The Bible is like an onion: the more you eat – the more layers you find.
“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 uproot 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 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 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 blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50 NIV
Matthew 13 contains the parable of the weeds and the parable of the net. Understanding more about the kingdom of Heaven has given these a much deeper meaning for me.
So, what is this “Kingdom of Heaven” spoken of in the gospels? Well, contrary to popular belief, it isn’t Heaven. Jesus came from Heaven. He ascended back to Heaven on the clouds. He reigns over a kingdom right now. The kingdom Jesus reigns over is the kingdom of Heaven.
It includes: 1) those who have been called out of the world (aka the kingdom of Satan) and into service to God (aka the church) – both the living and dead; 2) those who were righteous under the Law and prophets (aka the faithful of Israel); 3) those who were faithful before Judaism.
Today, people who name Jesus as their king are part of the kingdom. Whether they are true citizens or not – we don’t know. But they are, according to these parables, at least living within the borders of the kingdom.
Now, whether they are true citizens or not isn’t for us to determine. Jesus said it isn’t the workers’ job to try to separate weeds from the wheat. That will be taken care of at the end of the age.
While there are several words for “end” in Greek – the one from these passages means the final end – the concluding end – the end of everything. That’s when it hit me – true citizenship in the kingdom of Heaven will be determined when Jesus returns – and it won’t be by us.
Our efforts to “pull weeds” in the kingdom by trying to determine who is and isn’t “in the kingdom” does exactly what Jesus said it would do – it uproots many of the wheat in the process. It is akin to us trying to do the job of angels at the end of time. Is that the unity Jesus prayed for? I think not.
No. We need to be about the business of spreading the gospel. There is a famous line that goes: “Kill ‘em all – let God sort ‘em out.” For followers of Jesus it’s a little different. As we seek more and more people to be added to the church (and thus the kingdom as well), our motto should be, “Bring ‘em all, let God sort ‘em out.”
Application: Stop guessing whether someone in your church is really following Jesus. 1) It’s not your job. 2) It helps Satan in four ways: you lose focus on your real mission, you disrupt the fellowship, you may falsely uproot a citizen of the kingdom because of your own faulty theology, and you may accidentally uproot someone you didn’t mean to. Whew, that’s a load off my mind and a big chunk off my plate. Now – where’s that onion?
p.s. – Please don’t take this post and apply to the necessary action of disciplining those who intentionally and knowingly walk disorderly and refuse to even attempt to change. That said, remember: there is a difference between “disorderly” and “disagreeing” on the meaning of scripture.