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The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares - 10:58 AM, 11/13/2008

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
Bernard Pyron

Matthew 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:
25.     But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and went his way.
26.     But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then
appeared the tares also.
27.     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?
28.     He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said
unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29.     But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up
also the wheat with them.
30.     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."

Then in Matthew 24: 37-39 Christ explains this parable to his disciples. "He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38.The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39.The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels."

In this parable Christ is using things in the physical to communicate something about the spiritual to us. If we look only at the physical in this parable, all we see is a field that has a lot of weeds growing among the wheat.

Christ explained that the field represents the world. But the wheat and the tares are those who claim to be the people of God. The Church, of course, is in the world.

Zechariah 13: 8-9 talks about a basic division into thirds of those claiming to be the people of God. Ezekiel 5: 1-5 and 5: 12 is a parallel Scripture to Zechariah 13: 8-9.

Zechariah 13: 8-9 says "And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9.And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God"
The parallel text of Ezekiel 5: 1-5 and 5: 12 says "And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's rasor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weight, and divide the hair.
2.     Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
3.     Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
4.     Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
5.     Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her...12. A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them."

Ezekiel 5 adds some information not given in Zechariah 13: 8-9. In Ezekiel 5 there is a fourth group, a small remnant, which Ezekiel is told to bind in his skirts. And verse 12 describes how three groups, but not the remnant, will die.

If we should apply the three part division of Zechariah 13: 8-9 to the parable of the wheat and the tares of Matthew 13: 24-30, we can see that two thirds of the people claiming to belong to God are the tares and, as it turns out, one third are the wheat.

But - before the separation of the one third from the two thirds of the Church, all are tares. Now in November of 2008, following Zechariah 13: 8-9, all are in the church and are tares. In bringing the one third out and into a fire, the Lord purifies them and makes them wheat, and can harvest them and put them in his barn.

Zechariah 13: 8-9 does not say what it is that appears to displease God about the people claiming to be his, the Church. II Thessalonians 2: 10-12 may give us an important clue about why the Lord will judge the Church so severely. 10. "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11.And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12.That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

The tares believe and spout false doctrines. But the wheat, after they go through purification, dislike false doctrines, and tell the truth.

The children of the kingdom are the one third who come through the fire to call upon the Lord who accepts them.
The tares are the Scorpions and the Serpents. Serpents and Scorpions are players found in the Trumpet Judgments.
The locust-scorpions are found in Revelation 9: 3. In Ezekiel 2: 6 scorpions are used metaphorically of people.
"And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house." The people who are called scorpions here are identified in verse 3, "...Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day." Scorpions are the people of God who have gone bad.

Serpents are found in Revelation 9: 19 as players of the Trumpet Judgments. Note that in Revelation 9:18 a third part of men are killed.

Serpents used to describe men is found in Matthew 23: 33 "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" Christ is addressing the Pharisees.