Sermon – August 30, 2020 – Pentecost 13

Printable PDF:  8-30-2020 Pentecost 13 Sermon

Pastor Mark Jacobson  ~  Pentecost 13  ~  August 30, 2020  ~  Matthew 15:21-28

 

21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

 

JESUS HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

 

It was her little girl. She gave birth to her. Nursed her. Watched her grow. She was there for all her firsts – her first step, her first word, and her first day of school. She had been sick before, but nothing like this. She screams and hollers constantly. You can’t put new clothes on her because she’ll tear them right off. She used to have a nice ponytail, but now it’s almost all pulled out at the roots. She’s not herself. She is possessed by a demon. It’s a helpless feeling.

  1. Crumbs of grace for the searching soul

Then Jesus withdrew into her region. The region of Tyre and Sidon are a long way from Galilee, but news about Jesus has traveled fast and far before. After Jesus was born, the good news was not only communicated to nearby shepherds by angels, but also to faraway wise men or Magi by the means of a star. We don’t know how this Canaanite woman learned of Jesus, but she most definitely learn of him. She addressed Jesus as, “Lord, Son of David.” While many of the Jews still addressed Jesus as “Rabbi” or “Teacher,” she addresses him as “Lord, Son of David.” This title was used in Old Testament times to refer to the promised Savior. 

Not only did this woman live in a faraway land, but she also had a Canaanite background. Way back in Genesis, Noah cursed the Canaanites as the “lowest of slaves” (Genesis 9:25). The entire Bible book of Joshua tells the bloody saga of how Israel took over the promised land of Canaan. Most Canaanites were still worshipping idols, but not her. 

Not only was her geography and her family history working against her, but Jesus appears to have been working against her, too. Initially, Jesus doesn’t even respond to her cry for mercy, and when Jesus does respond to her, his response kind of makes us wish he hadn’t said anything at all. Jesus says to her, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Instead of taking offence, this faraway Canaanite woman takes an opportunity. Respectfully, she agrees with Jesus. A more happy translation is, “Yes, Lord, it’s not right to take away the children’s food and give it to pet dogs.” It’s not right to take God’s grace from Israel and give it to the Canaanites, but just as pet dogs will eagerly eat whatever falls to the floor so also, she will eagerly accept whatever she can from God. And then Jesus who had never lost a debate with anyone, loses the debate with this faraway Canaanite woman. “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have a great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.”

Jesus has something for everybody. Maybe you feel like God has discriminated against you. Some sinners were baptized as infants like me, but maybe you have yet to be baptized or were baptized as an adult. Some Christians were brought to church as a child and raised in a Christian home like me, but maybe you never had seen the inside of a Bible until you were much older. Some adults have these Christian circles where all the people they know are Christians like me, but maybe the only Christian circle you can draw is the one around yourself. You might fit the comparison of a pet dog under the kitchen table as far as your Christian instruction is concerned, but, ah, a crumb of grace is enough for the searching soul. This woman received grace in the message she heard about Jesus. And when she had that opportunity to ask for mercy, she did not let go, and she did not go home disappointed. And neither will any of you here today, even if today is the only day you had ever heard about Jesus, you will not be disappointed. He will take care of all of your needs. Hold onto him and never let go.  

  1. An example of faith for the still learning disciples

Jesus has something for everybody. Crumbs of grace for the searching soul and an example of faith for his still learning disciples. It’s painfully clear this journey to the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon was not a mission trip. Ignoring people and insulting people are not good strategies for mission work, but this wasn’t a mission trip. It was a discipleship retreat. It was a time for Jesus and his disciples to rest up and to be rejuvenated for their home stretch. A successful business is first built on returning business. It doesn’t pay to get new business if all your current customers stop buying your product.

Were the disciples of Jesus really going to go and make disciples of all nations? Were the disciples of Jesus really going to be his witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth? Last time we were in church together, Jesus was telling his Apostle Peter on the water, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Jesus wanted his still-learning disciples to be strengthened in their faith. They needed encouragement. They needed to learn what faith was all about, and this Canaanite woman was bothering them. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.” “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.” “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.” When the disciples said to Jesus, “Send her away,” we should interpret those words to mean “Lord, heal her daughter and be done with her,” but Jesus would not just heal her daughter and be done with her.

