Weeds & Wheat

Matthew 13:24-30, 34-43. "Weeds & Wheat". (p.768) Ajax Alliance Church. Sunday November 12th, 2023. Matthew 13:24-30; 34-43. [24]He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, [25]but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. [27] And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' [28] He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So, the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' [29] But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" [34] All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. [35] This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." [36] Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." [37] He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. [38] The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, [39]and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. [40] Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. [41] The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, [42]and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [43] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (ESV) Delays in Canada's criminal court system have received a lot of attention in recent months. Serious cases, even those involving murder charges, have been thrown out because it took too long to bring them to trial. With a long delay, for example, (it has been argued that) an accused can be forced to suffer continuing and lengthy deprivations of liberty if he or she is detained in custody pending trial. While such deprivations are sometimes unavoidable, at some point they can become excessive, and the accused deserves a remedy - not because he has to wait a long time for his trial, but because he has to wait a long time in jail for his trial. (https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/dealing-with-trial-delays-without-ending-prosecutions) The parable of the "Weeds & Wheat" in Matthew 13 addresses a major concern of the whole discourse, namely, the delay of justice or judgment.... The immediate, natural reaction of the people to Jesus' proclamation of the presence of the kingdom was to wonder about the continuing presence of evil in the world, as manifested particularly in Roman rule over the people of God. The era of salvation was more or less equated with national-political deliverance (Hagner, D. A. (1998). Vol. 33A: Matthew 1-13. Word Biblical Commentary (382). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.) When we see evil all around, we ask as both why, and how do we eradicate it. Some look to political or other instructions. Some say: maybe if we elect enough Christian politicians, judges or other leaders, we change our justice system, or create particular social programs, we will create a better society. But in Matthew 13, Jesus explains why there continues to be evil in our midst and what will happen through the 1) The Presentation of the Parable (Matthew 13:24-30), and 2) The Interpretation of the Parable (Matthew 13:34-43). We can understand why there continues to be evil in our midst through: 1) The Presentation of the Parable (Matthew 13:24-30) Matthew 13:24-30 [24]He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, [25]but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. [27] And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' [28] He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' [29] But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" (ESV) Jesus "put/told" (parethēken) the people another parable (lit., "he set another before them"). This parable is set "before" (paratithēmi) them which is a term typically used in both LX and NT for serving a meal (e.g. Mark 6:41; 8:6,7; Luke 10:8; 11:6); Parables are "set before" people for them to tackle as best they can in order to get the full nourishment, but that they are not spoon-fed?! (France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (525). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co.) Parables often place two concepts, one known, the other unknown, side by side for comparison. They use the known concept, like the work of a farmer planting seed (13:3-9), to explain a central truth about the less familiar concept, like the way people receive the word of God concerning the kingdom of heaven (13:18-23). Although parables are fictitious stories, they present content and situations that are true-to-life. Parables contain wisdom elements, making them, in some ways, much like the Old Testament proverbs. They show how the truth being taught relates to the hearer, who, but for keen and obedient hearing, might well miss the parable's personal implications (13:9, 43: cf. 2 Samuel 12:1-7).Here are some basic principles for interpreting the parables: (1) Knowing the original setting in which the parable was given is important for understanding its intended meaning. The known must be understood to make the transference to the realm of the unknown. (2) The central problem of the parable must be discovered. The parables were designed to deal with a particular problem or question. This can usually be discovered from the immediate context or related verses. (3) The central truth of the parable must be determined. Most of the parables focus on one central truth. Even those that have multiple points of comparison are usually designed to answer one question (Hughes, R. B., & Laney, J. C. (2001). Tyndale concise Bible commentary. The Tyndale reference library (408). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.). The man who sowed the good seed is the landowner (v 27) who is planting in his field. The kingdom itself is not like the man but resembles the situation on this man's farm at the present time, while the plants are still developing, and again later on, at the time of the harvest. Both the farm (the farmer's field with whatever grows on it) and the kingdom in this present age present a mixture in which the good and the bad are mingled together (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 9: Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. New Testament Commentary (563). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.). The emphasis is not on what happens to the good seed (as in the first parable) but rather on what happens as verse 25 indicates, to the bad seed that his enemy came and sowed alongside the good seed. This good seed is assumed to fall on ferrule ground, take root, and grow into healthy and productive grain, identified here as wheat. The kingdom "became like" what is here narrated only after Satan did what is here stated. .... The sowing which Jesus had made was actually followed by the devil's sowing (Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel (524-525). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.) The phrase while his men were sleeping does not imply neglect or laziness but simply refers to the nighttime, when the farmer and his men were home sleeping and were therefore oblivious to what was happening in the newly-planted field. While they slept, the farmer's enemy came and sowed weeds/tares also among the wheat, and went away. What this enemy does is mean, cruel, cowardly, sadistic. He waits until everybody is fast asleep, so that he will not be seen and caught. Then, without the least bit of concern for all the labor that has been bestowed on the field, the expenses incurred, and the hopes inspired, he oversows the field with weeds/tares (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 9: Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. New Testament Commentary (563). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.) * It is when God's people go to sleep that Satan works. Our task is not to pull up the false, but to plant the true. (This does not refer to discipline within the local church.) We are not detectives but evangelists! We must oppose Satan and expose his lies. But we must also sow the Word of God and bear fruit in the place where He has planted us. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 46). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.) The weeds/tares (zizania) referred to here are more specifically darnel (Lolium temulentum), a weed related to rye-grass which in the early stages of growth resembles wheat though with narrower leaves, but which produces a smaller ear. Its grains are poisonous, so that to have it mixed in with wheat renders the crop commercially useless as well as potentially harmful. Because of its similar growth the darnel infestation would not be readily apparent until the plants begin to form ears (hence the weeds "becoming visible" at the time when the wheat "produced a crop," v. 26), and by that time it is too late to eradicate the darnel without damaging the wheat with which its roots are intertwined (France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (525-526). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co.). That is why we see that it was not until many weeks later as verse 26 notes, when the plants/wheat came/sprang up and bore grain, that the weeds/tares appeared/became evident also. When they saw so many weeds/tares among the wheat, the servants/slaves of the master/landowner in verse 27 asked him how this could have happened. It was not uncommon, of course, for a few weeds, to grow up among the good plants; but the great quantity of weeds/tares in this field made it obvious that their crop was intentionally sabotaged. Whenever God is at work, we can be sure the devil is at work too. His work is to counterfeit the work of God. The art of counterfeit is to imitate the real thing with something unreal. Within the kingdom of God, the devil will always offer an alternative to Jesus Christ. It will not always be easy to distinguish between the real and the counterfeit (Price, C. (1998). Matthew: Can Anything Good Come Out of Nazareth?. Focus on the Bible Commentary (173-174). Fearn, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.). Please turn to Luke 9 (p.815) The landowner in our parable explained the obvious in verse 28 that An enemy has done this! Realizing the seriousness of the devastating crime, the servants/slaves said to their master, Do you want us, to go and gather them (up)? The landowner is confident that he knows what has happened. This is just the sort of thing that a particular hostile neighbour would do! His confidence is presumably based on previous experience of provocation from this quarter. So what is to be done? The slaves offer a very sensible suggestion. They propose dealing with the problem right away. This may well have been normal practice; it would mean that the wheat would not need to continue to compete for light and nutrition. (Nolland, J. (2005). The Gospel of Matthew: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 546). W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.) * In the Spiritual realm, things are often not as they appear on the outside and the true solutions, may be using means and weapons that we may not initially perceive. Spiritual problems require spiritual solutions. The desire for immediate justice or vengeance is not uncommon. James and John, described elsewhere