Matthew 13:24–30; 36–43

Baptism during service

²⁴He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' ²⁸He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' ²⁹But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" ³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." ³⁷He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed is the children [sons] of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, ⁴²and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

I have noticed driving through the countryside that the fields are starting to mature. The corn is as tall as I am in some places and yesterday is saw tassels one some fields. Last week I went by a wheat field that had golden heads of grain. You don't have to be a farmer to appreciate the annual cycle of crops; planted in the spring, growing and maturing all during the summer and being harvested in the fall. Then some of the seed is stored for the next spring when it will start all over again.

I also have noticed along the highways a number of signs advertising different hybrids of corn seed from different seed companies. I liked Johnny's Corn Seed because it is 100% guaranteed! If you are a farmer and your livelihood depended on the crop you produced, you would obviously want the best seed and the hardiest hybrid available. You would carefully select the seed you used to plant with to assure the highest yield and the best market value of your crop.

So when Jesus talked about a man sowing good seed in his field, it was no surprise to the disciples. What farmer would sow anything but good seed. For the next few weeks everything seemed well. The seeds sprouted and took root and started to grow. The wheat field like a large field of grass and each day it was a little bit taller.

However, when the grassy wheat started to mature and heads of grain started to develop it became obvious that not all the crop was wheat. Mixed in with the wheat was a different kind of grass considered a weed. The fruit of the crop, the grain heads made it possible to distinguish the difference between the wheat and the weeds. Indeed, there were weeds mixed in with the wheat. "How did these weeds get there?" they workers wondered. It could have been that the seed they planted was not pure seed and weed seed was mixed in with it. But that wasn't the case. The farmer knew that his seed was good, so the only explanation was that someone snuck in at night and under the cover of darkness did this dastardly deed of sowing weeds in his field in order to destroy his crop.

Can this happen? Do people actually do this? Though not frequent, it happened enough in those days that it became a criminal offense in the Roman Empire. It was not just an innocent prank. This was an criminal act, and act of hatred, malevolence, and enmity toward the farmer.

"So, what does this parable mean?" the disciples asked Jesus. He explained it all in great detail. The farmer who sowed the seed is the Son of Man, in other words, Jesus himself. The field was the world. The good seed was the "sons of the kingdom" and the weeds were the "sons of the evil one." The evil one himself who sowed the weeds was the devil.

This tells us about how the kingdom of God works. First Jesus begins with good seed, the sons of the kingdom. Where does he get good seed? Does he have to find the right seed company or look for the best hybrid? No! For among the sons of men there is no one good. There is no good seed by nature. For all are born sinners. There is no one who is good, but because of original sin the imagination and inclination of man is evil from birth. Jesus had to make good seed. And he did this by his own death on the cross. Just as a seed must be planted in the ground and die and come back to life to bear fruit, so Jesus had to be buried in the ground and die and rise again to new life. And by his death and resurrection he washed us of our sin and gave us his righteousness; making us good seed; sons of the kingdom.

Then through the proclamation of the gospel in all nations, Jesus sowed the good seed in the field; the field is the world. The kingdom of God, the sons of the kingdom permeate all the world, in every nation and tongue. As the mission of the gospel spreads around the world, sons of God are being born through baptism by the Holy Spirit to the four corners of the earth; in near and remote places; in nations and countries spanning the globe. God's kingdom indeed comes through word and baptism around the world.

But wherever the gospel of Christ is proclaimed, the enemy of the gospel is active and at work. The devil also sows seed, weed seed, in all places where the Son of God sows good seed. These weeds are called "sons of the evil one." These are people whom the devil has in his power and control. These are not merely the unregenerate sinner who was born with original sin. All of us fall into that category at the beginning of life. No! These are now the devil's own kingdom; his sons. They belong to him and are serving him and his interests and doing his bidding. The devil is the enemy of Christ. The devil sows the weeds wherever Christ sows his seed in order to ruin the crop and destroy the kingdom of God.

Where are these people? They too are found throughout the entire world. They are found in the streets and markets, in schools and workplaces, in business, government, education all around the world. But they are also found mixed in with the good seed; inside churches. The weeds were planted in the midst of the good seed and there in and around the community of believers are also found the weeds.

