Sermon

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July 17, 2005
Pentecost 9
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Pastor Robert Raasch

What Shall We Do with the Weeds?

1. Be Perceptive
2. Be Patient
3. Be Prepared

Within the span of one minute on July 7, three explosions rocked the subway system in London, England. 57 minutes later, another bomb blew the roof off a double-decker bus, sending human body parts flying in every direction. Over 50 people were killed in the blast and another 700 wounded. Almost immediately a group called Al Qaeda in Europe took responsibility for the attack. It was another phase of what they consider a holy war-a war they are waging against the "infidels." And who are the infidels that these terrorists are fighting? Well, in a general sense, Westerners, or non-Arabs. But more specifically, they are waging war against non-muslisms. That means that that you and I are the infidels!

Think about that a moment. All over the world there are people who would rather see you blown to smithereens, rather than allow you to take one more breath. People who are so fundamentally opposed to the gospel, people who are so fiercely allegiant to a false god that they want to see you dead! The question is, what should a Christian's attitude be toward such people? I don't mean what should be the government's response or military response. I mean, what should be the church's response? Does Jesus offer any advice about what to do about such radical unbelievers?

Yes, he does. Here in Matthew 13, Jesus draws a parallel between unbelievers in the world and weeds in a wheat field. And in so doing, he helps answer an age-old question, namely,

What Shall We Do with the Weeds?

Jesus' answer can be summed up with three P's:

1. Be Perceptive
2. Be Patient
3. Be Prepared

Jesus begins with the words, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field." But as the seeds sprout and start to form heads, it becomes apparent that not everything growing in the man's field is wheat. The man's servants discover that there are weeds in the field. They come to their master and ask, "Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?" The man's answer: "An enemy did this." In other words, I wasn't the one who planted the weeds there. Weeds are not a part of my plan for the field. Those weeds are a part of my enemy's plan.

So what does all this mean in spiritual terms? Jesus explains to his disciples, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man," that is, Jesus himself. He goes on, "The field is the world and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom (that is, believers). The weeds are the sons of the evil one (that is, unbelievers) and the enemy who sows them is the Devil."

And that leads to the first principle in answer to the question, "What shall we do with the weeds?" First: (I.) Be perceptive. In other words, realize what's going on in the world. Sometimes when we see terrible things in the world, when innocent people die at the hands of terrorists, when people commit suicide bombings in the name of religion, we're tempted to think, "God, are you the one behind all of this? Are you the one bringing this hardship into the world?" Kind of like those servants who asked their master, "Did you put these weeds there?" Jesus' answer then still applies today. "No, an enemy did this." In other words, the source of evil in the world is NOT God. It's Satan. God does not choose to have some people believe in him and others reject him. That's what the 16th century theologian John Calvin believed. But Scripture says, "God our Savior wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4). In other words, if there are unbelievers in the world it's not God's doing. It's Satan's.

If that's true, then it's only natural for us to ask exactly what the servants in our text asked, namely, "Master, if an enemy put those weeds there, do you want us to go and pull them up?" Jesus' answer: No, "because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest." In other words, (and here's principle #2) II. Be Patient.

What does that mean in terms of our lives? Well, to put it bluntly, "when it comes to the unbelievers in the world, you can be sure that Jesus' instruction is NOT, "Kill them." Jesus does not want us to yank away their lives like some weeds in the garden.

Now, someone might say, "Well, duh! I mean, seriously, would a Christian ever really believe that the best way to deal with unbelievers is by killing them? Would a church ever conclude that the best way to stamp out opposition is by means of a sword? Well, actually yes. Ever heard of the Crusades? The Crusades, in many ways, were like a church sponsored military campaign against the unbelievers. In those days, they were called Turks or Mohammedans. Today they're called Muslims.

Down through the centuries, misguided Christians have tried to defend the church by means of violence, whether it was burning heretics at the stakes to putting a ransom price on the head of a German monk named Luther, to blowing up abortion clinics. Does the visible church need Jesus' reminder that the goal is to evangelize unbelievers, not kill them? Absolutely. Even today, there are religious zealots who want to take God's justice into their own hands and in so doing, cut off the time of grace for believers and unbelievers alike. That's why Jesus says that when it comes to picking out the unbelievers in the world, be patient. Leave the final judgment up to God. Or as Jesus says about the weeds among the wheat, "Let them grow together until the harvest."

Now, I think it's important to mention that these words of Jesus are often misunderstood. Sometimes people take Jesus' words, "let both grow together until the harvest," as a reference to unbelievers in visible congregations like Mount Olive. They conclude that Jesus is saying that the church should never weed anybody out of the church. They say that Jesus wants us to "let them grow together."

But Jesus is not talking about unbelievers in the church. He's talking about unbelievers in the world. Notice that he says that "the field is the world." When it comes to dealing with unbelievers in the visible church, then another portion of Scripture applies, namely Matthew chapter 18. There Jesus tells us that if a church member gets caught up in a sin, for example, if they repeatedly despise the means of grace, that is, if they absent themselves from worship for many weeks in a row, well then, Christian love demands that we go to that person, point out how they've wandered away from God's path so that they can repent and receive Jesus' full forgiveness for their sins and the power to live their lives to God's glory. Of course, if after repeated contacts-even after personal encouragements from the pastor or Board of Elders, a person still refuses to bring forth the fruits of faith, if he or she is determined to cling to a sinful lifestyle, determined to turn his or her back on God's Word and Sacrament, then Jesus demands that the church publicly acknowledge the person has shown himself or herself to be an unbeliever. How does Jesus put it in Matthew 18? "If he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." In other words, we can leave believers in the world, but not leave them in the church.

But now, let's go back to what Jesus is talking about here in our text, namely the weeds in the world. Jesus says that we are to let them grow, that is, let them live. For how long? Jesus says, "Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters, 'First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'" And Jesus' explanation of what this means in real life? "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. {41} The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. {42} They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

With those words, Jesus is guaranteeing that there will be a Day of Final Judgment, a day when God will use his holy angels to sort out for himself who are the weeds and who are the wheat. And that leads us to the last principle that Jesus offers us here in our text, namely, III. Be Prepared.

Now, why is that so important? I mean, isn't this whole parable about what will happen to the weeds in the end? They will be left to burn forever in the fires of hell. So why do we need to be prepared? Well remember that in Jesus' parable, in the early stages, the weeds and wheat looked the same. The workers couldn't distinguish them. It was not until the wheat began to form heads that the workers could tell the difference.

So it is with our lives. Sometimes it's tough to tell the difference between a believer and an unbeliever. It's easy to be fooled. In fact, sometimes we can even fool ourselves. Which leads me to ask the question: Are you a weed or wheat? You may be able to fool others, but you won't fool God. He'll be able to pick you out on Judgment Day. Are you prepared for that day?

My friends, you realize that there is only one way to be prepared for God's Judgment Day. And that's by trusting that, in an expression of God's love and mercy, God has dressed you in Jesus' holiness. By giving his life in your place, your Savior has turned you from a weed to wheat. And the fruits of faith that you bring forth in your life are evidence of that transformation. Your Christian words, Christian lifestyle are the heads of grain that help distinguish you from the weeds in the world.

Are you prepared for the final harvest day? As long as by the power of the Holy Spirit, you cling to the one who died for you, you are prepared. As long as you can say, "Because of my sins, I deserve hell, but because of Jesus' perfect life, I have heaven," you are prepared for the final harvest. And by God's grace, you will be one of the righteous who will "shine like the stars in the kingdom of their father." What a glorious day that final harvest will be!

So what are you going to take home from this parable? First, I pray that these words help you take a realistic view toward evil in our world. Jesus says that there will always be unbelievers in our world, even radical unbelievers. There will always be people who oppose his will and oppose his church. Our job as Christians is not to eliminate unbelievers by force, but rather evangelize them by the power of the gospel in Word and Sacrament. And then leave the final judgment to God. And secondly, even before we think about the people out there, we must look at the person in here. We need to acknowledge where we've fallen short of God's commands. We need to cling to God's mercy in Christ, and then bring for the fruits of faith. For then, as you look forward to the final harvest, you can let God be the judge, trusting in the mercy he's already shown to you in Jesus Christ. He who has ears, let him hear. Amen.