THE HOLIESTCommentaries on St. Matthew
Tablet Twenty-Two
"Then Esa sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.""He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;"
"The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;"
"The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels."
"As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world." (Matthew 13:36-40)
<1>It is the Prophets of God who sow the good seed which are the words revealed through them, "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man." <2>The tares are sowed by the false prophets and teachers -- whoever teaches that the goal of the life is anything else than be(com)ing Divine -- or "the children of the wicked one" (devil, tama guna). <3>But at the end of this era, the Angels (sons of God) will gather the children of the Kingdom to the Father (first resurrection). Those who have followed Maya will be thrown to the outer darkness, "burned in the fire;" only later on, after they have gone through a long struggle and many experiences, might they be saved also (second resurrection).
"The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;""And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:41-42)
<4>At that time, the sons of God (Angels) will come and will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. Those who have lagged behind will be sent back to the world, "into a furnace of fire" to be purified through their experience (fire is a symbol of purification).
"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Matthew 13:43)
<5>That is when the righteous or those who have purified themselves, will reach Pure Consciousness, "Shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." <6>Those who have opened their spiritual eyes will understand the truth of these teachings.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." (Matthew 13:44)
<7>When a man realizes God, sees His Power, Peace, Beauty, Skills, etc, and realizes that only He is true and all other things are temporary, it would be like an earthly person who finds a great treasure in a field and sells all that he has in order to buy that field and become the owner of that treasure. <8>So a true God-realized person renounces all for Him.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:""Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." (Matthew 13:45-46)
<9>Those who have experienced the bliss of being with the Father will leave everything for His sake. Then it is easily possible to overcome the illusions of this external world (excess attraction, desires, attachments, and greed).
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:""Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away." (Matthew 13:47-48)
<10>Again at the end of this era, humanity will be divided into those who have reached higher consciousness and those who have lagged behind. This is the first resurrection. <11>In the second resurrection, the righteous will be saved. This is also prophesied in the Koran, "Before the unavoidable Day which God has designed to come, people will be sundered..." in Surah The Romans (Ar-Rum ).
"So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked among the just,""And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:49-50)
<12>Those who have lagged behind will be thrown to the depth of ignorance, "furnace of fire."
"Esa saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.""Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old."
"And it came to pass, that when Esa had finished these parables, he departed thence."
"And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?"
"Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"
"And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?" (Matthew 13:51-56)
<13>It is so hard for those who know a person from childhood and his family, and also for the family members themselves, to believe a person has acquired a wisdom from God or has become His Prophet. <14>It is even very difficult for many people to just accept another human being as a Prophet. <15>Usually they ask, "Why him?" This becomes an obstacle in their path and causes them to close themselves to the truth he reveals. So they will be deprived of it because of their concepts and ignorance.
"And they were offended in him. But Esa said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.""And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." (Matthew 13:57-58)
<16>A Prophet or Savior is as powerful as the belief of the people and as powerless as their doubts. That is why he did not do too much for them.