PARABLE 12 ~ MATTHEW 13:24-30, 36-43 ~ WHEAT & TARES (WEEDS)
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which 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 blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
[IN VERSES 31-35, JESUS TELLS TWO SHORT PARABLES ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.]
THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND TARES (WEEDS) JESUS EXPLAINS
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Discussion Questions – Parable 12
PARABLE 12 ~ MATTHEW 13:24-30, 36-43 ~ WHEAT & TARES (WEEDS)
1. In this parable, who is the sower? What does the field represent? The wheat? The weeds? The enemy? The harvest? The harvesters?
The parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30) is unique to Matthew and is one of the few parables for which Jesus provides a detailed interpretation (Matthew 13:36-43). The farmer represents Jesus as the Son of Man. The field is the world and the good seed are the children of the kingdom who are in relationship with God. The enemy is the devil and he sows his weeds - the people of the evil one. The workers are not identified but are most likely Jesus’ disciples. The harvest is the end of the age and is symbolic of final judgment. The weeds are gathered first then burnt in a fiery furnace, symbolic of punishment, while God’s people are finally rewarded. They will shine like the sun, reflecting God’s glory. The message of the farmer is to let both the wheat and the weeds grow together until the time of harvest when there will be a clear separation. In the end, good will triumph.
There are a lot of interpretations to this parable, most think Jesus is speaking of the church but the most likely interpretation is that Jesus is answering questions about how the kingdom of God can be present when there is still so much wrong with the world. The mystery of the kingdom is that it is already present but in unexpected ways. Yes, the kingdom has arrived but it is like a field with both wheat and weeds growing together until one day when they will be separated.
2. What does this parable teach us about the kingdom of heaven (or kingdom of God)?
God has a plan that he is working out over time (be patient!). It doesn’t take much insight to realize that we live in a world where tragedies and accidents occur every day and where injustice and violence still wreak havoc in people’s lives. Where is God and why doesn’t he do something? The first disciples had similar questions. Why are the Romans still in power and why is evil still at work if the kingdom has arrived? This parable teaches us that God does have a plan for this world and he is working to accomplish it. However, it is unfolding over time and that means there’s some waiting to do, something we find difficult. We’d all love God to do more and to act faster in bringing in his kingdom but Jesus is teaching us patience – the patience of a God who chooses to delay his judgment. God is not in a hurry and we must be prepared to trust him and wait for his time. In the end, God will win and good will overcome evil.
3. Who planted the bad seed? What does this parable teach us about the enemy and his seed?
There is an enemy at work in the world (be alert!). Alongside the power of the kingdom another power, the power of the enemy, is at work seeking to disrupt God’s plan. Not all actions in this world can be attributed to God. The action of this enemy, identified as the devil, is a prominent feature in Jesus’ ministry. The parable presents us with a worldview that accounts for and is not surprised by evil in the world. It also teaches us that evil will not be completely removed until judgment day but that does not mean that we should not fight against evil in all its forms in the mean time – in our own lives, in the church and in our society. This awareness calls us to live lives on spiritual alert while avoiding the extremes of being ignorant of the devil’s schemes or of becoming overly preoccupied with his activity (2 Corinthians 2:11).
First of all Jesus said, “An enemy has done this.” So the first thing is ‘the enemy’. In trying to understand why our world is arranged as it is and how I can live the Christian life in the midst of it. The first thing Jesus says that you need to realize is that there is an enemy. Now look again at the parable in verse 25 Jesus said, “A man sowed seed in his field and while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. So that when the tares sprung up the servants were surprised.” (Matthew 13:24-27) Now why were they surprised? Well, they were surprised at the extent of the tares, the poisonous seeds.
As a matter of fact, it was against the law in the days of the Roman Empire to sow tares in a good field because they would choke out the good seed and also they were poisonous if they were eaten. So what Jesus says here is that a man has his field, which is the world, and he sows good seed but at the same time while men sleep his enemy comes and he sows tares among the wheat and goes his way. Now you can put it down as a constant fixed rule that wherever the Lord sows good seed, the devil will be there to sow bad seed. All throughout your life, put it down, every time you sow good seed the enemy will be there to sow bad seed right along beside.
4. What did the servants volunteer to do for the owner of the field?
Matthew 13:27-28, “So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?”
Should we pull out the weeds?
This question goes to the heart of one of the greatest temptations amongst religious people wanting to serve God: the impulse to sort the good people from the bad people, the saints from the sinners, the church from the world, the saved from the damned. Churches are full to the brim of this sort of thing, righteous crusades to weed out the sinners.
