“The Mystery of the Kingdom”

Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

Colossians. 1:24-27

• 24Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Daniel 2:44

• 44“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

The Mystery of the Kingdom

• OT prophets taught that the Kingdom of God would come at the end of the world with power and majesty.

The Mystery of the Kingdom

• OT prophets taught that the Kingdom of God would come at the end of the world with power and majesty.

• The mystery was that the Kingdom of God had already come in the first stage with the coming of Christ to earth.

The Mystery of the Kingdom

• OT prophets taught that the Kingdom of God would come at the end of the world with power and majesty.

• The mystery was that the Kingdom of God had already come in the first stage with the coming of Christ to earth.

• The initial Kingdom did not come with destructive power but as a gift of God with persuasive power.

The Mystery of the Kingdom

• OT prophets taught that the Kingdom of God would come at the end of the world with power and majesty.

• The mystery was that the Kingdom of God had already come in the first stage with the coming of Christ to earth.

• The initial Kingdom did not come with destructive power but as a gift of God with persuasive power.

• The mystery of the Kingdom of God is that the future Kingdom has become a present reality.

Matthew 13:24-30• 24Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of

heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Parable Explained: Matthew 13:36-43

• 36Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Two Kingdoms on Earth

• There are two kingdoms on earth, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness.

Two Kingdoms on Earth

• There are two kingdoms on earth, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness.

• I John 5:19 says, “We know we are the children of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.”

Two Kingdoms on Earth

• There are two kingdoms on earth, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness.

• I John 5:19 says, “We know we are the children of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.”

• Jesus invaded the Kingdom of Darkness. This was an invasion of persuasion.

Cololssians 1:13,14: The Rescue

• 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We don’t weed out sinners

• We do not attack sinners in the world because it is too hard for us to tell the difference between the wheat and the weeds.

• It is hard to tell the difference between forgiven sinners and unforgiven sinners.

• Only Jesus and his angels will weed out sin and sinners, not us and not now, but at the future harvest.

We help rescue sinners

• God is calling his people to participate in rescuing lost sinners from the Kingdom of Darkness.

• God is calling us to invade the Kingdom of Darkness with God’s love.

• We must invade with the message of God’s love and salvation from sin, found in the person and work of Jesus.

God’s kingdom is a present reality and a future hope

• We have been rescued from the Kingdom of Darkness and the rule of the Devil.

• God has given us everything we need for holy living.

• So let’s live like it.