Matthew 13:24-30 Weeds or Wheat?

Format for Your Devotions

Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.

Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.

Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.

Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.

Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?

Step 5: Apply this to your own life.

Step 6: Prayer

My Example Devotion: April 4, 2019, Matthew 13:24-30

Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.

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. 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.”

(Understanding the Text) It’s difficult to look at the parables with fresh perspectives because they are so well known to me that the previous tellings limit my ability to see the story.  I only see the lessons that I have been told to learn from them.

(Note: At this point, I started experimenting with narrative elements to see the parable from a new perspective.)

Characters:  The owner of the field, his men/servants, and his enemy

Setting: a field

Plot:  The owner has good seed which is planted in his field, probably by his men.  Then, the men sleep.  While the men sleep, an enemy sneaks into the field and sows weeds and then leaves without the servants knowing anything about it.  The plants sprouted and grew together without any difference being noted until they developed enough to start to forming seeds.  At that point, the servants realized that the field was full of weeds.  They report this fact to the master and ask how it happened.  Was it the Master’s fault?  Did He sow bad seed to start with?  The answer is “no” as they expected.  Then, the Master answers that an enemy has done this to the field.  The servants don’t know what to do about the weeds.  They ask if they should go pull the weeds.  The master responds to wait and to not pull the weeds out at this time because in pulling the weeds out, they could harm the wheat.  Thus, the field grew and ripened with weeds and wheat mixed together.  The master told them to gather the weeds first at harvest time and tie them together to be burned.   Only after that were they to gather the wheat and take to his barn.  The servants carefully separated the wheat from the weeds and cut the weeds off.  This sorting process was not enjoyable, and they would have had to be careful, but ultimately it was finished, and they could then quickly gather in the wheat.

Text Connection 1-the church:  There will be those who sincerely follow Jesus mixed together with those who only play at following Jesus.  In the beginning stages, it would be impossible to tell the difference; as time goes on and the two groups change as they grow, it will be more obvious which is which.  However, they have grown so closely together that their roots are intertwined with love and shared experiences.  To tear out the weedy person from the Christian person would damage the Christian person in ways that might kill their Christian experience, especially if the Christian owed a debt of gratitude or felt a heart of love for the other person.  Instead God has to wait until the Christian is more fully developed into a loving, giving person, and the unrighteous person is also fully developed and demonstrates his/her true character of selfishness.

Text Connection 2-the world:  In this world we are mixed up as weeds and wheat, and many times it is difficult to tell the difference.  Our roots are bound together so that in the same family, you will have both.  The wheat people are growing side by side with the weedy people.  Their lives are intertwined and their hearts are also.  This is why there is the millennium judgment so that any damage to the wheat people can be healed.

(Revelation of God) Text Connection 3-God’s character:  This is an explanation of why there is evil in the world.  God has an enemy who sows sin where God sowed only good seed.  God cares so much about His children that He is unwilling for them to be damaged by attempting to pull up weeds.  Instead, He patiently waits although it must be difficult to see all the weeds.  When the timing is right, God moves to bring the good into Himself and He rejects the evil totally.

(Application) The significance to myself is that I should not try to judge who is wheat and weed when they are not obvious.  Some people have developed enough to tell the difference, but other people are still not mature enough in their life choices to tell.  I should trust God that He can tell the difference and that He will complete the work in me so that He can take me to Himself in the harvest.

(Prayer) Help me to be patient with others as they grow in Your love. Teach me not to judge people prematurely as they are growing. Most of all, keep me close to You and keep helping me to grow into Your image. I see how far away I am from You, but You have promised that I will be transformed into Your loving child, so I claim that promise.