Here is today’s parable, straight from the heart of Jesus.
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares – Matthew 13:24-43
In the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, Jesus is speaking to a large number of people at the Sea of Galilee. Here are some important things to note before we dive into the story.
- The Sower – Jesus
- The field- the world of believers and lost people
- The seeds – followers of Jesus tasked with protecting the work of God
- The enemy – Satan
- The tares – false teachers who do not really belong to Jesus
- The harvest – the end of the Church age when God will separate the lost from His own children
- The reapers – angels who will gather the wheat and cast aside the tares
The Sower
He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field…
Matthew 13:24
Jesus only sowed good seed. Think about what that means. When Jesus calls His believers, He is not calling perfect people. He is calling people who have heard and believe His Gospel message-by faith.
The workers that are represented by the good seed, are to obediently share the Gospel wherever the Spirit leads.
So, how did the tares get into the field that Jesus planted?
The Enemy
but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat and went away.
Matthew 13:25
Trustworthy pastors and teachers agree that Jesus wasn’t saying the workers were disregarding their duty. The workers didn’t do anything wrong. Instead, this is a reminder that false teachers and unbelievers can be seated right next to you in church.
These tares are sown by the enemy and are particularly dangerous. They look like real wheat at first. In this parable the tares are hard to tell apart from the good wheat. And then, when we look closely, we can see the difference.
Believers need to fill their hearts with God’s Word and stay close to the Holy Spirit within them. Only by being obedient and committed can believers stand against the darkness around us.
The field, the harvest and the reapers
The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’
He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’
The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’
But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Matthew 13:27-30
If you are born again, and you know for sure that you are, then your heart should be so stirred by this parable. You should be so grateful for the grace that the Savior has bestowed upon you. You were blind at one time, but Jesus opened your blind eyes. He gave you a soft heart to truly believe Him.
If you don’t know the Savior but have been sensing the tug from the Holy Spirit, you should be shaken to your core. Because, until you are right with God, you are in peril of spending eternity separated from God.
When Jesus and the disciples finally departed from the people that day, He shared a truth with the disciples and a few others who believed in Him.
Click the link or open your Bible to read the message from the Savior. Matthew 13:36-43
Share the Good News in your world!
Isaiah 52:7
World English Bible (WEB)
by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.
Statement of Faith
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 