The Parable of the Weeds

And went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.! The owner's servants came to him and said,! Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field?

Where then did the weeds come from? An enemy did this, he replied. The servants asked him, Do you want us to go and pull them up? No, he answered, Because while you were pulling the weeds, You may root up the wheat with them.

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 then down to verse 34. Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet.

I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world. Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.

He answered, The one who sowed the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world, And the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, And the enemy who sows them is the devil.

The harvest is the end of the age, And the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, So it will be at the end of the age. 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.

They will throw them into the fiery furnace, Where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun In the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, Let him hear.

Well, the very presence of the wicked Have often been a grief for the righteous.

Cheaters prospering, Thieves being rewarded, Murderers going free, Blasphemers taking the name of our Jesus in vain, The immoral prospering, And destroying families and institutions and nations.

Yes, rubbing elbows with the wicked Has long tried the patience of God's people. Henry Martin gave his life Serving such people In India and in Persia.

His self-denying love for sinners Was reflective of Christ And his love for sinners. And yet it was this same Henry Martin Who having traveled some distance With a group of wicked men Whom sin had turned into wild beasts And whose mouths were perverse.

It caused Henry Martin to write in his journal later That it would be hell To spend eternity with such men. David found his own heart Saying similar things in Psalm 55 Oh that I had wings like a dove And I could just fly right out of here And get away from From men whose ways never change And who do not fear God.

Job said much of the same. Even our Lord Jesus when he was on the earth Said how long Oh unbelieving and perverse generation How long shall I stay with you?

How long shall I put up with you? And so the righteous Long to be free from the presence of wicked men And their perverse words and ways.

They long to be free from their harassing temptations And the stumbling blocks that they set in their way Tripping them up into sinning against their gracious master.

And so the people of God are longing for a new heaven And a new earth. The dwelling place of the righteous. Where only the righteous dwell.

And that's exactly what God has promised us. Now that's been the expectation of the God laid down throughout The Old Testament.

They've been looking forward to the coming of the Messiah Who when he came would crush all of his and our enemies. He would purge the world from sin and sinners.

And he would usher in this new age of righteousness. A world. Where only the righteous live.

Where unending and unmixed blessings flow. Such as was promised in Psalm 72 At the coming of the great Messiah King. His kingdom would be forever.

He'd crush the oppressor. He'd save the needy. He'd judge in righteousness. And bring unending prosperity to God's people. So that Watts summarizes Blessings abound where'er he reigns.

And so Prophets said he's coming. And this new age is coming with him. And John the Baptist Said he's here.

He's here. And Andrew ran and told Peter. We have found the Messiah. The Christ. The one the prophets foretold.

And he came announcing The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Well sure. With the king's coming Comes the kingdom. His rule.

His reign. And with Christ's coming. And the coming of the kingdom. Came those renewed expectations. Of this perfect new age.

That he would bring. When all evil would be purged from the earth. And it would be. The home of righteousness. And only the righteous living here.

And yet it didn't take long to see. That though the king. Was here. And the kingdom. Had come. At least.

In. Its inauguration. Its beginning. Yet. To all outward appearances. Things kept going on. As they had before. And that was a very confusing.

And frustrating things. To the disciples. No. We're to be reigning now. And evil is to be purged. From the earth. So that. When the Samaritan village. Did not welcome Christ.

And his disciples. The disciples were ready to. Shall we call down fire. From heaven. And destroy them. After all. Messiah comes. And destroys his enemies. And they receive a rebuke.

For the very suggestion. And it would go on. Like this. Such that even. One as great as. John the Baptist. When he was in prison.

Would have to send. A message to Jesus. Are you the one. Or are we to look for another. Yes. You're the Christ. But. But we don't see the kingdom.

Coming in power. In glory. We don't see. The wicked. Crushed. And only the righteous. Here. I'm in prison. Because of unrighteousness. And the whole thing.

Caused great confusion. And it was to go on. That way. For centuries. Even down to today. And Jesus knows that. And so Jesus. Kind master that he is.

Comes with truth. To instruct his disciples. On this very matter. Of the kingdom. Of heaven. And he uses parables. Here in.

Matthew 13. We have this whole series. Of kingdom parables. And they begin. The kingdom of heaven. Is like. He's teaching us. About. His kingdom.

That he's bringing. Now we'll be confused. If we think. That the kingdom of heaven. Is like a man. Or that it's like a pearl. It's. He's not saying that. What he's saying.

Is that. The kingdom of heaven. Is like. A man. Who sowed good seed. And so on. And so on. And so on. You've got to take. The whole parable. To get.

The. The. Comparison. With. The kingdom of heaven. Not just the man. Or the pearl. But. The whole story. Depicts. Something of. The kingdom. As it is.

As Jesus is bringing it. To the earth. So we have. The Lord Jesus. On this day. Sitting in a boat. Because of the pressure. Of the crowd. And the crowd.

Standing on the shore. And Jesus. Tells them. This story. Once upon a time. There was a man. Who owned. Who sowed.

Good. Wheat seed. In his field. We don't know. If it was pioneer seed. But we know. It was good. Seed. It says so. He made sure.

It was good. Unmixed. Seed. But one night. After everyone. On the farm. Was sleeping. His enemy. We don't know. Who he is.

Or why. He's his enemy. But a man. Who had it in. For him. Snuck into the field. And sowed. Wheat. Weed. Seed. Right over. The wheat. Seed.

And left. Now this was darnel. A common weed. In Palestine. That looks like wheat. As it grows. Except that.

The grains. Are black. And also poisonous. Well now in its early stages. You can't tell it apart. From the wheat.

It's only when it's developed. To the point of. Shooting forth. A head. And developing heads of grain. That you see it's black. And therefore the noxious. Weed. When we read of.

Such a. Deed. We might wonder. Could this be true? Would men do such things. To other men? I mean. Weed. Ever since the fall. Weeds have been coming up.

On their own. And that's bad enough. Keeping up with that. Without someone coming. And sowing weeds. In our gardens. In our fields. Fields. But it. It did happen. And it happened.

Often enough. That Jesus refers to it. In this story. As something common. To the people. They understood. That it happened. It was an act of malice. Practiced in the east.

That a bitter person. Would watch. When his enemy. Plowed. And sowed his field. And later that night. Would visit the same field. And scatter weed.

All over. The field. Such a thing. Was a punishable offense. Under Roman law. Even Dean Alford.

A commentator. On the Greek New Testament. Tells of having land. That he owned. And having an enemy. Come with malice. And sow weed. Over his field.

Jesus was referring. To something. Well known. To his hearers. When he refers. To the enemy. Sowing weeds. We have.

Drive-by shootings. At night. They had drive-by. Planting of weeds. At night. Well the deed. Was undiscovered. For many many weeks.

Looks like wheat. Got a great. Crop coming up. This year. But when the wheat. Started to form. Heads of grain. The servants. One day.

Notice. The blackness. Of the grain. And they hurried. At once. To the owner. And said. Sir. Didn't you sow.

Good seed. In your field. Where then. Did the weeds. Come from. Obviously. More than what. Just usually. Comes up. On its own. And all signs.

Pointed to a deliberate. Foul play. And the owner. Knows it. And so. He says. An enemy. Did this. Maybe that's. Why that guy's. Been smiling at me.

For two months. An enemy. Did this. And wanting. To keep the weeds. From doing. Any more harm. To the choked wheat. The servants. Asked. Do you want us.

To go and pull them up? No. He answered. Because while you're. Pulling up the weeds. You may root up. The wheat. With them. As by then. Both. The roots.

Of the wheat. And the weeds. Would have been. Well. Intertwined. And such. Action. Of pulling them out. Would have resulted. In a total loss. Of the crop. Because the. The heads of grain.

Had not yet. Been fully developed. 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. So that. At harvest time. If. In pulling up the weeds.

First. You uprooted some of the grain. Of wheat. It's okay. You just. Throw the weeds in one pile. And throw the wheat. In another pile.

Because by now. At harvest time. The head of grain. Had developed. And there was. A harvest of wheat. To be had. So the process. Would be.

More labor intensive. But not a. Total loss. Of the crop. Nice story. Isn't it? What does it mean? Is Jesus.

Just telling farmers. How to deal with. Malicious neighbors. Who spread darnel. In their fields. No. No. He's. He's got an important message.

