01.06 - Section 06. Mat_13:1-58.
Section 06. Matthew 13:1-58. The Outward and Inward Aspects of the Kingdom in the Absence of the King The Bible is a book in two parts. The Old Testament has to do with the earth. It is the mind of Heaven revealed to man upon the earth to fit him for the earth. But man closed his ears to the voice of God, disobeyed the divine will, and made himself unfit for the earth in which God had placed him. Eden and innocence were lost by Adam. Canaan and liberty were lost by Israel. Happiness and holiness have been lost by all because of sin and disobedience.
Hence the New Testament has to do with heaven. It reveals the mind of God as to how men, who had made themselves unfit for the earth, might be made fit for heaven itself through the Gospel. The portion of our Gospel which we have so far been considering has had to do with Israel, still dealt with on the ground of responsibility. Messiah was presented for their acceptance or rejection, as men upon the earth; and, as we have seen, He had been rejected. Accordingly, at the close of Matthew 12:1-50, the Lord announces new terms of relationship — even that which was of a spiritual character. "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother," and the same day He went out of the house and sat by the seaside.
Then follows the most remarkable series of parables given in any of the Gospels. Their number — seven — is in itself suggestive. We meet first with this number in Scripture in Genesis 2:1-25, where the seventh day is called the "Sabbath" from a root meaning to be "full," "satisfied," or "perfected." So God rested on the seventh day. His work was perfected. Nothing could be added to it.
These seven parables then set forth in symbolic language, systematic order, and historical sequence the moral characteristics of: — The origin, Outward progress,
Declension, and
Consummation of the Kingdom of Heaven as seen in the hands of men. At the same time, they also disclose the true inward and hidden aspect of that Kingdom in mystery, God’s husbandry, God’s building — against which neither the wickedness of men, the assaults of Satan, or the powers of hell can prevail.
Thus we see unfolded before us: —
1 What Christ does.
2 What Satan does, and
3 What men do.
Parable 1 The object of the opening parable is to show: —
1 The way in which the Word of the Kingdom is introduced.
2 The hindrances it encounters, and 3 The results it achieves. The sower is the Lord Himself. He is no longer seeking fruit from Israel, but He is beginning in the world at large a new work of grace, which, like the good seed, will reproduce itself.
But, as there were obstacles in the way of the seed, so there are hindrances to the operations of grace. The devil, the world, and the flesh oppose: —
1 Some of the seed fell "by the wayside." Here we have pictured that condition of heart which is, alas, but too common wherever the Gospel is proclaimed. There are hearts so careless and indifferent that they fail to see either their danger in rejecting the Gospel, or their blessing in receiving it. And in addition to this there is the enemy without who is ever ready to take advantage of the condition within. He catcheth away the word. These are the Hard-Hearted.
2 Again, some of the seed fell upon stony places where there was not much depth of earth. Two things are said of these. They had no depth of earth, hence no root, and when the sun was up they withered away. In His interpretation (Matthew 13:20) the Lord says of these here represented that they received the word with joy, but when persecution arose they were offended (stumbled). Joy, though a very important part of Christian experience, is not usually the first result of the Spirit’s work in the soul. If the conscience be ploughed up there will be deep exercise as to sin, and joy will only come when the sin question is settled. Hence we gather that there was, on the part of those spoken of here, no real knowledge of either sin, self, or grace, and so no ability to continue when persecution arose for the Word’s sake. In short, they are the Faint-Hearted.
3 "And some fell among thorns." Here the ground is already occupied with something else, and something also which is indigenous to the soil. The thorns were there before the seed fell amongst them. So much so that Matthew takes no account of the apparent growth of the seed at all — only of the thorns, and Luke notices it only to show that the flourishing condition of the thorns choked the seed. The Lord shows here the utter impossibility of producing fruit for God while the heart is occupied with the world, and in Luke the whole circle of worldly influences is represented its cares, its riches, or its pleasures. The three combined, or any one of them, may so fill the heart that the Word of God, though falling on the ear, and even being tacitly consented to by the mind, may yet produce no saving faith in the soul or fruit in the life, because there is no purpose of heart for God and no break with the world.
These may be classed as the Half-Hearted.
Yet, in spite of all the opposition of the devil, the flesh, and the world, the Word accomplishes the most remarkable results.
