One of the longer parables in
The parable of the tares is different in another way. Our Lord was asked to explain this parable. Thus we have the benefit of an explanation in detail by the Master of parables himself. As we have mentioned in earlier lessons, when we are benefited with the Lord's own explanation of a parable, we have more than just the correct interpretation of that particular parable. We have a paradigm for correctly interpreting his parables in general. His manner of interpretation is the pattern for our interpretations, so that we do not twist his words to make them mean something
This parable is mainly concerned with the fact that the kingdom of God is in the world where there is much evil, and will remain so until the end of the world when the good and the evil will be
Matthew 13:24-30,36-43
Matthew 13:24-30
Verses 24-25 contrast the two forces that are operating in this world. There is the power that seeks to do all things well, and there is the power that tries to spoil what is good
Verses 25 also shows the deceptive nature of evil. The enemy came by night when no one was watching, did his harm, then went away. His work was not evident in the morning, and nobody was aware
Verses 26-28 Evil, having insinuated itself into our midst, will sooner or later become evident. By that time however, it will be nearly
Verses 28-30 show that we live in an age in which evil and good exist together, and the roots of good and evil are tangled together. It is clear however that good and evil remain distinct, and the evil can be recognised as evil, and the good as good. You can look at one stalk and say, "This is a tare", or at another stalk and say, "This is wheat". Knowing the difference
Matthew 13:36-43
Verse 36 records a request from the disciples for an explanation of the parable. They were not willing to invent an interpretation of their own. They wanted guidance. They were interested only in the true meaning of the parable, the meaning intended by its teller. We might note this attitude as the proper one regarding all scripture,
Verse 37 - the Soweris the Son of Man -- a description Jesus used of himself. It does not deny that he is the Son of God, but emphasises that he is also a human being, having been born one of us in order that he might sow good seed,
Verse 38 - The Field is a small surprise, because we might have guessed that the field was the kingdom of God. In this parable however,
Verse 38 - The Good Seed of wheat is another surprise, because in the parable of the sower, the seed was the word of God. In this parable, however, it represents "the sons of the kingdom", the people who obey
Verse 38 - The Bad Seed of tares represents "the sons of the evil one" who are the opposite of the sons of the kingdom. From the spiritual point of view, people are divided into two groups, sons of good and sons of evil. There is no third kind. There is no one
Verse 39 - The Enemy is the Devil. He is a sneak, creeping in unseen, doing his evil work of spoiling the good, and then running off to hide, making it look as though nothing has happened. Only later do we discover that he has been at work, when his
Verse 39 - The Harvest is the end of the world. Just as a crop grows until the harvest, so the world will go on through the ages until God declares that harvest time has come. Then the reapers will take a sickle to the field, remove the tares and gather the wheat. It is worth noting that the tares, though they tangled themselves among the wheat, did not prevent the wheat from reaching
Verse 39 - The Reapers are the angels. No man (other than Jesus) determines who is wheat and who is weed. That is a task for angels who can be
Verse 40,41 - The Gathering Up is the same as the separating of the sheep from the goats in the parable recorded in a later chapter
Verses 42,43 - The Lord's Warning is very clear. Be ready for that day to come. The Lord speaks of the sons of the kingdom as Michael the archangel did centuries earlier when he warned the world of the coming day when both the living and the dead will be judged