God's Judgement

"Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, 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 are 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.'

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."

Jesus said don?t bother.

Regardless of how hard you try and how diligent you might be you cannot exterminate all of the evil in the world. Worse still, in your attempt to do so you will kill some of the good plant. Some have tried to do this on a grand scale by seeking political solutions to what are essentially spiritual problems. You cannot insure goodness by force.

This is what many Muslim countries are doing. This is, in fact, a basic tenet of Islam. Jihad, is essentially a call to exterminate evil from the world.

Jesus? reason is not because it is practically impossible to do so, although this is certainly true. His reason for not wanting the weeds pulled up is because it will damage some of the wheat. He is so concerned about each blade of wheat that He will forfeit His own reputation to protect each blade.

• Some have tried to do this at a personal level by legislating every area of their lives or the lives of their children or families.
• This is what the Pharisees did.
• Some home-schoolers do this.
• Some churches do this. Create a whole world where the attenders never have to have contact with the negative influences of the world.

There is probably no more clear-cut example of the coldness, snobbery and pride that is at the heart of human nature. Surely God is not this way. Surely God does not choose sides. Surely God finds a way to include everyone. After all, God is loving and merciful.

But God is also all-knowing, and perfectly pure. This story of Jesus makes it painfully clear that God will separate. In this story we are confronted with the ultimate reality of judgement by God. A time is coming when the wheat will be separated from the weeds. The wheat will be brought into the barn. The weeds will be burned. In fact, Jesus dwells on this particular aspect of the story to make sure we don?t miss it.

"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."

Let?s remind ourselves today:

• God is going to judge every weed and every blade of wheat.
• God?s judgement will be fierce and final.
• God's judgement will not be arbitrary. It will reflect the nature of person.

I had a seminary professor who used to say, when you talk to the unconvinced tell them about the love of God. When you talk to the already convinced tell them about the judgement of God.

Why were those first disciples so passionate about sharing the message of Jesus? Because they knew the ultimate result. They knew how the story ended. And they cared about their friends and neighbors and people all over the world. By this story of Jesus, we are compelled to recognize the desperate need for the message of God?s forgiveness and right relationship with God to be communicated.

Oswald Chambers once said, "If I am truly a Christian, I am not set on saving my own skin, but on seeing that the salvation of God comes through me to others."

Jan Johnson said, "Many believers are "rabbit hole" Christians. In the morning they pop out of their safe Christian homes, hold their breath at work, scurry home to their families and then off to their Bible studies, and finally end the day praying for the unbelievers they safely avoided all day."

Luci Swindoll shared this story. "A friend of mine was caught in an elevator during a power failure. At first, there was momentary panic as all seven strangers talked at once. Then my friend remembered the tiny flashlight he had in his pocket. When he turned it on, the fear dissipated. During the 45 minutes they were stuck together they told jokes, laughed, and even sang. Ephesians 5:8 says we are that flashlight. Just as the flashlight draws power from its batteries, we draw power from Jesus. As light, we dissipate fear, bring relief, and lift spirits. We don't even have to be big to be effective. We just have to be "on."

Why don?t we resolve to be on this week? We will be surrounded by weeds. Why not share the love of God with them. The miracle of God is that He can turn weeds into wheat.