Lesson 76 - Senior
Memory Verse
"Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice" (Psalm 50:5).
Cross References
I The Good Seed Sown in the Field
1. The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to the parable of the tares, [MAT:13:24-25].
2. The "man" who sowed the good seed is the Son of man, [MAT:13:24]; [MAT:13:37]; [MAT:18:11].
3. The "field" in which the seed was sown is the world, [MAT:13:24]; [MAT:13:38]; [PS:2:8].
4. The "good seed" is the children of the Kingdom, [MAT:13:24]; [MAT:13:38]; [ROM:8:16].
II The Tares Sown among the Wheat
1. The tares were sown while men slept (spiritually), [MAT:13:25]; [ISA:60:2]; [1TS:5:6].
2. The "tares" are the children of the wicked one, [MAT:13:25]; [MAT:13:38]; [JHN:8:44].
3. The "enemy" who sowed the tares is the devil, [MAT:13:25]; [MAT:13:39]; [EPH:6:11].
III The Separation at the Harvest
1. The "harvest" is the end of the world, and the "reapers" the angels, [MAT:13:30]; [MAT:13:39]; [MAK:13:27].
2. The tares cannot be rooted up, lest the wheat also be rooted up, [MAT:13:28-29]; [ACT:15:14-17].
3. The final separation comes at the time of the harvest, [MAT:13:30]; [MAT:25:31-32]; [DAN:12:2].
4. The "tares" are gathered and burned with fire (everlasting fire), [MAT:13:30]; [MAT:13:4-42]; [MAT:25:41].
5. The "wheat" is gathered into His "barn" (the Kingdom of their Father), [MAT:13:43]; [DAN:12:3].
Notes
The parable of the Wheat and the Tares, like the parable of the Sower, is interpreted by the Lord. And we therefore need not be in any doubt as to the meaning of either. The former, we found, has to do with the kind of reception given by men to His Word " a very vital matter; for upon this reception depends one's entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.-And this second parable very appropriately follows it, for it is a progressive step concerning the Kingdom, revealing the eventual state of those who were the "good ground" in whose hearts His Word was planted.
The Good Seed
The "Sower" in this instance, as in the former parable, is the Son of man ([MAT:13:37]), and the "field" in which the good seed is sown is the world ([MAT:13:38]), while the "good seed," He explains, are the children of the Kingdom.
Thus, there is disclosed in this parable the great purpose for which Jesus came into this world, as Simon Peter declared in the council at Jerusalem when testifying of his visit to the house of Cornelius, as told by James: "Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name" (Acts 15:14). With the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's saving grace was extended to the Gentiles. And for twenty centuries the Son of man has been seeking out "a people for his name." These are the "children of the Kingdom," among whom is found men of every kindred, nation, and tongue. "And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" Luke 14:23). This work shall continue until the last vacant chair at the "marriage supper of the Lamb" is assigned.
The Tares among the Wheat
But while this great work of sowing the "good seed" has continued, another work has been going on in the dark, "while men slept." The "tares" in this parable, we are told, are the children of the wicked one ([MAT:13:38]), and the "enemy" who sows them is the devil ([MAT:13:39]). From the time of Adam down, the devil, too, has been seeking "children" for his kingdom. And in this Dispensation of Grace he has been working more zealously than ever, because he knows his time is short. And he has succeeded in winning a great following "while men slept," for multitudes have been lulled into spiritual slumber, and are now on the "broad way to destruction." Satan's kingdom will soon be established for a brief season ([REV:13:1-18]), at which time the "great tribulation" will be visited upon the earth. And it rests with men to decide now in which kingdom they are going to be found in that day.
The Dispensation of Grace
The sowing of the "good seed" and the sowing of the "tares" is thus going on while "this Gospel of the Kingdom" is being preached in all the world ([MAT:24:14]). And when the servants of the householder discovered the tares in the field, they said, "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."
Certain students of the Bible who have travelled through the Holy Land believe that by "tares" is meant a poisonous plant called the bearded darnel, which is almost indistinguishable from the wheat while the two are in the blade, but which can be separated without difficulty when they come into the ear. "This plant is frequently found sprinkled among he wheat, and so entwined with it that it cannot be rooted up without damaging the latter; hence the necessity of waiting until the harvest." God is therefore permitting the "wheat" and the "tares" to grow together, while His saving grace is abounding; for this is the sowing season, so to speak, when He is preparing a people for that heavenly Kingdom, even amid the evil surroundings of this wicked world. The children of the Kingdom may not be so distinguishable now from the children of the world as they will be later on; nevertheless it is possible under these evil conditions to live the Christian life. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:11, 12). God has called us to walk with Him here below, like Enoch of old, separated in heart from the world, the flesh, and the devil. And the call is still going out into all the world. The "whosoever will" may respond and become a child of the Kingdom.
The Harvest Time
But some day the "sowing season" will be ended, the "wheat" will be matured and gathered into His "barn." The Householder, in reference to the wheat and tares, said to His servants, "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." The "harvest," the Lord explains, is the end of the world, and the "reapers" are the angels, and the "barn" into which the "wheat" is gathered is that heavenly Kingdom, for which the children of the Kingdom are waiting and longing. Judgment in that day will be rained upon the children of the wicked one, but it will be a day of joy and gladness for the redeemed of the Lord. For that day shall be ushered in with the coming of the Lord back to earth again, not as the lowly Man of Nazareth but as Judge of all the earth.
And all nations shall be gathered before Him, and He shall separate them, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats, with His sheep on His right hand, and the goats on the left. "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34). "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).
Oh, may that day be hastened when we shall se Him face to face! "It doth not yet appear what we shall be:-but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (I John 3:2).
"Not for ease or worldly pleasures,
Nor for fame my prayer shall be;
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee."
Questions
1. Who is the "sower" in this parable?
2. What do the "tares," the "wheat", and the "field" symbolise?
3. In what dispensation do the events recorded here take place?
4. Why could not the tares be rooted up when found growing with the wheat?
5. Why does God permit evil to continue in this world, as is recorded in [ECC:8:11]? What does the "barn" symbolise?
6. What period does the "harvest" symbolise in this parable?
7. What is done with the tares and the wheat in the harvest? and what does this disposition of them symbolise?
8. Quote a verse of Scripture substantiating your answer to the above question.
9. What must a sinner do in respect to this change from a child of the wicked one to a child of the Kingdom?
10. What kind of life must he live in order to gain that Kingdom at the harvest?