Episode 2315 - Lesson 9 - Sunday - Feb. 23 - An enemy has done this

Read Matthew 13:24–27. How does the parable help us understand evil in our world?Jesus tells the story of a landowner who sows only good seeds in his field. However, tares spring up among the wheat. Upon seeing this, the servants of the owner ask him, “ ‘ “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” ’ ” (Matt. 13:27, NKJV). This is similar to the question often asked today concerning the problem of evil: If God created the world entirely good, why is there evil in it?Read Matthew 13:28–30 in light of Christ’s explanation in Matthew 13:37–40. How does this also shed light on the nature of the cosmic conflict?The master replies to his servant’s question: “ ‘ “An enemy has done this” ’ ” (Matt. 13:28, NKJV). Jesus later identifies the one “ ‘who sows the good seed’ ” as “ ‘the Son of Man,’ ” who is Jesus Himself (Matt. 13:37, NKJV), and explains that “the field is the world” (Matt. 13:38), and the “ ‘enemy who sowed’ ” the tares is “ ‘the devil’ ” (Matt. 13:39, NKJV), explicitly depicting a cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan. Why is there evil in the world? Evil is the result of the enemy (the devil) who opposes the master. “ ‘An enemy has done this’ ” (Matt. 13:28, NKJV).This answer, however, provokes the follow-up question, “ ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ ” In other words, why not uproot the evil immediately? “ ‘ “No, ” ’ ” the master replies, “ ‘ “lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest” ’ ” (Matt. 13:29, 30, NKJV; compare with Mark 4:29). According to the parable, God will finally put an end to evil, but uprooting it prematurely would result in irreversible collateral damage that harms the good.What are some of the dangers in seeking to uproot the tares from the wheat now? At the same time, why does this not mean simply ignoring the evil that we encounter?