The Pulpit Matthew 13:24-41 Another parable put he forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man which sowed good seed in his field:… We are to understand mixture of good and bad in the Church. There are persons whose blind, intemperate zeal would bid fair to be injurious to the Church. Our Lord reserves the judgment to the end of the world. From this mixture of good and bad advantages result to both. 1. The persecutions which the righteous experience from the wicked are inconvenient, but become proper trials of virtue. 2. They give the good an opportunity of testifying their sincerity. 3. The good in their intercourse with the bad may reclaim them. 4. The good by dwelling amongst the wicked see the pernicious consequences of vice. 5. The good are a restraint upon the wickedness of the evil doers. 6. For the good of both God mercifully permits this mixture of the pious and the wicked. (The Pulpit.) Parallel Verses KJV: Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: |