Messiah in Yom HaBikkurim Chapter 31
Parable #12. Weeds among Good Plants (Kingdom of Heaven):
- Today is Day #12
- The Twelfth Mashal of Messiah
- Messiah’s explanation of the Mashal
- Seven Observations
- The Work of the Evil One
- The Fruit of Light
Today is Day #12:
1. Today is “Day #12” in the forty-nine day Countdown to Shavuot.
2. Today is Twelve days in the Omer.
Today is twelve days which are one week and five days in the Omer.
היום שנים עשר יום, שהם שבוע אחד וחמישה ימים בעומר. פ
Haiyom shnaym asar yom, shehaym shavuah echad vechamishah yamim ba’omer.
“You shall count for yourselves — from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving — seven Shabbats, they shall be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count, fifty days.” (Leviticus). “You shall count for yourselves seven weeks, from when the sickle is first put to the standing crop shall you begin counting seven weeks. Then you will observe the Festival of Shavu’ot for Adonai Eloheinu.” (Deuteronomy).
“Blessed are You, Adonai Eloheinu, King of the universe, Who sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to count the Omer.”
ברוך אתה, אדוני אלוהינו, מלך העולם, אשר קדשנו במצוותיו וציוונו על ספירת העומר.פ
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, melech ha’olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al sefirat ha’omer.
The Twelfth Mashal of Messiah:
וַיָּשֶׂם לִפְנֵיהֶם מָשָׁל אַחֵר וַיּאֹמַר מַלְכוּת הַשָׁמַיִם דּוֹמָה לְאָדָם אֲשֶׁר זָרַע זֶרַע טוֹב בְּשָׂדֵהוּ׃ וַיְהִי בִּהְיוֹת הָאֲנָשִׁים יְשֵׁנִים וַיָּבֹא אֹיְבוֹ וַיִּזְרַע זוּנִין בֵּין הַחִטִּים וַיֵּלֶךְ לוֹ׃ וְכַאֲשֶׁר פָּרַח הַדֶּשֶׁא וַיַּעַשׂ פֶּרִי וַיֵּרָאוּ גַּם־הַזּוּנִין׃ וַיִּגְשׁוּ עַבְדֵי בַעַל־הַבַּיִת וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו אֲדֹנֵינוּ הֲלֹא־זֶרַע טוֹב זָרַעְתָּ בְשָׂדֶךָ וּמֵאַיִן לוֹ הַזּוּנִין׃ וַיּאֹמֶר לָהֶם אִישׁ אֹיֵב עָשָׂה זֹאת וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הָעֲבָדִים הֲתַחְפֹּץ כִּי־נֵלֵךְ וּנְלַקֵּט אֹתָם׃ וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא פֶּן־תְּלַקְּטוּ אֶת־הַזּוּנִין וְשֵׁרַשְׁתֶּם גַּם אֶת־הַחִטִּים׃ הַנִּיחוּ אֹתָם וְיִגְדְּלוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם יַחַד עַד־הַקָּצִיר וְהָיָה בְּעֵת הַקָּצִיר וְאָמַרְתִּי לַקּוֹצְרִים לַקְּטוּ בָרִאשׁוֹנָה אֶת־הַזּוּנִין וְאִגְדוּ אֹתָם אֲגֻדּוֹת לְשָׂרְפָם וְאֵת הַחִטִּים אִסְפוּ לְאוֹצָרִי׃
המשיך וספר להם משל אחר: מלכות השמים דומה לאיש הזורע זרע טוב בשדהו. והנה כשישנו האנשים בא אויב, זרע עשבים רעים בין החיטים והלך לו. כאשר צמחו הגבעולים ועשו תבואה נראו גם העשבים הרעים. אז נגשו עבדי בעל-הבית ואמרו אליו, אדוננו, הלא זרע טוב זרעת בשדה שלך; מנין יש בו עשבים רעים? אמר להם, איש אויב עשה זאת. שאלו העבדים, האם אתה רוצה שנלך ונלקט אותם? השיב בעל-הבית, לא, שמא בלקטכם את העשבים הרעים תעקרו אתם גם את החיטים. הניחו לשניהם לגדל יחד עד הקציר. בעת הקציר אמר לקוצרים: לקטו בראשונה את העשבים הרעים ואגדו אותם לאלמות כדי לשרפם, ואת החיטים אספו לאסם שלי. פ
[Mattai 13:24] He presented them with another mashal and said:
“The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel (weeds that resemble wheat) among the wheat (החיטים), and then went away. When the plants grew and produced fruit (grain), the darnel was also seen. The servants of the owner of the house approached and said to him, ‘Our master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where did the darnel come from?’ He said to them, ‘one of my enemies did this!’ His servants said to him, ‘Would you like us to go and pull it up?’ He said, ‘No, because when you pull up the darnel (weeds), you might also uproot the wheat. Let them be, and both will grow together until the harvest. When harvest time comes, I will say to the reapers, ‘First pull up the darnel and bind it into bundles (sheaves) to burn them. Then gather the wheat into my storehouse.'”
Messiah’s explanation of the Mashal
Then he (the Messiah) left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the mashal of the weeds of the field.” And he said, “The one who sows the good seed (הזרע הטוב) is the Son of Man (בן־האדם), and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom (בני המלכות); and the weeds are the sons of the evil one (בני הרע); and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is at the end of the age (קץ העולם); and the reapers are angels. So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous ones will shine forth as brilliantly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear!
Seven Observations
Observation #1. The species of weed referenced in the Twelfth mashal of Messiah is a kind of weed that on the outside at first resembles wheat except at maturity the grains in its “head” do not become large, rich (heavy) golden wheat kernals but a host of useless, very tiny (light) weed seeds.
Observation #2. Bearded Darnel and other varieties of toxic plants mimic wheat until they mature. On the one hand at maturity the heavier head of the righteous wheat plant drops down in weighted humility. On the other hand at maturity the lighter-unburdened heads of the wicked weeds remain ‘lifted up’ to the heavens.
Therefore, the wicked weeds (fake wheat) remain erect at all times in a form of unyielding pride.
Observation #3. This teaches us that at full maturity—at the time of our resurrection—those of us who are the true offspring of Avinu Shebashamayim (our heavenly Father), who are re-created out of the same magnificent DNA of the Spirit of the Holy One that Indwells the Messiah, we shall be glorified and our faces shall shine with the glory of our heavenly Father—like the sun.
The magnificent DNA, the Good Seed (הזרע הטוב), in view here is the immensely re-generative and procreative life of heaven (a new kind and quality of life from above) living in our cleansed spirits, souls, minds, and bodies. This life is sourced in the Indwelling Presence of the Spirit of the Holy One who forever dwells and lives within us when we believe (from our heart) in the D’var HaShem (Word of God) that is sown in us by our (Israel’s) Messiah.
Observation #4. At our full maturity, on our resurrection day, it is absolutely obvious who are the children of light and who are not (the counterfeit). It is the Golden head, the Golden light of the day, the Indwelling Presence of the Ruach Ha-Chesed (Spirit of Grace) that defines us and transforms us from the Inside-out into HIS (God’s) glorious likeness.
Observation #5. The first century (CE) Jewish populace in Israel was completely familiar with the counterfeit evil weed mentioned in this Twelfth mashal of Messiah. The wheat and the evil weed were so similar in appearance that the people called the wicked weed, “bastard wheat.” At its maturity the counterfeit weed remains straight, proud, perfectly upright. For it possesses no substance in its head; instead of weighty golden grains of wheat these counterfeit plants (weeds) only contain little tiny (near weightless) seeds. Interpreted, this means:
Outside the wicked weed possesses the ‘form’ of a wheat plant; but inside it possesses none of the wheat plant’s goodness (‘substance’).
Observation #6. The evil one who is the head of unbelievers (the wicked false deity of this age) reveals whose image his children will reflect at full maturity (their resurrection day). Their faces will reflect the *darkness of the moon when at full eclipse. At the time of a full eclipse the moon reflects no light whatsoever. In this case the moon has completely ceased to reflect the ‘glory of the sun.’ In truth the sun is the source of light. The moon possesses no light of its own. It only reflects like a mirror the glorious light of the sun. The moon without the illuminating Presence of the light of the sun is just a dead, dark, foreboding object.
*An absence of the reflected light of the sun.
Without the life-giving Presence of the Light of Adonai (the LORD) we are a lifeless, dead humanity.
The mirror is useless unless it reflects the life of the beautiful Face of Light for which we were all made (Tselem Elohim – Image of God). The two contrasting maturities in view here of the Light versus darkness are eschatological ones. On the Day of Judgment it will be abundantly clear who are sons of the light (בנים האור) and sons of the day (בנים היום); and those who are the sons of the night (בנים הלילה-fig. night לַיִל-refers to those who *twist away from the light).
*Simply put night occurs when we turn away from the light. For when we turn away from the light we cannot reflect its goodness. On the other hand day occurs when we face the light. For when we face the light we reflect its goodness.
Observation #7. The reason why you must leave the weeds alone with the wheat is because you can’t tell the difference between the two different species of plant life until full maturity. It is a great joy for us to know that although our little brothers and sisters in the Lord do not at the youthful outset of their immaturity look much different than the children of the world, they are immensely different invisibly! By the graciousness of God you are His beloved children and as such you possess deep within yourselves, in your spirits, His Seed (זרעו-His invisible DNA), the Indwelling Presence of the Spirit of the Father (zera Elohim-זרע אלוהים) and for this reason we know that your glorious destiny is a certainty:
You will one day be made shalom like the King of Glory, our Father who dwells in heaven.
This is so solely because you have received the free Gift of the Seed (זרע אלוהים) of Abba our Father (Abba Avinu)—the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are right in saying that we are saved only by the Chesed of Adonai and that our only boasting is forever about our praising and loving the goodness of Adonai Avinu (God our Father). It is a true saying that our heavenly Father gives grace to the humble—-the righteous barley that is in its pure humility applied as (righteous) leaven (חָמֵ֖ץ) into the wheat bread on Shavuot; to make His Glory Rise! However, He opposes the proud.
The Work of the Evil One:
Central to the Twelfth mashal of Messiah is the fact that the Good Sower of wheat has an enemy. During the night when the people are asleep the enemy deliberately sows weeds (evil grass or tares) among the wheat. In the early stages of development the two plants very much resemble each other. However, by the time the two plants have “headed out,” the difference between the wheat and the weed can clearly be seen:
So why not immediately separate the wheat from the weeds?
The reason one waits until the harvest time to separate the two plants is because when they grew up together in the field their roots and plants became ‘intertwined.’ If there was a premature attempt (in the field of the world) to separate the two plants the wheat plants would be seriously damaged. Therefore, the servants are directed to wait until the harvest when the owner (Adonai) will employ harvesters to separate the two plants and harvest their two very different types of grains (i.e. the useful grain will be saved in storage and the useless grains will be removed and destroyed). The enemy sower of counterfeit wheat (weeds) is the evil one. He invented the evil seeds and his wicked self-righteous false-torah (the leaven of pride) that goes with it.
The so-called truth of the evil one is a “counterfeit” to the true Word of God (D’var HaShem).
The Accuser (Satan) works unrecognized as he plants his counterfeit teachings in the midst of all the religions and political philosophies of the world. Only those mature believers who have already (in a mature but not yet perfect way) ‘headed out,’ are sufficiently capable enough in their understanding (rich in Adonai) sufficient to quickly discern and oppose the wiles of the enemy; who works ‘invisibly’ cloaked under the cover of his darkness (his rule over the night).
The Fruit of Light:
Isaiah 11:1-2 reveals to us the Fruit of Light (פרי האור) that the mature (שלם באהבה-matured in love) possess and that is sufficient to overcome the evil one:
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of Adonai (ה’ רוח) will rest on him,
The spirit of wisdom (רוח החכמה) and understanding (בינה) [פרי טוב—Fruit of Goodness]
The spirit of counsel (רוח עצה) and strength (גבורה), [פרי צדקה—Fruit of Righteousness]
The spirit of knowledge (רוח דאת) and the fear (יראת) of ה’ Adonai. [פרי אמת—Fruit of Truth]
The Fruit of Light in order of the three paired stages of (spiritual) development are:
1st אֱמֶת-Truth (child);
2nd צְדָקָה-Righteousness (young adult); and
3rd טוּב-Goodness (full maturity).
The mature possesses goodness (טוּב-Tov) that is both chokmah (wisdom) and biynah (understanding). Understanding includes the ability to discern the spirit and character of someone or something. Wise discernment is the reflexive ability to ‘quickly’ distinguish between good and evil in such a way that the good is immediately embraced (cling to what is good) and the evil is effectively resisted (abhor what is evil) and so the devil is overcome [with good] and he is made to flee from you. Shalom, Shalom.