The Weeds and the Wheat (Matt 13:24-43)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:14.189 Well, American Christians are infatuated with eschatology now already. I need to apologize 2 00:00:14.310 --> 00:00:18.670 for two things. One, over generalizations are just not helpful, so sorry 3 00:00:18.710 --> 00:00:26.579 for overgeneralizing to one of the things that I've learned in seminary while while studying 4 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:31.980 eschatology, is never to use the word eschatology in a sermon. So for 5 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:35.850 that I apologize. I've not graduated yet. Please don't turn me in. 6 00:00:38.530 --> 00:00:43.409 So what does eschatology mean and why are we so concerned about it? Well, 7 00:00:43.609 --> 00:00:49.609 simply put, eschatology is the study of the last things, what happens 8 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:54.159 in the end. You might be wondering, why couldn't you have just said 9 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:59.920 that I went to seminary to learn words like eschatology? But moving on, 10 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.549 one of the particular aspects of the last things, of the end times of 11 00:01:04.709 --> 00:01:11.349 eschatology that is a particular interest, I think, especially in America it seems, 12 00:01:11.390 --> 00:01:18.900 is figuring out the specifics of when Christ will return and how the final 13 00:01:19.019 --> 00:01:23.379 judgment will take place. And do a quick Google search you'll find this all 14 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:27.739 over the place, that the people are really int rested in figuring out how 15 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:33.689 this is going to happen. Two Thousand and ten there was a pole of 16 00:01:34.090 --> 00:01:38.609 of Christians in America and and forty percent of them believed that Christ would return 17 00:01:40.090 --> 00:01:44.930 before two thousand and fifty, so almost half. I would imagine if you 18 00:01:45.010 --> 00:01:48.439 did that pole again in a post covid world, people would assume much, 19 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:53.439 much sooner. And you're seeing this as you read blogs and articles that that 20 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:59.359 what we see around us seems to be the end of the age. We 21 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:06.469 really want to figure out if that's true. Well, it just so happens 22 00:02:06.590 --> 00:02:08.990 that we are not the only group that is interested in the end times. 23 00:02:09.310 --> 00:02:15.060 Fact, the end is certainly in mind for Jesus's listeners in the first century, 24 00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:23.659 particularly his his Jewish listeners. They are specifically concerned with when the Messiah 25 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:29.379 comes, when the Savior of Israel comes. How will this judgment go down? 26 00:02:29.460 --> 00:02:32.210 How quick is it going to happen? Because we really want this Messiah 27 00:02:32.370 --> 00:02:39.409 to rid the world of our enemies, specifically anyone who's not part of the 28 00:02:39.490 --> 00:02:45.759 nation of Israel, and in this we want to finally be lifted to this 29 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:53.879 place of global prominence and power. The Israelites had endured the presence of gentiles 30 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.789 and the land for a long time. Now they are under the thumb of 31 00:02:59.349 --> 00:03:05.870 the Romans. Their eschatology is hopeful and they hope that God will rid rid 32 00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:09.750 the land of these enemies, these unclean gentiles, these Romans that have been 33 00:03:09.830 --> 00:03:15.979 against them. They're concerned about the end times, like so many of us 34 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:22.699 are concerned about the end times. But as we've seen, as we've walked 35 00:03:22.699 --> 00:03:25.979 through some of these parables, Jesus comes and often times does not meet up 36 00:03:27.020 --> 00:03:31.849 with the expectations of his of his listener, does he? I mean he's 37 00:03:31.889 --> 00:03:36.889 coming. He's announcing the Kingdom of Heaven. We heard about that a few 38 00:03:36.930 --> 00:03:43.280 weeks ago looking at the SOWER. But people are quickly confused as to why 39 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:49.879 Jesus, the Messiah, if he is really the Messiah, does not seem 40 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:57.990 overly concerned about bringing about final judgment. Why is this? Well, I 41 00:03:58.150 --> 00:04:00.830 think it is this confusion, at least in part, that Jesus is speaking 42 00:04:00.870 --> 00:04:06.990 into with this parable that we are looking at this evening. Why isn't he 43 00:04:08.150 --> 00:04:13.699 establishing the Kingdom of God? Or, perhaps more accurately, why isn't he 44 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:20.100 doing it in ways that people would expect and ways that we would expect if 45 00:04:20.300 --> 00:04:27.209 we were bringing in a kingdom? Well, Jesus answers these questions in the 46 00:04:27.250 --> 00:04:31.529 air by providing two very certain realities that we will look at this evening. 