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Explanation for:
Matthew
13
:
25
But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way.
10
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{"arr":[{"author-name":"John Chrysostom","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88ea76859f9f8e2ffd3ee_John%20Chrysostom.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":4,"exegesis-text":"What distinguishes this parable from the preceding one? In the former, the Savior addressed individuals who listened to Him but paid little attention, ultimately discarding the precious seed; here, He speaks of heretical factions. To prevent His disciples from misunderstanding, Christ, after clarifying His use of parables, also prophesies about these heretics. The initial parable illustrated the rejection of His message, while the subsequent parable revealed that those who posed a threat to the message were accepted alongside it. This reflects one of the devil's deceitful strategies, which is to interweave falsehoods with the very truth, camouflaging them with various appearances of reality to ensnare the unsuspecting. Therefore, the Lord designates the seed sown by the enemy not merely as any other seed, but specifically as tares that somewhat resemble wheat. He further elucidates the method of this malevolence by referencing a slumbering individual, warning those entrusted with the care of the field, including both leaders and their followers, of the significant peril they face. Through these words, He illustrates that error often follows truth, as history confirms. After the prophets, false prophets emerge; after the apostles, false apostles appear; and following Christ, the Antichrist arises. The devil, biding his time until he can devise a counterfeit or find a target, is slow to act. Once he discerns that he has produced a yield of one hundred, sixty, and thirtyfold, he adopts a new tactic. Unable to steal the root, suppress it, or incinerate it, he concocts another form of deception—namely, sowing his own seeds. You might wonder how those who sleep differ from those compared to the path. In the latter case, the devil swiftly snatched away the seed before it could take root; however, with this tactic, he employed more cunning to mislead. By highlighting this, Christ urges us to remain vigilant at all times. He cautions, although you may have escaped prior troubles, a new one is approaching. Just as there are dangers from the path, the rocks, and thorns, here too dangers arise from slumber. Thus, constant vigilance is essential. For this reason, He stated: ‘But he who endures to the end will be saved’ (Matthew 10:22). A similar situation arose during the early days of Christianity. Numerous church leaders, having introduced individuals with malign intentions and concealed heretical doctrines into the churches, unwittingly paved an easy path for the devil’s malice. Once he had sown such tares, he had little left to do. Yet, how can one avoid all sleep? While natural sleep is unavoidable, one can abstain from careless slumber. This is why Paul instructed: ‘Watch, stand fast in the faith’ (1 Corinthians 16:13). The Lord further illustrates that the work of the devil is not only damaging but also superfluous, as he sows weeds after the field has already been prepared, and all labor completed. Similarly, heretics only allow their poison to infiltrate through vanity alone. The Lord continues to delineate the behavior of heretics with precision, not only in these words but also in subsequent statements."},{"author-name":"Ephraem the Syrian","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88b589fc3e99eb7bb1839_Ephraem%20the%20Syrian.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":4,"exegesis-text":"Be vigilant and clear-minded when you plant the seeds of the Lord, ensuring that the adversary cannot introduce weeds or anything contrary, as it is his nature to work mischief even amidst goodness."},{"author-name":"Isidore of Pelusium","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88d94130e668938c9ae9d_Isidore%20of%20Pelusium.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":5,"exegesis-text":"Why do sinful thoughts emerge from the heart and contaminate an individual (Matthew 15:18,19)? It is because those responsible for vigilance have fallen asleep, allowing the good seed to be overshadowed. If we were ever watchful over ourselves, resisting indulgence and slumber, and preserving the sanctity of God's image, the sower of the tares would not find a way to infiltrate us and would not cultivate in us weeds destined for the fire.\\n\\nAs the angelic beings observe, they desire to faithfully execute God's will, conscious of our negligence and the abundance of His mercy (Matthew 13:28). Yet, they are restrained from action, so that the wheat is not uprooted alongside the tares, ensuring that sinners with a chance for repentance are not lost, and that innocent children, often still in their parents' wombs, are not harmed before God, who perceives all hidden realities. The celestial beings, fulfilling God's commands, like all of creation, cannot perceive what has yet to come to fruition; however, the Lord has knowledge of it and has frequently brought such revelations into existence. He allowed Esau, who sinned before having children, to live, lest he also harm Job, his future descendant. He spared Matthew the tax collector to prevent hindering the spread of the gospel. He refrained from executing judgment on the immoral prostitutes, creating opportunities for repentance to manifest in the world. He did not condemn Peter for his denial, knowing of the sincere repentance that would follow. He chose not to eliminate Paul’s persecutor by death, to ensure that the far reaches of the world could still experience salvation. Thus, those tares that persist until the harvest without transformation, which do not yield the fruit of repentance, as those afflicted with total unfruitfulness, are set aside for the great fire."},{"author-name":"Chromatius of Aquileia","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88a3df6d7a747a33b4f4a_Chromatius%20of%20Aquileia.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":5,"exegesis-text":"The Lord reveals that the adversary, the devil, has once more scattered seeds of his malice and enmity to suffocate the divine essence within us. He states, “But when the people were asleep, the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and departed.” This indicates that the devil plants these tares among those who are spiritually slumbering—those who are carelessly engulfed in their skepticism, as if entranced in a state of inaction, neglecting divine matters. The apostle admonishes us, “Let us therefore not sleep as others do, but let us be awake and sober. For they that sleep sleep by night, and they that are drunken revel by night” (1 Thess. 