Matthew 13 36-43 Notes
9th Sunday a. Pentecost
Matthew 13: 36-43
July 21, 2002
This parable was spoken to the disciples in private---the third and fourth parables needed no further explanation. Jesus explains this one.
Vs 24. Another parable not a different one. These parables treat the kingdom og heaven from different points of view. Buhls- like the facets of a diamond.
Vs. 30 Here allow to grow side by side. The Master is in complete control. NO HARM will be done the wheat.
Note vs. 39 The enemy means the one who hates the Lord- "the children of the actively evil one/ Not unregenerate man, rather hypocrites who appear to be Christian/ Illus. Judas - God did not predestine him to damnation. Judas rejected the shield of faith to ward off the fiery missiles of Satan…He did not resist the Devil and therefore the Devil did not flee…But Judas covered his wickedness so completely that even after a clear indication from Jesus Jn 13:21, the eleven evidently still did not know or believe who the betrayer was.
Vs 41 Jesus, the Son of Man, the Sower is both the commissioner of the angels and the judge. The angels merely carry out His will. What the worker4s were forbidden to do the angels are sent to do at the consummation of the age. Augustine-"They who are tares today may tomorrow be grain". Hypocrites may yet repent.
This does not mean that we do not maintain church discipline. Impenitent sinners must be excommunicated.
Buhls - The text implies that hypocrites are a definite danger to true believers…John 6:66ff. From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 70 Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" 71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot; the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. Even then Judas was about to betray Jesus (year before crucifixion). Jesus was preparing his disciples so that they would not fall prey to temptation (scandolon). Buhls - True to Jesus word the Son of Man did not uproot Jesus then and there. On Judgment day Judas will be shown to be a worker of iniquity.
Vs 43. The righteous (dikaioi) declared righteous (forensic)
He, who has ears, let him hear. First. What? Law and Gospel. Am I hypocrite? There are hypocrites among believers - Am I one of them. Buhls. Berlin - but if you ask the question it begs the answer and comfort of the gospel - because we are all hypocrites. The true answer is yes Lord, have mercy Lord and forgive me a sinner. Second, the penitent sinner may be frustrated by the impurities of the visible Christian church. He too must remember that he is a sinner too. Except for manifest and impenitent sinners all should be treated evangelically. Third, the Son of Man is the one who sows and gathers the harvest.. Fourth, the church should never resort to the use of the sword ex. Islam, Inquisition, Crusades. In eradicating heretics. Fifth, Luther " When so much wickedness and offense is noted in the church, then many Christians, especially Christian pastors full of zeal would like to remove all the tares, and all the children of wickedness, desiring a church of pure saints. Some are inclined like Peter to strike with the sword, but the Lord prevents it…If we proceed to establish a congregation in which there is no sin, we will condemn weak Christians, and even the strong because they stumble at times, and must also exclude them from the church". Stoeckhardt - " Through the angels, and not by us men, will they be separated? But he who would insist in doing this himself would make the evil worse". Buhls wisdom - If you are ever told by an un-churched person that he does not wish to belong to the church because there are hypocrites in the church, grant him that because Christ said it long ago. But that is no reason for not belonging to the church, for the Son of Man who sows the good seed, will also take care of the deceptive weeds on the last day.
Buhls - It is a grim fact that, stressed by scripture, that the Devil and his agents do their most nefarious work in the visible Christian church, not outside of it. "Where God builds the Church, the Devil builds a chapel. Christians need to repent daily. They know and believe that the Devil has been conquered. They have the shield of faith for protection. They must resist the Devil who must then flee.
Kretzman - Tares also represent false doctrine and the heresies and false Christians. The fault that there are tares and false Christian's is not the fault of the pure doctrine or faithful pastors and church members. Rather it is solely attributes to the d3evil. When people sleep they are not aware of the harm that can be done them. They are not vigilant. This is when the enemy comes and sows his seeds of false doctrine. He takes hold of hearts when they pay no attention to the Word of God or the teachings of the apostles. Day by day they are removed from it, taken further and further away. The devil leads and drives them into all manner of sin, shame, and apostasy.
Anchor - The poor soil and the tares denote opposition to Jesus proclamation. This passage was also used as a warning against overhasty judgment and over zealous disciplinary action.