47 00:04:33.449 --> 00:04:40.040 One of these realities is there is a coming judgment when the son of Man 48 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:44.480 will come and finally put an end to all evil. He will punish on 49 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:49.000 Righteousness, He will vindicate the Righteous, and this is a very real reality 50 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:54.910 that we see in this text. The other reality that we see is Jesus 51 00:04:54.949 --> 00:04:59.910 seems in no hurry to do it, and that's confusing for folks. And 52 00:05:00.029 --> 00:05:05.149 so will consider these two realities, both this pending judgment and this patient savior, 53 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:13.939 and finally, briefly, will consider how this has US view this peculiar 54 00:05:14.379 --> 00:05:19.220 kingdom, the pending judgment, the patient savior and a peculiar kingdom. So 55 00:05:19.300 --> 00:05:27.889 let's consider the pending judgment. So our parable this evening comes right after Matthew's 56 00:05:27.970 --> 00:05:30.050 version of the parable of the sower that we looked at a few weeks ago. 57 00:05:30.649 --> 00:05:34.329 We looked at it from Marks Gospel, but Matthew covers that as well. 58 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:43.120 When Jesus continues to use this agricultural imagery to explain the Kingdom of God 59 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:47.639 to those who are listening. And Jesus begins and he tells US story worry 60 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:54.750 of a man who sewed a good seed in his field. Well, like 61 00:05:54.910 --> 00:05:59.670 the parable of the summer, we have the benefit of getting Jesus explanation of 62 00:05:59.829 --> 00:06:04.180 what's going on here. And so he tells us this man who is sewing 63 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:11.860 is the son of man, he is Jesus himself. He uses this common 64 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:16.180 title for the Messiah that that Daniel uses in the prophetic writings, the son 65 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:23.769 of man, and this son of man is sowing good seed into a field. 66 00:06:23.810 --> 00:06:29.129 And this field is, Jesus explains, is the world. The seed 67 00:06:29.329 --> 00:06:34.480 and it's subsequent growth represents the sons of the kingdom, Jesus says. And 68 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:40.439 right from the start, where and parable form, seeing this doctrine of election, 69 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:44.319 one that we can be squirmish about, ECS that we say, this 70 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:49.149 beautiful song that Jackie Jackie requested, and just beautiful about this, this picture 71 00:06:49.149 --> 00:06:56.350 of God choosing his people before the Earth's foundations were laid and on and away 72 00:06:56.829 --> 00:07:00.189 Jesus is telling Aphesians one and parable form here, isn't he that that the 73 00:07:00.310 --> 00:07:06.220 son of man has so good seed, that he has chosen and he is 74 00:07:06.500 --> 00:07:12.100 bringing about the growth and he has these people in his hand from the very 75 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:19.569 beginning and imparable form. We see this beautiful doctrine of election. But quickly 76 00:07:19.649 --> 00:07:25.490 we run into a problem, don't we? It seems that an enemy has 77 00:07:25.610 --> 00:07:31.040 come. He's infiltrated the field while the servants of the master are sleeping, 78 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:40.519 and the enemy begins sewing what our ESV says weeds. Some translations say tears, 79 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:46.389 other translations treat this and different ways, but it seems specifically like this 80 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:51.069 plant is a plant called Darnal. And the thing about Darnal, it's well 81 00:07:51.269 --> 00:07:57.230 known in the first century, in fact is wellknown this day, is Darnald 82 00:07:57.350 --> 00:08:03.060 looked almost exactly like wheat until it started to flower. So it's very difficult 83 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:09.220 to tell what is what in the passage confirms this, doesn't it? It's 84 00:08:09.339 --> 00:08:15.449 not until the wheat is near ready for harvests that the servants even notice that 85 00:08:15.529 --> 00:08:20.930 it's there. But as soon as they notice they're concerned, as any good 86 00:08:20.089 --> 00:08:24.329 farmer would be. They go to the master. They said, didn't you 87 00:08:24.410 --> 00:08:30.160 put good field or good seed into the field? And if so, where 88 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:35.559 do the weeds come from? The presence of Darnal, these these weeds, 89 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:43.830 would be concerning for anyone who knew about farming wheat and and and and harvesting, 90 00:08:45.629 --> 00:08:50.029 because what would likely happen is as this donald grew and you didn't identify 91 00:08:50.190 --> 00:08:54.740 it, it would begin to entangle itself with the wheat, it would begin 92 00:08:54.860 --> 00:09:03.100 to choke out the root system and ultimately it would affect the harvest. So 93 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:07.139 if you're concerned about the yield, you would want to swiftly take care of 94 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:13.649 these weeds. This would be very important, as it is with these servants. 95 00:09:16.889 --> 00:09:22.330 They're in a hurry to get rid of these weeds. Well, in 96 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:28.519 Jesus explanation, he lets us know that this Darnald, these weeds, represent 97 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:33.320 the sons of the evil one, all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, 98 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:39.669 he says. Well, this analogy fits, doesn't it? Evil in this 99 00:09:39.950 --> 00:09:46.190 world often seems like it is snuffing out and taking over that which is good. 100 00:09:48.710 --> 00:09:56.899 It's poison and it's prevalent, it seems in many ways to overtake all 101 00:09:56.980 --> 00:10:03.220 that it comes in contact with. Paul picks up a similar idea in First 102 00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:09.049 Corinthians fifteen. He says bad company ruins good morals. The presence of evil 103 00:10:09.129 --> 00:10:16.129 threats that which is good, and that scares us, and and it should. 104 00:10:16.250 --> 00:10:22.159 We're concerned about our culture. We're concerned about our children and those who 105 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:26.039 are younger. We're concerned about ourselves. Will we be able to persevere in 106 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:33.399 a culture that seems to be increasingly antithetical to the word of God? There 107 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:37.990 is real evil and I think all of us are, in a way anxious 108 00:10:37.830 --> 00:10:46.549 to rid the world of this evil. Well, in Jesus explanation of the 109 00:10:46.669 --> 00:10:52.500 parable he too shows he is concerned about this and he says that he himself, 110 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:56.860 through his angels, will take care of the evil. In the final 111 00:10:56.899 --> 00:11:01.860 judgment, Verse Thirty Nine, Jesus says the harvest is the end of the 112 00:11:03.059 --> 00:11:09.929 age and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned 113 00:11:09.090 --> 00:11:16.090 in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age Jesus 114 00:11:16.169 --> 00:11:20.120 will send his own reapers, the angels, and do this work of separating 115 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:24.799 that which is weed, that which is evil and that which is wheat, 116 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:31.559 that which is good. And it's a pretty forceful picture of the end, 117 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:35.590 isn't it? Just as the weeds are thrown into the fire, so all 118 00:11:35.909 --> 00:11:43.110 causes of sin and all lawbreakers will be thrown into a fiery furnace. In 119 00:11:43.309 --> 00:11:52.059 that place there will be weeping, nashing of teeth imagery that Jesus uses elsewhere, 120 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:58.940 that we build up these that we build these doctrines of eternal punishment, 121 00:12:00.059 --> 00:12:07.090 of hell. Probably not like favorite memory versus for you. If they are, 122 00:12:07.250 --> 00:12:11.370 we should talk later. But they're all over the scripture, aren't they? 123 00:12:13.009 --> 00:12:18.120 They're disturbing images. Second, Thessalonian says that the UNRIGHTEOUS will be punished 124 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:24.440 with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord, from the 125 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:31.309 glory of his might. Jude says that the fires of Sodom and Gomora were 126 00:12:31.389 --> 00:12:39.309 just a foretaste of the judgments to come. John Revelation speaks of this lake 127 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:45.980 of fiery soul for that Burns eternally, one that was created for the devil 128 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:54.139 and his followers. Again, not favorite passages to read or preach on or 129 00:12:54.740 --> 00:13:01.049 think about, but true reality. A final judgment is coming. But there 130 00:13:01.129 --> 00:13:07.250 is good news. There's good news for us that are in Christ, because 131 00:13:07.330 --> 00:13:13.720 we need not fear this end as we look to Christ alone and rest in 132 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:18.240 the promises sealed to us and and baptism, the forgiveness of sins. Union 133 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:22.279 with Christ, we can look forward with great anticipation, not to judgment, 134 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:28.870 but to the hope of glory, to the Resurrection, and that is a 135 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:35.830 wonderful thing. But one of the problems we have with this infatuation with the 136 00:13:35.950 --> 00:13:41.350 end times, at least for those of us who are counted among God's elect 137 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:45.860 sons of the kingdom, is that we can be in such a hurry to 138 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:52.539 rid the world of this evil influence that we forget the true reality that is 139 00:13:52.659 --> 00:14:01.970 coming for those that are not in Christ. Horrible picture of Judgment. And 140 00:14:01.090 --> 00:14:05.850 then, our hurry to bring about the end, our attempts to identify what 141 00:14:05.970 --> 00:14:16.720 is good what is evil, we sometimes lack discernment, which brings about our 142 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:26.830 second point, which will explain this idea of discernment a patient Savior. If 143 00:14:26.870 --> 00:14:30.230 we move back in the passage a bit and look at the parable itself, 144 00:14:30.990 --> 00:14:35.070 there's an interesting emphasis. The Servant of the masters come to him. They 145 00:14:35.190 --> 00:14:41.059 offer to take care of the weeds, and rightly so. They don't want 146 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:50.700 these weeds affecting the harvest. They're concerned about what is good. Well, 147 00:14:50.779 --> 00:14:54.850 we, like these servants, often have a rational impulse to rid the world 148 00:14:56.049 --> 00:15:00.450 of of evil, of these weeds. But the problem with our efforts to 149 00:15:00.529 --> 00:15:05.769 do this, the problem with these servants, those who offer to go out 150 00:15:05.809 --> 00:15:11.600 and root out the weeds, is they are not discerning nor patient enough. 151 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:15.120 What do we mean by this? Well, it's interesting how the master responds 152 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.279 to the servants, isn't it? Servants in Verse Twenty Eight say, Do 153 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:24.590 you want us to go out and gather up the weeds? He Says No, 154 00:15:26.629 --> 00:15:31.190 Lesston, gathering the weeds, you root up the wheat along with them. 155 00:15:33.990 --> 00:15:39.379 This is interesting, isn't it? These servants are so concerned with the 156 00:15:39.539 --> 00:15:45.460 weeds that they run the risk of calling what God sees as good evil. 157 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:54.649 They run the risk of wrongly identifying what they are getting rid of. Me 158 00:15:54.850 --> 00:16:00.450 Think about this in the Jewish context that we're speaking into. A Jew hearing 159 00:16:00.610 --> 00:16:03.129 this would assume, and some of them rightly so, that they are good 160 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:12.360 seed. Well, what would bad seed be? Gentiles, the Romans easy 161 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:18.909 enough to identify. And yet think about if one of these Jews was responsible 162 00:16:19.029 --> 00:16:23.870 for for labeling the winners and the losers, the weeds and the Wheat, 163 00:16:25.029 --> 00:16:32.110 the Gospel would not go out to all nations. They would not properly identify 164 00:16:32.509 --> 00:16:41.460 that what sometimes looks like weeds as actually God's precious wheat. All these people 165 00:16:41.659 --> 00:16:48.090 to the ends of the earth that Jesus came to die for that still look 166 00:16:48.090 --> 00:16:55.169 a lot like weeds. We too, like to identify the winners and losers, 167 00:16:55.210 --> 00:17:00.519 don't we? We like to point at things and label them as evil, 168 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:07.400 and I think this impulses often right, but I think oftentimes our metrics 169 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:14.960 for how we label things are not so right. Sometimes it is simple as 170 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:19.630 how someone looks, how someone thinks, God forbid, how they vote. 171 00:17:21.789 --> 00:17:23.789 We see that in our country, don't we were able to label things just 172 00:17:23.910 --> 00:17:34.299 based on affiliations. But Jesus loves to take what looks evil and make it 173 00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:42.940 good, because he is patient, because he is kind, because he is 174 00:17:44.059 --> 00:17:49.329 long suffering. In the case of this moment in history, during the telling 175 00:17:49.410 --> 00:17:55.210 of this parable Jesus has in mind opening up the good news to the kingdom, 176 00:17:55.250 --> 00:18:00.720 to the ends of the Earth, to gentiles like you and like me, 177 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:08.880 