THE WHEAT AND THE TARES

"And when one of them that sat at meat with Him [Jesus] heard these things, he said unto Him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.  Then said He [Jesus] unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.  And they all with one consent began to make excuse." (Luke 14:15-18).

 

One thing that all of Jesus' disciples had in common was this: they all left everything behind to follow Him.  Jesus walked the shores of Galilee and called to the fishermen who were casting their nets into the sea, and to those who were helping their father mend nets.  Their response was to drop everything and follow Him.  He walked by the table of a tax-collector by the name of Matthew and said, "Follow Me," and Matthew got up, left his table, and followed Jesus.  None of these men questioned where they were going, or how long they should expect to be gone; they just followed where their Lord led.  They did not make excuses, or complain that it wasn’t convenient for them to follow just now - they simply followed. 

 

Of course, there were those who did make excuses not to follow.  As in the parable above, there were many reasons not to answer the call.  One had bought property and needed to go inspect it; another had purchased a team of oxen and needed to go prove them; and still another had just gotten married and wanted to spend time with his bride.  The list of things that we place above God's call is endless, and they all seem justifiable in our estimation.  The simple truth is, however, that when we put conditions on how and when we will follow the Lord, we are no longer followers, but make ourselves the leaders.  There is no end to the excuses; but only one real reason why we don't follow: we love our own lives more than we love the Lord.   

 

In Jesus' day, those who should have jumped at the chance to follow and learn at the feet of the Messiah - the priests, Levites, masters of the law, and others of the religious hierarchy - refused the invitation; but the publicans and sinners were glad to accept the call.  "And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper." (Luke 14:23, 24). 

 

The gospel of the kingdom of God is a call to lose our lives in order to gain His life.  Many are called to this, but comparatively few are chosen.  The world truly is filled with "Christians," but there are far too many whose Christianity is no more life-changing than a membership to a lodge or fraternal order.  They have no idea what God's will is, or what the hope of His calling for their lives is.  Jesus' words in Matthew 7 are very sobering, "Not everyone 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.  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?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:21-23).

 

Jesus shared many parables in Matthew 13 about the Kingdom of Heaven.  Two of them speak of elements within the church that are destined for destruction, and two others which, I believe, give an explanation of how we can ensure that we are on the right path. 

 

The first parable tells of a man who sowed wheat in his field; but while he slept, an enemy came and sowed tares in among the wheat.  Tares are a type of weed that very closely resembles wheat, but does not bear anything useful.  In fact, the seeds from tares are actually toxic if ground like wheat and ingested.   The man's servants asked him if they should pull out the tares; but he told them not to because, by so doing, some of the wheat would also be uprooted.  He told them to wait till the harvest, and then the tares could be separated from the wheat and destroyed. (Matthew 13:24-30, 34-40).  This parable is a clear warning that there are those within the Christian church who look and speak the part of a true believer, but who bear no good fruit for the kingdom of God.  They are, in many respects, like the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus' day that were full of religion, but lacked real faith and charity.  They could quote the scripture forward and backward, but did not recognize the Son of God when He was standing before them speaking God's words.  They did many good works, but only to be seen of men and to garner praise for their own "goodness."

 

The second parable of the kingdom is similar in its message.  It likens the Kingdom to a fisherman's net that was cast into the sea and gathered every kind of fish - both good and bad.  This net was then dragged onto land and the fish were then sorted.  The good were saved, but the bad were cast away.  Jesus' explanation is that the good fish represent the just, and the bad fish represent the wicked.  At the end of the world, the angels will separate the wicked from the just, and cast them into a furnace of fire. (Matthew 13:47-50).  The gospel message does indeed gather in all kinds of "fish" into its net, but not every fish is good or just.  Many think that it is enough to be "in the net," but they may be very surprised on judgment day to find that they have been cast away!

 

This brings us to the final two parables, and also answers the questions that I am sure are on your mind about now: "How can I be sure that I am the good seed and not a tare?" and "How can I know if I'm a good fish or a bad?" 

 

Sandwiched in the middle of these first two parables are two other parables that are very short - only one and two verses.  They are, however, also very powerful.  "The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hid in a field; which, when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."  (Matthew 13:44-46).

 

The lesson here is this: the Gospel of the Kingdom is the treasure hid in the field and the Pearl of great price.  If we are to obtain that which is beyond price, we must be willing to give all that we are, and all that we have.  We cannot withhold anything from our Savior Who has withheld nothing from us.  How can we keep back our lives when He has given His to purchase us?  The miracle, though, is that just as Jesus was raised from the dead after giving up His life, we too will be filled with new life, joy, and purpose when we are willing to lay down our lives for Christ's sake.

 

“And there went great multitudes with Him: and He turned, and said unto them, If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:25, 26).  In this fourteenth chapter of Luke we find great multitudes following Jesus.  This, it would seem, was a good thing.  Today, we consider large congregations a sign of spiritual blessing and successful ministry.  Jesus, on the other hand, knew better.  He turned on the multitude and spelled out the criteria necessary to be a disciple in no uncertain terms.  The word "hate" used in this passage seems strong to our sensitive ears, but every major translation uses this word to render the original Greek.  You see, this takes us back to the original sin.  It was Adam's sin and disobedience to God that brought sin and spiritual death upon all of mankind.  As a result, everything that we are in Adam (that is, in the flesh) is at enmity with God.  Our ways are not God's ways, and our thoughts are not His thoughts.  In Adam, our very best intentions are tainted by the flesh, and at odds with God's eternal purpose.  "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1Corinthians 15:22).  Thank God that through the new birth we have passed from death into life, and have become new creatures.  Our minds are being renewed by the Spirit of God living in us and transforming us into His image.  We still must contend with the flesh, though.  We cannot trust our flesh to lead us in the right ways.  We must hate its insidious influences, and, instead, rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth.  Not only must we hate our own flesh, but we must hate the fleshly influence of others who are close to us as well.  Our wife, our children, our parents, etc., all can influence us to make choices that may be contrary to God's purpose for our life.  Of course, we must love our families with the love of Christ, and lay down our lives for them day by day; but we must, at the same time, hate the ways in which our loved ones would urge us to do things that would not please God or be contrary to His will for us, no matter how well-intentioned those suggestions might be.  Jesus expressed this same principle in another way when He said, "He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." (Matthew 10:37).

 

Every day we face choices to either be selfish at the expense of others, or to deny ourselves, and exhibit the life of Jesus by our actions.  The one is the path of hypocrisy (saying Jesus is Lord, but choosing our own ways), and the other the path of discipleship (following our Lord's directions at the expense of our own selfish desires).  "And whoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:27).

 

Keep in mind that this is a progressive walk.  Just as it takes a child some time to grow into maturity and wisdom, likewise it takes time for us to grow into the fullness of the stature of Christ.  As any good father, God instructs us, directs us, and, yes, chastens us.  We are learning day by day to choose His ways over ours.  This is what Paul meant when he said, "I die daily."  It is indeed a daily discipline.  At times, we may falter and fall down; but we pick ourselves back up, acknowledge our failure to our Father, and trust His grace to empower us to overcome.  A child learning to walk may spend a lot of time on the floor initially, but eventually he manages to stay on his feet.  As he progresses, he learns to run, then skip, and even jump.  This is God's promise to us: that we can run and not grow weary if we trust His strength over ours.

 

"So likewise, whoever he is of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple." (v. 33).