Jesus had his reasons as he always does, and one of those reasons was so the disciples could witness what great faith looks like. What does great faith look like? It looks like this Canaanite woman. She is the one to whom Jesus told, “You have a great faith.” She had these disadvantages – a faraway land, a Canaanite background, an ailing daughter, and testing from Jesus, yet she held onto Jesus for all that He would give her.

Some churches can be so devoted to outreach in the community they neglect in-reach to their congregation. Some churches are so concerned about conversions and baptisms, they don’t reflect so much on Communion and Bible study attendance. Like Jesus devoted so much time and attention to his disciples, so also our Pastors and Elders need to direct their time and our attention to the members of Grace. We want all of our members to grow in their faith and ultimately make it to heaven.  

And yet what a gift it can be to witness someone who was not baptized as a baby, who was not taught and trained in God’s Word as a child, hear the Word of God as an adult, and never let it go. Like this Canaanite woman, these adult converts have to wrestle with what they have been taught all their life, and with the help if the Holy Spirit, come to the conclusion that God’s Word is right. The Triune God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the only true God. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is the way, the truth, and the life; the world’s only Savior. There is nothing better in all the world than to believe in Jesus and walk in his ways.

Brothers and sisters, God does have mercy on us, but God does extend his mercy in different ways. The Christian Church is a gift to this world. We have the gospel message of Jesus Christ that can save souls. Jesus died for the sins of the world, and those who believe in him will have eternal life. And yet those who do come to faith in spite of great obstacles can put our lifelong faith to shame. God does not want to put us lifelong believers to shame, but God does want us to examine what we believe and repent of our lack of faith. God wants his Word and the examples of those who have overcome great obstacles to refresh us and rejuvenate us to live for our Savior Jesus and never let him go. Amen.

Sermon – August 16, 2020 – Pentecost 11

Printable PDF:  8-16-2020 Pentecost 11 Sermon

David R. Clark  ~  Matthew 14:13-21  ~  August 16, 2020  ~  Pentecost 11

OUR CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO GREAT DIFFICULTIES

13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18“Bring them here to me,” he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Perhaps Jesus was a little tired. He had taught crowds of people and healed many people with hopeless medical conditions. Perhaps he was sad. He had been rejected in his own home church. His cousin John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod. You can call it time away or a vacation, but Jesus decided to sail across the Sea of Galilee with his disciples, who still had much to learn. And when he got to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, there was a crowd of people waiting for him.

Ever get a business call while hiking or fishing or on vacation? How’d that go?

  1. Show great compassion. (verses 13-17)

14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

Jesus’ reaction is very interesting. He had compassion on them. The word describes a “churning in the pit of your stomach.” We might say, “His heart really went out to them,” or “It really touched him.” So Jesus healed and taught.

The disciples showed some compassion, too, or at least, they thought they were. As the day went on they urged Jesus to send people home so they could find something to eat! When Jesus told them they should feed them, their only solution was sharing a little boy’s lunch with thousands.

Please don’t feel that this is a suggestion to take business calls when you shouldn’t. Your family needs your time as much or more than your place of business does. But there is a legitimate question here. Do you have compassion? And when we say that, let’s not include the stranger scamming people on the corner with a homemade sign.

Do you have compassion for the people you know? Our lockdown focuses us on ourselves. What about showing compassion to your neighbors?

My mother taught me this lesson when I was young. We had older neighbors. I not only shoveled our snow, I shoveled theirs. I not only took down our garbage cans, I took down theirs. Despite the fact that we were poor, I was not allowed to receive money for this. I didn’t love doing this, but I learned compassion.

To do this today we need to know a little something about our neighbors. The shutdown of our society has done great damage to our economy and health. It has built even higher walls between us. We are living in a time when everyone needs encouragement and a helping hand. You are uniquely qualified to do this because you have received it yourself from Jesus. He was compassionate enough to pay for your sins, even when you didn’t ask for it or deserve it. Your neighbors won’t ask for it. You will need to offer it. But just like Jesus, we have a unique opportunity to stop focusing on deaths and infection rates, but instead, showing those who don’t know Jesus the kind of compassion we all enjoy and need in Jesus.

