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.