Wheat and tares

In Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus told another a simple parable, commonly referred to as the parable of the wheat and the tares. In this parable, Jesus said a farmer sowed “good seed” in his field and then, while the farmer’s hired hands were sleeping an enemy came and sowed weed seeds in his field. Once the workers realized what had happened, they went and told the owner of the field. The owner recognized at once that an enemy had done this. The workers then asked the owner if he wanted them to pull out all the weeds. The owner said no, telling them that to do so might result in the wheat being uprooted as well. He then told them to wait until harvest time and then separate them – putting the wheat into his barn and burning the weeds.

Later, when Jesus was alone with his disciples, he explained the parable to them. He told them that he was the owner of the field, the field was the world, and the “good seed” represented the “sons of the kingdom.” The enemy in the parable represented the devil, and the weeds that he planted represented the “sons of the evil one.” The harvest time in the parable represented the end of the age, at which time the angels will come and “reap” the harvest of souls on earth (Revelation 14:15-16). All the weeds or “sons of the evil one” will be gathered and together and thrown into the “furnace of fire” and the wheat, or “sons of the kingdom” will be gathered into God’s “barn” or into heaven itself.

This parable as Jesus told it and explained it is fairly straightforward at first glance. And since it clearly concerns the “end of the age” it is easy to just read the parable and go on, thinking it has little application to us now – especially if we know that we are among the “good seed” in the parable. But as we look a little closer, we will discover that there are several powerful truths revealed in this parable that do have a direct application to us all right here and now in this age.

One powerful truth in this parable is found in verse 25, which tells us that it was “while his men were sleeping” that the enemy came and sowed his bad seed. The implication here is that the enemy came at night, when everyone naturally would be asleep. But it is hard not to think that if someone been on the alert – even just one man, acting as a “watchman” at his post, the enemy would have been found out, and his field would not have been sown with evil seed. This same thing is true at a personal, family, church, and even national level. It is when we fall asleep spiritually that the enemy comes in and sows his evil seeds into our lives. This is why many New Testament passages admonish us to “be on the alert” or “keep watching.” (Mark 13:33, 1 Peter 5:8)

Another powerful truth in this parable is found in verse 26, which tells us that it was not until “the wheat sprouted and bore grain” that the “tares became evident.” The type of weed Jesus was describing in this parable looks just like wheat in the first few stages of its growth. It is not until it actually bears fruit that it becomes obvious that it is not wheat. The same thing is true today – there are many people that appear to be Christians, and even resemble many Christians in many ways, but they are not. The fact is it is very easy to imitate a lot of so-called “Christianity” today, for the simple reason that the so much of the church has become so much like the world in so many ways. But like in the parable, the true test will come when it is time to bear fruit – only The Holy Spirit in the life of a Son of God can bear the “fruit of the Spirit.”

Another powerful truth in this parable is seen verse 29, where the owner of the field decided not to pull the weeds out immediately once the had been detected, because doing so might uproot the wheat also. In the same way, there are times when God may allow something or someone to continue for a season in our life, even though it is evil in his sight, knowing that if he uprooted it immediately it would cause an even greater damage in our life. But “harvest time” will come when it can be removed without severe damage, and we can be sure than when that time comes God will remove those things from our life, so that all that remains shines with his brightness.