A. In the previous lesson, we considered the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15). Presently, we will study the parable of the wheat and the tares, which uses similar figures as the parable of the sower but has a different message.
B. The parable of the wheat and the tares is found in Matthew 13:24-30, and the Lord's explanation of the parable follows in Matthew 13:36-43.
1. This parable is another good introductory study of parables in general because we have Christ's explanation of the parable just as we had with the parable of the sower. This is good training for us to learn how to interpret other parables.
2. Although Matthew is the only one to record the parable of the wheat and the tares, Mark makes a general reference to it in Mark 4:33-34 – "With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.”
II. THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE TARES
A. The setting in which Jesus taught this parable was the same as that of the parable of the sower.
1. Jesus was seated in a boat on the Sea of Galilee while a large audience of Jews gathered before Him on the beach.
2. The Lord taught many parables at this time, and the subject of each was the kingdom of heaven.
3. According to His own explanation, Jesus spoke to them in parables "because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matt. 13:13). Consider also Matthew 13:34-35 (notice the quotation of Psalm 78:2):
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.”
B. Consider the elements of the parable of the wheat and the tares from Matthew 13:24-30.
1. Like the parable of the sower, this parable describes a man who sows seed. The man owned the field in which he sowed, and he employed servants to reap for him.
2. The seed sown is identified as wheat which sprang up and bore grain.
3. The antagonist of this story is an enemy who secretly sowed tares in the field.
a. A tare is also known as a darnel, which is a weed that is almost identical to wheat until the ear appears.
i. The ears of wheat are so heavy that the plant bows over, but the ears of tares are light and do not bend the plant. Also, wheat turns brown when ripe, while tares turn black.
ii. For this reason, Jesus said, "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also” (v. 26).
b. The purpose of the man's enemy sowing tares in the field was to harm the crop in a way that would be concealed.
4. When the servants saw the grain sprouted, they were able to recognize that tares were growing in the master's field. The master rightly surmised that it was the work of his enemy.
5. Rather than attempting to gather the tares from the unripe fields, the master instructed his servants to wait until harvest. An early gathering of the tares would put the wheat crop in danger, but waiting until harvest would allow them easily differentiate and separate the wheat from the tares.
6. At harvest time, the tares were to be bundled and burned, but the wheat was to be gathered into the master's barn.
III. THE EXPLANATION OF THE PARABLE
A. The setting and the audience for the explanation of the parable is different from that of the parable itself.
1. Jesus had left the multitudes and gone into a house with His disciples (Matt. 13:36). He did not give the explanation to the general audience of Jews who heard the parable.
2. While in the house with His disciples, Jesus taught them several other parables (Matt. 13:44-53). In Matthew 13:51, He asked His disciples, "Have you understood all these things?” It appears that part of Christ's purpose was to train His disciples to properly interpret His words in the parables.
B. At His disciples' prompting, Jesus gave an explanation for this parable in Matthew 13:36-43.
1. Consider the meanings of each figure used in this parable.
a. The man who is the master, the landowner, and the sower of the good seed represents the Son of Man, who is Jesus Christ.
b. The field is the world. Do not overlook this meaning, for some have made false applications of this parable by wrongly interpreting the field as the church.
c. The good seed and the wheat (the product of the good seed) are the "sons of the kingdom” and the tares are the "sons of the evil one.”
i. The sons of the kingdom are the spiritual children of God, who are faithful and fruitful in the service of the King.
ii. The sons of the evil one are the offspring of Satan, who are unfaithful and unfruitful concerning God as they serve the devil in the world.
iii. These are opposite to one another, and yet the parable demonstrates that they can look very similar while in the world. The only evidence of their differences is seen in their production, for one is useful to the Lord and the other is not.
d. The harvest is the end of the age, which is another way of describing the end of time and the day of judgment.
e. The reapers are the angels, who will come with Jesus and play an important role when He returns at the end of time (2Thess. 1:6-8).
2. The great lesson of this parable concerns what will happen at the end of the age.
a. While in the world, the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the evil one are allowed the same existence by the Son of Man. As Jesus said, "He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45).
b. However, these will have a much different destiny at the end of the age.
i. The sons of the kingdom, the righteous, are destined for glory, for they will "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
ii. The sons of the evil one are the stumbling blocks and persons who commit lawlessness who will be cast "into the furnace of fire.”
iii. This lesson is repeated many times in the New Testament in places like Matthew 25:31-46, 2Thessalonians 1:5-10, and Revelation 21.
C. Consider a few observations from this parable.
1. Those who incorrectly interpret the field as the church attempt to justice tolerance for unrepentant sinners within the church. Of course, the Scriptures instruct us to withdraw from such persons and put them out of our midst (Matt. 18:15-17; Rom. 16:17-18; 1Cor. 5:1-13; 2Thess. 3:6-15).
2. When Jesus said that the stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness were gathered out of His kingdom, He did not imply that they were ever in the kingdom or the church. This simply means that they were separated from the kingdom and kept out of it.
3. Here is a good lesson in context.
a. In this parable, we see that the sons of the kingdom will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father and the sons of the evil one will be cast "into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
b. However, in Matthew 8:12, Jesus said that "the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
c. Is there a conflict? Certainly not, for Jesus was speaking of all the righteous children of God in Matthew 13:43, but He was speaking of the unfaithful Jews who rejected Him in Matthew 8:12.
4. Notice that even though Christ explained the parable only to His disciples, He intended it to reach all men, for He said, "He who has ears, let him hear” (Matt. 13:43). He withheld this explanation from the multitudes at that time, but it is evident that He intended for His disciples to pass it on later. Matthew did so in the text we have studied.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. The parable of the wheat and the tares gives us an understanding of this world and the evil within it so that we may have patience to endure and wait for the end of the age.
B. Certainly, the parable's most urgent purpose is to cause us to live in such a way so we may be counted among the sons of the kingdom who will be gathered into the glory of the kingdom of the Father.
