Tares among Wheat

[Guest]

Tares among Wheat

24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

How does this relate to the church?

‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest;

This almost seems to teach against church discipline... What am I missing?

[Guest]

Jesus' explained the parable a few verses later:

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.
Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law–breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Matthew 13:36-43 ESV

It seems to me either that

1. The Kingdom of Heaven is broader than the totality of the disciples of Christ ("The Church", if you will)

or

2. There will be true disciples of Christ who practise sin and lawlessness and will have to undergo that severe correction in Gehenna just like the non-disciples of the world.

I am inclined toward #1 since #2 seems to contradict the words of 1 John where it is written:

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:4-10 ESV

[Guest]

Or what about another option?

In Jesus day, the Jews expected that the kingdom of God would have national borders and would conquer the pagans by wiping them off the face of the earth. Perhaps in this parable, Jesus is countering this nationalistic and political view by describing that the kingdom of God is not an kingdom made of borders and walls, but is a people, committed to Jesus as King, who are scattered among those who deny God in every nation until the end of history. God's plan is not to completely destroy "the people of the evil one" until history has reached its course, probably so that those in the kingdom of God can be salt and light to change the tares into wheat.

I don't see Jesus describing that there will be professing pretenders in the Church because he describes the field as the world, not as the church.

My thoughts.

Dave

[Guest]

It has been my understanding that the weed was darnel that Jesus had in mind. Darnel is said to be virtually indistinguishable from wheat in its early stages of growth but becomes obvious as harvest nears as the seed heads are different.

In the Church, there are those who come for various reasons, and it is not obvious what their motives are. I have heard that early in the history of this country, many attended for social reasons; it was the "only game in town". And I remember a story of two men in a small town who were starting up a business. There was only a Baptist and a Methodist church in the town and they decided to each join one of the churches, reasoning that they would get all the business of both!

People who attend church for the wrong reason may be very difficult to detect. I think Jesus' concern was with the great damage that would be done if we try to judge who is worthy or not. "Let each man examine himself, and so let him eat" is the principle. Imagine what the effect might be if a husband and father is removed from the church because in someone's opinion he is not a true believer. Even if the opinion is correct, what will happen to his wife and children? Will they turn away and be lost? This seems to be the exact understanding of the parable. I have read that darnel growing with wheat can't be pulled up without the possibility of pulling up some wheat with it; the roots being intertwined.

[Guest]

If I understand you correctly, Homer, you see "the church" as being a local gathering of disciples among whom may be a number of non-disciples. Does that mean that the mere attending of such a gathering makes you part of the Kingdom of Heaven?

Doesn't the church of Christ consist exclusively of disciples?

Homer, please understand that I am not writing the above by way of challenge of your position. I'm just trying to understand it.

[Guest]

People who attend church for the wrong reason may be very difficult to detect. I think Jesus' concern was with the great damage that would be done if we try to judge who is worthy or not. "Let each man examine himself, and so let him eat" is the principle. Imagine what the effect might be if a husband and father is removed from the church because in someone's opinion he is not a true believer. Even if the opinion is correct, what will happen to his wife and children? Will they turn away and be lost?

This is exactly the question I have -- this is the message I have heard as well from the pulpit, but I don't see how this squares with church discipline. Isn't the purpose of church discipline to disfellowship people who are evidencing a lack of salvation in their motives/fruits/unrepentent nature, etc.?

Homer, I've heard this approach too -- but, where do you think this application comes from ? What in the text would suggest this application as opposed to seeing the "field" as the world and explaining the existing of all types in the "world" as opposed to the "body of Christ?" That there will be unsaved in the fellowship that avoid detection and disfellowship is almost certain to be true, but this application would suggest that Christ even recognized it would be normative or at least acceptable.

[Guest]

I have questions...

This is exactly the question I have -- this is the message I have heard as well from the pulpit, but I don't see how this squares with church discipline. Isn't the purpose of church discipline to disfellowship people who are evidencing a lack of salvation in their motives/fruits/unrepentent nature, etc.?

I sort of think that the ultimate goal of church discipline is for the restoration of the sinner. You seem to be saying that the goal of church discipline is to remove the sinner from fellowship, perhaps to protect the church??...or am I misunderstanding you?

Homer, I've heard this approach too -- but, where do you think this application comes from ? What in the text would suggest this application as opposed to seeing the "field" as the world and explaining the existing of all types in the "world" as opposed to the "body of Christ?" That there will be unsaved in the fellowship that avoid detection and disfellowship is almost certain to be true, but this application would suggest that Christ even recognized it would be normative or at least acceptable.

I'm wondering about this too. I've read the passage over and over and I can't figure out why Jesus said the field is the world if he meant it was the church. I thought perhaps the word world meant the world as in this age, but I looked it up and it doesn't.

I'm getting a little obsessed with what I think is a counterfeit revival, but anyway, couldn't that be what the verse is talking about?

[Guest]

My view has always been that, since the field is the world, Jesus is not discussing the composition of the church but of the human race—some are children of the kingdom, and others are children of the evil one. That some of the latter might creep into the formal church assembly does not seem to be addressed and seems to be beyond the range of the parable's concerns.

That the question is raised as to whether the tares should be prematurely removed before the final judgment strikes me as being similar to the question, "Should Christians fight crusades and such to eliminate the non-Christians from the world?" The question might even extend to that of whether Christians should try to eliminate the freedom of unbelievers to be unbelievers, whether by force, by legislation, by political action, etc.

The point seems to be that we are to leave the ultimate separation and disposition of unbelievers to the wisdom and timing of God. Who knows whether the "tare" that we eliminate might have, in the future, turned out to be wheat—either because of a later conversion, or because of our mistaken judgment of his earlier state?

[Guest]

My view has always been that, since the field is the world, Jesus is not discussing the composition of the church but of the human race—some are children of the kingdom, and others are children of the evil one.

If Jesus is discussing the composition of the human race, then in what way is this a parable of the kingdom of heaven?

Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field ... Matthew 13:24 RSV [bolding mine]

[Guest]

The man who sowed good seeds is the Son of Man—who is the King of the kingdom. The good seed He sowed are the children of the kingdom—who are His subjects. This is the kingdom of God (or of heaven)—King Jesus and His subjects. The fact that an enemy intrudes into the story does not take away from the fact that the parable is telling us something about the kingdom of God (or of heaven). What it is telling us is that the kingdom has been established in a hostile environment, where it will not attempt by force to remove the opposition until the King Himself takes matters into His own hands at the time of "harvest."