70. WE NEED A LAWYER!There certainly will be a last day and a judgement. Do you have a lawyer?
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We all wish life were fair. But sometimes it seems like bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. Of course we all like to think of ourselves as the “good people.” In our minds it only seems reasonable that if a man works hard and helps his community and family, there ought to be good results. And often there are. But why does it often seem like the stingy or mean boss who overworks and underpays his employees comes out ahead? Why does the man who breaks contracts end up with the nice summerhouse? Why don’t bad things happen to those guys? In this lesson Jesus discusses this subject and reveals a few surprises.
Gökhan was a butcher by day, but at night he had begun an interesting hobby. In the last few years he had gotten into computers. The Internet was fascinating to him because he could get so many things for free. His most favorite discovery was free music downloads. Using a program called a “torrent” he had learned how he could download music albums that others had made available from their hard drives and music collections. He began collecting music from all the artists he loved from all over the world. There were famous singers of the past and every style of music. He loved it. He found stuff by Barış Manço, Cem Karaca, Sezen Aksu, Ajda Pekkan and hundreds of others including foreign groups that he loved like Abba, Michael Jackson, and even classics like Engel Bert Humperdinck.
Gökhan was totally absorbed by this hobby and felt like a millionaire with his free collection. He had amassed literally thousands of songs using up 100’s of gigabytes of computer hard drive space. All day long while Gökhan was cutting chickens into pieces and cutting meat from lamb bones, his computer was at home working hard to download music.
He loved quitting time because he could hang up his bloody apron, go home, and review the new music his computer had downloaded while he was at work. On a strict legal basis, Gökhan’s whole music collection would fall under the category of “pirated.” But, he reasoned that because he paid monthly for an unlimited Internet connection he had in a sense paid for the albums. Besides, all the members of the “torrent” software group were simply sharing the music with each other. Any laws, which prohibit sharing, are bad laws anyway he thought.
One day, while Gökhan was visiting a website, a little window popped open. It said,
“Windows recovery: 11 errors detected, click here to x.”
It actually wasn’t a message from Microsoft Windows, someone had just made it to look like one. Worried that it may be true, Gökhan clicked on it. That was the beginning of the end of Gökhan’s great music collection. Afterward, Gökhan noticed that his computer’s hard drive was spinning and spinning and wouldn’t stop. He assumed his computer was updating or xing something. So he went to bed and left it run all night. Little did he know that his computer had a computer virus specifically designed to destroy hard drives! Not only had someone written the virus, they designed the pop up message to fool people so that they would “choose” to click and thereby open the lethal virus. In essence, Gökhan had actually invited the virus by clicking!
The next day at work Gökhan chopped meat ferociously. Whack! Whack! Whack! All he could think of was his frozen, dead computer.
He wished he could use his big meat knife on the guy who had destroyed his music collection! But there was nothing he could do.
Gökhan’s experience teaches us that we can't always see our enemy. It also reminds us that though life may seem prosperous and happy one day, the next day may have surprising even disastrous results. In Gökhan's situation he couldn’t call the police. He couldn’t call a lawyer. He had no one to help him. Partially because the culprit was a virus, and partially because his whole collection was pirated!
On a much grander scale, doomsday is coming. It will be a day that doesn’t just erase hard drives, but will erase evil from the whole world! It is a day of judgment that will fairly divide good from evil and reveal our smallest, hidden secrets. Let’s see what Jesus said about doomsday and the judgment.
Some people are surprised when they learn that Jesus was a fantastic storyteller. Children and adults by the thousands came and sat on the grassy slopes around the Sea of Galilee to hear Jesus tell his stories. Everyone loves a good story, and perhaps it is for this reason that Jesus made story telling his primary means of teaching. Jesus always told stories that had a double meaning, parables that made people think. It was quite clever of him to use this method of teaching because it allowed him to say politically charged statements without anyone really being able to prove that he was talking about them! Jesus described this hidden purpose to his disciples in Matthew chapter 13 verse 13:
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
For example he told stories about a farmer hiring workers who were neglectful. The wise listeners understood that Jesus’ story was really about the local, two-faced religious leaders, the Pharisees. If he had shared all his views openly, they certainly would have killed him sooner! But who could prove that Jesus’ story about untended grapevines was really about the Pharisees not taking care of the peoples’ spiritual needs?
We will be exploring a collection of Jesus’ stories in upcoming lessons. Today we look at one in the book of Matthew chapter 13. It is unique because Jesus gave his disciples both the story and its interpretation. Pay close attention to how Jesus interprets this parable. Hopefully, it will give you greater insight and some tools to help you study the New Testament.
The story begins in Matthew chapter 13 verses 24-28:
24 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his eld, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your eld? How then does it have weeds?' 28 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. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds rst and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'”
It is odd to think of someone deliberately sowing weeds in someone else’s eld. But then again, there are no boundaries in the evil that people commit against one another. Perhaps a modern equivalent would be a bad neighbor getting revenge by scratching someone’s car with keys.
In Jesus’ day, getting revenge by sowing weeds was actually so common that the Roman government passed a law forbidding it. The seeds they sowed grew into weeds that were so hard to distinguish from good grain that they had to wait a very long time before pulling them. One historian described these tares:
"The Arabic name for tares is zawan, and they abound all over the East, and are a great nuisance to the farmer. They stand tall and erect like wheat. The grain is small, and its taste is bitter, and when eaten separately, or when accidentally ground into ordinary bread, it causes dizziness, and can cause vomiting. In short, it is a strong poison causing drowsiness, and must be carefully winnowed, and picked out of the wheat, grain by grain, before grinding, or the our is not healthy. Of course the farmers are very anxious to exterminate it, but that is nearly impossible.”
The advice of the landowner was to let them grow together. His reasoning was that the wheat would have time to mature. He would rather harvest the wheat with the weeds and then separate them than risk losing all of the wheat attempting to destroy the weeds while they were young.
Fortunately we do not need to guess the real meaning of this story. After Jesus had told it publicly, he reviewed the lesson with his students privately and explained its real meaning.
Let’s read Matthew chapter 13 verses 36-39:
36 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 eld." 37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The eld is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.
Do you remember from previous lessons who the “Son of Man” was? Yes, he was the one who approached God during the judgment and received an everlasting kingdom as described in the book of Daniel. The term “Son of Man” was also another name for the Messiah. Of course, we all know that Jesus was the Messiah. Therefore, in this parable Jesus is the one who sowed the good seed.
Jesus said the field is the world and the good seeds are the “sons of the kingdom.” What kingdom? This is the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, a place lled with loyal angels and humans who choose righteousness. It is the kingdom founded on God’s holy commandments, a kingdom of light and holiness, which ghts against Satan and the fallen angels. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a buried treasure that a man nds in a eld. He wants it so bad that he sells everything he owns to buy the eld and thus obtain the kingdom.46 Oddly enough, everyone is invited to be in this kingdom, but not all will come. The way to the kingdom is narrow, and few choose to walk on such a path to nd it. But those who nd it will experience a joy that will never end.
In Jesus’ parable we see a major contrast between two types of people, those who are like wheat and those who are like weeds. What is the difference between wheat and weeds? The answer is simple: their usefulness to the eld owner! Wheat feeds others. Weeds feed only themselves. So too, Jesus says, there exists a category of people who are like weeds, only serving themselves.
The second thing this parable teaches us is that there is a hostile power in the world seeking to destroy the good seed. It has a name and an agenda. Beware because Satan is at work! You can agree that there are two kinds of in uences that act upon people’s lives, the in uence, which helps the seed of God’s word to ourish and to grow; and the in uence, which seeks to destroy the good seed before it can produce fruit at all. Therefore, we must be on guard our whole life to insure that the eld of our individual lives is producing good fruit.
This is important for us to remember when bad things happen to us. Many say,
"God chose this for me."
