The Parable of the Weeds
“24Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28” ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
”The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29” ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
The parable of the weeds is an example of the fight between good and evil; heaven and hell. The farmer is a representation of Jesus himself. He sows the news of God to the people. The people in this parable are the soil. Give them thoughts and words about their lives and from it will grow ideas and ways of living accordingly. The enemy is the devil. Counteracting the good news of Christ is the wicked, cruel ideas of the Anti-Christ. He too sows thoughts and words among the people; the soil. Some people choose to grow Jesus’ message and some choose that of the Devil.
For the Jews, this is just another example to reinforce their idea that they are the Chosen People. They are the soil that brings forth a good harvest. After all, Jesus was also a Jew. Other religions, the government and other cultures are not chosen by God. Therefore they are mixed in and persecute the Jews like weeds choking a healthy plant in the garden.
Divorce
2 Large crowds followed him there, and he healed their sick.
3 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’* 5 And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’* 6 Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”
7 “Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?”* they asked.
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended. 9 And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his wife has been unfaithful.*”
19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’* ”
20 “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”
21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
25 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.
26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
My reaction to these two conflicting parables is personal, as my family has just experienced a divorce. First, I think it is logical for Jesus to have said both of these statements to his followers. Jesus is trying to save as many souls as possible. He is building up a following for God. Therefore, Jesus must establish a strong family base where his ideas can be handed down. In contrast to the laws of genetics that tell the human body to be with as many people reproductively as possible to vary the human gene pool, Jesus ideas need the opposite.
To honor the head of the family, one’s father and mother is to keep the root of the family at the hearth and helm. From there, a family that stays together and does not divorce holds on to the religion of the old generation while continuing to produce heirs of the religion for future generations. In practicum, Jesus creates his own religious machine in the patriarchal nuclear family. It is a mechanism that will perpetuate, in theory, Jesus ideas of what is right and is God’s message long after he and his disciples have gone.
