The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
Jesus, the most effective storyteller in history, communicated through parables to challenge our assumptions and to open our eyes to new ways of seeing. Perhaps no parable achieved this better than the enigmatic story of the wheat and the tares. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at this parable — also known as the parable of the weeds — and explore its meaning, themes, and implications for how we live our lives today.
What Is the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares?
In Matthew 13:24-43, Jesus relays this story: A farmer plants good seed in his field, but after dark, an enemy comes and plants darnel — a harmful and poisonous weed — that grows up in the midst of the wheat. When his employees discover it, they ask permission to immediately pull the darnel out. To their surprise, the farmer tells them to wait until harvest time.
Matthew 13:29-30 recounts the farmer’s response:
But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’
The Meaning of the Parable of the Weeds
For centuries theologians have debated the parable’s meaning. Is it about the mixed character of the church? Is it about our mixed natures as individuals? The majority opinion in our day is that Jesus is addressing the church that consists of both good and evil. A number of the early church fathers saw it more personally, insisting that Jesus was warning us about the enemy’s strategy to choke out the “good seed of God in us.”
Jesus goes on to explain that the good seed is the children of the Kingdom whose lives are flourishing from the power of the Gospel that was sown in them. The seed is broadcast into the field of the world; it is for everyone. There are no places, no time where the Kingdom is not at work. However, this parable confronts us with the fact that the righteous and sinners coexist in the world. The Kingdom does not yet eliminate all evil and opposition — that must await the harvest, God’s time of separation and judgment.
There is another painful dimension to the coexistence: good and evil exist in each one of us. Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote: “The line between good and evil is never between ‘us’ and ‘them’. The line between good and evil runs through each one of us.” When we are confronted with our own failings and weaknesses — sin — we often plead with God to change us quickly. But Jesus’ parable presents us with his counter-intuitive response: “Let both grow together until the harvest.” Could it be that although Christ sees the pain that our sin causes for us and others, he knows that it can lead us to a deeper awareness of our need for him? And in this way, what we most dread in ourselves is a means for him to form us for eternity?
“An enemy has done this!” says the farmer in Matthew 13:28.
Our enemy’s strategy is to entice the “good” into taking action — even taking up arms — against the confusion he has sown. This response only increases the confusion and the harm done. In this way, the Church actually does the enemy’s work for him. The idea that we can enforce righteousness through might goes back to the earliest days of history. Violence always begets violence. It is so easy for us, the Church, to think that Jesus is talking to us about the sin and failings in the world and of others.
Jesus finishes this parable with an apocalyptic warning:
Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:40-42)
While many contemporary writers see in this parable the final judgment against sinners, how do we make sense of this parable in light of the many passages about God’s unwavering, everlasting love and mercy?
How the Parable of the Tares Applies to Life Today
Surely this judgment makes my life mean something because it confronts me with the issue of how I have lived it; therefore, I will finally see what my life has meant. There is a day coming for everyone where how we lived our days will come under God’s scrutiny. When I see my life in the light of truth without excuses or rationalizations, where I have failed, done wrong, hurt others, and missed what God had intended for me, “there will be weeping.”
This judgment will happen, but it is not the last word. There is a final judgment coming. Revelation 21:4 makes this unequivocal promise: “he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”
Jesus’ parable calls for patience. He challenges us to trust his work in us and in the world. Once again, he exhorts us to look beyond what is right in front of us, to “lift up our eyes and see.” In the end, mercy triumphs over judgment.
Truly, his mercy endures forever.
The parable of the weeds offers a profound lesson on patience, discernment, and trust in divine justice, reminding us that good and evil often coexist, but ultimate judgment belongs to God. It challenges us to live faithfully amidst imperfection, trusting that the harvest will reveal the true nature of every seed sown. For a deeper exploration of this powerful parable and its relevance to our daily lives, tune into this enlightening podcast episode: The Line Between Good and Evil (Wheat and Tares). Through engaging insights and thoughtful discussion, this episode invites you to uncover the layers of meaning within Jesus’ teaching and reflect on how it speaks to the complexities of our world today.
Explore our full podcast season, “The Parables Decoded,” for additional deep dives into Jesus’ parables and their enduring importance and relevance in the Christian life today.
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