The Wheat and the Tares

Matt 13:24-30 & 36-43:
He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also. The servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.’ “
Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field." He answered them, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Jesus Himself explains what this parable means, so I am going to simply comment on some different points.

Satan has sown his weeds among the wheat It is called ‘tares’, but the more technical term is ‘darnel’, which is why it is described as such in this version (NAS). Darnel looks just like wheat while it is growing, up until it bares fruit, IE: comes to seed. Now the wheat in this parable are Christians. Note that the darnel did not “appear” until it came to bring forth fruit. It LOOKS just like the wheat. While everything was growing side by side, it looked like everything was going fine at first. These would be people who look like Christians, act like Christians, possibly even “talk” like Christians. However, when they come to “bear fruit”, they are markedly NOT Christians. The bible says we shall know a person by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-23) – “fruits” being the results of their actions, and not necessarily the words that come out of their mouths.

Note also that satan has sown his weeds among the wheat – the greek would imply sown right over what was previously sown. The implication is that the weeds are intermingled with the wheat. Make note that these “weeds” do not choke out the Christian as the weeds did in the previous parable of the sown seeds. They simply grow alongside. So now we have something that looks Christian, acts Christian, but it is NOT Christian. And to top it off, it is so intermixed, that it cannot be removed without damaging the ‘real’ Christians. When the servants ask if they should pull up the weeds, Jesus says not to for fear that you may root up the wheat with them. In trying to “weed out” the fakes, we may, in fact, cause damage to a true believer, either directly by “pulling them out” by accident, or indirectly by tearing up the true believers “roots” as we uproot the weeds. And any plant, when uprooted, dies no matter what the reason for being uprooted.

Then we come to “harvest time”. Both types of people have “ripened” to their fullness, either to salvation or to damnation, but it is not up to us to determine that. The reapers at this time will pull up the weeds first, and they will be cast into the fire. Note that Jesus is not concerned at this point about pulling up the wheat because the wheat is pulled up right away anyway. The wheat, however, is brought into His “barn”, that is, heaven. There is an implication that the weeds will be cast into the fire before the wheat is brought into the barn, thus giving the “wheat” an opportunity to witness the end of the wicked. After this, the righteous will “shine forth”. The language used implies a “bursting forth” of light, so to speak. It is as if the presence of “imposters” has been hindering the light that would have otherwise been shining even more brightly all this time.

The Sower

Mark 4:3-20
"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN." And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

Since this is one of the longer parables, I am only specifically listing the passages from Mark. The parable can also be found in Matthew 13:3-9 & 18-23 and Luke 8:4-15.

The seed in this parable is the word of God as heard or read or seen by a person. When someone hears the word of God spoken, or reads the bible, or sees the actions of a true Christian, then the “seed” of Christianity is sown into that person. If that seed of Christianity is allowed to grow, it will extend its roots downward and grow upward, producing “fruit” in the person’s life.

Satan does not want that seed to grow. He will come against it directly and indirectly. There are nearly infinite variations used, but it boils down to three basic tactics.

Satan will snatch that seed away. The word of God, once put into your life, cannot be “removed”. IE: You cannot “unheard” or “unread” something. Instead, what satan does is discredit it. Through the application of worldly wisdom, or the influence of others in the persons life, the seed sown can be disregarded. This is effectively “stealing away” the seed that was planted. This is a person who hears the gospel, sometimes on multiple occasions, but does not pursue it, does not believe it, or openly scoffs at the notion of salvation through Christ Jesus.

Satan will come against it directly. Notice in the second example that the seed grew quickly, but had no root. Jesus later explains that affliction or persecution arise “because of the word” that was sown into the persons heart. Satan will attack people new to the faith as they can be easy targets if they are not careful. The plant withers and dies. This is a person who has begun to follow the faith, but after problems arise decide that it is not worth the effort, and thus fall away from the faith. They have not made a true commitment to Christ.

Satan will sow his own seeds (of weeds) around us. In the third example, the seed has grown, but satan’s seeds have also grown up around it. Worries, money, lying and worldly desires have grown up around the Christian and choked out their spiritual growth. They are no longer a good witness for Christ. Through reading the parable, it would appear that the person in this third example is, in fact, a true follower of Christ and therefore “saved”, but they are not being productive in expanding the kingdom of God. This is a “second best” option for satan. He may not have prevented this person from accepting salvation, but at least they are not bringing others to Christ.

When satan fails in his three basic tactics we see the results in the fourth example. Here the person has accepted the word of God as truth, has allowed the seed to extend its roots deep into their spiritual being, and they have kept their surroundings free from satans “weeds”. When this happens, we see the results. They bear fruit “thirty, sixty and a hundredfold”. The fruit here, I believe, regards the expansion of Gods kingdom – IE: bringing other people to a saving knowledge of the gospel.

Luke has a slightly different ending with the seed that produces fruit. He writes (Luke 8:15) “That in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

We are to be honest and have a good heart. We are to hold the “seed” tightly. We will bring forth fruit “with patience”. The truth shall set you free (John 8:32). Don’t let satan steal your seed. Don’t worry if you don’t see growth immediately. Keep satans “weeds” away from you and allow your spiritual roots to grow, and you will eventually see outward results.