Whoa, wait a minute! Don’t forget that Satan is also at work in this world! He is the enemy who works against us. People are quick to say God was behind some disaster and sometimes even blaspheme Him by saying so. The Bible stresses that we are in a war. Satan is at war against God. He is God’s enemy and trying his very best to sow disaster and trouble into the lives of people. Satan loves it when we blame God for bloodshed and heartache because he knows it affects the way we view God. Jesus helped us better understand the source of pain and heartache when he called Satan a thief in John chapter 10 verse 10:
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
The third point this story teaches us is how hard it is to distinguish between those who are in the kingdom of God and those who are not. A man may appear good on the outside, but be bad on the inside. Likewise, a man may appear bad on the outside, but be good on the inside. Let’s not be too quick in classifying and labeling people based solely on how they appear. Only God knows the heart, and He will sort things out in His time.
If the reapers had had their way, they would have torn out the weeds early and destroyed the wheat as well. So they waited, until the crop was mature and ready to be harvested. Yes, it will take a little more work but the wheat would be safe. Likewise, God waits until the end of a person’s life to judge the sum of his actions and the motives of his heart. Sometimes we try to force God’s hand by taking justice into our own hands. But, Jesus says this is wrong. A man must be judged at the end of his life, not by any single act or stage in his life. A man may make a mess of his early life, but by the grace of God, later call out sincerely and nd pardon. Or a man may appear to live an honorable life, but be destined for eternal destruction because he was sel sh and focused on worthless and ignoble interests. No one who sees only part of a thing can judge the whole; and no one who knows only part of a man's life can judge its entirety. Jesus continues his explanation of the story in Matthew 13 verses 40-42:
40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Is there a time when the cheating employee, the lying boss, the crooked government of cial, the perverted uncle, or the gossiping crabby aunt will get their reward? Yes. Jesus made it very clear that a judgment day is coming. He said that everyone who breaks God’s laws and all evil will be consumed by re. For many, it will be a day of burning and weeping.
Did you notice who is in charge of this judgment? Jesus said,
“The Son of Man who sends out his angels.”
Jesus will be the judge! He will send out the angels who are under his command to separate the righteous from the wicked. He will oversee the nal judgment. Wouldn’t you like to have him as a friend? Do you remember what we read in the last lesson about Jesus’ authority to judge? Let’s review by rereading a portion from John chapter 5 verses 22-24:
22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Yes, God has given the Messiah a very responsible role. All judgment has been given to Jesus. (We will examine the judgment in further detail in a future lesson.) We can be sure that Jesus, who is alive in heaven right now, will thoroughly do this work, and that there will be no “weeds” in God’s kingdom. Fortunately, God is full of mercy, and His primary intent is to save as many people as possible. But this mercy doesn't come without condition. How do we qualify to receive His mercy? Notice Jesus' words regarding God’s aim and wishes in John chapter 3 verses 17 and 18:
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
The condition to receive God's mercy is belief in his Messiah. God’s purpose is not to condemn man. In fact, His desire is to save them. From what? According to the verse we just read, we (the human race) already stand condemned! In other words, God is rescuing you from certain death. You are on death row waiting to be judged for the sin you have committed. This is your fate. You inherited death from your great grandfather Adam, who as prince of this world made a bad trade with Satan. His children were not made in the image of God. They were born in the image of Adam (i.e., sinful). Adam’s decision de led the natural condition of every person descended from him. God’s objective is to pull the human race, you included, out of the mess that Adam’s choice threw us into. There will be more on this in subsequent lessons.
Jesus closed his explanation of the story of the wheat and tares with these hopeful words in Matthew 13 verse 43:
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Those who love good and those who love evil must “grow together,” be neighbors, call each other family, and work together. But in the end, judgment will certainly come. May you take seriously the opportunity and call to live wisely.
In 1897, The New York Times newspaper headlines proclaimed,
“The former Turkish Consul General in Boston Convicted of Embezzlement.”
The article continued:
“Joseph A. Iasigi, formerly Turkish Consul General in the city of [Boston] who has been on trial for the last few days in the Supreme Court, is charged with embezzling about $200,000 from Pierre, Charles Deriuex of France of whose estate he was trustee. [He] was today found guilty on 21 of the 78 counts in the indictment against him.”
