Separating Wheat from Chaff

[Catsmeow]

Matthew 3:11-12 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Reference: Webster's Dictionary/Online Edition

win

[Leonard]

Sorry, it eludes me. Could it be two very different views of the same sort of judgment?

[Botz]

Cross-reference Bibles have their weaknesses.

I have always found that the best cross-references are those you discover for yourself because they can become a personal revelation . You are reading a Scripture...and bingo ...The Holy Ghost reminds you of another example of the same thing...or an elaboration that makes things far clearer to you...because you have begun to bury the Word of G-d in your heart...and you begin to draw out all sorts of wealth.

Luk 12:34  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Mat 12:35  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings Catsmeow,

Can anyone elaborate on what these two verses mean in context with one anther?

When I use Crosswalk.Com cross-references to this I get Matthew 16:4:

2 But He replied to them, "When  it is evening, you say, `It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' 3 "And in the morning, `There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? 4 "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them and went away.

I am trying to see the connection between the judgement mentioned by John, the Baptist in Matthew 3:12 and this particular quote by the Lord, referring to Jonah.

Does anyone understand the connection here?

Often Jesus spoke in parables and the reason is:

Matthew 13:10-16 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

The reference to Jonah is in reference to Jesus:

Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

So we see that Christians are NOT in darkness, but the rest of the world is and the only thing that will be revealed to them is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I'm not sure that is what you want, but that is what I am seeing.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[yukon]

They are both simular, but different. Both are talking about the fruit you bear and the bad fruit is not of God. But in the second passage, it's speaking about the same thing but, different way it is spoken of. Red sky in the morning sailor's heed warning. Red sky at night sailor's delight. You are looking at good and evil in both scripture readings, but shared in a different way.

Jesus will speak it too your heart to help you understand what He is teaching.

Yukon

[Guest JDJ]

He tells you how to discern the times, hypocrites can discern the sky, but cant discern the times, because they dont listen and follow Him truly.

[AllforJesustheLord]

I would say, the one is speaking about righteous judgement, the overcomers are the wheat, and the chaff, are those who do not follow Christ, through patient continuance in well doing as Romans says, the other scripture I think is talking about the time when Christ will come again, yet there maybe is more understandings.

[Guest JDJ]

Chaff is the byproduct after the wheat seed is taken out of the ear.

[tsth]

Hey Cats,

Are ya sure you pulled up the correct cross ref? I'm not seein the connection either.........maybe you got the wrong one? Or, if you post the link we could read the cross reference and see if that would help with the connection?

Just a thought.

P.S. - How'd you get that, I didn't know you could do that with whole passages on Crosswalk, I'd like to know how. Thanks!

In His Love,

Suzanne

[Catsmeow]

The reference to Jonah is in reference to Jesus:

Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

So we see that Christians are NOT in darkness, but the rest of the world is and the only thing that will be revealed to them is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Dad Ernie: That's where I was totally stuck and you just brought it back to memory. He WAS referring to the Lord's death - and now I recall. The Sign to the Pharisees was the actual death and ressurection or the sign of the cross perhaps.

But the parallel is clear: Jonah spent 3 days in the whale while Jesus spend 3 days in the earth (deceased) in the tomb.

That makes perfect sense. Thank you for that! Cats