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BURIED TREASURE: Exploring The Parables Of Jesus

by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.

Copyright © 1997 by J. W. Jepson

All rights reserved, including the right to grant the following permission and to prohibit the misuse thereof:

The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this article, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.

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5.

WHEAT AND TARES

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.

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 then 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.

--Matthew 13:24-30,37-43

WHEAT AND TARES

For many years people have sung the old favorite song, "No Tears In Heaven." Recently, while studying the parable of the wheat and the tares, I thought of that song; but this time the words that came to my mind were, "No tares in heaven."

This is another of our Savior's parables of the kingdom. We are blessed in that we have not only the parable, but also our Lord's detailed explanation to the disciples.

This parable is quite different from that of the sower. There the ground is the heart; here "the field is the world." There the seed is the word of God; here the seeds are people.

One of the most common mistakes that people make in regard to this parable is to interpret the field as the church. Please observe that the field is the world, not the church. This parable has nothing to do with church discipline. Jesus is talking about the problem of evil in the world.

We also observe that there are only two kinds of people in God's field, the world--wheat and tares. There are no half-saved or half-lost people. We are either children of the kingdom (wheat) or children of the wicked one (tares).

Now Jesus sows only good seed. His saving grace makes people good. He puts saints into society.

By contrast, the devil never produces righteousness. His seeds are always harmful. This is true even though many of them seem to be productive members of society. Some have even made outstanding contributions to human well-being. The fact remains that they are in unbelief. Their hearts are not right in the sight of God.

They do not truly love God and therefore they do not obey Him. Consequently their spiritual example and influence are detrimental to the highest interests of God and society, and this far out-weighs any positive temporal contributions they might make. In fact, the greater their influence, the greater is the damage they do to God's kingdom, honor and authority. Likewise, the greater is the damage that they do to a world whose vital and eternal well-being depends upon heart-obedience to the King and adherence to the principles of His kingdom. In other words, they are destroying souls.

We notice also that the devil is an imitator. He is never original. He takes what God has made and comes up with an imitation, a distortion, a perversion.

And the devil works in darkness. The enemy sows his seeds while people are asleep (verse 25).

What Jesus described in this parable was a frequent practice in that time. Sowing tares in someone else's field after the good seed had been sown was a way of getting even or taking out one's spite.

The tares were probably darnel, a gray, semi-poisonous weed so similar to wheat that one could not tell them apart until they headed out.

In the parable the servants asked the householder three questions. The first one assumes its own answer: "Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field?" Of course He did.

"From whence then hath it tares?" In other words, where did the sinners come from?

God created everyone and He created no one evil. God does not make a sinner out of anyone. Satan takes what God has created and corrupts it. He tempts. He appeals through the world and the flesh. He leads people into sin.

The moral character of the darnel is the result of their own choice. They chose to yield to the influences of the enemy. They became his poisonous seed in God's world.

The third question is crucial: "Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?" What should God do about the evil that is present in the world? It is a question many are asking.

"Why does God allow people to do what they are doing?" they ask. "Why does God allow wicked people to live? Why doesn't He send judgment on wicked nations? Why doesn't He stop all wars?"

Please notice that often the people who blame God for not stopping evil in the world are the very ones who resist Him with all their hearts when He tries to turn them from their own sins. They want Him to stop others from sinning, but to leave them alone.

How should we undertake to eliminate all the unrighteous from society? No. That is not the church's business. True, we must stay awake. We should pray and work to prevent the enemy from placing darnel in positions of power and influence in society. But vengeance belongs only to God. "Them that are without God judgeth" (1 Corinthians 5:13). That is, they who are outside of the kingdom of God and the household of faith.

Roots become intertwined. Families and communities contain both believers and unbelievers. Both are woven into the fabric of society. Both occupy the same land and live in the same socio-economic structure. Society will continue to experience the protection provided by the presence of the Church as long as the Church is in the world. This we learned from God's dealings with Sodom. If only ten righteous had been there, the whole place would have been spared for their sakes.

Evil will continue to grow side by side with the good. In this present age, God's judgments on wicked nations that include some genuine Christians in their population are limited in their severity. This is the age of grace, of opportunity for salvation. The gospel is God's program now. Total judgment will come later--perhaps soon. And come it will. Jesus said, "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up" (Matthew 15:13).

There were three ways to separate the darnel or tares from the wheat. If only a few kernels were mixed in with the wheat, the women would pick them out by hand when the wheat was ground into flour. Jesus implied that there were too many children of the wicked one for this method.

Wheat usually grew taller than darnel, making it practical in some harvest operations to clip off the wheat heads without touching the darnel. After the wheat was harvested in this manner, the whole field was burned.

The third method was to separate the stocks of darnel from the wheat at harvest time, tie them in bundles, and leave then in the field to be burned. The wheat was taken safely to the barn, of course. This seemed to be the practice when there were big clumps of darnel growing here and there throughout the field. This is the method Jesus described in the parable.

Christ's angels shall remove every sinner out of His kingdom. "Then shall the righteous shine forth" (verse 43).

Where are we now in the Householder's schedule? How close is the crop to the harvest?

The difference between the wheat and the tares is becoming more evident every day. This means the harvest is ripening. Time is running out. The day of grace and salvation is nearing its end.

This is no time for Christians to compromise, no time to blend into the world's ways. It is time to come out from among them and be separate from their carnal deeds. We must abstain from every form or appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). We must so live that all can clearly see the difference between Christians and non-Christians.

Friend, may I ask where you stand? Are you right with God? If Christ should come this moment, would you be ready to meet Him, or would you be cast into the fire? This is a most serious matter.

Jesus said, "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20). What kind of character and conduct is your life exhibiting? What does your attitude and your behavior reveal about your identity and your destiny?

The Bible says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). The saving, transforming power of Jesus Christ can make you what you ought to be. Please do not wait. The end of the age is upon us.

Come to Jesus Christ now.

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6. God Starts Small

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