27 “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?’ 28 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?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 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 13:27–30 ESV)
Matthew 13:1-50 contains seven parables concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. These include the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:3-23), the Parable of the Weeds (13:24-30), the Parable of the Mustard Seed (13:31-32), the Parable of the Leaven (13:33), the Parable of the Hidden Treasure (13:44), the Parable of the Pearl of Great Value (13:13:45-46), and the Parable of the Net (13:47-50).
Recapping the story from yesterday, a man sowed wheat in his field (Matt. 13:24). In Israel, farmers planted barley and wheat in autumn. They sowed grains ripened in spring. However, an enemy of the landowner secretly came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away (13:25). Therefore, when the plants came up and bore grain in spring, the weeds also appeared (13:26).
“The most basic staple of the Palestinian diet (and the ancient diet in general) was bread; thus wheat was critical. But a poisonous weed, a kind of ryegrass known as darnel (usually translated “tares”) looked like wheat in the early stages and could only be distinguished from it when the ear appeared,” states commentator Craig Keener.
“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?’ The master was responsible for the seed. The servants would not have questioned him during the autumn planting. However, now it is spring and the weeds are growing along with the wheat.
The landowner reaches a conclusion. “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The evidence is clear that someone has tainted the wheat crop, but the land owner does not know exactly who it may have been.
“So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them’?’ The servants want to know if the master wants them to remove the weeds from the wheat. A wheat field might have been several acres. To remove the weeds would have been a hard and exhausting task. Yet the servants are willing to do their master’s wishes.
But he said, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.” The wise master knew that in attempting to uproot the weeds, some of the wheat crop would be compromised. He was unwilling to risk the possibility of financial loss. He seems unconcerned that the weeds would damage the wheat.
The master then gave his servants further instructions. “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.”
“The fields were normally weeded in the spring, but if the weeds were discovered too late—as here—one would risk uprooting the wheat with them; the master does not want to risk his wheat. Once they were fully grown, however, harvesters could cut the wheat just below the head, leaving the shorter tares to be cut separately,” explains Keener.
The harvesters would gather both the wheat and the weeds during harvest. The wheat would be stored in the barn for food while the weeds would provide fuel for burning.
“Although first-century Palestine was undoubtedly more forested than it became in subsequent times, much of the earlier forest had been cut down, and fuel could not be wasted; once dried, the darnel at least proved useful for something—fuel for burning,” concludes Keener.
What was the meaning of this parable? We do not have to speculate. Jesus provided the interpretation to His disciples. Matthew recorded this in 13:36-43. It is this text that we will study next time. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
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