30Let 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.
30. Grow together. See on v. 24. Both classes are to be together in the church to the very end of time. Apparently Christ saw no danger to the wheat by permitting this situation to continue. Human wisdom would perhaps have excluded Judas from the inner circle of Christ抯 disciples, the Twelve, for fear that his influence would prevent the others from measuring up to Christ抯 goal for them. But nothing in the Gospel record implies that his influence over them was more than temporary; in no instance was it decisive. Judas chose to be numbered with the Twelve, and Jesus accorded him the same privileges and opportunities for the development of character that He provided for the others.
The work of gathering out the tares and burning them is to be accomplished by the angels in the time of "harvest" at "the end of the world" (see vs. 39�42), not by the "servants" prior to that time (vs. 28�30). Down through the centuries, and even today, many zealous, professed Christians have thought it their duty to gather and burn, or otherwise persecute, those whom they considered to be heretics. But Christ has never committed such a task to His earthly representatives. This is not to say that the church should take no action with regard to those whose lives or teachings already reveal the fruitage of evil. But the nature of such action is clearly set forth in the Scriptures (see on Matt. 18:15�20; cf. Rom. 16:17; Titus 3:10, 11), and no man has the right to exceed the limits prescribed or to attempt to carry out now what God has said He will do at the end of time.
Harvest. "The harvest is the end of the world" (v. 39). It begins at the close of probationary time (see COL 72; see on ch. 3:12).
Reapers. That is, the angels (see v. 39). It is significant that the servants (v. 27) are not represented as the reapers.
First the tares. It might be expected that the wheat would be gathered before the tares were burned. Possibly Christ抯 reason for mentioning the burning of the tares first is that at the end of the world the wicked receive their reward before the earth is created anew and made the home of the saints (see 2 Peter 3:7�13; Rev. 20:9, 10, 14, 15; 21:1).
Bind them in bundles. As noted, the work of harvest begins at the close of probationary time (COL 72). When probation closes, the wrath of God is poured out upon the unrepentant of earth (see Rev. 15:1), and the seven last plagues that then fall complete the process of binding the tares into bundles ready to be burned.
Burn them. Every seed produces a harvest after its kind. There is nothing to do with the tares but burn them, lest the seeds of evil sprout again and plunge the world once more into distress and conflict. It is important to note that Christ pointed forward to no time when the tares would all become wheat. He speaks of no second probation for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment