We are continuing our study in the parables. This parable is in Matthew 13. Same book and chapter that the first parable is taken from that we studied last time.

Let’s get into the parable.

Matthew 13:24-25
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

So the parable begins with a man sowing good seed in his field. But what happened?

• An enemy comes and sow tares (weeds) among the wheat.
• Straightaway we need to define a few things here.
• Who is this man and his enemy? Also, what does the good seed and bad seed represent?
• You know it’s important to let the Bible define itself in its context because if you were with us the last time maybe you could jump to some conclusions already – “I know, I know, the seed is the word of God.” And whilst that is correct for that previous parable, it is different for this one.
• Let’s go to its interpretation.
• Matthew 13:37-38
  37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 — The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
• So the man who sowed the good seed is the Son of man. That is Jesus.
• The field represents the whole world!
• The good seed? They are the children of the kingdom. Obviously that is God’s people on the earth, not in heaven because the seed is sown in the field which represents the earth right?
• And lastly, the tares (or the weeds) represent the children of the wicked one. And we know that it can only be referring to one wicked ONE – that is the devil.

So right away we see a split, a division, on the earth. It’s Christ versus Satan. And the two groups? Those that are of Christ and those that are of the devil. Let’s keep reading shall we?

Matthew 13:26-28
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 — He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

So as the seed grows and finally it comes to full maturity, the servants are shocked because they see weeds that grow up among them. And so they ask the master, how come there are weeds? And he points to the enemy who did it.

However, the servants are ready to go in and separate them out from each other so that the wheat can grow up properly. But before they can make a move, what does the master say?

Matthew 13:29-30
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”

The master says to not root up the weeds. Why? In case while rooting them up the wheat, the good seed, is also taken out as well. His suggestion? Leave them there until the harvest. It is then that he would send reapers to make that separation between the two. The weeds would be bundled together to be burnt and the wheat into his barn.

• What does the harvest and reapers represent?
• Matthew 13:39
  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
• The harvest it the end of the world, the second coming.
• The reapers? They are the angels of God.

The main point of our focus in this parable is the wheat and the tares. It is the two groups of people that are currently living on this earth before Jesus comes for a second time.

So what is the difference between the children of the kingdom and the children of the wicked one?

• Matthew 18:3
  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
• The children of the kingdom are truly converted. What does it mean to be converted? Before we answer that question, let’s have a look at the children of the wicked one.
• 1 John 3:10
  In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
• The children of the devil are the ones that doesn’t do righteousness. Notice that it uses the word “doeth.” That is an action word. Outwardly you can see the differences between the two groups.
• So somehow, conversion has something to do with doing righteousness. It’s not just a state of the mind. But the change in the heart and mind will lead to change in actions as well.
• But let’s go back to the parable.
• Matthew 13:28-29
  28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
• Jesus asks them to leave it there first.

So at the beginning, the two groups of people cannot be separated. Jesus said to leave them there until the harvest. When is the harvest?

• Remember the harvest is the end of the world. That is after the second coming when Jesus will finally separate the two groups. That means that tares still exist in our world today and in the church. And they won’t be separated until the very end.

The servants wanted to go and pluck the tares out. What was the reason the master gave as to why they couldn’t pluck it out?

• Verse 29 – if they were to pull the tares out, they would probably pull the wheat out as well.
• Their roots and lives were so intertwined with each other, that to pluck out one, you may accidentally loosen the soil around the wheat and pull it out as well.
• Our lives are connected to each other. And if God today were to “pluck out” a loved one of ours out of the church or the world, how would that effect us and our faith? If God said to us, “Just trust Me, he was a bad one.” how would we react, especially if that person seemed like a good person to us?
• It must be difficult for God to wait until the very end before He can make that decision, but He has no other choice. He can read the hearts and minds of every person. But for our sake, He has to wait until the harvest.

Why is it so important to wait until harvest to separate the wheat and tares?

• It is at harvest time that the fully ripe fruits and grains are then gathered up.
• Notice how the bible paints this:
• James 5:7
  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
• God is represented by that husbandman who has to wait for the fruit to become ripe.
• It is then that the two groups will be separated. It is then that everyone will be able to tell what sort of fruit you have.
• At the beginning, no one knows the type of fruit. You have to have patience to allow it to develop. And then at the end, there will be no argument as to what fruit this plant bears. It will be obvious to everyone.
• Matthew 7:20
  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
  • Jesus tells us that we can know a person by their fruits.
  • But He doesn’t stop there.
• Matthew 7:21-23
  21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
  • This passage shows that there are people even in church that appear like they are destined for heaven, that they seem like they are destined to be saved. Even though they help in church and do many good things, Jesus says depart from me you workers of iniquity!
• Remember the children of the kingdom are those that do righteousness! It is opposite to the children of the devil. They are converted.
• In Matthew 7:21 it says that they do the will of God.
• That means doing the will of God is more than just going to church and more than just participating in church worship.

