Wait Patiently
This week we conclude our two-part Multiplication in the Kingdom series. In this final post, we consider Jesus’ teaching in the Parable of the Weeds and how kingdom multiplication requires not only faithful sowing, but also patient trust in God’s timing, mercy, and final justice.
Multiplication in the Kingdom, Part 2: Wait Patiently
If the Parable of the Sower teaches us to sow faithfully, the Parable of the Weeds teaches us to wait patiently.
That is not a lesson we naturally enjoy. We want clarity now. We want the field cleaned up now. We want visible distinction now. We want righteousness to be obvious, evil to be removed, and the kingdom to appear in its fullness right away. But Jesus teaches us that in this present age, that is not how the kingdom appears.
In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells the story of a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. When both began to grow, the servants noticed the problem and asked whether they should go and pull up the weeds. The master told them no. In trying to gather the weeds, they might root up the wheat along with them. Instead, both are to grow together until the harvest, and at the harvest the reapers will make the separation.
Later, in Matthew 13:36-43, Jesus explains the parable. The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one. The enemy is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are angels. Jesus could hardly make the meaning clearer. The field is not some hidden mystery. It is the world in which the people of God now live. And until the end of the age, wheat and weeds will exist side by side.
That truth is essential for the church to grasp. We should not be surprised by mixture in the present age. We should not be shocked that false believers, false teachers, hypocrites, and evil men exist alongside the true people of God. Nor should we be surprised that the world often has difficulty telling the difference. Jesus told us ahead of time that this is the nature of the field before the final harvest.
This does not mean discernment is unimportant. The New Testament repeatedly calls the church to be discerning. We are to test the spirits (1 John 4:1). We are to watch out for false teachers (Acts 20:28-31). We are to practice church discipline where Scripture requires it (Matthew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5). We are to reject what is false and hold fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). But the Parable of the Weeds reminds us that final judgment belongs to God alone. There is a difference between biblical discernment and assuming the role of final harvester.
That distinction matters. The servants in the parable are not told that the weeds are harmless. They are told that premature uprooting would damage the wheat. In other words, there is a kind of overreach that tries to accomplish by human force what only divine judgment can finally accomplish. We do not see perfectly. We do not know every heart. We do not possess the infallible wisdom to make the kind of final separation that belongs to the Lord of the harvest.
This is a deeply humbling truth. It reminds us that the kingdom is not advanced by coercion, panic, or fleshly zeal. It is advanced by truth, patience, endurance, and confidence that Christ will judge rightly at the end. Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” Second Timothy 2:24-26 says that “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.” Why? Because God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
That is such an important connection to this parable. The church’s role in the present age is not to conduct the final separation, but to bear faithful witness in the midst of a mixed field. We preach. We teach. We pray. We love our enemies. We endure hardship. We proclaim Christ broadly. We do good even in the presence of evil. Why? Because today’s weed may, by the grace of God, become tomorrow’s testimony of saving mercy.
That is the wonder of the gospel. Every Christian was once dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3). Every believer was once alienated from God. Every saint was once a rebel. But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5). The church must never forget that we ourselves are trophies of grace. That memory should produce humility, patience, and hope toward others.
This is why Jesus calls us not merely to endure the presence of unbelievers, but to actively love them. In Matthew 5:44-45, He says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” He grounds that command in the common grace of God, who makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. God continues to show kindness even in a fallen world filled with both wheat and weeds. And His people are called to reflect that same kind of patience and mercy.
This has important implications for multiplication. We often think of multiplication as a matter of sowing, and that is right. But kingdom multiplication also requires patience with the process of God. It requires the willingness to labor in a world that is not yet cleaned up. It requires the maturity to keep loving, keep witnessing, and keep serving even when the field looks mixed and messy. It requires the confidence that Christ is not threatened by the apparent disorder of the present age.