as "sons of thunder", expressed this common call for judgement: Luke 9:51-56 [51] When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. [52] And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. [53] But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. [54] And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" [55] But he turned and rebuked them. [56] And they went on to another village. (ESV) * Before Christ entered the village, just as before he returns, He sends messengers ahead. Not everyone will receive the message of Christ. But our response should be to move on to the next village in our message and not wish judgment upon them. The Judgment will come when Christ returns. Our task now is to proclaim the mercy of God, yet warn of the future judgment. In as similar answer to the question of gathering up people in judgment, Jesus responds in Mt. 13:29, No, lest in gathering up the weeds/tares, you may root up the wheat along with them. The servants/slaves were rightly concerned, fearing the weeds/tares would weaken and possibly completely ruin the wheat harvest. But the experienced landowner knew that more damage would be done to the good crop by pulling out the weeds at that time than by leaving them alone. Pulling out the weeds/tares would result in rooting up much of the wheat with them. For one reason, the plant roots would have become closely intertwined, and even if all the good and bad plants could be distinguished from each other, uprooting the weeds/tares would also uproot some the of the wheat. Not only that, but wheat that was planted or that germinated later would mature later, and some of the wheat that had not yet produced heads of grain would be mistaken for weeds/tares. The concept that the weeds, in their early stages, were indistinguishable from the young wheat also points to the likelihood of counterfeits within the kingdom community (Mt. 7:15-23). This parable offered assurance that even these convincing imposters would be "weeded out" in the end (Weber, S. K. (2000). Vol. 1: Matthew. Holman New Testament Commentary (197-198). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers). The master concludes this section in verse 30: Let/Allow both to grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, "Gather the weeds/tares first and bind them in bundles to be burned/burn them up. Only at the time of harvest could the good and bad plants be distinguished with certainty. The reapers were more experienced than the slaves and were qualified to weed out the weeds/tares and burn them. After that was done, they would proceed with the harvest and gather the wheat into the landowner's barn, where it would be stored and protected for future use. Jesus was careful to put into the farmer's mouth the words my barn, rather than simply, "the barn." Jesus hinted here at the loving, personal possessiveness the Lord has for His faithful (Weber, S. K. (2000). Vol. 1: Matthew. Holman New Testament Commentary (198). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.). From the actions of the farmer and the fate of the wheat and weeds, one learns that God will permit the righteous and wicked to coexist in this age but that he will eventually separate the wicked, judge them, and destroy them, while gathering the righteous together to be rewarded by enjoying his presence forever. (Blomberg, C. (1992). Matthew (Vol. 22, p. 219). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.) Illustration: When the lessons of this parable are unlearned or forgotten, it often results in devastating effect. In the past, when people have taken upon themselves to gathering up the weeds/tares, it has resulted in historic consequences. The church used its own power or enlisted the power of the state to rid itself of heretics by putting them to death. It persuaded others to recant their errors by the use of cruel tortures. It compelled people to profess Christ or suffer death if they refused. Think of the Inquisition carried on by the Roman Catholic Church; of John Hus being burned at the stake; of the edict of Charles V after the Diet of Worms decreeing that anyone who would kill Martin Luther need fear no legal consequences. We have modern examples of churches taking to the sword, that is, attempting to enforce their will by the power of the state, working to have legislation passed which would compel non-believers to perform forced professions of Christ. But that is not the will of Jesus Christ. He does not want his followers to take to the sword, to use force in the vain attempt to make people "sons of the kingdom" or to defend Christ's cause by Force (Franzmann, W. H. (1998). Bible history commentary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (182). Milwaukee, WI: WELS Board for Parish Education.). * The state is entrusted though the use of force to enforce civil laws. The church, through the presentation of the truth of the Gospel demonstrated though acts of love, are to call people to repentance and faith. When the church embodies the state or the state undertakes the role of the church, then injustice occurs. Finally, we can understand why there continues to be evil in our midst through: 2) The Interpretation of the Parable (Matthew 13:34-43). Matthew 13:34-43 [34] All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. [35] This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." [36] Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." [37] He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. [38] The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, [39]and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. [40] Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. [41] The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, [42]and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [43] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (ESV) Before he presents the interpretation of the parable of the wheat and tares, Matthew explains that Jesus' speaking in parables was not an afterthought but had been prophesied in God's Word hundreds of years earlier. All these things signifies the totality of the preceding section of teaching about the kingdom with its series of parables. The aorist tense in the first said/spoke views that teaching as a whole...The second said/spoke is in the imperfect tense and has the force "he used to speak"; it points to the habitual mode of teaching. Matthew is not saying that Jesus never taught in any other way than by using parables, but he certainly maintains that this was His common practice, and perhaps also that this was the way He taught about the kingdom (Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew. The Pillar New Testament Commentary (354). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.). To the crowds/multitudes Jesus said nothing to them without a parable. The explanation in verse 35 was clearly to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet. Asaph, a prophet and seer (2 Chron. 29:30), wrote Psalm 78, from which Matthew here quotes: I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world. The rejection of His messiahship did not catch the Lord by surprise, and the inauguration but delayed consummation of the kingdom was not a mistake. The things hidden since the foundation of the world pertained to "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven," which Jesus explained to His disciples but not the unbelieving multitudes and religious leaders (Matt. 13:11-16). To those who rejected Him, He spoke "in parables; because while seeing they [did] not see, and while hearing they [did] not hear, nor [did] they understand" (v 13). Christ's teaching to the crowds/multitudes was cloaked in parables, and He reserved the explanations for those who sincerely sought Him (Beeke, J. R., Barrett, M. P. V., & Bilkes, G. M. (Eds.). (2014). The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible (p. 1379). Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books). * The challenge that Christ presents all of us who wonder at the realities of life if we seek to get by or get God. When we merely seek to avoid pain and maximize earthly pleasure then the realities of life will seem confusing. When we seek the Kingdom of God and Christ's righteousness, then all these things will be added unto us. (Mt. 6:33) After telling the parables of the mustard seed and leaven, verse 36 notes that He left the crowds/multitudes, and went back into the house where He had been staying (according to Mt. 13:1). As soon as they were all inside, His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds/tares of the field." Although they did not fully understand that parable, the fact that they called it the parable of the weeds/tares shows they realized the major emphasis was on the weeds/tares rather than the wheat. The parable was obviously about judgment, and the weeds/tares obviously represented unbelievers. All the disciples were doubtlessly wondering why the wicked weeds/tares would be allowed to coexist with the good wheat. Had the landowner done as the servants/slaves suggested and had all the weeds/tares immediately been pulled out and destroyed, the disciples would have readily understood. But as it was, they were perplexed about the landowner's reaction, because they still did not understand the greatness of God's grace or His plan of redemption for the kingdom before Christ would judge the world. Many Jews expected Messiah to immediately destroy evildoers and vindicate the righteous. Thus they were puzzled as to why Jesus didn't do this if he truly were the Son of Man (Quarles, C. L. (2017). Matthew. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 1523). Holman Bible Publishers.). In verse 37 Jesus said that: "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world. The disciples knew that by the Son of Man Jesus referred to Himself. Because it focused on His humility and humanity in the incarnation, it was the title He most commonly used of Himself. It beautifully identified Him as He fully participated in human life as the perfect Man, the second Adam, and the sinless representative of the human race. It was also a title clearly understood by Jews as referring to the Messiah (Luke 22:69; cf Dan. 7:13). As for the field being the world, we wonder why the Son of Man does not take action in judgement when it occurs. Divine judgment, as in Sodom's case, often waits until the righteous are removed; for in many cases Divine judgment could hurt the righteous. Therefore, many nations and peoples are being spared judgment today because there are some righteous people in these nations and communities that God would protect from judgment, as Lot was protected from the destruction of Sodom (Butler, J. G. (2008). Analytical Bible Expositor: Matthew (p. 222). LBC Publications.). The one who sows is Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, and He is sowing in His own field, which verse 38 identifies as the world. Although Satan is temporarily the ruler of this world, it still belongs to God, who created it and will one day redeem and restore it. God's "creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now" (Rom. 8:21-22). This parable does not justify, as some mistakenly suppose, the toleration of ungodly people in a local Christian church. Remember that the field is the world, not the church. Local churches are explicitly commanded to put out of their fellowship all who are (unrepentant of) wickedness (1 Cor. 5:9-13). The parable simply teaches that in its mystery form, the world will include the real and the imitation, the genuine and the counterfeit, and that this condition will continue until the end of the age. Satan has a counterfeit for every divine reality. He sows the world with those who look like, talk like, and, to some extent, walk like disciples. But they are not genuine followers of the King (MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 1258). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.). In the parable of the sower Jesus speaks of the good seed as "the word of the kingdom" (Mt. 13:19); but here it represents the children/sons of the kingdom, whom the Lord scatters throughout the world. The Lord plants His people in the world as His witnesses, to grow and become fruitful plants of righteousness. The children/sons of the kingdom are faithful to the King and reflect His will and His standards before a wicked, corrupt, unbelieving world. Christians are not left in the world by accident but are placed there on divine assignment from their Lord. The kingdom is broader than the church, which is the concentration point and vanguard of the kingdom, but not the whole kingdom. God's kingdom embraces the church, but also business, government, schools, and families. Wherever the kingdom advances, it encounters a cosmic struggle. Wherever gospel and kingdom go, Satan resists. (Doriani, D. M. (2021). Matthew. In I. M. Duguid, J. M. Hamilton Jr., & J. Sklar (Eds.), Matthew-Luke: Vol. VIII (pp. 217-218). Crossway.) Please turn to Ephesians 2 (p.917) The weeds/tares, on the other hand, are the sons of the evil one, who is Satan. All human beings are either spiritual children of God and children/sons of the kingdom through faith in His Son or they are spiritual sons of the evil one, simply by virtue of their sinful nature and unbelief (John 8:44; Eph. 2:2-3; 1 John 3:10; 5:19). Satan's indirect approach is sensible since frontal assault rarely defeats a superior force and God is the superior force. Therefore, Satan relies on treachery and confusion. He sneaks in and sows weeds among the good seed. Jesus says "the weeds are the sons of the evil one" (13:38). Satan scatters them through the earth to spoil God's project of reclaiming His world. (Doriani, D. M. (2008). Matthew & 2. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (Vol. 1, p. 575). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.) This is how Ephesians 2 explains the distinction between the two kingdoms: Ephesians 2:1-3 [2:1]And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2]in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- [3]among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (ESV) Verse 39 shows how they reached this point for: The enemy who sowed the weeds/tares is the devil, the evil one. As is evident from the wording of the parable itself (cf. v 25), sowed here carries the idea of thoroughness. Throughout history, the weeds/tares have outnumbered the wheat by enormous percentages; and some parts of the world seem to be totally sown with the seed of the enemy. Satan then brings evil people into God's good world. But they can flourish only for a time, for the harvest is coming (Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew. The Pillar New Testament Commentary (356). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.). * Satan's real battle is not with you, whether you are weeds or wheat. His real battle is with God. And he will simply (try to) use you as a pawn in his war against God. He cannot get directly at God because God is God. But evil persons have always known if you can't hurt someone, hurt someone that someone loves, and you've hurt that one anyway.(Rogers, A. (2017). The Case of the Counterfeit Christian. In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Mt 13:24-42). Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.) Satan never has the last word, for here we see how the harvest represents God's judgment at the close/end of the age, when the reapers, who are angels, will execute judgment on unbelievers, just as the human reapers in the parable separated out the weeds/tares, which as verse 40 says: were then gathered and burned with fire, so shall it be at the close/end of the age. The disciples were doubtlessly ready to put the sickle to the unbelieving tares right away, just as the landowner's slaves were prepared to do (v 28). This was revealed as the attitude of James and John toward the unbelieving Samaritans when they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" (Luke 9:54). This parable warns us that the ultimate test is not in present appearances but in the final judgment. Until then, the disciples must be patient and not expect to be able to put everyone into neat compartments. The church on earth will always be a mixed community. (France, R. T. (1994). Matthew. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 922). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.) We see the judgment occurring in verse 41 where The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin/stumbling blocks, and all lawbreakers/those who commit lawlessness, [42]and throw/will cast them into the fiery furnace. The whole earth is seen here as the Lord's kingdom, and truly He is the rightful monarch. Out of His world the angels collect all lawbreakers/those who commit lawlessness -the devil's sons who work against God and seek to cause many to fall into hell. (cf. 1 Thess. 