^a36 Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house [probably Simon Peter's house]: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field.   37 And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;   38 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;   39 and the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels.   40 As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.   41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity,   42 and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.   43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear. [This parable and its explanation are sometimes urged as an argument against church discipline, but such a use of them is clearly erroneous. The field is not the church, but the world, and the teaching of the parable is that we are not to attempt to exterminate evil men. Any who attempt to exterminate heretics in the name of Christ by physical force are condemned by this parable.]

[FFG 339]

This document is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College. Last updated on May 27, 1999. Contacting the CCEL.