As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the 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.
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Matthew 13:40-43 sits inside this longer paragraph.
He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children 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. As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the 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.
Parallel Translations
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As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,
and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the 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.
-
For even as the tares are gaddred and bret in the fyre: so shall it be in the ende of this worlde.
The sonne of man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his kyngdome all thinges that offende and them which do iniquite
and shall cast them into a furnes of fyre. There shalbe waylynge and gnasshing of teth.
Then shall the iuste men shyne as bryght as the sunne in the kyngdome of their father. Whosoever hath eares to heare let him heare.
Show all 3 translations
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As then the tares are gathered and burned in ye fire, so shall it be in the end of this world.
The Sonne of man shall send forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which doe iniquitie,
And shall cast them into a fornace of fire. There shalbe wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Then shall the iust men shine as ye sunne in the kingdome of their Father. Hee that hath eares to heare, let him heare.
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Cross-references (47)
- Daniel 12:3 (v43) Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and…
- Matthew 24:31 (v41) He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one…
- Matthew 13:50 (v42) and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.”
- Luke 12:32 (v43) Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
- Matthew 11:15 (v43) He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Show all 47 cross-references
- Matthew 25:34 (v43) Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of…
- 1 Corinthians 15:41-54 (v43) There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.…
- Matthew 8:12 (v42) but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- Matthew 18:7 (v41) “Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the…
- Luke 16:23-24 (v42) In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham,…
- 2 Peter 2:1-2 (v41) But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies,…
- Revelation 20:10 (v42) The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be…
- Revelation 20:14-15 (v42) Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone was not found written in the book…
- Revelation 21:22-23 (v43) I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for…
- Revelation 21:27 (v41) There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the…
- Matthew 13:39 (v40) The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
- Revelation 21:3-5 (v43) I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his…
- Matthew 25:36 (v43) I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’
- James 2:5 (v43) Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he…
- Revelation 19:20 (v42) The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the…
- Psalms 21:9 (v42) You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.
- Daniel 3:6 (v42) Whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace the same hour.”
- Matthew 13:49 (v41) So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous,
- Matthew 26:29 (v43) But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s…
- Mark 9:43-49 (v42) If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go…
- Luke 22:29 (v43) I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me,
- Romans 2:8-9 (v41) but to those who are self-seeking, and don’t obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will be wrath, indignation, oppression, and anguish…
- Romans 2:16 (v41) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men, according to my Good News, by Jesus Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 (v43) Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in…
- Hebrews 1:6-7 (v41) When he again brings in the firstborn into the world he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” Of the angels he says, “He makes his…
- Hebrews 1:14 (v41) Aren’t they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
- Revelation 5:11-12 (v41) I saw, and I heard something like a voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders. The number of them was…
- Revelation 14:10 (v42) he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and…
- Daniel 3:15-17 (v42) Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and…
- Daniel 3:21-22 (v42) Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the…
- Matthew 3:12 (v42) His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the…
- Matthew 7:22-23 (v41) Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty…
- Matthew 22:13 (v42) Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. That is where the…
- Matthew 25:41 (v42) Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his…
- Luke 13:26-27 (v41) Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know…
- Luke 13:28 (v42) There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s Kingdom, and yourselves being…
- Romans 16:17-18 (v41) Now I beg you, brothers, look out for those who are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which you…
- Revelation 21:8 (v42) But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in…
- Zephaniah 1:3 (v41) I will sweep away man and animal. I will sweep away the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and the heaps of rubble with the wicked. I…
- Matthew 8:20 (v41) Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
- Mark 13:27 (v41) Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of…
- Revelation 9:2 (v42) He opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke from a burning furnace. The sun and the air were darkened…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv40–43 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned…
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.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v40 As in the common practice of men, when they…
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.
