The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares Part 2

See Part 1

Matthew 13:36-43 (KJV)
³⁶ 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.
³⁷ He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
³⁸ The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
³⁹ The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
⁴⁰ As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
⁴¹ The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
⁴² And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
⁴³ Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

After Yeshua told the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares to the crowd, He sent them away, and went into the house (verse 36). His disciples came to Him and asked Him to explain the meaning of the parable. Yeshua then revealed that the man who sowed the good seed is Yeshua himself (The "Son of man" is a Messianic term referring to the Messiah.) (verse 37). The field stands for the world and the good seed are the children of the Kingdom of Heaven (verse 38). He further explained that the tares represent the children of the wicked one (Satan according to verse 39). The harvest represents the end of the world and the reapers are the angels. According to verse 40 the tares would be gathered and burned in the fire. This part of the parable mirrors what will happen at the end of the world. The Son of man will send forth his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them that sin (verse 41). These will be cast into the furnace of fire where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth (verse 42). Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of Heaven (verse 43). Yeshua ended His explanation by saying, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

Since Yeshua revealed the meaning of this parable to His disciples, it is pretty impossible to misunderstand. He was explaining that He had originally placed His own good children in the world, but that Satan disturbed that perfection by introducing his own evil children. Since it was difficult to remove the wicked without possibly uprooting the good, Yeshua determined to leave both in the world until its end. At that time the angels would remove the wicked and cast them into hell, but the righteous would remain in the world, where they would shine forth as the sun. Yeshua then encouraged His disciples to really listen and understand the parable.

But who are the wicked and who are the righteous? Although all mankind is guilty of sin and is deserving of hell, Yeshua, by His death and resurrection, made it possible for sinful mankind to trust and believe in Yeshua's work on the cross, and to be viewed by God in light of Yeshua's own righteousness. Those who trust are considered the righteous. They will remain on earth in the Kingdom of Heaven, but the wicked, those who are not believers and then are viewed by God in all their sin, will be cast into hell.

How can we apply this parable to our lives? This short parable explains what our world is like now. We are living with a mix of evil and good. However, one day, there will be judgment and only those who are trusting in Messiah for their salvation will survive. The destination of everyone else is hell. We've been warned! Let's make sure our eternal home will be with Yeshua!