Tag Archives: Parables

He Loves the World

22 Monday May 2023

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Hello Readers!  Welcome to the start of a new week and a new post on Renaissance Woman.  I am continuing my study of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares and Jesus’ explanation of said Parable.  Both are found in the 13th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. 

There are two mainstream interpretations of this Parable and the Explanation.  These interpretations say the Wheat and the Tares represent Believers and Unbelievers who are left to grow together until Jesus returns.  Then the Wheat People/Believers will go to heaven and the Tare People/Unbelievers will go to hell where they will experience eternal torment.  These two interpretations differ from each other only in the respect that some say the Wheat and Tares are side by side in the church pews every Sunday while others say the Wheat and Tares grow together in the world.

I’ve shared in previous posts why I don’t think the wheat and tares in the parable do represent two different groups of people.  My main point has been that the wheat and tares never convert each other.  It is not possible for the wheat to become tares nor for the tares to become wheat.  Since the call of both of John the Baptist and Jesus was to Metanoia! Change your mind!, I agree with a third interpretation of this parable and its explanation.  Rather than two different groups of people, the wheat and the tares represent thoughts planted in our minds through spiritual influence meaning they are inspired by God Himself or the enemy.  The reason I am inclined to this third interpretation is because, as I studied both the parable and the explanation, I found the clincher in Jesus words: “The field is the world.”

Reading Jesus’ explanation in the King James Version can be confusing as Matthew 13:38-40 says; “The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.”

I’ve already shared how the Greek word translated “world” in verses 39 and 40-the harvest at the end of the world and so it shall be in the end of this world-is aion which means “age”.  The Greek word translated “world” in verse 38-the field is the world-is kosmos.  Without knowing the different Greek words and their meanings, I can understand how the interpretations of wheat and tares growing together in the world until the world ends arose.  It’s obvious to any thinking mind the world has not come to an end so Jesus must be talking about some far off future date.  Other translations have chosen to use “age” in place of world in these passages but I don’t find it’s had much of an effect on how this parable and Jesus’ explanation is interpreted.  I find understanding the difference between aion and kosmos is crucial to understanding this parable and its explanation.  Again, I’ve covered aion in previous posts so encourage anyone interested to read those.  This week, let us look at kosmos.

The Strong’s Concordance defines kosmos (G2889) as “orderly arrangement, decoration, the world (in a wide or narrow sense including its inhabitants) adorning, world.  Kosmos is related to the verb kosmeo (G2885) which means “to put in proper order, decorate, adorn, trim (to snuff a wick)”.  The Greek-English Lexicon defines kosmeo as “to put in order so as to appear neat or well organized” and “to cause something to have an attractive appearance through decoration, adorn, decorate”.  Indeed, kosmos is translated as “adornment” in 1 Peter 3:3.  The word kosmos has a variety of nuances, especially when translated as “world” and the context in which kosmos appears must be carefully considered.

Let us consider a few such passages and substitute back in the Greek. 1 Corinthians 11:32 says, “But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the kosmos.”  Galatians 4:3 says, “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the kosmos.”  1 John 5:19 says, “We know we are of God and the whole kosmos lies under the sway of the wicked one.”  Reading these passages does not give one a positive sense of the world/kosmos and this is reinforced by 1 John 5:4 where those who are born of God are described as those who “overcome the kosmos.”  Kosmos does not seem like a very good thing at all and, bearing this in mind, I can understand why the parable and explanation are interpreted the way they are.  If the field is the world/kosmos then it is condemned along with the tares and the wheat people are thus plucked from the field and safely gathered into the barn.  I understand the why of the interpretation but I don’t agree with it because kosmos appears in so many more passages.

John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the kosmos that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting (aionios) life.  For God did not send His Son into the kosmos to condemn the kosmos, but that the kosmos through Him might be saved.”  John 4:42: “…we know this this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the kosmos.”  John 6:33: “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the kosmos.”  2 Corinthians 5:19: “…God was in Christ reconciling the kosmos to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them…” and finally 1 John 2:2: “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole kosmos.”

