Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Commentary

In the midst of a number of parables about the Kingdom, Jesus gives us another one leaning into the imagery of seeds and plants and weeds. This one is told to the crowd but only explained to the disciples.

We might read some significance into the fact that Jesus is expounding upon the muckiness of letting weeds and wheat grow together to leaders. It is a call, after all, to guard against excluding one another and of passing judgement. But people like us, the crowd, heard Jesus give the message as well. Given what we know about ourselves and our own present day communities, it is likely that Jesus’s words weren’t just a comfort to the marginalized, but a challenge to the comfortable.

The picture of weeds and wheat growing within the same field is clear but it also goes against the one we just heard in the parable of the soils. (This is a good reminder of the nature of parables: even when thematically connected they are not part of the same story.) In last week’s parable, the weeds are dangerous and choke out the good seed planted so that it cannot grow. This week, however, the one sowing the seed, God, tells his servants to let the weeds grow because he doesn’t want to risk uprooting the good wheat when they pull the weeds.

It’s interesting, and perhaps telling, that the disciples refer to this parable as being about the weeds. They focus right away on the ‘negative’ or the problem. But Jesus, while concerned and aware about the ‘problem, ’ is not worried about the presence of nuisance or bad plants among his good ones. The Son of Man knows it will be addressed at the harvest where mature wheat can be separated from the weeds. Sitting with the imagery, I think that one of the things we’re meant to see here is that as the good seed of faith and spiritual life matures, it becomes stronger and able to withstand the presence of the weeds around it. It can bear its good fruit even in the presence of weeds. In a sense, this is a reminder that we can take responsibility for ourselves and not blame others for why we do not grow.

It’s also a reminder that God is aware of what the evil one is up to and knows that that will be worked out at the harvest as well. We don’t sort the weeds and wheat, God does. Judgment belongs to the Lord and we can trust that the angels will separate all of the evil in this world from all of God’s intended good; evil will not be part of the eternal new order.

In the midst of so many other scripture passages that talk about the need to guard against evil in our midst, both in our own hearts and in our communities, how do we hold the tension with a passage like this one? For some, this is the question of the “red letters” and the epistles, Jesus versus Paul. But if we take in the whole scope of the scriptures, no matter the New Testament text, the emphasis is on our protection and who is the judge. Throughout the guidance given to us about how to live as the church community, we are reminded that being together as God’s people, his body, is for our good. And we are warned that the devil will try to trick and play on that call to gather to manipulate and cause harm and take advantage.

But not everything that we label as evil or the work of the devil’s seed among us needs to be removed. We are walking, living proof that we can survive and grow and produce good fruit without being completely separated from the presence of sin. If anyone who sinned was uprooted and removed, no one would remain. God’s good is always and forever greater than evil.

What Jesus is describing for us in this parable is the call to tolerance and living with things (and people) that are perhaps uncomfortable, maybe even ‘iffy,’ because they are not, in fact, life-threateningly dangerous. We can look to the other scriptures for wisdom and insight on those conditions, but here is Jesus’s reminder to let God be the judge, to live as children of God amongst children of the evil one, and to grow strong in faith and life with God so that at harvest time we ourselves are not so enmeshed among the weeds that we are pulled out with them.

Textual Point

So how might we appropriately identify a connection to the parable with the sower and the many kinds of soil from last week? Though the explanation to this week’s parable was told only to the disciples, Jesus tells the parable of the weeds and wheat immediately after explaining the parable of the soils/sower to the crowd. Even as the two parables stand alone, their connection is clear: the Son of Man is sowing and cares about protecting the plants (people) that grow.

Illustration Idea

My Instagram feed reflects being a toddler mom. Alongside the videos about how to get them to eat vegetables and ideas for tactile play, there’s usually the funny videos about life with a toddler. For a while, I had a stretch that (lightheartedly) reminded me of the devil coming and trying to undo anything that God sows. You know the kind of reel I’m talking about—the montage of parents or siblings building a tower of blocks only to have the toddler come and knock it over; the clothes once neatly folded in the basket now strewn around the room; all of the books and things taken off the shelf to be found who knows where. Mayhem and mischief and oh the frustration! Depending on the day, the ‘cuteness’ can wear off rather quickly. Of course, in toddlers we recognize this as a developmental phase; with the devil, it’s just a tactic to annoy us and frustrate God’s plans. In both kinds of situations, though, it helps to keep the long game in mind.