Imagine a world without evil and suffering, the one John Lennon sang about in his famous Imagine, the one each of us dreams of. Yet in the parables of the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed, and the leaven (Matthew 13), Jesus paints a different picture: good and evil will grow side by side until the harvest, and pulling up the weeds is not our job. This sermon shows how the Kingdom of God begins with small, unassuming things that change the world more than any crusade. Listen before you start uprooting anything.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In the parable of the weeds, the master forbids his servants to pull them up before the harvest. Given how similar the weeds look to wheat and how their roots intertwine, why was this a wise decision?
- How does Jesus explain the parable to His disciples in Matthew 13:36-43, and what do His words say about who will separate good from evil and when?
- The Jews expected a Messiah on a white horse who would drive out the Romans. What are your own ideas about God's Kingdom that this parable challenges?
- The story of the elders who banned a sixteen-year-old girl and lost several families as well shows the cost of "pulling weeds". Where do you notice a tendency in yourself to hunt for evil in others?
- The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast say that something small grows beyond measure. What in Austin's story or the other examples from the sermon moves you most, and why?
- What is one small thing you can do this week in Jesus' name to respond to evil with good instead of focusing on fighting it?
