This week’s readings are all from Matthew 13-14. Click here to see a full listing of each day’s reading and the full chapters of Matthew 13-14. Full readings of each day’s smaller segments of the readings will be posted on this site during the week.
Today's Reading
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The poisonous weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 As the poisonous weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen!
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. 49 It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.” 52 Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”
53 Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Then he came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? And aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And aren’t all his sisters here with us? So where did he get all this?” 57 And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
This idea that there are some people that are “poisonous weeds” that will be thrown into the furnace is hard for me to process… Maybe this is just an idea that helps to explain the way some won’t believe, or that there will just be “evil” people in the world.
I do wonder about the other little comparisons about the treasure in a field or fine pearls. To me, those say “this whole thing is valuable to me and worth everything to keep.” Is this all together to teach us that, though there will always be those that reject or lose faith in God, everyone is still worth it to Him; and the separation at the end of the age speaks to the “natural” consequence of missed opportunities? I don’t know, I’m still wrestling with that last part.
“Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.”
Really, guys??? Hahaha…
How do you process these parables as a group? I need help seeing the big picture.
I thought similar things. I think we have to walk the thin line of God's abounding, unending, unconditional grace and the reality that there are pretty clearly defined moments of Judgment for rejection. The difficulty for me lies in the way I often try to define the ins and the outs on my own, in my own understanding. The separation of evil and righteous (Fish), or the people of the evil one (weeds) is where there's enough ambiguity for me to fill in the gap with my own perceptions of who is right and evil. That's a dangerous journey tbh. One of the important things that I have discovered in my own journey is that in my transforming into the likeness of Jesus I can hopefully discern what is evil and who is righteous in the way Jesus does/did.
If we take the whole of the Scripture, there are some themes of righteousness and evil. And the beauty of God's grace in Christ is that those who have lived in the darkness of evil have the opportunity to be made righteous, through the sacrifice of Jesus.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that rejection of Jesus is one of the primary ways we see the differentiated peoples in the story. Rejection verbally and tangibly (in our lives).
Y'all are so good. Thanks for processing out loud what we're all thinking and wondering.
The part of today's readings that stood out to me:
"44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field."
Because of the JOY in their heart. The Kingdom of Heaven should produce joy!
Catching up on yesterdays posts…In the past, I always wondered how good is good enough to be on God’s team…finally, with the help of my initial Walk to Emmaus weekend, and several trips back into the conference room, I have come to peace as I started to understand Sanctifying Grace…My understanding is that the process of sanctification is life long journey starting when says yes to God’s Call on my life (Justifying Grace). I was lead to a statement that I have incorporated into my personal mission Statement…”A little more today than yesterday, and a little more tomorrow.” Yes…I believe we are all a work in process 🤔🤗👍🐮