As we are nearing the end of the age, nightfall comes. It is during nightfall that unspeakable evils thrive in all corners and no place is exempt, not even the churches. Within its walls lurk the tares. The tares can serve as pastors who deny the authority of Scripture and some even allude clinging to God’s Word as idolatry. Then there are others who task themselves with apologetics contending with atheists as some sort of intellectual sport but are themselves ashamed to represent Jesus in the public square.
The adversary uses the tares to do this kind of work to gain legitimacy in appearing as wheat. As the tares gain majority, the church is left with a dim light to shine at nightfall. There is nothing more sad to witness than the blind trying to lead the blind because in the end, both will still fall into the pit (Luke 6:39). Nobody likes talking about the pit because it makes people uncomfortable. If anything, Christians should not shy away from talking about the pit because Scripture tells us more people will end up there (Matthew 7:13) and part of the Christian’s mission is to reach as many people with the good news to lessen that number.
The Parable of the Tares Explained
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 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, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Matthew 13:36-43
but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil – The tares are all about peace and love but the kind that compromises the truth of God’s Word. We can never unhitch Jesus from the Bible because without the Bible, we can never know about the true Jesus. Don’t be fooled. The tares come in bundles and packs and are people pleasers. At one point, I’ve witnessed apostates come to aid the tares. It’s not surprising. Wolves are more obvious while the tares, even Jesus warned the servants not to pull them up yet because some of the wheat might be pulled up along with them (Matthew 13:29-30).
Are you a wheat coddling a tare? Your spiritual growth might be hindered because you’ve gotten too comfortable being around the tare. The tare talks the talk and they can make you believe their longtime habits are momentary slip-ups. These are those who camouflage gossip into prayer requests and cause divisions over the smallest things. It is not your full time job to turn the tare into wheat. Though it is possible your influence might win them over, only the Holy Spirit has the convicting power to do so. If you let them, they have the power to choke your fruitfulness for the kingdom of God. They were deliberately planted by the enemy for that reason.
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. – This is indeed a scary and ugly place. I’m not talking about this to scare anyone, but that anyone need not be scared of this place since the good news is that while there is such a thing as today, it is within a person’s power to choose The Way out of this fiery pit.
