Matthew 13:49 Commentary and Bible Study

As in the parable of the tares, the wicked shall be removed from among the just. The world was made for the just and it will be given to them. The presence of the wicked in their midst was a temporary anomaly that will not be allowed to continue indefinitely. The wicked fondly imagine the world belongs to them and that the righteous should not be among them. ‘Their tongue walks through the earth’ (Psalm 73:9), and they claim it for themselves. Do they think God threatens and is unable to carry out his threats? Do they imagine he forgets how much he hates sin? They persecute the righteous and would like to remove them entirely from the earth. But the day is coming when ‘he shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more’ (Job 7:10).Again the angels of God involved because of their zeal for the kingdom of heaven. Verses 42 and verse 50 are identical, showing that the Lord intends a parallel between them. Both speak of the final judgment; both look to that day as the day that sets all things right. The wicked dreamed that their houses will continue forever (Psalm 49:11), but what is their brief moment on earth compared to eternity? The angels work calmly to remove them as a fisherman steadily removes the bad from the good. Nothing is going to alter what happens now. The angels see the plan of God is perfect and praise him for his wisdom which was greater than their wisdom. They see the great gain of the plan of God which has secured every one of those who is written in his book from before the foundation of the world.They cast the bad into the furnace of fire. But how can the wicked face what comes next? The day of judgment is not the end of it for them. There is an eternity to face. As Spurgeon says, there is no support in the metaphor of fire for the idea of annihilation, because this is the worm that does not die and the fire that is not put out. The judgment of the world is what justifies the existence of the world, where the good and bad to swim together for a while. But God our Father does not want to see his people remain in a world of misery and sorrow. He is only content when they have been brought into his presence safely for eternity and all threat and all sadness removed from them.