  1. Celebrate great solutions. (verses 18-21)

If there was ever people who should have known Jesus was the solution, it was the disciples. 18“Bring them here to me,” he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

This was so significant it is recorded in all four of the gospels. Jesus’ birth isn’t even recorded in all four gospels. A brown bag lunch fed thousands with basketfuls left over. A little compassion led to a great solution. What an event to celebrate!

Brothers and sisters, God has given us resources and wisdom to solve the most basic problems in life. He expects us to be good managers of such things. But when the problem is too big, sometimes we throw up our hands in frustration or fear or worry…or we can place it in Jesus’ hands. If it is his will, he could stamp out COVID in the next minute. The Creator of heaven and earth can do that. This trouble is no more a test for you and me than feeding thousands of hungry people was for the disciples.

So may I suggest two things: 1) With all of the confusing and contradictory information flooding into our lives, how about if we start relying on the sure thing and do what the disciples were too short-sighted to do – ask Jesus for help. And I don’t mean once. I mean pound on the door of heaven with both hands and ask him to shorten the time for his solution and thus shorten the lesson we need to learn, not only for COVID, but for all of our troubles. That replaces frustration and fear with confidence when it is in Jesus’ hands. 2) When the “all clear” sounds, let’s celebrate Christ’s solution. It’s much bigger than feeding thousands.

As long as Satan is in this world and we have a sinful nature, problems are going to frustrate us. We can react with hand-wringing, finger-pointing, denial, and doubt. Or…we can look to Jesus knowing it has always been in his hands. You and I are wrapped in God’s compassion like a cool drink of water on a stifling hot day. Until that celebration comes, let’s share that water with a few others. Amen.

Sermon – August 9, 2020 – Pent10 – Family Ministry Sunday

Printable PDF:  8-9-2020 Pentecost 10 – Family Ministry Sunday

Pastor Mark R Jacobson  ~  Family Ministry Sunday   August 9, 2020

 

1Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. 2Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; 3the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; 4what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. 5It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, 6and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done….16Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. 18Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. – Deuteronomy 11:1-7, 18-21

 

PARENTS ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS

 

Let’s say you are a husband and a father. Some of you fit that criteria. And let’s say you have five kids! You need to have five children for the statistic I will share later. And let’s say, today, you are taking your family for a fun day of river rafting. It’s a good time until it isn’t. Without warning, the river current picks up speed and sweeps your group down the river. You try to hide your growing fear. You wonder why others didn’t warn you of this danger. You struggle to keep watch over everybody and then the raging river tosses everyone overboard. It’s survival mode now. You pray everyone makes it. Your spouse is next to you. You see two of your kids stumbling onto shore, but what about the other three? They’re nowhere to be found. They don’t make it.

Such a tragedy would certainly make local and maybe even national news. You would serve as a warning for others who are thinking about making that river rafting trip. There would be a tremendous level of support for you and your wife and your two surviving children. Thankfully, tragedies like this are rare, but the application to our little story is the national average, three out of five.

According to a study done by the Barna research group three out of five spiritually active teens will hang up their Christianity during their twenties. Another study puts this number at 70%. These spiritually active teens – these are the children of parents who brought them to church and sent them to Sunday school or to a Lutheran Elementary School and High School. What happened? And fathers and mothers who serve as the spiritual head of their household, what’s going to happen to your children? Will they keep the faith or are you in danger of experiencing what we might call a “faith funeral”?

 

  1. To Teach God’s Word

It’d be nice to go back in time and get some help, and that is exactly what we are going to do this morning. Moses had a hard time raising believers. Moses delivered the Israelites from the mighty Egyptians through the Red Sea, but the Israelites said they would have been better as slaves in Egypt. Moses was going to lead the Israelites into the promised land of Canaan, but the Israelites rebelled because they didn’t believe they could defeat the Canaanites. Time and again that adult generation had a faith funeral, and finally all adults of 20 years of age had real funerals outside the promised land of Canaan, except for Joshua son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

In the book of Deuteronomy, at 120 years of age, Moses addresses the next generation of adults, the children who were under the age of 20 years when they were delivered from slavery in Egypt. And in our section today Moses addresses the parents of that generation to teach God’s Word. Moses doesn’t address the priests. Moses doesn’t address the political leaders. Moses addresses the parents. Parents are essential workers to teach God’s Word. Moses wrote, “Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God.” … “But it was your eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.”

