The Lord would take something physical that they all were familiar with, and use it to teach them a valuable spiritual lesson. This method of teaching is referred to as parables. And the Bible said that He taught them many parables.
For example, in our scripture today, He used the parable of “The Wheat and Tares”.
He used this parable for a very special reason. He wanted to teach them a valuable lesson about the MINGLING OF EVIL AMONG THE GOOD.
We do not need to do any surmising about what this parable means. This is one of the few parables that the Lord gives, and then explains the meaning.
Let’s look at the parable of “The Wheat and the Tares”. It is a favorite of many Bible students. First, let’s look at -
I. THE PARABLE EXPOUNDED
Look at Matt. 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.”
We need to remember that the Lord was addressing people who knew a great deal about farming. And the story he tells them in this parable is something they are very familiar with.
He tells about a farmer who sowed some good seeds in a field. But after he sowed the seeds, while he was sleeping one night, the enemy came in and sowed some bad seeds next to the good seeds.
To understand the impact of this parable, it is critical that you understand that the bad seeds were sown so close to the good seeds, that if they were uprooted it would destroy the good seeds also.
But after the seeds were sown, good and bad, perhaps it was only a few days later, one of the servants was in the field and he noticed the good seeds had begun to sprout from the earth, but also he noticed along side the WHEAT that was springing forth from the earth, TARES were springing forth also.
He ran and told his master something like this, “I have some good news and some bad news.”
• The good news is that the Wheat is coming forth
• The bad news is that the TARES are coming up right beside the wheat
After the servant told him of the situation, the servant most likely said something like this, “Sir, would you like me and the other servants to go and uproot the tares that have been planted by the wheat?”
The farmer said, “No, the enemy has planted the tares right beside the wheat for a purpose. He knew that if we uprooted the tares, we would also uproot the wheat in the process.”
Then the farmer said something very interesting, look at verse 30, we read, “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.”
WHAT A TREMENDOUS LESSON THE LORD IS TEACHING THE CHURCH.
• We understand that in every Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church, God the Holy Spirit has lead certain people there for a very specific purpose.
• We understand that in every Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church, Satan has sent his crowd for a very specific purpose.
Every Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church has two kinds of people:
• THE WHEAT (This is the good seed that has fallen on good soil)
• THE TARES (This is the bad seed that has fallen on good soil)
But notice two things:
• They are growing in the same field
• And the same can be said of the church, you have the WHEAT and TARES in the same church.
The devil (the enemy) has very cleverly planted the tares right beside the wheat.
WHY? BECAUSE HE KNOWS THIS CREATES A TREMENDOUS PROBLEM FOR THE CHURCH.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? The problem is this: the Bible teaches Church discipline.
There are times when people in the church (The tares most of the time) publicly humiliate the work of God, and the church has to vote them out.
We see an example of this in 1 Cor. 5:1-6, we read, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”
Matthew 7:1 teaches that we are not to judge anyone, but the kind of judgment the Bible speaks about is JUDGING PEOPLE WITHOUT THE FACTS!
Paul had heard about this situation, it was common dialogue in the community, and he said in verse 3, “For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed.”
Paul felt he had enough evidence that what he had heard about this man was true, and he said something has got to be done about this situation. The church cannot allow this to happen without taking a stand.
Look at the severe discipline he suggested in verse 5, we read, “…deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Paul felt that this man was saved, because Paul said to pray for God to kill him and take him on home, so he could not tarnish the work of God anymore.
But here is the problem you have in church discipline. IT IS SCRIPTURAL FOR THE CHURCH TO PRACTICE DISCIPLINE, but many times those who are disciplined have family members in the church, and friends in the church, and when they are disciplined, unless the rest of the congregation loves the Lord more then they love these folks, they are going to take sides with these folks.
• Sometimes it might be a Christian who is unruly that has to be disciplined
• Sometimes it might be a TARE who is unruly that has to be disciplined
But every time church discipline is applied, it will reveal those who love what this Bible teaches, and those who love the unruly.
Illus: A dear pastor requested prayer for his church. He explained how the church had hired this charismatic young fellow to become the youth pastor of the church. He had a very good personality, and the pastor, the young people and many in the congregation liked him a great deal. But one day the pastor caught him in the hallway of the church, kissing one of the young ladies of the church. The pastor was greatly concerned about what he had seen, and brought this problem before the church. They asked him about it and he denied he was kissing the young lady. It became a situation between who was telling the truth, the pastor or the youth pastor. Due to the fact that this young man was so well liked, many took sides with the young man. And this pastor is now going through living hell on earth because he was trying to correct an immorality problem within his church.
Any time a church has to deal with:
• Unruly Christians
• Tares that Satan planted in the church
The uprooting is going to cause a ripple in the congregation.
You would expect all the TARES to stand together, but it will surprise you when the TARES ARE UPROOTED, HOW IT WILL CAUSE A RIPPLE IN THE CONGREGATION WITH THE WEAKER CHRISTIANS ALSO.
WHAT WAS THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM?
The farmer decided it would be best to let them remain in the same field together until the harvest, and then the tares would be uprooted, bundled and burned.
The devil is always going to plant TARES with the WHEAT! Always!
There are some sins in the church that are so gross, like those in 1 Cor. 5, they have to be dealt with. It may cause people to take sides, but to allow them to publicly humiliate the work of God would do even more damage.
The TARES that are allowed to stay with the WHEAT need to understand this. They may escape the judgment of mankind and the church, but they will not escape the judgment of God.
In other words, they will be dealt with severely!
Look at Matthew 7:21-23, we read, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Notice, in these verses the Lord is addressing people in the church that have, “…Done many wonderful works”. Perhaps in the church:
• They taught Sunday School
• They Sang in the Choir
• They Ushered
• They Preached
But in spite of the many good things the Bible mentions they did, the Bible tells us that the Lord is going to say to them, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
• They did the good deeds OPENLY, TO BE SEEN OF MAN AND GAIN THE CONFIDENCE OF MANKIND.
• They did evil SECRETLY, so no one could see how evil they are.
They can hide their sins from others, but they can not hide them from the Lord. One day the TARES will hear the Lord say to them, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Notice, mankind saw the good deeds they did, “Many wonderful works”, but God saw the evil, and He will tell them one day, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity”.
WHY DO THEY DO SUCH EVIL THINGS? It is because they are not saved, and they still have that sinful nature that motivates them.
Illus: For example, you can take the most filthy hog on the face of the earth:
• Put him in the shower and scrub all the mud off him
• Poor a gallon of Channel #5 perfume on him
• Place a cute little ribbon around his neck
But as soon as that hog sees a mud hole, that hog is going to wallow in the mud every time. Why? Because it is the nature of the hog to do such things.
When the Lord EXPOUNDED ON THE TARES AND THE WHEAT, they knew exactly what he was talking about.
We have looked at THE PARABLE EXPOUNDED, but now let’s look at-
II. THE PARABLE EXPLAINED
Look at Matt. 13:36-43, we read, “Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
After Jesus went to the house where he was staying, his disciples asked him to explain the parable. The characters in the story, and the real persons that they represent are as follows:
1. The Sower of good seed is the Lord Jesus Christ
2. The Sower of the tares is the devil
3. The Servants of the farmer are the mature Christians
4. The Good seeds are the sons of the Kingdom
5. The Field is the world
6. The Weeds are the sons of the devil
7. The Harvest is the close of the age
What harm can the devil do when he maliciously sows seeds in God’s church?
The Lord shows us the damage he can do by showing us the image of a common, every day example of PLANTING, HARVESTING, AND SORTING THE GOOD FRUIT FROM THE BAD.
• Weeds can keep a good seed from producing what it is capable of producing
• Tares in the church can keep a good church from producing what it is capable of producing
He shows us however, that uprooting the tares too early can destroy the good plants in the process.
Just as nature teaches us patience, so God's patience also teaches us to guard the Word He has planted in our hearts, and to beware of the destructive force of sin and evil which can destroy it.
God's word brings life, but Satan seeks to destroy the good seed which has been planted in the hearts of those who have heard God's word.
God's judgment is not hasty, but it does come. And in the end, God will reward each according to what they have sown, and reaped, in this life. In that day, God will separate the evil from the good.
Conclusion:
In this parable we have seen:
I. THE PARABLE EXPOUNDED
II. THE PARABLE EXPLAINED
