May 9: Celebrating His Victory.
HIS SOLUTION.
"The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man."--Matthew 13:37
Some counterfeit items look so similar to the real things that it takes an expert to tell them apart. Years ago, I got a nice purse of a famous brand which prominently displayed its logo in multiple places. I showed it to a friend who knew much more about purses than I did. Having examined my new bag, she told me: "It's not real, it's a counterfeit." It definitely looked real to me, and I asked her why she thought so. "Because," she said, "this particular brand never places stitches over their logo." Only an expert could tell.
In this parable only told by Matthew, we receive an answer to two very frequently asked questions: "Why is there evil in this world?" and "What is God going to do about it!" The answer to the first is: "Because an enemy has done this!" (verse 28); and the second: "He will eradicate it at the end of times, once and for all (verses 30, 40-42)." The parable compares the kingdom of heaven to a situation found in a field. A man sowed good seed, but the enemy came and sowed tares (weeds, Greek zizania) among the wheat (verses 24, 25). This type of agricultural undermining attack, often used as revenge, was punishable by Roman law. Time went by, and when the wheat grew and was bearing grain, the weeds became noticeable (verse 26). When the landowner's workers offered to remedy the evident problem by gathering the weeds, the master asked them not to, not because they couldn't tell them apart, but because they might "uproot the wheat with them" (verse 29). The roots were intertwined, and the landowner cared too much about the wheat. Jesus explained this parable in great detail (verses 36-43) and highlighted that "the one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world...and the enemy who sowed them [the tares] is the devil" (verses 37-39). This is the great controversy between good and evil in one parable. Jesus explains that at the end of the world, He will do away with evil once and for all. Yes! Evil will eventually be fully destroyed. This is a source of assurance for Christ's followers. Jesus tells us how it will all end! And Jesus wins!
My Response:_________________________________________________________
HIS SOLUTION.
"The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man."--Matthew 13:37
Some counterfeit items look so similar to the real things that it takes an expert to tell them apart. Years ago, I got a nice purse of a famous brand which prominently displayed its logo in multiple places. I showed it to a friend who knew much more about purses than I did. Having examined my new bag, she told me: "It's not real, it's a counterfeit." It definitely looked real to me, and I asked her why she thought so. "Because," she said, "this particular brand never places stitches over their logo." Only an expert could tell.
In this parable only told by Matthew, we receive an answer to two very frequently asked questions: "Why is there evil in this world?" and "What is God going to do about it!" The answer to the first is: "Because an enemy has done this!" (verse 28); and the second: "He will eradicate it at the end of times, once and for all (verses 30, 40-42)." The parable compares the kingdom of heaven to a situation found in a field. A man sowed good seed, but the enemy came and sowed tares (weeds, Greek zizania) among the wheat (verses 24, 25). This type of agricultural undermining attack, often used as revenge, was punishable by Roman law. Time went by, and when the wheat grew and was bearing grain, the weeds became noticeable (verse 26). When the landowner's workers offered to remedy the evident problem by gathering the weeds, the master asked them not to, not because they couldn't tell them apart, but because they might "uproot the wheat with them" (verse 29). The roots were intertwined, and the landowner cared too much about the wheat. Jesus explained this parable in great detail (verses 36-43) and highlighted that "the one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world...and the enemy who sowed them [the tares] is the devil" (verses 37-39). This is the great controversy between good and evil in one parable. Jesus explains that at the end of the world, He will do away with evil once and for all. Yes! Evil will eventually be fully destroyed. This is a source of assurance for Christ's followers. Jesus tells us how it will all end! And Jesus wins!
My Response:_________________________________________________________
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