Parable of the Weeds, Matthew 13:24-30

I find it rather refreshing that our Lord talks of the good and bad that coexist through a parable. The parable of the weeds that we look at today is full of interesting points about good and evil in our lives.

Sleeping when the Enemy Comes

To start, the parable says that all are sleeping when the enemy comes. There doesn’t seem to be a rebuke in this, so perhaps the sleeping is part of the natural rest that we are all told to take. I find that this implies there is little we can do to stop the bad from infiltrating, or there would have been a rebuke.

So, the bad is there and it seems we cannot stop it. This infiltration is perhaps the part we call the ‘human’ part of something, we are ‘only human’ and therefore imperfect. The good and bad are in each of us, as we fight sin with and through the Holy Spirit. The good and bad coexist in the organizations and churches and workplaces, as we fight to advance his kingdom. We see evil in the world as we turn on the news and hear of the latest mass shootings, the celebrities that are accused of wrongdoing in court again, the lies proclaimed vociferously. We are unable to escape the bad which surrounds us and lives within us. This does not surprise our Lord in the parable; he knows how to handle it and does.

The Enemy Deceives

The owner of this land and the crop declares that it was an enemy that did this. Indeed, the enemy began the work in the Garden of Eden, letting the knowledge of good and evil come into humans. Through deception and comparison, the serpent encourages Adam and Eve to open our eyes to this evil around us. Now we see it everywhere. The notes in my Bible for this passage indicate that the weeds look just like the wheat. Could that mean that evil looks just like good? It looked evil that Jesus was crucified, yet he had to die on the cross in order to save us all from sin. Evil turned out good. How are we to know what is evil and what is good, how do we discern them? What is good? Charity donations, feeding the homeless, working with orphans, all this is good, isn’t it? But if the good and evil, the wheat and the weed, look the same, what are we to do? We can only ask God.

Eradicate Weeds?

The servants ask if they should pull up all the weeds. I find it fascinating that this is an option: to eradicate the weeds that choke us, take our nutrients and water, thrive in our sun. Our Lord could have all of it removed from this world. But he does not: good coexists with bad by his choice. We coexist with evil by design. It is a very human thought that we choose to have only ‘church friends’ or shop only in ‘Christian businesses’ when Jesus shows us here that the unbeliever is growing right along beside us. Does that mean that we have some around us that may be wolves in sheep’s clothing too?

We might be uprooted if the bad is taken from us, He says. We would be irreparably damaged if the weeds were pulled while we are growing. The bad and evil around us must provide something of benefit, then, Right?

Necessity of Trials

I am reminded of the biomes that have been built and the trees that they plant, but do not survive. There is a biosphere that is now part of the University of Arizona, which was constructed to study plant life and hopefully learn how to improve upon our natural world, called Biosphere2. The biggest lesson was actually the importance of wind in a plant’s life. The trees that were in the biome collapsed because they were not stressed enough to compensate and grow the strengthening wood necessary for continued development. The trees never fully matured, they collapsed before they could finish the growth cycle. (1)

Our Lord who created the laws of physics that rule this planet, already knew this. He knew that the stresses are what make plants and animals thrive and have long, productive lives.

Thriving with Evil Beside Us

There are then benefits of growth with weeds beside us. Like plants and animals, we too need the good and the bad to thrive and lead productive, long lives. The servants could have removed all the bad, but were told not to, because we need adversity to grow and thrive. The struggles of life and the evil we find in it are part of making us into His design. Each of us has our adversities and our own character that we grow into, as He intended. The adversities, the people who think and act and believe differently from us all strengthen us. These differences around us actually strengthen our belief, our trust in God. The challenges of life encourage us to draw near to God and grow more like him. We shouldn’t isolate ourselves from the things that make us grow, we can’t hide from adversity, difficulties, or evil in our lives; we have to trust that God is there and walking with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us, but rather he instructs us to be strong and courageous (Deut. 31:6).

Discern the Good and Bad

Then in the end he will have the bad taken away and gather the good in his barns. The final decision, the final judgement, comes only at the end. Perhaps then we are unable to distinguish between the good and the bad without him. We need God’s guidance to discern the good and the bad, not our own eyes. Our eyes deceive us, our mind and heart deceive us when we are not connected to him to understand the good and the bad. His sovereignty continues in all this, including the decision to let the good grow with the bad.  

(1) www.aewsci.com/the-role-of-wind-in-a-trees-life, as of 5 Aug 2019

 This post has been updated and revised from the Parables of Matthew series from August 2019.