Here is how the crime came about. In the 1830’s, Joseph’s father came to the United States from Greece and opened a fruit store. He was educated and cultured, and because he prospered, he earned a spot in high society. Speaking Turkish and having good connections in Turkey helped him get appointed as the Consul General in the city of Boston. He also became the trustee of several European owned estates on American soil. In this way in 1849, he became the trustee of the Derfeux estate of Paris, valued at about $400,000. (A lot of money 160 years ago!)
When Joseph’s father died, his brother Oscar became trustee. However, in 1887, Oscar drowned in a boat wreck. Thus, the trusteeship of the lands and the of ce of Consul General were handed down to Joseph.
What a position of responsibility the younger brother had inherited! The job had gone from his father, to his older brother, and then to him. But he was not a faithful steward of the trust he had been granted. The newspaper reported:
“Joseph Iasigi was arrested in New York last summer soon after the charges of embezzlement were rst made. Proceedings in a civil suit were begun, but Mr. Iasigi's coming to New York in early February excited suspicion. It was believed that he intended to sail for Europe so it was decide to proceed against him criminally.”
What a shame! The good name that his immigrant father had won had been discredited. Mr. Iasigi had shamed himself and momentarily shamed the sultan of Turkey. The same newspaper reported:
“Prior to his arrest Mr. Lasigi was one of the prominent members of Boston society. He lived in luxurious ease on Beacon Street.”
Interesting! Let us always remember that the wheat and tares grow together. What had appeared to be wheat had really been a tare.
Prior to Joseph Lasigi’s trial, he requested an appeal of his arrest because of his of cial position. He believed the US government had no jurisdiction or right to charge him because he was a diplomat for the Turkish government. But upon examination of Joseph’s request, it was discovered that the Turkish government had officially severed ties with him four days before the arrest! In other words his hope of mediation by the sultan or Turkish officials was gone. His connections were severed and he had no mediator.
Jesus said there would be a judgment. The wheat and tares will be separated. Jesus will send out his angels to collect the righteous and destroy the wicked. Jesus is the judge, mediator, and savior. This is a connection you will definitely want to have.
Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think people write computer viruses?
2. With one click of a mouse, Gökhan’s computer received that virus. How do we sometimes alter our own fate by “choosing”
something destructive?
3. Who sowed the tares in the eld? What did Jesus say the meaning of this was?
4. Have you ever wanted revenge on someone who has done you wrong? How do you feel about leaving justice to God?
5. Why do you think the weeds were burned? Why do you think God burns up the wicked?
46 Matthew 13:44
Gökhan was a butcher by day, but at night he had begun an interesting hobby. In the last few years he had gotten into computers. The Internet was fascinating to him because he could get so many things for free. His most favorite discovery was free music downloads. Using a program called a “torrent” he had learned how he could download music albums that others had made available from their hard drives and music collections. He began collecting music from all the artists he loved from all over the world. There were famous singers of the past and every style of music. He loved it. He found stuff by Barış Manço, Cem Karaca, Sezen Aksu, Ajda Pekkan and hundreds of others including foreign groups that he loved like Abba, Michael Jackson, and even classics like Engel Bert Humperdinck.
Gökhan was totally absorbed by this hobby and felt like a millionaire with his free collection. He had amassed literally thousands of songs using up 100’s of gigabytes of computer hard drive space. All day long while Gökhan was cutting chickens into pieces and cutting meat from lamb bones, his computer was at home working hard to download music.
He loved quitting time because he could hang up his bloody apron, go home, and review the new music his computer had downloaded while he was at work. On a strict legal basis, Gökhan’s whole music collection would fall under the category of “pirated.” But, he reasoned that because he paid monthly for an unlimited Internet connection he had in a sense paid for the albums. Besides, all the members of the “torrent” software group were simply sharing the music with each other. Any laws, which prohibit sharing, are bad laws anyway he thought.
One day, while Gökhan was visiting a website, a little window popped open. It said,
“Windows recovery: 11 errors detected, click here to x.”
It actually wasn’t a message from Microsoft Windows, someone had just made it to look like one. Worried that it may be true, Gökhan clicked on it. That was the beginning of the end of Gökhan’s great music collection. Afterward, Gökhan noticed that his computer’s hard drive was spinning and spinning and wouldn’t stop. He assumed his computer was updating or xing something. So he went to bed and left it run all night. Little did he know that his computer had a computer virus specifically designed to destroy hard drives! Not only had someone written the virus, they designed the pop up message to fool people so that they would “choose” to click and thereby open the lethal virus. In essence, Gökhan had actually invited the virus by clicking!
The next day at work Gökhan chopped meat ferociously. Whack! Whack! Whack! All he could think of was his frozen, dead computer.
He wished he could use his big meat knife on the guy who had destroyed his music collection! But there was nothing he could do.
Gökhan’s experience teaches us that we can't always see our enemy. It also reminds us that though life may seem prosperous and happy one day, the next day may have surprising even disastrous results. In Gökhan's situation he couldn’t call the police. He couldn’t call a lawyer. He had no one to help him. Partially because the culprit was a virus, and partially because his whole collection was pirated!
On a much grander scale, doomsday is coming. It will be a day that doesn’t just erase hard drives, but will erase evil from the whole world! It is a day of judgment that will fairly divide good from evil and reveal our smallest, hidden secrets. Let’s see what Jesus said about doomsday and the judgment.
Some people are surprised when they learn that Jesus was a fantastic storyteller. Children and adults by the thousands came and sat on the grassy slopes around the Sea of Galilee to hear Jesus tell his stories. Everyone loves a good story, and perhaps it is for this reason that Jesus made story telling his primary means of teaching. Jesus always told stories that had a double meaning, parables that made people think. It was quite clever of him to use this method of teaching because it allowed him to say politically charged statements without anyone really being able to prove that he was talking about them! Jesus described this hidden purpose to his disciples in Matthew chapter 13 verse 13:
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
For example he told stories about a farmer hiring workers who were neglectful. The wise listeners understood that Jesus’ story was really about the local, two-faced religious leaders, the Pharisees. If he had shared all his views openly, they certainly would have killed him sooner! But who could prove that Jesus’ story about untended grapevines was really about the Pharisees not taking care of the peoples’ spiritual needs?
We will be exploring a collection of Jesus’ stories in upcoming lessons. Today we look at one in the book of Matthew chapter 13. It is unique because Jesus gave his disciples both the story and its interpretation. Pay close attention to how Jesus interprets this parable. Hopefully, it will give you greater insight and some tools to help you study the New Testament.
The story begins in Matthew chapter 13 verses 24-28:
24 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his eld, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your eld? How then does it have weeds?' 28 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. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds rst and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'”
It is odd to think of someone deliberately sowing weeds in someone else’s eld. But then again, there are no boundaries in the evil that people commit against one another. Perhaps a modern equivalent would be a bad neighbor getting revenge by scratching someone’s car with keys.
In Jesus’ day, getting revenge by sowing weeds was actually so common that the Roman government passed a law forbidding it. The seeds they sowed grew into weeds that were so hard to distinguish from good grain that they had to wait a very long time before pulling them. One historian described these tares:
"The Arabic name for tares is zawan, and they abound all over the East, and are a great nuisance to the farmer. They stand tall and erect like wheat. The grain is small, and its taste is bitter, and when eaten separately, or when accidentally ground into ordinary bread, it causes dizziness, and can cause vomiting. In short, it is a strong poison causing drowsiness, and must be carefully winnowed, and picked out of the wheat, grain by grain, before grinding, or the our is not healthy. Of course the farmers are very anxious to exterminate it, but that is nearly impossible.”
The advice of the landowner was to let them grow together. His reasoning was that the wheat would have time to mature. He would rather harvest the wheat with the weeds and then separate them than risk losing all of the wheat attempting to destroy the weeds while they were young.
Fortunately we do not need to guess the real meaning of this story. After Jesus had told it publicly, he reviewed the lesson with his students privately and explained its real meaning.
Let’s read Matthew chapter 13 verses 36-39:
36 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 eld." 37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The eld is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.
Do you remember from previous lessons who the “Son of Man” was? Yes, he was the one who approached God during the judgment and received an everlasting kingdom as described in the book of Daniel. The term “Son of Man” was also another name for the Messiah. Of course, we all know that Jesus was the Messiah. Therefore, in this parable Jesus is the one who sowed the good seed.