There are so many other passages containing kosmos and I don’t have the space to quote them all.  I encourage everyone to get a good reference and look up the passages for yourself.  I have the New Koine Greek Textbook because it lists every instance of a Greek word, regardless of how it has been translated in English.  I find the Strong’s Concordance to be invaluable but it is tied to the King James Version of the Bible so only those passages where kosmos was translated “world” were easily searchable.  I do hope the few passages I have shared reveal to you, as they did to me, that when we return to the parable and its explanation, it is obvious the wheat and the tares are not describing people in the sense that the Wheat represent believers and the Tares unbelievers. The field is the kosmos.  Jesus did not give Himself for wheat and tares: He gave Himself for the field. 

Now, I do accept the wheat and tares represent people in the sense that who and what we allow to influence our minds i.e. planting seeds which grow to fruition, do determine what sort of people we are because, paraphrasing Proverbs 23:7; as we think in our hearts, so are we.  Yet I do believe the wheat and the tares are describing the thoughts of God and the thoughts sown by the devil.  Mark 8:33 records Jesus saying to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”  The New English Bible renders this as, “‘Away with you, Satan,’ he said; ‘you think as men think, not as God thinks.”  This is just one passage but it shows our minds are capable of hosting thoughts that stem from different sources.

Our thoughts are so important.  It is crucial that we are vigilant and take great care just who we are allowing to sow into the fields of our minds.  However, just because we have had moments where the fruit of our lives have been tares mixed with the wheat does not mean we are condemned to have both continue to grow inside of us until some far off future time when Jesus comes back to earth.  The word Paul uses is aion but his message in Romans 12:2 is the same: we ought not to be conformed to this world but are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Jesus Christ is the consummation of the ages and, because we are in Him, we are being transformed into His image.  We undergo several “harvests” and each one is an opportunity to recognize any tares that might have grown and just who sowed them.

 The fire is already kindled in the earth and we can consign our tares to it and trust our fields will only yield wheat.  Perhaps the occasional tare sneaks in from time to time but that does not change that Jesus is the savior of the world and, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).  The 10th Chapter of Hebrews goes on to quote Jeremiah 31:33: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.”  This echoes the promise given in Ezekiel 36:24-28.  His Spirit is in us.  The day of a new heart and mind, a healthy field, good ground, is now. 

I do not say there is not an experience of processing.  There is and this transformation into His image is from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).  The truth remains we are being transformed and His image is clearer every day.  Let us not look at other people as wheat or tares but let us look at them as a precious field for which Jesus shed His blood and has sown the good seeds of His life.  Let us not look at ourselves as those with no other option but to have wheat and tares growing together in the fields of our lives.  Let us not stagnate.  Let us instead, keep our hearts with all diligence and trust His word is true: We are those who are born of God therefore we do not sin but we keep ourselves and the wicked one does not touch us (1 John 5:18).

What a glorious promise!  Believe it!

Amen.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures are quoted from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1982

References

World – Kosmos (Greek Word Study) | Precept Austin 

Matthew 13 – Barclay’s Daily Study Bible – Bible Commentaries – StudyLight.org

KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES: THE FIRSTFRUITS, THE HARVEST, AND THE VINTAGE by J. Preston Eby (godfire.net)

The Comparative Study Bible, The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1984

The New Testament in Four Versions, Christianity Today Edition, The Iversen-Ford Associates, New York, New York, 1963

Danker, Frederick William, Walter Bauer’s A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Early Christian Literature, Third Edition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1957, 2000

Strong, James, LL,D., S.T.D., The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1990

Alive in the Fire

15 Monday May 2023

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Image by Adina Voicu from Pixabay

Hello and welcome to another post on Renaissance Woman!

This week I am continuing my study of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares and Jesus’ explanation thereof.  The Parable is found in Matthew Chapter 13 verses 24-30 and the explanation is found in verses 36-43 of the same chapter.  There are two mainstream interpretations of both the parable and the explanation.  Both say the wheat and the tares represent believers and unbelievers, the end of the age is whenever Jesus comes again, the angels who reap the harvest are angelic beings, the believers are gathered into the barn which represents heaven, and the unbelievers are taken away to be burned which represents the eternal torment that awaits in hell.  The only respect in which these two interpretations differ is a belief as to where the wheat people and tare people are located.  One group say the wheat and the tares are the people within the Church.  They sit side by side with each other and it’s impossible to tell them apart until the time comes to reap the harvest.  The second group says the wheat people and tare people are believers and unbelievers in the world.

