Matthew 13:28 (WEB)
“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’
Catechism · 1
“In everyone, the weeds of sin will still be mixed with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Mt 13:24-30.
Fathers and councils · 44
Irenaeus of Lyons
“But while men slept, the enemy came, and “sowed tares in the midst of the wheat, and went his way.”” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 28.
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Augustine of Hippo
“Think not this; but that enemy think of, of whom said the Lord, “an enemy hath done this.”” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 28.
Read the whole comment“Is it because mention is made of “man”? doth therefore the Gospel err, because it hath said, “A man that is an enemy hath done this”?” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 28.
Read the whole comment“Because he too is called a man in a figure.…Now then being made light, not in ourselves, but in the Lord, let us pray not only against darkness, that is, against sinners, whom still the devil possesseth, but also against their prince, the devil himself, who worketh in the children of disobedience.” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 24–28.
Read the whole comment“And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying;” and so on, down to the words, “Therefore every scribe which is instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 1–52.
Read the whole comment“We in this time present are like those servants of whom it was said, “Wilt Thou that we go and gather them up?” for we were wishing, if it might be so, that no evil ones should remain among the good.” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 28.
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John Chrysostom
“Matt. XIII. 24-30.” — the author cites it
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Gregory the Great
“For of the apostate angel it is written, when tares had been sown among the good crop, An enemy hath done this (Matth. xiii. 28).” — the author cites it
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Clement of Alexandria
“And then, that heresies should be sown among the truth, as “tares among the wheat,” was foretold by the Lord; and what was predicted to take place could not but happen.” — editor's note: [Matt. xiii. 28. But for our Lord’s foreshowing, the existence of so much evil in the Church would be the greatest stumbling-block of the faithful.]
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Catena Aurea on Matthew
- John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Matthew
In the foregoing parable the Lord spoke to such as do not receive the word of God; here of those who receive a corrupting seed. This is the contrivance of the Devil, ever to mix error with truth.
Read the whole comment - JeromeCatena Aurea on Matthew
He set forth also this other parable, as it were a rich householder refreshing his guests with various meats, that each one according to the nature of his stomach might find some food adapted to him. He said not ‘a…
Read the whole comment - Remigius of AuxerreCatena Aurea on Matthew
Here He calls the Son of God Himself the kingdom of heaven; for He saith, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that sowed good seed in his field.”
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Matthew
He then points out the manner of the Devil’s snares, saying, “While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of he wheat, and departed.” He here shews that error arose after truth, as indeed the course…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
He says, “While men slept,” for while the heads of the Church were abiding in supineness, and after the Apostles had received the sleep of death, then came the Devil and sowed upon the rest those whom the Lord in His…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Matthew
In what follows He more particularly draws the picture of an heretic, in the words, “When the blade grew, and put forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.” For heretics at first keep themselves in the shade; but…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
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…
Read the whole comment - Remigius of AuxerreCatena Aurea on Matthew
They came to the Lord not with the body, but with the heart and desire of the soul; and from Him they gather that this was done by the craft of the Devil, whence it follows, “And he saith unto them, An enemy hath…
Read the whole comment - JeromeCatena Aurea on Matthew
The Devil is called a man that is an enemy because he has ceased to be God; and in the ninth Psalm it is written of him, “Up, Lord, and Let not man have the upper hand.” [Ps 9:19] Wherefore let not him sleep that is…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Matthew
He is called the enemy on account of the losses he inflicts on men; for the assaults of the Devil are made upon us, though their origin is not in his enmity towards us, but in his enmity towards God.
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
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 a Master of such great name, he had introduced his fallacies…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Matthew
Wherein observe the thoughtfulness and affection of the servants; they hasten to root up the tares, thus shewing their anxiety about the good seed; for this is all to which they look, not that any should be punished,…
Read the whole comment - JeromeCatena Aurea on Matthew
For room for repentance is left, and we are warned that we should not hastily cut off a brother, since one who is today corrupted with an erroneous dogma, may grow wiser tomorrow, and begin to defend the truth;…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
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…
Read the whole comment - JeromeCatena Aurea on Matthew
But this seems to contradict that command, “Put away the evil from among you.” [1 Cor 5:13] For if the rooting up be forbidden, and we are to abide in patience till the harvest-time, how are we to cast forth any from…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
For when any one of the number of Christians included in the Church is found in such sin as to incur an anathema, this is done, where danger of schism is not apprehended, with tenderness, not for his rooting out, but…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Matthew
This the Lord spake to forbid any putting to death. For we ought not to kill an heretic, seeing that so a neverending war would be introduced into the world; and therefore He says, “Lest ye root out with them the…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
This indeed was at first my own opinion, that no man was to be driven by force into the unity of Christ; but he was to be led by discourse, contended with in controversy, and overcome by argument, that we might not…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
But who is there Of you who has any wish that a heretic should perish, nay, that he should so much as lose aught? Yet could the house of David have had peace in no other way, but by the death of Absalom in that war…
Read the whole comment - Remigius of AuxerreCatena Aurea on Matthew
It follows, “And in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them.” The harvest is the season of reaping which here designates the day of…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Matthew
But why does He say, Gather first the tares? That the good should have no fears lest the wheat should be rooted up with them.
