Personal Thoughts

One may wonder what the Greek scholars in Corinth were thinking when Paul told the story of the Children of Israel avoiding their leader, Moses, when he descended the mount after communing with God because his face “shone” [like the rays of the sun]. “They were afraid to come near him.” [Exodus 34:30]. “Their minds were blinded,” Paul told them [2 Corinthians 3:14]. And then he spoke of the believer in Christ: “This is not so with us,” he said. There is no covering over our faces when in the presence of the Glory of God! The “veil is done away in Christ” [2 Corinthians 3:14]. Each of us has an “open face” [2 Corinthians 3:18]. Like Moses’ in the Mount, ours are uncovered! Paul is describing the spiritual condition of our hearts [a spiritual understanding] using this analogy.

The Mirror

But, according to Paul we are not seeing the Lord’s glory directly but, as it were, reflected in a mirror [made of polished metal in Paul’s day]. Paul’s metaphor may have sounded strange to his listener. He used a term—reflected—found nowhere else in our Bible, although it is very good Greek. The “mirror” he speaks of is the Gospel. It reflects the light, the glory of God. “[The gospel] is the power of God” [Romans 1:18]. Paul went further in 2 Corinthians 3:2 saying of the believers: “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men.” It was as if he was saying, “When we share the gospel story, we excitedly share your testimony as living proof of what we are proclaiming.” It is reflected in your lives!

Understanding Paul here is difficult but somehow every believer knows exactly what he is saying, even if his words are draped in a metaphor. We are not above wanting to take Paul’s thought and rework it in a way we might better appreciate its inspiration.

The Change

We are being changed, Paul told them. It is a process. It is ongoing. We might want to use the word “sanctification” but I think that deserves a different context and emphasis—howbeit, just as exciting to study.

When most believers read the word “changed” [the Greek means “underwent a metamorphosis”] they probably think of the butterfly. I, for one, do. It is the perfect analogy, even though, Paul might not have meant it that way because no Greek writer used this word of the butterfly. The butterfly’s Chrysalis was first explained in the 17th century, by the German naturalist, Maria Sibylla Merian. Aristotle “didn’t connect the caterpillar to the butterfly in a life cycle.” A.I. reads, “The transformation of caterpillars into butterflies was noticed in ancient times but misunderstood.” [Aristotle saw it as a “spontaneous generation” assuming the caterpillar had died.]

There is an exciting truth “cocooned” in this account of our being changed through a metamorphosis which is best explained using the butterfly metaphor. The caterpillar pupa undergoes a “cellular reprogramming: cells are being destroyed, repurposed, or transformed into entirely new cell types”[A.I.]. My mind is racing on ahead in excited anticipation as to how this might apply to the new you and me! Paul exclaimed, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 1 Corinthians 5:17 ] Through cellular reprogramming some larvae cells, we continue to learn, “lose their … identity and take on new roles as … the … butterfly.”

Though Paul was not likely to be referencing the butterfly as nature’s parable, we agree with Richard Trench: “Around [man] is a sensuous world … being so framed as … continually to lift him above itself – a visible world to make known the invisible things of God, a ladder leading him up to the contemplation of heavenly truth. … It is God’s world, the world of the same God who is leading us into spiritual truth.”

The butterfly analogy is limited in that we are not being made simply into another form at salvation. Paul said we are being transformed “into the same image.” Same? Yes, same as Jesus! Romans 8:29].

This word “image” has special meaning. To say we are Christlike would not be as clear and emphatic as Paul’s language is here and in Romans using the word “image.” He is our model. We are saying that God, the Master Sculptor that He is, is remaking us using Jesus as His model. This is not just outward behavior but inward nature. We are not becoming gods but we are being brought to the standard of His holiness which Jesus, Himself, lives and represents. The resemblance is eventually so complete that Paul could say “For me to live is Christ” [Galatians 2:20]. John could say “we will be like Him [God]” [1 John 3:2]. John uses the word “like” [we will look at shortly] because the reference is to our becoming holy not god. John adds, “We will see Him just as He is. I John 3:3 is the frosting on this cake: “And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.”