That confidence is rooted in the certainty of the harvest. Jesus is clear that the harvest is coming. There will be a final separation. The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matthew 13:41-43). This is both a warning and a comfort. It is a warning because evil will not endure forever. It is a comfort because righteousness will not be overlooked forever either.
For the church, that means we do not need to force triumph in the present age. We do not need to panic when evil seems strong. We do not need to despair when hypocrisy exists, when the world misunderstands us, or when the visible church appears unimpressive. Revelation reminds us that the church militant will one day be the church triumphant. In Revelation 7:9-10, John sees a great multitude that no one can number, from every nation, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and crying out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” That is where the story is headed.
In the meantime, we live in the tension of the already and the not yet. Christ has inaugurated His kingdom, but the final consummation has not yet come. The King reigns now, but the full public display of His reign awaits the end. The wheat is real, but so are the weeds. The church is holy in Christ, but still surrounded by a fallen world and still waiting for the final revealing of glory.
That means patience is not passivity. Waiting patiently does not mean doing nothing. It means staying on mission while trusting God with the timing. It means refusing cynicism. It means refusing vengeance. It means refusing despair. It means continuing in the ordinary means of grace and the ordinary work of ministry. It means preaching the gospel, making disciples, equipping the saints, loving our neighbors, enduring injustice, and resting in the certainty that the Judge of all the earth will do right (Genesis 18:25).
This kind of patience is itself a form of kingdom witness. In a world that wants immediate judgment, immediate vindication, and immediate sorting, the church bears witness to a better way. We are a people who know that mercy is still being extended. We are a people who know that the day of salvation is still open. We are a people who believe that Christ still saves sinners. And because of that, we keep our hands to the plow.
So as we think about multiplication, we must think not only about faithful sowing, but also about faithful waiting. The work of the church is not to uproot the field by our own strength. The work of the church is to live as wheat in the midst of a fallen world, to love even those who oppose us, and to trust the Lord of the harvest to bring about a final and perfect separation in His appointed time.
Until that day, we sow faithfully. We wait patiently. We trust fully. And we fix our eyes on the King, who will one day make all things right.
This blog was adapted from a sermon preached by Doug Modic at Cornerstone Bible Church on March 19, 2023.
That is not a lesson we naturally enjoy. We want clarity now. We want the field cleaned up now. We want visible distinction now. We want righteousness to be obvious, evil to be removed, and the kingdom to appear in its fullness right away. But Jesus teaches us that in this present age, that is not how the kingdom appears.
In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells the story of a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. When both began to grow, the servants noticed the problem and asked whether they should go and pull up the weeds. The master told them no. In trying to gather the weeds, they might root up the wheat along with them. Instead, both are to grow together until the harvest, and at the harvest the reapers will make the separation.
Later, in Matthew 13:36-43, Jesus explains the parable. The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one. The enemy is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are angels. Jesus could hardly make the meaning clearer. The field is not some hidden mystery. It is the world in which the people of God now live. And until the end of the age, wheat and weeds will exist side by side.
That truth is essential for the church to grasp. We should not be surprised by mixture in the present age. We should not be shocked that false believers, false teachers, hypocrites, and evil men exist alongside the true people of God. Nor should we be surprised that the world often has difficulty telling the difference. Jesus told us ahead of time that this is the nature of the field before the final harvest.
This does not mean discernment is unimportant. The New Testament repeatedly calls the church to be discerning. We are to test the spirits (1 John 4:1). We are to watch out for false teachers (Acts 20:28-31). We are to practice church discipline where Scripture requires it (Matthew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5). We are to reject what is false and hold fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). But the Parable of the Weeds reminds us that final judgment belongs to God alone. There is a difference between biblical discernment and assuming the role of final harvester.
That distinction matters. The servants in the parable are not told that the weeds are harmless. They are told that premature uprooting would damage the wheat. In other words, there is a kind of overreach that tries to accomplish by human force what only divine judgment can finally accomplish. We do not see perfectly. We do not know every heart. We do not possess the infallible wisdom to make the kind of final separation that belongs to the Lord of the harvest.
