The Gospel of Matthew
The parable of the wheat and the tares
Chapter 13:24 to 30, 36 to 43
This parable is a natural sequence to that of the sower. In that the sower went out to sow, and the result of his work was good or bad depending on the nature of the ground. The seed that fell on good soil produced good fruit.
Now the Lord Jesus talks about another aspect of sowing. The sower sows good seed in his field, but, when his men are asleep, an enemy sows tares among the wheat.
The tares (or darnel) are an annual plant of the family of grasses, harmful to crops, particularly wheat, looking a lot like the wheat plant while growing, but instead of golden grains, like wheat, its grains are black and infested with fungi. Because of its initial resemblance with wheat, and the fact that its roots are tangled with the roots of wheat, it becomes difficult to pluck a plant without also plucking the other, so it is not pulled out until the fruit appears near harvest.
This was a known and accepted fact among those who heard the parable. Harder was to know what this had to do with the Kingdom of heaven to which the Lord Jesus said it was similar. Nowadays the expression "tares among the wheat" is common, even without having the experience of the farmers at that time. It originates from this parable, but it is wise to find out exactly its meaning according to the explanation given by its Author.
The disciples did not seem to have had any doubts about the parables of the “mustard seed" and of the "yeast" that followed this, but having come home after the crowd dispersed, they asked for more explanation about this one. The Lord Jesus attended promptly, and we will see His answer first before continuing with the other two.
In this parable, the sower is again the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the field now is the world, meaning humanity. It is that world that God so loved (John 3:16), that He sent His son to be its Saviour (1 John 4:14), doing propitiation for its sins (1 John 2:2). It is very important to understand and remember that both the good and the bad seed were sown in the world, not in the church of Christ that involves only the good seed, i.e. all believers saved by their faith in Him.
The good seed are the children of the Kingdom, represented by the "good Earth" in the previous parable, people in which the word of God, sown, sprouted, grew and gave good fruit. True Christians are redeemed, washed and sanctified (of which the first were the own disciples of the Lord Jesus).
The tares are the sons of the evil one: they were sown by the devil ("the slanderer", the "accuser of the brethren"- Revelation 12:10) which is the enemy of God. The devil is an expert at forging what is true: just as the tares resemble wheat, his children are similar to true believers, talking and behaving as they do to some extent. Just as the roots of the tares mingle with those of wheat, the doctrines of the children of the devil contain a sufficient part of the true doctrine to confuse those who are not well rooted in sound doctrine, as the children of the Kingdom are.
In the parable, the men were asleep, allowing the enemy to enter the field to sow tares. Nobody in the world can prevent the infiltration of the sons of the evil one, not even the children of the Kingdom. Furthermore, the great similarity between those who are in Christ and those who are of the devil in this world, as well as the mixture of their roots, prevents the servants from pulling out the tares less they pull the wheat out with them.
The question then arises: why does God allow the children of the Evil-one to be "seeded" and kept in this world? Among the disciples chosen by the Lord Jesus was a son of the devil, Judas Iscariot (John 6: 70, 13:2). He was allowed to stay in His company until the last Passover.
The conclusion is that God allows Satan to operate in order that His divine purposes are met. This was well illustrated in the case of the righteous Job, of which we read in his book, where he was tested to prove his loyalty to God. In the case of Job the performance of the devil, permitted by God, was directed against Job’s properties and health.
Just as the children of the Kingdom are agents of Christ, to give their testimony with the power of the Holy Spirit, as salt of the earth and light in the darkness, the children of the Evil-one are inspired by the devil to attract the attention of the world and undermine the testimony of believers in Christ.
Although the children of the devil are not members of the church of Christ, they not only imitate believers, but, if there is a lack of necessary vigilance, they will penetrate within the local churches of God to infest them internally. This is the theme of the parables of the “mustard seed" and of the "yeast" which follow this.
The main weapon of attack of the sons of the Evil-one is doctrine: they are like their father, who "was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44).
"Christianity" today shows clearly the truth announced in this parable.
"Christian" sects, from the most ancient and traditional to those which multiply today, make a semblance of Christian and apostolic teaching, and sound good to those who do not know the truth. They appeal to the senses with their rituals, music and clothing, or simulate miracles of the Apostolic age, and loudly proclaim the power they say they have. The false teachings follow, confusing truth with falsehood, putting into disrepute the true Gospel of Christ.
The sower in the parable knew where the tares were coming from, but forbade his servants to pluck it. Wheat must live with it until harvest time. In the same way, true believers should not engage in seeking to eliminate false Christianity that surrounds, confuses and attacks them. We are taught that it will be destroyed at the “end of this age”, which corresponds to the harvest of the parable. For the time being true believers must improve the knowledge of their faith, bequeathed by the prophets and apostles of Christ, to defend themselves against the attacks of the sons of the Evil-one.
Within the local church, it is necessary to put away those who practice certain things (e.g. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13), but it is not a matter for the oversight to pull out the tares: only God knows how to distinguish them, and they run the risk of also tearing away the wheat with them.
On the second coming of Christ to the world, there will be a "harvest" in which His angels separate "all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth", allowing just His children to enter his Kingdom. The Lord Jesus made many statements in this regard in His ministry, citing several criteria. Here we have the separation of false Christians.
The expression "the righteous will shine forth like the Sun" reminds us of the brightness when the sun comes out from behind a cloud that obscured it, making its luminosity dispel all reigning darkness.
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear"-is a warning to all who listen to this parable.
R David Jones
Previous
Next
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'
29 But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, verses 24 to 30 and 36 to 43