Matthew 13:24-30
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 root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
This week we are continuing the theme of “Taking Jesus to the World.” When we offer Jesus to the world sometimes we ask the question, “How do we know if a person is genuine and authentic when they say they are going to follow Jesus?” The answer to that question is that we can’t know. We must be faithful to take the Good News to those who have not received it and then we let God decide if a person has truly given their life to Christ. So, because of this the church will always be a mix of good and bad. We might not even be aware of who is the “good” and who is the “bad” but it is not our job to make that judgment.
This week we are going to look at Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds to see how Jesus’ teaches that we can never tell whether someone is sincere about their commitment to Christ.
