TEXT [Commentary]

F. Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds and Wheat (13:36-43)

36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”

37 Jesus replied, “The Son of Man[*] is the farmer who plants the good seed. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world,[*] and the harvesters are the angels.

40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”

NOTES

13:36-39 explain to us the story of the weeds in the field. Following Matthew’s editorial comment on Jesus’ parables as fulfillment of Psalm 78:2, the narrative picks up again. After telling the parable of the weeds, Jesus left the boat and returned to the house, reversing the movement of 13:1-2. He was no longer speaking to the crowds, where there would be many to whom the secrets of the Kingdom would not be revealed, but to the disciples, to whom these mysteries were revealed (13:10-13). In response to the disciples’ question, Jesus explained the parable of the weeds. His explanation of this parable is just as detailed as his earlier explanation of the parable of the sower (13:18-23), with seven key details interpreted. Put briefly, Jesus (the sower) is responsible for the people (lit. “sons”; cf. 8:12) of the Kingdom (the good seed) who are in the world (the field), and the devil (the enemy) is responsible for the people who belong to him (the weeds). This expression is lit. “the sons of the evil one” (cf. 5:37; 6:13; John 8:44; Acts 13:10; 1 John 3:10). At the end of the world (the harvest), the angels (the harvesters; cf. 24:31; 25:31-33) separate Satan’s people from Jesus’ people (the wheat grown from the good seed), throwing the former into the fiery furnace or hell (the fire; cf. 3:12; 5:22; 18:8-9; 2 Esdr 7:36) and gathering the latter into the Kingdom (the barn; cf. 3:12).

13:40 they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. The judgment at the end of the world is portrayed as the removal of sinners from God’s Kingdom, not the removal of saints from the world, which is then destroyed (13:41). The people of Satan are further characterized as lawless ones who cause sin (cf. Zeph 1:3), and the pain of their judgment is vividly described (13:41-42, 50; cf. 8:12; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). Matthew frequently stresses lawlessness as at the heart of sin (7:23; 23:28; 24:12).

13:43 the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. In an allusion to Dan 12:3, the glorious bliss of Jesus’ disciples, the righteous ones (10:41; 13:49; 25:37, 46), is portrayed as the shining of the sun (cf. 17:2). The importance of this explanation is underlined by the solemn encouragement to listeners found at the end (cf. 11:15; 13:9).

COMMENTARY [Text]

Jesus’ interpretation of his parable of the weeds has a more dualistic and eschatological tone than that of the sower. Instead of speaking in general terms about people (soils) who do and do not bear fruit, this second parable stresses in vivid terms the destinies of the two groups. The contrasting ethical qualities (lawlessness versus righteousness) that lead to these opposite destinies are also brought out (13:41-43). There is also the contrast between the role of Jesus (13:37) and that of the devil (13:39; but see 13:19), the two ultimate figures behind the cosmic struggle and the contrasting people, ethics, and destinies found in the parable. The imagery of Jesus as the sower of the good seed—the people of the Kingdom (13:38)—is specially noteworthy, since it is a picturesque way of putting something that Jesus had stated previously: he is the sole revealer of the Father (11:27). The enemy, Satan, like the wolves who wear sheep’s clothing (7:15), also sows seed, and the resulting weeds are difficult to distinguish from the wheat. Satan is the great imitator.

Matthew’s narrative frequently stresses the end of the age and the judgment to follow. John the Baptist spoke of this in vivid language, which anticipates Jesus’ words in this passage (3:12). Jesus spoke of himself as the eschatological judge in the Sermon on the Mount (7:22-23), and there he stressed the bliss of the future Kingdom on earth as the reward for faithful discipleship (5:3, 5, 10; 6:10; 7:21). Unexpectedly, many Gentiles will share in the eschatological banquet with the patriarchs (8:11-12). Confessing Jesus and aiding his messengers will result in reward (10:32-33, 41-42). The peril of the towns that did not believe Jesus will be worse than the notorious towns of the Old Testament when the judgment comes (11:22, 24; 12:41). Those who slander the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, even in the world to come (12:32). With this background, the reader of Matthew is not surprised at the vivid portrayal of the end of the age in this parable. Of course, much additional teaching on this matter is yet to come (13:49; 16:27; 17:10-11; 18:8-9; 19:27-30; 22:1-13, 30-32; 24–25; 26:29, 64; 28:20).

It is also worth mentioning here that this parable should not be cited as supporting a casual attitude on the part of Christians toward the matter of church discipline (Gundry 1994:262). No doubt, there are false disciples in the church, but Jesus stated that the field is the world, not the church (13:38; Davies and Allison 1991:428). This again points to the eventual global mission of the church (24:14; 28:19). Other texts in Matthew make it clear that God does not take the sin of professing Christians lightly (7:21-23; 18:15-17, 21-35; 22:11-14). It is not an easy task to maintain a pure church, but it is a mandatory task for those who take Jesus’ call to discipleship seriously.