The Wheat and the Tares

The Wheat and the Tares
Matthew 13

One day the Lord Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea side, and many people came to him so that he went into a ship and sat down, and told many parables to the people on the shore.. (a parable is a story of something that is real in nature or in life that has a lesson for us to learn. the Lord Jesus often told parables to the people and then explained them later on to his disciples)

This is one of the parables Jesus told the people...

"The kingdom of heaven is compared to a man which sowed (planted) good seed in his field. But while men were sleeping, his enemies came and planted tares (weeds) among the wheat and went on his way. And when the wheat began to grow and bring forth its grain, then the tares appeared also.

So the servants of the head of the house came and said to him 'Sir, didn't you plant good seed in your field? then where do the tares come from?' And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Will you have us go and gather them up?' But he said 'No; because while you gather up the tares, you might pull up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers (those that harvest the wheat), gather together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

Jesus told a few more parables, and then he sent the people way and went into the house: and his disciples came to him and said "Tell us the parable of the tares of the field."

He answered and said to them "He that sows the good seed is the Son of man; (the Lord Jesus Christ) The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one (Satan); The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

As the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 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 (unrighteousness, wickedness), and they shall be thrown into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and grinding of teeth.

Then shall the righteous (those that have by faith received the Lord Jesus as their Saviour) shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Memory Verse: Matthew 13:37 "....He that sows the good seed is the Son of man."

Questions:
1 Where was Jesus when he told the parables to the people?
2 What is a parable?
3 Who planted the tares?
4 How long were the tares going to grow with the wheat?
5 Who is going to gather the wheat and the tares and where are the tares going to go?
6. Where is the wheat going to go?

Answers:
1 Sitting in a ship
2 a parable is a story of something that is real in nature or in life that has a lesson for us to learn.
3 the enemy who is the devil
4 until the time of the harvest
5 the angels are gathering the wheat and the tares and the tares will be thrown into a furnace of fire
6. the wheat (the righteous) will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Vicki Gross/Nov'04