If you read yesterday’s message, you may still be in disagreement regarding the kingdom of Heaven being among us. Today, we will continue to expound on this subject as we look at another parable Jesus taught.
In today’s passage, we see Jesus speaking of a landowner sowing his field. He has used good seed to plant the field. Both he and his servants are expecting a good crop. Those who are farmers or who understand farming can quickly relate to sowing seed and reaping a crop.
We need to understand the sowing of the seed took place twice for God. The first seed was Adam in the Garden of Eden. The second seed is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. The seed continues to be sown through the spreading of the gospel. In fact, we may look at the preaching of God’s Word as both seed and fertilizer, depending on whether the person hearing it has never heard it before or they have already accepted Christ and continue to grow.
But notice what happens in this parable. As the seed sprouts and begins to form the wheat, the servants notice there are weeds among it. They ask the landowner about the type of seed that was sown. Was it good? Did it contain bad seed, or were there weed seeds mixed in it? The landowner says he sowed good seed, but an enemy came in the night and sowed bad seed.
In other words, the enemy sabotaged the field. Isn’t that what we see in the world today? We see the results of bad seed having been sown by the enemy. We quickly observe there is a crop growing with weeds amongst it. We see good people who are following Christ mixed with bad people who are following Satan, even if they don’t realize it.
Some of you may still believe the kingdom of Heaven is not here and now. Yet look at how Jesus starts this parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like.” We cannot believe Jesus is the Son of God, that He spoke truth, and deny His teaching. We may not fully understand it. We don’t see everything as God sees it, making it difficult for us to comprehend all that is happening and how God is orchestrating all this for the greater good.
I’m reminded of something else Jesus stated in Mark 10:15 when He said that we must accept the kingdom of God like a child. That means we must trust Him as a young child trusts their parents—without question. That doesn’t mean don’t strive to understand, but we cannot ignore His teaching simply because we don’t understand. That is how we get ourselves in trouble.
I pray we all accept Jesus’ teaching. I pray we continue to try to understand. I pray each of us realize the kingdom of Heaven is here and now. Know that you live in the kingdom of Heaven. Trust Jesus’ teaching. Know that He speaks truth. Strive to understand.
Matthew 13:24-26 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.”
Marty Pressey 