Read the whole comment - JeromeCatena Aurea on Matthew
In that He says that the bundles of tares are to be cast into the fire, and the wheat gathered into barns, it is clear that heretics also and hypocrites are to be consumed in the fires of hell, while the saints who…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
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,…
Read the whole comment - Rabanus MaurusCatena Aurea on Matthew
And it should be noted that, when He says, “Sowed good seed,” He intends that good will which is in the elect; when He adds, “An enemy came,” He intimates that watch should be kept against him; when as the tares grow…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Matthew
Seeing the Lord had said above that three parts of the seed perish, and one only is preserved, and of that one part there is much loss by reason of the tares that are sown upon it; that none might say, Who then and…
Read the whole comment - JeromeCatena Aurea on Matthew
The kingdom of heaven is the preaching of the Gospel, and the knowledge of the Scriptures which leads to life, concerning which it is said to the Jews, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you.” [Matt 21:43] It is…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
A grain of mustard seed may allude to the warmth of faith, or to its property as antidote to poison. It follows; “Which a man took and sowed in his field.”
Read the whole comment - JeromeCatena Aurea on Matthew
The man who sows is by most understood to be the Saviour, who sows the seed in the minds of believers; by others the man himself who sows in his field, that is, in his own heart. Who indeed is he that soweth, but our…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Matthew
Or; The seed of the Gospel is the least of seeds, because the disciples were weaker than the whole of mankind; yet forasmuch as there was great might in them, their preaching spread throughout the whole world. And…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Matthew
Dogmas are the decisions of sects [margin note: placita sectarum], the points, that is, that they have determined.
Read the whole comment - JeromeCatena Aurea on Matthew
For the dogmas of Philosophers when they have grown up, shew nothing of life or strength, but watery and insipid they grow into grasses and other greens, which quickly dry up and wither away. But the Gospel…
Read the whole comment - Hilary of PoitiersCatena Aurea on Matthew
Or; The Lord compares Himself to a grain of mustard seed, sharp to the taste, and the least of all seeds, whose strength is extracted by bruising.
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Matthew
Christ Himself is the grain of mustard seed, who, planted in the garden of the sepulchre, grew up a great tree; He was a grain of seed when He died, and a tree when He rose again; a grain of seed in the humiliation…
Read the whole comment - Hilary of PoitiersCatena Aurea on Matthew
This grain then when sown in the field, that is, when seized by the people and delivered to death, and as it were buried in the ground by a sowing of the body, grew up beyond the size of all herbs, and exceeded all…
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Matthew
“The birds lodge in its branches,” when holy souls that raise themselves aloft from thoughts of earth on the wings of the virtues, breathe again from the troubles of this life in their words and comfortings.
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Cross-references · 19
Cited together in Jerome on Matthew 13:24–30 (6) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Against Heresies IV.40.
Cited together in Against Heresies IV.40.
Cited together in Against Heresies IV.40.
Cited together in The Book of Pastoral Rule III.24.
Cited together in The Stromata, or Miscellanies VII.15.
Cited together in Catechism §827.
Cited together in Catechism §827.
Cited together in Catechism §827.
Cited together in Catechism §827.
Cited together in Catechism §827.
Cited together in Against Heresies IV.40.
Cited together in The Book of Pastoral Rule III.24.
Cited together in The Book of Pastoral Rule III.24.
Cited together in Jerome on Matthew 13:24–30 (2) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in The Book of Pastoral Rule III.24.
Cited together in The Book of Pastoral Rule III.24.
Cited together in The Book of Pastoral Rule III.24.
Cited together in Against Heresies IV.40.