Briefing: I’m certain that when you were a rookie, you were given a piece of basic information (example: culpable mental state). Once you had the basic understanding of this concept, your instructor built on it, teaching you how to apply it to the law.

Dispatch (Assignment): Read Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.

On the Street: In the last study we read about seeds and good soil. In this study we will take this a step further and build on what Jesus has already taught us.

In our justice system I have often heard and read, “it is better that 10 guilty persons escape justice than to let one innocent person be wrongfully convicted”. This is called Blackstone’s formulation or ratio. That being said it is actually a Biblical principle. It should not surprise anyone since this country was founded on Biblical principles.

In this passage, Satan comes at night. How typical. Don’t most thieves and criminals do their dirty deeds at night, under the cover of darkness? It is also interesting to note that Satan has the ability to plant seeds. He does not plant them to harvest them but to disrupt. In John 10:10 Jesus tells us that the devil comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. He does not come to plant good or build up.

Why did Satan plant weeds in Jesus’ fields? In Matthew 13:7 He said other seeds fell among thorns. Thorns have about as much use as weeds. The weeds will attempt to have the same effect as the thorns, the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth.

We saw how Satan was able to get the seeds that fell along the path, on rocky places, and among the thorns. That wasn’t enough for him, now he wants to destroy the seeds that fell on good ground.

We are going to have to endure the weeds until Jesus comes back and takes us home. Until then, we have a job to do. Be the good soil, die to self and become the seed that brings new life.

Highlights from this Read: This passage is closely tied to the previous study. We have been given the information and now have a responsibility to act on it. Once someone knows the speed limit they are expected to obey it.

Investigational Resources: John 10:10. Contrast this study with the passage in Matthew 25:31-46.

Officer Safety Principles for the LEO to live by): Be the good soil, die to self and become the seed that brings new life.

from The Gospel of Matthew Through the Eyes of a Cop
©by Charles Gilliland. Used by permission.
Click here to check out the entire Through the Eyes of a Cop series!