When Weeds Won't Go Away
The Problem with Weeds
I have news to share. … I’m late.
No, I’m not pregnant. My wife and I are not pregnant. I’m talking about spraying weeds, ahead of time.
Our home has a lot of patio space, which sounded wonderful when we were house shopping. Now it requires work, and if you stop by, you’ll probably notice weeds growing between the blocks of our winding patio—all because I rarely spray for them ahead of time.
I usually don’t notice weeds until they appear, and by then prevention is no longer an option. I can kill or pull them—and there are plenty—but I always seem to act too late.
Who actually wants weeds? Yet they have been with us for ages—so familiar, in fact, that Jesus uses them in one of his parables.
Jesus Teaches Through a Familiar Picture
By this point in the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus has shifted from public announcement to teaching through parables because,
“…seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matt 13:13).
Jesus then describes something familiar in the ancient world—and familiar to some of us as well: agriculture.
“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” (Matt 13:24–26).
The “weed” Jesus refers to may have been darnel, a plant that closely resembles wheat in its early growth. Farmers often couldn’t tell the difference until the heads matured. In fact, Roman law prohibited maliciously sowing weeds in someone else’s field because it was a recognized act of sabotage.
So Jesus’ original audience would have immediately understood the picture He was painting. And notice how the kingdom begins in the parable: with “good seed.”
Before continuing, review Jesus’ explanation of this parable that comes later in this chapter so to understand “what is what.”
“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons 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 end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 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” (Matt 13:37–42).
Back to our passages (Matt 13:24–26).
From Jesus’ explanation, we understand his parable as this: the field is the world, and the “good seed” are the sons of the kingdom, whom the Son of Man has sown into the world—first.
Folks, Jesus isn’t explaining agriculture here—he’s talking about people.
And let’s be careful not to misunderstand Jesus here. He isn’t dividing the world into people who are perfectly good and people who are perfectly evil. After all, every one of us has needed God’s grace. Rather, Jesus is describing those who belong to God’s Kingdom and the reality that evil continues to exist alongside God’s good work in this world.
And if Jesus is talking about people, then he’s answering some big questions we’ve asked before.
- Why does evil seem to prosper?
- Why doesn’t God remove wickedness immediately?
- Why do bad people sometimes seem to prosper?
- Why does God wait?
Deep, serious questions that we all ask.
The Problem Is Not the Sower
Jesus explains in this parable that the problem is not the sower, nor with the seed.
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field” (Matt 13:24).
God’s work is good.
So then—what’s the problem? What’s the issue?
“…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” (Matt 13:25–26).
Evil. The thing, the behavior that we all can’t stand so much. Jesus attributes it to the enemy—or as Jesus identifies later,
“…and the enemy who sowed them is the devil” (Matt 13:39).
Have you ever wondered if evil and the devil are real?
As a Christian, I’m going to believe Jesus’ words.
What Jesus says here is that evil is real. It has a personal source. Which means, it is not God who creates evil.
Our Desire for Immediate Judgment
Jesus’ parable continues:
“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?’” (Matt 13:27–28).
Stop.
This is the turning point.
I spent twenty years to the day in prison—as an employee. And many times, in those years, I’d see and “manage or correct” many incarcerated people. Some were not much different than me. Some had even been high school classmates of mine, and the only difference between us was one or two different choices.
And then there were people who had committed some of society’s most heinous crimes.
We read about it often. Someone with a record is released, they served their time, and now they’re living in our community. Suddenly people form a verbal posse.
String’em’up!
Our instinct when we view someone we feel is wrong—for both serious situations and not-so-serious situations—is often immediate judgment. We see a behavior in front of us, or know something about someone’s past, and we drop our own guilty gavel.
Then there are the situations we see or read about where that other person is clearly in the wrong, and we get so frustrated that nothing seemingly is being done about it—or worse yet, they seem to be prospering regardless of their poor behavior.
That is exactly what it seems like is happening in Jesus’ parable.
God’s Patience Is Wisdom
“‘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’” (Matt 13:28–29).
Should we string’em’up?
That’s what they’re asking here.
And the landowner’s response?
“No.”
And why? Why is that the response?
Because in their premature judgment, they cannot distinguish perfectly between the weeds and the wheat.
And this tells us something about God.
God’s patience isn’t weakness—it’s wisdom.
When I was growing up, I loved toys. If one caught my eye, I wanted it immediately. Living in L.A.—Hollywood, actually—that often meant my parents had to drive through traffic to the nearest Toys“R”Us. But even if I had my own money, they would make me wait a few days.
And often, something changed in that waiting. I either learned to compare options, or my desire shifted to something else.
My parents were patient, and their wisdom showed in making me wait.
My parents saw things I didn’t see. My parents knew things I didn’t know.
And our heavenly Father sees things we don’t.
Our heavenly Father knows things we don’t.
The Delay of Judgment Is Not the Absence of Justice
In Jesus’ parable, the “Master” continues:
“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’” (Matt 13:30).
“Let both grow together.”
What?
I see that and I don’t get it.
I see someone in our world doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong things, or behaving the wrong ways, all with nothing seemingly being done about it, and I don’t get it. I don’t understand the world.
This command from the Master of Jesus’ parable—let them both grow together—I don’t understand.
And then we think:
Does God ignore evil? Shouldn’t something be done about it?
God does not ignore evil.
What we often don’t see, God sees.
What we often don’t know, God knows.
Where we want immediate judgment, God waits for the perfect time.
Whenever we see the delay of judgment, it doesn’t mean the absence of justice.
And perhaps that should make us thankful. Because if God always brought immediate judgment, where would any of us be?
Every one of us has needed God’s patience at some point in our lives. Every one of us has been grateful that God wasn’t finished writing our story yet. And aren’t we thankful that other people weren’t allowed to become the final judge of our story?
God’s patience isn’t merely about delaying judgment—it is also an expression of His mercy.
Whether it’s our specific church denomination, or many others the world over, justice matters to us. It’s in creeds, social principles, marches, bumper stickers, and more—we care about justice. And when we feel it is absent where it is deserved, we question everything.
Whenever that happens, remember this parable from Jesus:
“…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’” (Matt 13:30).
The delay of judgment—God’s judgment—doesn’t mean the absence of justice.
It means justice will come at God’s appointed time.
Hope in God’s Perfect Timing
In this broken world, we often look forward to God’s Kingdom—but here’s the thing—the Kingdom has already arrived in Jesus, and God is still at work in this world.
Yet evil exists. And as Christians, we shouldn’t be surprised by the tension.
And when God delays judgment, know that it isn’t because God lacks justice.
God is justice.
God sees and knows the big picture—we often do not.
And God’s timing is perfect.
Elsewhere in Scripture Peter writes,
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise…but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish…” (2 Pet 3:9).
We will see judgment delayed, but it isn’t cancelled.
And that gives us hope, because God sees everything.
Nothing escapes God.
Because God sees more than we do, He patiently delays judgment until the perfect time.
Stay in the Word daily, it will save your life.
I have news to share. … I’m late.
No, I’m not pregnant. My wife and I are not pregnant. I’m talking about spraying weeds, ahead of time.
Our home has a lot of patio space, which sounded wonderful when we were house shopping. Now it requires work, and if you stop by, you’ll probably notice weeds growing between the blocks of our winding patio—all because I rarely spray for them ahead of time.
I usually don’t notice weeds until they appear, and by then prevention is no longer an option. I can kill or pull them—and there are plenty—but I always seem to act too late.
Who actually wants weeds? Yet they have been with us for ages—so familiar, in fact, that Jesus uses them in one of his parables.
Jesus Teaches Through a Familiar Picture
By this point in the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus has shifted from public announcement to teaching through parables because,
“…seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matt 13:13).
Jesus then describes something familiar in the ancient world—and familiar to some of us as well: agriculture.
“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” (Matt 13:24–26).
The “weed” Jesus refers to may have been darnel, a plant that closely resembles wheat in its early growth. Farmers often couldn’t tell the difference until the heads matured. In fact, Roman law prohibited maliciously sowing weeds in someone else’s field because it was a recognized act of sabotage.
So Jesus’ original audience would have immediately understood the picture He was painting. And notice how the kingdom begins in the parable: with “good seed.”
Before continuing, review Jesus’ explanation of this parable that comes later in this chapter so to understand “what is what.”
“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons 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 end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 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” (Matt 13:37–42).
Back to our passages (Matt 13:24–26).
From Jesus’ explanation, we understand his parable as this: the field is the world, and the “good seed” are the sons of the kingdom, whom the Son of Man has sown into the world—first.
Folks, Jesus isn’t explaining agriculture here—he’s talking about people.
And let’s be careful not to misunderstand Jesus here. He isn’t dividing the world into people who are perfectly good and people who are perfectly evil. After all, every one of us has needed God’s grace. Rather, Jesus is describing those who belong to God’s Kingdom and the reality that evil continues to exist alongside God’s good work in this world.
And if Jesus is talking about people, then he’s answering some big questions we’ve asked before.
- Why does evil seem to prosper?
- Why doesn’t God remove wickedness immediately?
- Why do bad people sometimes seem to prosper?
- Why does God wait?
Deep, serious questions that we all ask.
The Problem Is Not the Sower
Jesus explains in this parable that the problem is not the sower, nor with the seed.