The Mindset List was created at Beloit College in 1998. The Mindset List appears every August as American first-year students enter college. The Mindset List reminds educators of the worldview of their students. For 18 year olds, 9/11 is an historical event. For them, the primary use of a phone has always been to take pictures. The nation’s mantra has always been: “If you see something, say something.” In their life, Jeopardy host Alex Trebek has never had a moustache. The Mindset List has 60 different statements like this. The Israelite children born in the promised land of Canaan needed to be taught God had delivered their ancestors from Egypt. They also needed to be taught how God disciplines his people, like Dathan and Abiram, who rebel against God and his Word. Otherwise they would never have known, and they can never learn. The children of your family need to be taught Jesus has delivered them from their sins. The children of your family need to be warned about the consequences of rebellion against God. Otherwise they will never know they can never learn. Anyone can teach your children, but no one can teach your children like you can. Parents are essential workers to teach God’s Word because no one can model discipleship to their children like parents can.

 

  1. To Model Discipleship

When worship is over, you can cross that off your list today. Jesus delivered you from your sin and Jesus warns you about sinning. Check it off. You’ve got the message. But you can never cross discipleship off your list of things to do. Discipleship is following Jesus, and following Jesus is 24/7/365. Your discipleship is not done when the final Amen is sung and when your Bible class is over. Bringing your family to church and sending your children to a Christian school won’t cut it! This church service is a blessing. No doubt about it. Our Lutheran Elementary School and our Sunday School are a pair of helpful arms in raising Christians. I love them both. And yet our church services and our Christian schools are poor substitutes for parents reading their Bibles with their children, talking about what it means, and taking their concerns to God in prayer.

To parents, God says through Moses, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds.” Let the Word of God be the filter for your heart and mind. You know how a filter works. Water filters. Air filters. Filters help rid your air and water of impurities. If you believe, you believe worship is enough for your children, and God says “Teach them to your children,” you should definitely talk about the church service on the way home. If you think Sunday is the Lord’s Day and the rest of your week is yours to do as you please, you better rethink what “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” really means.

24/7/365. Need a reminder? “Tie them (God’s Word) as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” “20Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Reminders are a good thing. Every Monday morning, I am reminded the garbage container needs to get to the curb. My reminder comes when I hear the garbage truck at about 5:30 in the morning. I don’t enjoy stepping on stones in my bare feet. I don’t think the garbage truck driver enjoys seeing the clothes I slept in last night either. What are your reminders to follow Jesus as a disciple? Do you have a baptismal certificate framed by the light switch in your bedroom to remind you that you are dearly loved child of God? Do you have a cross in your house or around your neck to remind you of the heavy price Christ paid for your forgiveness? Do you have Bible passages displayed in your house to remind you to serve the Lord and to “O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good”? And does your family have a reminder to at least sometime this week if not every day to read a Bible verse together, to talk about what it means and pray about what is going on in your lives?

How long has it been since your family has done those three things? Fathers and mothers who are the spiritual head of their household, I don’t mean to take you on a guilt trip, at least not on your own. My preaching of God’s Word with my family present is not discipleship parenting. This is just me doing my job. It’s only discipleship parenting when I talk about what was preached at home. If you’re on a guilt trip with me, let’s take that trip to the baptismal font and to the cross.

Our baptisms wash away parenting discipleship guilt. On the cross hangs all our discipleship shortcomings. Today is a new day. And today, we have some third grade parents coming in front of church to give their third grade children a Bible. What a reminder for them and for all of us, to give our children what Jesus called, “The one thing needful.” And today, we also have Bible class sign-ups. This fall we are tweaking our Sunday offerings. We start our Sunday Bible classes after Labor Day, we are trying something a little different. We’re not separating our parents and children during our Sunday Bible classes. Parents and their children can sit together in the fellowship hall (and learn together under the leadership of a pastor) or parents and their children can come to the sanctuary, and parents will become further equipped to lead their own Bible study with their children. Singles, married couples without children, all family units, whatever they might be, will benefit from either of these Bible studies.