to all tongues, tribes and nations. And for us here today, 178 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:15.230 he has in mind people who look, thank and yes, even sometimes vote 179 00:18:15.269 --> 00:18:22.950 differently than we do, people that we would quickly label as weeds. That 180 00:18:23.150 --> 00:18:30.140 God has beautiful things in mind for. It is good news that we don't 181 00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:37.420 choose the winners and losers, isn't it? But that God and eternity past 182 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:44.490 has chosen the winners and losers in his son, not based on what we 183 00:18:44.650 --> 00:18:49.609 look like, but based on what his son looks like and in history. 184 00:18:49.690 --> 00:18:56.960 Jesus is patient to us as we all go through our weed phases. And 185 00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:03.359 Second Peter Peter wrights. He's writing to folks that are concerned about this final 186 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:07.960 judgment and he says this. He says do not overlook this one fact, 187 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:14.269 beloved, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and 188 00:19:14.470 --> 00:19:18.910 a thousand years is as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill 189 00:19:18.029 --> 00:19:23.539 his promises, as some count slowness, but he is patient toward you. 190 00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:30.420 Why does that matter? Because he is not wishing that anyone should perish, 191 00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:40.329 but that all should we reach repentance. Peter will go on to say count 192 00:19:40.450 --> 00:19:45.009 the patience of the Lord as Salvation. How beautiful is that? Count the 193 00:19:45.089 --> 00:19:52.079 patience of the Lord as Salvation. Jesus is patient. He is a patient 194 00:19:52.680 --> 00:20:00.200 gardener awaiting the full number of his elect to come to harvest. Yes, 195 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:03.920 he is fully aware of the final judgment. He's the one that will bring 196 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:08.670 it to pass, but his concern at this time is that none of his 197 00:20:08.869 --> 00:20:15.990 would be lost. He is awaiting the salvation even now. I some that 198 00:20:17.109 --> 00:20:19.470 we know, some that we pray for, or some that might be our 199 00:20:19.549 --> 00:20:26.579 children or our parents or friends, people that have not even been born yet, 200 00:20:26.579 --> 00:20:32.619 and he's holding off on final judgment even now so that they might come 201 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:40.009 to repentance. Jesus is willing to wait, and it's not just good news 202 00:20:40.210 --> 00:20:47.529 for those that are still coming to repentance, but it's good news for us, 203 00:20:48.890 --> 00:20:56.480 because we did not always look like wheat. Some of you can point 204 00:20:56.519 --> 00:21:00.480 to a specific time in your life where it was very evident that you did 205 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:07.910 not look like wheat and had someone come through to collect the wheat and the 206 00:21:07.950 --> 00:21:15.910 weeds, you would have been yanked up. Some of you have had the 207 00:21:17.430 --> 00:21:22.500 great privilege of being born into a Christian family, being baptized as a covenant 208 00:21:22.539 --> 00:21:26.819 child. You can't remember its time when you weren't wheat, but there was 209 00:21:26.940 --> 00:21:33.809 a time and Jesus was patient, waiting for you to be born that he 210 00:21:33.849 --> 00:21:42.569 might bring you into his kingdom. Our master is patient, not willing that 211 00:21:42.769 --> 00:21:48.720 any might perish, but they we might fly hour that we might produce good 212 00:21:48.119 --> 00:21:57.480 fruit. Two very real realities. Final judgment is coming and our saviors patient. 213 00:22:00.789 --> 00:22:07.269 Well, question does remain for us. What do we do now and 214 00:22:07.470 --> 00:22:11.470 this evil world? How do we know we will not be overcome by evil? 215 00:22:12.990 --> 00:22:17.859 How do we know that these weeds will not choke us out, will 216 00:22:17.859 --> 00:22:22.019 not choke out the faith of our our children and our family? What do 217 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:25.339 we do with one foot in the Kingdom of Heaven and one foot and the 218 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:30.650 Kingdom of this earth? How can we know that we are safe, that 219 00:22:30.769 --> 00:22:37.450 this kingdom is actually coming to pass? Well, briefly, this evening, 220 00:22:37.650 --> 00:22:44.880 I want to consider how Jesus answers this. We don't oftentimes put the parable 221 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:49.839 of the mustard seed in the parable of the leaven right after this and include 222 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:53.279 it as part of this, but there's a reason it's right after