About the kingdom. To teach. And that. Message. Is hidden. And so most.

Most of the crowd. That day. Went away. No better off. For having heard the story. And after telling. Two more parables. Jesus left the crowd. And went into the house.

Where his disciples. Asked him. To explain. The parable. Of the weeds. Earlier. The disciples. Had noticed. The change of tactic. In Jesus teaching. And had asked him. Why do you speak.

To the people. In parables. Why. Why are you speaking. In these puzzling terms. Such that the people. Can't understand.

And Jesus answered. In verse 11. The knowledge. Of the secrets. Of the kingdom. Of heaven. Has been given. To you. You my disciples. But not to them. The indiscriminate crowd.

For. This people's heart. Has become calloused. And they hardly hear. With their ears. And they have closed. Their eyes. You see. The crowd. Didn't care.

About Jesus. As master. And king. And ruler. The crowd. Didn't want to belong. To his kingdom. And be ruled. By his. Holy. Commandments.

And they spurned. Jesus. They had already said. Is he not demon possessed. Just. A bit earlier. And so. To these.

Who had no appreciation. Of Jesus teaching. Jesus now. Begins to speak. In puzzling. Terms. Usually we think. Of parables. In terms of. Shedding light. On the truth. And many times.

It's true. A parable. Sheds light. On truth. But Jesus says. I'm telling. These. Stories. These parables. To conceal. The truth. That these.

Would not see. The secrets. Of the kingdom. Of heaven. That are given. To you. But not to them. It was a judgment. Upon them. For their. Disregard.

For God's word. To be told parables. And to be left. With the story. Alone. But. The disciples. Want more. Lord. Tell us. Explain. To us.

The meaning. Of this parable. And so. What was concealed. To the larger. Unbelieving crowd. Is now revealed. To the disciples. Do you ever ask.

Jesus. To explain. To you. Some difficult. Portion. Of his word. Do you ever say. Lord Jesus. Explain. To me. What this means.

Here. In Romans 9. Explain. To me. What this means. Open my eyes. That I may behold. Wonderful things. In your law. Jesus is pleased.

To. To say. To his disciples. Let me explain. This parable. To you. To you. Are given. The secrets. Of the kingdom.

Not. To them. And so. What does Jesus do? Well. He gives them a key. He gives them a key. Sometimes.

You've seen. Puzzles. And. It makes. No sense. Maybe it's letters. Being written. And. And they're not words. That you recognize.

But down at the bottom. There's a key. And it says. You've got to add. Three. To each of the letters. So if it's an A. You go. It's. It's not really. A. It's. B. C. D.

Oh. Now. I see what the first letter is. And you use the key. To understand. And unlock the puzzle. Or it's a map. And there's all kinds of colors. And lines. And. And then down at the bottom.

Is the key. And it explains. What the different colors. And dotted line. And solid line. Is. Jesus gives them the key. To unlocking. This mystery. Of the kingdom.

So that they can understand. Its meaning. So we have the key. First of all. The one who sowed the good seed. Is the son of man. And.

That is Jesus. Favorite title. For himself. And it says as much. About his deity. As it does his humanity. We don't have time. To draw. That out. Second key. The field.

Is the world. The whole world. Is Jesus field. He owns it. He rules over it. Third. The good seed. Is the sons.

Of the kingdom. Those who. Through the gospel. Those who. Through the work. Of Christ. Are born again. And become sons. Belonging. To the kingdom.

Of heaven. Their character. Is like Christ. He described it. A few chapters earlier. In chapter five. What the citizens. Of the kingdom. Were like. You read the beatitudes. That's a description.

Of the character. Of these sons. Of the kingdom. What God makes them. When he saves them. And gives them new birth. Into his kingdom. The fact.

That there are. Any. Sons. Of the kingdom. In the field. Of this world. Is due to the work. Of Jesus Christ. Who plants them. They are a planting.

Of the Lord. For the display. Of his splendor. Isaiah. 61. 3. Yes. The good seed. Is the treasured wheat.

It's the sons. Of the kingdom. Then. Fourth. The weeds. Oh. They're the sons. Of the evil one. Who through the work. Of the devil. Become his children.

And belong to him. And they are like him. They're like their father. The devil. And they bear his image. They follow his ways. They do his work. They're ruled by him.

