The Parables of Our Lord

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 30 THE TARES AND THE WHEAT. Matt. xm. 24?30. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field ? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest, while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 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. This Parable was spoken by our Lord immediately after the Parable of the Sower, and seems at first sight to be somewhat like it. But if we examine it, we shall find it to bealtogether different. We have the Field again, as before, and Seed sown in it. But we shall see that the lesson which it teaches is entirely a new one. A person is here represented as sowing good seed in his field. In the night some malicious enemy comes, and scatters tares all over the ground. The Tares mentioned here are not like our tares; but a kind of grass which very much resembled wheat, though utterly worthless. He is not seen doing this: he does it secretly at night, while his neighbour is asleep. The Farmer sees his crop springing up, and has no suspicion whatever that there are Tares mixed with the Wheat. But when it begins to form into ear, then he discovers the mixture. His Labourers on th...