Tares Among Wheat

Author: Joseph

Date: September 6, 2020

Yeshua follows the parable of the sower with a different parable about planting and harvesting, the parable of the tares among wheat. In this parable a man sows good seed in a field. His servants are out in the field planting wheat for him and then when their work is finished and night comes, they sleep. In the night an enemy comes quietly into the field and sows tares among the wheat. The enemy sows the tares among the wheat and then sneaks away before morning comes. Time passes and the seeds begin to sprout.

When the wheat begins to grow, the tares begin to grow as well. The servants of the man who sowed the good seed notice the tares appearing among the wheat and ask the man why tares are present in the field since they only had sown good seed of wheat. The man tells his servants that an enemy has done this, knowing that this could not have happened as he ensured his servants only planted good seed. His servants ask if they should remove the tares that have been wrongly placed among the field. The man is reluctant to have them do so because if they do try to uproot the tares, they might unintentionally remove the good wheat with them. The man does not want to lose even one of the good seed he has sown, so he tells them to wait until the time of harvest.

The man teaches his servants, saying at the time of the harvest he will tell the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matthew 13:30). By removing the tares first, the wheat gathering will only be that which was sown by his servants and no tare will be found among what is gathered into his storehouse.

When tares are fully sprouted, they are much more easily distinguished from wheat: they look different, their taste is bitter, and their sprouts are toxic for consumption. When tares are still maturing, however, they look almost indistinguishable from wheat, yet they still retain their negative attributes.

After proclaiming this parable to the people, Yeshua brings His disciples aside into a home where they ask Him what the parable means. He explains to them what each thing symbolizes: the man is the Son of man, the field is the world, the good seed are those among the kingdom of God, the tares are those that belong to Satan (who is the enemy that sowed them), the harvest is the end times, and the reapers are God’s angels (Matthew 13:37-39). So let’s take another look at the story with Yeshua’s explanation in mind.

Yeshua sows the members of His kingdom upon the earth, beginning with His disciples, and then while He is away after His resurrection, Satan sneaks those that belong to him among God’s people. Satan’s servants are unrecognizably different from the members of God’s kingdom by their outward appearance and so remain among them while they both grow (one more sanctified, the other more evil). God does not have Satan’s servants removed because if done before the right time, some of His own kingdom members may be uprooted with them. God’s kingdom members may wrongly cling to the servants of Satan because their appearance will be like their own (they will deceitfully appear to be true believers) and indistinguishable as servants of Satan. Whereas, if the servants of Satan are allowed to grow among God’s people, the servants of Satan will eventually be distinguishable by the fruit they bear (both its appearance and its quality; cf. Matthew 7:15-20). They will be ripe for removal; Yeshua, therefore, allows the tares to grow among His people and has good reason for them to remain until the right time.

"Do not fear them and certainly do not follow them."

When the end times come (the harvest), God will send His angels to separate His people from those that deceitfully hide among them. False believers, the lawless followers of Satan, will be intentionally gathered through trials and tribulations and cast into hell. God’s people will be gathered afterward to Him and enter into His storehouse (His fulfilled kingdom of heaven).

Tares are among you, yes, in your church, in your synagogue, in your community. As time passes, you will recognize them by their fruit and they will not be able to hide by their appearance. Do not fear them and certainly do not follow them. Instead, grow as the kingdom member that you are, having been redeemed through Yeshua, and endure until the end (the harvest) when it finally comes. We will be brought into the storehouse of God, into His fulfilled kingdom, and live eternally with Him.

Are you growing anxious in this world knowing that the end will come one day? Only God knows when it will happen and He will gather you when that time finally comes. Instead of only looking to the end, look at your life now. What are you doing to produce good fruit while you are here on this earth so that when you are gathered, you will be bountiful grain?

Matthew 13:24 – 30; 36 – 43

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). Copyright by The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org).