Looking forward to preaching at Ascension Lutheran Church in St Louis this coming Sunday, the 10th Sunday after Pentecost, the three readings from which to choose a text are Isaiah 44:6-8; Romans 8:18-27 and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43. The text chosen to preach about is Matthew 13:24, “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.’”
Because most Christians know well the parable of the sower, they often get confused in regard to the interpretation of this parable of the tares and the wheat. For example, they might conclude that the seed sown is the Word of God and the sower represents every Christian who needs to be witnessing. The tares would represent false doctrine which grows up into heretics.
However, as with the parable of the Sower, so also in this parable of the tares and the wheat, Jesus does us a favor in interpreting and applying the text for us. Surprisingly, the good seed is not the Word of God but the sons of the kingdom while the tares are the sons of the devil. The sower is the Son of Man, referring, of course, to Jesus the Messiah.
The interpretation of the parable is that the tares should not be removed from the fellowship of the congregation lest you also uproot believers. On Judgment Day, God will use His angels to separate the tares (unbelievers) from the wheat (believers) much as the parable in Matthew 25 has the angels separating the goats from the sheep.
However, what is the L&G application? Is it that no congregation ought to remove anyone from the fellowship lest you remove true believers? That would mean that the practice of excommunication could no longer take place–as though that many congregations are making use of that act of true love.
The key to our problem is the word “tares” which refers to a plant that looks a lot like wheat until the time of the harvest when the fruit is lacking. For you see, tares are not just any kind of unbeliever–they represent what is referred to as a hypocrite. A hypocrite knows that he or she is not a Christian but they play the game of being a Christian for self-centered reasons. It is impossible for the members of the church to discern the difference between true believers and hypocrites because only God can judge the heart.
However, in regard to excommunication, there is no need to judge the heart. One only needs to inquire whether or not repentance is present over sin. Excommunication is not used against those who sin but for those who sin without repentance. It is clear to the other members of the congregation who needs to be excommunicated simply by asking such a person whether or not he or she is repentant over sin. If not, excommunication is the loving action to take for the sake of saving the soul of the unbeliever by God’s grace.
Another point that needs to be emphasized from a L&G perspective, is that no one became a son of the kingdom by any work; rather, the Son of Man is the one who sows the good seed. All credit is given to God and God alone without any merit or worthiness on our part which contributed to our salvation. Indeed, the parable does describe the work of God in the kingdom of heaven here on earth; that is, the holy Christian Church.
Name:Tom Baker