1:8-9). Fire causes the greatest pain known to humanity, and the fiery furnace into which the unrepentant sinners are thrown/cast represents the excruciating torment of hell, which is the destiny of every unbeliever. The language of a fiery furnace also might allude to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Dan 3. The servants of Nebuchadnezzar who came near the fiery furnace were destroyed (Dan 3:22), while God's faithful people lived (Dan 3:27). (Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Mt 13:42). Lexham Press.) This fire of hell is unquenchable (Mark 9:44), eternal (Matt. 25:41), and is pictured finally as a great "lake of fire which burns with brimstone" (Rev. 19:20). The punishment is so fearsome that in that place there will/shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Hell will not be a place, as some jokingly envision, where the ungodly will continue to do their thing while the godly do theirs in heaven. Hell will have no friendships, no fellowship, no camaraderie, no comfort. It will not even have the debauched pleasures in which the ungodly love to revel on earth. There will be no pleasure in hell of any kind or degree-only torment, "day and night forever and ever" (Rev. 20:10). Once God's judgment comes, it will be unbearable for those who have not chosen to follow Jesus (Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Mt 13:42). Lexham Press.) Finally, Jesus' last word of explanation in verse 43 is positive, beautiful, and hopeful: Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. When the Son of Man returns with His angels, they will not only perfectly separate out the wicked for eternal punishment but also the righteous for eternal blessing. The Lord "will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other" (Matt. 24:31). Then comes the long-anticipated and long-postponed kingdom of righteousness, in which there will be no evil people and no evil deeds or even thoughts. This is the fulfilled, eternal kingdom of our heavenly Father, where, with all the righteous of all ages, we will shine like the sun. This is an allusion to Dan. 12:3, a promise of the future resurrection (Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study Bible: Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version (Mt 13:43). Nashville: T. Nelson) He who has ears, let him hear. To "hear" is not simply to listen, but extends to understanding and acting on what has been said (Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible reader's companion (electronic ed.) (615). Wheaton: Victor Books.). Every person who is uncertain about their relationship to God should ask themselves if they are wheat or merely a weed/tare that looks like wheat, if one is a child of God or of the evil one. But all one needs to do is to repent of their sin and surrender to God in faith. Such is person can come to God, because God is in the business of making wheat out of weeds/tares, saints out of sinners. Those who are sure they are children/sons of the kingdom should hear what Jesus says here in order that their attitude toward the world might be the loving, merciful, compassionate attitude of their Lord-who has called them to witness rather than condemn, to love rather than hate, to show mercy rather than judgment. In this world, even after the announcement of Jesus that the eschatological kingdom has already begun, those guilty of lawlessness-the people who belong to the evil one-coexist with the righteous, who are the people of the kingdom. There has not been, nor will there be, a dramatic separation of the lawless from the righteous until the harvest at the end of the age. The "wheat and weeds" warns against premature, human attempts to usurp God's role as Judge and Avenger. Despite the attacks of the enemy in the present age, often in the form of professing Christians superficially indistinguishable from the real kind, disciples are not to usurp God's role (Dockery, D. S., Butler, T. C., Church, C. L., Scott, L. L., Ellis Smith, M. A., White, J. E., & Holman Bible Publishers (Nashville, T. (1992). Holman Bible Handbook (554). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.). But the ambiguity of the present situation is a temporary one, and with the end of the age it too will be brought to an end. Then, and only then, will there be a clear demarcation between the two, and each will receive their eschatological due: the lawless a dreadful punishment and the righteous (in Christ) extravagant blessedness. The evil will be shown for what they are, but the righteous too will become conspicuous (Hagner, D. A. (1998). Vol. 33A: Matthew 1-13. Word Biblical Commentary (394-395). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.). * May each and every one of us be sure of our destiny. For those unsure, the time is now to repent, believe and be sure. For those who are on the path of rightness, may our lives daily reflect that rightlessness'. (Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985). Matthew. MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press.) Prayer Communion Closing Hymn - Prayer Room Invitation 018 BENEDICTION May the Lord send you help from His sanctuary, And grant you support from on High, May grace and peace be to you from the God, Who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. AMEN (Psalm 20:2 Galatians 1:3) 8