The Parable of Jesus Pt. 3 The Wheat & the Tares Introduction
Good morning everyone!
I want to introduce another parable of Jesus Christ from Matthew's gospel. I will do this in a moment. First, I would like to share a few thoughts about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
This is a glorious weekend of remembrance for all Christians. Good Friday is the culmination of Christ's payment for our sins and Easter Sunday is the vindication of His saving work as the Perfect Lamb of God, as proven by His resurrection from the grave. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the cornerstone for our faith.
The impact of resurrection power in the heart of man.....
Before Christ saved me, I was spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. I had no hope and did not care about the things of God. I was a sinner and had no thoughts about my sins condemning me before a Holy God.
When I was born again, the Spirit of God regenerated my heart. Light replaced darkness in my soul. I knew my sins were forgiven and covered by the blood of Christ. I developed an intense hunger for the word of God. All of this happened because of the power of Jesus' resurrection. It is the focal point of God's victory over sin, death, hell, and the devil. I encourage you to take the time and read Colossians 1 & 2 and 1 Corinthians 15.
Parable of Wheat and Tares______________
Now, lets go to our next parable. This is another parable easily understood by listeners in the time of Christ, and easily understood by those living today. It is about wheat and tares and this parable complements the parable about the seed and the sower. Let's read the text below to introduce this parable and in the next post, we will consider how Jesus explained it.
Matthew 13:24-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
I want to introduce another parable of Jesus Christ from Matthew's gospel. I will do this in a moment. First, I would like to share a few thoughts about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
This is a glorious weekend of remembrance for all Christians. Good Friday is the culmination of Christ's payment for our sins and Easter Sunday is the vindication of His saving work as the Perfect Lamb of God, as proven by His resurrection from the grave. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the cornerstone for our faith.
The impact of resurrection power in the heart of man.....
Before Christ saved me, I was spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. I had no hope and did not care about the things of God. I was a sinner and had no thoughts about my sins condemning me before a Holy God.
When I was born again, the Spirit of God regenerated my heart. Light replaced darkness in my soul. I knew my sins were forgiven and covered by the blood of Christ. I developed an intense hunger for the word of God. All of this happened because of the power of Jesus' resurrection. It is the focal point of God's victory over sin, death, hell, and the devil. I encourage you to take the time and read Colossians 1 & 2 and 1 Corinthians 15.
Parable of Wheat and Tares______________
Now, lets go to our next parable. This is another parable easily understood by listeners in the time of Christ, and easily understood by those living today. It is about wheat and tares and this parable complements the parable about the seed and the sower. Let's read the text below to introduce this parable and in the next post, we will consider how Jesus explained it.
Matthew 13:24-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
A farmer planting good seed........
This parable also has a sower and seed that is sown. The seed is called "good seed" which means it is the pure, wholesome seed being sown into this field.
The man in this parable is called a householder which means he is the head of his family, the master of his home and the rightful owner of the field. He exercises absolute authority in these things. He has servants who work for him.
Wheat was as important a food staple in ancient times as it is today. My wife and I live in one of the top agricultural counties in the state and we always see the reality of plowing, planting, fertilizing, weeding and harvesting. This parable uses common aspects of farming that all the people listening to Jesus would understand.
An enemy sowing bad seed in the field.....
What is arresting in this parable is what happened after the householder planted his fields with good seed. The enemy is a word that means he is a hostile, hateful, or odious man. He is trying to destroy the hard work of the householder.
The enemy did his evil work while men slept...
The word "slept" in this parable is the exact same word used to the describe the disciples who were with Jesus in the garden, the night of His betrayal. Jesus asked them to watch and pray but they fell asleep instead of doing as the Lord asked them to do. The word means to be spiritually slothful or indifferent to salvation.
Why this particular word was used will be made crystal clear in the next post, when we hear our Lord's explanation. For now, though, tuck this nugget in the back of your minds.
Also note that when he was done sowing bad seed, the enemy went his way. He is an active enemy and he is seeking more fields to contaminate with bad seed. He is certainly a bad character.
Things seem normal until the time of harvest draws near...
The householder and his servants continued their daily farm routines. Days and weeks passed and then the wheat was ripening and the time of harvest was drawing closer.
Now, the work of the enemy is showing up in the fields of his good grain.The fruit on the wheat had appeared but something else was observed by his servants. What they saw alarmed them and they ran to tell their master what they found.
Terrible tares mixed in with the wonderful wheat.....
What is a tare? The greek word translated "tare" is "zizanion" and it generally refers to a wheat like plant called the darnel. The darnel looked just like the wheat while both were growing together in the field. The head of the darnel turns a blackish purple when it ripens, in stark contrast to the golden grains of wheat.
Tares were poisonous and Roman law prohibited anyone from sowing tares in another mans field.
The Master cares about the wheat in the field.......
The servants faithfully alerted their Master about tares mingled in with the wheat. He assessed the situation and then told the servants to let both grains grow until the time of harvest. At harvest time, the wheat will be gathered into the barn and the tares will be separated out and burned in fire.
Points to Ponder.......
An enemy sowing bad seed in the field.....
What is arresting in this parable is what happened after the householder planted his fields with good seed. The enemy is a word that means he is a hostile, hateful, or odious man. He is trying to destroy the hard work of the householder.
The enemy did his evil work while men slept...
The word "slept" in this parable is the exact same word used to the describe the disciples who were with Jesus in the garden, the night of His betrayal. Jesus asked them to watch and pray but they fell asleep instead of doing as the Lord asked them to do. The word means to be spiritually slothful or indifferent to salvation.
Why this particular word was used will be made crystal clear in the next post, when we hear our Lord's explanation. For now, though, tuck this nugget in the back of your minds.
Also note that when he was done sowing bad seed, the enemy went his way. He is an active enemy and he is seeking more fields to contaminate with bad seed. He is certainly a bad character.
Things seem normal until the time of harvest draws near...
The householder and his servants continued their daily farm routines. Days and weeks passed and then the wheat was ripening and the time of harvest was drawing closer.
Now, the work of the enemy is showing up in the fields of his good grain.The fruit on the wheat had appeared but something else was observed by his servants. What they saw alarmed them and they ran to tell their master what they found.
Terrible tares mixed in with the wonderful wheat.....
What is a tare? The greek word translated "tare" is "zizanion" and it generally refers to a wheat like plant called the darnel. The darnel looked just like the wheat while both were growing together in the field. The head of the darnel turns a blackish purple when it ripens, in stark contrast to the golden grains of wheat.
Tares were poisonous and Roman law prohibited anyone from sowing tares in another mans field.
The Master cares about the wheat in the field.......
The servants faithfully alerted their Master about tares mingled in with the wheat. He assessed the situation and then told the servants to let both grains grow until the time of harvest. At harvest time, the wheat will be gathered into the barn and the tares will be separated out and burned in fire.
Points to Ponder.......
- There is a master sowing good seed in his field.
- There is an unseen enemy who sows tares in the same field.
- The enemy does his evil work while men slept.
- The tares look exactly like the wheat until ripened for harvest.
- The wheat will be safely gathered in but the tares will be sorted and burned.
In the next post, we will look to see how Jesus explained this parable.
For now, I am sure you can see some parallels with Christ our Master, sowing good seed and the church as His servants laboring together in the fields.
The most important takeaway for me, is that I must consistently be about the business of my Master. If the servants sleep and do not watch over the word of God or do not faithfully sow the word of God, the enemy will sneak in to ruin what Christ is doing through His church.
Wheat and tares will grow side by side until the harvest. We will see in the next post that this is describing the state of the church since the time of Christ.
Bob
Comments
Post a Comment