Years ago, I heard a friend say that she wished she had been alive when Jesus walked the earth. She felt that hearing His voice would erase every doubt. I’ll admit the idea is intriguing, but all these years later, I still disagree with her. I’ll tell you why. It’s all because of a PARABLE and a CLOUD.
Take a look at the Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat in Matthew 13:24-30. “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.”
When I read the Gospels, I am struck by the amount of criticism and negativity Jesus encountered. There was always somebody who wanted to argue or protest or complain. All those negative voices in the crowd are like the weeds among the wheat: they were planted there by the enemy to stifle the children of God (see Matthew 13:37-39).
If my friend had been sitting at the feet of Jesus on the day when four men lowered a pallet bearing their paralyzed friend to the spot where Jesus was sitting, she would have witnessed a jaw-dropping miracle. But she also would have heard a voice in the crowd say, “Why does this man speak that way…Who but God alone can forgive sins?” (Mark 2:7) That’s how the enemy plants one of his seeds.
If she was in His hometown on the day He amazed His neighbors with His wisdom and power, she would have heard the whispers in the crowd, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:54-55) And right there, another weed sprouts. And then another, and another. The enemy is relentless.
In the next segment of the parable, the workers ask the farmer: “‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest.’”
Anytime we hear the voice of Jesus speaking to our hearts, we also hear the voice of the enemy in the background, arguing, criticizing, attempting to subvert our belief, undermine our faith, and shatter our hope. Living a faith-centered life today certainly has its challenges, but they don’t compare with the persecution that 1st-century Christians faced. In that world, I don’t know if I could have ignored those sinister comments and continued to follow Jesus. I don’t know if I would have had the spiritual strength to crush those evil seeds before they could sprout. Hebrews 12:1-2 offers this encouragement: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us… persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.”
The writer of Hebrews was talking about the heroes of the Old Testament. But our own “cloud of witnesses” is so much bigger! It contains the faith and wisdom of 2000 years of Christianity, starting with the words of Jesus Himself, written down, preserved, and translated for all the world to hear. We have the wisdom of the saints and the sacrifices of the martyrs, the counsel of our pastors, the encouragement of our parents, and all the lessons we learned in Sunday School. Plus, we have the witness of a church filled with believers. “So great a cloud of witnesses.”
Even though the struggle between good and evil seems to be endless, Jesus gives us hope in the final verse of the parable: “At harvest time I will say to the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
It’s a matter of perseverance, for the wheat and for us as believers. Because when all is said and done…
THE WEEDS DON’T WIN !
To God be the Glory.
One of your best. Just read it to my Goddaughter Susan, while she is driving.
Thanks. Glad you liked it.