There is a third interpretation which is not as widely accepted.  I first came across it in an article by J. Preston Eby where he was quoting Dora Van Assen.  As I went looking, I found echoes of it in a few Bible Commentaries (there’s a link to Barclay’s Study Bible below) but there are very few lending this interpretation any weight.  Even so, the more I study this parable and Jesus’ explanation, it is the interpretation I believe is true.  The wheat and tares are not separate groups of people but are rather thoughts planted in our minds.  The good seed is sown by the Son of God and the bad seed sown by the Enemy.  Both grow together and come to fruition in the same field.  I have written in depth on this interpretation in previous studies so won’t repeat myself here but did want to share at least this much so you know where I’m coming from in this week’s post.

I do want to devote a post to the meaning of Jesus’ words “the field is the world” and why this statement is a major reason why I believe the seeds as thoughts rather than people interpretation is correct: I plan to do that next week.  I have already written posts on why I don’t think there is any reason to insist “the end of the age” Jesus speaks of in His interpretation has to be pushed into some far-off future.  I have also written on why there is also no need to think of the “angels” in this passage as heavenly beings when Jesus tells His followers many times to pray for laborers to go into the field and even calls His disciples reapers (See John 4:35-38).  In this week’s post, I want to show why there is no reason to think of the tares being burned in the furnace of fire as a symbol for eternal torment in hell.

For one thing, the Greek word translated as “eternal” or “everlasting”, as in “eternal life” or “everlasting fire” or “everlasting punishment” is aionios.  It is the adjective form of the word aion and doesn’t appear anywhere in this passage.  Aion does and the more accurate translations have the English word “age” as the translation for it: “the harvest is the end of the age (aion)” and “so it will be at the end of this age (aion).  The argument can be made that, because the terms “everlasting fire” do appear in passages like Matthew 18:8 and 25:41, it’s what Jesus meant in His explanation.  I agree: the word aionios is used to describe fire in these two passages.  It does not appear in the parable or the explanation of it. My argument is let us look at all of the many other passages describing “fire” before attempting to determine what Jesus meant in His explanation of the parable.  There are many mentions of “fire” in the New Testament and it is obvious none of these passages mean “fire” to be in any way negative.

John the Baptizer is speaking of Jesus and describes Him as the One who will “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:1, Luke 3:16).  Luke’s gospel records Jesus saying, “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49).  This cannot possibly be referencing eternal torment in hell because firstly, it is a fire that burns on the earth; and secondly, it is a fire that Jesus is excited about.  I cannot see the same Jesus who loved each one of us so deeply He chose the cross being thrilled with the idea of certain people burning in Hell for all eternity (see Hebrews 12:2).  No, these passages have to mean something else and I am convinced they are speaking of a fire which none of us is exempt from passing through.

The 9th Chapter of Mark is fascinating as a great deal happens in it.  Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John, He casts out the mute spirit, makes His eye-opening statement about little children, and then speaks of the fire that will not be quenched.  Verse 49 is the last verse in the chapter and it begins with Jesus saying, “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.”

This same concept is found later in the New Testament.  Paul writes to the Corinthians that, “each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.  If anyone’s work which he has built on it (the foundation of Jesus Christ, see verse 11) endures, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (Verses 13-15).  Revelation 21:8 says, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

“That’s hell” some insist but I don’t see how the lake which burns with fire and brimstone can possibly be hell because both death and hell are cast into it as related in Revelation 20:14.  And, Revelation 21:8 says this lake which burns with fire and brimstone is the second death.  Revelation 2:11 records Jesus saying, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”  There are great promises to the overcomers in these letters to the churches but, even so, they are not spared the second death which is later revealed to be the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.  Rather, they are not hurt by it.