Discipline issues Preaching the Parables. Three reasons for it 1. To redeem sinners. 2. to keep the church from being infected by the example of the impenitent sinner. Therefore not condoning evil. 3. To protect the reputation of the church in the world. The trick is to remain redemptive rather than overly punitive. Illus. The man who excommunicates everyone but himself and his wife.
Lectionary Study A. The church on earth contains both wheat and false wheat. Sometimes they are indistinguishable. At first the false wheat looks like true wheat. It becomes recognizable only after it has become firmly roots. When congregations seem to be plagued by apathy, unconcern, and unbelief, don't jump to wild weeding. Instead trust and find comfort in God's mercy, knowing that He will faithfully gather in His harvest - "every last strand of wheat.
Luther on Galatians. Thus Paul can teach us from his own experience that churches gained by great labor can be overthrown quickly and easily. Therefore we should constantly be on our guard against the devil as he roams everywhere (1 Peter 5:8), so that he does not come while we are asleep and plant tares among the wheat (Matt. 13:25). Even though pastors are ever so watchful and diligent, the Christian flock is threatened by Satan. For, as I said, Paul had established churches in Galatia with painstaking care. Yet no sooner had he set his foot out of the door, as the saying goes, than the false apostles overthrew some of them; and this fall brought on great ruin in the churches of Galatia. This loss, so sudden and so great, was undoubtedly bitterer for the apostle than death itself. Therefore we should constantly be on our guard not to enter into temptation (Matt. 26:41)—first, each for himself, and secondly, the clergy not only for themselves but also for the whole church.
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Luther on Christian exhortation: At the same time, I also ask the people to have patience and not to be astonished if differences in teaching and practice are caused by factions and sects. For who can stop the devil and his legions? Remember that tares always grow amidst the good seed, as every field of God’s work shows and Christ confirms, Matthew 13 [:24–30]. Again, no threshing floor can have only clean corn, but there must be also hulls and straw. And St. Paul says, “In a house there are not only vessels for noble use, but also vessels for ignoble uses” [II Tim. 9:20]. Some are for eating and drinking, others for carrying and cleaning out rubbish and filth. Thus among Christians there must also be factions and heretics who pervert faith and love and confuse the people.
Now if a servant should become disturbed because he found that not all the cups in the house were of silver, but that there were also chamber pots and garbage cans, and he could not endure this discovery, what would happen? Who can keep house without unclean vessels? The same thing is true in Christendom. We cannot expect only to find noble vessels, but we must tolerate the ignoble ones as well, as St. Paul says, “There must be factions among you” [I Cor. 11:19]. And indeed, my dear friends, from the very fact that you discover factions and disunity1 among you, you can tell that God gave to you the true Word and knowledge of Christ. For when you were under the pope, Satan certainly left you in peace, and though you might have had none but false teachers, he did not cause much dissension among you. But now that the true seed of God’s Word is with you, he cannot bear it; he must sow his seed there too, even as he does here among us through the enthusiasts. God also tests you thereby to discover if you will stand fast.
Nevertheless, both you and your preachers should diligently seek to promote unity and to hinder this work of the devil, because God appoints the devil to do this in order to give us occasion to prove our unity and in order to reveal those that have stood the test. For in spite of all our efforts, enough factions and disunity will remain. St. Paul also points this out when he says, II Timothy 2 [:20], that there are both noble and ignoble vessels in the same house, and immediately adds, “If a man purge himself of such people, he shall be a vessel sanctified for noble use, useful to his master and ready for every good work” [vs. 21].
Receive this my sincere exhortation kindly, dear friends, and do your part to follow it as well as you can. This will prove needful and good for you and be to the honor and praise of God, who called you to his light. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ, who has begun his work in you, increase the same with grace and fulfill it to the day of his glorious coming, so that you together with us may go to meet him with joy and remain forever with him. Amen. Pray for us.
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2 Cor 11:13-15 For such tare false apostles, udeceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into van angel of light. [3]
Be 3sober, be 4vigilant; 5because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, [4]
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[1]Luther, M. (1999, c1963). Vol. 26: Luther's works, vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (Ga 1:7). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
[2]Luther, M. (1999, c1965). Vol. 53: Luther's works, vol. 53 : Liturgy and Hymns (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (Vol. 53, Page 48-51). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
[3]The New King James Version. 1996, c1982 (2 Co 11:13-15). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[4]The New King James Version. 1996, c1982 (1 Pe 5:8-9). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.