Does one political party, or even one presidential candidate, speak for God? The wife of candidate Ted Cruz was widely quoted that her husband was in the race “to show this country the face of the God that we serve.” Such confidence in any one person’s ability to (1) know exactly what God wants and, (2) represent God’s views clearly and accurately, is certainly on the rise today. But is it biblical?
It reminds me of Jesus’ little-remembered parable of the weeds and the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30). A farmer discovers weeds growing amongst his wheat. Jesus’ first century Jewish audience certainly expected the kingdom of God to enter their world and napalm the weeds they saw growing all around them. Jesus must have shocked them (and us, when we really hear him) by saying through the farmer in the story: “No, lest in pulling out the weeds you uproot the wheat as well! Let both of them grow together until the harvest.”
Jesus wishes to save us from the naiveté that assumes any church is pure. With his usual blunt eloquence, Martin Luther said he learned from this parable that “the church cannot be without evil people. Those fanatics who don’t want to tolerate any weeds end up with no wheat either.”
Biblical commentator Dale Bruner offers this summary of Jesus’ parable:
“The weeds are in the midst of the wheat, the children of the Evil One are in the company of the children of the kingdom, the devil’s kingdom is within the Son’s! It is not a case of two kingdoms or camps pitched at discernible distance from each other so that we can readily see the enemy “over there” in another group. Jesus gives his church the sobering news that the enemy is inside her.”
This “enemy inside her” prediction has come true again and again, has it not? The medieval church’s Inquisition that burned thousands at the stake?…the religious wars that decimated large swaths of Europe?…the church’s complicity in oppressing the powerless by taking the side of the powerful or the special interests? …modern scandals where pastors abuse their power?…the church person you know whose life never squares with expressed beliefs?
We need Luther’s realism today. Jesus refuses to idealize his kingdom as a greenhouse, perfect and protected. No, Jesus’ church is in the world, where evil also scatters its seeds and grows a harvest. There is no “weed free” church.
Yes, Christians will inevitably disagree on political issues. God is far bigger than any political party. But a biblical worldview will always mistrust any religious or political leader who speaks for a pure church against an easily perceived enemy “over there” in another group. Pulling weeds—whether that means wielding a sword in the Crusades or wielding a sharp tongue against one’s perceived enemies today—is never Jesus’ way.
During 35 yrs. as a Probation Officer & Parole Agent, I knew and dealt with a lot of “weeds” in the broader sense. But, I was blessed to witness a fair number of them grow to become “wheat”, as they are witnessing to the substance abusers, mentally ill, homeless, etc. I know Jesus’ parable refers to Satan sneaking into the Church to destroy it, but sometime, it takes time to identify whether it’s a weed or wheat.
Mike, what a great comment! Thanks for sharing from your personal experience. As with all of Jesus’ parables, there are many applications as we connect them with our lives.