They have the same. Antichrist spirit. Within them. They're sons. Of the evil one. And yet. So few of them. Realize it. Unbelievers.

Are the weeds. In the field. Of the world. Next. The enemy. Who's this enemy. Who would be so dastardly.

And low. Is to come. And to spread. Weed. Seed. In his neighbor's field. Well. The enemy. Who sows them. Is the devil. The leader. Of the fallen angels.

The devil. Is the spirit. Who is now at work. In those who are disobedient. He's the one. Who is at work. In the sons. Of the evil one. He's blinding the minds.

Of unbelievers. So that they cannot see. The gospel. Of the glory. Of Christ. They just don't see anything. Beautiful. And glorious.

In Jesus Christ. Why not? Because. The devil. This enemy. The one who's sowing. He blinds their minds. So that they cannot see. Any reason. To follow him. He's active.

On this planet. And why. Why is Satan so active. In the world. Simply because. It's Christ's field. It's Christ's field.

And he hates. Jesus Christ. With a passion. Everything. In Satan's nature. Hates. Jesus Christ. He's the sworn.

Enemy of Christ. He's jealous. Of Christ. Christ. Remember. Satan was not satisfied. With his position. As being. A created. Angel.

Of God. To serve God. He wanted to be like. God. He wanted to be worshipped. Like the most high. And so. He was cast. Out of heaven.

Condemned. Awaiting. The torments. Of eternal hell. And so. He's full of rage. Against Christ. Who is God. And who receives. The worship of God.

And the praise. Of his father. The worship of men. And angels. Satan is anti-Christ. To the core. And his spite. Is seen.

In his attempts. To destroy. Christ's field. Just like it was. Malice. That caused the neighbor. To come. And sow tears. And weeds. In the field. Of his neighbor. So it is. Malice. Revenge.

Hatred. That causes. Satan. To plant. His own sons. Of the world. Along. In the world. Alongside of Christ's sons. Of the kingdom. He's out to tear down.

What Christ builds up. He's out to destroy. What Christ saves. He's the thief. Who comes only. To steal. To kill. And to destroy. Jesus says. And so.

His aim. Is to bring loss. And dishonor. Upon Christ. And to get gain. And glory. To himself. Yes. The one. The enemy. Who sows.

The weeds. Is the devil. In the harvest. It's the end. Of the age. We have this present. Age. That ends.

At the second coming. Of Jesus. That's the end. Of this age. When Jesus returns. The field. Will be harvested. And the harvesters. The last point.

On the key. The harvesters. Those are angels. He tells us. Those. Those. Spirit servants. Of God. Who do his bidding. So there's the key.

Down the bottom corner. Of our map. And now. We should be able. To take that key. And plug it into the parable. And understand the parable. Isn't that good. Of Jesus.

To give us the key. It's really all you need. But Jesus. Goes the second mile. And actually spells out. For us. The application. At the end. Of his parable.

All right. I want us this morning. Not to miss. What Jesus is teaching us. About the kingdom. Of heaven. He's giving us a lesson. On his kingdom. And what he's doing.

Is he's telling us. That the kingdom of heaven. Comes in two phases. Two stages. Phase one. Is the present. The here and now.

As it was in Jesus day. As it is in our day. And as it will be tomorrow. And every day. Until Jesus comes. That's phase one. Of the kingdom.

Of heaven. And phase two. Is the future. As the kingdom. Will be. At the end of the age. When Jesus returns. And then.

Throughout all eternity. Phase two. Now I trust. As we go further. You'll see. Why these two phases.

Were so critical. For the disciples. To understand. Who were expecting. That as soon as. Jesus the king. Came and brought his kingdom. That they'd have the whole shebang. At once.

Right now. And Jesus says. Oh disciples. You must know this. About my kingdom. It comes in two stages. There is its beginning. And there is its consummation.

It's present. And it's future. So. At present then. What's the. What's the condition. Of the. The kingdom of God. At present. Well at present. There is a mixture. In the world.

Of the righteous. And the wicked. A mixture. That's the present situation. On Christ. Worldwide farm. You will find. Both the righteous.

And the wicked. On his farm. The farm. Is the world. The field. Is the world. And in that world. You have the sons. Of the kingdom. Of heaven. And the sons. Of the devil. Living and growing.

Up side by side. Both the wheat. And the weeds. In the same field. And Jesus. Jesus says. Let both. Grow together. Until the harvest.

Until the end. Of the age. So phase one. Of the kingdom. Is marked by this mixture. Of righteous. And unrighteous. On the earth. With. So for now.

Cain and Abel. Must grow up. In the same family. Ahab and Naboth. Must be neighbors. Haman and Mordecai. Must work for the same government. Judas.

And. And. Peter. Must rub shoulders. As disciples. Of Christ. Christ. And you. Dear believers.

The roots. Of your life. Are intertwined. With. Unbelievers. Whom Jesus. In this passage. Calls.

Sons. Of the evil one. And you have it. Intertwined. Some of you. In your very families. Some of you.

At work. Where you do business. Where you go to school. Your sports teams.

Your neighborhood. Your civic clubs. Your organizations. Your activities. You're constantly rubbing shoulders. With the children. Of the devil. That's the way it is.

And Jesus is saying. That is not. By accident. But by. Design. This is the master's plan. He planned it that way. It's the son of man.

Who gives the orders. Let both grow together. Until the harvest. This is the way it's supposed to be. Until the end. Of the age. The good and the bad.

Side by side. The weeds and the wheat. Together. Until the harvest. Now. This is why I disagree. With one of the popular interpretations.

Of this parable. Commentators. Many of them say. That it refers to the way. That in the church. There are true believers. And false believers. Mere hypocrites. And that they continue.

To worship. Side by side. Until the end of the age. When the Lord Jesus. Will come back. And judge his church. And separate the true believers. From the false believers. Those who claim to be.

Sons of the kingdom. From those who truly are. Sons of the kingdom. Now that's a truth taught. In many other places. In the Bible. But I do not believe. It is the primary teaching.

Of this parable here. For two reasons. Number one. In giving us the key. Of interpretation. We come down to the key. Remember what Jesus said. The field is.

Not the church. The field is the world. The whole world. And second. Reason for rejecting. This idea. Is that.

Jesus prescribed. Directions. To let both believers. And unbelievers. Grow together. In the world. Until the end of the age. That's his prescribed.

Directions. That's the way he wants it. But it is not. Jesus prescribed. Direction. To let both believers. And unbelievers. Grow together. In the church. Until the end of the age.

Rather. Jesus gives. Very explicit. Direct. Instructions. That the church. Is to be. Kept pure. From unbelievers.

As its members. That only born again. Believers. Who repent. Of their sins. And trust in the Savior. Are to be baptized. And included. As members.

In the church. The others. Are to be kept out. Not baptized. Not received. And if. Those. Who are baptized.

And have been received. If they ever stop living. And believing. Like true sons. Of the kingdom. You're to warn them. And if they don't repent. You're to put them out.

Not. Not. Let them grow. Side by side. With you. To the end. No. Put them out. He says. They must not be allowed.

To remain. Members of the church. And so. The church at Ephesus. Receives praise. From Jesus. For not tolerating. Wicked men. In their midst. Revelation 2.

2. 2. 2. But the churches. At Pergamos. And Thyatira. Were rebuked. And warned. Because they tolerated. In their churches. Those who taught. The doctrines. Of the Nicolaitans.

The doctrines. Of Balaam. The doctrines. Of Jezebel. Who enticed. Christ's servants. Into sexual immorality. And eating food. Sacrificed. To idols. Their toleration.

Of allowing others. To grow up. Side by side. And the church. Was condemned. By the son of man. So the prescribed. Directions of Jesus. Concerning the church. Is for it to be kept.

Pure. Of wicked men. And women. The immoral man. In first Corinthians. In the church. In Corinth. First Corinthians 5. Was to be put out.

Put out. Cut off. Expelled. From among them. How different. Is that directive. From the directive. Concerning the world. No.

In the world. The believers. And unbelievers. Are to grow up. Side by side. To the end. Of the age. Well you can see more of that.

Even in first Corinthians. Chapter 5. Where Paul's saying. I'm not telling you. To have nothing to do. With sexually immoral. People. And in the world. If. If that was what I'm telling you. Then you'd have to go out.

Of the world. But I'm saying. In the church. You don't judge those. Outside the church. But you do judge those.

In the church. Expel. The immoral. Man. So. First Corinthians 5. Sheds that further light. So the application. Of this parable. Is not. To the mixture.

In the church. That. Does exist. It's a. It's unintentional. Because it's not. The way that Jesus. Wants it to be. Jesus says. We're to have a pure bride.

But because we do not. Read the heart. Yes. There will be. Hypocrites. Even in. The purest. Of churches. But that's not.

The. The application. Of this parable. The application. Is. Is much broader. It's of the whole world. And the mixture. Of the righteous. And the wicked. In this world. Now this is not.

Something that we find. Easy. Or that we like. This mixture. Of. Of. Rubbing shoulders. With wicked. Men.

It wasn't easy. For the servants. In the parables. In the parable. That he told either. Was it. They were the angels. They were ready. To roll up their sleeves. And. And get out there.

And pull up. Every weed in the field. Weren't they. They had to be told. To wait. They had to have a harness. Put on them. And pulled back. And say. No wait a minute. Wait till the harvest.

Then I'll give the word. To the harvesters. To go. And to pull it up. It calls for much patience. On the part of the good angels. The servants of the Lord.

It's not hard to. Understand why. These angels. Remember the field. Of God's world. Before men. In sin.

Ruined it. They remember the field. When it was. Pure righteousness. Nothing wicked in it. They remembered it.

This field. When it was sinless. When it. Shined with the pristine. Glory. At creation. They were there. When Jesus called it. Into being. While the morning.

Star. Sang. Together. And all the angels. Shouted for joy. They were there. The servants of the Lord. Shouting for joy. At creation. Look at the field now.

See its. Splendor. And glory. But then they watched. As the devil. By his temptations. Planted. In this field. His own seeds. Of weeds.

And multiplied. The sons. Of the evil one. And for these. Holy angels. To see God's beautiful field. Ruined. By the destructive weeds. Of sin.

And sinners. And devils. Is a grievous burden. To them. And stirs. Within them. A desire. For God's glory. And they're more than ready.

To at once. Pounce. And purge the earth. Of all that causes. Others to stumble. And all that do evil. Themselves.

To see God's. It's like everything. Within their holy nature. Wants to get out there. And pull those weeds up. And it takes great patience. To wait.

To wait till the end. And in so far as. You and I believers. Sons of the kingdom. Share the same desire. For holiness. And for the glory.

Of Christ. In his field. His world. In so much. As we too. Want to see the king's field. Shining in glory.

We want to see it. Rid of. Every remnant. Of sin. Everything's sinful. And to have to wait. Until the end of the age. Is hard for us.

To have the sons of the devil. Growing up. Side by side. With us. Presents. No small trial. It's the cause. Of much grief. Righteous anger.

A sense of injustice. And yes. Stumbling into sin. Ourselves. Being tempted. By them. To sin. And so it calls. For much.

Patience. On the part. Of the righteous. To know. This is the way. It's to be. Side by side. Wheat. And weeds. It's like our sister.

Sharon Stuber. And she's walking. By her. Flower garden. One day. And she sees weeds. Coming up. All around her. Her flowers. I think.

If I know Sharon. Everything. Insider says. It's time to get over there. Right now. And pull those weeds. I can't. I can't even imagine her. Waiting until harvest.

To pull those weeds. And there is something. Born in the sons of the kingdom. There is something. That is still seen. In the holy angels in heaven.

That when they see weeds. They want to pull them. They want to pull them. They're looking forward. To this. New heaven. And new earth. In which. Only the righteous.

Dwell. Even in our own lives. We long for that day. When sin. And unrighteousness. Will be no more. And every fiber. Of our being.

Wants that. But the king. Is telling us. No. It doesn't all come at once. No.

The plan. Of the king. Is to have it this way. Wheat and weeds. Growing up together. Till the harvest. Now it helps us. If we think a bit.

Of just. Why does he want it this way? Well. Number one. That the sons of the devil. May receive the witness. From the sons of the kingdom. They grow up side by side.

They're in the same family. They're in the same. Work environment. The same school. Augustine said. Those who are weeds today. May be wheat. Tomorrow. And so they grow up together.

And by having you. For a neighbor. They may see. God's grace. In you. And hear of. God's grace. In Jesus Christ.

For sinful weeds. Like. What you once were. And what they still are. Yes. It's often uncomfortable. Isn't it? Putting up with sinners. Folly.

And wickedness. And blasphemies. And even persecution. The neighbors. Perhaps loud. And wild parties. Or working beside. An obnoxious person. With a potty mouth.

And a foul mind. Or living close. To one. Who does not share. Your same morals. may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may What calls out for patience in your life?

Like dealing with an unconverted, nasty person at work. What is God doing? He's strengthening that muscle of grace, that beauty in Jesus.

He's creating more of the likeness of Jesus in you. And that's another reason that He leaves the weeds and the wheat together. That your faith and your hope and your love and patience and kindness and goodness and love for your enemies might grow and be exercised.

That you'll grow in your self-control over your tongue as you deal with others with a short temper. That your self-denial will be strengthened as you're tempted over and over by them.

And so glory comes to God who keeps you holy right now in this unholy place where you grow side by side with the wicked. And so godly David finds himself in the family of an ungodly King Saul.

And yet it's there that the Lord proves His faithful care and provision and protecting love to David such that David writes in the shepherd's psalm, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Because my enemies are always there. They're growing up side by side.

Our roots are entangled. We're in the same family. We're in the same business. We're in the same community. And that's the way the master wants it. Perhaps many other good reasons we haven't even considered this morning.

But that's the way the master wants it. And you see, his disciples need to know that. Is he the real Messiah? Or do we look for another? No, he's the one. This is phase one.

There's another phase to come. The kingdom has come, but it's only just begun. Wait till phase two comes. And we move on. And Jesus assures us that though this present phase of the kingdom with the mixture of good and evil in the world lasts a long time, it doesn't last forever.

There's a harvest coming. There will be then in this phase two a future separation of the righteous and the wicked at the end of the age.

So phase one is marked by mixture. Phase two, separation. Put apart forever and ever.

The separation at the end of the age is repeated in the parable of the net of fish in verses 47 and following. We have the same thing. The fishermen pull up the net and there's good fish and bad fish in the same net.

And they're in the same net until they come and sit down and start sorting. And Jesus says that's the angels at the end of the age separating the righteous from the wicked. So two of these kingdom parables are given to tell us of the certainty of this coming separation of the righteous and the wicked.

You see Jesus concerned for his disciples. He understands how tormenting it can be to live with wicked men. And he says, wait, wait to the end.

It's coming. It's sure to come. And he repeats it. There will be a separation. My righteousness will rule from shore to shore.

And in both parables, it's the holy angels who are sent by Jesus to separate the wicked from the righteous. There's the field. The weeds and the wheat are so intertwined that we wonder, can it ever be separated?

Look at the world and the billions of people and who in the world could ever sort out righteous from wicked and draw a line and put each one in their place?

Well, there's only one. It's the righteous one, the Son of Man. When he comes, he will do that. He will determine the destinies of men. He will send out his angels to carry out his bidding.

And what does he root out of his kingdom? All that causes us to sin.

All stumbling blocks. Everyone who became a temptation to another, everyone who tempted others to sin, they'll be rooted out.

And also those who practice sin. Those who cause sin and those who practice sin, who do evil, who break his law. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

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. They will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

That's the language that Jesus uses to describe hell. And so the separation leads the sons of the evil one into hell forever.

Yes, there's another phase to the kingdom that's coming. All those enemies that Christ was promised would be put under his feet, they've not yet been put under his feet.

We read from Psalm 110 at the beginning today, Jesus is now on the throne. His kingdom has come. But the final stage is not yet when his enemies will be made his footstool.

Then, verse 43, the last verse, then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. Brilliant purity, no more impurities, no more sin, you see.

All the darkness is removed. As we know from other scriptures, it's not only the wicked who are taken away from them, but it's also it's taken out of them as well.

And then they will shine like the sun in their father's kingdom. You see, there's a great unveiling that is to yet take place. It's the unveiling of the kingdom in which the king will be unveiled and the sons of the kingdom will be unveiled.

And that day will mark the end of the hiddenness of God's kingdom on earth. Right now, its king is not recognized. Right now, the sons of the kingdom are not honored and recognized.

