To the uninformed, it appears as if we're breaking up. Churches are being emptied. People are running out the door in droves. Offense is running rampant throughout local congregations. It looks like we’re falling apart – but there's something much deeper going on.
This is a little more reading than I normally put in my posts, but get over it - you can never go wrong with reading God's Word, right? I want you to see that this concept is straight from God's Word - not my opinion! I don't have to interpret this story, Jesus did that for us!
In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells this story to His disciples: “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
A little while later, in verse 36, His disciples asked Him to explain the story. So Jesus responds with the application to the church in verses 37-43:“He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
It would be a true statement to say that this is the story of the rapture of the church – but it's also true to say that this is the story of what happens in the time before we leave. Now that we've found the key to this story in the second passage, let's go back and use it in the first.
Verse 24 - The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
The man is Jesus. The good seed are those of us who “sons of the kingdom” or who understand Jesus absolute authority over us as King. We were planted by Jesus Christ and have been been growing for about 2,000 years now.
Verse 25 - but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
It's not surprising who the enemy is, he's been the enemy of everything godly since the beginning. What is surprising to some people, is the tares. These are people who were planted by the devil “among the wheat!” Did you realize that the devil has plants (or “moles” to use a spy movie term) inside God's church? Verse 41 describes them as people “that offend, and those who practice lawlessness.” While God's leaders were sleeping, these people were slipped into our ranks.
I know that we have always defined offense as getting our feelings hurt. But the real meaning of “offend” in this passage is “to cause to fall away.” These are the people who cause others to leave God's kingdom. These are the people who spread strife and division in churches, destroying their reputations. These are the people who will split a church in two, carry weak believers out the doors with them, and then abandon them to the world. These tares are the people who are damaging the church by their rebellion and lawlessness.
Verse 26 - But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
Tares in the church are nothing new. The early church had to deal with them too. Both seeds were planted around the same time, but as we get closer to the end, the tares have gotten stronger and much more noticeable.
Verse 27 - So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
According to verse 39, we know that the reaper are angels. But this is another group called “servants.” Who could it be, having a conversation with Jesus and asking Him where these “tare” people came from? These are the local church leaders. These are the men and women that God holds responsible for local congregations. And as the tares get more and more obvious, I'm sure that there's been more than a few pastors who have had this conversation with God!
Verse 28 - He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
As soon as these local pastors learn about where the tares in their church come from, their immediate, and very understandable response is, “Do You want me to kick them out, God?” No pastor wants tares in their church; ruining the good seed!
Verse 29 - But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
God's response to these pastors is right on! A lot of times, when a Pastor confronts and tries to uproot a person who is a tare, their roots in that church pull out a lot of good seed.
But this next verse is my favorite part of this story!
Verse 30 - Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
The two types of people, represented by the good seed and the tares, share the same churches until the “time of the harvest.” This harvest has two parts:
The first part of the harvest is when God sends His angelic reapers into His kingdom to gather out the tares “into bundles”. That means some people are going to leave. This is directly opposite to the church growth principles we’ve used in our churches! These divisive people are going to leave church, escorted out by angels! They may think they’re bored. They may think they’re offended. They may think they have a valid reason. But the reality is, God’s angels are removing the tares from the wheat. They're going to be gathered together into bundles – groups of these people gathering together! Can you imagine what that must be like? A group of divisive, disgruntled, and generally unhappy church people getting together every week – not my idea of a good time!
But here's the best part! After God uproots the tares out of His kingdom, “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father!” We're gonna start seeing church – the way it was always intended to be! What will it look like to see groups of believers gathering together with no offense and no lawlessness? We're finally going to see God do what He wants done in His church!
And then, the second part of the Harvest happens...”gather the wheat into My barn.” When we finally become a “glorious church, without spot or blemish” - we'll be ready to leave!
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