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Ver. 24. The kingdom of heaven is likened, or made like, ὡμοιώθη.—A delineation of the trials to which the kingdom of heaven was exposed from its first introduction into the world, and unavoidable connection with it. Hence the sower, who is the chief figure in the parable, cannot prevent the enemy from sowing tares among the wheat. The same expression is also used, ch. 18:23. The representation of the kingdom of heaven by “a certain man” recurs again in ver. 45, and in 20:1. It is an entire mistake to interpret the passage as implying that the kingdom of heaven was “at the time not yet founded.”

Ver. 25. While men slept;—i.e., at night, when evil-disposed persons would try to injure the property of their neighbors. Hence, the application of this clause to the negligence of Christian teachers, who were appointed to watch and guard the field (Chrysostom, Augustine), is incorrect. Still less does it refer to the sleep of sin (Calovius). Nor is it, on the other hand, merely a rhetorical figure (Meyer). It alludes to the weakness of men, through which the enemy succeeds in mixing up errors with saving truth, without this being perceived. Or perhaps it may denote, that professors of religion too frequently seek exclusively their personal comfort, without seriously reflecting upon, or being zealous for, the truth of the doctrines propounded.

Ver. 25. Tares [lit.: darnel].—The weed growing among wheat, ζιζάνιον, lolium temulentum, darnel. The only species of grass which in Eastern countries springs up wild among oats or wheat (Virg.: “infelix lolium,” Georg. i. 154). At the first it looks like wheat, but its fruit is black, not yellow, and its effects are intoxicating and otherwise detrimental. If allowed to grow till the harvest, it is extremely difficult to separate it from the wheat; and, accordingly, it happens not unfrequently that it becomes mixed up with the flour. The Talmudists regarded it as a degenerate wheat. See the Art. in the Encycls. [St. Jerome, who resided long in Palestine, speaks in loc. of the striking similitude between triticum and zizania, wheat, and bastard wheat. Dr. Hackett (Illustrations of Scripture, p. 130) collected some specimens of this deceitful weed, and found, on showing them to friends, that they invariably mistook them for some species of grain, such as wheat or barley. Hence the rabbinical name, bastard (i.e., bastard wheat).—P. S.]

[The sowing of tares among wheat is a kind of injury frequently practised to this day in the East, from malice and revenge. Roberts (Biblical Illustrations, p. 541, as quoted by Trench) relates of India “See that lurking villain watching for the time when his neighbor shall plough his field; he carefully marks the period when the work has been finished, and goes in the night following, and casts in what the natives call pandinellu, i.e., pig-paddy; this, being of rapid growth, springs up before the good seed, and scatters itself before the other can be reaped, so that the poor owner of the field will be for years before he can get rid of the troublesome weed.” Trench (Notes on the Parables, p. 83, 9th Lond. ed.) relates a similar trick of malice from Ireland, where he knew an outgoing tenant, who, in spite of his ejection, sowed wild oats in the fields of the proprietor, which ripened and seeded themselves before the crops, so that it became next to impossible to get rid of them. Dr. Alford, too, in loc., 4th ed., mentions that a field be longing to him in Leicestershire, England, was maliciously sown with charlock, and that heavy damages were obtained by the tenant against the offender.—P. S.]

And went his way.—The devil or his emissaries sow the seed and go their way; those who afterward hold the errors which they have sown, entertertaining them rather in consequence of their natural darkness and folly than of set hostile purpose. [Trench: “The mischief done, the enemy ‘went his way,’ and thus the work did not evidently and at once appear to be his. How often in the Church the beginnings of evil have been scarcely discernible; how often has that which bore the worst fruit in the end, appeared at first like a higher form of good!”—P. S.]

Ver. 26. Then appeared the tares also;—i.e., it became then possible to distinguish them. The most fascinating error is seen in its true character whenever its poisonous fruit appears.

Ver. 29. Lest ye root up also the wheat.—Gerlach: “Our Lord allows both to grow together, not because His servants might be apt to mistake the tares for the wheat,—which would scarcely be the case if they knew anything of the matter, and which, at all events, would not apply to the reapers (ver. 30),—but because, however different the plants in themselves, their roots are so closely intertwined in the earth.” This remark is very important; but some other elements must also be taken into account, such as the excitement and haste of these servants—they are not angels, as the reapers spoken of in ver. 30; and, lastly, that the difference between wheat and tares is not so distinct as at the time of the harvest.—The same commentator refers this verse exclusively to excesses of ecclesiastical discipline, for the purpose of excluding all unbelievers and hypocrites, and constituting a perfectly pure Church. He denies all allusion to the punishment of death for heresy, since the Lord spoke of the Church, and not of the secular power. But the Church here alluded to is the Church in the world, and tainted more or less with secularism.¹

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

²⁴ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. ²⁶ But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷ 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?’ ²⁸ 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?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ 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.”’”

—Matthew 13:24–30

There is a change in the introduction of the second and following parables from the first. Jesus now introduces the parable by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” The preceding parable stressed the sower’s expectation of fruit, but this parable implies the question, “What of the plant that doesn’t bear fruit?” Continuing the imagery of the preceding parable of the sower casting seed in the field, Jesus introduces some strange new features.

