LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 13:24-25, Another parable He put forth to them saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.”

 

In Matthew 13, Jesus is correcting misconceptions the disciples had about His kingdom. In the Parable of the Sower, for example, He was explaining that not everyone was going to accept Him and His teaching; there would be many who would want nothing to do with Him and others who would be too busy chasing after worldly things and soon would forget about Him and His Word. The next parable is a teaching about Satan doing all he can to disrupt and to counter God’s Truth.  The teaching in these parables is still very evident in the world today.

 

You have probably wondered at some time how good and evil can coexist in our world today. That this happens is confirmed each day in this world we live in. The DJSB Notes give us an idea about this. “The key to understanding this parable is to think in pairs; two planters, two plans, and two prospects.” Jesus plants seeds in good ground and fruit is produced. Satan comes and plants his seeds that become tares. They grow side by side. Satan’s plan is to destroy the fruit (wheat) through deception and false doctrine. When asked by the workers if they should pull out the tares, the reply is no so none of the wheat is pulled by mistake.

 

I think you already see the lessons to learn from this parable. But let me suggest a few. First, there will be coexistence between good and evil until the harvest comes. It is not your nor my responsibility to pull up the weeds; that does not mean we ignore sin. It does not mean we associate with evil because there is always the chance we get pulled into it. We must always be alert to the tactics the devil uses, be ready with the armor of God and stand! Our responsibility is to walk in faith on the narrow way and to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.

 

Secondly, there is a harvest coming! When it does, the tares (evil) will be pulled up and burned. Jesus will be the harvester. He will know His followers and they will be put in the barn (heaven).

 

As Christians we must understand that Jesus does not wipe away temptation, sin, and evil when we commit our lives to Him. We cannot be deceived nor discouraged by an incorrect perception about the kingdom of God. We will face temptations. We will fail (Thank you Jesus for your grace and forgiveness!)! This parable tells us that because those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ have been planted around us. You and I must live our lives by faith in Jesus and that His Word is Truth. We must walk on the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom. As we do, we must be praying, never ceasing to do so. Remember, that is constant communication with Him. It seems to me to do this requires us to be patient and to understand the need to walk close to Him in these days that are growing more difficult.

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.