The Diabolical Sower & the End of Days | Jonathan Cahn Sermon
The Diabolical Sower & the End of Days | Jonathan Cahn Sermon
Understanding the Origin of Evil and the Mystery of the Weeds
The presence of evil in our world is a topic that has challenged thinkers, theologians, and seekers throughout the ages. Where exactly did evil come from? More specifically, if our Creator is good and sows only goodness, why do we find corruption and darkness growing among us? In Matthew 13, Jesus unfolds a powerful parable that not only answers this ancient question but also provides guidance for navigating the tangled reality we face as Christians.
The Parable of the Good Seed and the Weeds
Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a man who faithfully sows good seed in his field. Yet, while everyone is asleep, an enemy comes and scatters weeds among the budding wheat. The Greek word for this adversary signals someone filled with hostility—one who acts not out of indifference, but deliberate malice.
What makes this parable especially striking is that Jesus doesn’t refer to what the enemy plants as mere seeds. He calls them by what they will become—false grain. From the outside, these weeds mimic the true wheat, but their fruits are altogether different. This detail offers a vital lesson: it’s not enough to judge things by their beginnings. We must also discern where they will ultimately lead.
Temptation, compromise, or even things that look harmless at first may eventually bring pain and destruction. In contrast, obedience and self-denial might seem difficult now, but they produce genuine joy and wholeness in the end. As followers of Christ, we are called to look beyond the surface and consider the final harvest.
Time Reveals the True Nature of Things
As the parable continues, both wheat and weeds grow together, their differences only becoming clear as they mature. Over time, what once seemed similar reveals its true identity. This mirrors many aspects of life and faith: people, movements, and ideas may look appealing at first glance but show their real nature only through the test of time.
When the servants discover the weeds, their instinct is to uproot them immediately. However, the master cautions against this. Because the roots of wheat and weeds are tangled together, pulling out the weeds too soon could destroy the good crop as well. Instead, both must grow together until harvest, at which point the true distinctions will be made, and the weeds will be removed and destroyed, while the wheat is carefully gathered.
The Spiritual Battle Hidden in Everyday Life
Jesus provides the interpretation for His disciples: the sower of good seed is the Son of Man—Messiah Himself—who sows life, goodness, and truth into the world. The field represents the entire world, and the good seed are the “children of the kingdom,” those transformed by the living and indestructible Word of God.
The weeds, in contrast, are sown by the enemy—the devil, also called “the hateful one” or in Hebrew, satan, and in Greek, diabolos. The devil cannot generate real life; he only produces damaging imitations, falsehoods, and counterfeits. The weeds in the parable are not just annoying plants but are symbolic of those corrupted, wounded, or deceived by evil. They are not so much children of the devil as they are, in Jesus’ words, “children of the evil,” or children of calamity, brokenness, and hurt.
The Cosmic Struggle of Good and Evil
The parable sheds light on the cosmic drama that has played out since the dawn of creation. From the very beginning, God sowed only goodness, life, and truth into the universe. But just as in the parable, the enemy came into God’s newly created garden and sowed falsehood—in the form of a lie that led humanity astray.
The results of that intrusion are visible everywhere: division, strife, conflict, and suffering. The enemy’s imitations grew alongside God’s goodness, leading us into a world where good and evil are interwoven. It’s for this reason that evil, death, and falsehood are not just the result of God’s design—they are intrusions, corruptions, and distortions of all that is good.
Evil doesn’t disprove the existence of the good; rather, it assumes it. There cannot be darkness without light, falsehood without truth, or evil without goodness. The enemy always sows in response to God’s sowing, mimicking but never truly creating.
Why Doesn’t God Remove Evil Right Now?
Christians often wonder: why doesn’t God simply uproot all evil from the world? The parable gives critical insight. If God were to immediately remove every trace of evil, much of the good that is still in its process of becoming strong would also be destroyed. The roots are intertwined. Sometimes, people who seem fully lost to wickedness later find redemption and become testimonies of God’s transforming grace. If God swiftly judged all evil, the story of many would end before they had a chance to know salvation.
God’s mercy and patience are at work for the sake of every soul who can still be won to His Kingdom. He delays the final judgment, allowing wheat and weeds to mature side by side. This living tension explains why our world is a mixture of beauty and brokenness, light and darkness, heroism and horror.
Living Among Wheat and Weeds: Navigating a Mixed World
So how should believers respond to this mingling of good and evil? We are called to be discerning, distinguishing between what is true and false, what leads to life and what produces death. Jesus interacted with those considered “sinners,” not to join in their rebellion, but to bring light into darkness and rescue those wounded by the enemy’s sowing.
It is easy to
