1. The Occasion and Setting of the Parable
Jesus spoke this parable to the multitudes by the Sea of Galilee, following the Parable of the Sower. He used another agricultural image to teach about the kingdom of heaven. After He had spoken the parable to the crowd, He left the multitudes and went into the house. His disciples then came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." Jesus answered and explained the meaning in detail. This pattern of public parable followed by private explanation shows that the deeper understanding was given to the disciples, while the crowds heard the story without the interpretation.
2. The Parable Itself
Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 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?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
3. The Explanation of the Parable
Jesus explained the parable to His disciples. He said, "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 the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 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, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
4. The Sower and the Field
Jesus identifies the sower of the good seed as the Son of Man—Himself. The field is not the church but the world. This is important because some interpreters mistakenly think the field is the church. Jesus says the field is the world. The good seed are the sons of the kingdom—true believers scattered throughout the world. The enemy is the devil, who sows his own children—false believers, hypocrites, and unbelievers—among the wheat. The tares are a poisonous weed that in its early stages looks very much like wheat. Only at harvest can they be distinguished.
5. The Enemy's Work While Men Slept
The enemy sowed tares "while men slept." This indicates that the enemy works secretly, under cover of darkness, when watchfulness is lacking. The enemy does not sow tares in a field that has no wheat; he sows them among the wheat. His goal is to corrupt, confuse, and destroy. The tares look like wheat, making them difficult to identify. This teaches that false believers often look like true believers. They may profess faith, attend church, and even participate in ministries. Only the final judgment will reveal the true nature of each.
6. The Servants' Request to Remove the Tares
The servants asked, "Do you want us then to go and gather them up?" This represents the desire of many believers to purify the church by removing hypocrites. But the master refused. He said, "No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them." This teaches that premature judgment can harm true believers. Human beings cannot perfectly distinguish between wheat and tares. Well-intentioned efforts to purify the church can result in harming genuine believers who may be weak, struggling, or wrongly accused. The master's patience protects the wheat.
7. The Harvest: The End of the Age
The master commands, "Let both grow together until the harvest." The harvest is the end of the age. At that time, the reapers—the angels—will separate the tares from the wheat. The tares will be gathered first, bound in bundles, and burned in the furnace of fire. Then the wheat will be gathered into the master's barn. This order is significant: judgment begins with the false, then the righteous are gathered. The furnace of fire represents eternal punishment, described as "wailing and gnashing of teeth." The barn represents the kingdom of the Father, where the righteous will shine as the sun.
8. The Application for the Present Age
This parable teaches that the present age is characterized by a mixture of genuine believers and false professors. Believers should not expect a perfectly pure church on earth. The tares will remain until the harvest. This guards against two errors: the error of attempting to create a sinless church through discipline that goes beyond biblical limits, and the error of despairing when hypocrites are found in the church. The parable also warns false professors: they may appear as wheat, but the harvest is coming. Their disguise will not fool the angels.
9. The Final Judgment and the Righteous
Jesus describes the final judgment in vivid terms. The angels will gather "all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness." These are the tares. They will be cast into the furnace of fire. Then "the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." This echoes Daniel's prophecy that those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament. The righteous are not the self-righteous but those who have been made righteous through faith in Christ. Their future glory is as certain as the sun's rising.
10. The Call to Hear and Endure
Jesus ends with the same call as the Parable of the Sower: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." This parable calls believers to patience. Do not be surprised by the presence of false believers. Do not take judgment into your own hands. Trust the Lord to judge rightly at the harvest. The parable also calls false professors to repentance. The tares will be burned. Only the wheat will be gathered. Let each person examine himself to see whether he is truly wheat—a son of the kingdom—or a tare sown by the enemy.
Conclusion
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares teaches that true believers and false professors coexist in the world until the final judgment. The enemy sows tares among the wheat, but the master forbids premature removal. The harvest is the end of the age, when the angels will separate the tares for burning and gather the wheat into the barn. Let believers be patient, not taking judgment into their own hands. Let each one examine his own heart, ensuring that he is wheat, not a tare.