The Stories That
Jesus Told
Sermon # 8
or
“Why Is
There Evil In the World”
Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43
A few weeks ago one of
the young ladies in the church who is attending college sent me an e-mail asking me some
questions that had arisen because of a “Introduction to Religion” class she was
taking. One of those questions was, “Why is there evil in the world?” My
answer in part was; skeptics
frequently challenge Christians with the problem of a good God allowing suffering. Usually
their argument says, “If
God is all-powerful, he could prevent or eliminate suffering. If God is all-good, he would
not want his creation to suffer. Since you say God is both, suffering should not exist. In
fact, however, we see suffering all around us and experience it ourselves. Therefore, God
doesn’t exist, or he’s not all-powerful, or he’s not all-good.”
The story that we are
going to examine today in our series “The
Stories That Jesus Told” introduces us to that very problem. This story deals
with one of the oldest and deepest mysteries of the universe, the origin of evil and it
continuation today. The fact that our world is a mingling of good and evil is all too
apparent in our modern world.
The Parable of the Tares In the Wheat is told
beginning in verse twenty-four, "Another parable He
put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed
in his field; (25)"but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat and went his way. (26)"But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop,
then the tares also appeared. (27)"So the servants of the owner came and said to him,
‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
(28)"He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him,
‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ (29)"But he said, ‘No,
lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. (30)‘Let both
grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,
"First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather
the wheat into my barn."
This story holds
at least four general principles that we need to understand.
First, There Is Much Beyond Our Control.
Like the farmer in the
story we work hard to be successful. The farmer under-stands to be successful he must do
his very best, use the best seed, the best land and work very hard. He leaves nothing to
chance, because in farming there is no room for error. But things frequently, usually,
eventually, almost always do not go as we plan. It is then that we ask, “Why do these things happen to me?” I did everything right.
…. these dreams that we’ve worked so hard to achieve,
this business into which we’ve invested so much of ourselves and money, this family,
this relationship, this marriage, this partnership, this friendship. Something happens and
it turns sour, or stale or flat or sorrowful. What happened? … a lot of these things
can be fixed and you ought to try. But some can’t be and you just have to accept
that. When you have done all you can, that’s all you can do and that all you are
expected to do.” [Mark Trotter. What Are You Waiting For:
Sermons On the Parables of Jesus. (Nashville; Abingdon Press, 1992) pp. 22-23]
There Is Much
Beyond Our Control and…
Secondly, We Have An Enemy Who Hates Us.
So where does evil
come from? Jesus said, “An enemy has done this” (v.
28). The word Jesus uses to describe the enemy is literally diabolos,
the liar, the one who is against all that is good and holy. Since we have an enemy who is
so fiercely opposed to the extension of the God’s rule upon the earth we should not
be surprised at what he is willing to do. The Devil like an enemy of a certain farmer sows
weeds in God’s field, he scatters his unbelievers among God’s children. Out of
sheer malice and hatred he sowed a crop of his own. In a general way this means that the
Devil’s children and God’s children live side by side in this world. But even
more pointedly Jesus says that these weeds will be sown “among
the wheat” (v. 25), that is in the church. The Devil is going to bring forth
people who are so much like real Christians that even the servant’s of God can not
tell them apart. Because this is true we should not be surprised if the Devil’s
people show up in strange places or event-ually show their true colors by abandoning
Christianity entirely. In 2 Corinthians (11-14-15) Paul warns, “…. Satan himself
transforms himself into an angel of light. (15) Therefore it is no great thing if his
ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be
according to their works.
We Have An Enemy Who Hates
Us And…
Third, The Weeds And the Wheat Grow Together Because God
Is Not Finished Yet.
The problem with
the tares is three-fold.
First, in the
beginning the tares and the wheat look two much alike. The tares (translated “weed” in the RSV) is
literally a darnel and is indistinguishable as a weed when it first immerges. The Jews
called it ‘degenerate wheat’ or ‘bastard wheat’ because it appears to
be wheat but it is not.
Secondly, when it can be
distinguished it too late, because the roots of the darnel have become intertwined with
the roots of the wheat, so that you cannot pull out one without pulling out the other.
Third, only at the
harvest can the two be separated. Which leads us to the final principle which is found in
Jesus’ explanation to his disciples of the parable beginning in verse thirty-six,
“Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house.
And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the
field." (37) He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son
of Man. (38) "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but
the tares are the sons of the wicked one. (39)"The enemy who sowed them is the devil,
the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. (40)"Therefore as
the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
(41)"The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom
all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, (42)"and will cast them
into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (43)"Then the
righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to
hear, let him hear!”
The Weeds And the
Wheat Grow Together Because God Is Not Finished Yet and ….
Fourth, There Is A Future Separation Of the Good and the
Evil. (vv. 39-43)
At the time of harvest the tares and the
wheat shall be harvested and separated without difficulty! The course of human history is
set toward judgment. Jesus said that this judgment would be at the end of the age. This
ingathering will occur when the LORD returns in the air to gather out his wheat from the
fields of this world.
What a different fate awaits the wheat and
the tares. The wheat without exception will be taken into the barn. The tares without
exception will be destroyed by burning. The tares will be gathered and cast into a “furnace of fire” and there will be “wailing and gnashing of teeth” These terms are used to
describe the horrors of Hell which is the final abode of the wicked. The wheat will be
gathered into the father’s barn.
Not one saved will
be among the unsaved; not one unsaved shall be among the saved. The saved will shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father. The unsaved will know unending torment and
anguish.
God is the final
judge. He will not make
no mistakes.
There will be no idle arguments about the hypocrisies of others, the Apostle Paul tells
that there is a time coming when “…every
mouth may be stopped” (Romans
3:19). There will be no more excuses nor blaming of others. Paul later says, “So then each of us shall
give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12).
But the word of God says that God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). In love he still offers to all forgiveness and
salvation.
Conclusion
I have good news and
bad news.
· The Good News!!!
We still live in an
age of Grace in which a tare can become wheat, sinners can become saints. Children of the
devil can still become children of the king. Counterfeit members in the church can still
be changed into genuine and profitable members.
· The Bad News!!!
Evil still exists. Bad things still happen