Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
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The next parable up that I was going to do was the parable of the sower. Some have called it the parable of the soils, but I have preached that text before, so I decided to go on passed that one and look at a different parable.
Tonight, we are going to look at the parable of the wheat and the tares.
Look with me at Matthew 13:24 and following.
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
So the majority of the parables of comparison begins this way- “The Kingdom of Heaven/God can be compared to a…” And essentially the parable will be an earthly picture that describes the heavenly reality.
So coming to this text, Its as if we have asked Jesus Himself, to help us out. Give us an earthly picture of what the kingdom of heaven is like.
We’ve never been there Jesus- but we earnestly want to know- What is it like?
And Jesus gives us a picture-
Listen to this parable.
Matthew 13:24–30 (NASB95)
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
Can you imagine the disciples at this moment? After hearing this story-
Peter’s in the back acting like he knew exactly what he meant. John is the front with a blank look on his face. Judas is wondering how much they are going to get paid for the wheat that they harvest.
They must have all been confused. They asked for a clear picture and he told them some obscure story about a farmer who sowed good seed, and an enemy who sowed bad seed, and then there’s the servants who are wanting to go out and weed the garden, and he stops them and tells them to wait until harvest time.
Then at same harvest time, the servants then are supposed to go out and gather the Tares bind them up first, and burn them, then they are to gather the wheat in the barn.
Now many of us have heard this parable before, but can you imagine hearing that for the first time?
They had to be scratching their heads- saying what in the world did he just say?
Most certainly, the crowd, they would have had no clue. He gave them no explanation of the parable. He simply spoke to them in parables.
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
And after telling them this parable and then the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven, he leaves them.
But thankfully for His disciples, he explains, because they were confused as well.
Look in verse 36 and following.
Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
No doubt, they had discussed it amongst themselves, Maybe some of them had tried to interpret it, but they wanted to hear from Jesus.
Explain to us the parable.
You and I at this point may have a tendency to get jealous, because they had Jesus, the Son of God, the omniscient, One, incarnate to explain to them things they don’t understand. They have Jesus as their teacher and their guide. Any question they had, he could answer. What an amazing privilege those disciples had.
But before we become too jealous of them, We need to remember something.
We need to remember that we too have a member of the Trinity teaching us and guiding us into all truth. In fact, Jesus says he will disclose all that Jesus has and teach it to us.
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
We have no need to be jealous. We have Christ as our teacher as well, because we have His Spirit as a permanent resident in our lives.
That was a little aside there.
Jesus here explains the parable to them.
Listen to what He says.
And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
First thing first, He is going to identify the people.
Sower- Son of Man
Sower- Son of Man
The Sower in this parable is the Son of Man. It is Jesus Himself.
In this parable, the Son of Man is the main actor. The one moving the whole thing along.
He is the one who sows the good seed. If there is good seed that wheat, He plants it. He waters it. He controls where the seed is planted. He controls when the seed is harvested. He controls the order of the harvest, and he is the one who determines what is wheat and what is tares. He is the one who assigns the tares to the fire, and He assigns the wheat to the barns. He is the main actor.
But he goes on.
and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
Field - The World
Field - The World
The field is the world. Creation. The Earth. The place you and I live on a daily basis.
The Good Seed-Sons of the Kingdom.
The Good Seed-Sons of the Kingdom.
The good seed are the sons of the kingdom.
Believers. Those who have trusted in Christ for salvation.
What a blessing to know that we are here because the Good sower has sown us to be here. We are Sons and Daughters of the kingdom of God.
Believers, Us, We are the good seed. He controls us, and we do His will and produce the fruit He desires.
But what about the tares?
Tares- Sons of the Evil One.
Tares- Sons of the Evil One.
Unbelievers. Those who are controlled by the evil one.
Those who are currently walking according to the course of the world and according to the prince of the power of the air.
Three more identifications he makes in verse 39
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
The Enemy is the devil
The Enemy is the devil
He is the one who sowed the bad seed among the wheat. He desires to prevent the wheat to come to its potential. He desires the plan of the sower of good seed to come to nothing.
The harvest is the end of the age.
The harvest is the end of the age.
The time of harvest is the end of the age. The end of all things. When Christ returns, and separates the sheep from the goats and in this case, the wheat from the tares.
The Reapers are the angels.
The Reapers are the angels.
The angels will gather the unbelievers and the non believers.
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
So just in identifying these different actors, we can understand a great deal more about the initial parable.
Look back real quick-
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
This parable teaches us-
Be patient.
At times, we can ask, why doesn’t the Lord just end all of this now. There is so much evil. So much sickness. So much pain. So many tares.
He waits for the Love of the Wheat. Some of those seeds have not grown yet.
Trust the Sower.
He has a plan he intends to fulfill and no measure the enemy takes will change that plan.
Judgement is coming.
“So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
On that Day, We will Shine like the Sun
It will be clear whose are His.