Wheat and Weeds

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was asleep, the man's enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then slipped away. So, when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to owner and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy has done this,’ the owner replied.

“So, the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’

 “‘No,’ the owner said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First, collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”

Later, after Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house, His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

Jesus replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. And His angels will throw these weeds into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

“They who have ears, let them hear.”

(See Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)

(Editor's Note: "Kingdom of...": In these series of parables of Jesus on the kingdom of God, the Gospel of Matthew uses the term "kingdom of heaven" while the Gospels of Mark and Luke use the term "kingdom of God." In these passages, the two terms are the same and the term which is used is at the preference of the writer.)

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