Matthew 13:26-30

Mat 13:26 (KJB)
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

Then when the blade sprouts fully and the fruit of the wheat is definitely seen, then the tares become noticeable because they were allowed to grow. Now because the owner of the field had decided to relax and not remain vigilant, will now have to contend with the tares among his wheat and this means there must be extra care when harvesting. It is the religious among the saved.

Mat 13:27 (KJB)
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?

The servants of the householder had now spotted the tares among the wheat and came to the owner. It just like in a church, the first ones normally to spot a false teaching are those in the pews. The servants would have had a sense of shock because they knew that the field was tilled well, the seeds were good and since the tares had grown up in the field, they would have wondered where the tares came from since nothing bad was planted and care was taken to plant only good seed. Like in the church, the leaders do not deal with problems when they are limited in scope instead they wait until the poison spreads and then a split in the church could occur. Every church must remain vigilant and remove the false teachings along with the ones who bring it immediately, so there is no spreading of it.

Mat 13:28 (KJB)
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

The owner of the field knew instantly that it was not sown by him but an enemy of his had sown the tares among his wheat in an attempt to choke out all the good wheat. The owner was slothful and should have posted a watch in the field so this would not happen. The servants then volunteered to go out to the field and to gather up all the tares and remove them from the field but they needed the master’s approval to do this. Satan has sown many tares in different churches for the purpose of destroying the church and if he can’t destroy it, then he can neutralize the message so it would be so weak it could not lead anyone to salvation.

Mat 13:29 (KJB)
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

The owner had rejected the offer of the servants to pick up the tares. The problem was that the tares were so intertwined in the field that the possibility existed that if they plucked up a tare, they would also pluck up some of the wheat thus reducing the amount of the wheat harvest. This also speaks of the believers that are to grow side by side with the unbelievers who will try to entangle them so they will be ineffective. The way Christians have matured is through the hostility of the unbelievers who have driven the believers to their knees. The Apostle Paul is a good example of this because the more he faced opposition, the more effective he became.

Mat 13:30 (KJB)
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 the day of harvest comes which also the great day of separation. The reapers will then pluck up both wheat and tares and will separate them. They are to gather the tares first and then bundle them and burn them. The reason they had to be burned were the tares could be infected with mold called an ergot fungus which would become poisonous. Today the Arabs use the tares to feed chicken and cattle before it becomes infected. Once the tares have been burned and there was no more possibility of them being mixed, the wheat is then gathered and placed in the barn or a granary. What we have in this verse is the last day when all the believers are gathered unto the Lord and placed in His barn which is a figure of Heaven. (Mat 24:31 KJV) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Then the tares are burned which is a figure of unbelievers being sentenced to hell for their sins.

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