Matthew 13:24-30 24He put before them another parable saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27And after the servants of the master of the house came, they said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28And 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?’ 29But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30Let 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.”’”
Jesus continues a series of parables about growing seeds. This parable builds on the third and fourth images from the parable the sower. The emphasis is on the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (verse 11). We cannot always explain how the kingdom grows, but because it belongs to God, nothing can stop it. There are different kinds of seeds sown into the fields of the world. The seeds of the kingdom are like wheat that produce food to eat. The harvest of grain is the goal of farmers. The harvest of souls is the goal of discipleship. But as any farmer knows, there are always obstacles and challenges to producing a good harvest. Jesus shows one those obstacles but does not explain it until the disciples ask him later. He explains the meaning of the parable in verses 36-43.
The farmer gave his farmhands the job of sowing the seed, with the implied goal of having a good harvest of one hundred, sixty, and thirty fold (verse 23). But because the farmhands fell asleep, they did not see what the enemy was doing by also sowing weed seeds in the midst of the wheat. Enemies try to harm, hurt, and make like difficult. If the farmhands would have stayed alert, they may have caught the enemy, but like all people, they need to rest at some point. The enemy looked for the moment when he could sneak in with no one alert and watching.
The sun and rain come to both wheat and weeds, and so both germinate and start growing. The servants saw this and became concerned enough to tell the farmer. They had done their job correctly, so they were confused how the weeds started to grow also. It is difficult if not impossible to have a weed free garden. The most obvious solution is to pull the weeds before they choke out the good plants. But often, the weeds become intertwined with the good plants. If the weeds are pulled up, so will be good plants. The servants were willing to do the work, but the farmer saw the problem. The farmer gives the best long-term solution of letting all the plants grow until harvest time. That way, the wheat will be preserved and not destroyed during the growth process. The outcome for each type of seed is expected. The weeds must be gathered and destroyed, and the wheat must be gathered to be stored and eaten.
The master has the solution; the servants rely on the master for directions are obedient to what he says. Even though they fell asleep, they still sowed the seed. The master is in full control in this parable. This parable gives further insight into the kingdom. We can understand it from this side of the cross and resurrection because we are involved in the planting of seeds of the kingdom. Like the servants, we must go to the Master when the enemy comes and makes the growth process difficult.
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