The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, 15 July 2026
A Sermon on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 by Robert Alan Shivers

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 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.” ’ ” 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

HOLY WORSHIP: GROWING AMONGST TEMPTATION

Grace, Mercy and Peace to you, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Wheat and Tares:

During Christ’s time, people from around the world were story tellers. Why? Because stories can be easily remembered and they are a great tool for teaching and explaining a lesson for those who are young and even for those who are old. If the person is a good storyteller, then their stories are easy to listen to, and they keep our attention. Because Jesus was a good storyteller, His stories, or parables, were relatable to the people he shared them with. And they are still relatable today. Thus, many are remembered more readily today than many other parts of scripture.

In today’s Gospel Lesson, we find Christ sharing a story about a farmer that has sown seeds to grow wheat. But his enemy snuck in while those who were supposed to keep watch were asleep, and seeds of tare were sown within the seeds of wheat. What does this mean, though? What are tares? Tares are weeds, they can look like wheat in its early stages of growing, making a farmer think that they are wheat. But the seeds are poisonous; therefore, it is important for any farmer to recognize the tare as early as possible. These tares in Christ’s parable were sown within the wheat, they have rooted and the roots became intertwined with the wheat. So, if the workers and the farmer attempt to pull up these tares, the wheat will be pulled up as well. Okay, so what? Yeah, it stinks that this happened, but what point is Jesus trying to make? If we look at verses thirty-seven and after, we find that the one who sowed good seed is the Son of Man, who is Jesus Christ. The field is the world, here on earth. You and I, the children of God, are the wheat which has been sown. We were put here on earth, planted if you will, to produce good fruit, usable fruit, fruit that nourishes the needs of the body, not for ourselves, but for others. Our faith is not meant to be useful only for ourselves, nor is it meant to be kept to ourselves. Rather our faith is meant to be shared. If we share our faith in Christ, we are being used by the Holy Spirit to plant the seed of faith within others. If you are able to continue communication with that person you have that you have shared your faith with, you are able to water the seed which has been planted within that person’s heart. You are able to be a part of the growing of that faith.

But what of the tares? Who plants them in the field which is this world, with all its people and lands? The wicked one, Satan, the old evil foe is the one who plants the tares in the field. The tares are the sons of Satan. They are the ones who do as he wishes. They act out the evil which he desires. Their fruit is the stealing, killing, and destroying that we see out in the world. They are the ones who attempt to intertwine themselves with us, to corrupt us, to overtake us, to wreak havoc upon us. They work to thwart the good and righteous plans of God. They work to mix in their poisonous fruit with the good fruit of our labors. We must be ever mindful of the tares in our lives. We must be ever mindful of those who are entrenched in Satan’s plans and desires. They are the ones who attempt to pull us away from God and His only Son. They are the ones who entice us to go against our neighbors. And when we fall asleep, when we stop keeping watch over ourselves and our neighbors, when pastors do not tend to the flock and their needs, the old evil foe comes in to sow the seeds of doubt, of strife, and of selfish desire. All of us must be mindful of the old evil foe and his desire to plant such seeds. For he comes when we least expect it. Therefore, we must be ready to defend our neighbor from such evil and to remind them of the old story of Jesus Christ and His love. Offense and lawlessness will surely be seen in our neighbor’s lives if we do not attempt to defend them.

Offend and Lawlessness:

I was asked earlier in the week what was meant by “offend” and “lawlessness” in verse forty-one. I feel it is important that clarity is given for us to better understand Christ’s explanation and foretelling of what will happen at the end of times when Satan and all his demonic companions are defeated. Let us take a look at verse forty-one together. “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness.” (Matthew 13:41) What is Christ talking about in this verse? The word “offend” can be translated in only a few ways when looking at the Greek. “Hindrance”, “Blemish”, and “Stumbling-Block” are three of only a handful, of translations given. When Christ says that the angels will gather out of his kingdom all that offends, he is talking about all of those things that cause a blemish in the kingdom, those that are stumbling blocks for the righteous, those who are a hinderance to all that is good and right. But wait a minute, Jesus says “kingdom”. Am I telling you that God has allowed those who would steal, kill, and destroy into His kingdom? Far from it. Jesus is talking of the kingdom that is found in this world, that is, His Church. Those who actively sin, who are actively defiant against Christ and our Heavenly Father, are those who practice lawlessness.

