Dear Christian friends:

We see and read about much evil in the world. Why? Does God not see? God doesn't care? God does not quickly punish the evil doers. Why?

In our text Jesus answers these questions. Jesus compares the world with a field in which wheat and weeds grow together. So let us attend to Jesus' story about


The "wheat" means the believers, the Christians. They are the people who hear Jesus' word and believe in Him. In our text Jesus says, "He that plants the good seed is the Son of Man" (verse 37) Jesus gives the Church His word, and pastors to preach and teach it. (Ephesians 4:11-16) Jesus blesses the preaching of His word. He makes faith and hope grow in peoples' hearts when they hear that God loves sinners in Jesus and forgives their sins. The believers rejoice in Jesus their Savior and in their heavenly Father. They live to serve God, keep His commandments, thanking and praising Him. They are like wheat growing in the field, golden and precious.

The "weeds" means the unbelievers. They follow the enemy. In our text Jesus says, "The enemy who planted the bad seeds among the good is the devil." (verse 39) Satan plants many wrong and false ideas in peoples' minds and hearts, ideas that are against God's word. For example: God has limited our sexual intercourse to husband and wife in marriage.

But today many think and teach that it is okay to have sexual relations with various partners outside of marriage. Also God has limited sexual intercourse between male and female, but today many are saying that it is not wrong to be homosexual. Who planted these ideas in the minds of people? Satan! Satan plants the weed seed, the false ideas and teachings.

Same as wheat and weeds grow together in a field, so believers and unbelievers live closely together here on earth. In some cases the wife is a believer and the husband is an unbeliever. And we know that in a field weeds bother the wheat. Same, unbelievers bother the believers during their life on earth. We Christians sometimes feel to get revenge against the unbelievers who hurt us and make so much trouble for us.

Three years ago in Bangor, Maine three Christian teenagers killed a homosexual named Charlie Howard. Often Christians feel frustrated when they see evil multiply and spread on the earth and when people refuse to believe in Jesus. We want to fight back and condemn the unbelievers and punish them. Or we complain because God does not punish them or destroy them.

But here in our text Jesus warns us to be patient and let God judge and punish the unbelievers. In our text we read, "The servants of the lord came and said to him, 'Did you not plant good seed in your field? Why are there weeds growing?' The lord said, ‘An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us to pull out the weeds?' But the lord said, 'No; lest while you pull out the weeds, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.'" (verses 27-30)

So we see that Jesus wants the believers and the unbelievers to live together here on earth. Live and let live. Believers must not try to hurt unbelievers or get revenge or kill them. If a believer hates the unbeliever he is in danger of losing his own faith. Although unbelievers often make trouble for us, Jesus expects us to suffer that with patience. That is our "cross" which we must daily take up as He commands us.

Jesus wants us to be patient and show mercy and love to the unbelievers, pray for them, and try to win them from Satan to join with Jesus. Herman C. Frankland, pastor of the Baptist Church in Bangor, Maine where the three teenagers killed the homosexual, Charlie Howard, said this about the event: "God knows it is terrible when any man gets killed, but the gays are trying to use this tragedy as a fulcrum to get gay rights legislation passed. The people of Maine don't want it, never did. But we don't hate the gays; that is in their own imagination. We have counseled them and have had some come to our church. They are welcome. By God's grace we have changed a few gays back to normal people." Pastor Frankland has the right spirit, same as Jesus wants us to have. Now, while we wait for Jesus to come and judge, is a time of grace, a time for us to preach the Gospel and try to win the unbelievers before it is too late. God show mercy to us and help us!

Amen.