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Parable of The Tares and Wheat |
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Matt. 13:24-30,36-43
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.
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.
Introduction
This is the second parable presented in Matthew chapter 13. It begins with the words, “The Kingdom of Heaven is Like” This is the first of the Kingdom Parables. When these Kingdom parables are given we need to look for a specific feature about the kingdom of God/Heaven being illustrated and taught. The lessons vary in their points, truths, applications and audience. They are meant to be beneficial and understood by those to whom it is spoken.
Just as He did for the first parable, Jesus gave the interpretation for this parable also. And, as it was in the parable of the sower, this parable also contains allegories. Remember, that whenever allegories are present they will either be explained or their meaning will be made obvious by their context with the exception of prophetic subjects.
It should be noted how the seed from the Parable of the Sower is remarkably different from the seeds of this parable. Here, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, the bad seed are children of the wicked one. In the sower parable the seed was the word of God. So the metaphor of seed is not consistent.
Notes on Customs
Wheat and tares are the seeds planted. Whenever corn is mentioned in the King James translation it is wheat and not the grain, corn, which we know. Tares are botanically known as “bearded darnel,” a poisonous rye grass very common in the Middle East. This darnel is barely distinguishable from wheat during its growth. When it and wheat reach maturity and ready for harvest the difference is quite distinct by their fruit. It is said that the roots of the darnel creep underground and intertwined with the root systems of other plants. In the parable the darnel was not sown by the side but in the midst of the good seed. So to “weed out” the tares would have been very difficult without uprooting the good crop of wheat along with the tares. The option is to let both grow together and separate the darnel from the wheat at the time of harvest. The desire of the servants was to purge the field of the tares, but this could not have been done without great harm to the good seed.
Points of the Parable
In the parable (verses 24-30) there are four characters mentioned; the man who sows in his field, his servants, his enemy and the reapers. The tares and wheat are the crops planted by the enemy and the farmer. Three stages of growth are mentioned of the plants, the seedling, their growth, and their harvest. The final destiny of the two crops are given, the binding and burning of the tares and the gathering and storing of the wheat in the farmer’s barn.
It is worth noting that the enemy came with stealth and in darkness to do his sowing. After his work had been done he went his way. He and his actions went undiscovered until the product of his evil deed became evident much later.
In the explanation of the parable (verses 37-43), Jesus identifies some of the elements of the story.
The sower is the Son of Man (a title of Christ),
The field is the world,
The good seed are the children of the kingdom,
The tares are the children of the wicked,
The enemy is the devil,
The harvest is the end of the world and
The reapers are the angels.
The servants in verses 27 and 28 are not identified.
The Interpretation
The good seed, the children of the kingdom, are called the righteous who shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father at the end of this age. Their end is glorious. The children of the wicked face the same fate so clearly declared in scripture with that of all the lost, impenitent souls. The suffering and punishment of the wicked should have caused alarm among the lost hearers in the audience. It presents a crisis to them.
The harvest is a common metaphor for judgment. Which always involves a separating out of the righteous and sinner.
God permits the righteous and the wicked to coexist in the world until the end of the age. They are at times superficially indistinguishable from one another. Hypocrites fit the description of the tares, and like the tares become known by their fruits. But, we should not force this meaning on the tares; it appears that they are the lost of every category.
When we read the interpretation carefully we see an association of the world (vrs.38) matched with the kingdom in verse 41. This has led some to interpret the field to be the church. A testing of that view is required to prove this interpretation. By definition the Universal Church consists of all the saved. But the parable states that both lost and saved are in the world/kingdom. So by definition it cannot be the Universal church. Is it then the local visible church? This will not fit either since the church is commanded to purge herself of all those who are disobedient and unruly and not allow them to remain in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 5 and Rev. 2). The servants in the parable were not allowed to purge the field, verse 29. If the field is the church, this would then contradict the commands of God for the church to set out any who are unrepentant, practicing sinners. No church is allowed to keep within her aasembly the children of the wicked one. We concede that within the church hypocrites can and often do exist. But, is it God’s desire to allow both to coexist in the body of Christ, His church, until the end of the age? No, the command is quite clear that the church is to remove them once their fruits are known. Remember, it was when the fruit of the tares appeared that they became known, verse 26. Thus the world (vrs. 38), or kingdom (vrs. 41) cannot be made to fit the church with any definition, universal or local.
The kingdom in verse 41 must refer to God’s universal, sovereign reign rather than being equated with the church. If the Kingdom of God (the Kingdom of Heaven) is the church then it must constantly be the church throughout the Gospels. But, this is not consistent with Jesus’ use of the expression elsewhere in the Gospels (i.e. Luke 12:32.) A simple test of this is to substitute “Church” for the phrase “Kingdom of God/Heaven” in every passage it is used. To give the expression a double, split meaning (that on occasion it means the church) cannot be justified for it would make the definition arbitrary to personal opinion and prejudicial to preferred doctrine. Moreover if the kingdom were the church then all of the kingdom parables would be church parables. That model of interpretation does not fit the teachings of the kingdom parables, since many of them center on the character and essence of God the Father. The church is a part of the kingdom of God, but not the kingdom itself. If we reflect on the commission and the authority given to the church then it becomes apparent that the church is the only institution on earth, which has an authority of the kingdom. This makes it unique within the kingdom of God. God is King and His kingdom is all that He has absolute rule over. This includes the world.
The Lesson
The lesson is remarkably simple. Until the great harvest, the world will have both the righteous and unrighteous in it. They are both allowed to grow and exist unmolested. God’s providence will be on them both. Thus it is because of His goodness.
The Application
Edesheim has summarized this parable so adequtely that it is presented here. “We have not been bidden to purge the field, nor in our zeal should we attempt such action. Both the good seed and the bad seed grow together unmolested until the harvesters make the separation. Let them alone. It is not the church keeping her purity in doctrine and morality in consideration. The field is the world. God’s servants should ever commit no amount of persecution, however subtle. John the Baptist had predicted that the coming Messiah would thoroughly purge his floor. (Matt. 3:12) Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” [1]Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah]
Another lesson, which should have been gained, is directed at the disciples. We will live in a world that will always be occupied both by good and evil. They will always be with us in this life. It is our Father’s will that it be so and we should not be discourage or surprised by their flourishing existence or well-being. God’s providential care will be equally on all, unless or until He determines otherwise. We are amazed by how wicked and evil man can be, but their existence has been assured as long as Satan is still permitted to sow his seed.
It will not end until the final judgment of God. We are to labor with patience and endurance. The finality of the kingdom will triumph over all evil. For now let us overcome and not be overcome or influenced by evil.
[1] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah, Volume 1, Page 590. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sept. 1973.
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Next: Parable of the Patient Husbandman or The Seed Growing Secretly |
This page last updated September 14, 2004 at 11:17am
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