Who are these people? They are not always distinguishable from the good seed. Just like the grassy type weeds in the field, they are not distinguishable at first. The grassy weeds look just like the grassy wheat. It is not until they begin to mature and heads are formed that the farmer was able to distinguish a difference. For, as Jesus says, "You will know them by their fruits." "A good tree gives good fruit and a bad tree gives bad fruit." A good seed spouts and gives wheat; a bad seed sprouts and gives forth a weed. It is by the fruit that they are known. The fruit of dissention, hatred, bitterness, unwillingness to forgive. Martin Luther says, "Those weeds are the children of the devil who harbor hatred and resentment; don't forgive one another, cause divisions and strife. The enemy of mortals cunningly scattered the seeds of false doctrine and dissensions in the churches and schools. He labored to stir up divisions combined with offense. By these arts of his he labored to corrupt the purity of the heavenly doctrine, to sever the bond of Christina love and godly agreement and to hinder and delay to a greater degree the spread of the most holy Gospel." These are the ones whom the devil as sent to "deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth."

Then the workers asked the farmer if they should cut the weeds. But the farmer said, "No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them." His concern was for the wheat. He would not allow that even a single grain of wheat be lost. God's concern is for his sons. Not one of his chosen will be lost. He will not tolerate or allow anything to cut us off from him and steal us from the kingdom. "My sheep hear my voice and I know them...No one will snatch them out of the Father's hand," says Jesus. So the farmer told the workers to leave the weeds and at the harvest he would send the reapers to cut the weeds first and bundle them and throw them into the fire to be burned.

So it will be at the Last Day. Here we have a description of the final day; the day the Lord returns to judge all people. The reapers are the angels who accompany Jesus when he returns to judge the nations. They will be sent first to cut the weeds and gather them into bundles to be burned in the fire. They will gather out of God's kingdom all causes of sin and all law breakers. All offenses shall be gathered out. All who break the commandment of God; the commandment to "love one another as I have loved you," shall be cut off and gathered out of the kingdom. They, like the weeds, will be known by their fruit: by the hatred they harbor inside and refusal to forgive the one who offends; by unrepentant sin; by purposely putting obstacles in the way of the spreading of God's word through evangelism and mission. These "sons of the devil" will be thrown into the fiery furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. All who are not washed in the blood of Jesus and received his righteousness by faith will be cast off, for "no longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and the Lamb and his servants will worship him."

And if you examine your hearts and see that such sin lies buried inside; if you find that you are a weed and not the wheat; then know that there is forgiveness. For that reason turn to the Lord and repent. Your sins have been paid for on the cross. In baptism, in absolution, in the promise of the Gospel, in Holy Communion, he offers you his forgiveness and washes your sins. For it is our Lord Jesus Christ, who by his own sufferings and death and resurrection creates the good seed. By his death the old sinful man in us dies in our baptism and good seed, a new man in Christ, is born in us. That is the mystery of baptism, as we prepare to administer the sacrament of baptism in just a few minutes we are reminded that in baptism the bad seed is put away and a good seed is born in its place; a good seed which is a son or daughter of the kingdom of God.

Notice Jesus doesn't say a "subject" of the kingdom, but a "son" of the kingdom. A son of the kingdom is a prince and heir. A son rules at the side of the king and one day becomes a king himself. For in that day when Jesus comes and the angels gather us into the kingdom, we will not be subjects, but kings and Jesus will be indeed the King of kings. In that day those who are righteous by the blood of the Lamb will shine like the sun.

In that day the Lord will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and the will gather his elect from the earth, just as the angels carried Lazarus to the bosom of Abraham. This is the harvest Hosea promises when God will restore the fortunes of the people. That is the day of the new heaven and the new earth. On that day, "God will dwell with man and they will be his people and God himself will be with them...he shall wipe away every tear and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain for these things have passed away." On that day we, the "Holy city, the new Jerusalem, will shine with the glory of God, our radiance will be like a most rare jewel, like a jasper clear as crystal." We shall shine like the sun and reign for all eternity with Christ who has redeemed us and made us into the good seed; the sons of the kingdom forever.

Amen.