4 Some fell on good ground and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold. Is the difference to be accounted for on the ground of fidelity or opportunity? The Lord does not here take up the question, but other scriptures show that both will be taken into consideration in the great Day of Rewards. But the disciples understood none of these things until the Lord opened out the meaning before them. To disciples it had been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom; and the Lord’s interpretation of the "sower" and of the "tares in the field" would, no doubt, instruct them in the meaning of all parables.
Broadly speaking, the results of the sowing are such as follow the preaching of the Gospel in all ages and among all nations. Some are "good ground" hearers, and produce good fruit. Many, alas! are careless, and whether the hindrance be the devil, the world, or the flesh, they bring no fruit to perfection.
Parable 2 But in the next parable we have a further development of the history of the Kingdom, as committed to the hands of man, and four things follow: —
1 There is carelessness on the part of those who should have been watchers.
2 The enemy no longer "catches away" that which was sown. He adopts a new plan, and sows tares among the wheat.
3 The servants get instructions for their guidance under the new conditions, and 4 The Lord shows what is in store for both "wheat" and "tares" at the end of the age. The Book of Acts reveals to us how very early in the history of the Church Satan began his operations of introducing the "children of the wicked one" among the "children of the Kingdom." And though faithfulness on the part of Peter was able to detect and expose Simon Magus (Acts 8:21), yet such godly care and watchfulness soon, alas! disappeared, and evil men crept in unawares, just as the Lord here foretold. The servants, however, in the parable were prompt to appraise the evil at its true value when it showed itself, and they seek instructions from the Lord for wisdom to deal with it. And here we must note carefully the Lord’s interpretation of the parable to understand rightly the force of the instructions He gives them. The field is the world — the kosmos. Here the word "world" indicates the sphere where the Word of God goes forth. In verses 39, 40 it indicates the space of time allowed for its dissemination. It is no longer a question of the land of Israel and a testimony to Messiah inside, with no appeal to Samaritan or Gentile outside of it, but the scope of the operations of grace will be world-wide, and the Kingdom of Heaven will be open to all without exception or distinction. The good seed are the children of the Kingdom. There is here a historical as well as a moral development. It is not a question of seed to reproduce itself as the result of a sowing, but it deals with what has been produced and is now in evidence in "the field." The "children of the Kingdom" are there, as was to be expected. But there are also the "children of the wicked one," wholly unexpected on the part of the servants who knew not the forces of evil at work, though unseen by men. It is the beginning of the "mystery of iniquity." Of those who bear the name of Christ, but have not the Spirit of Christ — unconverted and unregenerate, yet in the field of Christian profession, the Lord says, with solemn emphasis, that they are the "children of the wicked one." The servants have a suggested cure for these unexpected conditions, but the Lord shows them that their method is not the divine way. Penal judgment in divine things is never committed into the hands of men. The "tares" are in the Kingdom, and are to be allowed there until the "harvest." Evil men are not to be put out of the Kingdom, which could only be done by putting them to death.
Rome, interpreting "the field" to be "the Church," though in plain contradiction to the scripture, and which it is not, has endeavoured to root out those whom she branded as "tares," and thereby made herself responsible for the blood of fifty millions of the saints of God. Protestantism has gone to the opposite extreme, and with a spirit of latitudinarianism utterly regardless of the claims of Christ or the holiness of the House of God, has allowed all kinds of men and many forms of evil doctrine to enter the professing Church, arguing that as there were "tares" in the "field," so there would be the unconverted in the Church — a right premise, but an utterly wrong conclusion.
