Weeds In the Field

I spent the morning pulling weeds today.

It was hot, but the wind was blowing gently. We trudged up and down the rows of our field getting the weeds that still remained. It’s amazing how something so simple can provide time to reflect, to think, to dream. There’s a weird connection between doing something routine with our hands and the ability for our minds to focus inward.

I remember my Team Leader asking me if I was available and I drug my feet about it. The buildup to a menial task is filled with a dread of sorts, but once the task has begun, the rhythmic bending, pulling, dropping, and walking cultivates this inner tranquility that allowed my thoughts to wander in ways they might not have been were we doing something else.

A Parable about Weeds

The role of agriculture in the cultures of the Bible is massive. From the times of Abraham, where flocks and grazing were a primary source of wealth to the Roman Empire which depended on the bread baskets and vineyards to supply their cities with food, agriculture was never far from the mind of the biblical audience. Jesus himself used a variety of agricultural metaphors to connect spiritual truth to something people were intimately familiar with.

Jesus gave a parable regarding weeds in particular in Matthew 13.

He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.So the slaves of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Matthew 13:24-30

It was odd as I was pulling weeds in our field that the parable has the workers do the exact opposite, leave them there (what am I doing pulling weeds when Jesus says we shouldn’t!?) and it caused me to think about mission, and what is the application of this parable because it does center on entrance into the kingdom or entrance to damnation.

Jesus goes on to interpret the parable’s meaning in Matthew 13:36, describing who is what in the grand scheme of God.

Jesus Gives the Interpretation

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “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 are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. As the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. 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. The one who has ears had better listen!

Matthew 13:36-43

The interpretation of the parable is handy if we wanted a general sense of what Jesus is
describing.

But as I’m pulling weeds in my field, the explanation hasn’t really told me why the
disciples were not supposed to pull the weeds out at the earliest opportunity. Jesus doesn’t give
any spiritual reason to leave the weeds in the field! The only proof is that it might uproot the
wheat alongside it in verse 29. At this stage it’s helpful to know a bit of information regarding
the two plants being described.

A Quick Agricultural Lesson

Typically, anytime there’s a weed infestation in a field your harvest is going to suffer tremendously. There’s a reason farmers all around the world rely on things like pesticides and herbicides, to keep enemy plants from growing and harming the crop they are trying to harvest. To quote another parable (of the Sower) of Jesus in the exact same chapter (Matthew 13:1), it can even choke the life out of the plant that should be giving a harvest.

The plants Jesus refers to in Matthew are wheat and specifically a weed, darnel, that closely resembles wheat up until they actually bear grain. In fact the servant, who more than likely knew what to be on the lookout for, only notices the difference once the effect has already been had. As a plant bears its fruit, or grain in this case, the problems the weed would’ve caused were already in effect. Pulling weeds at that point wouldn’t change anything.

Now that our agriculture lesson is over, I notice two things regarding weeds and mission.

The Sons Look Similar

Jesus identifies the weeds and the crop, respectively, as the sons of the enemy and the sons of the kingdom of heaven.

This is slightly unnerving. As we minister in God’s harvest field there’s one thing we can never know, the heart of humankind. God can see the heart of those we minister to, but we who are diligently working are left in the dark.

As Paul would later describe false teachers as wolves in sheep’s clothing, there are those who will appear to grow alongside of us in the faith and yet turn out to be weeds. It’s a reminder that our hope does not rest in humanity but in God.

We will suffer heartbreak as those we thought were sons of the Kingdom turn out to be sons of the evil one. I think of people in my country of service who became believers for money and left as soon as the money was gone. Life has a way of showing our true loyalties.

The Kingdom is Inevitable

There is a finality to the day of harvest as well as a certainty. The coming end of the age is unavoidable, and it is a day that the sons of the Kingdom of Heaven can look forward to.

The day of harvest is often a joyous time however there are seasons when the harvest is pitiful. Harvesting a weed filled field is not nearly as fun as harvesting a bountiful one. Harvest day in God’s Kingdom will be both a day of joy and a day of weeping.

As we go about our days in our countries of service may there be an urgency to accomplish the task and reach One More. There will be an end and while it is daylight we should be about our Father’s business with urgency.

There will be an end and while it is daylight we should be about our Father’s business with urgency.

Weeds are part and parcel of working in agriculture. As we deal with the weeds in our own lives, and our own hearts, let us keep in mind that we live in a day and age where only God knows who the sons and daughters of the Kingdom of Heaven are. This should keep us expectant and hopeful. I find the words of Saint Augustine to be fitting,

Pray as if everything depends on God. Work as if everything depends on you.