The Devil's in the Details-Scratch that-Weeds

Let me start by saying I am not really the “fire and brimestone” type. My nature really is to focus on forgiveness and grace and trying to discern God’s will for my life and act upon it. However, I was reading in Matthew 13 tonight and felt my eyes had been opened to Matthew in a fresh way. For some reason, I haven’t read the Parable of the Weeds or heard it preached from the pulpit in a long while.

What really jumped out at me is how it clearly refutes the notion of universal salvation that is so popular in these modern times. Too many people, in my opinion, have selectively read the Bible and concluded that there is no Devil and that God loves us all so much that He would never actually condemn anybody to hell. I will admit I have always preferred to look at salvation from the point of view of loving God so much that I want to spend eternity with Him. After tonight's Bible reading, I felt convicted to remind the readers of my humble blog that there really are dire consequences for not having a saving knowlege of Jesus. Here are the verses which contain Jesus’ own words.

Matthew 13:24-48 (New International Version)

The Parable of the Weeds

24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When 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 root up the wheat with them. 30 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.' "

...... I skip the Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast in verses 31-35.

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then 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."

37 He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and 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. 41 The 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. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Note the sentence “The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil.” Doesn’t the phrase “at the end of the age” sound a lot like a reference to the end of the world as we know it as revealed to us in the Book of Revelations? Is there any ambiguity in Jesus’ use of the phrase “weed out”? What word picture comes to mind with the phrase “fiery furnace”?

I was then reminded of another parable Jesus told, The Rich Man and Lazarus. Once again, the words of Jesus himself.

Luke 16:19-31 (New International Version)

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell,^[a] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

30 " 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

I don’t know about you, but the use of the word “torment” seems pretty clear. It also seems clear from “a great chasm has been fixed” and “nor can anyone cross over from there to us” that once we reach our time of judgement, if we have not already accepted a pardon from Jesus in this life it is then too late.

For those of you who have already accepted Jesus, you may want to check out False Humility and False Love for encouragement to share your faith when the Holy Spirit presents the opportunity to you.

If you stumble upon this post and have not yet accepted Jesus into your life, I pray that the Holy Spirit will work in a mighty way in your life. I pray that you will be open to the Holy Spirit’s leading in your life. I want to tell you that God’s grace is truly free. None of us are “good enough” to earn it. It is simply a gift to all who admit they are sinners, truly repent of their sin, and accept Jesus as Lord of their life. Jesus has already paid your price when He suffered on the cross.

And remember this (my favorite Bible verse)

Romans 10:13 (New International Version)

13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Copyright © 2005 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved