Mateus 13
Tony Garland · Citado em PreceptAustin
Mateus 13
Garland commenting on this passage writes "Jesus responded in Mt 24:4-8 by describing general characteristics of the inter-advent age, and emphasized that these were not reliable indicators of His coming or the end of the age. Jesus calls this period, “the beginning of sorrows.” In Mt 24:9-11, Jesus describes what conditions will be like at the end of the age. In Mt 24:15-22, Jesus tells us the sure sign of the end of the age: the Abomination of Desolation, which has relevance for all Jews and Christians, especially those living in Israel at that time." Mark Hitchcock writes "The appearance of the abomination of desolation will serve as the sign to those living in the end times that the end of the age is near. Times of unimaginable danger and persecution will be at hand. Therefore, Jesus issues a sober warning to those living in Judea at that time....Times of almost unbelievable difficulty are on the horizon. Jesus said that the end of the age will be a totally unique time of terror. Nothing in all of world history will even compare to what is coming. Jesus made it crystal clear.....The Second Coming of Christ will bring this present age to a screeching halt. Truly, it will be the "end of the age."" (BORROW What Jesus Says About Earth's Final Days) Fruchtenbaum explains that the disciples "asked for a third sign, and that was: "What will be the sign that the end of this age has begun?" In rabbinic theology of that day, the rabbis spoke of two ages: this age, in which we now live; and the age to come, the Messianic Age. The question is: "What is the sign that the last days of this age have begun and that will lead to the Messianic Age? (The Footsteps of the Messiah- A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events) ESV Study Bible (borrow) on the end of the age - The judgment that will follow the Son of Man’s return at the close of the age to establish his kingdom in its fully realized form. As an aside, in Jesus' explanation of this parable He does not give any detail of the wheat being gathered but in Mt 13:30 Jesus issues the command to "gather (aorist imperative) the wheat into My barn" which clearly implies that wheat/believers will be safely "harvested" and that their location is safely in "My (Jesus') barn." Jesus does not give any detail on His barn, but clearly this implies in His presence (cf Jude 1:24+). In sum, the explanation of the parable focuses primarily on the tares being gathered in. The disciples undoubtedly wanted to put the sickle to the harvest immediately as suggested by Jesus' description in Mt 13:28+. We are reminded of the attitude of the "Sons of Thunder," (Mk 3:17+) described in Luke "When His disciples James and John saw this (UNBELIEVING SAMARITANS - Lk 9:52-53+), they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” (Lk 9:54+). Gilbrant - Jesus compared the end of the world to the harvest (cf. Joel 3:13; Revelation 14:15, 16). The harvest holds both positive and negative implications (cf. Mt 13:40, 43; Mt 9:37). Now is the time to prepare for it. (Complete Biblical Library – Matthew) Joel 3:13+ Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Revelation 14:15-19+ And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, (FIRST HARVEST) “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, (SECOND HARVEST) “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. (SEE GARLAND'S DISCUSSION OF THESE 2 HARVESTS IN Rev 14:15-19) Harvest (2326)(therismos from therízo = harvest, reap in turn from theros = summer which is harvest time) means the process of harvesting or reaping (Jn 4:35; Lxx = Ge 8:22, 30:14), but most NT uses are figurative - harvest of converts or saved souls (Mt 9:37, 38, Lk 10:2), the time of future judgment (Mt 13:30, Rev 14:15 because their iniquity is "ripe"). In the Septuagint the Feast of Harvest (First Fruits, Pentecost) (Ex 23:16). Therismos - 9x in NT - Matt. 9:37; Matt. 9:38; Matt. 13:30; Matt. 13:39; Mk. 4:29; Lk. 10:2; Jn. 4:35; Rev. 14:15 Garland adds that "The harvest is used throughout the Scriptures to symbolize the final gathering and separation of that which is desirable and productive (wheat) from that which is useless and for the fire (tares, chaff). The judgment attending the harvest is often represented by the threshing floor where the grain is separated from the outer husk (2Sa 24:16; 1Chr. 21:15; Jer. 51:33; Dan. 2:35; Mic. 4:12).....The long age so central to Jesus’ teaching concerning the “kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 13:24, 31, 33, 44-45, 47, 52) has now drawn to a close. (See The Arrival of God’s Kingdom.) It is now the time of the harvest. “But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:29). At the harvest at the end of the age, there are both wheat and tares. The harvest includes a reaping of both and their separation. The wheat is gathered and preserved, the tares are gathered and destroyed. (Mt 13:26-30) And the reapers are angels (aggelos/angelos) - These angels are God's messengers (meaning of aggelos) supernatural beings created by God and ever ready to do His will and to move at His command, in this case to reap the tares (cf angels used in divine judgment in the past - 2 Chr 32:21). Of course another place angels will play a pivotal role in God's judgment in in the sounding of the seven trumpets of judgment (Rev 8:1-2ff) and the pouring out the bowls of judgment in the Revelation during the Great Tribulation (Rev 16:1).
