The blessing of this parable is that Jesus presents the illustration and then explains it a few verses later. In summary, Christ sows good seed, representing the saved, while the devil sows weeds, or false teachers, and the lost among them. At the point when all mankind will be judged, angels will gather the righteous into eternal Heaven, while the lost will be thrown into Hell.

The Parable

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” - Matthew 13:24-30

The Explanation

He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. - Matthew 13:37-43

The Deeper Point

Note in this parable it is Jesus Christ (Son of man) doing the sowing. He does that in and through the believer, as we are called to be His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). The seed Christ throws into the field (the world) is already “good” or saved, which implies that salvation is foreknown or perhaps even predestined. There is a recognition that any gathering of the saved likely includes weeds or the lost. Further, there are no benign unbelievers, for all seed not sown by Jesus is being spread by “the devil.” Further, God is patient, trusting that His children will not be permanently damaged by the weeds that surround them even though some are not just lost but false teachers intent on damaging the crop of believers (1 John 4:1). What is not fully explained in verses 37-43 is why God tells the servants NOT to try to pull the weeds when they first appear, saying that they “need to grow together until the harvest.” One would think that especially False Teachers (as weeds) should be pulled from influencing the saved (good seed) immediately, as they clearly create damage. However, the field (world) is overrun with weeds from the enemy. In fact, the field has many more weeds growing than good seed (Matthew 7:13-14). There are perhaps two reasons for this:

• It is part of God’s plan to use the lost (weeds) as an example to the saved (good seed) of how not to act. One cannot know or fully appreciate good behavior without seeing the counterpoint, evil behavior.
• Often False Teachers and carnal Christians are intertwined within the church of believers. Their true nature is not always evident, even to the saved (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). In that sense, pulling out the weeds prematurely, when their true nature has not yet been revealed, might damage the faith of the saved.

At the end of time, the Lord will separate the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-46), or the weeds from the good crop of those who accepted His Son as their Lord and Savior. To the former, sadly, they will have to pay for their sins in Hell. To the latter, “the kingdom of their Father” awaits for eternity.

Which do you wish to be, the good seed or the weeds?

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9