As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
As in the common practice of men, when they have a mind to pick their corn, and have it clean, when it is reaped, to set men to clean the wheat, and to pick out the tares, and, having tied them up in bundles, to burn them, so (saith he) I will do. I will send my angels at the day of judgment, and they shall take out of my church all impenitent sinners, all those who in this world have been scandals, and offences, and mischievous to my people, and who have made it their business to work iniquity.
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. That is, into hell, which, in regard of the severe torments which the damned shall feel there, is often in Scripture compared to fire, as Mat 25:41, and in other texts, by which is only set out to us the dreadfulness of the punishment of the damned, that is proportioned to, if not far exceeding, that of the burning living bodies in fire. Having thus expressed the punishment of wicked men, he expounds what he means by gathering the wheat into his barn, viz. the taking of righteous men to heaven.
Then, saith he,
shall the righteous, those whom I have clothed with my righteousness, and who have lived in obedience to my will to that degree, that though they be not perfectly righteous, yet are sincere and upright, so as I have accepted them,
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father: an expression much like that of Dan 12:2,3, significative of that glorious state of the saints in heaven, which no eye having seen, nor ear having heard, no tongue is able to express. He concludes in the same manner as he concludes the parable of the sower, exciting his hearers to a diligent consideration and belief of what he had said.
Our Saviour adding no particular explication of the two parables delivered, Mat 13:31-33, the disciples not asking him to explain them, and the evangelist having put the explication of the first parable after them, it is reasonable, that though I omitted the explication of them in their proper place, yet I should add something here for the benefit of those who possibly will not be able so readily to conceive our Saviours meaning in them without an interpreter as the disciples did, which is thought to be the reason why they asked no explication of them. The one is the parable of the
grain of mustard seed, Mat 13:31,32; the other, the parable of
leaven hid in three measures of meal, Mat 13:33. The scope of both is the same. Our Saviour intended them both to let his disciples know the success that his gospel should have over all the world, that they might not be discouraged at the little success of it at present. To this purpose he compares it, first, to
a grain of mustard seed, which, he saith,
is the least of all seeds, that is, one of the least of seeds, or the least seed that produces so great a plant; but becomes a tree so high,
that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Though that small seed with us runs up to a great height, and produces a plant which hath branches considerable enough to lodge birds which sit low, yet we must not judge of what grew in those countries by what groweth in ours; there are strange and almost incredible stories told of that plant by naturalists, as to its growth in some hot and fertile countries. Christ by this foretold his disciples, what following ages quickly verified, that the heathen should entertain the gospel, and the sound of it should go to the ends of the earth, notwithstanding its present small appearance. Upon the same score he compares it to a little
leaven, which a woman hid in three measures of meal, till the whole mass of meal was leavened. By these two expressions our Saviour also lets us know the quick and powerful nature of the word; that Christs words are (as he said) spirit of life, and have a hidden and extraordinary virtue in them. I do not think it worth the while to inquire into the contents of these or measures of meal, and why he mentions but three. They are curiosities, the knowledge of which turneth to no account. Our Saviour certainly, by the expression, designed only to hint the small number of the Jews that believed in him, but foretold a far greater harvest.
The law should go forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, as Isaiah prophesied, Isa 2:3; but many people (after them) should say, Come ye, let us go up to the mountain of the house of the Lord.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
As therefore the tares are gathered,…. As it is represented in the parable, that in the time of harvest, the tares shall be gathered out from the wheat first; and being bound in bundles, shall be
burnt in the fire, prepared for that purpose,
so shall it be in the end of this world; hypocritical and heretical men, and all formal professors, shall be gathered out from among the saints, and the several churches, among whom they have been; and shall be together cast into everlasting burnings, prepared for the devil and his angels, whose children they are.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire;” (hosper oun sullegetai ta zizania kai puri katakaietai) “Just as therefore the tares are collected (brought together) and burned with fire,” at the end of a natural harvest, as a rejected, obnoxious weed, Psa 1:4-6; Mat 3:12; 2Th 1:7-10; Rev 20:11-15.
2) “So shall it be in the end of this world.” (houtos estai en te suntelela tou aionies) “It will exist, be, or occur like this (in this manner) at the consummation of this age,” the church age, and the Gentile dispensation, and the millennial age that concludes the present world order; Mat 24:3; Mat 25:46; Act 17:31; Rev 20:15. The righteous shall behold the punishment of the wicked, from the company of the Lord, Psa 37:34; Psa 91:8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
40. End of this world The end of probationary time. While that lasts the good and evil mingle together. Then comes the world of retribution, in which the good and evil are parted into separate states of reward.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“As therefore the tares (darnel) are gathered up and burned with fire, so will it be in the end of the world (age). The Son of man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingly rule all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,”
Thus just as at the harvest the false wheat, the darnel, had to be gathered up and burned with fire because it was useless except for fuel, so in the same way at the end of the age the Son of Man will act to purify the sphere of His Kingly Rule. His Kingly Rule will have been established worldwide (Dan 7:13-14), and the sphere of His Kingly Rule must now be purified. So the One Who originally sowed the seed and began the process, will send His angels to gather out from the sphere of His Kingly Rule all that causes stumbling and offence to others, and all who do iniquity. Note the assumed fact of the present and continuing Kingly Rule of the Son of Man (‘out of His kingly rule’). But we are not to see the idea here as that of a chronological ‘order of events’, as though we can say ‘this happens first, and then that’. It is rather laying the emphasis on the restoration of Paradise to what its should be. It is confirming that there will be a removal of all that is evil leaving only the good. Paradise (Isa 11:1-9) will be restored.
