Matthew 13:24–43 relates several parables that provoke reflection. While all three parables end with what you would expect of the kingdom—the burning of the weeds, the gathering of the grain, a realm of peace for even the birds, and the spread of the kingdom throughout the earth (Matthew 13:30, Matthew 13:32, Matthew 13:33)—each one begins at a point that is humbler than expected, showing that the distance people feel toward Jesus, because they think his appearance falls short of the kingdom’s glory, is misplaced, because the kingdom must have a humble beginning.
The parable of the weeds, much like the parable of the sower, also deals with agricultural activity. Its distinctive features attract attention, and are explained in Matthew 13:36–43.
While previous parables showed how the kingdom is worked in the world by the preaching of the Word and under opposition to that Word, the parables on the mustard seed and the leaven show how the kingdom develops by its own principle, and how great and irresistible that development is. The first parable looks at organic growth, while the second stresses how the power sets in motion whatever it touches. These parables thus contrast to the earlier ones, which showed that while much is lost, in the end the whole is restored. The disciples must now believe that the kingdom is at work in the world.
In Matthew 13:40–43, Jesus stresses more the judgment itself—how the weeds will, in God’s appointed time, be removed, and that those carrying the judgment will not err. Jesus shows how the kingdom comes in two phases (Matthew 13:41, Matthew 13:43). Jesus’ incarnation brings the kingdom in a provisional form, seen partly in how it still has foreign, even demonic, elements (see Matthew 7:15–23)—but after Christ’s judgment, the kingdom of peace (Isaiah 9:6) will dawn in its final form. In Matthew 13:40–43, Jesus reveals the true direction of history. The weeds are not the final stage; the harvest is. The devil is not in control, but the Sower who gathers the crop. John the Baptist’s prophecy of the burning of the chaff (or weeds, as Jesus puts it) is fulfilled at the end of the age, but the climax of the end is not the destruction of the wicked, but the harvest of the good seed.
The purpose of the parable of the weeds is to show not only how the devil attacks Jesus’ sowing of the Word, but also how during the sowing, the wicked and the righteous appear side by side (Matthew 13:43), so that continual self-examination is essential. However, since the struggle in the believer’s heart between good and evil is not mentioned here, Jesus’ point is that the world is being won for Christ, but slowly, and not with immediate destruction of evil. Jesus wants us to expect disappointments, but to know that in the end the ungodly will be exposed and judged.
While the parable of the sower presents the human side, here Jesus shows what God does, so the paraenetic (exhortative) element is less important. While the parable of the weeds in the field comes close to allegory, not everything in the parable is symbolic.
In Matthew 13:24–43Jesus narrates a number of parables that serve to make people think. All three of these parables end with what people naturally expect of the kingdom: the burning of the weeds and the gathering of the grain, a vast realm in which even the birds find rest, and the complete permeation of the kingdom of heaven throughout the earth (Matthew 13:30,Matthew 13:32, Matthew 13:33). Yet each of them begins at an unexpected point—lower, humbler, and smaller than anticipated. In this way Jesus shows that the distance people feel toward him, because they think his appearance falls short of the kingdom’s glory, is misplaced. The distance they sense is real, but it belongs precisely to the character of the kingdom of heaven as it now draws near. Therefore, there is no reason for Jesus to hold back—quite the opposite.1
The parable of the weeds bears a strong resemblance to the parable of the sower. The parable is closely tied to agricultural activity. Its distinctive features attract attention. The explanation of the parable follows in Matthew 13:36–43.2
Whereas the previous parables spoke of the kingdom of heaven as it is worked in the world by the preaching of the Word and by the opposition the preached Word meets, the two parables on the mustard seed and the leaven deal with the kingdom’s development according to its own principle and show how tremendous and irresistible that development is. The first parable attends more to organic growth, whereas the second emphasizes the power that seizes and sets in motion whatever it touches. These parables therefore contrast with the preceding ones, which showed that much is lost but that in the end the whole is restored. The disciples may take heart—great things will happen. They must now believe that the kingdom of heaven is at work in the world.3
In Matthew 13:40–43 Jesus pays more attention to the judgment than in the parable itself. In this way he emphasizes that the weeds will, in God’s appointed time, be completely removed, and that those who carry out the judgment will most certainly not err. Only then will the good seed come fully into its own. Jesus here clarifies that the kingdom comes in two phases (Matthew 13:41,Matthew 13:43). With the incarnation of Jesus, the kingdom of God revealed itself in a provisional form, which is evident, among other things, from the fact that it still contains foreign—even demonic—elements (see Matthew 7:15–23). After the judgment of the Son of Man, however, the kingdom of peace (see Isaiah 9:6) will dawn in its final form (Matthew 13:43).4
In Matthew 13:40–43 Jesus points out the true direction of history. The weeds do not represent the final stage; the harvest does. The devil is not the one in control, but the Sower who gathers the crop. What John the Baptist foretold—the burning of the chaff—takes place at the end of the age. At that time the weeds will indeed be gathered and burned. Yet the decisive moment of the end is set not by the destruction of the wicked but by the harvest of the good seed.5
The purpose of the parable of the weeds is not only to show that when Jesus comes and begins to sow the Word in the world, the devil also renews his attacks on the kingdom of God, but also to clarify that during this development in God’s kingdom, the wicked and the righteous appear side by side (Matthew 13:43), and that therefore continual self-examination is absolutely necessary. Jesus also wants to prevent the disciples from cherishing expectations that are too high. There will be disappointment for them, but in the end the ungodly will be exposed and judged. That there is also a struggle in the believer’s heart between good and evil is not mentioned in this parable, however, and as such we ought to see it this way: that the world is indeed being won for Christ, but slowly, and not in such a way that all evil disappears before the end.
Whereas the parable of the sower presents the human side, here Jesus reveals what God does. Hence, the paraenetic (exhortative) element only comes in second place. It cannot be denied that the parable of the weeds in the field, when one looks at its explanation, comes close to allegory. Yet not everything in the parable is symbolic. The natural process is described in its normal course, and it is not only those features that are to be carried over into the spiritual reality that appear in the picture.6
24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,