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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 Saviour’s 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 Christ’s 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 σατα 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.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv40–43 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire,....…
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire,.... Not a material, but a metaphorical one; denoting the wrath of God, which shall fall upon wicked men, and abide upon them to all eternity: which is sometimes called hell fire, sometimes a lake which burns with fire and brimstone; and here a furnace of fire, expressing the vehemency and intenseness of divine wrath, which will be intolerable; in allusion either to Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace, or as some think, to the custom of burning persons alive in some countries; or rather, to the burning of chaff and stubble, and the stalks of any unprofitable things that grew in the field (f), for the heating of furnaces, and is the very language of the Jews, who used to compare hell to a furnace; so Gen 15:17 is paraphrased by them (g),
"And behold the sun set, and there was darkness; and lo! Abraham saw until the seats were set, and the thrones cast down; and lo! "hell", which is prepared for the wicked in the world to come, "as a furnace", which sparks and flames of fire surrounded; "in the midst of which", the wicked fell, because they rebelled against the law, in their lifetime.
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Which is expressed in much the same language, and conveys the same ideas as here; and no wonder is it that it follows,
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth; declaring the remorse of conscience, the tortures of mind, the sense of inexpressible pain, and punishment, the wicked shall feel; also their furious rage and black despair,
(f) Misn. Sabbat. c. 3. sect. 1. & Maimon, & Bartenora in ib. (g) Hieros. Targum in Gen. xv. 17.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v41 They shall gather all things that offend - Whatever…
They shall gather all things that offend - Whatever had hindered or grieved the children of God; whatever things or persons had hindered the good seed which Christ had sown from taking root or bearing fruit. The Greek word is, All scandals.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v40 Mat 13:40-43. As the tares are gathered — At…
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, παντα τα σκανδαλα, 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 Christ’s 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.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv41–43 The Son of man shall send forth his angels,…
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom--to which they never really belonged. They usurped their place and name and outward privileges; but "the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners [abide] in the congregation of the righteous" (Psa 1:5).
all things that offend--all those who have proved a stumbling-block to others
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and them which do iniquity--The former class, as the worst, are mentioned first.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv40–43 40. End of this world — The end of…
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.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v43 43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the…
43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun] Cp. Dan_12:3, “Then they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv41–43 (41) His angels . . . his kingdom.—The vision…
(41) His angels . . . his kingdom.—The vision of One who stood before men outwardly as the carpenter’s son stretches forward to the far future, and sees that the angels of God and the kingdom are alike His.
All things that offend.—Literally, all stumbling-blocks; the word being explained by the clause that follows as including all that work iniquity. It lies in the nature of the case that the interpretation should recognise only the great broad divisions of good and evil, leaving the apportionment of rewards and punishments, according to the varying degrees of each, to be filled into the outline afterwards.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv40–43 As therefore. Observe that in vers. 40-43 our Lord…
As therefore. Observe that in vers. 40-43 our Lord dwells at much greater length on the details of the reapers" work than on the preceding stages of the parable. lie wishes to draw special attention to the fact that the tares will, without any doubt, be one day separated, and the wheat appear in full splendour. The tares are gathered and burned in the fireburned with fire (Revised Version); cf. Mat_3:10, noteso shall it be in the end of this world (ver. 39, note).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun
Mat_13:43
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun
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The glory of the righteous
I.
Its present concealment. The whole structure of the parable implies that the beauty of the righteous man is hidden in the present; tares and wheat scarcely distinguished. The glory has begun in men here, though veiled. The wheat had in it the germ of the golden grain. The sun shines forth from the clouds which had obscured his radiance. Reasons of this concealment:-
1. The first reason is the nature of the only true righteousness in man. Man becomes righteous by denying his own righteousness and accepting that of another; this why it is hidden now. Our faith is cradled in tears and made strong by storms.
2. We find a second reason for concealment in the discipline by which the righteous are perfected. Faith grows by trials, which conceal glory. The worlds eye sees little beauty in the crown of thorns.
II. Its future manifestation. The present concealment will pass away; the germ of faith will ripen unto eternal glory. By the silent growth of faith the image of the heavenly is being secretly formed within. Who can tell how the souls of the righteous will ripen in the sun-light of Christs smile,
III. Its mighty lessons. Who hath ears to hear let him hear. Hear it, slothful Christian. Hear it, earnest, struggling soul. Hear it, downcast spirit. Hear it, unbeliever. (E. L. Hull, B. A.)
Moral beauty manifested after death
Just as the flower bursts forth in beauty from its concealment in the seed, so shall it be with the righteous when the last temptation has been vanquished, and the body, so frail and weary, has been laid aside. We see it not in our dying friends. We see only the expiring animal nature. We see not how the Christlike grew within them during the hushed endurance of pain, and while their faith held on during that long horror of darkness. We see not this rising inner life. We see only their failing humanity. (E. L. Hull, B. A.)
The Divine tracery not seen at present
But we cannot see the glory which is behind. We cannot fully understand how the discipline of life is fitting the soul for the fruition of the future. At present we cannot read the Divine tracery inscribed by the hand of sorrow; it has all a heavenly compensation, infinitely greater than its present misery … The veil is over us; we do not see what royal souls are being formed by it here. But in the end it shall be seen that all the feelings of pain and weakness, solitude and weariness, have a corresponding weight of joy. (E. L. Hull, B. A.)
These words describe the happiness of the righteous
I. In its elements. Like the sun-visible, pure, active, glorious.
II. In its platform. It is in the kingdom of their Father. This imports-
1. All the privileges and security of an organized society of the highest order.
2. For ever to dwell at home.
III. Its juncture. Then-day of judgment, when the righteous shall be publicly recognized as such.
IV. Its truth. On what do we ground these expectations? On the express declarations of God; the nature of the gospel, and the work of grace on the heart; and the witness of the Holy Spirit. Suggests-self-scrutiny and submission. (J. Hirst.)
I. The present concealment of the righteous. On account of-The nature of their excellence-not discerned or appreciated by the world; the sphere within which it is displayed-in the common walks of life; the imperfections, etc., with which it is often accompanied; the reserve by which it is sometimes hidden-unobtrusive, silent.
II. The future manifestation of the righteous. The time, place, splendour, duration. (Brooks.)
We hare here a description of the glorious state of believers, called the righteous
Believers have a twofold righteousness.
1. The righteousness of justification.
2. The righteousness of sanctification. What need shall the saints have to shine in Christs righteousness, when they shall be perfectly holy in themselves?
1. Because it was not their own inherent righteousness which was their title to heaven, but the righteousness of Christ alone; therefore they shall boast of and shine in the righteousness of Christ for ever.
2. Because their own inherent righteousness was imperfect and full of spots whilst they lived upon the earth, and it was made perfect only as an act of Christs purchase, or the fruits of His merits and obedience, to make them meet for that inheritance. The glory of believers is reserved to that time; now their life is a hidden life, and their glory is veiled (1Jn_3:1-3).
When the end of the world comes, or at the day of the resurrection, the saints shall shine forth gloriously.
1. Because being Gods jewels, they are then all made up, or completed every way, and shall shine before wicked men and devils, to the shame and confusion for ever of these wretches.
2. Moreover, as heirs, they then come to a perfect age, and to possess the purchased inheritance, to the praise of Gods glory and grace.
3. Then the marriage of the Lamb will be celebrated, and the bride be adorned in all her marriage robes and rich attire (Rev_19:7).
4. Because then the bodies and souls of all believers shall be reunited, both being made perfect: a curious piece of work, whether a jewel or clockwork, never appears so glorious until it is all joined together, and every way perfected. So the glory of the saints will then be every way full and perfect, both in respect of soul and body too.
5. Because Christ will then appear; and when He appears, we shall appear with Him in glory (Col_3:4; Joh_3:4).
6. Because then will be the time of the manifestation Of the sons of God (Rom_8:19). Then they shall be crowned with glory. That will be the saints coronation day.
7. Then will be the time of the saints reaping, as now is their time for sowing, and they that sow in tears shall reap in joy (Psa_126:5). Shine as the sun, etc. This denotes the greatness of the glory of the saints. The glory, excellence, and splendour of believers in that day will be amazing.
Consider:
1. The sun is the greatest glory of this world, or far excels in glory all other things. So the saints shall shine forth in the greatest glory, beyond the glory of Solomon, or all earthly potentates whatsoever.
2. When the sun shines forth in his full strength, all dark clouds and mists are vanquished and driven away. So when the saints shall shine in their greatest glory, all dark mists of ignorance, and clouds of sin and corruption, shall be expelled from them for ever. No more dark days or unbelief for ever.
3. The sun is a singular light, and shines with a singular glory. There are many stars, but one sun. So the glory of the saints shall be a singular glory. No glory like that glory, or to be compared to it.
4. The sun is a pure, bright, and spotless creature, far brighter than the moon or stars, so the glory of the saints wall be a pure, bright, and spotless glory, not like the glory of this world, nor like the glory which attends the saints while they are here in this mortal body.
5. The glory of the sun is an unchangeable glory; he alters not, changes not in his glory as the moon doth.
So the glory of the saints in that day will ever abide the same, and never change or be less, because they then shall arrive to a full perfection of glory; nay, it shall exceed that of the sun.
1. Because the sun sets, or goes out of our sight, but the saints sun shall never go down, their glory never sets (Isa_60:20).
2. The sun is sometimes clouded, its glory appears not, but the glory of the saints shall never be clouded any more as it was in this world.
3. The sun shall then be ashamed (Isa_24:23). That is, the glory of the saints shall so far excel the glory of the sun, that the sun shall, as it were, be ashamed (as such are said to be, when they are outshined), or outdone by others.
4. The sun is sometimes eclipsed by the gross body of the moon interposing betwixt us and it; but the glory of the saints shall by no dark body of sin, corruption, or of this world, be eclipsed any more for ever.
5. The sun is so glorious, that mortals cannot behold it, but their eyes will dazzle. So the glory of the saints will be too great for sinners to behold, it would even put out their eyes, or confound them. O happy believers! (B. Keach)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v43 Pro 4:18. - Mat 13:43.
Proverbs
FROM DAWN TO NOON
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Pro 4:18. - Mat 13:43.
The metaphor common to both these texts is not infrequent throughout Scripture. In one of the oldest parts of the Old Testament, Deborah’s triumphal song, we find, ‘Let all them that love Thee be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.’ In one of the latest parts of the Old Testament, Daniel’s prophecy, we read, ‘They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.’ Then in the New Testament we have Christ’s comparison of His servants to light, and the great promise which I have read as my second text. The upshot of them all is this-the most radiant thing on earth is the character of a good man. The world calls men of genius and intellectual force its lights. The divine estimate, which is the true one, confers the name on righteousness.
But my first text follows out another analogy; not only brightness, but progressive brightness, is the characteristic of the righteous man.
We are to think of the strong Eastern sun, whose blinding light steadily increases till the noontide. ‘The perfect day’ is a somewhat unfortunate translation. What is meant is the point of time at which the day culminates, and for a moment, the sun seems to stand steady, up in those southern lands, in the very zenith, raying down ‘the arrows that fly by noonday.’ The text does not go any further, it does not talk about the sad diminution of the afternoon. The parallel does not hold; though, if we consult appearance and sense alone, it seems to hold only too well. For, sadder than the setting of the suns, which rise again to-morrow, is the sinking into darkness of death, from which there seems to be no emerging. But my second text comes in to tell us that death is but as the shadow of eclipse which passes, and with it pass obscuring clouds and envious mists, and ‘then shall the righteous blaze forth like the sun in their Heavenly Father’s kingdom.’
And so the two texts speak to us of the progressive brightness, and the ultimate, which is also the progressive, radiance of the righteous.
I. In looking at them together, then, I would notice, first, what a Christian life is meant to be.
I must not linger on the lovely thoughts that are suggested by that attractive metaphor of life. It must be enough, for our present purpose, to say that the light of the Christian life, like its type in the heavens, may be analysed into three beams-purity, knowledge, blessedness. And these three, blended together, make the pure whiteness of a Christian soul.
But what I wish rather to dwell upon is the other thought, the intention that every Christian life should be a life of increasing lustre, uninterrupted, and the natural result of increasing communion with, and conformity to, the very fountain itself of heavenly radiance.
Remember how emphatically, in all sorts of ways, progress is laid down in Scripture as the mark of a religious life. There is the emblem of my text. There is our Lord’s beautiful one of vegetable growth: ‘First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.’ There is the other metaphor of the stages of human life, ‘babes in Christ,’ young men in Him, old men and fathers. There is the metaphor of the growth of the body. There is the metaphor of the gradual building up of a structure. We are to ‘edify ourselves together,’ and to ‘build ourselves up on our most holy faith.’ There is the other emblem of a race-continual advance as the result of continual exertion, and the use of the powers bestowed upon us.
And so in all these ways, and in many others that I need not now touch upon, Scripture lays it down as a rule that life in the highest region, like life in the lowest, is marked by continual growth. It is so in regard to all other things. Continuity in any kind of practice gives increasing power in the art. The artisan, the blacksmith with his hammer, the skilled artificer at his trade, the student at his subject, the good man in his course of life, and the bad man in his, do equally show that use becomes second nature. And so, in passing, let me say what incalculable importance there is in our getting habit, with all its mystical power to mould life, on the side of righteousness, and of becoming accustomed to do good, and so being unfamiliar with evil.
Let me remind you, too, how this intention of continuous growth is marked by the gifts that are bestowed upon us in Jesus Christ. He gives us-and it is by no means the least of the gifts that He bestows-an absolutely unattainable aim as the object of our efforts. For He bids us not only be ‘perfect, as our Father in Heaven is perfect,’ but He bids us be entirely conformed to His own Self. The misery of men is that they pursue aims so narrow and so shabby that they can be attained, and are therefore left behind, to sink hull down on the backward horizon. But to have before us an aim which is absolutely unreachable, instead of being, as ignorant people say, an occasion of despair and of idleness, is, on the contrary, the very salt of life. It keeps us young, it makes hope immortal, it emancipates from lower pursuits, it diminishes the weight of sorrows, it administers an anaesthetic to every pain. If you want to keep life fresh, seek for that which you can never fully find.
Christ gives us infinite powers to reach that unattainable aim, for He gives us access to all His own fullness, and there is more in His storehouses than we can ever take, not to say more than we can ever hope to exhaust. And therefore, because of the aim that is set before us, and because of the powers that are bestowed upon us to reach it, there is stamped upon every Christian life unmistakably as God’s purpose and ideal concerning it, that it should for ever and for ever be growing nearer and nearer, as some ascending spiral that ever circles closer and closer, and yet never absolutely unites with the great central Perfection which is Himself.
So, brethren, for every one of us, if we are Christian people at all, ‘this is the will of God, even your perfection.’
II. Consider the sad contrast of too many Christian lives.
I would not speak in terms that might seem to be reproach and scolding. The matter is far too serious, the disease far too widespread, to need or to warrant any exaggeration. But, dear brethren, there are many so-called and, in a fashion, really Christian people to whom Christ and His work are mainly, if not exclusively, the means of escaping the consequences of sin-a kind of ‘fire-escape.’ And to very many it comes as a new thought, in so far as their practical lives are concerned, that these ought to be lives of steadily increasing deliverance from the love and the power of sin, and steadily increasing appropriation and manifestation of Christ’s granted righteousness. There are, I think, many of us from whom the very notion of progress has faded away. I am sure there are some of us who were a great deal farther on on the path of the Christian life years ago, when we first felt that Christ was anything to us, than we are to-day. ‘When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you which be the first principles of the oracles of God.’
There is an old saying of one of the prophets that a child would die a hundred years old, which in a very sad sense is true about very many folk within the pale of the Christian Church who are seventy-year-old babes still, and will die so. Suns ‘growing brighter and brighter until the noonday!’ Ah! there are many of us who are a great deal more like those strange variable stars that sometimes burst out in the heavens into a great blaze, that brings them up to the brightness of stars of the first magnitude, for a day or two; and then they dwindle until they become little specks of light that the telescope can hardly see.
And there are hosts of us who are instances, if not of arrested, at any rate of unsymmetrical, development. The head, perhaps, is cultivated; the intellectual apprehension of Christianity increases, while the emotional, and the moral, and the practical part of it are all neglected. Or the converse may be the case; and we may be full of gush and of good emotion, and of fervour when we come to worship or to pray, and our lives may not be a hair the better for it all. Or there may be a disproportion because of an exclusive attention to conduct and the practical side of Christianity, while the rational side of it, which should be the basis of all, and the emotional side of it, which should be the driving power of all, are comparatively neglected.
So, dear brethren! what with interruptions, what with growing by fits and starts, and long, dreary winters like the Arctic winters, coming in between the two or three days of rapid, and therefore brief and unwholesome, development, we must all, I think, take to heart the condemnation suggested by this text when we compare the reality of our lives with the divine intention concerning them. Let us ask ourselves, ‘Have I more command over myself than I had twenty years ago? Do I live nearer Jesus Christ today than I did yesterday? Have I more of His Spirit in me? Am I growing? Would the people that know me best say that I am growing in the grace and knowledge of my Lord and Saviour?’ Astronomers tell us that there are dark suns, that have burnt themselves out, and are wandering unseen through the skies. I wonder if there are any extinguished suns of that sort listening to me at this moment.
III. How the divine purpose concerning us may be realised by us.
Now the Alpha and the Omega of this, the one means which includes all other, is laid down by Jesus Christ Himself in another metaphor when He said, ‘Abide in Me, and I in you; so shall ye bring forth much fruit.’ Our path will brighten, not because of any radiance in ourselves, but in proportion as we draw nearer and nearer to the Fountain of heavenly radiance.
The planets that move round the sun, further away than we are on earth, get less of its light and heat; and those that circle around it within the limits of our orbit, get proportionately more. The nearer we are to Him, the more we shall shine. The sun shines by its own light, drawn indeed from the shrinkage of its mass, so that it gives away its very life in warming and illuminating its subject-worlds. But we shine only by reflected light, and therefore the nearer we keep to Him the more shall we be radiant.
That keeping in touch with Jesus Christ is mainly to be secured by the direction of thought, and love, and trust to Him. If we follow close upon Him we shall not walk in darkness. It is to be secured and maintained very largely by what I am afraid is much neglected by Christian people of all sorts nowadays, and that is the devotional use of their Bibles. That is the food by which we grow. It is to be secured and maintained still more largely by that which I, again, am afraid is but very imperfectly attained to by Christian people now, and that is, the habit of prayer. It is to be secured and maintained, again, by the honest conforming of our lives, day by day, to the present amount of our knowledge of Him and of His will. Whosoever will make all his life the manifestation of his belief, and turn all his creed into principles of action, will grow both in the comprehensiveness, and in the depths of his Christian character. ‘Ye are the light in the Lord.’ Keep in Him, and you will become brighter and brighter. So shall we ‘go from strength to strength, till we appear before God in Zion.’
IV. Lastly, what brighter rising will follow the earthly setting?
My second text comes in here. Beauty, intellect, power, goodness; all go down into the dark. The sun sets, and there is left a sad and fading glow in the darkening pensive sky, which may recall the vanished light for a little while to a few faithful hearts, but steadily passes into the ashen grey of forgetfulness.