How important it is to divide rightly the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Continuing His instructions the Lord unmasks the cause of this condition of things: — The enemy that sowed them is the devil. For reasons beyond our ken, Satan is allowed to carry out his plans to the apparent disorganising of the plans of God. It was so at Eden, and his apparent success ended in man’s expulsion from the paradise of God. In the post-diluvian world, although the original curse was partly removed and violence was no longer allowed to fill the earth to the same extent as before the flood, yet Satan was ready with something else to take its place, and mankind in the mass very soon became wholly given up to idolatry. No sooner was Abraham called out from his own country to be a stranger in the land of Canaan, than we see the wiles of the enemy under another form, and the son of the bondwoman is foisted into the place of the true seed. Foiled again in this, we trace the workings of the old serpent in the hatred of the ten brethren against Joseph, the uprisings against Moses, the grievous departure from God when in the land, the revolt of the ten tribes from the house of David, and the rapid declension of both kings and people from the ways of God, until He removed both Judah and Israel out of their own land because "they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy" (2 Chronicles 36:16). When Israel, for the time, is set aside, and the Kingdom of Heaven introduced, the enemy, alert in evil as ever, is ready with an imitation of that which is real. But the Lord brings the light of the future to illumine what is dark in the present, and He tells His disciples that the enemy’s success is only for a time. Both wheat and tares grow together until the harvest, but at the harvest — the end of the age everything will come out in its true colours It cannot be too often repeated that it is not the end of the world that is in view here, but a definite moment in the dealings of God with this world, and from other scriptures we learn that that time will be just before the setting up of the Millennial Kingdom. It must be carefully distinguished both from the coming of the Lord for His people (1 Thessalonians 4:1-18), which takes place shortly before this, and also from the Judgment of the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:1-15), which does not take place until a thousand years afterwards. When the Lord comes for His people it is a question of the righteous being taken out from among the wicked.
Here it is a question of the wicked being taken out from among the righteous. At the Judgment of the Great White Throne, there is no separation at all, for all alike have died in sin, been buried in sin, and, raised again unrepentant and unforgiven, are alike cast into the lake of fire — solemn thought! But here the Lord takes the character of Son of Man, and as such He deals with the earth. He will come to deliver the faithful, judge the ungodly, purge the earth, fulfil to the suffering ones of Israel every promise of Matthew 5:1-48, and introduce the long promised Kingdom in power, and in glory, and in universal blessing according to Isaiah 60:1-22 and Zechariah 14:1-21.
Further, this scripture tells us how this will be done: — The Reapers are the Angels. — There will be angelic ministry in that day, such as heretofore the world has only had glimpses of. Under the old economy the angels were, if we might so say, in the place of rule (Galatians 3:19). In the present day of grace they are seen in the place of lowly service to the children of the Kingdom (Hebrews 1:14). But in the coming day will be seen the angels of His power as the executors of the judgment of God upon evil, and evil men.
Just as the husbandman gathers together the useless tares, and binds them in bundles with the ultimate object of their destruction, so evil men will be found at the close of this age banded together against the Lord and against His people, and as such their confederacies will be dealt with by the Lord. Their solemn end is the furnace of fire, where there is "wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Then will be seen the final triumph of the ways of God, and the crushing failure of all the wiles of the devil. The wickedness of men, the malice of Satan, and the fruits of sin will all be fully exposed, righteously judged, and eternally punished. The triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ over all authority and power will be manifested. The righteousness of God will be vindicated. The redeemed will be brought into all the blessings of the New Covenant of Grace (Ezekiel 36:1-38), and Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.
Parable 3
Parable 3 (Matthew 13:31-32) brings out a further development of world principles in the outward aspect of the Kingdom of Heaven. Not only would there be a mingling of wheat and tares — of mere professors with the children of the Kingdom — but here we are given to see that that which began as a small thing in the earth, and was to be heavenly in its character, as it was in its origin, would become a great "tree in the earth" — ever a symbol of world power — under whose branches the "birds of the air" — servants of the wicked one — would find a lodgment. It is what corresponds to the Pergamos period of the history of the Church (Revelation 2:12), and historically would doubtless begin with the Empire of Constantine the Great, A.D. 312. When Christianity ceased to be the persecuted, despised, and down-trodden confession of the few, but, embraced by the Emperor of the Roman world, received world-wide patronage and protection one, among many, of the evil results was that the way to become powerful in the world was to become great in the Church. Immediately "grievous wolves" (Acts 20:29) entered in, not sparing the flock. The professing Church became a great world power. It was no longer thought necessary for the bishops to fulfil the conditions of 1 Timothy 3:1-16. They would much rather sit on "thrones" drawing ample revenues, dispensing the "patronage of the Church" to their own advantage, and, alas! sometimes be found eating and drinking with the drunken (Matthew 24:1-51). This is no exaggerated picture, as every student of. Church history will admit. Take either the earlier times or the later. Perhaps it was more marked in the fourth century because it was a new thing. Up till that period, to be an outstanding man in the Church was to be a mark for the shafts of persecution. After Constantine, it became a position to be coveted by the man of the world, for it brought with it money and fame and worldly influence. In short, the Kingdom of Heaven in the history of its administration by the hands of men, became a great world power, affording lodgment for much that was evil (the "birds of the air") instead of maintaining its heavenly character of separation from the world, holiness before men, and lowliness before God.
