Matthew 13:24-30 "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
We understand the kingdom of heaven as used in the gospels to reference God’s present kingdom here on earth where the Church is found and where Jesus is King. Jesus owns the field and He is always vigilant concerning it. We might be inclined at this point to question how the enemy came in if Jesus was being vigilant. However, if we examine the scriptures, we will find a pattern set of Jesus sowing good seed (or planting a vineyard-Mark 12:1) and then calling laborers into the field to keep it. This is a pattern set early on when the Bible tells us that God planted a garden in the east of Eden then put man in the garden to dress and keep it (Genesis 2:8-15).
Verse twenty-five above tells us how the enemy came in and sowed the tares. It was not the Man who sowed the good seed that slept. Instead, it was the men He had called to dress and keep that which He had sown. When we fail to pray for understanding as we study God’s word, we are inviting the enemy to come in with ideas that do not agree with God’s teaching.
To properly root out those things that are contrary to the good seed, we sometimes must wait on the fruit. The scripture tells us that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). This transformation is not about a true change, but rather it means taking on a disguise. There are times when we must try (examine or prove) the spirits to see if they are of God (1 John 4:1).
Dear ones, as we are blessed to reap in the field the Lord has sown for us, He will direct us as to what should be gathered and what should be destroyed. Those things that need to be removed from the field of our lives where the Lord has sown His truth need to be gathered out of the way first. Once they are removed, then we can see the fruit that truly belongs to God. Let us also remember that the wheat and the barn belong to Him, and we are only laborers in His field.