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field” (Matt 13:24).
God’s work is good.
So then—what’s the problem? What’s the issue?
“…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” (Matt 13:25–26).
Evil. The thing, the behavior that we all can’t stand so much. Jesus attributes it to the enemy—or as Jesus identifies later,
“…and the enemy who sowed them is the devil” (Matt 13:39).
Have you ever wondered if evil and the devil are real?
As a Christian, I’m going to believe Jesus’ words.
What Jesus says here is that evil is real. It has a personal source. Which means, it is not God who creates evil.
Our Desire for Immediate Judgment
Jesus’ parable continues:
“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?’” (Matt 13:27–28).
Stop.
This is the turning point.
I spent twenty years to the day in prison—as an employee. And many times, in those years, I’d see and “manage or correct” many incarcerated people. Some were not much different than me. Some had even been high school classmates of mine, and the only difference between us was one or two different choices.
And then there were people who had committed some of society’s most heinous crimes.
We read about it often. Someone with a record is released, they served their time, and now they’re living in our community. Suddenly people form a verbal posse.
String’em’up!
Our instinct when we view someone we feel is wrong—for both serious situations and not-so-serious situations—is often immediate judgment. We see a behavior in front of us, or know something about someone’s past, and we drop our own guilty gavel.
Then there are the situations we see or read about where that other person is clearly in the wrong, and we get so frustrated that nothing seemingly is being done about it—or worse yet, they seem to be prospering regardless of their poor behavior.
That is exactly what it seems like is happening in Jesus’ parable.
God’s Patience Is Wisdom
“‘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’” (Matt 13:28–29).
Should we string’em’up?
That’s what they’re asking here.
And the landowner’s response?
“No.”
And why? Why is that the response?
Because in their premature judgment, they cannot distinguish perfectly between the weeds and the wheat.
And this tells us something about God.
God’s patience isn’t weakness—it’s wisdom.
When I was growing up, I loved toys. If one caught my eye, I wanted it immediately. Living in L.A.—Hollywood, actually—that often meant my parents had to drive through traffic to the nearest Toys“R”Us. But even if I had my own money, they would make me wait a few days.
And often, something changed in that waiting. I either learned to compare options, or my desire shifted to something else.
My parents were patient, and their wisdom showed in making me wait.
My parents saw things I didn’t see. My parents knew things I didn’t know.
And our heavenly Father sees things we don’t.
Our heavenly Father knows things we don’t.
The Delay of Judgment Is Not the Absence of Justice
In Jesus’ parable, the “Master” continues:
“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’” (Matt 13:30).
“Let both grow together.”
What?
I see that and I don’t get it.
I see someone in our world doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong things, or behaving the wrong ways, all with nothing seemingly being done about it, and I don’t get it. I don’t understand the world.
This command from the Master of Jesus’ parable—let them both grow together—I don’t understand.
And then we think:
Does God ignore evil? Shouldn’t something be done about it?
God does not ignore evil.
What we often don’t see, God sees.
What we often don’t know, God knows.
Where we want immediate judgment, God waits for the perfect time.
Whenever we see the delay of judgment, it doesn’t mean the absence of justice.
And perhaps that should make us thankful. Because if God always brought immediate judgment, where would any of us be?
Every one of us has needed God’s patience at some point in our lives. Every one of us has been grateful that God wasn’t finished writing our story yet. And aren’t we thankful that other people weren’t allowed to become the final judge of our story?
God’s patience isn’t merely about delaying judgment—it is also an expression of His mercy.
Whether it’s our specific church denomination, or many others the world over, justice matters to us. It’s in creeds, social principles, marches, bumper stickers, and more—we care about justice. And when we feel it is absent where it is deserved, we question everything.
Whenever that happens, remember this parable from Jesus:
“…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’” (Matt 13:30).
The delay of judgment—God’s judgment—doesn’t mean the absence of justice.
It means justice will come at God’s appointed time.
Hope in God’s Perfect Timing
In this broken world, we often look forward to God’s Kingdom—but here’s the thing—the Kingdom has already arrived in Jesus, and God is still at work in this world.
Yet evil exists. And as Christians, we shouldn’t be surprised by the tension.
And when God delays judgment, know that it isn’t because God lacks justice.
God is justice.
God sees and knows the big picture—we often do not.
And God’s timing is perfect.
Elsewhere in Scripture Peter writes,
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise…but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish…” (2 Pet 3:9).
We will see judgment delayed, but it isn’t cancelled.
And that gives us hope, because God sees everything.
Nothing escapes God.
Because God sees more than we do, He patiently delays judgment until the perfect time.
Stay in the Word daily, it will save your life.
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