Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 850 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Wheat, Weeds, Seeds, and Yeast – Wisdom Unplugged


Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 850 of our trek, and it is time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged. Due to a heavy travel schedule for the next two weeks, I will be diverting from our regular daily topics, and instead, I will be reading through the Parables of Jesus.

Jesus's parables are seemingly simple and memorable stories, often with imagery, that all convey messages. Scholars have commented that although these parables seem simple, the messages they convey are deep and central to the teachings of Jesus. Christian authors view them not as mere similitudes, which serve the purpose of illustration, but as internal analogies in which nature becomes a witness for the spiritual world.

Many of Jesus's parables refer to simple everyday things, such as a woman baking bread. A man knocking on his neighbor's door at night. Or the aftermath of a roadside mugging. Yet they deal with major religious themes, such as the growth of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of love.

In Western civilization, these parables formed the prototype for the term parable, and in the modern age, even among those who know little of the Bible, the parables of Jesus remain some of the best-known stories in the world.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Our parables for today are taken from Matthew 13:24-43 and are about...
Wheat, Weeds, Seeds, and Yeast

· Parable of the Wheat and Weeds
Here is another story Jesus told: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

The farmer’s workers went to him and said, "Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?"

"An enemy has done this!" the farmer exclaimed.

"Should we pull out the weeds?" they asked.

"No," he replied, "you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn."
· Parable of the Mustard Seed
Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
· Parable of the Yeast
Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet:

“I will speak to you in parables. I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.”
· Parable of the Wheat and Weeds Explained
Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”

Jesus replied, "The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is ...