Matthew 13:24 ¶ 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. 31 Another parable put he forth
unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed,
which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the
greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come
and lodge in the branches thereof. 33
Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven,
which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was
leavened. 34 All these things spake
Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto
them: 35 That it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I
will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away,
and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto
us the parable of the tares of the field. 37
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. 40 As therefore the
tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this
world. 41 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; 42
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears
to hear, let him hear.
This passage begins with the tares and the wheat but these
parables are linked if we think of the age of the Christian church. The Devil
has planted false Christians in the church and I doubt many of them know they
are fake any more than Judas will know he is a devil, according to Christ in
John 6:70.
The institutional church will grow amazingly large but birds of
the air, likened to the Devil in the previous passage contrasting verse 4 with
verse 19, will lodge in its uppermost branches, the height of authority.
The woman, think of the whore of Babylon in Revelation, uses
leaven, considered false doctrine in Matthew 16 coming up, in three measures of
meal, representing the three great branches of Christianity, perhaps, the Roman
Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, and Protestantism which controlled
governments or were controlled by them, waged wars, bought and sold slaves, and
murdered non-conforming Christians throughout history, spreading false
doctrines and deceit around.
Of course, this is my interpretation from studying history and
comparing it with the Bible but it seems so plausible as a warning of what is
to come.
For these disciples, however, they are a mystery that only the
Holy Ghost can unlock for them and they say they understand in the next passage.
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