Matthew 13
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which 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 blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
On the surface this parable seems simple, but it has a deep meaning and is solid food and not milk.
He speaks here of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. In Heaven it is a victorious Kingdom, an amazing Kingdom. Each and everyone entering there is blessed. But the kingdom here on earth is not exactly like the one in Heaven. There is friction and even fighting in the church of God here on earth.
The sower is the Lord Jesus Himself who became man. Note that Jesus sowed His seed in the day while the enemy sowed his seed at night. The devil works in the dark when everyone is sleeping. When they woke up they do not know that they had been visited by the enemy (Satan was one of the arch-angels, but because of pride he fell into rebellion and was cast out of heaven).
Jesus said we must “watch and pray”, for if we are not alert and awake the enemy will sow his seeds in our lives.
What does the good seed and the bad seed represent? Jesus said that the good seed are the children of the Kingdom. You child of God are the good seed. But the bad seed, the weeds, are the children of the evil one.
He doesn’t just speak about an object being the bad seed but they are people in the church that are children of satan.
The good seed too are people in the church who are the children of the Kingdom.
These weeds are the people in the church who do not live for God as they ought but they are always at variance with God’s children. They were not alert and allowed satan to sow evil seed in their hearts and these things grew and became strong without others realising. They started off well but satan entered along the way and evil overtook them.
So the servants asked Him what to do, whether they should remove these people from their midst. The Owner said no, that they will be separated at the harvest; then the weeds will be bound together and burnt but the wheat gathered in the barn.
You might say that you want to worship at the perfect church where there are none plagued by lust or other sins, but you may search as you wish and will be disappointed. Even in the best church you will find weeds among them. There were even weeds in the first church, Ananias and Sapphirah, the Greeks who complained about the food distribution etc.
Paul mentioned some who turned away from him and from following the Lord. But on the judgement day those who gossiped together will be bound together and thrown into the fire. Those who slander others are also a stumbling block to many who are weak.
Examine yourself with whom you are associated and who you speak together with. If you scandal about others then know that you are part of these children of hell. If you hide the sins of those who do these things you are one of them.
Examine yourself, what kind of a child of the kingdom are you? Do you walk and work in the light or darkness?
Of the righteous it is written that they will shine as the stars in the Kingdom of their Father, but the wicked will be burnt with fire unquenchable.