Puzzling parables the wheat and the tares - laindon - 180919 mike cruse
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Explanation of a parable of Jesus that is not easy to understand. Some important lessons for us today
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Puzzling parables the wheat and the tares - laindon - 180919 mike cruse
- 1. L A I N D O N , 1 8 T H S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 PUZZLING PARABLES – THE WHEAT AND THE TARES
- 2. Like and Liken Homoios – ‘like’ Homoio0 – ‘liken’
- 3. Wheat and Tare – Greek originals Wheat – ‘sitos’ – ‘sifted wheat or corn’ Tare – ‘zizanion’ – ‘darnel, a weed like corn’
- 4. What is a tare? “A weed of grain fields especially of Biblical times that is usually held to be the darnel. In the plural, it is ‘an undesirable element’” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
- 5. The Wheat and The Tares
- 6. The Wheat and the Tares
- 7. Wheat and Tares – Spot the Difference!
- 8. The Disciples ask for the meaning “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’”. (Matthew 13.36)
- 9. The warning to Peter “And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”(Luke 22.29-32)
- 10. Warnings “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness” (2 Peter 3.17). “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4.6)
- 11. Warnings “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”(Matthew 7.15)
- 12. Warnings “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20.29).
- 13. The way we should be “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2.5)
- 14. Consistency in our lives “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2.12)
- 15. Our desire for the future ”shining forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (.43).
Editor's Notes
- Introduction One reason alone for including the Wheat/Tares in this short series of ‘Puzzling Parables’ is that, from my research and discussion with other brethren, interpretations of this parable have attracted a lot of controversy over the years and that is just within Christadelphian fellowships at large! Puzzling? Yes. Subject to debate? Yes also! I generally avoid ‘conflict’ as a whole, the more so in relation to Scriptural matters, given the way that some can get very emotional and ‘over-heated’ regarding issues that they feel strongly about. So, to complete this introductory ‘waiver’, my intention in the remarks that follow has been 1) to tread carefully and 2) to address matters arising as simply as possible. Not anodyne?! Hopefully, at the end of this address, you the listeners here and ‘on line’ will feel that I have achieved this. On safe ground, I can say that this parable is only found in Matthew and is part of a sequence in this chapter, which is a particular characteristic of his gospel record. In summary, the first parable in Matt 13 is that of the Sower, the last is the Dragnet; that of the Wheat and Tares is in the middle between the Sower and the Mustard Seed. The others comprise the Leaven and the Pearl of Great Price. After the opening parable of the Sower, a characteristic of each of the other parables is that they are introduced with the same phrase - “The kingdom of heaven is like”, though the word use for the Wheat and Tares is “likened”.
- That being said, it is derived from the same root word in the Greek - S2 (homoios 4 like, homoioo, liken). There is therefore, as an aside, a linking theme. The Narrative - Background Details There are two kinds of sower in this parable and two kinds of seed- wheat and tares -which wind up growing together. We’ll now look at the Greek words for ‘wheat and ‘tare’.
- According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a tare is >
- So, we are looking at something that is quite specific. The ‘tare’ (or darnel) only grows in grain fields and this is the only time it is mentioned in Scripture. Remarkably, tares look like wheat, especially in the early stages of growth, as you will hopefully see from the photos and diagram that follow:->
- Their colour, size and texture are said to be similar and thus can easily be confused. This is suggested by the fact that in the parable, the householder’s servants only recognised the difference between the two once the wheat had ‘brought forth fruit’ (.26). ‘The enemy’ of the parable was intent on disrupting and spoiling the harvest. The sowing took place ‘while men slept’, a dangerous time, just as night can be in connection with thieves, as we are reminded in the parable of the thief in the night. To use another, contemporary analogy, we might liken the tares to ‘squatters’, who steal in on somebody else’s property when no-one is looking, taking up residence in a place where they have no right to be and then become difficult to evict. Roman law Historical commentators state that it was an offence under Roman law to plant tares in someone else’s field of wheat, owing to their invasive and destructive nature. People in first century Judaea would therefore be familiar with this detail in the parable, invariably the case with all of the parables; it would have been illogical otherwise. Interpretation The disciples, not for the first (or last) time, asked Jesus the question >