The Unclean Spirit

Matt 12:43-45. Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation."

Luke 11:24-26. "When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first."

Here we have an “unclean spirit”, or demon, that goes out of a man. The original language in both Matthew and Luke would imply that it has been forced out of the man, and not simply left voluntarily. This demon then goes out among waterless places seeking rest.

The imagery is that of a dry, barren, hostile land. A land not “watered” with the gospel. Where else would a demon go? Then it says to itself “I will return to my house from which I came”. Here, the language is that of one who left voluntarily and now decides to go back. The demon says to himself “I was not cast out, but left of my own will”.

Returning to the house (the man), the demon finds it “swept and put in order”. It is clean, but it is vacant – empty. There is no one or nothing to guard the house from intruders. Notice here that the demon does not immediately reoccupy the man, but goes out and brings back seven other “spirits more evil than itself”. He goes and gets his friends, who are worse than he is, to come live with him in the man.

The man who had the demon cast out, had his “home” cleaned and put in order. His life was together. He “cleaned up his act”, so to speak. Unfortunately, he did not replace the evil influence (the demon) with any type of good, or positive, influence. A house needs someone to watch over it – to guard it. Jesus says that if we abide in Him, He will make His home in us (John 14:23). Who better to guard over you than Jesus? In one of our earlier parables, Jesus explained that the home of a strong man cannot be invaded unless the strong man is first bound (parable of divided kingdom). There is none stronger than Jesus. He cannot be bound. If your home (yourself) is filled with Christ, nothing can overtake you.

If your home (yourself) is not filled with Christ, however, any vacancy created by “cleaning house” will only be filled by other influences. Notice that the first demon brought back others that were worse than he was. Whatever vacancy that was created originally is now filled with something worse.

Now look at the parable again, but replace “demon” with “habit” or “addiction”. We all have habits or addictions that are not healthy. It can be overeating, smoking, drinking, pornography, gambling, etc. We all can clean up our lives on our own to a certain extent, but there comes a time when we have to let Jesus take over. Otherwise all we are creating is an empty house. Empty houses attract vandals. Vandals start small – just looking in the windows. If nothing is done to deter them, however, they will become bolder until they have broken into the house and destroyed the inside. The “house” is then worse off than it was in the beginning. Jesus Christ is the ultimate deterrent.

Are we fighting off the demons in our lives only to be beaten back time and again? We succeed in one area of our life only to struggle in another area? Sometimes things will go great for a long time. Everything is perfect. But nothing lasts forever, except, that is, Jesus Christ. He alone is eternal and never changing (Heb 13:8), and only He alone can make permanent and eternal changes in our lives. Jesus is the ultimate, eternal deterrent, but He can only take care of you as long as you give Him the keys to the door.

Sign of Jonah

Matt 12:38-42. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

Luke 11:29-32. As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”


The old testament is a foreshadowing of the new testament. Jonah, of course, is the foreshadowing of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Effectively “dead” for three days in the belly of the whale, Jonah was “resurrected” when the whale spit him out onto the dry land. He then went forth to Nineveh to preach repentance to the people there. They listened to him, believed him, and turned from their sin, saving them from the wrath of God. They did not seek after any signs, but simply believed the words that Jonah spoke.

Jesus is the very Word of God (John 1:1-3). He came to earth to show the Jews the way of salvation. The Jewish leaders of the day did not believe Him. They wanted to see a miraculous sign. The sad thing is, that Jesus had already performed miraculous healings and the feeding of the 5,000 with only a few loaves and fishes. The leaders were blind to it all, either through arrogance, ignorance, or the will of God, but blind nonetheless. These leaders were spiritually “adulterous” as they had drifted away from the true worship of the true God.

Though they sought after a sign, Jesus told them that the only sign they would be given was the sign of Jonah the prophet. As Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so Jesus would be a sign to this generation. Jesus would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (in the grave). To truly “match” the sign of Jonah, Jesus would have to be returned from the grave (resurrected) in order to show the way to salvation.

Jesus called these leaders on their spiritual adultery. They had the word of God in their possession in two forms. First, through the old testament. These Jewish leaders knew the old testament forwards and backwards, but they had drifted away from the spirit of the word and immersed themselves into the law, going so far as to create laws of their own that were outside of the bible. Second, they had the living Word of God standing right in front of them in the form of Jesus Christ. He represented not only a new covenant, but also a return to “spirit” of the old testament – that we should love God and worship Him in truth, and do our best to listen to Him and obey Him.

The queen of the south (Sheba) and the men of Nineveh would rise up with this generation and condemn them. For both Sheba and the men Nineveh at least understood the truth when they heard it. Now something much greater than what they had heard was walking the earth (Jesus), and the Jewish leaders of the day could not see Jesus as the Messiah that He was. Sheba and the men of Nineveh would condemn the Jewish leaders for not being wise enough to know the living Word of God when they had Him standing in their very midst.

Today, we have the word of God given to us in the form of the Bible. Do we believe the Word of God, or are we seeking after signs? Do we need God to do something miraculous in order for us to believe in Him, or is faith through the reading of the word enough for us (Romans 10:17)? Will Sheba and the men of Nineveh point the finger at us along with that “adulterous generation”? Have we drifted away from the Word of God?

Have we drifted away from Jesus?