P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

MEN DOING THE JOB OF ANGELS

Have you ever been eager for an evil person to get their punishment? When a United States President was recently impeached while in office, and the Senate had to vote whether or not to convict him, did you tend toward acquittal or removal? Were you leaning up against your TV set, shouting "Get rid of that guy"? When Timothy McVeigh was condemned to die, did you quietly rejoice?
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with wanting good to triumph, and for wickedness to be punished, even extinguished.

The Bible is full of such sentiments, and we're studying a classic case right here in one of Jesus' most popular parables. In Matthew 13, when the hired hands in a field discover that an enemy has climbed over the fence at midnight and planted weeds all among the wheat, the zealous employees of the owner say to him: "What shall we do? Do you want us to go out there and pull them up?" And there are other places in the Gospels where Jesus' disciples say to Him: "Lord, these are bad people! They don't love You! They make fun of You! And what's even worse, they make fun of me! For being Your friend. Lord, is it okay with You if I smite them? Please oh please oh please?"

And if you read down to verse 29, the owner of the field is very calm. "No, that's all right," he says. "Leave everything just as it is."
"But, Lord, these weeds are nasty! You leave them there, and they'll wipe out the crop! They're dangerous!"

And you know what? All of that was true. One of the Bible commentaries we surfed through with a CD-ROM pointed out that the Greek word here for "tares" is zizania, which likely referred to a plant known as Lolium temelentum or "bearded darnel." And here's what they say about it:

"This common Palestinian plant grows about two feet tall." Now notice this: "In its earlier stages it is indistinguishable from wheat. Only when the plant matures and the seeds of the darnel turn black is it easy to tell the difference. These seeds are poisonous, and if eaten, produce violent nausea, diarrhea, convulsions, and sometimes death."

But even with all of that, the owner tells the servants to back off. "At these early stages," he explains, "if you pull out the weeds, you'll uproot a lot of the wheat at the same time." Also, as these Bible scholars point out, when they're just planted, the wheat and the darnel, the weeds, look alike. You can't tell the difference. An untrained field hand could easily pull out wheat instead of tares and cause some real damage.
Well, friend, what does all of this mean? Our American judicial system decided, not too long ago, that Mr. Timothy McVeigh was a poisonous weed, and really, who could disagree? So we destroy him. And again, not too many of us would disagree. What is this old Bible story from 2000 years ago really telling us?
Interestingly, a bit later in this same chapter, when the crowds had gone home, the 12 disciples of Jesus came to Him and said, "Lord, we don't get it. That story about the weeds . . . none of us know what in the world You're talking about. Explain, please." And Jesus gives an answer; here it is:

"The man who sowed good seed in the field is the Son of God." In other words, Himself. He goes on: "The field is the world and the good seed are the people who love God. The weeds are the people who do not love Him. The enemy who sowed weeds is the devil. The harvest is the end of probation for the world, and the sorters are the angels. Just as the weeds are sorted out from the wheat during harvest time and later burned, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of God will send His angels to weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. The angels will throw them into a fiery furnace where they will weep and gnash their teeth. But those who love God will radiate a joy that cannot be imagined and will live in their Father's house forever. May those who hear these parables listen carefully." The End.

And you know something, friend? It's ironic, and rather interesting, I think, that Jesus shared this insider's peek, this explanation, just with the 12 disciples. Because sitting right there among them was a perfect illustration of the entire story.
Ever heard of a man named Judas? Sure you have, and Mr. Iscariot was right there in the inner circle with Jesus and the other 11. Now, was he a "wheat" or a "weed"? Looking back now, the answer's obvious. The Bible plainly says that Satan worked on his heart; Satan "entered into him" on the night he betrayed Jesus to His death. This guy was a weed with a capital "W."

But there in the early going, did Judas appear to be a weed, to be poison? Not at all. He looked like the other eleven. He walked with Christ; He talked with Him; he even healed people in the name of Jesus. If you had a police lineup, there in the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and asked someone: "Okay, pick out the guy who is going to sell out the cause," Judas might have been the last person you'd choose. And if even Jesus, there in the first year or two, had said to Judas: "You're a sinner! You're a hypocrite! You're not really one of us! I'm going to zap you out of My kingdom!" . . . you know what? The other disciples would have been hugely confused. Jesus might have lost half His entourage right there. The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary for Matthew 13 has this to say on the matter:

"Christ permitted Judas to become a disciple because otherwise the other disciples, not recognizing his true character, would have questioned the wisdom of their Master. Until the very close of His ministry Christ never openly rebuked Judas, because the disciples, who looked upon him with favor and admiration, would have been inclined to sympathize with him. Furthermore, he would have considered such a rebuke as justifying revenge."

Here's a bit more on that same idea, and this is borrowed from an old classic book on the life of Jesus, entitled Christ's Object Lessons:

"There is in the Savior's words another lesson, a lesson of wonderful forbearance and tender love. As the tares have their roots closely intertwined with those of the good grain, so false brethren in the church may be closely linked with true disciples. The real character of these pretended believers is not fully manifested. Were they to be separated from the church, others might be caused to stumble, who but for this would have remained steadfast."

And the same author then adds, speaking specifically of Judas:
"Judas Iscariot was numbered with the apostles. The Redeemer does not want to lose one soul; His experience with Judas is recorded to show His long patience with perverse human nature; and He bids us bear with it as He has borne."

So we learn several things from this old story of wheat and weeds, especially as we look at the saga through Jesus' eyes as He personally had to deal with Judas. First of all, the task of pulling out the weeds isn't man's job. Christ specifically says that the angels of heaven will do that sad task, and of course, they will do it under God's omniscient guidance. Rebels will be lost and destroyed only because God in His wisdom gives that directive.

But the second point is this. Notice the reluctance of Jesus to lose these rebels. God puts it off as long as possible. He delays to the very end. Partly because by then the results of "weed-ness" will be evident; the dark seeds of the mature "darnel" make it plain that they're poison. And in the last days, friend, I think the Bible is very clear in telling us that God's righteous saints will be easy to spot, and Satan's rebellious hosts will be equally identifiable. There won't be confusion then; the angel reapers won't have any difficulty following the instructions of heaven about who should be saved or lost.

But even then, as the Owner of the field goes about the business of judging between wheat and tares, let's appreciate His reluctance. That "wonderful forbearance and tender love" we just mentioned. We couldn't help but notice that exactly 15 years ago today, August 22, 1986, there was a volcanic eruption under Lake Nios in Cameroon. Maybe you remember. And the flames, the deadly fumes, from that tragedy killed something like 1,500 people. Suddenly they were gone. And "tragedy" is precisely the word we use when people created in God's image end up dying.

Let's never forget that when the weeds are bundled up and burned, this is God's "strange act." He puts it off. He keeps Judas right there in the inner circle right up until the last Thursday evening. Hoping even against His own divine foreknowledge that somehow this thistle, this confused, rebellious little man, could be redeemed.

So when the loving Owner, the gracious God, tells us to back off, and says, "I'll handle it" . . . that's exactly what we should let Him do.