My Walk Through the Book of Matthew by Annette Godtland

The Parable of the Tares Explained (Matthew 13:36-43)

36Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."

37He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Jesus just did a beautiful job of explaining what the kingdom of heaven is like. But who is included in this growing kingdom? Here it says that His angels will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness. Therefore His kingdom includes not only the righteous, but everyone.

Sometimes it seems like things are going so well for you that God must be OK with the life you are living. But is that really true? Yes things are going well for you, but is that just because you are living in the kingdom of heaven which He provided for everyone? Even the evil and lawless are in the kingdom of heaven. Just because you feel the kingdom of heaven around you does not mean you are a chosen one.

Both good and evil will be allowed to grow in God's kingdom, but in the end, those that offend and those who practice lawlessness will be cast into the fire.

It says there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. It is easy to understand that this is what those who are cast into the fire will suffer. But what of the righteous ones who were unable to convince their loved ones to observe the wishes of God? It seems to me that there might be wailing and gnashing of teeth on both sides.

But the righteous will shine forth, they will live, they will praise God, in the kingdom of their Father, God in heaven. There is no middle road. There will either be burning in the furnace of fire, or shining forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father. You will either be one of the righteous, a son of the kingdom; or one who offends, practices lawlessness, a son of the wicked one. There is no such thing as being a little bit of both when the final gathering occurs.

The good seed was spread for all. The kingdom of heaven provides strength, support and shelter for all. The kingdom of heaven cannot be contained and will continue to grow around all, regardless of the good or bad seed influence on your life. It is up to you whether or not you will be able to remain in this kingdom.