- They had yet to grasp the finer points of their Master’s teaching; in fact there was much that they would only comprehend after his ascension, as the record tells us. So he revisited the parable, aspect by aspect. In some, albeit limited ways, this parable has synergy with the parable of the sower. There are distinct types of people, though there are only two in this case. A prime difference lies in the fact that whereas the sower scattered the seed freely in different places, in this parable the seed was only taken up by a single class of people, those that were of the household of faith (.38 “the children of the kingdom”). The dangers here didn’t comprise little depth of soil, being choked by thorns or scorched by the sun, but by the possibility of contamination by the tares, a concern of “the servants”. Why not pull up the tares before they could damage the wheat? Well, from our perspective, we know that we need to be ‘in the world, but not of the world’. Jesus came ‘into the world’ to preach the goods news of his coming kingdom: the apostles were those that were ‘sent out’ to the people of the Mediterranean region. We can speak out about apostasy (and challenge bad behaviour), but we will never be able to pull up either by their roots. This will be on the agenda of Jesus and his accompanying angels & saints at his return. There is no merit in us living like monks or nuns, for this would eradicate our responsibility to talk to others about the hope that is in Jesus. Good news, especially of the divine type, is to be shared! We should not hide our lights under bushels. In saying this, I am not suggesting that it is easy, especially on a one-to-one basis. On a personal note, I have found it easier to talk to others in this way, but that may arise from greater self-confidence coupled with reduced self-consciousness that have come with age. Yes, we know that the world is getting worse, just as the tares grow towards maturity. We have to ‘grow’ in a world surrounded by indifference, sometimes hostility and above all else, apostasy. The question has been asked by various speaking brethren especially in recent times as to who knows whether or not that hostility may grow? Who knows what challenges our faith may face? There was that time shortly before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, when Peter was given this warning: >
- (sift = ‘siriazo’, not same as earlier word we looked at for wheat (sitos). On another tack, how ironic that the Romans outlawed the sowing of tares because of the damage they could do, yet the Roman church has happily sowed its destructive seed over many centuries inflicting greater destruction on its adherents, the more so in our own times. Rome, chief of the apostates, will meet a bloody end at the hands of our Lord and the saints. Thus the apostles warned those that would listen to them of the dangers of error, seen in these examples:->
- People can be deceptive, especially when they have an agenda, even as the flesh itself has so easily deceived, from Eden to the present day. The image of the wolf is to be found elsewhere, the passage most familiar being Paul’s parting word to the ecclesia in Ephesus:-
- Wolves, hunting in a pack, can be devastating. They can work as a team and having taken down their prey, devour it with speed and vigour. Such a fitting analogy! There is a danger in our times that other religious bodies may seem to be acceptable, but judgments made on surface appearance can be damaging. There are doubtless many people who are sincere and well-meaning in their beliefs and general approach to life, but neither are enough. ‘Doing good to others’ counts for a lot in the minds of many, but it is not the sole benchmark of the true Christian. It would probably come as a great shock to many who profess to be Christian if Jesus were to tell them that they are not. They may have a choice to make at his return. Imposter or Messiah, fraudulent or real? How will they react to the incredible victories, the unassailable nature of the mighty host? Will they deny what their ears have heard and their eyes have seen? After all, the people of Israel in the time of Moses conveniently forgot when it suited them. How apt that “Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house” (36) and then explained the parable to the disciples! We are part of the household of faith and seek to contribute to its wellbeing and adhere to the direction offered by Peter:-
- In our days, which would appear to be the last days of Gentile rule, let us build up each other and grow in Christ, such that when we are separated, we are considered “wheat” and so enter into the joy of our Master. That we might be as members of the flock of sheep taken to the right hand side and not cast out among the goats, not of that class of people who ‘wail’ and ‘gnash’ their teeth.. Other Interpretations A final and very general brief word or two about alternative views on this. It will probably come as no surprise to know that orthodoxy comes up with a broad range of different explanations as to how this parable should be interpreted. They encompass different periods of time, different doctrines and often with a specific agenda, geared to discredit those that they were in dispute with. Any further comment would be academic at best. What many ignore is the phrase “the end of this world” (‘kosmos’- world or arrangement’). We should surely focus on the judgements on the world, especially those apostates who have deceived too many for too long? Ultimately, we should concern ourselves with Paul’s exhortation to those in Philippi:- S14