Matthew by Allen O. Wesley Jr

Author:Allen, O. Wesley, Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4514-2645-8
Publisher: Fortress Press
Published: 2013-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

Lection: Parable of the Weeds in the Field

13:24-30, 36-43; Proper 11

In our discussion above of the Parable of the Sower we noted the scholarly debate concerning whether the allegorical interpretation was a later addition. The same situation is found with the Parable of the Weeds, except that the answer is clear: the interpretation is later. Nevertheless, Matthew does want his readers to understand the parable through the lens of this particular interpretation and the RCL includes the interpretation offered to the disciples (separated by two other public parables and a narrator’s interlude, vv. 31-35) as part of the lection for the preach to consider.

First a word about the context of the parable. It is connected to the Parable of the Sower in a significant amount of shared vocabulary, but the interpretation makes it clear that the terms function as symbols of different things here. Nevertheless, there is a common picture of reality shared by the two parables that help preachers relate their sermons on succeeding weeks. That is, both parables picture the world as divided into two groups: those who are in the reign of heaven and those who are not. In the first parable, the reason for this division is that some understand and accept (and do) Jesus’ word of God’s reign and some do not, putting the responsibility on the hearer. In the second parable, the responsibility is on the evil one who sows children of the evil one among children of God’s reign (vv. 38-39), which picks up and expands upon a similar image from the interpretation of the Parable of the Sower, in which the birds who eat seed that falls on the path represent the evil one snatching away what is sown in the hearts of those who hear but do not understand (vv. 4, 19). The shift in responsibility is not contradictory. With these two parables Matthew makes clear that our inclusion or exclusion from the reign of heaven is both something we do and something that is done to us. Both grace and responsibility and victimization and responsibility are pairs that cannot be easily separated.

As the Parable of the Weeds is related to the parable that precedes it, so is it connected with the two short parables that follow (and which are part of the next lection, vv. 31-33). All three parables, unlike the Parable of the Sower, are presented as metaphors for the reign of heaven. Moreover, all three, like the Parable of the Sower, emphasize growth. The image of future growth indicates a strong eschatological theme. In the case of this parable, the seed is already planted and growing but has not yet been harvested. Thus the parable names the current situation of the mixture of wheat and weeds, of good and evil, as the eschatological reality of Christian experience. Naming this present reality in light of God’s future is a key element of preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.

But Matthew’s interpretation of this parable goes beyond simply naming the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.