This is a deeply humbling truth. It reminds us that the kingdom is not advanced by coercion, panic, or fleshly zeal. It is advanced by truth, patience, endurance, and confidence that Christ will judge rightly at the end. Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” Second Timothy 2:24-26 says that “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.” Why? Because God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
That is such an important connection to this parable. The church’s role in the present age is not to conduct the final separation, but to bear faithful witness in the midst of a mixed field. We preach. We teach. We pray. We love our enemies. We endure hardship. We proclaim Christ broadly. We do good even in the presence of evil. Why? Because today’s weed may, by the grace of God, become tomorrow’s testimony of saving mercy.
That is the wonder of the gospel. Every Christian was once dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3). Every believer was once alienated from God. Every saint was once a rebel. But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5). The church must never forget that we ourselves are trophies of grace. That memory should produce humility, patience, and hope toward others.
This is why Jesus calls us not merely to endure the presence of unbelievers, but to actively love them. In Matthew 5:44-45, He says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” He grounds that command in the common grace of God, who makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. God continues to show kindness even in a fallen world filled with both wheat and weeds. And His people are called to reflect that same kind of patience and mercy.
This has important implications for multiplication. We often think of multiplication as a matter of sowing, and that is right. But kingdom multiplication also requires patience with the process of God. It requires the willingness to labor in a world that is not yet cleaned up. It requires the maturity to keep loving, keep witnessing, and keep serving even when the field looks mixed and messy. It requires the confidence that Christ is not threatened by the apparent disorder of the present age.
That confidence is rooted in the certainty of the harvest. Jesus is clear that the harvest is coming. There will be a final separation. The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matthew 13:41-43). This is both a warning and a comfort. It is a warning because evil will not endure forever. It is a comfort because righteousness will not be overlooked forever either.
For the church, that means we do not need to force triumph in the present age. We do not need to panic when evil seems strong. We do not need to despair when hypocrisy exists, when the world misunderstands us, or when the visible church appears unimpressive. Revelation reminds us that the church militant will one day be the church triumphant. In Revelation 7:9-10, John sees a great multitude that no one can number, from every nation, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and crying out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” That is where the story is headed.
In the meantime, we live in the tension of the already and the not yet. Christ has inaugurated His kingdom, but the final consummation has not yet come. The King reigns now, but the full public display of His reign awaits the end. The wheat is real, but so are the weeds. The church is holy in Christ, but still surrounded by a fallen world and still waiting for the final revealing of glory.
That means patience is not passivity. Waiting patiently does not mean doing nothing. It means staying on mission while trusting God with the timing. It means refusing cynicism. It means refusing vengeance. It means refusing despair. It means continuing in the ordinary means of grace and the ordinary work of ministry. It means preaching the gospel, making disciples, equipping the saints, loving our neighbors, enduring injustice, and resting in the certainty that the Judge of all the earth will do right (Genesis 18:25).
This kind of patience is itself a form of kingdom witness. In a world that wants immediate judgment, immediate vindication, and immediate sorting, the church bears witness to a better way. We are a people who know that mercy is still being extended. We are a people who know that the day of salvation is still open. We are a people who believe that Christ still saves sinners. And because of that, we keep our hands to the plow.
So as we think about multiplication, we must think not only about faithful sowing, but also about faithful waiting. The work of the church is not to uproot the field by our own strength. The work of the church is to live as wheat in the midst of a fallen world, to love even those who oppose us, and to trust the Lord of the harvest to bring about a final and perfect separation in His appointed time.
Until that day, we sow faithfully. We wait patiently. We trust fully. And we fix our eyes on the King, who will one day make all things right.
This blog was adapted from a sermon preached by Doug Modic at Cornerstone Bible Church on March 19, 2023.
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