Mateus 13
Garland - Both parables make the point that the kingdom comes as a chance of a lifetime. Its presence elicits joy, but decisiveness is required if one is to capitalize on the opportunity. One cannot possess the treasure or the pearl without making a major commitment. The price is high because both finders must sell everything to acquire it. Neither gets something for nothing. They get something for everything. But what formerly had value pales beside the supreme worth of the kingdom (see Phil 3:7–10). The behavior of the finders in selling all contrasts with the thorn-infested soil where the seed is choked by the snares of wealth (Mt 13:22) and matches the reaction of the disciples who have left everything to follow Jesus (Mt 19:27). (See Reading Matthew:) Donald Hagner - Like a hidden treasure or a pearl that can be held in one’s hand, the kingdom is known only to its joyful possessors. Yet those who find the kingdom, I.e., who receive the message and who respond in discipleship, have begun to experience the wonder of the kingdom’s presence. They know that the kingdom is a reality that is worth everything. And thus they joyfully make it their one priority in life (cf Mt 4:18–22+; Mt 10:39+). They seek first the kingdom, sacrificing all to it, but at the same time paradoxically finding with the kingdom all they need (Mt 6:33+). (See Matthew 1-13, Volume 33A) Here are some examples of interpretations that seem to take the parable a bit too far...
Mateus 13
Garland adds the following note on merchants from his commentary on Revelation 18 - The merchants are “the great men of the earth” (Rev. 18:23‣), powerful magnates who use their great wealth to influence the affairs of the world to further their own power and interests. The city polluted the commercial realm. Throughout history, the boundary between kings and powerful merchants has been blurred. In our own day, perhaps more than in previous eras, wealthy heads of powerful multinational corporations may have greater influence over the affairs of the world than their publicly elected national counterparts (Isa. 23:8). While kings wield political power, merchants wield great financial power. With rare exception, world leadership has generally been immersed in a tangled web of political, religious, and commercial interests which are impossible to isolate from one another. "Such international magnates and financiers constitute, more often than not, the power behind the throne. Kings and presidents often attain and keep their authority by sufferance of those who finance their undertakings. In turn, these great men of the earth receive land grants and trade monopolies and tax loopholes and innumerable other favors from those whom they establish in political power, all to enrich themselves still further."20 "It has become an axiom that “corporations have no souls,” and upon this all great moneyed corporations act, though the men who constitute them will find out a different doctrine when they come to the day of judgment. And when it comes to these great and ever magnifying commercial compacts and interests, there is not a law of God or man which is not compelled to yield if found in the way. . . . If the question were ever pressed in these circles, What is truth? it would be hooted and laughed to scorn. The cry would be, “What have we to do with that? Let every one quietly enjoy his own opinions.” . . . Church is nothing, State is nothing, creed is nothing, Bible is nothing, Sunday is nothing, religious scruples are nothing, conscience is nothing, everything is practically nothing, except as it can be turned or used to the one great end of accumulation and wealth." 21 Seeking (present tense)(2212)(zeteo) implies giving attention and priority to and deliberately pursuing after. The most common sense of this word is to "seek". Webster says that to seek means to go in search or quest of, to look for, to try to discover, to search for by going from place to place. To inquire for; to ask for; to solicit; to endeavor to find or gain by any means. Uses in Matthew - Matt. 2:13; Matt. 2:20; Matt. 6:33; Matt. 7:7; Matt. 7:8; Matt. 12:43; Matt. 12:46; Matt. 12:47; Matt. 13:45; Matt. 18:12; Matt. 21:46; Matt. 26:16; Matt. 26:59; Matt. 28:5. Jesus commanded His hearers "But seek (present imperative) first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Mt 6:33+) Jesus commands hearers to seek His Kingdom but spiritually dead men cannot do this. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts giving us the desire and the power to seek this Kingdom and ultimately the King of the Kingdom, Christ Jesus. (cf Php 2:13NLT+) Example - Sir William Ramsay sought to disprove the Bible (attempted to discredit journeys of Paul) and yet came to faith in Christ when he found out claims of Bible were true. Fine (2570)(see above for main discussion of kalos) means beautiful, good, free from defects, fine. lovely. Pearls (3135)(margarites) refers to a literal pearl as in Rev. 17:4+; Rev. 18:12+; Rev. 18:16+ which all refer to pearls as items the lost world highly valued (and lost!). In Rev 21:21+ John described "the twelve gates were twelve pearls." Figuratively the pearl speaks of something of supreme worth. BDAG writes in Jesus' day the pearl was "more in demand than gold." BDAG adds "Among the Indians worth 3 times as much as pure gold: Arrian, Ind. 8, 13 and always in great demand....in imagery, in a proverb....throw pearls to swine i.e. entrust something precious" (Mt 7:6+). Thayer adds that Mt 7:6 "a proverb, i.e., to thrust the most sacred and precious teachings of the gospel upon the most wicked and abandoned men (incompetent as they are, through their hostility to the gospel, to receive them), and thus to profane them." Margarites - Mt. 7:6+ ("do not throw your pearls before swine" = do not give something valuable to a swine); Matt. 13:45; Matt. 13:46; 1 Ti 2:9; Rev. 17:4+; Rev. 18:12+; Rev. 18:16+; Rev. 21:21+. Not present in the Septuagint (Lxx).