Parable 4 The next parable lays bare the inward principles which were at work, unseen, but pregnant with power, and that, alas! a power for evil.
It begins in the Thyatiran period when the "Woman Jezebel" (Revelation 2:1-29) is allowed to teach and seduce and, historically, it will have its complete fulfilment in Babylon (Revelation 17:1-18) when that which is merely hypocrisy and false profession will have passed beyond the Laodicean stage and become wholly satanic and abominable — the leaven hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened.
There is a certain definite area supposed in the "three measures" inside of which the "leaven" works. Leaven being everywhere else in Scripture a type of that which is evil, we must so expect to find it here, and only thus can we have an orderly and progressive setting forth of the subject dealt with.
Just as former parables have shown the "children of the wicked one" in the Kingdom, so here we have shown to us that which fills their hearts. They are those "who receive not the love of the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:12). "They will not endure sound doctrine" but "shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned to fables" (2 Timothy 4:12). They are men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith (2 Timothy 3:8). Let anyone but look round to-day and he will see how rapidly things in Christendom are hastening to the above consummation.
Think of some only of the great and rapidly increasing cults of evil doctrine in our midst to-day, such as Spiritism, Eddyism, Russellism, and many others. Then consider that these rapidly growing organisations are being recruited from the ranks of those who once made a profession of Christianity but are now apostate therefrom.
Then, in the various so-called "orthodox" denominations, see the indifference of many, and the opposition of some to the very cardinal doctrines of Christian truth. For example, take the Inspiration of Scripture. How loosely men talk and write of the "mistakes" of Moses, the "contradictions" of the Synoptists, or the "errors" in the later Scriptures, "understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm" (1 Timothy 1:7). They have not hesitated to bring their irreverent and unregenerate minds to pry into the sacred mystery of the Son of God come down in grace; and teachings are received without protest, derogatory alike to His Holy Person, His finished work, and His divine glory.
These are but illustrations of the corrupting form of the leaven at work at the present moment in that which bears the name of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Here, then, in these three parables we have set forth a developing and an increasing growth of evil, both externally and internally, in that which professes to represent the rule of heaven upon the earth. At the beginning, a few tares among the wheat, at which the servants are surprised. Then a great tree instead of a lowly mustard plant. And, again, a leavening process by the evil doctrines of men, instead of the truth as "the truth is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:21). And at this stage, these things are accepted as matters of course. There is apparently no one now so much in the mind of the Master as to inquire: "Didst thou not sow good seed in thy field?" In view of these startling and wholly unexpected (on their part) developments, well might the disciples say, "Declare unto us the parable of the tares in the field."
Matthew 13:36 begins the second section of the chapter. In the house the Lord expounds the parable to His disciples. As we have seen, the just judgment of God will clear the ground for the reign of righteousness to begin, and the wicked will no longer be allowed to remain in the Kingdom, or even on the earth. They will be cast — solemn thought — into a furnace of fire. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.
Parable 5 The next two parables are of special interest. The action of the narrative is no longer occupied with the development of events within the Kingdom either for good or for evil. It is no question of what men may either do or teach; but the mind and heart are centred upon the ONE who, in wonderful condescension and marvellous grace, became the Finder of the treasure and the Seeker of the pearl. As we get occupied with Him, we feel at once that we are in a different atmosphere. We no longer stand, as it were, on the plains of Moab, contemplating Israel as a "stiff-necked people" (Numbers 22:1-41), but We are beside the prophet on the "high places." It is no longer what the people are for God, but what God is for His people, and in spite of all Israel had been He could say, He had not "beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel" (Numbers 23:21). In the very beginning, or ever the earth was, that Blessed One could say, "My delights were with the sons of men" (Proverbs 8:31). In grace, and with satisfaction He views His people as grace will ultimately make them. His earthly people, redeemed Israel upon the earth: His heavenly people, a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. The Kingdom in the hands of men had been shown to be mingled with that which is unreal, united to that which is earthly, and permeated with that which is evil. As such, all that was false and unreal was fast hastening on to judgment. It was necessary that the disciples should now see what was real and true, amidst all the confusion. To them it was given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us note here that the character of the figures is now changed. It is no longer, as at the introduction, "good seed" that could reproduce itself. Nor is it a "sowing" where darnel might be mingled with the wheat. Much less is it that which might become contaminated with evil men or evil influences externally as in the "mustard seed," or corrupted by false and satanic doctrines internally as in the "three measures of meal." But here we have a definite precious deposit of intrinsic excellence, and which, though hid in the earth, could not be defiled by the earth. The figures are few and simple, and other Scriptures accurately guide us in the interpretation. The field is the world. The Finder of the treasure and the Purchaser of the field is the Lord Himself. No other interpretation is possible. Who but He could purchase such a field? Who but He had anything to "sell" at all commensurate with the value of the object to be acquired, for in the field there was a treasure for which possession of the field was sought, and which was of infinitely greater value than the field itself. In Exodus 19:1-25, in that wonderful personal interview between Jehovah and His servant Moses, He could say, "If ye will obey my voice . . . ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me, above all people that are in the earth." Now we know that Israel did not obey that voice; but where Israel failed, grace triumphed on the ground of redemption; and we have already seen what God could say of His people in the plains of Moab, even when Satan had them, as he thought, at a disadvantage. How much more will this be evident when Psalms 135:1-21 "The Lord hath chosen Jacob for Himself, And Israel for His peculiar treasure.
Blessed be the Lord out of Zion Which dwelleth at Jerusalem, Praise ye the Lord." But before all, or any, of this could be accomplished, He, the gracious Finder of the treasure, had to buy the "field" itself at the cost of all He had.
There is, however, a wider application. There can be no blessing for either the earth, Israel, or the Church, apart from the death of Christ, and just here comes in one of the special points of this parable. The Lord Jesus by His death has purchased all mankind. This truth is of world-wide application, and on this ground His messengers can go forth and proclaim an accomplished work on the ground of which men are besought to be reconciled to God. The world to-day is still ruled over by the usurper Satan, and men love to have it so. The Lord when on earth spoke of the devil as the "prince of this world," and after the Lord had been rejected and crucified, Scripture calls Satan the "god of this world." In other words, men are willing to accept from Satan both their rule and their religion, hut it will not always be so. There is the earthly side as well as the heavenly side of the Kingdom. The earth, already purchased, will in that day be redeemed, and suitably prepared for the dwelling-place of saved Israel, under the New Covenant, and the nations who inhabit the millennial earth, for there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
Parable 6 But a further figure is required to set forth the unity and the beauty of those who compose the heavenly side of the Kingdom. This is found in the "One pearl of great price." And remark here that, in the previous parable, the finder of the treasure bought the field that contained it. But here the merchantman seeks to secure the pearl only. There is no question of its surroundings. The pearl is taken out entirely from the place in which it was, in order that it may become wholly the delight of the heart of the finder. The parable without doubt marks the special place which the assembly occupies in the counsels of God and in the mind of Christ.
It is impossible to overlook this, and almost impossible to overestimate it. There are four remarkable ways in which the saints of this dispensation are looked at in the New Testament.
If it is a question of relationship, they are called "children of God" (1 John 3:1).
If it is a question of responsibility for God upon the earth, they are looked at as the "House of God" (1 Timothy 3:15), If it is a question of nearness and unity, they are spoken of as the "body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12).
If it is a question of their affection and of their participation in His glory in the day of display, when all the ways of God in grace with men will be manifested, then the company of redeemed ones are brought before us under the striking figure of the "Bride of Christ" (Revelation 19:7-9).
These are four different aspects of the assembly of God, but all setting forth in a remarkable way the place of nearness, relationship, and affection which the Church occupies. Here it is a question of its unity and beauty, hence the figure of ONE pearl of great price — loved, sought, and purchased. "Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:26-27). "To her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen clean and white" (Revelation 19:8). May there be the practical answer in the life and walk of every redeemed one, to that position of wondrous blessing in which grace has placed us, and in which in the day of glory we shall be displayed. We may well adore the grace that sought, the love that suffered, and the power that triumphed over all the forces of sin, death, and Satan: and the day is fast approaching when the full results of His mighty work will be manifested before the universe; and, at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow to the glory of God the Father.