I have questions, therefore, for you. Are you actively being defiant against God? Are you thumbing your nose at Him? Are you mocking Him and all that He has established so that we may come to know His true and holy desires for us as His children? Think about that, my dear friends. Take a moment and ponder about that. Look back on the days that have gone by. Do you see defiance in your past? Do you see the mocking of God in the days gone by? If you do, I beg you to come with a repentant heart to the table. For that is what God desires to see, that is what Christ died for, the repentant heart which is burning from guilt and shame. A heart which wants to do better. Jesus Christ stretched out his arms and gave Himself up on the cross for the repentant heart. He said “It is finished” before breathing His last breath. My dear friends, if you are not moved by that then Satan has a firm grasp on you that I fear for you. And if he has that tight of a grip on you then we ought to have a conversation. And even though he may have a firm grasp on you, I urge you to come to the table today, take into yourselves Christ Jesus through the bread and wine. For Christ says, “This is my body”, “this is my blood” it is given and shed for you. And if you still do not feel as if you have received Christ, come to me and let us talk. I am not trying to browbeat you into it. This urging comes from a loving heart that wishes to help you, to guide you, and to be with you in this time of struggle. For you truly receive Jesus Christ this day when you take Him into yourselves through the bread and the wine. Let us talk about what has hardened your heart. For the tares in this life would like nothing more than for your heart to be hardened and to refuse Christ Jesus, to mock God, and to be unrepentant. Let us talk about it, my dear friend. Let us talk about what has hardened your heart so that you may start to heal.

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Fr. Robert Alan Shivers
rshivers@stmatthewsch.org
St. Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church (AALC)
Wilmington, North Carolina USA

Bulletin insert

Holy Worship: Growing Amongst Temptation

Praying

“Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of Your Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen” (The Lutheran Daily Office, 114).

Listening

Matthew 13:25 “…his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.”

Origen of Alexandria (3rd century Bible scholar): “According to this the whole world might be called a field, and not the church of God only. For the Son of Man sowed the good seed throughout the entire world, but the wicked one sowed tares – that is, evil words – which, springing from wickedness, are children of the evil one” (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Matthew 1-13, 277).

Matthew 13:27 “‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?”

St. Augustine (5th century Bishop of Hippo, present day Algeria): “See which of the two will be at harvest time. The field is the world, and the church is spread throughout the world. Let the one who is wheat persevere until the harvest; let those who are weeds be changed into wheat. There is this difference between people and real grain and real weeds, for what was grain in the field is grain and what were weeds are weeds. But in the Lord’s field, which is the church, at times what was grain turns into weeds and at times what were weeds turn into grain; and no one knows what they will be tomorrow” (277).

Matthew 13:29 “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.”

St. Augustine (5th century Doctor of the Western Church): “The workers of the householder wanted to go and gather up the weeds, but they were not allowed to do so. Though they indeed wanted to gather them up, they were not allowed to separate the weeds. They did what they were suited for and left it to the angels to do the separation. At first they were unwilling to leave the separation of the weeds up to the angels. But the householder, who knew them all and saw that a separation was necessary, ordered them to put up with the weeds and not to
separate them.” (277-278).

Matthew 13:36 “Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him…”

Origen of Alexandria (3rd century exegete and theologian): “Having come, they saw and stayed with him for all that day, and perhaps some of them even longer. In my opinion, such things are implied in the Gospel according to John…And if then, unlike the multitudes whom he sends away, we wish to hear Jesus and go to the house and receive something better than the multitudes did, let us become friends of Jesus, so that as his disciples come, we may also come to him when he goes into the house. And having come, let us inquire about the explanation
of the parable, whether of the tares of the field, or of any other” (283).

Reflecting

1. Do I return daily to my Baptism asking again that the Lord transform weeds into wheat?

Learning

Table of Duties (from Martin Luther’s Small Catechism)

Certain passages of scripture for various holy orders and positions, admonishing them about their duties and responsibilities

Of Citizens

Give to Caesar’s what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. Matt. 22:21.

It is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Rom. 13:5-7
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior. 1 Tim. 2:1-3

Remind the people to be subject to rules and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good. Titus 3:1

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 1 Peter 2:13-14

Doing

1. Pray for every unbaptized child, youth, or adult you know and for the child’s parents, too.

2. Pray for your unchurched loved ones and friends. Invite one or more of them to worship.

3. Discuss with your spouse, your family, or a friend why God expects Christians to be good citizens to the extent that government does not persecute Christians or try to force them to disobey God by doing evil.

4. Read through these passages again daily and reflect on your experience with those who serve in government office. Which officials have been easier to respect and why? Which have not? What traits does a godly ruler have? Pray for all leaders including those who fall short of the mark.

5. Read the daily lessons for this week (Pentecost 8, Year Two) on LBW p. 190. Pray at least one of the daily prayer offices in the LBW (Morning or Evening Prayer, Prayer at the Close of Day, Responsive Prayer 1 or 2).

For Husbands and Wives

Repeat daily: “I (name) take you (name) to be my wedded wife (husband), to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish until death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I pledge you my faith.