But he said, Nay; lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them.
All Commentaries on Matthew 13:29 Go To Matthew 13
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Quaest in Matt., q. 12: Or otherwise; When a man begins to be spiritual, discerning between things, then he begins to see errors; for he judges concerning whatsoever he hears or reads, whether it departs from the rule of truth; but until he is perfected in the same spiritual things, he might be disturbed at so many false heresies having existed under the Christian name, whence it follows, “And the servants of the householder coming to him said unto him, Didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?And no wonder if they are also signified bythe good seed; for the same thing admits of different likenesses according toits different significations; as speaking of Himself He says that He is the door, He is the shepherd.
And when the servants of God knew that it was the Devil who had contrived this fraud, whereby when he found that he had no power in open warfare against aMaster of such great name, he had introduced his fallacies under cover of that name itself, the desire might readily arise in them to remove such men from out of human affairs if opportunity should be given them; but they first appeal to God's justice whether they should so do; “The servants said, Wilt thou we goand gather them out?”.
Quaest. in Matt., q. 12: Wherein He renders them more patient and tranquil. For this He says, because good while yet weak, have need in some things of being mixed up with bad, either that they may be proved by their means, or that by comparison with them they may be greatly stimulated and drawn to a better course. Or perhaps the wheat is declared to be rooted up if the tares should be gathered out of it, on account of many who though at first tares would after become wheat; yet they would never attain to this commendable change were they not patiently endured while they were evil. Thus were they rooted up, that wheat which they would become in time if spared, would be rooted up in them. It is then therefore He forbids that such should be taken away out of this life, lest in the endeavour to destroy the wicked, those of them should be destroyed among the rest who would turn out good; and lest also that benefit should be lost to the good which would accrue to them even against their will from mixing with the wicked. But this may be done seasonably when, in the end of all, there remains no more time for achange of life, or of advancing to the truth by taking opportunity and comparison of others’ faults; therefore He adds, “Let both grow together until the harvest,” that is, until the judgment.
Quaest in Matt., q. 12: It may be asked why He commands more than one bundle or heap of tares to be formed? Perhaps because of the variety of heretics differing not only from the wheat, but also among themselves, each several heresy, separated from communion with all the others, is designated as abundle; and perhaps they may even then begin to be bound together for burning, when they first sever themselves from the Catholic communion, and begin to have their independent church; so that it is the burning and not the binding into bundles that will take place at the end of the world.