You know, Christian, that you're not thought of as anything special by this world, are you? You're nobody. In fact, they pity you, many of them.

Look at that poor man in bondage to that book he calls the Bible. Narrow-minded. No, they despise us.

They pity us as fools just like they did our king when he came. And they rejected him and crucified him.

You see, it's the same pattern. The sons of the kingdom have to wait for glory just like the king himself. It was suffering.

It was enduring the wrath and the misunderstanding of the wicked that he grew up with until finally he receives glory. And so the same agenda for king and sons of the kingdom.

But there's to be an unveiling when Christ returns. This world will see who he is. And when they see who he is, they'll see who you are, whose you are, and who you are.

Listen to the way Paul puts it in Colossians 3, 4. When Christ, who is your life, appears and is made manifest, then you also will appear with him in glory. And John puts it this way.

How great is the love that the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God and that is what we are. We deserve great honor. We're the sons of the kingdom. And yet, the reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Dear friends, now we are the children of God. Right now, we're sons of the kingdom. And what we will be has not yet been made known, but we know that when he appears, when he is made manifest, then we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.

And in that day, you see, the sons of the kingdom will no longer be hidden. We will shine like the sun in our Father's kingdom. We'll shine with the full glory of Christ along with Christ and all will know who Jesus is and who we are because of his grace.

The distinction between the righteous and the wicked will then be clear to all. For now, it's often muddled. It's hard to see. You take a glance at the world population, it's not that all the blessings are coming upon the righteous and all the hard times are coming on the wicked.

It's not that the one are rich, the other's poor, the one are well, the other's sick. No, they all get cancer and die. They all have heart attacks and accidents and die. And there's not the distinction.

It's known in heaven, but it's hidden. It's hidden often on earth, but in that day it will be revealed. So wait, Jesus is saying.

For when I come, then will be the final chapter on my victory over Satan. Remember Satan, the great enemy, is out to destroy the field of Christ, but ultimately his plan is frustrated and all the true wheat will be gathered into the barn.

Not one sheaf will be missing. So we have in his parable a glorious future held out for the sons of the kingdom who are in Christ. You'll shine like the sun in your father's kingdom forever and ever.

And there's a horrific future for those who are not in Christ who are the sons of the evil one. It will be the worst day, the beginning of eternal torments. Harvest is coming.

The separation is sure to come. We're all together in the world today, but a separating day is coming. And you know that separation will divide families. There'll be brother here and sister there, mother here, daughter there, father here, sons there.

A separation will come and will divide all men and each will go to their place. He who has ears, let him hear.

Jesus is saying, friend, if you find your head has ears on it, use them now.

Think. Listen with both ears. Think about this. Don't superficially receive my teaching. Get to the bottom of it and think.

Realize its meaning and respond accordingly. Has God given you ears enough to hear this message this morning? Then use them. Think and respond accordingly.

Am I wheat or am I a weed? If I am wheat, am I growing impatient, rubbing shoulders with the wicked?

Am I tired of growing side by side with the wicked? Wondering if there'll ever be a clear distinction. Well, this is the master's plan, Jesus says.

So get on with it and bear witness to the children of the evil one and get on with that work of sanctification and exercising your graces in the midst of wicked people.

It's my plan. It's the way I want it. You too were once a weed. You would be one forever. And I not shown grace to you. And if you find yourself a weed, never misunderstand God's patience as if he's light on sin and careless about sin.

No, he's just waiting because he's patient. And he's given you time to repent. So if you've got ears here, think and repent now. Because harvest is coming.

What a kindness in Jesus to come and to tell us ahead of time of this great separation that's coming. Kindness to the sinner, to urge him to repent and flee to Christ now.

Kindness to the disciples, to know this situation will not go on forever. This is the master's plan. Let's give ourselves to it and wait in patience for the day that is coming.

Let's bow and talk to our Savior. Oh, Lord, your ways are indeed mysterious and would be lost upon us if you did not open our eyes and give us understanding and then give us a heart to do with the truth what needs to be done.

Do that for each of us as this parable of the weeds has application to us all. Don't let us miss its meaning. Work in us both to will and to do of your good pleasure.

We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.