City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 “But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Matthew 13:24-30

Commentary

Matthew 13 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible because it is packed with Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God.  The main themes are a response to the questions, “Why is there evil in the world?,” and “Why does God allow it to continue?” But in addition, there is one often overlooked inference from Jesus’ Parable of the Tares, which I believe is inescapable and revolutionary. It is this: that the kingdom of God is not synonymous with the Church or heaven.

We can know this because when Jesus is explaining this parable, He says that at the end of the age, His angels come and “will gather out of His kingdom” the tares and will cast them into the “furnace of fire” where there will be “gnashing of teeth” (v. 41-42). The kingdom of God cannot be the same thing as the Church because the unconverted are not part of the Church (the universal body of believers). For the same reason the kingdom of God cannot be synonymous with heaven. The tares have no place in heaven, as Jesus makes clear in explaining the parable (v. 42). For this parable to make sense, there must be a way in which one can be in the kingdom of God and be a tare, i.e not a Christian. 

The key is understanding the kingdom of God is best defined as the reign of Jesus. Wherever Jesus reigns, there is the kingdom of God. And Jesus reigns where people submit to His will. See Matthew 6:10. That is why Jesus told His followers “the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21), and He told the seventy to tell those who rejected their ministry that “the kingdom of God has come near to you” (Luke 10:11)—the kingdom of God goes where those who are submitted to the reign of Jesus goes. 

My home is the kingdom of God on earth; Jesus reigns in my home because my wife and I have authority over our home, and we exercise that authority in obedience to King Jesus. It is Kingdom territory. Sometimes people who don’t know Jesus come into our home, and when they do they are “in the kingdom of God.”  But that doesn’t mean they will inherit the Kingdom when they die (I Cor. 6:9-10); only believers inherit the kingdom.

That is why the Bible can say that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of God (Rev. 11:15), and that the kingdom of God will crush and put an end to all the earthly kingdoms (Dan 2:44)—the kingdoms of this world exist in time and space, as does the kingdom of God, and as the kingdom of God spreads throughout the earth, it is bringing earthly kingdoms under the reign of King Jesus.  And at the end of the age, according to Jesus, it is the tares, not the believers, who are taken out of it (Matthew 13:41-43).

Application

When we mysticize the Kingdom, we marginalize it. But when you realize the kingdom of God exists on earth in time and space and its presence is directly dependent upon your submission and obedience to the King, it will transform your thinking. Your home can be Kingdom territory, as can be your office, the table at the restaurant where you eat, anywhere you are, and anywhere you go, if in that place you allow Jesus to reign through you.  

And when you do, you allow the tares in your presence to experience the blessing and benefits of the Kingdom; you allow them to nest in the branches of the Kingdom (Matt. 13:31-32) even if only temporarily. But hopefully, while the tares are enjoying the benefits and blessings of the kingdom of God on earth, they will make the decision to become Kingdom citizen (Col 1:13), in which case the kingdom of God now goes where they go and they will inherit the Kingdom when they die.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you that you have chosen gladly to give us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32), and I pray that you help me to better establish and advance your Kingdom on earth today. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.