Mat 13:36-43 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord lets the crowds go and comes into the house. He has spoken and directed the first four parables to the crowds. These parables are about the form that the kingdom of heaven will take in the world, in which good and evil will be mixed. Now He continues with just His disciples. The following three parables are about the true core of the kingdom and it is intended for the true sons of the kingdom. In the house His disciples come to Him to ask Him for the explanation of the parable of the tares. They have asked Him before why He uses parables ( ). Now they want to know the explanation of the likeness used. Their question shows the confidence they have in Him that He will give the explanation. Even the disciples cannot grasp the parable without explanation. In the seclusion of the house the Lord declares the true character and purpose of the kingdom of heaven and what has worth for Him in it. This explanation can only be understood by the spiritually-minded person. The multitudes cannot grasp the true thoughts of God in connection with the kingdom. Also in the following three parables the Lord speaks only to His disciples. They see more on the inward, more hidden side of the kingdom of heaven, that is as God sees it. That’s why these three parables are of special importance to the faithful follower of the Lord Jesus. These are the family secrets and that’s why the Lord goes with them into the house. In the great impressive whole there is found something of value to God. How valuable that is, is demonstrated by the parables of the treasure and the pearl. The Lord answers His disciples’ question willingly and explains who sows the good seed, what the field is, who the good seed is, what the tares represent, who the enemy is, what the harvest represents, and who the reapers are. He then paints what will happen in the end of the age. As with the parable of the sower at the beginning of this chapter, sowing indicates the Lord’s activity of Himself producing fruit after Israel’s failure to produce fruit for God. He Himself, as the Son of Man, sows the Word in the field of the world to, in this way, establish the kingdom of heaven. In the explanation He identifies the seed with the sons of the kingdom: the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. What the seed produces is to his senses no different than the seed that has been sown. By rejecting their King, the Jews lost their right to the kingdom. Natural birth no longer gives right to the kingdom. From the moment the King is in heaven, one becomes a son of the kingdom only if he has received new life through the Word ( ). But the Son of Man is not the only sower. The devil, “the enemy”, also acts as a sower. His sons, the sons of the evil one, “the tares”, are found among the sons of the kingdom. The devil is mixing. The terrain where he does that is the world. The enemy brings all kinds of persons – they are the fruit of the false teachings that the enemy has sown – among those born of the truth. The harvest is not a time when the age ends, but refers to the actions that God allows to be performed to fulfil His purpose fully. In these actions there is an important role for His angels. In the parable the emphasis is on the slaves, those who work the land and take care of it, the servants of the Lord ( ). They cannot distinguish between good and evil. In the explanation the emphasis is on the reapers and they can make that distinction.

‏ Matthew 13:36-43

Explanation of the Parable of the Tares

The Lord lets the crowds go and comes into the house. He has spoken and directed the first four parables to the crowds. These parables are about the form that the kingdom of heaven will take in the world, in which good and evil will be mixed. Now He continues with just His disciples. The following three parables are about the true core of the kingdom and it is intended for the true sons of the kingdom.

In the house His disciples come to Him to ask Him for the explanation of the parable of the tares. They have asked Him before why He uses parables (Mt 13:10). Now they want to know the explanation of the likeness used. Their question shows the confidence they have in Him that He will give the explanation. Even the disciples cannot grasp the parable without explanation. In the seclusion of the house the Lord declares the true character and purpose of the kingdom of heaven and what has worth for Him in it.

This explanation can only be understood by the spiritually-minded person. The multitudes cannot grasp the true thoughts of God in connection with the kingdom. Also in the following three parables the Lord speaks only to His disciples. They see more on the inward, more hidden side of the kingdom of heaven, that is as God sees it.

That’s why these three parables are of special importance to the faithful follower of the Lord Jesus. These are the family secrets and that’s why the Lord goes with them into the house. In the great impressive whole there is found something of value to God. How valuable that is, is demonstrated by the parables of the treasure and the pearl.

The Lord answers His disciples’ question willingly and explains who sows the good seed, what the field is, who the good seed is, what the tares represent, who the enemy is, what the harvest represents, and who the reapers are. He then paints what will happen in the end of the age.

As with the parable of the sower at the beginning of this chapter, sowing indicates the Lord’s activity of Himself producing fruit after Israel’s failure to produce fruit for God. He Himself, as the Son of Man, sows the Word in the field of the world to, in this way, establish the kingdom of heaven.

In the explanation He identifies the seed with the sons of the kingdom: the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. What the seed produces is to his senses no different than the seed that has been sown. By rejecting their King, the Jews lost their right to the kingdom. Natural birth no longer gives right to the kingdom. From the moment the King is in heaven, one becomes a son of the kingdom only if he has received new life through the Word (Jn 3:5).

But the Son of Man is not the only sower. The devil, “the enemy”, also acts as a sower. His sons, the sons of the evil one, “the tares”, are found among the sons of the kingdom. The devil is mixing. The terrain where he does that is the world. The enemy brings all kinds of persons – they are the fruit of the false teachings that the enemy has sown – among those born of the truth. The harvest is not a time when the age ends, but refers to the actions that God allows to be performed to fulfil His purpose fully.

In these actions there is an important role for His angels. In the parable the emphasis is on the slaves, those who work the land and take care of it, the servants of the Lord (Mt 13:28-29). They cannot distinguish between good and evil. In the explanation the emphasis is on the reapers and they can make that distinction.

The End of the Age

In the parable the Lord goes no further than collecting and binding the tares in bundles to burn it and bringing the wheat together into the barn (Mt 13:30). In the explanation He goes further. In it He speaks of the closing events “at the end of the age”, that is the age in which evil can do its work, but which comes to an end in judgment. Then He speaks of the coming of a new era, in which the wheat – which is gathered into in His barn – will reappear in the form of the righteous who will shine like the sun.

The tares are burned with fire by the angels when the Son of Man comes. The tares, the sons of the evil one, are gathered “out of His kingdom”, so that is not the world, but the terrain where the Lord Jesus exercises His authority. From it are collected “all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness”. These are not all the unbelievers from the whole world, but confessors. They are the deceivers who have led others to fall. They have also committed lawlessness, which means that they have not taken into account the authority of the King. They have refused to submit to it. They are removed from the kingdom of the Son of Man, that is His kingdom on earth. Their portion is the furnace of fire, eternal pain. Every form of joy is missing. Only weeping because of physical torment and gnashing of teeth because of the remorse of conscience is there. What a terrible fate that is!

The portion of the wheat, the sons of the kingdom, contrasts sharply with the portion of the tares, the sons of evil. The sons of the kingdom are called “righteous”. They have done what is right and have bowed themselves in truth before the authority of the Son of Man. Their part is to “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father”. Both “shine forth as the sun” and “the kingdom of their Father” indicate their heavenly position. They will shine on that day of glory in that coming age like the Lord Jesus Himself, the true “Sun of righteousness” (Mal 4:2).

‘The kingdom of their Father’ is the heavenly side of the kingdom. The Son of Man is on earth, but also in heaven (Jn 3:13). On earth the earthly believers are connected with Him, and in heaven the believers who find themselves there are connected with Him. The heavenly believers shine in the sky next to the Sun and the earthly believers bask in its light and warmth.

The righteous or the sons of the kingdom are further examined in the following three parables, and then as a “treasure” (Mt 13:44), a “pearl” (Mt 13:45-46) and “good” fish collected in containers (Mt 13:48). They are introduced as what they mean to the heart of the Lord Jesus.