Parables of Jesus Christ

Scriptures on the Parable

• Matthew 13:24-30
• Matthew 13:36-43

The setting

• Same as the Sower and the Seed
• Jesus sitting in a boat
• Multitude standing on the seashore
• Matthew 13:1-2
• Parable to multitude, interpretation to disciples

The setting

• Interpretation given in the house
• In response to request

The Moral: The kingdom of heaven in its present state has mixture in it, mixture of good and evil

The Moral

• This condition will last until Jesus comes
• The separation will take place at that point
• Separating the wicked from the righteous
• The eternal destinies of both are settled
• Other truths will be seen in this amazing parable

The Exposition of the Parable

• Parable only found in Matthew
• The Gospel of the Kingdom
• Jesus gave us the analogy
• He also interpreted the parable

The Exposition of the Parable

• Like a puzzle Jesus takes the parts
• The parts supply supplemental truths
• The interpretation of this parable 
• Supplies guidelines to interpret others

The Exposition of the Parable

• Jesus says, "The kingdom of heaven is like..."
• Resembles, corresponds to
• Represents the things that make up the parable

Some things to consider

• Parable of Sower and Seed
• Beginning of Kingdom
• Parable of Wheat and Tares
• Mixture in the Kingdom

Some things to consider

• The Sower
• First parable didn't identify
• This parable identifies it
• Son of Man vs. 24, 37
• Vs 27 - householder or owner

Some things to consider

• "Son of Man" - a Messianic name
• Refers to his humanity
• His human nature
• Matthew 8:20; 9:6; 11:19, 27; 12:18

Some things to consider

• "Son of David" - Messianic name
• Refers to him being the root
• The offspring of David
• David's Son yet David's Lord
• Humanity and Deity Rev 5:5; 22:16

Some things to consider

• "the man" this term appears in 
• Parables 2, 3, 5, and 6
• This points to the Son of Man
• Stephen saw him in Acts 7:56
• Jesus sows the church in the earth

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Wheat Seed
• The Son of Man sowed good seed
• It was called wheat in His field
• Good seed - Children of the Kingdom
• Vs 24, 25, 29, 38

The Exposition of the Parable

• Sowing time is always the beginning
• Harvest time is the end
• This parable begins with sowing
• Ends with harvest season

The Exposition of the Parable

• "the seed" of the first parable
• Is the Word of the Kingdom
• "the seed" of the second
• Is the children of the Kingdom
• Receive see - become seed

The Exposition of the Parable

• Emphasis in first parable is
• receiving the seed
• Here it's becoming the seed
• You can't become the seed
• Until you receive the seed

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Field
• Sower sowed good seed
• It was in "His field"
• "The field is the world"
• Vs 24, 38 - Psalm 24:1

The Exposition of the Parable

• The sleeping watchman
• "While men slept" Mat 13:25
• It's night time
• Jesus didn't specifically interpret this

The Exposition of the Parable

• Context and cultural customs
• Help us to see, the matter of the night
• The danger in the night
• Bible times - owner employed watchman
• Supposed to protect field from enemy

The Exposition of the Parable

• Here the watchman slept
• While they slept the enemy came
• Sleep is healthy
• Bible talks of sleep of laziness
• Sleep of indifference, unwatchfulness

The Exposition of the Parable

• "Watchman, what of the night?" Isa 21:11-12
• Peter, James, and John fell asleep
• Mt. of Transfiguration - Luke 9:28-36
• Garden of Gethsemane - Luke 22:39-46
• Jesus had to wake them up each time

The Exposition of the Parable

• Paul says "It is high time to awake..." Rom 13:11-12
• As believers we don't "sleep as others" - 1 Thes 5:1-10
• The wise and foolish virgins all slept  - Matt 25:1-13
• Church history shows that many have fallen asleep
• They fell into a state of spiritual slumber, prayerlessness

The Exposition of the Parable

• Lack of watchfulness
• The enemy of Christ came
• Sowed evil seed in "His field"
• Enemy's tactics have always been
• infiltration and seduction

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Enemy Sower
• No mistaking the enemy
• "While men slept, His enemy came..."
• The enemy of Christ and the church is
• The devil

The Exposition of the Parable

• The devil came and sowed
• Evil seed among good seed(vs. 25, 28, 39)
• The devil is Christ's enemy - not equal though
• At work in the first parable, catching away the word
• At work here, sowing seed

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Tares Seed
• The devil sowed the tares
• Evil seed among good
• Didn't try to uproot the wheat
• Tried to mix the seed with evil

The Exposition of the Parable

• Tares - evil seed are defined by Jesus
• "the children of the wicked one" vs 25-27, 30, 38, 40
• Tare can be translated as weed, thistles, or black wheat
• Strongs G2215 - darnel or false grain, tares
• Jews called it degenerate wheat

The Exposition of the Parable

• It was a counterfeit
• A illegitimate kind of wheat
• In early stages can't tell them apart
• Indistinguishable in the beginning

The Exposition of the Parable

• Nature of Wheat
• A wholesome grain
• Crushed to flour
• Used for bread and other kinds of food
• In it's growing stage needs chaff to protect it

