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Explanation for:
Matthew
13
:
42
And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
11
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{"arr":[{"author-name":"Antonius the Great","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88927f4d84651d9faae71_Antonius%20the%20Great.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":4,"exegesis-text":"While we have the opportunity, let us look after our souls and seek to appease God for our transgressions, so that He does not instruct us to bind our hands and feet and cast us into the abyss of hell, where there is ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’. Weeping signifies the anguish of profound suffering, while the gnashing of teeth reflects a late remorse for wrongdoings. It is only in those moments of despair that we begin to feel regret and blame ourselves with anguish, when the opportunity for repentance has vanished, and the hope for salvation is lost."},{"author-name":"Jerome of Stridon","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88dcd3432c6dd41375498_Jerome%20of%20Stridon.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":4,"exegesis-text":"He clearly stated that the field represents the world, the sower is the Son of Man, the good seed symbolizes the children of the kingdom, the tares represent the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows the tares is the devil. The harvest signifies the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. All temptations are linked to the tares, while the righteous are identified as the children of the kingdom. Therefore, as previously mentioned, we must hold steadfastly to the teachings provided by the Lord. Those aspects which He has left for our discernment should be summarized accordingly. The reference to men who sleep pertains to the instructors of the Churches, and the servants of the master of the household signify none other than angels, who stand before the Father continually. The devil is termed the adversary of mankind due to his departure from God, as noted in the Ninth Psalm: ‘Arise, O Lord, lest man be strengthened.’ Thus, it is vital for the leader of the Church to remain vigilant, so that through negligence, the human adversary does not sow tares, representing heretical teachings. The phrase ‘Lest, when you gather the tares, you somehow pluck up the wheat along with them’ serves to allow sinners time for repentance and cautions against hastily condemning a fellow believer, as one who is currently misguided by false doctrine may yet come to recognize the truth. However, the instruction to let both grow together until the harvest appears to clash with the command to ‘Remove evil from your midst,’ and the exhortation to not share in fellowship with those labeled as brethren but who are truly immoral. If eradication is prohibited and tolerance permitted until the harvest time, how can one expel those within our midst? \\n\\nBetween the wheat and the tare, which resembles ‘cuculus’ while still appearing as grass without bearing ear, there is significant similarity, and often few, if any, distinguishing features. Therefore, the Lord cautions against quick judgments when circumstances are uncertain, entrusting the final judgment to Him, so that on the day of reckoning He may remove not just those who are merely suspected of wrongdoing, but the clear perpetrator. His declaration that the bundles of tares will be cast into the fire, while the wheat will be gathered into the barn, unmistakably indicates that heretics and hypocrites in faith will face the flames of Gehenna, whereas the saints, symbolized as wheat, will be welcomed into the heavenly dwellings."},{"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":"If He is indeed the Sower, casting seeds in His own field and reaping from His domain, then it is evident that the current world is His own. Reflect, then, on the depth of His humanity, the eagerness of His grace, and His inclination away from retribution. He engages in sowing personally, yet when it comes to punishment, He acts through others, specifically the angels. The righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom, which does not imply they will literally shine like the sun. Rather, the Lord employs familiar imagery, as no brighter luminary is known to us than the sun. In various contexts, Christ indicates that the harvest has already arrived; such as when He speaks about the Samaritans, saying, “Lift up your eyes and see the fields, for the harvest is at hand” (John 4:35), and again, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few” (Luke 10:2). So, why does He declare that the harvest has already come in one instance and that it will come in another? The term harvest can have varied implications. Why, then, does He state in a different context, “In is he that soweth, and in is he that reapeth” (John 4:37), yet here affirm that He Himself is the sower? In that instance, addressing the Jews and Samaritans, He contrasts the apostles with the prophets, as He also sowed through the prophets. Likewise, He sometimes uses the terms reaping and sowing interchangeably, understanding them in diverse manners. When referring to the obedience and readiness of His listeners, He designates it as reaping, having completed His task. Conversely, when He anticipates merely the result of listening, He refers to it as sowing, with reaping following afterward. How else can it be understood that the righteous will be the first to be taken up (1 Thess. 4:16)? Indeed, they shall be the first to be gathered at Christ’s return. The sinful will first face judgment, followed by the righteous entering the heavenly kingdom. The righteous are destined for heaven, while the Lord will descend to earth, adjudicating all humanity and delivering His verdict. Like a king rising with his companions, He will lead them into the blessed inheritance. Do you not perceive the severity of the punishment: they shall suffer in flames and recognize their separation from glory? But why does this occur, especially when the multitude has dispersed and Christ teaches the apostles in parables? It is so they might grasp the meaning of the parables, having been prepared by the preceding discourse. Therefore, when He later asked them, \\"Do you understand all these things?\\" they replied, “Yes, Lord” (Matthew 13:51). In this manner, among other effects, the parables also enhanced the discernment of the apostles."},{"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":"And He will throw them into the fiery furnace, demonstrating that His essence is to show favor, yet He disciplines others, indicating that punishment is not innate to Him. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, either in the midst of everlasting flames or alongside those who face this fate. This weeping and gnashing of teeth signify unimaginable grief."},{"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":"What has been expressed previously remains pertinent. We have indicated that our focus is on heresies, which will be permitted to persist until the culmination of time. To eradicate heretics would only incite conflicts and wars, placing many faithful believers in jeopardy. Both Paul and the thief were weeds prior to their faith; however, they were not cast away then due to the potential for spiritual growth within them. Ultimately, they yielded fruit for God, and the weeds were consumed by the fervent fire of the Holy Spirit within their souls."},{"author-name":"Tichon of Zadonsk","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c8989ff6b5b4c943e70095_Tichon%20of%20Zadonsk.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":18,"exegesis-text":"There are instances when weeds grow among the crops. What do wheat and weeds represent? The righteous and the unrighteous. The weeds grow amidst the wheat. Likewise, the wicked are present among the righteous. At first glance, the weeds appear similar to the wheat, but as the wheat begins to mature and produce fruit, it becomes clear that they are actually weeds. In the same way, the wicked are often not immediately recognized, but gradually their true nature is revealed: ‘By their fruits you will know them,’ states the Lord (Matthew 7:20). There is a significant distinction between the weeds and the wheat, just as there is between the wicked and the righteous. The weeds, as we observe, serve no purpose; the wheat is beneficial in every way. Similarly, the wicked are of no use, while the righteous are valuable in all respects. The weeds, being unworthy, are gathered into bundles and burned at the time of harvest, whereas the wheat is collected into the storehouse. Likewise, the wicked, who are unfruitful, will be gathered at the end of the age, bound in bundles, and cast into everlasting fire. Fornicators, adulterers, those who defile others, and those who are intoxicated will form their group for destruction. Thieves, predators, and robbers, who take what belongs to others, will also be included. The deceitful, sly, and dishonest will make up their assembly. Slanderers, those who gossip and curse, will also belong to this group. Hypocrites, who appear righteous outwardly but are corrupt within, will join this gathering. These lawless individuals, being unfruitful to their Lord, will be thrown into the eternal fire and consumed. In contrast, the righteous, the holy, and the good—who bear fruit from God's word in patience, yielding a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold—will be welcomed into the heavenly kingdom like wheat gathered into the barn. ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the weeds are the sons of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Therefore, as the weeds are gathered and burned in fire, so it will be at the end of this age: the Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all the deceivers and workers of iniquity and cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear’ (Matthew 13:37-43). Sinners, let us turn back to God! May we not be consumed by eternal fire like the weeds, but may we produce worthy fruits of repentance. By the grace of God, may we be the wheat gathered into the heavenly barn. ‘O God of Power! Turn us, and enlighten Thy face, and we shall be saved’ (Psalm 79:4)."},{"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":"\\"Into the blazing furnace\\" serves as a representation of hell, a place where demons and wrongdoers experience torment. This imagery appears to be drawn from the horrifying practice of the Babylonians, who condemned those found guilty of public crimes to be thrown into a fiery furnace (Dan. 3)."},{"author-name":"Lopuchin A.P.","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c891400ee1341634d2276d_Lopuchin%20A.P..png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"The meaning of this parable is clarified by the Savior Himself at the request of His disciples. In the Church He established, there will be both wheat and tares, a consequence of the original adversary's sowing. However, it is only the divine Judge who can provide an unfavorable judgment on their destinies at the final judgment, as all individuals are granted the chance to repent and transform from tares into good wheat. ‘For those, says Bl. Augustine, who today are tares, tomorrow may become wheat.’"},{"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":"‘And they shall cast them’ (those who engage in temptation and wrongdoing) ’into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth; then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.’ This depicts the ultimate distinction between good and evil, light and darkness. Currently, a time of blending these opposites is unfolding. It was the Lord's decree that the freedom of His creation should develop in goodness through the confrontation with evil; evil is permitted both in its proximity to internal freedom and in its interaction with humanity externally. It does not dictate one's fate but serves as a temptation. Those who experience temptation should not succumb but instead engage in the struggle. Those who persevere are liberated from one trial and continue onward to face another. This cycle continues until the end of life. Oh, when shall we comprehend the significance of the evil that entices us, enabling us to organize our lives in light of this understanding! The victors are ultimately crowned by transitioning into eternal life, where sorrow and affliction are absent, and they are cleansed within, like the angels of God, free from the influence of tempting desires and thoughts. Thus, the triumph of light and goodness is prepared, to be unveiled in all its majesty on the final day of the world."},{"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":"Those who commit wrongdoing will be thrown into the blazing furnace. Such terrifying words! The Lord frequently describes the eternal anguish of sinners as a furnace or Gehenna of fire, everlasting flames, unquenchable fire, and the lake of fire. Each of these descriptions signifies a judgment so unbearable that the Son of Man descended from Heaven and experienced all the agonies of death to rescue us from the profound understanding of the mystery of suffering, which is encapsulated in the alarming phrase, \\"THERE WILL BE WEARING AND BREAKING OF TITES.\\""},{"author-name":"Alexander Gorsky","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c8884037c1e1c51e1332e2_Alexander%20Gorsky.png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"These are the secrets of the kingdom, conveyed to the people through parables without further clarification; they are entrusted exclusively to the circle of disciples and initially to only two of them. When the disciples sought the Lord’s interpretation of this parable regarding the seed, He provided them not only with an explanation but also offered specific guidance for their apostolic mission through accessible parables, such as the lampstand (Mk. 4:21-25; Lk. 8:16-18). The manifestation of the Word within them must be expressed in their own preaching, with the intensity of each person's commitment serving as the measure of the message they proclaim."}]}
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