Fire is used to describe God Himself.  Hebrews 12:29 states, “Our God is a consuming fire.”  Jesus’ eyes are described like a flame of fire in Revelation 1:14, 2:18, and 19:12.  Revelation 19:13 says “His name is called the Word of God” and Jeremiah 23:29 records God saying, “Is not My word like fire…”  Malachi 3:3 describes Jesus as the One who “is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap.  He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.”  When the Holy Spirit was poured out He appeared as tongues of fire (Acts 2:3).  Oftentimes, when the New Testament is speaking of fire, it is speaking of the living fire that is the presence of God in our lives now testing, purifying, and refining each one of us.  His fire burns away the dross and we can say like Job that, “when He has tried me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

There will, of course, be those who remain unconvinced.  That’s okay, it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convince each one of us of the truth.  I do hope that I have shown there are enough passages of scripture that give reason to doubt the mainstream interpretation of this parable and its explanation.  Question whether the meaning you’ve been given is in fact true.  Look up the scriptures that speak of fire for yourself.  Dare to believe this parable is speaking of the Kingdom within us and that which burns is everything in us that is not of Him.  Dare to believe that the Bible we read is telling us the truth.  Believe that God made Jesus “who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Let us remember that the Chapters and verses were put in by the translators and, if we just read a bit further, we find Paul writing, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2b).  Let us realize that now is when “as he is so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).  Let us dare to believe that we don’t have to wait for some far off future date but, even as the fire of His life burns in us now, we are the righteous who will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of our Father (Matthew 13:43).

Behold, we are the light of the world! (Matthew 5:14). 

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Amen!

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures are quoted from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1982

References

Matthew 13 – Barclay’s Daily Study Bible – Bible Commentaries – StudyLight.org

KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES: THE FIRSTFRUITS, THE HARVEST, AND THE VINTAGE by J. Preston Eby (godfire.net)

Strong, James, LL,D., S.T.D., The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1990

Rethinking the Interpretation

08 Monday May 2023

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Hello!  Welcome to another week and another post on Renaissance Woman!

This week I am continuing in my study on the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares found in Matthew Chapter 13 verses 24-30 and the explanation of said parable found in verses 36-43 of the same Chapter.  The explanation of the parable as given by Jesus is this (beginning in verse 37): “He answered and said to them: ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.  Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The 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, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’”

This explanation is interpreted by most Christian denominations as a description of some far off end of time when Jesus returns to earth.  Then the believers will be separated from the unbelievers with the believers going to heaven and the unbelievers go into everlasting torment.  I can see where this interpretation comes from, especially for those of us who grew up reading the King James Version where the passage about the harvest is translated into English as “the harvest is the end of the world” instead of translating it as “the harvest is the end of the age” as a great many more modern translations have it.  I covered “the end of the age” in last week’s post so will only reiterate Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension was a definitive end of an age.  With the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the age of the New Covenant began.  I don’t see there is any reason to push off into some vague future the explanation and promises given by Jesus regarding this parable.

There is also no need to think of the “angels” mentioned in Jesus’ explanation as celestial beings.  The Greek word is aggelos (G32) and means simply “messenger”.  Any person who comes to someone bearing a message from another is an angel.  Bike messengers could be called “bike angels” and it wouldn’t be misusing the word.  That is not to say the “angels” who appear throughout scripture are not sometimes celestial beings but I am saying we should take care and not assume what a passage of scripture is saying.  The pictures formed in our minds will take root and produce fruit.  They will affect how we see ourselves, how we see others, and how we behave toward others.  Therefore, we must take great care as we seek to interpret and understand passages.

For example; the Book of Revelation contains an angel that is not a celestial being.  This angel has guided John through all of his visions and John writes; “Now I, John saw and heard these things.  And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.  Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that.  For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book.  Worship God’” (Rev. 22:8-9).  “That’s all well and good,” you might be thinking, “but that’s Revelation and we’re talking about Matthew”.  And you would be correct.  However, it is important that we compare any interpretation of scripture with other passages of scripture.  If there is a conflict or a contradiction, then we must rethink our interpretation.

I find this parable and its explanation are compared to other scriptures when those interpreting it are insisting the wheat and tares are two different types of people and that “burned in the fire” means everlasting torment in hell.  What I do not find is this parable and explanation being compared to other scriptures in a positive Christ-alive-in-us now affirming way.  What if we look at this parable and its explanation in comparison with the words of Jesus in John 4:35-38?

