LESSON 4
THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND TARES
The parable of the wheat and tares is also known as the parable of the wheat and weeds. This parable is one of the parables that our Lord preached seated in a boat on the Sea of Galilee with the crowds on the shore. The bible explains the “weeds” is a plant called darnel that is a poisonous weed that in its first stages of growth resembles wheat, and it’s extremely difficult to distinguish it from wheat. However, as it continues to grow, it starts to change, and at harvest it is easy to see that it is not wheat.
Jesus proposed this parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The servants of the householder came to him and said, Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from? He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until the harvest; then at harvest time, I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ (Matthew 13:24-30)
I’m sure you noticed that this also is a parable of sowing, but there are differences between this parable and the parable of the sower. In that parable, the seed was the Word of God, and the sowing was to go to the end of the age, but in this parable the seed is not the Word of God, the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom, or those who belong to the Kingdom of God. When Jesus dismissed the crowds, his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeks of the field.” He answered, He who sows the good seed is the Son of man is (Jesus); the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.” (Matthew 13:36-39). So, the seed sown here is people, not the word of the gospel as in the first parable. The way Jesus puts these two parables together is beautiful. In the first parable, (Parable of the Sower) he sows the word of God into the hearts of individuals, then in the second parable, (Parable of the Wheat and Weeds), transforms them to become the sons of the kingdom (true believers), and then scatters them throughout the world. It is important to note that many commentaries and sermons have attempted to use this story to represent the field as the church, but Jesus explains right in the parable that the field is the world. Then into that same field comes Satan, the enemy of this parable. In opposition to Jesus, he also sows a crop of his own called the “weeds”. The devil tries to destroy Christ’s work by placing the sons of the evil one, (false believers, teachers and deceivers) in the world to lead many astray. Satan has also scattered men throughout the world to be like himself, to lie, cheat and deceive. As I mentioned in a previous lesson, we were all born in Adam’s sin. We are all members of a fallen race. We never really had to learn how to cheat, to be selfish and hypocritic. These all came natural to us. Just look at a young baby or a young toddler. A toddler doesn’t have to learn how to be selfish. Just try to take away a toddler’s toy and give it to someone. I think you will automatically here something like, mine, mine. The toddler didn’t have to be taught that. It came naturally.
So, “when the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The servants of the householder came to him and said, Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” (Matthew 13-26-28a). It emphasizes that the servants are very worried about the site of the weeds growing with the wheat. This is significant because Jesus said that not only would these weeds be sown in the world, but they would also grow within the church. So, the wheat are the true believers, and the weeds or the tares are those that appear to be true believers, but they are not. They are fake Christians that grow up within the church, and they are comingled that you initially can’t tell them apart until the fruit begins to materialize.
In the next part of the parable, His servants said to him, ‘’Do you want us to go and pull them up?” He replied, ‘’No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until the harvest;” (Matthew 13:28b-30)
“Let them grow together until the harvest” is a command by Jesus to allow good people and bad people to live together on earth until the end of time, when the difference between the two will become clear. Our Lord teaches us that hypocrites and deceived persons must be expected in the church, and that an attempt to remove them entirely would be in vain, and that you cannot separate evil from the church. It cannot be done, and we are to be patient and tolerant, and all we must do, as Jesus commands, “Let them grow together until the harvest”. Basically, we are not to worry about it. God will act at the right time to separate the true from the false. Until then there must be patience and the preaching of repentance.
Now Jesus reveals his plan:
‘Then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:30)
He explains, beginning in Verse 39:
“The harvest time is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 13:39-43)
Note that the burning is to occur at the end of the age, not immediately when the binding does. In the Book of Revelation, the great tribulation of judgment on earth will be about 7 years in length. As we get closer to the end of the age, evil will be breaking out in tremendous destruction with power and authority, but God will use his power and authority to overwhelm the evil, and God will gather the good to be his and the evil to be destroyed.
Just to recap “The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares:
The sower: Jesus, who is responsible for planting the good seed in the world.
The good seed(wheat): Represents the people who accept God’s word, “true believers.”
The weeds (tares – evil people): Represent those who are not true believers of God, often seen as people who outwardly seem to be believers but lack genuine faith and are influenced by evil.
The enemy (who sows the weeds): Satan, who is responsible for planting the seeds of evil in the world.
The field: Represents the world, where both good and evil people live together.
The Harvesters (Angels): The angles will be responsible for separating the good from the evil at the end of time.
So, the question is where do you stand? Do you believe Satan’s lie, the lie of the world, that man is self-sufficient, that he can live by himself, that he can run his own life, carry on his own affairs and therefore, does not need God? Or is the seed of the Word of God growing in your heart? Is there something missing in your life? Are you gathering things, but not fulfilled?
In Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight”.
Until next time, may peace, love and joy be with you always.