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The Enemy Among Us - Matthew 13:24-30Then Jesus used another story to teach them. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man that planted good seed in his field. That night, all the people were asleep. The man's enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat. Then the enemy went away. Later, the wheat grew and heads of grain grew on the wheat plants. But at the same time the weeds also grew. Then the man's servants came to him and said, 'You planted good seed in your field. Where did the weeds come from?' The man answered, 'An enemy planted weeds.' The servants asked, 'Do you want us to go pull the weeds?' The man answered, 'No, because when you pull up the weeds, you might also pull up the wheat. Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At the harvest time I will tell the workers this: First gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.'" (ERV) Full Text
Key ThoughtJesus is back among the crowds teaching in parables again. He is once again using images from agriculture which they would instantly recognize. But the connection with the Kingdom is what they miss. Once again, Jesus will later interpret the parables in private. What we can immediately see again in this parable is the work of the enemy. Jesus' work, Jesus' disciples, and Jesus' Kingdom exist in a world which is under attack from Satan. He will allow no good work of Jesus to go unopposed. His goal is to corrupt, pollute, and undermine the work of Jesus. He wants to dilute the life of witness by the disciples. He uses the cover of darkness to do his vile deeds. Jesus does not leave his first disciples, nor us, under the illusion that his power will make things easy and that people will just flock to him to be changed by him. From the beginning he reminds us of the opposition and the problematic issues of false disciples. Jesus is aware that his Kingdom will face corruption from the evil one, so we must be ready as well. Today's PrayerToday's Verses in ContextThen Jesus used another story to teach them. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man that planted good seed in his field. That night, all the people were asleep. The man's enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat. Then the enemy went away. Later, the wheat grew and heads of grain grew on the wheat plants. But at the same time the weeds also grew. Then the man's servants came to him and said, 'You planted good seed in your field. Where did the weeds come from?' "The man answered, 'An enemy planted weeds.' "The servants asked, 'Do you want us to go pull the weeds?' "The man answered, 'No, because when you pull up the weeds, you might also pull up the wheat. Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At the harvest time I will tell the workers this: First gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.'" Then Jesus told the people another story: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. A person plants that seed in his field. That seed is one of the smallest of all seeds. But when the seed grows, it is one of the largest garden plants. It becomes a tree, big enough for the birds to come and make nests in its branches." Then Jesus told the people another story: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour to make bread. The yeast makes all the dough (bread) rise." Jesus used stories to tell all these things to the people. Jesus always used stories to teach the people. This is the same as what the prophet said: "I will speak using stories; I will tell things that have been secrets since the world was made." Then Jesus left the people and went into the house. His followers came to him and said, "Explain to us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field." Jesus answered, "The person that planted the good seed in the field is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed are all of God's children in the kingdom. The weeds arethose people that belong to the Evil One (the devil). And the enemy that planted the bad seed is the devil. The harvest time is the end of the world. And the workers that gather are God's angels. "The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. It will be the same at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and his angels will find the people that cause sin and all people that do evil. The angels will take those people out of his kingdom. The angels will throw those people into the place of fire. In that place the people will be crying and grinding their teeth {with pain}. Then the good people will shine like the sun. They will be in the kingdom of their Father. You people that hear me, listen! — Matthew 13:24-43 (ERV)
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