The Exposition of the Parable

• Ripens by absorbing light
• Once it's mature it bows its full head
• It's ready for reaping
• Called "golden grain"
• Satan wanted to sift Peter - Luke 22:31

The Exposition of the Parable

• Nature of Tares
• A degenerate kind of wheat
• A black seed
• It's poisonous to humans and animals
• If eaten, it's bitter, can cause dizziness

The Exposition of the Parable

• When fully ripe - stand stiffly erect
• In contrast to the bowing heads of wheat
• Only when tares and wheat are fully ripe is the
• inner nature and character seen
• Tares are useless for food, only fit to burn

The Exposition of the Parable

• The commandment was to not sow mixed seed
• Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:9
• Mixed multitude always got Israel in trouble
• God hates mixture
• Yet here we have two seeds

The Exposition of the Parable

• Good seed and evil seed
• Wheat and Tares
• Children of the Kingdom
• Children of the wicked one

The Exposition of the Parable

• John the Baptist and Jesus
• Spoke of the tares as "the generation of vipers"
• Matthew 3:7; 12:34; 23:33
• Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, religious hypocrites
• Counterfeit Christians, wolves in sheep's clothing

The Exposition of the Parable

• Jude's epistle - "The Acts of the Apostates"
• Apostates - forsake the cause
• Jude shows the nature of tares
• When the enemy can't attack from without
• It will destroy/corrupt from within Rev 2:13

The Exposition of the Parable

• The enemy went his way
• He knew the nature of the seed he'd sown
• Tares would spring up/grow among the wheat
• His tactic was mixture
• He knew time would bring results (vs 25, 26)

The Exposition of the Parable

• The awakened servants
• The blade sprang up they found the tares
• Vs. 27-29 they go to the master
• Their told an enemy did this
• Leave the tares so you don't ruin the wheat

The Exposition of the Parable

• Growing together
• The householder says "Let both grow together"
• "until the time of harvest"
• There is mixture in the kingdom in its present state
• Two seeds grow together

The Exposition of the Parable

• Children of the kingdom, wheat, good seed
• Children of the wicked one, tares, evil seed
• Growing together in the kingdom until the end
• Mystery of godliness and of iniquity are both seen
• 1 Tim 3:16; 2 Thess 2:7

Sometimes God and our Pastor doesn't deal with things as soon as we'd like. Rather those things are allowed to remain until the wheat is mature enough to handle the separation.

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Harvest Time
• Wheat and tares grow together until harvest time
• Harvest is the end of the age (vs 30, 39, 40)
• So during the Church age there will be
• good and evil; wheat and tares

The Exposition of the Parable

• The mixture continues until Jesus comes
• Inner nature of the wheat and tares is exposed
• They will both ripen Matthew 5:45
• Rev 14 tells of the harvest time
• The Son of Man is given the sickle

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Angel Reapers
• Reapers are the angels (vs. 30, 39)
• Greek word - angelos means messenger
• Matthew 25:31

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Bundled Tares
• First thing they did - Mat 13:30
• Bundle the tares 
• Burn them
• Tares are Mat 13:41

The Exposition of the Parable

• Bundles could be:
• cults, Apostate churches
• We see all kinds of churches
• Any form of "degenerate wheat"
• They appear as wheat(yet they're corrupted)

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Furnace of Fire (vs 40, 42)
• The lake of fire and brimstone
• Made for the Devil and his angels
• Jeremiah 29:22 - wicked kings burnt
• Dan 3:6 - 3 Hebrew children

Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

The Exposition of the Parable

• Wailing and gnashing of teeth (vs 42)
• Speaks of those cast into the furnace
• Expresses terrible grief, sorrow and regret
• A result of eternal punishment
• Unrepentant unbelievers and backslid believers

The Exposition of the Parable

• Whatever the significance
• The furnace is to be dreaded
• Acts 7:54 - religious leaders to Stephen
• They would have done so to Jesus

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Gathered Wheat
• "Gather the wheat into My Barn"(vs 30)
• Good seed, Children of the kingdom
• Psalm 50:5 "Gather My saints"
• Gen 49:10 "Unto Him"

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Lord's Barn
• Ultimately it's heaven (vs 43)
• It's called the "kingdom of the Father"
• Where we all want to go

The Exposition of the Parable

• The Final separation
• vs 41 - mixture separated
• wheat separated from tares
• good seed from bad seed
• 7th parable net of fish - good and bad

The Exposition of the Parable

• Mixture ends with gathering
• Tares gathered out of the Kingdom
• vs 41
• Wicked cast into furnace of fire
• Righteous gathered into God's barn

The Exposition of the Parable

• Takes place at His coming
• There's no mixture after this
• No mixture in Heaven
• Made only for the righteous

Practical application

Practical application

Comparison

• First Parable 
• Sower - Lord, any believer
• Second Parable
• Sower - Son of Man

Comparison

• First Parable
• We receive the Word
• Second Parable
• We become the seed

You can't become the seed until you receive the seed.

Comparison

• First Parable
• Seed is God's Word
• Second Parable
• Seed is God's people

Final lesson:
Separation comes at the end of the age. Wicked and righteous separated to their eternal destines.

Matthew 13:43
...Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.