Weeds and Good Seed
Matthew 11-13
“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…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…Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father…”
Matthew 13:37-39, 41, 43
God allows the devil to plant sons of the evil one into the midst of his kingdom where they grow up next to the righteous. That is a sobering thought.
What would the devil want them to do in God’s kingdom?
He would probably want them to divide and split churches, to undermine the leadership of churches, or even lead churches away from preaching the true gospel of the cross and new life in Christ. Satan would be interested in blocking prayer as the power source of God’s people as well as limiting repentance and evangelism.
Are those strategies possible?
Can the weeds grow next to the good seed and even lead the worship?
It is Jesus who reminds us that by our fruit we are known. It is Jesus who roots weeds out of his kingdom. We are called to be self-controlled and alert because our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion. We are to resist him, and stand firm in our faith (1 Peter 5:8, 9).
“Lord Jesus, I desire to shine like the sun in the kingdom of my Father. Root out what is evil from your kingdom and plant faith in our hearts.”