“SHINING LIKE THE SUN”
MATTHEW 13:24-30, 36-42
This sermon was preached by Rev. Pete Ullmann on Sunday, July 20, 2008, at the Calvary Presbyterian Church of Big Lick in Crossville Tennessee.)

Have you ever experienced the beauty and perfection of creation laid out right before your very eyes?

Perhaps it was on a vacation when you were blessed to catch sight of a gorgeous sunset glowing on the horizon. Maybe it was the vision of a colorful and vivid rainbow - in the moments following a summer thunderstorm - stretched out from one side of the sky to the other. Or maybe a glimpse of a quiet meadow or meandering stream you discovered while hiking on some remote trail in the mountains.

Regardless of the place, you know what I’m talking about! In some way or another, each of us has at some point in our lives been overtaken and wowed by the incredible beauty that God has placed all around us.

In the opening verses of the Bible, the book of Genesis records the ancient account of creation starting with the words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.”

With each step of creation completed, the Lord God took a step back at the end of the day and said, “It is good!” From the creation of the heavens to the separation of land and water; from covering the earth with vegetation to filling it with animals and all sorts of creeping things... God saw that creation was good and declared it to be so!

But as we know, the Lord’s garden did not remain in perfection long before the deceiver entered and tempted man to choose his way over God’s way. Sin entered the world, and the creation which was declared by God to be good soon fell from it’s original state of perfection. Mankind began to rebel against his Creator, and creation ceased to be what God intended it to be.

Of course, we still catches glimpses of the beauty and perfection of the Lord’s creation. We are still able to see signs of the magnificence which God has placed all around us. Yet things such as war, poverty, suffering, hatred, intolerance and injustice are but a few of the other signs pointing to the fact that there is also a powerful force of corruption at work amidst the creation which God first stepped back and called good.

In it’s own way, our parable lesson for today tells us something about this corruption which has taken place within the beauty and splendor of God’s good and perfect creation. More specifically, this parable of Jesus speaks to the sin which has entered the world and spoiled the perfection which God intended.

Have you ever been to the midwest in the summertime and seen the endless fields - stretching out as far as the eye can see? The beauty of such golden fields shining in the sun beneath a pale blue sky is something to behold. Crops receiving the early and late rains and bearing their fruit in due season is something that farmers rejoice in and celebrate!

But our parable lesson for today presents to us a problem! It tells us a story about a farmer who planted his crops - not to be able to rejoice months later in a beautiful field of golden wheat, but rather to only days later find a full harvest of weeds sprouting up amidst his celebrated crop of wheat.

How could such a thing happen? How could a dutifully plowed and tilled field planted with a good crop suddenly sprout thistles and weeds? What had taken place to corrupt the fields of this farmer who had diligently worked in order to bring forth a beautiful and fruitful field of wheat? We are prone to wonder about such an awful scenario!

But that said, Jesus doesn’t leave us to wonder long about the cause of this problem. Rather, He tells us outright! “While the farmer was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away!”

It’s horrible! It’s treacherous! The threat to the landowner’s wheat was no accident, but rather a crime! An enemy intentionally planted weeds right in the midst of the farmer’s prized crop. How could such a thing happen? Why would anyone engage themselves in such behavior? How could anyone do something so awful? We want answers! Curious minds want to know! Angry minds want to know!

But then again, that’s what enemies do, isn’t it? Enemies do things that folks in more rational frames of mind would never even consider. And like it or not, the landowner’s enemy made his decision, carried out his plan, and now the farmer is left to deal with the treacherous result: weeds and wheat growing up together in the same field. The good and the bad sharing the same soil, water and other nutrients. We may not like the situation the farmer finds himself in. Heaven knows, the farmer would rather have had a field of wheat free from weeds and thistles. But the damage is done, and now a course of action has to be taken.

So the farmer makes his decision. He sets forth his plan. And what he decides to do is simply to wait. “Allow the weeds and wheat to grow together until the time of harvest.” He directs his servants. “And then when the wheat is ready, we will separate the weeds from the good crop. We will put the wheat into the barns while we burn the weeds in the fire.”

It seems a sensible plan, doesn’t it? Why make a hasty and difficult trip to the fields and risk pulling up the wheat along with the weeds? Let them grow together, then later - at harvest time - the weeds can be separated from the good crop. The farmer’s plan makes good sense!

Then again, this is a parable, isn’t it? As much sense as it might make for farming, the lesson isn’t really about farming. Rather, the lesson is once again about spiritual truths. It is about the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. And as Jesus is quick to explain to us, this parable is very much about the way in which God chooses to deal with the problem that began in the Lord’s garden so long ago. This lesson is about the way our God deals with the reality of sin and the fact that in this world - good and bad dwell side by side with each other. The point of Jesus’ parable seems clearly aimed at the fact that the enemy has entered God’s creation and planted weeds among the golden wheat which the Lord has planted for the celebrated day of harvest.

There aren’t too many parables in the Gospels explained by Jesus in such great detail as this one is. But as Jesus begins to outline the meaning of the parable for His disciples, He takes the time to help them see what each and every part of the story represents.

“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field!” The disciples demand! And Jesus responds by starting with the One who sows the good seed and going through each and every aspect of the parable lesson. “The Son of Man is the One who sows the good seed,” He says. “The field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil...” Jesus tells His friends about the harvest and the reapers... the harvest being the end of the age, and the reapers being the Lord’s angels. And then He explains how the Lord will separate the good from the bad... sinners from the righteous... and each will be judged either good or bad. The weeds will be cast into the fiery furnace, while the wheat will be gathered into the safety and security of the farmer’s barns.

Indeed, with the detailed explanation given by Jesus, there is no mistaking the point and intent of this parable. There is no misunderstanding Jesus’ intention in telling this story which He likens to the Kingdom of Heaven. If you want to know what the Kingdom of Heaven is like, consider this parable. Consider the situation in which this farmer finds himself. Consider a world in which good and bad - the righteous and the unrighteous - dwell side by side in the present. But nevertheless, a day is coming when the Lord’s angels will separate the two - one from the other. A day of harvest will soon arrive when the weeds will be removed from the wheat. A day of judgment is on its way... a day when the angels of God will cast the evildoers and all causes of sin into the fiery furnace, while the righteous will be ushered into God’s eternal kingdom.

Indeed, as Jesus says, the day will come when “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father!”

What beautiful imagery our Lord uses to describe that day of celebration and rejoicing - the wonderful day of harvest - when God’s people will be brought into that glorious kingdom of perfection!

Think about those times in your life when you have been awakened by the splendor of God’s creation all around you. Picture in your mind those wondrous glimpses of God’s glorious handiwork which have wowed you as you were blessed to experience them. The truth is, all such glimpses of God’s beauty and perfection will pale when compared to the glory that will be revealed to God’s elect on that day when the Lord ushers the righteous into the Kingdom of His reign. The best we have known in this world will seem as nothing compared to the sight of the righteous “shining like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.”


Indeed, Jesus’ parable opens our eyes to the nature of God’s Kingdom. It is intended to open our hearts and minds to the fact that while good and bad dwell side by side in this world, a day is coming when the two will be separated and the righteous shall be ushered into that everlasting Kingdom of our Lord. Perhaps this parable may also inspire us to seek faith and the activity of God’s Spirit in our lives which can alone transform us into those who “shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father”.

The parable of the weeds of the field is clear in showing us that in the current state of affairs, good and bad dwell side by side. The righteous and the unrighteous share the goodness of God’s creation. The wheat and the weeds grow up together in this world in which we live.

But God’s children are those who set their hearts and minds on seeking that Kingdom of their Father - the place where we can one day dwell in the security of God’s perfect reign. The righteous are those who will be judged fit for God’s glorious Kingdom because of their faith and trust in the Son of God who gave His life to give them life. The evildoers will be cast into the fire along with all causes of sin, while those who seek God’s face and trust in His goodness will dwell forever in the perfection of His Kingdom of light.

Friends, Jesus’ parable is given to us for a reason. It is spoken in order that our hearts and minds might be opened to God’s truth. It is recorded in the Gospel so that we might hear its lessons and be led to seek God with all of our hearts, our souls and our minds. Jesus’ parable is given for the purpose that we might be moved to open ourselves to the leading of God’s Spirit as that Spirit works within us, enlivening us and transforming us into children of light - folks who worship, adore and serve our Risen Lord and Savior - people who will one day shine like the sun in the Kingdom of our Father.

Friends, let us open our hearts to Jesus. Let us be continually instructed by the wisdom of His teaching. And may we be led by the Spirit to faith and hope in the One who will one day give us a share in His kingdom of glory and light. Thanks be to God! AMEN