Sorting time
Matthew 12:22 – 13:52
A recurring theme in today’s passages is sorting out the good from the evil at the end of the age, with good people rewarded and evil people punished for their respective deeds.
In the parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus explains why there are both good and evil people in the world: it is an act of mercy to allow them to grow side-by-side rather than risk harm to the good. The time will come when each is judged according to the goodness or evil of his or her life.
It is also made clear that good and evil actions don’t exist on their own: actions are a consequence of the state of the heart.
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”