We are not left to doubt and conjecture as to the true teaching of the parable which is the basis of this week's lesson. In response to the request of His disciples Jesus himself explained the parable, and so we have His own interpretation for our instruction.
Unseen Realities
From His own interpretation of the parable of the sower, we know that: "The seed is the Word of God." (Luke 8:11)
With this thought in mind we can see that the growth of a field of wheat in which an enemy has sowed tares is not simply a good illustration of the development of God's kingdom in the world, but it is in reality the visible manifestation of it.
This is the secret of all the object lessons from nature which Jesus gave. He did not put new meanings into the operations of nature, but He made clear the lessons which were already there, but had been lost sight of. "In the parables of the lily and the fowls, the seed and the tree, the vine and the fishes, He disclosed the great fact which we are constantly forgetting--that nature has a spiritual as well as a material side--that she exists, not only for the natural uses of the body, but also for the sustenance of the life of the soul. This higher ministry explains all the beauty and wonder of the world, which would otherwise be superfluous and extravagant."--Hugh Macmillan, The Ministry of Nature, "Introduction." "Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact."--Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature, Chapter IV "Language."
In the parable before us the likeness between the kingdom of God in the world and the field of wheat among which tears have been sown is not merely an outward or superficial one. The likeness is an inherent one. The facts are the same in both instances.
In the one case the facts are made visible to the natural eye by clothing them with a body, while in the other case, though just as real, they are seen only by the eye of faith. Or to put it in other words, the principles of the spiritual and the natural are the same, and in the light of the teaching of Jesus when we study the natural, we may again in it also study the spiritual. "The words of Christ placed the teachings of nature in a new aspect, and made them a new revelation. He could speak of the things which His own hands had made; for they had qualities and properties which were peculiarly His own. In nature, as in the sacred pages of the Old Testament Scriptures, divine, momentous truths are revealed; and in His teaching, Jesus laid open before the people, bound up with the beauty of natural things. ... As interpreted by Jesus, flower and shrub, the seed sown and the seed harvested, contain lessons of truth, as did also the plant that springs out of the earth."--Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies on Education, Chapter 10 "Christ as the Example and Teacher of Youth."
The True Seedtime and Harvest
"He that sows the good seed [which is the Word] is the Son of man." (Matthew 13:37)
This is simply the statement of the means by which the kingdom of God was originally developed in the earth. The Son of man, who was also the Son of God, was the One by whom all things were made, and without whom was not any thing made that was made. It was through him that God "spoke and it was." (Psalm 33:9)
And this is the seed, the Word, which was sown in the earth at the beginning: "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth." (Genesis 1:11)
Thus did the Son of man sow good seed in His field which is the world. If the Word of God, by which the world and all in it, including man, was brought into existence, had always been received and obeyed, there would never have been anything but good things in the world. But when man opened his heart to the devil's lie and received it in the place of the Word of truth, then were the tares sowed, and "The enemy that sowed them is the devil." (Matthew 13:39)
As the annual sowing of the seed by the husbandman is symbolic of the work of the Son of man in sowing the world with the Word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation; and as the warmth of the sunlight and the moisture of the dew and the rain are symbolic of the provision which God has made for the development of His Word in the hearts of men; and as the growth in the vegetable world, "First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear," (Mark 4:28) is symbolic of the progress of the kingdom of God both in the hearts of individuals and in the world in general; so the annual harvest is but a symbolic one. "The harvest is the end of the world." (Matthew 13:39)
All other harvests are but pictures in God's great lesson book of nature, designed to present in visible form the one real harvest, when the fruit of the seed, which is "the Word of God," shall be gathered. Then the Word will go forth, "Thrust in your sickle, and reap: for the time is come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe." (Revelation 14:15)
Then will some say: "The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." (Jeremiah 8:20)
Whether the annual harvest be a good or a bad one depends upon the character of the seed sown in the field, and so it will be in the real harvest at the end of the world. And the harvest time is almost here. The season is nearly ended. What will the harvest be?
Our God is a Consuming Fire
Before the coming of Christ, John the Baptist had taught of Him, "Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into His garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:12)
That this destruction is not a matter of mere arbitrary decree, but that grows out of the very nature of God and His relation to sin, will be seen by reading a few scriptures. "They shall see the Son a man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:30) "And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel." (Exodus 24:17) "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9) "For our God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:29)
The harvest, which is the end of the world, and the coming of the Lord occur at the same time: "And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3)
And then the undimmed revelation of the glory of the Lord will be a consuming fire, an utter destruction, to all sin and consequently to all those in whom sin is found in that day. The prophet Isaiah inquires: "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Your eyes shall see the King in His beauty." (Isaiah 33:14-17) "Behold He comes with clouds, and every eye shall see Him." (Revelation 1:7)
The question to be decided is, whether we shall see Him and live, or be destroyed "by the brightness of His coming." (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
Those in whom His glory is being revealed here, consuming all sin, will be prepared by this experience of His indwelling presence, so that in that day of glory they will "be glad also with exceeding joy." (1 Peter 4:13)
The Revelation of the Glory
The declaration that: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father," (Matthew 13:43) is not a poetical exaggeration, neither is it a comparison, but a simple statement of fact. "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5) "The Lord God is a sun." (Psalm 84:11) "The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto you; but the Lord shall be unto you an everlasting light, and your God your glory." (Isaiah 60:19) "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." (Revelation 21:23)
Once when Jesus was here revealing the glory of God , this glory was permitted to appear clearly, and then: "His face did shine as the sun." (Matthew 17:2) "We know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him." (1 John 3:2) "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament." (Daniel 12:3)
This simply means that the glory of which man was crowned at his creation, when he was made in the image of God, and which has been lost, will be restored through the acceptance of Christ, who is the "brightness of His glory." (Hebrews 1:3) "For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor." (Psalm 8:5) "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
This is not merely an external brightness, but is the shining forth of His righteous character which has been wrought in man through faith. Then will man, restored to the image of God, like Him be "clothed with honor, [and] covered with light as with a garment." (Psalm 104:1-2) "Then shall the righteous [because they are righteous] shine forth as the sun [because He who is "the Sun of Righteousness" dwells in them] in the kingdom of their Father." (Matthew 13:43)
Hear Him
Our ears are given to us that we may hear the voice of the Lord, even the "still small voice" (1 Kings 19:12); but sin has made our ears "dull of hearing." (Matthew 13:15)
The work of Jesus is not only to open the blind eyes but also unstop the ears. Then it is simply necessary to look with eyes which have been anointed with eye-salve, and to listen with ears which have been touched by His fingers, and believing what we see and hear we shall become acquainted with God as our strength and our salvation. "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things which are made, even His eternal power and Godhead." (Romans 1:20) "The voice of the Lord is powerful." (Psalm 29:4)
He who said, "Let there be light," (Genesis 1:3) created light by the power of that Word, "and there was light." (Genesis 1:3)
The same One says to him who has ears, "let him hear," (Matthew 13:43) and this word when revealed in faith will make it so. Then, "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21) "I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people." (Psalm 85:8)--Present Truth, March 3, 1898--Notes on the International Sunday-School Lesson, March 13--Timeline: IV-24 (Sermon by the Sea)--Matthew 13:15-43.