At His return, we will shed the Chrysalis of this mortal body—for good [1 Corinthians 15:53ff.].

The Model

An “image” assumes a model! My mind goes to my programming days when I was ask to present a proof of concept in code to satisfy an interest a client had in processing some kind of financial data. I would work off a business specification as my model. I coded what we called “the prototype.” The prototype was a proof that a business idea could be coded at a reasonable cost. Like the Germans might say: an abbild [image] assumes a vorbild [model]. The Greeks might call a child: the εμψυχος [vivid or living] εικων [image or reproduction] of his parents. The “image” implies an archetype [an original] from which it has been derived and drawn.

The Likeness

We are not using the word “likeness” because this word would mean a resemblance or maybe some similar features. Image is more exact. An image copies the model. In Philippians 2:7 Jesus was said to be born in our likeness of sinful men which is accurate because He was unlike us in one point—He was sinless [Romans 8:3]. My sins were “after the similitude of Adam’s” [Romans 5:14] but my disobedience was not in eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Paul taught: “we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” [Romans 6:5]. “Likeness” is a good word because Jesus death [crucifixion] and resurrection [glorification] was as the God-man, both God and man; These are more than historical events to us because He gave as newness of life: our death and resurrection [on this Aristotle would have gotten it right].

But Jesus is not just an example, He is the model! His is the spiritual image God is transforming us into up to and including our glorified bodies someday! Paul called “the Glory of the Lord,” i. e. Our glorified Lord [2 Corinthians 3:18] the “same” image which the Spirit’s work is using to model us after! “Even as by, ” that is “according to” the counsel, desire, and plan, of the Spirit of the Lord.

The Spirit

“The Spirit of the Lord” is all but a moniker for Who He is in our lives. This name refers specifically to God’s might and ability to do what He proposes to do in us. Here is an Old Testament description: “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;” [Isaiah 11:2].

In our verse it is the power and wisdom behind the perfecting of our transformation. This moniker for an omniscient and omnipotent God is first used during the period of the Judges and was especially the source of Samson’s strength. “The Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him”[Judges 14:6]. And now He has come mightily upon us not to burn wheat fields but to be formed in His image.

The Perception

In closing this little talk, I ask you, how reasonable would all this sound to the caterpillar were it privileged to understand the process—if it had a Bible that promised it that someday it would take to flight. Or would it spend its time crawling around in the dirt dreaming how nice it would be to be able to fly—but alas, I am only a caterpillar.

The following 2 part series: The God-Man Part 1 and The God-Man Part 2 is a talk on the doctrine of Jesus [Christology] that He is 2 natures in 1 person. This is a truth debated for centuries before finally being endorsed within Christian theology—even though, it has been clearly Scriptural. But, perhaps, the question is: What do we mean by “nature” and “person”?

How dependent we have become on the inability of our logic to explain [explicate]—and our language to say—what we need said in a simple, clear, and emphatic voice, only to find that God’s thoughts are far above all this [Isaiah 55:9]. God by-passed intellectualism and logic by writing the truth on our hearts—as the New Covenant provides through Christ’s death and resurrection.

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. – Jeremiah 31:33-34

The Notes for this talk.

It has been a life long interest of mine to see Christianity united. It has been the Savior’s prayer for the sake of our witness [John 17:21] but church theologies have sought to endorse as vital truth ideas clearly outside the scope of the Biblical text or they have intentionally argued for one point of theology over another to lure believers into their camp. Much is based on our limited reasoning to understand God. Either way, it has engendered division which might support man’s kingdom but not God’s.

I know that there are ideas endorsed by some that are flirting with things God has—in the clearest interpretation of the text—forbidden. There are, little doubt, persons considering themselves believers on the basis of their loose affiliation with such religious ideas and who will someday stand before the Lord who will not recognize them as His people.