But ‘then shall the righteous blaze forth like the sun, in their Heavenly Father’s kingdom.’ The momentary setting is but apparent. And ere it is well accomplished, a new sun swims into the ‘ampler ether, the diviner air’ of that future life, ‘and with new spangled beams, flames in the forehead of the morning sky.’
The reason for that inherent brightness suggested in our second text is that the soul of the righteous man passes from earth into a region out of which we ‘gather all things that offend, and them that do iniquity.’ There are other reasons for it, but that is the one which our Lord dwells on. Or, to put it into modern scientific language, environment corresponds to character. So, when the clouds have rolled away, and no more mists from the undrained swamps of selfishness and sin and animal nature rise up to hide the radiance, there shall be a fuller flood of light poured from the re-created sun.
That brightness thus promised has for its highest and most blessed character that it is conformity to the Lord Himself. For, as you may remember, the last use of this emblem that we find in Scripture refers not to the servant but to the Master, whom His beloved disciple in Apocalyptic vision saw, with His ‘countenance as the sun shining in his strength.’ Thus ‘we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.’ And therefore that radiance of the sainted dead is progressive, too. For it has an infinite fulness to draw upon, and the soul that is joined to Jesus Christ, and derives its lustre from Him, cannot die until it has outgrown Jesus and emptied God. The sun will one day be a dark, cold ball. We shall outlast it.
But, brethren, remember that it is only those who here on earth have progressively appropriated the brightness that Christ bestows who have a right to reckon on that better rising. It is contrary to all probability to believe that the passage from life can change the ingrained direction and set of a man’s nature. We know nothing that warrants us in affirming that death can revolutionise character. Do not trust your future to such a dim peradventure. Here is a plain truth. They who on earth are as ‘the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,’ shall, beyond the shadow of eclipse, shine on as the sun does, behind the opaque, intervening body, all unconscious of what looks to mortal eyes on earth an eclipse, and ‘shall blaze out like the sun in their Heavenly Father’s kingdom.’ For all that we know and are taught by experience, religious and moral distinctions are eternal. ‘He that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv41, 43 Son of man (See Scofield "Mat 8:20").
Son of man (See Scofield "Mat 8:20").
angels (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
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kingdom (See Scofield "Mat 3:2").
them which do Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v40 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus finishes explaining to his disciples the parable of the field with both wheat and weeds.
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Therefore, as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire
This can be translated in active form. AT: "Therefore, as people gather up weeds and burn them in the fire" (See: Active or Passive)
The Son of Man will send out his angels
Here Jesus is speaking of himself. AT: "I, the Son of Man, will send out my angels" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
those who commit iniquity
"those who are lawless" or "evil people"
furnace of fire
This is a metaphor for the fires of hell. If the term "furnace" is not known, "oven" can be used. AT: "fiery furnace" (See: Metaphor)
weeping and grinding of teeth
"Grinding of teeth" here is a symbolic act, representing extreme sadness and suffering. See how you translated this in Matthew 8:12. AT: "weeping and showing that they are suffering very much" (See: Symbolic Action)
shine like the sun
If this simile is not understandable in your language, you can use: "be as easy to see as the sun." (See: Simile)
Father
This is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)
He who has ears
This is a way of referring to everyone there who was hearing what Jesus was saying. See how you translated this in Matthew 11:15. AT: "Whoever can hear me" (See: Idiom)
listen
Here "listen" represents paying attention. See how you translated this in Matthew 11:15. AT: "pay attention to what I am saying" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
fire
world
Son of Man
angel
kingdom
sin
commit
iniquity
righteous
God the Father
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv40, 41, 43 13:40-42 The harvest of judgment, which began with the…
13:40-42 The harvest of judgment, which began with the first coming of the Son of Man (3:12), will be completed when he returns (Rev 14:14-16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.