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Study 19: Jesus' Judgment Parables

Wheat and Tares, Dragnet, Outer Darkness, and the Furnace of Fire

A Note on How to Study

Throughout this series, we distinguish between what the Bible explicitly says and what people infer from the Bible. These are not the same thing.

  • Explicit: You can point to a verse and quote it. The text directly says this.
  • Inference: Someone claims the Bible teaches something, but no single verse says it. They have drawn a conclusion -- possibly a good one, possibly not -- but the conclusion itself is not in the text.

In this study, we examine the vocabulary Jesus actually used in his judgment parables. We will ask: do these parables use the language of destruction, or the language of ongoing torment?

Section A: The Wheat and Tares (Matt 13:24-30, 36-43)

  1. Read Matthew 13:24-30. In the parable, what happens to the tares (weeds) at harvest time? Are they preserved or consumed?

  2. Read Matthew 13:36-43. Jesus interprets his own parable. Who do the tares represent? Who are the reapers? When does the harvest take place?

  3. In Matthew 13:40, Jesus says: "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world." What happens to tares when they are burned? Does anything remain?

  4. Read Matthew 13:42-43. What happens to the wicked (v.42)? What happens to the righteous (v.43)? Are both groups described as continuing to exist, or is one group destroyed while the other shines?

Section B: The Dragnet (Matt 13:47-50)

  1. Read Matthew 13:47-50. When fishermen sort their catch, what do they do with the bad fish? Are the bad fish kept for some purpose, or thrown away as worthless?

  2. Compare Matthew 13:50 with Matthew 13:42. These two verses are nearly identical in the Greek. What phrase appears in both? What does this suggest about whether the formula is a set judgment expression?

Section C: Outer Darkness (Matt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30)

  1. Read Matthew 8:11-12. Who sits at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Who is "cast out into outer darkness"? What is the image -- being sent to a place of torment, or being excluded from a celebration?

  2. Read Matthew 22:11-13. What happens to the guest without a wedding garment? Where is he sent? Is the image one of punishment inside, or banishment outside?

  3. Read Matthew 25:30. The unprofitable servant is cast into outer darkness. What do the faithful servants receive instead (v.21, 23)? What is the contrast between the two outcomes?

  4. "Outer darkness" appears exactly 3 times in the Bible, all in Matthew. All three are in the context of a feast or celebration. Does any of these passages mention fire, gehenna, or the lake of fire alongside "outer darkness"?

Section D: Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth

  1. Read Luke 13:28. This is the only occurrence where the trigger for "weeping and gnashing of teeth" is explicitly stated. What causes the weeping and gnashing? Is it physical pain, or the realization of being excluded from the kingdom?

  2. Read Acts 7:54. The Sanhedrin "gnashed on [Stephen] with their teeth." Were they in physical pain? What emotion does their gnashing express?

  3. Read Psalm 112:10. What does the wicked person do when he sees the righteous prosper? What happens to the wicked afterward -- does the verse say he endures forever, or that he "melts away" and his desire "perishes"?

  4. The phrase "weeping and gnashing of teeth" appears 7 times in the NT (Matt 8:12; 13:42; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28). Based on the Luke 13:28, Acts 7:54, and Psalm 112:10 evidence, does "gnashing of teeth" describe physical pain in a place of torment, or fury and grief at the moment of judgment?

Explicit or Inference?

For each statement below, decide: Does the Bible explicitly say this (you can point to a verse), or is it an inference (a conclusion someone draws that no verse directly states)?

A. "The tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

B. "The furnace of fire in Jesus' parables describes a place of eternal conscious torment." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

C. "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

D. "Outer darkness is a description of hell where the wicked suffer forever." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

E. "The weeping and gnashing of teeth describes the ongoing experience of the wicked in an eternal hell." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this