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For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.

The Parable of the Weeds Explained 36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

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As with the parable of the sower, Jesus’ disciples ask him in private to explain the parable of the weeds, and he does so. There are various opinions about the precise species meant by the Greek word zizania, translated ‘weeds’ in these verses. An appealing suggestion is that it is darnel, a plant which closely resembles wheat until the latter forms ears (v. 26). Gooder notes that ‘[there] is even a Roman law against sowing darnel in a wheat field as an act of revenge against an enemy.’1 The farm-owner’s servants had been puzzled—why did he not pull up and destroy the weeds as soon as the difference between them and the wheat became apparent? Surely there was a danger that the weeds would choke the wheat! (v. 28b–30)

Similarly, threatened with the growing animosity and danger of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, Jesus’ disciples may have been puzzled that he did not destroy his enemies and triumphantly establish his kingdom. In our time, we see evil on a global scale, with innocent civilians regarded as collateral damage in vicious ideological wars, and we long for the Lord to act decisively in judgment. Or we encounter someone whose physical or emotionally abusive behavior, sexual immorality, or financial dishonesty is profoundly damaging to those around them. The most galling aspect of these situations is that the perpetrators seem to be getting away with it. ‘Do something, Lord!’ is our cry. ‘Call them to account!’

Jesus’ reply to us, and to his first disciples, is that of the landowner to his servants: ‘Let both grow together until the harvest’ (v. 30). In other words, ‘Be patient—there will be a judgment, a perfect judgment, but not yet.’ So we are called not to weary resignation but to confident expectation that Christ’s kingdom will come.

1Paula Gooder, The Parables (Canterbury Press, 2020), 16; see also RT France, Matthew,Tyndale NT Commentary (IVP, 1985), 225.

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