We do not need to confront any of this if we simply promote the Cross as the sole truth worth embracing by faith. It might be that the Holy Spirit does not need our doctrinal expertise, only our personal testimony! [Revelation 12:11]. It might be that the Fruit of the Spirit on display in a believer’s life—even imperfectly—should witness to the Savior’s crucifixion sufficient to draw others to Himself [John 12:32].

There are basic points of Christian doctrine shared by all believers—not because scholarship has underscored them but because the Spirit of God has! [John 16:8-10]. We might even say that God’s people are not as clear on some denominational teachings because the Spirit did not emphasize them. God’s people have been listening to Him all along. His sheep recognize His voice [John 10:27]. It may be that, for the sake only of gathering together to celebrate our Lord’s life, death and Resurrection many sermons have had to be endured in quiet. God’s people love each other and derive much from Christian community and fellowship.

I am looking to God to open many of the hearts of Generation Z [Acts 16:14]. I believe God will gather them together from all subcultures, religions, economic classes, races, and languages and unite them as the final miracle that will announce His return. And if we grandparents are honest with ourselves we will have to admit it is a most marvelous thing to behold. Why didn’t we think of it!

I am coming to accept as true, the Hebrew does not use synonyms like Greek does to “fine tune” a meaning of a word. Synonyms, instead, seem to be used for emphasis. Some mimic the sound that defines them, as for example, “to roar” in Hebrew recreates vocally the lion’s deep throated call [SHau’aG].

In Genesis 1:26 [“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”] “image” and “likeness” are essentially the same. “Many [scholars], … have refused to acknowledge … any … distinctions, between the two.” [Richard Trench].

A distinction however is clear in the New Testament. Richard Trench concludes from the Greek, not the Hebrew, that there is “… a distinction, … between the ‘image’… of God, in which, and the ‘likeness’ … of God, after which, man was created .…”

“a man … is the “image” and glory of God….”  – 1 Corinthians 11:7

“men … are made after the likeness of God.” – James 3:9

“Thus, the great Alexandrian theologians taught that the “image” was something in which men were created, being common to all, and continuing … after the Fall … (Genesis 9:6), while the “likeness” was something toward which man was created, that he might strive after [to] attain it” [Trench]. In Anselm’s thought: We are intellectual beings having been made in God’s image but strive to live a moral life because of His likeness.

“Such an eminently significant part is the history of man’s creation and his fall, all which [are] in the first three chapters of Genesis, we may expect to find mysteries there; prophetic intimations of truths …. And, without attempting to draw any very strict line between ”image” and “likeness,” we may be bold to say that the whole history of man, not only in his original creation, but also in his restoration in the Son [the new man], is significantly wrapped up in this double statement….” [Trench].

It seems correct to say, however, that God could never be satisfied with a humanity that only resembled Him [a likeness] with consciousness and language, etc. but did not correctly represent Him [image]. We were made in His image to copy His holiness [1 Peter 1:15]— what Peter called “the divine nature” [2 Peter 1:4].

In Colossians 3:10 believers are to live like [put on] the new man who has been “renewed [not a new beginning but a new you] in knowledge [a complete and accurate representation] after the image of him [of Christ] that created him.” Christ should be recognizable in our speech and actions, in how we live.

“The Divine Mind did not stop at the contemplation of his first creation,” Richard Trench concluded, “but looked on to him as “renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him” (Colossians. 3:10); because [God] knew that only as partakers of this double benefit [image and likeness] would [we] attain the true end for which [we] were [created].”

Perhaps, we could liken the Bible to a printed circuit where inductors, capacitors, resistors, and various semi-conductors all direct or control current to perform certain computerized electronic tasks. It is all soldered together as one device which needs these components doing what they do to work. A few pieces fine tune things and even with them removed the device will still function, but some components are absolutely essential. A good repair person who fixes these circuits always see the entire board and not just individual parts of it. They know that the device operates as a single unit when it is working right.