First, Jesus introduces an answer to the problem of evil by saying “his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat.” This was not an unheard-of illustration, for one of the acts of vengeance in tensions between farmers was the threat, “I’ll sow weeds in your field.” In fact, there were laws drawn up to prohibit this act. Second, Jesus rejected the idea of pulling up the tares (or darnel), saying that they were to be left alone until the harvest, i.e., the judgment. The wheat represents the disciples of Christ, the darnel represents the enemies of Christ in the world.

The judgment scene (v. 30) is of a harvest where servant labor, often of women, was engaged to sort out the tares. The darnel looked like wheat until it reached the stage where the heads showed the obvious difference. The gathering out of the tares first, then the wheat, does not sound like a “rapture” of the righteous. However, remember that we don’t allegorize from every aspect of a parable but seek its main point. The powers of evil will do all they can to destroy the kingdom, but such will be fully exposed and dealt with at the final judgment.

A message from this parable on the kingdom could emphasize several things: (1) no insulation, vv. 25–26; (2) no isolation, vv. 27–29, and (3) no indefiniteness, v. 30. The primary meaning has to do with the presence of the kingdom amidst ambiguity.

Many interpreters have used this passage to support an open membership in the church, noting that Jesus left His circle open to include Judas as a tare. But this interpretation deserves more careful analysis which follows in the section where Jesus interprets His own parable (vv. 36–43). At this point we note the words of verse 29, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.” If the choice is between unresolved tension and a dishonest solution we should choose the tension²

The true church is made up of true believers, irrespective of any denomination. True believers are those who have trusted Christ as Savior, are resting in Him, and love His Word—this is the real test³

24–27. This parable serves as a warning to the laborers in the field (which is the world, vs. 38). Unlike the Jewish form of the kingdom in the Old Testament where citizens could be easily recognized, during the Church Age converts will be made from all over the world and received upon their profession of faith. Thus, it will be easier to slip in some counterfeits who profess what they do not possess. The kingdom of heaven must refer to the church, which is the subject of these parables. The enemy is Satan and the tares (Gr zizanion, denoting “darnel,” lolium temulentum) are false converts. The darnel was a weed that resembled wheat but did not come to fruition. The good seed … sprung up, and brought forth fruit again, emphasizing that true converts produce fruitful lives. By contrast, false (professing) converts produce no lasting fruit. It should be noted that a “fruit” is something which God must produce in us by His power (cf. Gal 5:22ff.), whereas, a “work” is something which man can do by his own effort. Singing, preaching, ushering, teaching, witnessing are all works; by contrast, loving people, having a deep-seated inner joy, being at peace with people, etc., are fruits of the Holy Spirit, as is righteousness and holiness. False converts may produce outstanding works but no real fruits.

28–30. The servants questioned what could be done with these tares. To uproot them would be to damage the entire crop: root up … the wheat with them. The implication seems to be that too much scathing of people’s genuineness of faith may damage the saved before it exposes the lost. Let both grow together indicates that there will always be some false professors among true Christian believers until the time of harvest or judgment. Note that the tares are gathered, bound, and burned first, whereas the wheat is gathered into my barn (heaven). The same progression of judgment, then blessing, follows in Revelation 19–22.

The Parable of the Tares is interpreted later by Jesus in verses 36–43. It should be observed that only the main details are symbolic in a parable, the minor incidents (e.g., the servants) merely give substance to the story. The field is the world, not the church. The sower of the good seed is the Son of man, or Christ Himself who will also be the final Judge who evaluates the fruit. The gospel is to be sown where lost people are and where converts need to be made in the world. As Lord of the harvest, Christ directs this sowing process, i.e., the missionary mandate of the church. The children of the kingdom are the saved believers of the church, who are Christ’s true followers. The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are angels who play a decisive role in the final judgment. The fire represents hell, or the lake of fire, the destination of all unbelievers and false professors who deny Christ. By contrast, the righteous shall enjoy the eternal kingdom of their Father.⁴

The tares—false Christians (vv. 24–30, 36–43). Satan cannot uproot the plants (true Christians), so he plants counterfeit Christians in their midst. In this parable, the good seed is not the Word of God. It represents people converted through trusting the Word. The field is not human hearts; the field is the world. Christ is sowing true believers in various places that they might bear fruit (John 12:23–26). But, wherever Christ sows a true Christian, Satan comes and sows a counterfeit.

We must beware of Satan’s counterfeits. He has counterfeit Christians (2 Cor. 11:26) who believe a counterfeit Gospel (Gal. 1:6–9). He encourages a counterfeit righteousness (Rom. 10:1–3), and even has a counterfeit church (Rev. 2:9). At the end of the age, he will produce a counterfeit Christ (2 Thes. 2:1–12).

We must also stay awake to make sure that Satan’s ministers do not get into the true fellowship and do damage (2 Peter 2; 1 John 4:1–6). It is when God’s people go to sleep that Satan works. Our task is not to pull up the false, but to plant the true. (This does not refer to discipline within the local church.) We are not detectives but evangelists! We must oppose Satan and expose his lies. But we must also sow the Word of God and bear fruit in the place where He has planted us.

What will happen to the tares? God will gather them together and burn them. It is interesting to see that some of this “bundling” is already going on as various religious groups merge and strive for union. Spiritual unity among true Christians is one thing, but religious uniformity among mere professing Christians is quite another. It is difficult to tell the false from the true today; but at the end of the age, the angels will separate them.⁵

1 Lange, J. P., & Schaff, P. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew (pp. 244–245). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

2 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

3 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34, p. 187). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

4 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1918). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

5 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 45–46). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.