The passage in John says, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

Matthew’s gospel records Jesus saying “The harvest truly is plentiful but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Mat. 9:37-38).  These words were spoken by Jesus to His disciples just before He sent them to the house of Israel and told them to preach “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

The message I hear proclaimed as the gospel today is “repent, believe Jesus died for your sins, and you will get to go to heaven when you die.”  There is some truth to this but then there was some truth to the Lie told by the Serpent in the Garden of Eden and accepting that lie brought death to all of mankind.  I encourage everyone to look for yourself and try to find any passage anywhere that says “go to heaven when you die.”  John 3:5 does say, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  There is nothing here about needing to die before entering the kingdom.  I have heard some say that being born again means your place in heaven is reserved for after death but that contradicts other passages of scripture.

Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Luke 17:20b-21 records Jesus saying, “The Kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed the Kingdom of God is within you.”  The Apostle Paul describes the Kingdom of God as “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).  (There is the question which asks whether the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God are the same thing: I’ve shared two articles below.  I encourage you to ask that question and seek the answer for yourself) The Bible is clear.  The message was “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” and with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, it IS ours NOW!  I encourage everyone to ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your understanding and then read the New Testament paying close attention to everything it says is ours In Christ now.  Today.     

 I recently came across a book titled The Rapture Exposed by Barbara R. Rossing.  In her first chapter, Ms. Rossing writes, “To be sure, God’s presence in our world is often difficult to see.  We live in an in-between time-the time between the “already” of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and the “not yet” of his second Coming” (Rossing, Page 12).  The New Testament is also clear that all that Jesus did for us by His life, death, and resurrection has resulted in a glorious inheritance of which the Holy Spirit is the down payment (Ephesians 1:14).  But what a down payment He is!

What are the limits to this down payment?  Are we bound by the interpretation we have been subjected to of both this Parable and Jesus’ explanation?  This interpretation tells you the wheat and tares growing in the same field is just the state of things until Jesus returns, there is no harvest until then, the reapers are the angels-meaning celestial beings-and all we can do is wait for the day when we (hopefully) will be gathered into the barn and everyone who is a tare will be burned in hell for all eternity.  What if the New Testament is telling us the truth and we can grow up into Him who is the head?  What if we truly are being transformed by the renewing of our minds and are, now, being transformed into His image from glory to glory?  

I plan to continue to look at this parable and its explanation next week.  I hope this post has encouraged to you question everything you have been taught about this parable and its explanation.  I pray for all of you and for myself that we would not be cheated of our reward by those who delight in false humility and worship of angels and who intrude into those things which they have not seen, being vainly puffed up by their fleshly minds (Colossians 2:18).  Let us all ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes that we would explore the unsearchable riches of Christ and that we would see we have boldness and access with confidence to the Father through our faith in Jesus.  May we each one be strengthened in our inner man (or woman!) that we may be able to comprehend what is the width and length and depth and height of everything that is ours in Christ Jesus.  Let us each one know the love of Christ which passes knowledge and may we each one be filled (now!) with the fullness of God.  (See Ephesians 3:8-19).

Those who have ears to hear, let them hear!

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures are quoted from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1982

References

The Comparative Study Bible, The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1984

Rossing, Barbara R., The Rapture Exposed, Basic Books, Perseus Books Group, New York, New York, 2004, Page 12

Strong, James, LL,D., S.T.D., The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1990

Continued Reading

Are the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven the same?

The Difference Between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven (steppesoffaith.com)

Are the Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven the same? | NeverThirsty

Who was John Darby?

John Nelson Darby | Christian History | Christianity Today

Rapture Doctrine invented by John Darby in 1830 AD (bible.ca)

Fruit of the Mind

24 Monday Apr 2023

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Hello and welcome-or welcome back-to Renaissance Woman!

This week I am continuing to look at the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares found in Matthew Chapter 13 verses 24-30.  There are two interpretations of this parable I find taught in Christian circles.  Both interpretations say the tares and the wheat represent two types of people-believers and unbelievers-and that it is impossible to tell which is which until the harvest is ready and the angels come to reap.  Then the believers will “be gathered into the barn” meaning go to heaven and the unbelievers will “gathered together to be burned” meaning everlasting torment in hell.  The only difference in these two interpretations are some say the wheat and the tares sit together in church and others say no, the wheat and the tares grow together in the world.