Parable 7
Still another similitude was needed to show the disciples the course of events at the close of that mysterious dispensation of the Kingdom of Heaven in the absence of the King, and this the Lord furnishes under the figure of the draw-net cast into the sea, and gathering of every kind. And in order to grasp the point of this, the closing parable, we need to keep in mind what has gone before. At the beginning we see the Son of Man coming forth as the Sower. The results of the sowing are then given, and the general effects in the hearts of men. Next, the enemy is seen at work introducing the tares among the wheat; and this knowledge becomes a guide to the servants under the new and unexpected conditions. The next two parables give the developments of the foregoing conditions — evil men and evil teachings waxing worse and worse. But following these, Parables 5 and 6 show that which is hidden and real and that which the Lord’s heart is set upon; whether the saved remnant of His ancient people under the new covenant, or the Church which is His Body — both are before Him — and every event in His dealings with men and nations is leading up to a complete fulfilment of all the irrevocable counsels of God on their behalf. But there is still the question of the nations of the earth: manifestly the Kingdom of Heaven in its widest sense must include Israel, the Church, and the saved nations of the millennial earth. What events will lead up to, and what will ultimately determine the final separation of the "good" from the "bad"? This the Lord sets before us in His closing parable. And note here that, although there is a close similarity between this parable and that of the "tares," there is by no means a repetition. There the point and object of the teaching is, as already remarked, instruction for the servants for present need, in the light of the future, in what was to them an unexpected condition of things in the absence of the King. Here it is the grand results of the operations of grace, and the final assignment of every one to his own place, either in the Kingdom of Heaven, or — solemn thought — in the furnace of fire. The figures employed are few and simple, but divinely expressive: — A draw-net.
Cast into the sea.
"Every kind" gathered within its sweep. When full, drawn to shore. A sorting process, and A separation. The figure employed is of a net of the largest kind known or used by fishers. Where suitable circumstances permit, it may be as much as half a mile in length. Hence in its immense sweep it "gathers of every kind" — that is, of every species.
When, then, is the net cast, and of what is it a figure? Are we not reminded by it of Mark 1:1 "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God," and also of Matthew 13:37, "He that sowed the good seed is the Son of Man." But while the casting of the net would seem to synchronise with the beginning of the Gospel, yet the net itself is of wider application than the Gospel as we understand it. May it not correspond to all the dealings of God with men from the time the Kingdom began to be preached until the time when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and before Him are gathered all nations. Cast into the "sea" (of the nations) would seem to indicate the worldwide scope of its operations. No longer Israel only, or even professing Christendom, but every nation under Heaven to whom, in a future day, the Gospel of the Kingdom will be announced. Thus, from first to last it may well be said to gather of every kind. It is evident that the "servants" do not draw the net. It is drawn when "full," and it is equally evident that it is not "full" yet, else the gospel day would be over indeed. The ending of this solemn scripture is given more fully in Matthew 25:1-46. It is the sessional judgment of the Son of Man. They "sat down," conveys the thought of orderly and deliberative selection. The "good" gathered into vessels. The "bad" cast out of the net. It is the final sorting out of those who had heretofore been going on together; alike perhaps in profession, but unlike in reality; and only the Lord Himself had omniscience and authority to decide.
Just as the Jew, according to the Mosaic law, (Leviticus 11:9) separated the contents of his net, the "clean" from the "unclean," so, the Lord says, will it be at the end of this age. And this will be done by angelic ministry (Matthew 13:41). The wicked are cast into the furnace of fire. The righteous are safely preserved for the Kingdom, and they enter into all the blessings that accompany and follow the introduction of the reign of righteousness over the whole earth in the day of Messiah’s glory.
What a wonderful unveiling of divine counsels these seven parables present. Fortified with this knowledge of the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven, the believer can calmly survey all the varied phases which the great "harvest field" may present. He rests assured that, however contradictory things may appear, yet in spite of all the wickedness of evil men and all the opposition of Satan, God will assuredly bring to perfection every purpose of His counsels for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How far the disciples "understood all these things" we do not know, but we may rest assured that when the Holy Spirit came down He would bring all things to their remembrance and guide them into all truth.
They already had information, in all its full and varied details, in the Old Testament Scriptures, as to the glories of the Kingdom, and what it would be in the day of its display. That which was "new," as to the Kingdom in the absence of the King, He had now taught them. They were to regard such knowledge as a precious thing to be "treasured," and "brought out" when occasion required. Just as an householder becomes a dispenser of good things to his guests, so were disciples to be in a world that knew not the grace of Christ.