Jesus said the field is the world and the good seeds are the “sons of the kingdom.” What kingdom? This is the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, a place lled with loyal angels and humans who choose righteousness. It is the kingdom founded on God’s holy commandments, a kingdom of light and holiness, which ghts against Satan and the fallen angels. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a buried treasure that a man nds in a eld. He wants it so bad that he sells everything he owns to buy the eld and thus obtain the kingdom.46 Oddly enough, everyone is invited to be in this kingdom, but not all will come. The way to the kingdom is narrow, and few choose to walk on such a path to nd it. But those who nd it will experience a joy that will never end.
In Jesus’ parable we see a major contrast between two types of people, those who are like wheat and those who are like weeds. What is the difference between wheat and weeds? The answer is simple: their usefulness to the eld owner! Wheat feeds others. Weeds feed only themselves. So too, Jesus says, there exists a category of people who are like weeds, only serving themselves.
The second thing this parable teaches us is that there is a hostile power in the world seeking to destroy the good seed. It has a name and an agenda. Beware because Satan is at work! You can agree that there are two kinds of in uences that act upon people’s lives, the in uence, which helps the seed of God’s word to ourish and to grow; and the in uence, which seeks to destroy the good seed before it can produce fruit at all. Therefore, we must be on guard our whole life to insure that the eld of our individual lives is producing good fruit.
This is important for us to remember when bad things happen to us. Many say,
"God chose this for me."
Whoa, wait a minute! Don’t forget that Satan is also at work in this world! He is the enemy who works against us. People are quick to say God was behind some disaster and sometimes even blaspheme Him by saying so. The Bible stresses that we are in a war. Satan is at war against God. He is God’s enemy and trying his very best to sow disaster and trouble into the lives of people. Satan loves it when we blame God for bloodshed and heartache because he knows it affects the way we view God. Jesus helped us better understand the source of pain and heartache when he called Satan a thief in John chapter 10 verse 10:
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
The third point this story teaches us is how hard it is to distinguish between those who are in the kingdom of God and those who are not. A man may appear good on the outside, but be bad on the inside. Likewise, a man may appear bad on the outside, but be good on the inside. Let’s not be too quick in classifying and labeling people based solely on how they appear. Only God knows the heart, and He will sort things out in His time.
If the reapers had had their way, they would have torn out the weeds early and destroyed the wheat as well. So they waited, until the crop was mature and ready to be harvested. Yes, it will take a little more work but the wheat would be safe. Likewise, God waits until the end of a person’s life to judge the sum of his actions and the motives of his heart. Sometimes we try to force God’s hand by taking justice into our own hands. But, Jesus says this is wrong. A man must be judged at the end of his life, not by any single act or stage in his life. A man may make a mess of his early life, but by the grace of God, later call out sincerely and nd pardon. Or a man may appear to live an honorable life, but be destined for eternal destruction because he was sel sh and focused on worthless and ignoble interests. No one who sees only part of a thing can judge the whole; and no one who knows only part of a man's life can judge its entirety. Jesus continues his explanation of the story in Matthew 13 verses 40-42:
40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Is there a time when the cheating employee, the lying boss, the crooked government of cial, the perverted uncle, or the gossiping crabby aunt will get their reward? Yes. Jesus made it very clear that a judgment day is coming. He said that everyone who breaks God’s laws and all evil will be consumed by re. For many, it will be a day of burning and weeping.
Did you notice who is in charge of this judgment? Jesus said,
“The Son of Man who sends out his angels.”
