Matthew 13:30, 41-43 (24-30, 36-43)
"God's Just Judgment Is a Recognized Reality"
Sunday, July 20, 2008; 10th Sunday after Pentecost
[Isaiah 44:6-8; Romans 8:18-27]
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
(Matt 13:30, 41-43 ESV) "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at
harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them
in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn. The Son of Man
will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of
sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that
place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will
shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him
hear."
Introduction: Dear fellow sinners-declared-saints for the sake of our Savior
Jesus Christ.
Time is a fascinating thing. Some people think that it's a
never-ending resource and yet many people seem to never have enough of it.
It's been said that "Time flies!" and a popular rock song some 30 years ago
stated that "Time is on my side." Solomon, the wise teacher, son of King
David, and himself a king of Israel, wrote,
(Eccl 3:1 ESV) "For everything there is a season, and a time for every
matter under heaven .."
St. Paul wrote about Christ's birth,
(Gal 4:4 ESV) "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his
Son . ."
Some people mistakenly suppose that time will go on forever. Perhaps
they think that desperately denying and thereby hoping to escape the
Biblical teaching that we declare in the Apostles' Creed,
(Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation, © 1991 CPH, page 14) "Jesus
Christ . will come to judge the living and the dead."
The sobering truth, however, is that .
Transition: God's Just Judgment Is a Recognized Reality regarding which
Jesus Presented a Parable-Problem in today's text following which Jesus
Explained the Parable-Problem.
I. Jesus presented a Parable-Problem. [24-29: "He put another parable
before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who
sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy
came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came
up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the
master of the house came and said to him, "Master, did you not sow good seed
in your field? How then does it have weeds?" He said to them, "An enemy
has done this." So the servants said to him, "Then do you want us to go and
gather them?" But he said, "No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the
wheat along with them."'"] It's a familiar gardening situation. We prepare
the soil for planting, place the seeds or plants in the soil, water them,
then sit back to watch them grow. However, the "them" that grow are not
only the seeds or plants that we planted . but also unwelcome weeds that
both grow among the desired plants and even often outgrow them!
In my own gardens in Indiana and Texas I discovered that the
roots of the good plants and the weeds often became entangled. Sometimes
when I pulled the weeds I also disrupted the good plants, damaged their
health and vitality, and even killed some of them. The solution was to let
them all grow together until harvest time when, after gathering the good
produce, I would then destroy the weeds.
Jesus' parable describes a similar thing happening in His
spiritual garden. That is .
A. Children of God and Children of Satan Coexist in This World.
Look-alikes are the subject here. For example, two people do the same deed
that appears on the outside to be a good work. However, one does it out of
faith in Jesus, for the honor and glory of God, and to selflessly serve
another person. The other does it seeking either self-centered glory in an
effort to serve his own hunger and thirst for honor and praise by receiving
other people's compliments or payment of some kind with money, goods, or
service.
In God's sight, the one who did the deed out of faith in
Jesus, for the honor and glory of God, to selflessly serve another person,
and thereby demonstrated his correct spiritual health and vitality did a
good work. However, the one who did the deed seeking self-centered glory in
an effort to serve his own appetite for honor and praise by garnering
compliments or some kind of payment did not do a good work in God's sight.
Another situation is two people who did the same sinful
thought, word, or deed of commission or omission. One repentantly
recognizes, grieves, and honestly confesses the sin; receives God's merciful
and gracious gift of forgiveness; and strives to stop it. The other
unrepentantly denies the sin, refuses God's forgiveness, and despises God by
continuing it.
The repentant sinner will receive the benefits of
forgiveness, namely, the salvation and eternal life that Christ gained with
His holy life, innocent suffering and death, and triumphant resurrection
from the dead. The unrepentant sinner will forfeit those benefits of
forgiveness and spend eternity separated from God in the fiery torments of
hell.
The catch is that only God can look into a person's heart
and know what's there. While words, attitudes, and actions certainly serve
to indicate what's in a person's heart, God alone can see the reality of it.
With that in mind, .
B. Let's Carefully Avoid Condemning Those Who Look Like Children of
Satan. This may sound like it contradicts what I said in my sermon some
weeks ago . that attitudes, words, and actions indicate the presence or
absence of Christ-based faith in our hearts. Actually, it takes us to
another strong statement of Jesus,
(Luke 6:37 ESV) "Judge not, and you will not be judged;
condemn not, and you will not be condemned . ."
Christ made us His ambassadors by Holy Baptism. As such,
we have a responsibility to winsomely admonish people for sinful attitudes,
words, and deeds. To neglect to do so may allow the sinning person to fall
into unrepentant sin, may influence someone else to do the same sin, and
will bear God's divine accusation of that sin being our own as well.
However, let's criticize and condemn the sinful attitude,
word, or deed that we personally witness. Let's stop short of assuming what
is in someone's heart and on that basis judging them . something only God
can do. And, know that He will do so! After all, .
Transition: God's Just Judgment Is a Recognized Reality regarding which
Jesus Presented a Parable-Problem in today's text following which Jesus
Explained the Parable-Problem.
II. Jesus Explained the Parable-Problem. [36-40: "Then he left the crowds
and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, 'Explain to
us the parable of the weeds of the field.' He answered, 'The one who sows
the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed
is the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and
the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age,
and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with
fire, so will it be at the close of the age.'"] Jesus did not always
explicitly explain His parables. In fact, we need to avoid the tendency to
allegorize His parables, that is, assign a meaning to every detail . unless
He Himself did so. On the other hand, it is correct for us to studiously
try to identify what He is telling us about Himself along with the basic
spiritual life-lesson that He is illustrating . and emphasize those things.
In the case of this parable in today's text we find that .
A. Jesus Identified the Persons and Things Involved. The sower of
the good seed is Himself, the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good
seeds are Christians. The weeds are Satan's evil gang members. The sower
of the weeds is the devil himself, the evil gang leader. The harvest is
Judgment Day. And, last but certainly not least, the reapers are God's holy
angels.
That's the scorecard, so to speak, for the contest at
hand. It's the playbill listing the actors and the role each of them will
assume as this drama unfolds. But the real substance of this "earthly story
with a heavenly meaning" is not the lineup of players. Rather, it's the
event that will occur that Immanuel is masterfully foretelling. And
although He identified each person and thing, what really matters is that .
B. Jesus Explained the Imminent Action. And so we arrive at the
ultimate meaning of this parable . the "bottom line" so to speak. We find
that this parable, like most if not all of them that Jesus told, reveals
something significant about Him Who is telling it. In this particular case
He who is the caring Messiah, the concerned Immanuel, the compassionate
Savior; He who fully atoned for our sins and the sins of all mankind with
His holy life, innocent suffering, and crucifixion death will really return
in resurrected glory on the Last Day to declare His righteous judgment of
salvation to all who by Baptismal faith confessed Him as the only Lord and
Savior and damnation to all who rejected Him as the only Lord and Savior.
In the meantime, He comes to us daily in the Holy
Scriptures that we read and hear and in the bread and wine of His Holy
Supper that we eat and drink and through which He gives us His real body and
blood. He does so to comfort our hurting souls, soothe our convicted
consciences, and reassure our troubled spirits with His resurrection-victory
message. That message communicates the forgiveness of sins, salvation, and
eternal life with Him in heaven for all who by Spirit-given faith cling to
Him as the true Messiah of God.
Jesus spoke that strong message from the cross when He
declared while suffering the excruciating pain-penalty for our sins,
(Luke 23:34 ESV) "Father, forgive them . ."
Our time-tested, well-worn, and ever-alive liturgy reminds us
of that same strong message week in and week out, even as it did earlier in
this worship service in the Hymn of Praise,
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 CPH, Page 154) "Lord Jesus
Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God: You take away the sin
of the world; have mercy on us."
as well as the instructive question and answer preceding the
Holy Gospel that Pastor Marks read,
(Ibid., Page 156) "Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go? You
have the words of eternal life. Alleluia. Alleluia."
That same strong message of Gospel reassurance is what Pastor
Cole, Pastor Marks, and I proclaim from this very pulpit that along with our
alb or cassock-and-surplice serves to hide our individual person so that
hopefully the spoken Word receives your full attention.
The eternal glory that awaits us as we look forward with
certain anticipation of our heavenly home is the same strong message that
our hymns that have been carefully composed and painstakingly examined for
doctrinal purity communicate as we just sang,
(Ibid., #892:4)
"Even so, Lord, quickly come
To Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in,
Free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified,
In Thy garner to abide:
Come with all Thine angels, come,
Raise the glorious harvest home."
As we both anxiously and patiently await Christ's
return-arrival, let's be about His business as His representatives here on
earth. Let's do so telling the Good News about Jesus with our mouths,
displaying the Good News about Jesus with our attitudes, and showing the
Good News about Jesus with our actions. After all, the name God gave us at
our Baptism-"Christian" . "little Christ"-is the true identity that He calls
us to show forth with joyful gratitude. Let's do so always remembering
that .
Transition: God's Just Judgment Is a Recognized Reality regarding which
Jesus Presented a Parable-Problem in today's text following which Jesus
Explained the Parable-Problem.
Conclusion: Almighty God declared to the great prophet Isaiah and through
him to His chosen Old Testament people then and us His New Testament people
today,
(Isa 44:6 & 8b ESV) "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his
Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last; besides me
there is no god. Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not
any.'"
That Rock is none other than Immanuel Himself, who told the Apostle
Peter,
(Matt 16:18 ESV) ". on this rock [that is, Jesus Himself] I will build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
He alone is Lord, the King of Israel, our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, the
Eternal One . the exclusive God, who created us, redeemed us, and sanctified
us to be His own.
Almighty God declared to the great apostle Paul and through Him to His
1st century New Testament people then and us His 21st century New Testament
people today,
(Rom 8:26 ESV) "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not
know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us
with groanings too deep for words."
Prayer is so simple and yet profoundly powerful. However, its power is not
in the prayer itself or the act of praying. Rather, its power is in the one
true Triune God, whom we trust to hear and answer all proper prayers
according to His will. So, let's energetically and faithfully exercise our
Spirit-given confidence in Jesus Christ by following St. Paul's instruction
to
(1 Thess 5:16-18 ESV) "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in
all circumstances . ."
At the same time, know that when we experience difficulty in praying
due to weakness of faith or confusion about what to pray for, the Holy
Spirit aids and assists us in doing that which we are unable to do on our
own. In fact, he intercedes for us with deep groanings that surpass the
ability of our feeble language to express. Therefore, let's faithfully,
frequently, and forthrightly pray for one another . family members and
friends, classmates and workmates, teachers and pastors, government and
church leaders, soldiers and law enforcement officers, and, well, you fill
in others. Let's especially pray for our enemies and all who don't know and
trust Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life.
Let's do so being always aware that God's Just Judgment Is a Recognized
Reality regarding which Jesus Presented a Parable-Problem in today's text
following which Jesus Explained the Parable-Problem.
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our holy
Savior. Amen.
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
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