some of us believe that being a follower of Jesus stops when you leave the church and starts again when you enter the doors again next Sunday. Listen, being a Christian is 7 days a week 24 hours a day. Let’s look at three things about weeds.

#1 – DECEPTIVE

First, the weeds are deceptive because they can be easily confused as wheat. It’s hard to tell the difference. In fact, most scholars believe that Jesus was describing a specific type of weed known as Bearded Darnel. Darnel typically flourishes in the same fields as wheat and the similarity between these two plants is so great that in some regions, darnel is referred to as “false wheat.” The wheat and the weed are almost indistinguishable until the ear appears.

If the workers in the field started pulling weeds, they probably would have ruined the wheat. Later, Jesus explains to his disciples: “The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one” (Matthew 13:37). The similarity between the wheat and weeds, however, is reminder that we can’t always tell the difference. The world is filled with believers and unbelievers—people who are saved and people who are lost. But you and I aren’t always in a position to tell which is which.

A few chapters earlier, Jesus said, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you.’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NLT).

On the surface, these folks look and act like Christians. They’re doing the Lord’s work. They not only show up for church on Sunday morning, but they serve communion and teach Sunday School.

They’re small-group leaders. They speak Chrisitanese. They listen to Christian radio and wear Christian t-shirts. They have little Jesus-fish on the bumpers of their cars and plaque on their desks that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” They talk the talk and walk the walk. But Jesus will turn them away, saying, “I never knew you.”
Listen: Don’t assume that you are the wheat!

These folks in Matthew 7 seemed genuinely surprised that they weren’t accepted into heaven. They talked a lot about all the stuff they did for Jesus. But do you know what they didn’t talk about? They didn’t say, “I made a mess of my life, and I realized how desperately I need a savoir. That’s when I put all of faith and hope in you, Jesus.” The difference between a believer and a “make-believer” isn’t something you can see. It’s something that happens in the heart. People look at the outward appearance, but Jesus looks at the heart. The heart reveals what you’re really made of.

First, weeds are deceiving. Furthermore, weeds are damaging.

#2 – DAMAGING

In the parable, when the workers asked the farmer if they should pull up the weeds, he replies, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest” (Matthew 13:29-30 ESV).

The farmer didn’t want his workers to pull up the weeds because they looked too similar to the wheat and he didn’t want any of the wheat to be damaged in the process. It may also be that the roots from the weeds entangled themselves in the wheat roots and so even if you pulled the right plants, the wheat could still be damaged.

Of course, we don’t need a parable to tell us that weeds are bad. If you tend a garden, your first instinct upon seeing a weed is probably the same as the workers in the parable—pull it out. Weeds have very invasive root systems that quickly take over the surrounding earth, stealing vital nutrients and water from the other plants.

The same thing happens in our spiritual lives if we’re always surrounded by weedy people. The apostle Paul put it this way: “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals’” (1Corinthians 15:33).

It’s just like your mom used to tell you: “one rotten apple can spoil the whole bunch!” That principle holds true for our spiritual lives as well. The world is filled with both believers and unbelievers, Christians and non-Christian. We live next door to each other. We work in the same offices. We work out side-by-side in the gym. In some cases, we may even live under the same roof. As Christians we need to exercise discernment in those relationships.

Now, don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have any association with people who are not Christians. Just the opposite is true. It’s important that we have authentic, loving relationships with unbelievers so that we can share God’s love with them and hopefully lead them to Jesus. At the same time, however, we need to be cautious. The people you surround yourself with, whether Christians or non-Christians, have the potential to influence your life in a positive, loving and godly way or in a negative, immoral and ungodly way.

Anybody—whether they call themselves a Christian or not—who influences you to live or act contrary to your faith and principles is a weed. And they can damage your relationship with God and your testimony in the world. We tend to think and act like the people with whom we surround ourselves. If you spend your time with negative, unbelieving, or immoral people—even the ones who call themselves Christians—your faith and spiritual life with will be damaged.

So weeds are deceptive, weeds are damaging, and eventually weeds are destroyed.

#3 – DESTROYED

The parable ends with weeds being bundled and burned while the wheat is carried gleefully into the farmer’s barn—a happy ending, unless you’re a weed. Jesus explains this part of the parable, saying,

Matthew 13:40-42 (NASB)

These verses escort us to the most somber spiritual reality: hell.

Jesus spoke of hell, or at least final judgment, often. Two-thirds of his parables relate to resurrection and judgment. Jesus wasn’t cruel or volatile, but he was blunt. He said things like: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28 NIV).

Even the most famous verse in the Bible contains a one-word picture of hell: perish. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). In hell, everything perishes. Hope perishes. Happiness perishes. Even the bodies and souls of God-deniers perish. Like weeds in a fiery furnace, hell consumes everything that enters it. Hell is a horrible reality, but a reality nonetheless and one we ought to avoid at all costs.

Conclusion

The bad news is: weeds are deceptive, damaging, and ultimately destroyed. But the good news is: weeds don’t have to be weeds. In the agricultural world, weeds never transform into wheat. That sort of magical metamorphosis is unheard of in planting. But in the spiritual world, it happens every day. The Bible says that God doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed, but for everyone to come to repentance. In other words, God longs for every weed to become wheat. If you will accept God’s invitation, believe and receive Jesus, he will make you permanent part of his eternal garden.