Jesus will be the judge! He will send out the angels who are under his command to separate the righteous from the wicked. He will oversee the nal judgment. Wouldn’t you like to have him as a friend? Do you remember what we read in the last lesson about Jesus’ authority to judge? Let’s review by rereading a portion from John chapter 5 verses 22-24:
22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Yes, God has given the Messiah a very responsible role. All judgment has been given to Jesus. (We will examine the judgment in further detail in a future lesson.) We can be sure that Jesus, who is alive in heaven right now, will thoroughly do this work, and that there will be no “weeds” in God’s kingdom. Fortunately, God is full of mercy, and His primary intent is to save as many people as possible. But this mercy doesn't come without condition. How do we qualify to receive His mercy? Notice Jesus' words regarding God’s aim and wishes in John chapter 3 verses 17 and 18:
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
The condition to receive God's mercy is belief in his Messiah. God’s purpose is not to condemn man. In fact, His desire is to save them. From what? According to the verse we just read, we (the human race) already stand condemned! In other words, God is rescuing you from certain death. You are on death row waiting to be judged for the sin you have committed. This is your fate. You inherited death from your great grandfather Adam, who as prince of this world made a bad trade with Satan. His children were not made in the image of God. They were born in the image of Adam (i.e., sinful). Adam’s decision de led the natural condition of every person descended from him. God’s objective is to pull the human race, you included, out of the mess that Adam’s choice threw us into. There will be more on this in subsequent lessons.
Jesus closed his explanation of the story of the wheat and tares with these hopeful words in Matthew 13 verse 43:
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Those who love good and those who love evil must “grow together,” be neighbors, call each other family, and work together. But in the end, judgment will certainly come. May you take seriously the opportunity and call to live wisely.
In 1897, The New York Times newspaper headlines proclaimed,
“The former Turkish Consul General in Boston Convicted of Embezzlement.”
The article continued:
“Joseph A. Iasigi, formerly Turkish Consul General in the city of [Boston] who has been on trial for the last few days in the Supreme Court, is charged with embezzling about $200,000 from Pierre, Charles Deriuex of France of whose estate he was trustee. [He] was today found guilty on 21 of the 78 counts in the indictment against him.”
Here is how the crime came about. In the 1830’s, Joseph’s father came to the United States from Greece and opened a fruit store. He was educated and cultured, and because he prospered, he earned a spot in high society. Speaking Turkish and having good connections in Turkey helped him get appointed as the Consul General in the city of Boston. He also became the trustee of several European owned estates on American soil. In this way in 1849, he became the trustee of the Derfeux estate of Paris, valued at about $400,000. (A lot of money 160 years ago!)
When Joseph’s father died, his brother Oscar became trustee. However, in 1887, Oscar drowned in a boat wreck. Thus, the trusteeship of the lands and the of ce of Consul General were handed down to Joseph.
What a position of responsibility the younger brother had inherited! The job had gone from his father, to his older brother, and then to him. But he was not a faithful steward of the trust he had been granted. The newspaper reported:
“Joseph Iasigi was arrested in New York last summer soon after the charges of embezzlement were rst made. Proceedings in a civil suit were begun, but Mr. Iasigi's coming to New York in early February excited suspicion. It was believed that he intended to sail for Europe so it was decide to proceed against him criminally.”
What a shame! The good name that his immigrant father had won had been discredited. Mr. Iasigi had shamed himself and momentarily shamed the sultan of Turkey. The same newspaper reported:
“Prior to his arrest Mr. Lasigi was one of the prominent members of Boston society. He lived in luxurious ease on Beacon Street.”
Interesting! Let us always remember that the wheat and tares grow together. What had appeared to be wheat had really been a tare.
Prior to Joseph Lasigi’s trial, he requested an appeal of his arrest because of his of cial position. He believed the US government had no jurisdiction or right to charge him because he was a diplomat for the Turkish government. But upon examination of Joseph’s request, it was discovered that the Turkish government had officially severed ties with him four days before the arrest! In other words his hope of mediation by the sultan or Turkish officials was gone. His connections were severed and he had no mediator.
Jesus said there would be a judgment. The wheat and tares will be separated. Jesus will send out his angels to collect the righteous and destroy the wicked. Jesus is the judge, mediator, and savior. This is a connection you will definitely want to have.
Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think people write computer viruses?
2. With one click of a mouse, Gökhan’s computer received that virus. How do we sometimes alter our own fate by “choosing”
something destructive?
3. Who sowed the tares in the eld? What did Jesus say the meaning of this was?
4. Have you ever wanted revenge on someone who has done you wrong? How do you feel about leaving justice to God?
5. Why do you think the weeds were burned? Why do you think God burns up the wicked?
46 Matthew 13:44