There is a third interpretation which I’ve shared in my previous two posts.  I do encourage going back and reading them before continuing on in order to better understand what I am going to say in this post.  I found the third interpretation in J. Preston Eby’s From the Candlestick to the Throne study series # 173 The Firstfruits, the Harvest, and the Vintage.  In a nutshell, this third interpretation suggests the parable is referring to the inner thought life of the believer. 

The woman quoted by Mr. Eby is named Dora Van Assen and her interpretation doesn’t start with the parable of the wheat and the tares.  She begins with the wheat and the chaff from Matthew 3:12 and the entire quote is worth reading.  I’ve linked the article below.  Regarding the wheat and the tares and the interpretation Jesus Himself gives in Matthew 13:36-43, Ms. Van Assen writes:

“The Holy Spirit deals with men in their minds and thoughts, and Satan can only attack man in his mind, giving false ideas and imaginations.  These thought-pictures are often called ‘brain children.’ And these determine what manner of man a man is!  These thought-pictures can be either good or bad, spiritual or carnal.  Paul exhorts us to ‘cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ’ (II Cor. 10:5).

“Bringing this parable down to us personally, we find that our own mind is the field in which are planted both good and evil.  The children or offspring of the kingdom, and the children or offspring of the wicked one, are a mixture of both good and evil, flesh and spirit, growing up together within us until the harvest, which is the time of separation.  The tares are somewhat different than the chaff in that that the chaff is part of the wheat; however the tares are not part of the wheat but a foreign implantation made to appear as wheat.  The harvest reveals what sort of seed was planted in our earth, and how they have matured in areas of our lives.  Only the mature know the difference!  And only by harvest conditions can the Lord bring the separation!”

 I am inclined to accept this third interpretation for a variety of reasons.  The first is because of the words of Jesus Himself.  Matthew’s gospel relates Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and, after He had triumphed, how he began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jonathan Mitchell’s New Testament has this verse as: “From that time on, Jesus began to be repeatedly making loud public proclamations (performing as a herald), and to be continually saying, “You folks be progressively changing your thinking (change your frame of mind, mode of thought, perceptions, understanding and state of consciousness, and then turn your focus to [Yahweh]) because the sovereign reign, dominion and activity of exercising the sovereignty of the heavens (or; kingdom from the skies and the atmospheres) has drawn hear and now continues being at hand is close enough to touch (=has arrived and is now accessible).”

The Greek word for “at hand” in this passage is engiken (ἤγγικεν)and “is the 3rd person single form of the verb eggus which means “near, close (of a place or a condition), nigh or at hand (of a time), nearly (of numbers), akin to (of relationships).”  Its tense is perfect (which indicates a present-tense report of an action that has been completed but has effects in the now; like: ‘he has done’), its voice is active (which indicates that the subject performs the action instead of receives it) and its mood is indicative (which describes a situation that actually is-as opposed to a situation that might be, is wished for, or is commanded to be).” (abirampublications.com).

How we think of the Kingdom of Heaven is important.  Do we think of it as it is revealed to us in the tense of the Greek, as something close enough to touch, complete and available to us now?  Or do we think of it as something reserved for some future date?  This is an important factor in understanding both the parable of the wheat and the tares and Jesus’ interpretation of it.  Matthew 13:39 says “the harvest is the end of the age.”  The two main interpretations of this parable say that “end of the age” is a future date and most likely references the Second Coming.

That interpretation discounts the First Coming.  With the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, an age drew to a close.  With the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, a new age was inaugurated: that of the New Covenant ministered to us and in us by the Indwelling Holy Spirit.  What if that was the “end of the age” Jesus meant? What could it mean for us as believers?  For one thing, we can pray “Thy Kingdom Come” with the assurance that, since the Kingdom is near, completed, having effects in the now, our prayer is answered now.  We can expect His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven now.    

“The Kingdom of heaven is like…” wheat and tares sown in the same field.  It is important to remember the tares never become wheat and the wheat never become tares.  Conversion one to the other is not possible.  The call of both John the Baptist and Jesus was “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”  Repent is not perhaps the best translation of the Greek word which is metanoia and it means “think differently”.  Think Differently! For the Kingdom of Heaven is available to you now!  It is clear to me the expectation is that we humans can change our minds and think differently.  I cannot accept that Jesus called for humankind to “think differently” without the expectation we were capable of doing so.  I do not believe Jesus ever considered any person a tare, incapable of changing his or her mind, and fit only for the fire.

So then, if the wheat and tares are not symbolic of two groups of people but are rather symbolic of thoughts coming to fruition in the field of our hearts and minds, doesn’t that suggest a duality of mind?  Is there no hope for us but to think both carnally and spiritually until Jesus returns?  I would say yes, if the “end of the age” did mean some date in the future.  If it did not, if Jesus was referring to when He accomplished His work and inaugurated in a New Age, then it ought to be possible to have the fields of our hearts and minds sown only with good seed.

Does the Bible support this possibility?  That is something I will continue to look at next week.

Until then, I leave you with 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  Something well worth thinking about.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures are quoted from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1982

References

Kindgdom Bible Studies Revelation Series (kingdombiblestudies.org)

Matthew 13 – Barclay’s Daily Study Bible – Bible Commentaries – StudyLight.org

εγγυς | Abarim Publications Theological Dictionary (New Testament Greek) (abarim-publications.com)

Green, Jay P. Sr., The Interlinear Bible, Volume 4, Authors For Christ, Inc., Lafayette, Indiana, 1976, 1985

Mitchell, Jonathan, The New Testament, Harper Brown Publishing, 2019

Strong, James, LL,D., S.T.D., The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1990

Together in the Field

17 Monday Apr 2023

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Hello and welcome-or welcome back-to Renaissance Woman where, this week, I am continuing to look at the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares.

I do apologize to anyone who has come across this post as your first on Renaissance Woman.  I do try to make each post stand on its own while at the same time building on everything that has come before.  This post does not stand on its own.  I would recommend reading last week’s post, The Seed Sown, before this one or there are going to be references that will make little sense. 

There are two main schools of interpretation when it comes to this parable.  The first says the wheat and the tares are two different kinds of people within the church.  They sit side by side in the pews and are indistinguishable one from the other until Jesus returns and His angels send the tares to the fire and gather the wheat into the barn.  The second disagrees with the first only in the location of the wheat and the tares.  The field is not the church, they say, but the world.  The wheat and tares represent believers and unbelievers which occupy the same world until Jesus returns and His angels send the tares to the fire and gather the wheat into the barn.

I can look at both interpretations and see where they are coming from.  If the wheat and tares are indistinguishable one from the other then it would make sense that Jesus is describing the church.  After all, can’t the argument be made that the difference between believers and unbelievers is obvious?  And yet, Jesus Himself interprets this parable in Matthew 13:36-43 and clearly says “the field is the world” and “the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom but the tares are the sons of the wicked one” so that ought to prove the second interpretation is the correct one.

I have come across a third interpretation put forward by a woman named Dora Van Assen which suggests the parable is a description of what happened in the Garden of Eden.  God created all things, including Adam, and saw it was all very good.  As God fellowshipped with Adam in the garden, He was planting His good thoughts and spiritual understanding in Adam’s mind.  But then, the Serpent came slithering and whispering into the garden and planted evil thoughts and understanding.  Both types of thoughts occupied the same field i.e. the mind of Adam.

This interpretation is very different from anything I have ever heard preached within the confines of Churchdom and it does not appear to be supported by Jesus’ interpretation.  But then, did Jesus truly make this interpretation or was it inserted into the manuscripts at a later date?  I found this assertion made when I looked up the parable in the Abingdon Commentary.  The copy I have was published in 1929 and states that “all scholars reject the genuineness of the explanation in vv. 36-43…”  I mentioned last week my skepticism antennae quivered at “all scholars” because I cannot think of one subject where all scholars are in agreement. 

I went searching for this assertion of “all scholars rejecting” the interpretation given in those passages and could not find a reference.  That doesn’t mean that there are not scholars rejecting said passages just that it has been difficult for me to find them over the last week.  I am thus left with a single resource stating the interpretation given for this parable in verses 36-43 is not genuine and, since our Bible warns against accepting the testimony of a single witness, I am shelving this.  I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and may circle back to it but, for now, will proceed in the acceptance of Jesus’ interpretation.