‘They will gather out of His Kingly Rule.’ The Kingly Rule is the Lord’s and He is ruler over the nations’ (Psa 22:28). For ‘the Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His Kingly Rule reigns over all’ (Psa 103:19). ‘And to Him (the Son of Man) was given dominion and glory and a kingly rule, that all the peoples and nations and languages should serve Him’ (Dan 7:14). Thus the Kingly Rule is universal, and the world is here in mind. Compare also the quotation in Mat 13:14-15 which in its context in Isaiah had in mind the revelation of the Kingship of the LORD, again in a context of heavenly beings (Isa 6:1-6).
The use of angels in this task and at the consummation of all things is one that is continually mentioned. See Mat 13:49; Mat 16:27; Mat 24:31; Mat 25:31; Mar 13:27; and note their mention in connection with the Kingly Rule in Psa 103:20.
For ‘all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity (lawlessness)” compare Zep 1:3, ‘the stumblingblocks with the wicked’. Both what causes sin, together with sinners themselves, will be removed from interfering with God’s people in the new Paradise. All that is unsavoury will be excluded (Rev 21:27).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 13:40 . ] not , but are set on fire . No doubt the tares are consumed by fire (Mat 13:30 ); still the point of the comparison does not lie in their being consumed , but in the fact of their being set on fire , a fact which is intended to illustrate the everlasting punishment now beginning to overtake the wicked in Gehenna. Joh 15:6 ; Mat 25:46 .
The wicked (the , Mat 13:41 ; the , Mat 13:47 ) are connected with the church as a mere outward institution, but do not belong to the number of its living members (to the body of Christ). Comp. Apol. Conf . A. p. 147 f.; Thomasius, Chr. Pers. u. Werk , III. 2, p. 370.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Ver. 40. So shall it be in the end of this world ] As till then there can be no perfect purging of the Church. Nevertheless, magistrates and all good people must do their utmost within their bounds to further a reformation a little otherwise than the cardinals and prelates of Rome; whom Luther fitly compared to foxes, that came to sweep a dusty house with their tails, and instead of sweeping the dust out, sweep it all about the house, so making a great smoke for the time, but when they were gone the dust falls all down again.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 13:40 . his and the following verses enlarge on the final separation.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
this world = this [present] age-time (compare verses: Mat 13:22, Mat 13:39).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 13:30
Reciprocal: Psa 119:119 – puttest away Eze 22:19 – I will Mat 13:48 – and gathered Mat 15:13 – Every Mat 20:8 – when Mat 24:3 – the end Mat 25:41 – everlasting Mat 28:20 – unto Mar 4:29 – he putteth Rom 6:22 – and the end 1Co 15:24 – cometh
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3:40
All refuse material that accumulates in the course of a growing season generally is disposed of at the time of harvest. Thus it will be done with the tares at the harvest time which will be at the end of the world.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 13:40. The destruction of the wicked is first declared; it is to take place at the end of the world, i.e., of the present order of things.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 13:40-43. As the tares are gathered At the command of the owner of the field; and burnt in the fire So totally destroyed as never to revive and flourish again; so shall it be at the end of the world With regard to the finally impenitent: their destruction, not their annihilation, shall be complete and eternal; without any hope or possibility of a restoration. See note on Mat 3:12. The Son of man shall send forth his angels Who shall all attend him on that solemn occasion, Mat 25:31. What a high idea does our Lord here give us of himself; representing the holy angels as his attendants, who shall wait on him at the last day, and at his order assemble the whole world before him! And they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend Whatever had grieved the children of God, or been an obstruction to them in their Christian course; whatever things or persons had hindered the good seed which Christ had sown from taking root or bearing fruit. The Greek, , is, all the scandals, or, stumbling-blocks. And them which do iniquity Who shall now be perfectly and eternally separated from the righteous, and excluded from Christs kingdom. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire These blessed spirits, as the executioners of the divine vengeance, shall cast them into the unquenchable fire of hell. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth The most extreme torment, attended with the height of anguish, rage, and despair; a despair aggravated by all the privileges they once enjoyed, and the vain hope which, as professors of the true religion, they once entertained. Therefore they shall not be annihilated, nor their misery alleviated by any expectation of being ever restored or delivered from their sufferings. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun Being freed from all the humbling circumstances which attend mortality, they shall shine like the sun in the firmament for brightness and beauty and shall find no diminution of their splendour by age. A noble image this to represent the glory and happiness of the righteous with God their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear This exclamation intimates, that truths of greater importance and solemnity cannot be uttered than those which respect the final misery of the wicked, and the inconceivable happiness of the righteous, and that all who have the faculty of reason, ought therefore to regard them with becoming attention. Macknight.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The unbelievers who are born in Jesus’ messianic (millennial) kingdom, which will begin when He returns to earth at His second coming, will continue to live in that earthly kingdom. I put the word "millennial" in parentheses because God did not reveal the 1,000-year length of the kingdom until Revelation 20. However at the end of the kingdom, at the end of the 1,000-year reign, Jesus will separate the unbelievers from the believers (cf. Zep 1:3). The unbelievers will then perish eternally (Rev 20:15; cf. Mat 3:11; Mat 5:22; Mat 8:12; Mat 13:50; Jer 29:22). [Note: See Pagenkemper, pp. 181-83.]