We’ll see how it goes. It’s not going to be perfect. If we aim for perfect, I don’t think we will pull the trigger. The goal is for our family units to read the Word of God together, talk about what it means to each other and pray. We don’t want to lose 60% of our children when they become adults. We don’t want to lose anyone. We want a Deuteronomy 11 ministry, “Talk about God’s Word at home when you lie down and get up, along the road.” We want an Ephesians 4 & 6 ministry equipping parents, especially the father, to train their children in the Lord. And ultimately we want a Luke 18 ministry where we have parents bringing their children to Jesus. That’s the ministry we want, and we ask God to bless it. Amen.

 

 

Sermon – August 2, 2020 – Pentecost 9

Printable PDF:  8-2-2020 Pentecost 9 Sermon

David R. Clark  ~  Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43  ~  August 2, 2020  ~  Pentecost 9

WHAT ABOUT THE WEEDS?

24Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27“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?’ 28“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30Let 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.’”…

36Then 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.” 37He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The 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. 42They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

 

Dear friends in Christ,

It’s been months since we’ve had a good rain, so it may be hard to remember, but we had a very wet winter. How wet was it? We had weeds everywhere at a time when we never have them! The problem was widespread. My yard, which is mostly rock, looked like a pasture! Do I mow them? Dig them? Wait for the heat? What do I do?

This parable is about the problem with weeds, but Jesus wasn’t teaching us about our yards. Jesus uses parables and metaphors from his agricultural culture to teach us. He was addressing a frustration every Christian has with the influence of Satan. It includes seeking to destroy Christianity in this world of unbelievers who passively go on their way to destruction. So what are we to do? WHAT ABOUT THE WEEDS?

  1. They are planted by the enemy. (verses 24-25)

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.

In Jesus’ time no one gave bad online reviews or sent computer viruses. In an agricultural society, enemies could make themselves a nuisance by attacking the food supply. They would take seeds of a certain plant which looked just like wheat as it was growing and throw them out into the field. The weeds robbed moisture and nutrients from the wheat, and the entire crop suffers.

God sent Jesus into the world so that everyone would believe and be saved. God wanted his entire field, the world, to be only a good harvest. He wants everyone to end up in paradise. But our enemy, Satan, lures and confuses with his lies.

This is who we struggle against in this world, against Satan. Our enemy is not a politician, a virus, or people who do not like us. It is Satan. He is the source of all evil and trouble in this life, especially the evil of unbelief which keeps people from paradise.

  1. They are hard to distinguish. (verses 26-27)

How does he confuse and frustrate? 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?’”

The word used for the weeds here is for a plant that looks just like wheat until it is full grown. It was a nuisance because it could also be poisonous. At best these weeds caused trouble. At worst, they could cause illness or death.

That’s how Satan works. Jesus warns us to watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing. Paul says messengers of Satan disguise themselves as angels of light. No false prophet today wears a sign that proclaims himself to be a messenger of Satan. We should expect no less today from the father of lies. The confusion he causes led Jesus to rebuke one of his disciples, “Get behind me, Satan!” Satan makes it hard for us.

It could be the next door neighbor who faithfully watches your house while you are on vacation or the family member who encourages you when you are down. It could be the best boss you ever had, who gave you regular raises and treasured you as an employee. But if it was someone who was not motivated by Christ, isn’t there a strong temptation to see that you don’t have to be a Christian to be a “good person.” But that is being a weed. They are the last people we would like to see in this way.

  1. They will be destroyed. (verses 28-30)

So what should we do? “‘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.’”

They have to let them grow. They will then be harvested, separated from the wheat and thrown into a fire and burned. That’s the only time they can easily be distinguished and the only time uprooting them does not also cause problems for the wheat.

That day of harvest is the last day. Although we struggle with the difference between believers and unbelievers, Jesus doesn’t. Only believers in Jesus will be taken to heaven. The rest will be burned in the fire. Jesus will make it clear on Judgment Day.

Christians throughout history have felt they could judge the difference. The Inquisition was one. Having a “Christians-only society” was another. God’s strategy is to be patient. Understand what is happening and know Judgment Day is coming. Until then focus on being wheat. In an unbelieving world, grow and be fruitful as Christians. Repent of your failures to distinguish Satan’s temptations. And until Jesus makes everything clear, be a witness. God will change some of those weeds into wheat.

Brothers and sisters, the weeds are a huge problem! Be patient and don’t lose heart. Jesus is the solution for the weeds. Amen.