The Church knows that the Bible has this single quality about it, also, otherwise scriptures compared to other scriptures could be contradictory and we would simply choose the ones we like, discarding the verses we don’t like. Or if some verses were “extra” having no “current” relevance to our lives or our future, we could discard them outright as historical static. But this is not the Bible I read—nor the Bible you read! Our Bible is a single work of divine inspiration in which the personalities of the individual writers can be seen like different chip manufacturers of various computer parts. But, like the computer, the Bible, viewed as a whole is important in understanding its overall purpose and value to us. There are verses in Genesis that are connected in God’s plan with verses in Revelation and some of that truth, like an electric current, flows by design through Torah law as well as the prophets’ writings.

While I am making this comparison, I recall the day a hooked a battery operated tape record to house current and blew it out. (No! I don’t know sometimes why I do what I do.) But is not God’s Word a bit like this? The voltage is the emphasis or importance God puts upon it in His plan. Some scripture requires a higher voltage—more emphasis—than some other verses, just like some computer parts need more or less power to work right. With some verses the emphasis is very low [Romans 14:22]. As Paul confessed, “by permission, and not of commandment” [1 Corinthians 7:6]. Some Biblical directives are essential for some of us but may not be as important for others. Think married compared to being single [1 Corinthians 7:32-33].

But it is the parts that connect to the entire Bible of Truth that must be valued most and one of these is what this writing is about: “You shall have no other gods before me,” says the Lord. [Exodus 20:3]. This single verse—if you were to put God’s volt meter on it—would register very high, indeed!

And the part known as Hosea’s prophecy!?

It needs a heat sink!

I just studied Hosea 2 and it challenges our understanding of God because it is the story of a broken relationship between God and Israel [Hosea 3:1] and God’s churning feelings of hurt and love. This is not the picture theology offers. I would encourage every believer to put themselves in this story in the place of Israel to remind themselves that the Spirit’s grief Paul spoke of is a real thing and is not poetic license [Ephesians 4:30]. “How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve Him in the desert!,” the Psalmist sympathetically winced [Psalm 78:40]. The Hebrew means that God was in pain!

We should be grateful God didn’t ask of us what He asked of Hosea: to marry a prostitute [Hosea 1:2]. The prophet would have first hand experience in God’s message for Israel. Israel’s interest in foreign gods and our Lord’s own pain brought Him to this. So Hosea was, himself, torn between letting his wife, Gomer, go when she left him for other men or God’s explicit instruction that at any cost get her back. Chapter 3:2 tells us the price for her ransom was 15 pieces of silver plus a homer and a half of barley. A homer went for 10 pieces of silver; so 1and 1/2 is worth an additional 15 pieces of silver [shekels] … or a total cost of 30 pieces of silver. This was the price of a slave [Exodus 21:32]. This was the price given Judas to betray our Lord [Matthew 26:15].

Hosea against parental wisdom, disparaged his wife to their three children claiming they were probably not his! That’s the voice of unutterable anguish. Notwithstanding, the name “Gomer,” means “to bring to completion.” The Psalmist used the verb to mean fulfillment: “to God who fulfills his purpose for me” [Psalm 57:2 ESV]. There is a demonstrable hint here of what God is thinking!

It seems sacrilegious to study this prophecy because I feel like I am engaging in gossip over another’s pain. Perhaps we insulate ourselves from any real discussion of this text by assuming the theological position that God is impassible, that because He cannot change [Malachi 3:6], he doesn’t really feel hurt. But that’s the point “I change not!” means that He still loves them! …and us!!

The second chapter is a love letter from God asking for another chance to reconcile with Israel whom He loves and wants to make happy and safe [Hosea 2:20-23]. God relates how He feels both in terms of His broken heart and His undying love. He wants to “start over” with a new covenant [Hosea 2:18]. He promises, “I have espoused you to me forever” [Hosea 2:19a; Revelation 21:2, 9].

Hosea [and God?] then mellows the tone of his words, almost as if to say apologetically to his children with a hug, “Yes, you are mine! And I will never disown you!” [That’s the voice of reconciliation [Hosea 2:23b]. We should all be awestruck with Hosea’s and God’s persistence. Divorce was never a solution!

The chapter ends with these words: “My God!”  Remember Thomas in John 20:28? Just a glimpse of such love overwhelms our ability to respond. We have no words—no definition—for such a grace! Someday we, too, will stand in His presence and proclaim, “My God!” As the songwriter penned,

When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation,
To take me home, what joy will fill my heart!
Then I will bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, how great thou art!

There is yet a unity available without compromise within Christianity that will give significant meaning to the “glory and honor” God has bestowed upon us [Hebrews 2:6-8] and to the angels’ inquiry into our redemption [1 Peter 1:10, 12 KJV]. Although I am no prophet, the privilege of participating in a great end time harvest of souls has more to do with the current generation and not mine. We, who have laid out the denominational boundaries that encircle our distinct theologies and the traditions we have cherished above the simple message of the Cross, are unable to see a devotion to God apart from these. It is difficult for us to share in an active fellowship and witness that speaks only of Christ! As Paul asserted, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” [1 Corinthians 2:2] This simple message alone will unite us and Christian unity is a prerequisite to an effective and powerful witness [John 17:21], which is needed in such a time as this, as Jesus prayed, This can only be accomplished by young and innocent believers, whose simple faith is solely in Christ and not encumbered with religious requirements.

There is a gospel that must be represented in the streets more than in the churches. Believers must be free to promote a simple faith in Christ and the message of the Cross in whatever words and stories God’s Spirit will employ to draw all men and women unto Himself [John 12:32]. Like missionaries that find themselves inventing motifs and speaking in parables, the believer who shares the gospel story must use themes common to the listener to share God’s love. They must refrain from defending traditional tropes that might even offend the very souls God seeks to save. The church’s old arguments though cherished are stale. If not for the sake of the work, for the sake of the angels, let us consider how we might share with our world our passion for Christ who died for us. If not for our love for souls, for God’s love for them, allow the younger generation of believers the freedom to rethink the approach to evangelism.

While visiting a 71 year old theological graduate from Princeton Theological Seminary, I, in my 30’s, thought to engage him in a discussion over some Koine Greek when he stopped me and confessed that his sole interest now was sharing Jesus with young minds and hearts. He told the story of one young man who sought to broadcast his new found faith in Christ from the town hall steps when the young man’s pastor advised against it until he “grew” a little in Christ and gained some wisdom. My 71 year old “friend” opposed this idea referring to John 4:14 where Jesus told the woman at the Well of Jacob, “the water that I shall give you shall be in you a well of water springing up.” Then my friend added, “Let the water flow!!”

Theology, as a study, is a safe topic because we are studying God: “describing the indescribable,” as it has been put. We are defending a denominational point of view which tends to be more about God’s matchless greatness and less about our weaknesses. Besides, denominationalism is a kind of support group in which it is “safe” to believe what we believe. We make sure of this by selecting the right one that matches our beliefs (or so I was advised by one Presbyter once.) But the safer thing is to keep it about God!

In one Bible study, for example, on Jonah’s tale of God imposing Nineveh on the reluctant prophet, we were able to discuss God’s persistence in sending the prophet because He, God, knew what the people’s response would be. God being slow of anger and full of mercy responded to the king’s decree to repent—what Jonah knew all along would happen [Jonah 4:2].

But when we came to Jonah 4:1, no one was quick to relate to the text [NIV]: “But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.” The Hebrew says, “He was ‘eviled’ with a great ‘evil’ and enraged!” I wanted to know whether or not we were ever is this place: where we wanted God to punish someone we hated because—we rationalized—they deserved punishment; “Let ‘em burn!”

That might have been too personal a question. When Bible studies turn personal some probably think we are heading into dangerous territory. We become far too vulnerable and exposed emotionally. We are leaving the analysis of how we feel in the hands of amateurish counselors—quite unqualified to explain me to me. Anyways, it is always and only the Spirit’s task to “convict” [John 16:8]. So, Bible studies are kept elevated on this level of describing the indescribable God or discussing theology in a comfortable, non-controversial setting.

“Theological distancing” I call it. This is a phrase I coined during the Covid pandemic when it was thought best to keep 6 feet between ourselves and everyone else. We tend to keep our distance from the Biblical message if and when it seems to be getting too personal! But I made a ministry doing it anyways which aggravated some. One elder correctly perceived what I was about. I think he wanted me to “stick to the theology!”

It is this desire to live God’s Word that often brings us to the frontier of Christian thought, where life is a matter of spiritual survival and not just a dogma. Faith is not dogma but trust. Is is not about what we believe but rather Who we believe in. Faith applies to life, itself!

When you’re hurting or grieving or worried or frightened or in pain, I don’t think it helps much to take comfort in a study on Justification by faith or the omnipotence of God. We just want to cry unto the Lord.

Let’s raise the question again for meditation’s sake: Have you ever been ‘eviled’ with a great ‘evil’? I sympathize with a brother who just spent 3 days wrapped in sea weed at the bottom of the Mediterranean, even if he did it to himself. God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry?” [Jonah 4:4] to which Jonah snorted, “I want to die!” [Jonah 4:9].

Why do we make it so much harder for God to get His message of love out there to others who will listen if we share! Why not say what God wants said and sense the joy in knowing God is gracious and merciful. Then take the boat home—not the fish!

Peter informs us that the angels, commissioned to keep us safe [Psalm 91:11], have been more than curious about our relationship with God:

“Of which salvation the prophets … prophesied of the grace that should come when … [they] testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow…. which things the angels desire to look into.” [1 Peter 1:10-12].

As believers in Christ, it should be a priority for us to join them in searching out the provisions of our salvation that, not only, our lives might provide answers for them, but also, that we “receive not the grace of God [in any sense] in vain. [2 Corinthians 6:1]. All theology should ultimately be about the life, death and resurrection of our Savior; this should occupy our interest as believers [1 Corinthians 2:2].

I have been spending endless hours in retirement over the last 4 years studying about “The Cross” and why our Savior had to die. An evangelistic message is never sufficient to quench our thirst for learning all we can about Jesus’ death and resurrection. No one can study Romans and conclude differently. So, after writing my first book on “The Cross” I rewrote it and rewrote it, and rewrote it again, investigating not just our Savior’s death, but what led up to it, and what resulted afterward. For this I found it necessary to reach back to the Garden of Eden for answers.

The theology correctly teaches that Adam’s sin in Eden was not an isolated event but one that introduced to humanity a depravity that made it, now, impossible for us to please God [Romans 3:23}. So God decided to seek a reconciliation through the death and resurrection of His Son [John 3:16; Romans 11:32; Galatians 3:22].

If you are taught in Torah Law [Hebrews 10:1] the motif of Jesus becoming a “ransom” for us [Mark 10:45] provides an explanation, even if you show no interest in what Augustine (354-420 AD) called “original” sin. The Council of Trent met between 1545 A.D. and 1563 A.D. to address original sin. The Council contended that baptism provided the cleansing for this. The stain of Adam’s disobedience was expunged from the record at Calvary! John Stott [in The Cross of Christ. Downers Grove, IL:InterVarsity Press. 2021. page 96, 181] wrote, “there is a strong biblical emphasis on the influence of our inheritance, what we are ‘in Adam.’ The doctrine of original sin means that the very nature we have inherited is tainted and twisted with self centeredness.” [Mark 7:21-23; John 8:34].

But I have come to see all this in a simpler light. When Adam, after eating of the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of—not just— good [but also ] evil, and being confronted by God, he projected blame first on his wife and then God, Himself, “The women You gave me….” [Genesis 3:12]. It was then, I surmised from the Biblical record of all that followed, that God said to Himself, “Mankind’s heart has ossified in seeking to know evil, he needs a new heart!” [Ezekiel 36:26].

If one is curious about our salvation, study the heart! I find this enlightening because it speaks to a lot more than free will. The heart, in Biblical language, is the seat of all our emotions, intelligence, conscience, decisions, desires, and reason. And as such it must become, thanks to Calvary, the place where the Spirit of God resides as our guide and teacher [John 14:17; 16:8]. This is way Jesus had to die and this is why He rose again from the grave-to giev us a new heart [Jeremiah 31:33].

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” – Romans 6:4.

I found the Parable of the Tares particularly encouraging [Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43]. Sadly some translations will fail to describe what to me is essential in this story. The word “tares” is loosely read “weeds” in some versions which is unfortunate because the actual word speaks to a species of wild grass, darnel, that looks a lot like wheat. It was scattered among the wheat seeds the night after the farmer planted the wheat; so, they germinated and grew together—an important point [Matthew 13:24-25].

A blade of wheat or ryegrass [another word used to describe it] would appear similar. According to Matthew 13:26 it wasn’t until the plants were nearing harvest time that it was evident that this wild grass was inseparably mixed in with the wheat. In Matthew 13:28 the man’s servants wonder if they should go through the field and uproot the wild grass, but the farmer advised against this because it would be impossible to do without disturbing the wheat [Matthew 13:29]. The were told to wait for the harvest.

The farmer in this parable represents Jesus, Himself, [Matthew 13:37] and the seeds according to Matthew 13:38 are you and I, the believers. That was unexpected! In the previous parable of the Sower, the seed was the Word of God. Here it is the Word taking root in our lives! So then, what or who is the wild grass seeds? They are the “children of the evil one” [Matthew 13:38]. The enemy that scattered them among us was the devil [Matthew 13:39]. Can you get the picture?

The Lord’s message to His church is that He will deal with this matter at the harvest, at His return “at the end of the world or the age” [Matthew 13:40]. (Some copyist anxious for Christ’s return—as they should be—added the word “this” [the end of this age). Amen.

How does this encourage me? Foremost, Jesus told us in this parable that we cannot determine who is who is this world until He returns. There are a number of persons who now appear to be children of the evil one but like the thief on the Cross next to Jesus that asked to be remembered, they turn out to be wheat! Jesus is the expert horticulturalist who can recognize darnel or wild grass from wheat while it is still growing.

Speaking of growing, the seeds of such evil that we might identify today were probably planted generations ago. I always thought things were much nicer in gramma’s day—but maybe not. The evil in this world in a real sense has in this age—as in previous ages—we might say—been developing along with the Savior’s ministry. And the encouraging point is that some, prayerfully: many, who now are violent [like Nineveh in Jonah’s time: Jonah 3:8] will repent and turn to the Lord. They will prove to be wheat and we were too quick to tear them from the ground and through them on the fire!

There are some who participate in or associate with the worse of the worse perhaps because they knew no other life or they lacked the advantages you and I had growing up in Sunday School or Catechism. On Golgotha’s Hill that day: there was something about that dying thief’s heart that didn’t match the actions that put him on that Roman cross. I think that he asked Jesus to remember him because this message of the kingdom of God had been circulating in Judea during the time of this thief’s rampage and somehow he knew there had to be something more, something real, about our Savior regardless of how things appeared.

Pray for those who riot and destroy things. Many have been academically poisoned in their thinking, but we pray the day will come that they, too, will be introduced to the “Man on the middle cross.” I am also encouraged knowing that our Lord who knows the heart may yet open many [Acts 16:14].

And be encouraged for the harvest can’t be far away [Luke 21:28].