“Much of what happens in our world is evil and bad, but God specializes in bringing good out of it” (Rick Warren). This makes for a nice meme, but real life often puts such sentiment to the test, doesn’t it? The more I read the Bible, the more I realize the abundance of “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” experiences (Psalm 23:4). I ask you to take a step back from our focal passage today and look at it from a wider theological perspective. We will see that Jesus has provided us with two essential puzzle pieces that help us to see more clearly a picture of His mercy in such difficult life circumstances. God has a plan! Let’s examine it today.

Jesus speaks to the crowds in this parable (13:24-30; esp. 36). They wonder, if the kingdom of God has arrived, why has the victory not been apparent? Furthermore, if Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, then why has the response to Him not been more uniform? Wow! They really lay it on the line, don’t they? We need to keep in mind that Jesus was not running for office here. He hugged and healed people who were diseased, and kissed the little children, not because He was trying to gain an office. He did so because He was grieving over the brokenness of that which He had created! He had already been anointed by the Father, and He was on earth to complete a specific mission to put an end to the misery of evil and suffering. He came to offer total redemption to humanity. He wants His listeners to hear the truth.

Evil and suffering are ever-present. The truth is that evil and suffering is complicated. The heart of the passage itself begs the question as to why evil and suffering is not rooted out more quickly. We have seen some pretty horrific events in our lifetimes, and we may wonder now, as they did then, whether God still has a plan to end all this global suffering. 

We must wait for God to resolve evil and suffering. Jesus provides a response that draws deeply upon two important Biblical themes regarding evil and suffering—“probation” and “eschatology.” In the case of the former motif, probation (also termed “evidence”), we all recognize that the world is essentially evil and that the righteous must wait for God’s final disposition of it (13:30; at harvest time [i.e. judgment] gather the weeds first). Therefore, we are living in a “probationary period,” where our faith is often tested. In some cases, our faith is severely tested when “pagans” are used to judge God’s people (cf. Habakkuk 1:12-17). In our common language, we would say that God permits the bad guys to exercise His discipline upon us! There is another facet to this theme, and it is found in this passage.

God will clearly judge between good and evil. Sometimes the good and bad guys look too much alike to be able to distinguish between them (13:25)! The weed mentioned in the passage is often indistinguishable from wheat when it is first planted (NAC). Jesus tells His followers that there is such an inter-connectedness between them that to remove the evil ones now would harm those who are good (cf. 13:29). Sadly, the Zealots (Luke 9:54), and even Jesus’ own disciples, were all too eager to root out immediately the evil they saw around them. Jesus warned them to wait for the final judgment. Therefore, only God the Creator can judge clearly and accurately between good and evil. For this theme to make sense to us, we must add another layer to the discussion of evil and suffering.

God will ultimately bring victory over evil and suffering. Jesus has referred to the end times in this parable. He teaches us that at the end of the age there will be a victory over the problem of evil and suffering. The wicked will be judged and the righteous rewarded (13:30; see also Isaiah 24:27; Daniel 7:12; Matthew 24-25). We might label this eschatological motif as “the happy ending,” which it will be, were it not for the fact that people suffer here and now with diseases and other tragedies. There are many Christians today who might refer to this approach to evil and suffering as pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by theology. They have grown wearing of waiting and they have chosen to grab hold of whatever temporal security they are able to scrape together. Our passage challenges such impatience. Good and right will ultimately prevail. We are not to grow weary of well-doing and waiting for God’s intervention (Galatians 6:9; Romans 12:14-19).

This entire devotional brings back to mind a time when I provided lawn services to people. On one occasion a family had an important party at their home one evening and they called with a request for me to tidy up their flower bed. I arrived to find the area in desperate shape. To make matters more difficult, I could not distinguish easily between the good plants and the pesky weeds! I did my best, but as I began to pull up what I thought were weeds, the good plants began to come up as well. To complicate matters, I mistook the “ground cover” for a weed, and yes, I rooted that up—every bit of it—as well. Let’s just say that a “cold front of discord” between the lawn owners and their lawn keeper blew into the yard that day! They obviously needed a qualified lawn specialist. 

Here is the spiritual point for today: We need a qualified Savior to judge between good and evil and to put an end to suffering. Thankfully, we have one, and He has told us in advance how to approach this age and the age to come.

1. Notice the short attention span that humans have with evil and suffering. The nightly news has largely moved on from the natural evil that struck and crippled Myanmar and Thailand in recent weeks, school shootings, and round after round of severe weather. God has not and never will move on until evil is fully eradicated. Continue to pour yourself into good Kingdom pursuits until He returns (Matthew 5:9, 16). Resolve to pray for God to “deliver us from evil” in our own hearts and in our world.

2. Transform the prayer focus in your personal quiet time, the prayer time within your life group, and in your church. Wed passages like Matthew 13:24-30 to real-time circumstances. Ask God to minister to hearts through His word and to strengthen lives with His presence.

3. For Families: In our homes, around our tables, we can also use this passage to pray for God to minister to people in need, bring comfort to those who are suffering, and aid and bring healing to neighbors and friends.

As you pray each week, think of something tangible your family can do to help those who are dealing with hard circumstances. Send a note of encouragement and prayer to sick neighbors, pack and take emergency items to those whose homes are ravaged by storms or natural disasters, or bake and drop off cookies for the bereaved. Our actions can be a source of hope for those who are discouraged by having to wait for God's justice. We can walk along and help carry the burden.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock