The Wheat and the Tares
Matthew 13:24-43
In our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we are in Matthew 13 where Jesus teaches the parables of the kingdom. Matthew has shown us that Jesus is the Messiah King who came to bring everlasting righteousness by saving His people from their sins. Now, the King teaches the mysteries of the kingdom (Matt. 13:11) in parables. First was the parable of the sower, which taught us how the kingdom begins. The message of the kingdom is sown like seed, and how people hear it, receive it, and bear fruit from it reveals the condition of their hearts. That’s how Christ’s Kingdom began on this earth—through the sowing of His gospel and by its reception by those in whom it produces fruit. That’s how it continues to grow even today—through preaching and proclaiming the message of who Jesus is and what He has done.
In our passage today, Jesus teaches a parable that answers one of the most basic and perplexing questions people can have about His kingdom. If the kingdom of heaven has indeed come, why is evil still present? If, as Jesus said, “surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28), why was it that Jesus was meeting with such great opposition from the Jewish religious leaders? Why were they plotting to kill Him? Why was there so much resistance to Him as “King”?
And for us, as we look at the condition of our world today, why does it seem that evil is stronger than ever? If it’s true that Jesus’ kingdom has begun on this earth, then why does it seem as if evil has such a powerful sway over the hearts and lives of so many? Why is sin and wickedness so prevalent, and the gospel message so resisted?
Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares answers that question. It teaches us that Jesus was fully aware that evil would seem to prevail in this world. In this parable, Jesus teaches us that, though evil will be found mixed into His kingdom for the present, it will be fully separated from His kingdom at the end of the age. The Lord and His people will be victorious in the end. Righteousness will rule this earth. His kingdom will prevail.
With that introduction, let’s look first at…
1. The Parable (Matt. 13:24-30).
Like the parable of the sower, Jesus spoke this parable to the multitudes of people on the shore of the sea of Galilee as He sat in the boat to teach (Matt. 13:1-3). After this parable, Jesus taught two more (the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven) then He sent the crowds away and explained the meaning of it privately to His disciples.
Matthew 13:24 tells us that Jesus “put forth” a parable to the people. The word means “to place beside” or “to place near”. It suggests deliberate and thoughtful care. Jesus taught what “the kingdom of heaven is like”. The whole story is designed to teach something about God’s kingdom.
It is, He said, “like a man who sowed good seed in his field” (Matt. 13:24). Notice how this is similar to the parable of the sower but also different. In the parable of the sower, there was just one sower, and it was all good seed but four different types of soil. Here there is one field or soil, but two sowers and two different types of seeds.
The man “sowed good seed in his field,” suggesting that he was careful to select just the right seeds, good seeds that would take root, and sprout up, and would produce a productive crop in his field.
Then Jesus tells us that something very evil happened. While the man and his servants slept, under the cover of night, an enemy crept into his field and sowed “tares” in the very field where the man had sowed good seed (Matt. 13:25).
Scholars tell us that “tares” refer to ‘darnel’, a weed that was prevalent in those days. It looked very much like wheat when it sprouted up, and it even appeared to have an ear that looked like an ear of wheat as it developed. If the kernels from the tares became mixed up with kernels of wheat, the bread that would be made could make whoever ate it dizzy and sick. It was difficult to tell the difference between them until they both became ripe. Then it became clear that the tares were most definitely not wheat. Matthew 13:26 says, “But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.”
The one who sowed the tares in the other man’s field was “his enemy” (Matt. 13:25). He was seeking to sabotage and destroy the other man’s crop. It’s an evil thing to do to someone.
Eventually, the man’s servants notice the tares growing in the field and wonder about the source of the problem. “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?’” (Matt. 13:27).
I think they asked a question that was very much like a question you and I may ask. If Jesus’ kingdom has come into this world, then how is it that evil is found to have sprouted up in it? Why is there so much opposition to the kingdom of Jesus today? Why is there so much harm done to people in its name? Why are there so many governments in the world that are hostile to the spread of the gospel, and that oppress their people in disregard to the message of Jesus’ kingdom? How did so much wickedness seem to grow along with the spread of His kingdom on earth? “Jesus,” we may ask; “didn’t You sow a good kingdom in this world? How then does it have tares?”
The owner immediately identifies the source of the problem. The tares are there not by accident or by natural causes. No, this is intentional harm. “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’” (Matt. 13:28).
The servants suggest a simple strategy for dealing with the problem. “The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’” “Should we go pull the weeds?” It sounds sensible but the owner exposes the problem with that strategy. “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.’” (Matt. 13:29). By that time, their root systems had become so intermingled together that you couldn’t pull one out without destroying the other.
Instead, he told his servants, basically, to ‘put up’ with the weeds for a while. He said, “Let both grow together until the harvest” (Matt. 13:30). At harvest time, he would send out his reapers into the harvest and tell them, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” (Matt. 13:30). The harvest will be the right time for separating the wheat from the tares.
But now, notice . . .
2. The Explanation (Matt. 13:36-39).
For the explanation, we need to jump ahead a few verses because Jesus told two more parables to the multitude in between this parable and its explanation that He gave privately to His disciples. We will look at these parables next time. Matthew 13:36 says, “Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house”. And that’s when the disciples sought greater insight into their Master’s teaching. And so, we read, “And His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’”
Jesus is always glad to give insight to those who genuinely seek it from Him. And look at how He begins! He gives them a point-by-point explanation of the details of His parable!
He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels” (Matt. 13:37-39).
Here, we have the key to understanding this parable from the Lord’s own lips. He presents Himself as the sower, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” As with the parable of the sower, the problem is not with the sower or the seed. Jesus sows good seed. The message of the gospel and the fruit that comes from it are good.
Then Jesus explains “the field is the world.” This is a parable about the kingdom’s spread in the world. Many people have mistakenly made the “field” out to be the church; and have used this parable to explain why there are sinful people found in the church. It’s certainly is a problem that sinful people make their way into the church; but that is not what this parable is really about. Rather, we’re told that the field is the world—the realm of human life and activity.
This is in accord with other passages in the gospel of Matthew where Jesus expresses the world-wide mission of the kingdom. Jesus is a Savior for everyone. Therefore, the gospel is to be sown in the whole world. God’s kingdom is to encompass the whole world (Matthew 28:19-20).
Jesus then says that the good and bad seeds represent two kinds of people who have two kinds of destinies. “The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom”—that is, those who hear the word of the Savior, and respond to it by believing in Him and following Him. “But the tares are the sons of the wicked one”—that is, those who are still under the devil’s regime. Like their evil father, they openly oppose God and fight against His kingdom. So the two seeds and the plants that come from them refer to believers and unbelievers.
Jesus told the people of his day who did not believe in him: “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God…. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8:42, 44). The letter of 1 John says this about believers: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).
Jesus tells us clearly who the enemy is: “The enemy who sowed them is the devil” (Matt 13:39). He sows the “sons of the wicked one” into the Lord’s field. The tares grow in the same field as the wheat. They may look, to the careless eye, as if they were “wheat”. But in time, they will be revealed for what they truly are—“tares”, “sons of the wicked one”.
Then, notice who the reapers are: “the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels” (Matt. 13:39). The reapers, who are sent out authoritatively by the Lord Himself to gather up the tares and separate them from His wheat, are His angels. And they do their reaping at “the harvest”. The Old Testament often uses the image of the harvest for the last judgment at the end of the age. (Jeremiah 51:33; Hosea 6:11). Jesus says the harvest is “the end of the age”. This speaks of the time of judgment at Jesus’ return—that time He described when He said, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:31-32).
3. The Application (Matt. 13:40-43).
Jesus has explained the various elements in the parable. Next, He goes on to apply the truth of the parable, showing that it describes the fate of believers and unbelievers.
Here we learn three very important things about the fate of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age. Frist…
A. God will weed out of his kingdom all evil and sin
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,” (Matt. 13:40-41).
That’s good news! Remember the question we asked at the beginning of today’s message? Why doesn’t God do something about all the evil in the world? Part of the answer is He will do something about it. God will weed out all evil and sin at the end of the age.
This is exactly what we find when we come to the book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament. We read in John describes the glory of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:
23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Rev. 21:23-27).
One day, there will be an end to all evil and sin. The new heaven and new earth will be perfect in every way. That’s the first thing Jesus says about the fate of believers and unbelievers. God will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. Secondly…
B. Unbelievers will be punished for their sin
42 “and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:42).
Jesus says just as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. All those who cause sin or do evil will be weeded out of the kingdom, and God’s angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This is also exactly what we find in the book of Revelation. We read John’s words in Revelation 20:
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11-15).
What will be the fate of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age? 1) God will weed out of his kingdom all evil and sin. 2) Unbelievers will be punished for their sin. And then finally…
C. The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father
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!” (Matt. 13:43).
This language comes from the Old Testament book of Daniel which also speaks of the fate of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age. We read in Daniel 12: “2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:2-3).
Once again, this is exactly what we find when we come to the end of the book of Revelation. We read in Revelation 22: “3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev, 22:3-5). The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of heaven. All evil and sin will be removed from our lives. We will be glorified and perfected in Christ.
Now, all of this teaches us that we should not be surprised by the fact of evil. But neither should we despair! Jesus lets us know that evil will be permitted by Him to grow with His kingdom until ‘the harvest’ at the end of the age. And then—and only then—will it will be fully removed. At that time, when the great angelic announcement of Revelation 11:15 is finally made—that “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”—then, with all things that offend taken away, and those who practice lawlessness completely removed, the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father!
In closing, let me suggest some practical lessons we should draw from this parable, and from our Lord’s explanation of it.
First, I we need to understand that it is the Lord’s plan that His kingdom citizens be sown in this world and bear His influence on it. You see this from Matthew 13:24, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.” And in His explanation of this parable, He tells us, that “the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom”, and that “the field is the world” (Matt. 13:38).
Our Lord has chosen to leave His redeemed people to live in this world—the great “field”—to bring His influence upon it. Before He went to the cross for us, He prayed for believers and said,
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17:14-19).
That’s Jesus’ great plan for this lost world—to sanctify a people unto Himself from out of it, and to send them back out into the world to bring His influence upon it. You remember His closing ‘marching orders’ to us, don’t you?
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
If you have heard the message of the gospel, and have believed on Jesus Christ, you are that “good seed” that He has sown upon this earth. And I hope you are thrilled with a sense of the greatness of your vital purpose! You bear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to the lost people of this world; and Jesus has left you here in this world—for a time—in order to bring His influence to bear in it.
Another sobering principle we draw from this parable is that, so long as Jesus’ kingdom grows in this world, the devil will ensure that evil will also be present. You and I need to realize that the devil does everything in his power to frustrate and destroy the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The consummation of God’s kingdom means Satan’s eternal doom. And so, the devil seeks to sow his own wicked influences in the Lord’s field—sometimes even in the very places in which the good seed was sown.
I think we can get a good sense of the kind of evil that he seeks to plant next to the good seed by what Jesus says He will one day tell His reapers to remove. He calls them to gather out of His field “all things that offend”. Literally, He speaks of “stumbling blocks”—that which causes His people to stumble in their faith or fall into temptations to sin; and “those who practice lawlessness”—that is, those who practice and advocate actions that violate God’s standards of holiness in His law.
There are malicious people who, under the inspiration of the devil, seek to cause professing believers to doubt their faith, or persuade them to sin. This is no small problem. Jesus warned that “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). But for now, so long as the kingdom is being spread in this world, the devil will seek to sow tares where God seeks to sow wheat.
A third principle we draw from this parable is that, as Jesus’ followers, it is not our role to remove evil doers from the presence of this world. The owner of the field answered those who wanted to pull up the tares immediately, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.” He left that important work to the reapers, the angels, at the time of harvest. This teaches us that it is not our role to take out the evil doers from the world. We are not here to root out all the unbelievers by force and rid the world of them by violence. That is not our mission. We are not qualified to do it. We do not know a person’s heart. Only the Lord knows so only the Lord is able to ultimately judge. Our role is not to pull out the weeds, our role is to continue the work of Jesus in sowing the seed of the gospel, making disciples of all the nations, baptizing and teaching them. That’s it.
Now, I hasten to add that we must keep this in balance with other passages of Scripture. It is, for example, a very important part of our duty in this world to serve as “salt” and “light”. Jesus told us in the Sermon on The Mount, “You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). We are to let our light so shine in this world that men will see our good works and glorify our Father. And we are to serve as the preservative in this world that will keep the corruption of sin from overwhelming everything around it. And when it comes to the church itself, it is our duty to lovingly confront sin in our midst and call one another to repentance (Mathew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5:12). The Bible tells us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).
But we need to remember that evil will always be present in this world all the way to the day of judgment; and it is not our role to make heaven on earth—nor is it even in our ability to do so. Historically, whenever the church has established some movement to purify the world of evil, or come campaign to forcibly remove sin from the culture, it ended up harming everyone—including the good people of Christ’s kingdom. We end up uprooting the wheat!
The removal of evil from this world is a job for the angels at the time of judgment. It is not the job of the seeds to pull the weeds. We are to patiently persevere in faith and obedience until the day that Jesus Himself orders the complete removal of all evil from the presence of the world. We are to trust that “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9).
Finally, look at how Jesus ends His interpretation in Matthew 13:43, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” The warning of this parable is a dreadful one. It tells us that, if a man or woman is not one of “the sons of the kingdom”—that is, someone who has heard the message of the gospel, has placed their faith in Jesus Christ, and now trust Him and follow Him and obey Him—then they are among the tares who will be gathered up by the angels on the day of judgment at the end of the age; and will be cast into the furnace of fire, where there will be eternal “wailing and gnashing of teeth”.
If you fear that you are one of the tares, let me tell you the good news. You don’t have to remain a tare. The miracle of the gospel is that God takes sons of the wicked one and turns them into sons of the kingdom. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13-14).
If you will repent—change your mind about your unbelief—and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved. Repent and believe. And let me clear up something today. Repentance is not saying, “I am sorry for my sins. I can do better. I can please you, God.” No, repentance is not “I can”. It is realizing that “I can’t.” It’s to realize that I am lost without Christ. I am a sinner, condemned to hell. I need a Savior—and Jesus Christ is the Savior. Believe on Him. Trust in Him. Rely completely on His finished work of redemption for your salvation. He will rescue you from the domain of darkness and bring you safely into His Kingdom of light. God will forgive your sin because Christ paid your ransom by His death on the cross. He will raise you to a new life because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
