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As we continue this study of Jesus’ parables, we take a deliberate step out of Luke and into Matthew 13. In the previous studies, we looked at the Parable of the Sower and why Jesus used parables to reveal Kingdom truth. The Wheat and the Tares deserves the same careful attention because it is another occasion where Jesus does not leave the meaning for us to guess — He explains the parable Himself. A man sows good seed in his field, but while people sleep an enemy comes and sows tares among the wheat. When both begin to grow, the servants want to remove the tares immediately. The owner tells them to wait, lest in pulling up the tares they also damage the wheat. Both are allowed to grow until the harvest.
Jesus then tells us exactly what the symbols mean. The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed represents the sons of the Kingdom; the tares, the sons of the wicked one; the enemy is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are the angels. That detail about the field matters. Jesus does not say that the field is the church; He says the field is the world. The picture is of God’s people living in a fallen world alongside those who may, for a time, appear remarkably similar. Like wheat and darnel growing side by side, the distinction may not always be immediately obvious.
That should cause us to look carefully at our own lives rather than simply trying to identify everybody else. Being around Christians, belonging to a church or knowing Christian language is not itself the same as abiding in Christ. Jesus tells us elsewhere, “Abide in Me, and I in you.” A branch bears fruit because it remains connected to the vine. The earlier Parable of the Sower made the same principle visible from another direction: the Word received into good soil eventually produces fruit. Fruit does not purchase salvation, but Scripture repeatedly presents fruit as evidence of a life that truly belongs to Christ. Our confidence therefore rests not in outward appearance, but in Christ Himself — receiving His Word, remaining in Him and allowing His life to bear fruit through ours.
The parable also gives a sober assurance: the harvest is coming. Jesus says that at the end of the age the Son of Man will send His angels, and everything that offends and those who practise lawlessness will be gathered for judgement. Evil may appear to prosper now, and the distinction between wheat and tares may sometimes seem unclear, but nothing is hidden from God. Final judgement does not belong to us. It belongs to Him, and He will judge perfectly. There are two very different destinies in Jesus’ explanation: judgment on one hand and, on the other, the wonderful promise that “the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” The harvest will reveal what could not always be seen clearly beforehand.
That truth should make us both sober and hopeful. We need to be careful how quickly we judge another person, because we cannot always see what God is doing in somebody’s life. There may have been seasons when others would have looked at us and seen very little evidence of what God would eventually produce. Christ calls His people instead to abide in Him, to love one another, and to let the fruit of His life become increasingly visible. The darkness around us should not become our focus. The darker the world becomes, the more clearly even a small light can be seen. So keep looking to Christ. Keep receiving His Word. Keep abiding in Him. The harvest will reveal all, and the righteous will shine forth in the Kingdom of their Father.
Watch or listen to this study from Matthew 13 as we consider Jesus’ explanation of the Wheat and the Tares, why the field is the world, why final judgment belongs to God, and the hope awaiting those who abide faithfully in Christ.
Scriptures Mentioned / Referenced
- Matthew 13:24–30 — Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
- Matthew 13:36–43 — Jesus explains the parable
- Matthew 13:23 — good soil producing fruit
- Mark 4:13 — understanding the Parable of the Sower as a key to the parables
- Matthew 7:21–23 — “Lord, Lord” and those who practise lawlessness
- Matthew 3:12 — wheat and chaff at judgement
- John 15:4 — abiding in Christ and bearing fruit
- John 17:20–23 — Christ’s prayer that believers would be one in Him
- John 13:34–35 — disciples recognised by their love for one another
- John 3:16 — God’s love in giving His Son
