Living Stones – Monday, October 16, 2017
The bearded darnel
Matthew 13:30
Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? Jesus answers this question in eleven parables in the Gospel as recorded by Matthew beginning in chapter 13. In the first, told in Matthew 13 verses 24-30 and then explained in verses 36-43, it is general referred to as the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
The Kingdom of Heaven is central to the teaching of Jesus as we see throughout the Gospel records. The Kingdom represents God’s sovereign, dynamic and eschatological rule. Eschatology being a technical term used by theologians to refer to last things like the second coming of Christ and the final judgement.
The Kingdom, therefore, refers to God’s eternal rule rather than an earthly kingdom. As we study the concept of the Kingdom through the Gospels we discover that the Kingdom of God is universal. This must have been controversial when Jesus said it because, until then, the Jews thought that the Kingdom was theirs alone.
As we study we also discover that the Kingdom is imminent not just some vague idea that we talk about occasionally, the talk of the Kingdom must the current and urgent. And, we discover that the Kingdom is present in Jesus and tided to His person and His mission. Finally, we discover that we, the children of God, have the authority to act on behalf of the Kingdom and declare its arrival in a place and time.
However, the first thing that we are challenged to understand is that there is an enemy of the Kingdom of God at work. The tares growing amidst the wheat, in this parable of Jesus, is the result of deliberate planting by the enemy.
Tares were the major source of stress for the farmers in Palestine, where our story takes place. They were a weed called the bearded darnel (biological name: lolium temulentum – typically known as darnel, poison darnel, darnel ryegrass or cockle)
The primary characteristic of the bearded darnel is that it looks similar to the wheat in the early stages of their development making it difficult, if not impossible, to tell them apart. One could easier tell them apart at the mature stage when they are budded, but by then the roots are so intertwined that to uproot one is to uproot or damage the other. So, the wheat and the tares must grow together.
Because of the great similarity the Jews called the tares – bastard wheat. The grain of the bearded darnel is also slightly poisonous causing mild unpleasantness. It has narcotic properties and can be bitter tasting. So, at some point the tares have to be removed.
Unfortunately, the removal of the bastard wheat, the bearded darnel, must be done by hand after the harvesting of the grain. The first stage is in the harvesting itself when the tares are identified, removed, bundled, and burned.
Any that escape are usually picked out after threshing. (It’s like picking the broken or damaged rice out of the rice bowl before cooking.) The tares were similar in shape but of a slightly different colour so they can be spotted and removed before the wheat grain is milled for flour.
Now let’s tie this new-found knowledge into Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish who is genuine from who is an agent of the enemy in our midst. Once we keep in mind that this parable is primarily about the church in the world as explained in verse 38.
Sometimes we must not act rashly even after we have discerned the wrong, because judgement often has to be withheld until the proper time. Premature action could damage the wheat with the tares. In 1 Corinthians 4:5 Paul said, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”
It is easy to get disheartened when we see people in the church not conducting themselves in the ways the scriptures require. We see this in the churches we attend, and we see this in churches spread far and wide around the world. We could hear horror stories about the church every day.
Know for sure that in the end judgement will come. Know for sure that, despite what you may see or hear for now, God has not abandoned His church and in time His judgement will come upon the disobedient and the agents of the enemy.
Think on these things:
- How often do you actually think about eternity and life after death?
- Do you get disheartened or discouraged when you hear disappointing stories about the conduct of Christians, especially Christian leaders?
- Are you aware of some of the ways in which people in our churches today allow themselves to be agents of the enemy?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would be alert to the efforts of the enemy to undermine the work of the church with which we are involved.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex
