RPG Adults
THE TARES IDENTIFIED
THURSDAY, APRIL 9
Matthew 13:36-43
Memory verse: Matthew 13:38
“…Declare unto us the
parable of the tares of the field.”
THE TARES IDENTIFIED
The sower is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. The tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed the tares is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are the angels. The Lord did not explain every point of this parable the way He did with the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23. He explained the day of harvest and what will happen to the tares and the wheat on the last day.
We see the significance of these two parables that Jesus explained. In the Parable of the Sower, Christ emphasised the importance of correctly hearing the Word of God. This truth impacts the believer’s life from the day of his salvation to the end of his life. In the case of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares, the significance is to warn believers that there are unbelievers who look like believers outwardly. They are found in churches, Bible Colleges, seminaries, and all Christian organisations. They behave and serve like believers and worship and sing like believers. They will fool many, but not the Lord. This is the work of the devil.
The difference will be revealed in the last day. Christ’s angels will gather the tares and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. They will be gathered out of Christ’s kingdom (on earth where they co-existed with God’s children). Their life of sin and iniquity is the basis of condemnation as tares! All of us are sinners, but these are the ones who sin and DO NOT REPENT and do not have their sins washed by the blood of Christ. They stubbornly hold on to their sins of teaching wrong doctrines, and justifying their sinful ways instead of repentance. The only way these tares are not tares is their repentance before God in Christ! For their sins can be removed from their lives only if they have truly received Christ as Lord and Saviour. If their salvation is real, they will not stop repenting whenever they have sinned. They will know they have sinned and not justify their sins as Scripture will be their guide. The Holy Spirit who dwells in them will convict them. If they are tares, their sins remain till judgment day.
THOUGHT: Do I have a repentant heart?
PRAYER: Father, may I repent sincerely for Christ’s sake.