it, 223 00:22:55.519 --> 00:23:02.390 and I would argue that Jesus is perhaps answering this question. He's aware that 224 00:23:02.549 --> 00:23:07.630 this parable would not fully satisfy his listener, a listener that is eager to 225 00:23:07.710 --> 00:23:11.309 rid themselves of the evil in this world, a listener who expects the Messiah 226 00:23:11.390 --> 00:23:17.660 to come and make every thing okay. And now, if this parable, 227 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:22.259 it seems like Jesus is far more interested in having them endure evil than eliminate 228 00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:27.730 it? Jesus knows this question is in the air. How does he answer 229 00:23:27.769 --> 00:23:33.329 it? He says, well, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain 230 00:23:33.569 --> 00:23:41.799 of mustard seed, really small, insignificant, and though you don't see it 231 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:48.160 growing, it will one day fill the earth. He uses this picture from 232 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:53.200 Daniel of this tree where we're all the birds can nest in it, where 233 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:59.029 the beasts of the field can find shade in it. He says, if 234 00:23:59.069 --> 00:24:00.630 that doesn't make sense to you, that the Kingdom of Heaven is like this 235 00:24:00.710 --> 00:24:04.390 little bit of leaven that you can't even see in your hand and a woman 236 00:24:04.470 --> 00:24:11.059 puts it into some bath goods and you don't see it happening, but this 237 00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:22.099 loaf will be full of this leaven. Growth of this kingdom looks small, 238 00:24:22.539 --> 00:24:26.690 though it will one day be a mighty tree and a fully leaven loaf. 239 00:24:26.849 --> 00:24:33.529 That day is probably a ways off. For now we do have to endure 240 00:24:34.250 --> 00:24:41.319 evil in this world, but we can know that he is establishing his kingdom, 241 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:47.759 and I think the way that we can know it even more clear than 242 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:51.920 those who are first hearing this, is that we can see that is often 243 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:57.990 this very evil in the world that God uses to bring about his good he 244 00:25:00.230 --> 00:25:04.390 is a God who uses evil. He's a God who leaves His throne, 245 00:25:04.470 --> 00:25:08.940 in all that seems godly, to take on our humanity, our suffering and 246 00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:15.299 order to allow the greatest injustice and world history to stare him in the face, 247 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:18.579 to put a crown of thorn on his head and to nail him to 248 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:23.809 the cross, to endure defeat from evil so that you don't have to. 249 00:25:27.769 --> 00:25:33.970 He allows himself to be plucked out, so that we might see fruitfulness. 250 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:44.440 That is a peculiar victory and a peculiar kingdom. And if, this evening, 251 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:49.509 you buy into that mysterious message, then you can rest assure that is 252 00:25:49.589 --> 00:25:56.230 you continue to hold fast to that mysterious message of Christ and him crucified, 253 00:25:56.470 --> 00:26:00.789 that he who started a good work and you will be faithful to complete it, 254 00:26:02.230 --> 00:26:08.299 even as we let live in this present darkness, and rest asshored also 255 00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:12.420 that the ways that he is completing this good work often look peculiar as well. 256 00:26:14.740 --> 00:26:22.289 They look ordinary, ordinary means of grace that he gives us to build 257 00:26:22.849 --> 00:26:30.529 our faith. They don't look powerful, they don't look grand as we would 258 00:26:30.569 --> 00:26:34.920 think of them. And yet in the Gospel preach through the mouth of a 259 00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:41.880 sinner, bread and wine, things that look ordinary, even foolish. He 260 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:52.589 gives us himself that we might be preserved, that you might enjoy everlasting life 261 00:26:52.589 --> 00:27:00.269 as a member of his harvest. Rest asshored this evening, brothers and sisters, 262 00:27:00.349 --> 00:27:03.660 that the master does not sleep. His servants might, but he does 263 00:27:03.859 --> 00:27:08.500 not sleep. He knows your struggles, he knows your life, your worries, 264 00:27:08.539 --> 00:27:14.700 your frailties, and he comes to us even in this night to give 265 00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:21.289 of himself through word and Sacrament, that we might be strength in both body 266 00:27:21.410 --> 00:27:25.890 and soul to life everlasting, that we, as the parable says, may 267 00:27:26.410 --> 00:27:32.079 shine like the sun in the Kingdom of our father let's pray together