But what does the farmer say? The farmer says, don’t get into the weeding business. If you do you'll pull up the good with the bad. Weeds are no good, but weeding? Weeding is worse. So just let the good and the bad live alongside each other. Trust that God will sort it all out in the end. Sorting saints from sinners isn't your job. So let it be.
Its God’s job – not ours! Perhaps there were some overzealous "weeders" in Matthew's congregation who wanted to purify the community by rooting out the bad seed. This seems to be a temptation for followers of Jesus in every age. We whip ourselves into a weeding frenzy, certain that we know the difference between weeds and wheat, and that we know how to deal with the weeds!
Jesus' parable makes clear that any attempt to root out the weeds will only do more damage to the crop. This has played out far too many times in congregations and denominations, with some determined to root out anyone who does not agree with the "right" interpretation of Scripture, worship practice, or stand on a particular issue.
Jesus makes clear that we simply cannot be certain who is "in" or who is "out." In fact, God's judgment about these matters will take many by surprise (7:21-23; 8:11-12; 21:31-32; 25:31-46). Thank God it is not up to us! We can leave the weeding to the angels, and get on with the mission Jesus has given us -- proclaiming the Gospel the good news of the kingdom of God drawing near.
5. What dangers lie in trying to label people as either “weeds” or wheat?”
God alone is the judge of all people (be humble!). Right from the beginning of history there have been two seeds or two generations of people – the righteous and the wicked (see Genesis 3:15). We find our place in either group not by birth, by fate or by our good works but by our response to the grace of God that he shows toward us in unique ways. God desires everyone to be saved (John 3:16. 1 Timothy 2:1-7. 2 Peter 3:9) and to become his children and we have to trust that he makes provision for that possibility. Each person will ultimately choose to be either for God or against God and will be treated accordingly. God will be to us what we are to him. However, in the mean time it is vital that we not get caught up in determining who is IN and who is OUT. God alone knows the human heart and He will be their judge, not us (Romans14:12; 1 Corinthians 4:5; James 4:12). Wheat and weeds look very similar … until the time of harvest when their true nature is revealed. In fact, Jesus hinted that we may be surprised who is in and who is out (Matthew 21:23-32). We ourselves are a mixture of wheat and weeds – people in desperate need of the grace of God. This should cause us to be humble in our approach to other people.
When it comes to judgment we must avoid exaggerations of God that turn him into either a sadistic monster ready to unfurl his wrath on people OR into a soft grandparent who still gives the kids chocolate even after a day of continual misbehaving. God has revealed himself as a supremely loving, wise, beautiful, holy, just and true God. It is that combination of attributes that we must learn to see when it comes to the matter of judgment.
6. In what ways can you “shine like the sun” in your contacts with unbelievers? What does this mean? (Daniel 12:3)
Matthew 14:43, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Daniel 12:23, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the heavens, and they that turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars for ever and ever.”
We are called to partner with God's purpose (be fruitful!). In the Parable of the Sower, the seed is the word of God (Mt.13:18-23). In this parable, we become the seed. God plants his people in his field – this world – and he desires us to be fruitful for him. We are to mature in Christ, bear fruit, and plant seed. No need to worry about the increase, God gives the increase! (1 Corinthians 3:7) A partnership mentality helps us avoid the extremes of apathy (thinking that God will do it all) and of a messianic complex (thinking that we will fix the world and rid it of evil all by ourselves).
The sun is a visible object; it excites attention, and inspires admiration. The course of Christians is not hidden — but manifest: they are lights of the world, cities set on a hill, living epistles (Matthew 5:14; 2 Corinthians 3:2). "Let your light shine" (Matthew 5:16). Though Christians should do nothing through vain glory — yet their conduct should be of such a character as to command attention. Christians, like the sun, shine more and more unto that perfect day (Proverbs 4:18). They grow in grace, in knowledge, purity, peace, and joy, until their course ends in the crowning noontide splendor of Heaven!
Wheat and Tares Poem
The kingdom is like a man who had sown
Wheat in his field to reap after it's grown
But while still seed an enemy came
To sow weeds in the field that looked quite the same
The man's servant offered to pull the weeds out
But he might pull the wheat just as it sprout
No, safer to let the two grow together
And in harvest to reap in just the right weather
Put the wheat in the barn, tie the weeds to be burned.
Now let us consider what lesson we learned.
Jesus is sowing his seed on the earth
But the weeds are the ones whom the devil gave birth.
Difficult at times to distinguish the two,
Between a false Christian and one who is true.
When they are young they have only roots.
But you shall know them by their fruits.
The weeds will not last, they will be thrown out
Into a furnace in anguish no doubt.
But the righteous will shine just like the Son.
But of these two seeds, you are which one?
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