Wheat and Darnel
Expository - Parables
Written by Douglas Wilson
Saturday, 20 October 2012
INTRODUCTION:
The problem of good and evil inhabiting the same
place is a perennial problem. It has been a problem within the church
from the very beginning, and Jesus taught in such a way as to prepare us
for it. Another parable, that of the dragnet (Matt. 13:47-48),
makes the same basic point. Cast a net, and you bring in bicycle tires
and beer bottles along with the fish. Why should we be surprised?
Unfortunately, one of the evils we must deal with is the fact that we
tend to reject His preparatory help.
THE TEXT:
“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his
field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and went his way . . .” (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43).
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT:
Jesus told His disciples another parable. The
kingdom of heaven was like a man sowing good seed in his field (v. 24).
But during the night, an enemy of his came and sowed tares (likely
darnel) and left (v. 25). When the wheat began to grow, it became
apparent that the darnel was growing also (v. 26). The servants saw the
problem and came and asked about it (v. 27).
He saw right away that it
was the work of an enemy (v. 28), and the servants asked if they should
go deal with it right away (v. 28). He said no, because of the damage
that might be done to the wheat (v. 29). Wait until the harvest, and
instructions will be given to the reapers to gather the darnel into
bundles first for burning, and then to gather the wheat into the barn
(v. 30).
After hearing a few other parables, the disciples ask the Lord
privately to explain this one (v. 36). He, the Lord, the Son of Man, is
the sower of good seed (v. 37). The field is the world (v. 38) and the
kingdom (v. 41). The good seed are children of the kingdom, and the
darnel seed are the children of the wicked one (v. 38). The enemy is the
devil (the father of that seed), the harvest is the end of the age
(aeon), and the reapers are angels (v. 39). The burning of the darnel
occurs at the end of the age/world (v. 40). The Son of Man will send out
angels, who will remove all scandals (v. 41), and all those who work
iniquity (v. 41). Those people will be cast into a furnace of fire,
where there will be great lamentation (v. 42). Then the righteous will
shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (v. 43). If you
have ears, listen up (v. 43).
CHRIST’S EXPLANATION:
The first thing to address is what is meant
by age or world here. In v. 38, the word is kosmos, and in v. 39 the
word is aeon, which can mean age as well as world. Is this talking about
the end of the Judaic aeon (70 A.D), or the end of the world? Given
what Jesus describes as happening here (angels as reapers, everlasting
judgment), I think we would have to say the primary focus is on the end
of the world—although that means it would apply fully to the unbelievers
of the first century. The basic set-up is that Jesus sows a field full
of wheat, and the devil comes along after that and sows the bad seed. So
this is not Jesus coming to sow good seed in a field already gone bad,
which is what it would have to be if we limited it to the first century.
Notice that we have a description of the boundaries of Christ’s
kingdom (it is the world). The world is His field, and the devil is an
intruder.
A KEY PRINCIPLE:
It is far better to let the guilty go free than
to condemn or hurt the innocent. But the farmer in this parable does not
spare the darnel for the sake of the darnel, but rather spares the
darnel for the sake of the wheat. Now some have taken this parable as
excluding church discipline, which is nonsensical, but it is relevant to
the question of church discipline. It is clear that church discipline
is called for in certain manifest situations (1 C or. 5:4-5), but it is
equally clear (here) that not every clear situation of an utterly false
profession calls for church discipline.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF CHILDREN:
In the parable of the sower, the
different kinds of people are different soils, and the seed is constant.
The seed is the gospel. In this one, the different kinds of people are
described as being different kinds of seed. Here the seed is different.
There are two mistakes to make. One is the follow the farmer’s
instructions and leave the darnel alone, but to do so in the pernicious
misunderstanding that it must all be wheat. The other is to understand
(with Him) that darnel and wheat are on opposite sides of the
antithesis—as unlike as God and the devil, children of righteousness and
children of wickedness, and on that basis to proceed with an
ecclesiastical version of ethnic cleansing. And at the end of a long
series of purges, there is only “thee and me,” and I “have my doubts
about thee.”
TAKING A HARD LINE:
Notice that in the argument between the farmer
and the laborers, the laborers were the hard liners. They were more
interested in nailing the guilty than in sparing the innocent. It is an
understandable mistake, and we are not led to believe that these
laborers were wicked. But they did need to be taught and restrained by
their master. Never forget that the devil is the accuser—he loves to
point the finger.
The devil loves to plant the work in such a way as to get the saints
to do all his heavy lifting for him. He plants the seed and slips away.
We do the rest. The best response to many evils is therefore to do
nothing. Leave them be. Let it go. Let it ride. The word in v. 30 is
frequently translated in the New Testament as forgive. Let it be. Drop
it. In one sense, if they are firmly planted in the kingdom, and are
plainly going to Hell . . . Jesus says to let them. In another sense, if
you are called to chase it, then chase it with gospel. Speaking of that
. . .
AT THE SAME TIME . . .
The Son of Man sows the good seed. The good
seed are described as children of the kingdom (v. 38), as righteous (v.
43), as having God as “their Father” (v. 43). On the opposite side, the
darnel are children of the wicked one (v. 38), as having been placed in
the kingdom of God by the devil (v. 39), as creators of scandal (v.
41), as workers of iniquity (v. 41), and as destined for destruction (v.
42). With these two fundamental realities, there is only one
appropriate response—the death and resurrection of Jesus.
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