Sermon -- 9th Sunday after Pentecost (July 26, 2026)

THE GOOD SEED PRODUCES A GOOD HARVEST.

MATTHEW 13:24-30,36-43

In the name + of Jesus.

      The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed and desired a good harvest.  The good seed has produced a good harvest.  It has produced saving faith in you—a faith which trusts God’s word, a faith which receives the benefits of Jesus’ perfect life and innocent death, a faith which is taught to say “No” to wickedness and “Yes” to godliness.  You are the good harvest. 

     But the kingdom of heaven has an enemy.  Although the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the enemy has infiltrated this world.  He has sown seeds of sin and unbelief.  And although his work results only in pain, suffering, and death, his work is not always as obvious as we would think.  In some cases, it is obvious.  There are people who have embraced the enemy’s lies.  As St. Peter wrote, they live “in unbridled immorality, lusts, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and disgusting idolatry.  For this reason, they are surprised that you do not plunge into the same overflowing river of filth with them, and they slander you” (1 Peter 4:3-4).  Their sins are obvious.

     But that is not the case with most.  Jesus described it this way: “When the plants sprouted and produced heads of grain, the weeds also appeared.  The servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?  Where did the weeds come from?’  He said to them, ‘An enemy did this.’  The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather up the weeds?’  ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because when you gather up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat along with them’” (Matthew 13:26-29). 

     You might recall that the King James Version referred to the weeds as tares.  We will use that phrase in a hymn later.  Tares are poisonous.  If you consumed them, you would get sick.  But you can’t tell the difference between wheat and tares as they grow together.  This is true in the world as well.  You usually can’t tell who is in the kingdom of God and who is not.

     Most people know how to behave.  Most people recognize that society works best when people are polite, decent, and generous.  As a result, we might assume that most people are in the kingdom of God.  You can’t know it by someone’s appearance or personality.  What if a man is grumpy?  Is he not in the kingdom of God?  On the other hand, what if a man is the life of the party and always picks up the check?  Is he in the kingdom of God?  We don’t know.  Atheists can be polite and generous.  Christians can be self-absorbed and self-centered.  We cannot distinguish the wheat from the tares. 

     It might seem sensible to uproot and remove all the tares.  That should make the world a better place, right?  But it would be a disaster if we tried.  Jesus explained why.  “When you gather up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat along with them” (Matthew 13:29).  The wheat and the tares will continue to grow together.  Jesus said they would remain until the harvest, that is, until the final judgment.  Then each will be shown for what he or she is.  Then our Lord will judge each person accordingly.

     Throughout the history of the Church, there have been repeated efforts to make the Church more pure and, allegedly, better preserved from sin and error.  Most of those efforts involved separation from a group or seclusion from society.  The Puritans wanted a more devout church than the Church of England.  They separated from it, even crossing the ocean to establish a pure church.  Monks wanted to free themselves from the wickedness of the world.  So, they left it and entered monasteries.  None of these efforts ever produced a pure church.  Sinners still brought their sinfulness with them.  Besides that, it is not what our Lord has called us to do.  How can you love your neighbor if you keep him away from you? 

     If the wheat and the tares grow together in this world, you can expect the world to be messed up.  And so it is.  If the wheat and the tares grow together in the Christian Church, you can expect the Christian Church to be messed up.  And so it is—with countless and conflicting denominations.  But the good seed produces a good harvest.  There is a Holy Christian Church, just as we confess.  It is the invisible Church, because God alone knows who are the true sons and daughters of the kingdom.

     But that does not mean we are incapable of recognizing the Church.  Jesus told us where to find the Church.  He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world.  The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:37-38).  The Lord Jesus establishes his Church where the seed is sown.  The Church is wherever God’s word is rightly preached and the sacraments are rightly administered.  There, the Holy Spirit is at work to create and to sustain faith in the hearts of people.  To remain in the kingdom of God, God’s people need to be where the word of God is rightly preached and the sacraments are rightly administered.  There, the good seed continues to be sown, and it will produce a good harvest.

     Unfortunately, the kingdom of God has an enemy.  Jesus said, “The weeds are the sons of the Evil One.  The enemy who sowed them is the Devil” (Matthew 13:38-39).  Just as it is not always easy to distinguish the wheat from the tares, so also it is not always easy to distinguish between the seeds, whether they are good or bad.  When the devil tells his lies, he is good at making them sound right.  He twists God’s word just slightly so that it still sounds like it is God’s word.  The devil perverts a part of God’s word, hoping that this will lead people farther away from the rest of God’s word.  The goal of the devil is to lead you away from Jesus, and he will do this bit by bit.  A ship that is only one degree off course will end up miles away from its far destination.  This is how the devil steers people away from the truth.

     This is how you can have many churches today which profess to be Christian churches and yet proclaim teachings that defy God’s word.  They will accept any and every lifestyle and say, “God told us to love our neighbor.  We do that here.”  Of course, God wants us to love our neighbor, so it sounds very Christian.  But when you say, “Some choices are wicked.  People need to repent,” they will condemn you.  “God told us to love our neighbor.  Why don’t you?”  You are enticed to embrace the lie, as if you have failed God’s commands.  Who doesn’t want to be known as open-minded and big-hearted?  The Enemy has sown this seed, and it takes root very easily.  Beware.  Love for your neighbor is never at odds with a love for God’s word. 

     The goal in calling people to repent is not to prove who is better or worse.  It is about a godly love for people so that they will not die in their sins and receive the judgment Jesus warned about: “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will pull out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and those who continue to break the law.  The angels will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:41-42). 

     The reality is that we all entered the world as bad seed.  We confess with King David, “Certainly, I was guilty when I was born.  I was sinful when my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).  We acknowledge the words of St. Paul, “All have sinned and continue to fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 2:23—“fall short” is a present tense; it is an on-going reality).  While the sins of others may be obvious, we do not have to answer for them.  We have our own sins to answer for—sins of habit, sins of weakness, sins of looking down on others for their sins, sins of encouraging people in their sins because we would rather be in their good graces than in God’s.  We have much to answer for, and we don’t have any better answers than anyone else.  Repent.

     The good news is that we have a Savior who has stepped in to answer for us.  The Lord Jesus Christ has come to be our advocate before the heavenly Father.  Jesus does not excuse our sins.  Rather, he paid for them. 

     When Jesus stood on trial before the Sanhedrin, they accused him of many things.  Jesus did not give any answer to defend himself.  He was not trying to escape the cross or evade condemnation.  He accepted the charges for all of mankind.  He took all sins into himself.  And just as our Lord does not excuse any sins, so Jesus did not fail to take up any sins when he went to the cross.  No sins were too costly.  No sinner was omitted.  Jesus paid the price for every sin and every sinner.  As a result, Jesus answers for us before the Lord’s court.  All sins have been taken away.  All the charges have been dropped.  All have been issued a divine pardon.  

     God has planted the seed of his word in you to produce a good harvest.  As a result, you have received the benefits of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  This is what makes you sons and daughters of the kingdom.  It is not because you are good; it is because Jesus is good and merciful.  It is not because you are righteous; it is because you have been covered in Jesus’ righteousness.  Jesus has cleansed you with his holy, innocent blood.  And if you need greater assurance of this salvation, here the blood of Christ is poured into you to cleanse you of all unrighteousness.  Here is the body that bore your sins and has overcome death for you.  Here the sacrament is rightly administered for the good of God’s people.  Here, the Lord works in you to increase your faith, love, and good works.

     The Lord has not removed you from this sinful world.  You remain here as God’s people to be a godly influence on the world.  You get to spread the good seed in the world so that more people can be gathered into God’s kingdom and delivered from the fiery judgment to come.  If you are grieved by the wickedness you see and experience, you will find peace only in Jesus.  Pray for patience and perseverance, knowing that the final harvest is coming.  Then you will be forever free from wickedness, and the Enemy of the kingdom will not be able to harm or harass you anymore.

     In the meantime, the wheat and the tares will grow together.  In the end each will be shown for what he or she is.  “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will pull out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and those who continue to break the law.  The angels will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:41-43).

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