If Dora Van Assen’s interpretation relied on Matthew 13:36-43 not being genuine, I would dismiss it out of hand.  It does not.  Her interpretation is shared in an article by J. Preston Eby (linked below) and neither make mention of these passages not being genuine.  Both, in fact, treat them as being absolutely genuine.

Dora Van Assen writes, “Some may object to this interpretation of the tares, because Jesus in His explanation of the parable used the words, the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one’ (Mat. 13:38). That does sound as if they are two different kinds of people.  And indeed they are!  If we will just stop for a moment and think this through, we must admit that God is an invisible spirit, and Satan is likewise invisible spirit.  Neither of these produce flesh and blood children of their own!  The new creation is formed in a people who are ‘renewed in the spirit of their mind.’ So the term ‘children’ must be taken as a metaphor.  The Holy Spirit deals with men in their minds and thoughts, and Satan can only attack man in his mind, giving false ideas and imaginations.  These thought-pictures are often called ‘brain children.’ And these determine what manner of man a man is!”

I am (so far) inclined to accept Dora Van Assen’s interpretation.  She points out that the tares never become wheat and the wheat never become tares.  If the wheat and the tares do indeed represent two different kinds of people, there is no hope for the tares.  They are similar in appearance to wheat but cannot ever convert into wheat.  If the interpretations stating the wheat and the tares are the converted and the unconverted or believers and unbelievers, then does it not follow that evangelism is the greatest exercise in futility?  You can share the gospel with another person until you are blue in the face but, if they are indeed a tare, all your sharing is for nothing because they cannot and therefore will not ever respond. 

If though, Dora Van Assen’s interpretation is correct and the wheat and tares are symbolic of thoughts occupying the same field of a person’s heart and mind, then the good seed is there and you can share the gospel in the hope that your words are water falling on that good seed.  I find her interpretation to be far more hopeful than any other I have come across.  But then, it wouldn’t matter how much I liked and preferred it if she was the only source of such an interpretation.

She is not.  I found her same thoughts echoed in the Commentary on this parable found in Barclay’s Daily Study Bible where I read: “It may well be said that in its lessons this is one of the most practical parables Jesus ever told.  It teaches us that there is always a hostile power in the world, seeking and waiting to destroy the good seed.  Our experience is that both kinds of influence act on our lives, the influence which helps the seed of the word to flourish and to grow, and the influence which seeks to destroy the good seed before it can produce fruit at all.  The lesson is that we must be forever on our guard.”

Earlier in this post, I asked if the argument couldn’t be made that the difference between believers and unbelievers was obvious.  I want to include one more quote from the Barclay’s Daily Study Bible: “it (the parable) teaches us how hard it is to distinguish between those who are in the Kingdom and those who are not.  A man may appear to be good and may in fact be bad; and a man may appear to be bad and may yet be good.  We are much too quick to classify people and label them good or bad without knowing all the facts.”  This is something valuable to keep in mind.

I will continue looking at this parable next week but do want to add this as my closing thought: I find interpreting the parable of the wheat and the tares as thoughts resulting from spiritual influences has a direct correlation to the passage in Ephesians describing the armor of God.  We believers are to take the helmet of salvation.  A helmet’s purpose is to protect one’s head and I see a clear picture of the necessity to guard our minds from attack.  But then, that is a subject worth many more weeks’ focus and so I will sign off with this prayer:

May the peace that surpasses all understanding, the peace that belongs entirely to Jesus which He has freely given to us, guard each of our hearts and minds every moment of every day.

Amen.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures are quoted from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1982

References

Matthew 13 – Barclay’s Daily Study Bible – Bible Commentaries – StudyLight.org

KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES: THE FIRSTFRUITS, THE HARVEST, AND THE VINTAGE by J. Preston Eby (godfire.net)

Tares (jewishvirtuallibrary.org)

What Does Tares Mean? Bible Definition and References (biblestudytools.com)

Tares – WebBible Encyclopedia – ChristianAnswers.Net

Eiselen, Frederick Carl, The Abingdon Bible Commentary, Abingdon Press, Nashville •New York, 1929, Page 977