5:6-7). This spiritual slumber and denial weighed heavily upon the foolish virgins mentioned in the Gospel, who, failing to fill their vessels with oil, could not greet the bridegroom. Thus, the devil, the foe of humanity, persistently seeks to plant tares among the wheat. However, the individual who has cast aside the sleep of disbelief and remains alert with a faithful heart for the Lord is impervious to the night sower's grasp. The Lord clarified that the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom, while the tares symbolize those unworthy offspring."},{"author-name":"Theophylact of Bulgaria","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c8989296bafed9104677d7_Theophylact%20of%20Bulgaria.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":11,"exegesis-text":"The tares represent false teachings and wicked ideas, while the one responsible for sowing them is the adversary. Those who are asleep are those who passively allow false doctrines and sinful thoughts to take root."},{"author-name":"Euthymios Zigabenos","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c96d263b8c22d9c467bdab_no-pic-theosis.png","category":"Christian Authors","century":11,"exegesis-text":"Through this parable, he reveals further schemes of the adversary. When the fertile soil yields a harvest of a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold, and the enemy is unable to steal the seed, nor can he scorch or suppress the burgeoning plants, he devises a different stratagem. Acting as the foe of the sower, he attempts to undermine the sower's efforts: while individuals are asleep, meaning they neglect to safeguard the field—here he is referring to the leaders as protectors of the believers—he plants weeds, which represent heretics, among the faithful. He refers to the latter as wheat, considering them beneficial to the sower."},{"author-name":"Abbot Panteleimon about the Trinity","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c96d263b8c22d9c467bdab_no-pic-theosis.png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"There was anticipation for a bountiful harvest. However, the man had a jealous adversary who observed his neighbor planting the field. Under the cover of darkness, while the people were asleep, this enemy stealthily scattered tares, gourds, wild oats, and various other weeds, including harmful plants that closely resembled wheat, among the wheat, and then departed. The evildoer vanished."},{"author-name":"Theophan the Recluse","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c8983a6e0f4c3aecaae3fc_Theophan%20the%20Recluse.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":19,"exegesis-text":"The good seed has been planted, yet an adversary has come to scatter weeds among the wheat. These weeds represent false teachings and divisions within the Church, and within each individual, there can exist harmful thoughts, emotions, desires, and inclinations. When someone embraces the pure seed of God's message and commits to living a righteous life, they embark on a path of holiness. However, when an individual becomes complacent and allows their attentiveness to falter, the enemy of salvation introduces harmful notions. If these ideas are not promptly dismissed, they can develop into misguided desires and tendencies, intertwining with their virtuous actions, feelings, and thoughts. Both the good and the bad will coexist until the time of harvest."},{"author-name":"Michail (Lusin)","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c89550c567e172d15b3055_Michail%20(Lusin).png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"While humanity slumbered, meaning during the night when things may remain hidden from view, the adversary emerged, representing the hostility of the enemy. He scattered weeds among the wheat, which are plants that grow alongside it, harming its growth, including things like gourds, field peas, wild oats, and other species not belonging to wheat. Soon after, the weeds became evident; at first, they closely resemble the sprouts of wheat and other seeds, but only as they mature does their true nature become clear."},{"author-name":"Gladkow B.I.","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88bf0ceef8c96e09a6521_Gladkow%20B.I..png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"The parable of the tares In His ongoing teachings to the crowd gathered by the shore, Jesus proclaimed, \\"The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who planted good seeds in his field. However, while men were slumbering, his adversary came and sowed tares among the wheat, and then departed.\\" It is important to understand that the phrase \\"while men were sleeping\\" does not imply negligence on their part, since there were no protectors for the field to safeguard the planting. Rather, it signifies the time when the adversary struck, specifically at night, when most people typically rest. Tares are a type of weed that closely resembles young wheat in appearance, making it impossible to remove them when the wheat is still in its early stages of growth, since weeding could harm the delicate sprouts. However, once the tares grow tall enough to be distinguished from the wheat, their removal risks trampling and damaging the roots of the wheat. The adversary sowed tares amidst the wheat, and this act would not have surprised Jesus' listeners, as such retaliatory actions were known practices among Eastern cultures. In His explanation to the apostles, Jesus identified the sower of good seed as the Son of Man, which refers to Himself; the adversary is the devil; the field embodies the world; the good seed symbolizes the children of the kingdom of God; and the tares represent the children of the wicked one. The teachings of Christ are made available to everyone, dispersed throughout the world; yet the devil also plants wickedness among humanity through his temptations. Human beings are gifted with reason and the capacity for free will, allowing them to choose between righteousness and sin. Some embark on the narrow path leading to the narrow gate of the heavenly kingdom, while others roam the broad road heading in the opposite direction. Thus, within the expansive field of the world, alongside the righteous children of the heavenly Father (the wheat), exist the children of the wicked one (the tares)."}]}
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