End of the Age

Mat 13:36-46 KJ2000

(36)  Then Jesus 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.
(37)  He answered and said unto them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man;
(38)  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
(39)  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
(40)  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
(41)  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;
(42)  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
(43)  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.
(44)  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field;  which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
(45)  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking fine pearls:
(46)  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

There is a curiosity here:  The disciples question him on this parable, but not the others.  Why?
It is faintly possible that they did not understand the parable.  But note that no one else followed Jesus to ask;  and the meaning as explained seems simple enough.

More likely it is this:  they wanted to know if he really meant it.  The direct, frightening consequences of this parable are indeed terrifying.  Jesus, in effect, says, "That's what I meant to tell you."

So what was it that so perturbed this disciples?  It was the ultimate reality of Christ himself:
The reality of the bodily resurrection.  It is so easy to "spiritualize" the resurrection into a non-event.  It is a frequent error, but it clearly cannot be derived from the Bible.  The teaching of the Bible and the early church was clear:  the dead shall rise in the body—to face the judgment.

The reality of the Judgment.  The Bible is also perfectly clear on this:  all will face their maker to receive what is due them for what they have done in this life.  They will face him in the body and be rewarded or punished as they deserve.  Mercy will be given to the merciful (Lord, make me the most merciful of men.)

The reality of Hell.  Almost all the teaching on the subject of Hell comes from our Lord himself.  Perhaps we would believe it from no other source.  But what would you have?  The righteousness of God demands the punishment of the unrepentant.  He is patient—but not forever.

The reality of eternal life.  For those who are written in the Book of Life, they shall have life indeed.  The description here is that they will "shine like the sun."  Perhaps this is literal, perhaps not;  whatever it is, it is glorious.

It is interesting to note that the sower is specifically identified to be the Son of Man.  In the humility of his first coming, Jesus has sown the seeds of eternal life for you and me.  But in his second coming, the reaping is done by the angels, for then he shall come in all his power and glory. 
The disciples questioned this.  Jesus made it explicit—to them, and to us.  Are you ready?