What is the will of God? What does it mean to be converted?

• 1 Thessalonians 4:3
  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
  • The will of God is our sanctification.
• How are we sanctified?
  • John 17:17
    Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
  • We are sanctified by the truth. So the experience of sanctification has to do with the word of God.
• Remember in Romans 10:17 – faith comes by hearing the word of God?
• But those that are sanctified don’t just hear, they do the will of God.
• What does it mean to be converted? They are not just hearers of the Bible but doers of it as well!
• An unconverted person hears what is right, but they only listen, they aren’t converted, they aren’t changed. They just hear but never do it. Or they only do a small part of it.
• Look, does God want you to go to church? Yes that is important! But that is only a small part of doing God’s will.
• How do you live outside of those hours of being at church is just as equally important or maybe even more important because there are so many more hours that we have that is outside of church than in it! How we live the other 6.5 days of the week defines us more than just sitting in church for 2 hours a week.

Can we know today what our fruit is today?

• Absolutely!
• James 1:22-25
  22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
• We can have a look at the mirror of God’s law and check our own lives. We can compare scripture with our lives and see if our lives are in harmony with what the Bible teaches.
  • For example, you can look at the 10 commandments. It tells us not to steal. Then let’s look at our own lives and ask ourselves this question – am I stealing?
  • If we are, the bible calls us a tare, a weed!
  • But there is hope! We can change. We can choose to stop being a tare and ask God to help us to be wheat instead. That’s conversion.
• And conversion isn’t forcing yourself to do good works. No. The good works is the result of a converted life. We have to look at the step before it.

If we discover that we fall short, how can we be changed from a tare to a wheat today? How can we be converted?

• Romans 12:2
  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
  • We must be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
  • It is in the mind that this transformation takes place.
  • Only then can we prove what is that good will of God.
• Ephesians 4:22-24
  22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
  • Same thought – we must be renewed in our mind.
  • But before that can happen, we must put off the old man so that we can put on the new man.
  • That means we need to recognise first what is that old man. We must be aware of what is wrong so that we can ask God to help us to change.

How to be transformed in the mind?

• 2 Corinthians 3:18
  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
  • We must behold the glory of God if we wish to be changed into the same image.
• What is God’s glory found? How can we behold His glory today?
• John 1:14
  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
  • If we are to behold God’s glory today, we must behold His Son who came in the flesh.
• How? How do we behold Jesus today?
  • John 5:39
    Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
• We must spend time in the Bible. That’s the only book that gives us a clear and true picture of who Jesus is.
• Well, maybe you are a Bible believing Christian. Maybe you are spending time reading the Bible on a regular basis. But maybe you are not experiencing change in your actions and life. In fact I believe that there are many out there like that. What is the problem?
• We are missing one other ingredient.
• Galatians 5:22-23
  22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
  • We are missing the fruit of the Spirit, which means we are missing the Holy Spirit.
• And yes, we receive a measure of the Holy Spirit through studying the Bible. But there is a more direct way to receive the Spirit of God.

Luke 11:13
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

• We need to ask! We got to pray!

And look at the result. Look what happens when we have the Holy Spirit abiding in us.

• Galatians 5:16
  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
• Romans 8:13
  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
• 2 Corinthians 3:17
  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
• Only as the Holy Spirit abides in us and His word abides in us can we have any hope for change, for conversion.

John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Today we must receive Him. We must spend time with God and allow Jesus to come into our hearts. The Bible says when we do that, He is the one that gives us the power to become the son of God.

Have you received Jesus into your heart today? Have you allowed the scriptures to be put into your heart and mind? Have you asked for His Spirit to live in you and dwell in you? It is His power working through the Word of God and His Spirit which transforms us from being children of the wicked one to become children of God.

Let’s make time for God each day no matter how busy we are. Let’s make sure we make room for the scriptures in our lives on a daily basis and really learn how to pray! Let’s make sure we give God a chance to transform our lives. He is always ready, but He’s just waiting for us to give him room to work.