The kingdom of heaven is so vast, the Bible so colossally labyrinthine, and Christians so all over the map as to what this kingdom is all about that we desperately need light to cut through the fog. Jesus’ parables break forth as a breath of fresh air of simplicity in this stuffy room of complexity and confusion. The first of these six parables, united by the common phrase, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”, is the parable of the weeds in the field. By far the lengthiest at fifteen verses—more than all others combined—it functions as the general framework, a universal context, into which all the other kingdom of heaven parables fit.
As was His custom, Jesus didn’t explain this parable to the crowds. This was for disciples’ ears only.
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
Matthew 13:36 ESV
In the privacy of the house Jesus explained it. Here’s a great principle for us. Come humbly to Jesus for understanding.
To condense reading this lengthy parable, Jesus’ subsequent explanations have been inserted as notes.
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man [the Son of Man] who sowed good seed [the sons of the kingdom] in his field [the world], but while his men were sleeping, his enemy [the devil] came and sowed weeds [the sons of the evil one] among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time [the end of the age] I will tell the reapers [angels], “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Matthew 13:24-30, 40-43 ESV
“World” always meant “church” to me because that’s how I learned it from my first church. The bizarre application then was to be wary of “tares” (the King James word for “weeds”) among us in the fellowship, for tares looks so much like wheat. Yet Jesus interprets the field—His field—as the world, not the church. The world is the world. That is the stage upon which His great kingdom turns.
I’d also conceived this as merely an informative sketch of what will happen at the end of time. The wicked weeds are burned (i.e., hell) and the righteous wheat are gathered in His barn (i.e., heaven). Aside from obviously needing Jesus to go to heaven, I really wrestled with personal application, often asking the Lord how this parable is pastoral. His answer blew me away! God did not arrange His word as an encyclopedia for head knowledge. Rather, He reveals Himself personally so that we can experience His kingdom and know His heart about it!
The disciples called it “the parable of the weeds in the field,” but Jesus has a different emphasis. He compares the kingdom to Himself: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field” (NKJV). “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” Our gaze must be fixed on Jesus or we’ll miss His point. I’ve found it helpful to catch the spirit of these kingdom of heaven parables by substituting “King” with “kingdom.” “The King of heaven is like…” This foundational parable makes this association explicit and clear.
By way of general observation, this parable is cosmic in scale, having the end in view, not the myriads of microscopic processes along the way. Its central theme pivots on the end state—a harvest separating good and evil. Excepting the angels who gather the harvest, all other means outside of Jesus are excluded. We observe only the finished product, not how it came to be. Many fascinating processes of spiritual growth are explained elsewhere. Even Satan sowing the weeds omits his many counteracting processes (e.g., temptations, accusations, persecution, blinding the minds of unbelievers to the glory of Christ, etc.) All of the devil’s activities in the world are summed up here as sowing. Jesus’ oversimplification gets us to focus on the kingdom from God’s big picture point of view.
There are only two sowers: Jesus and Satan. Jesus appears alone as the sower of good seed—the sons and daughters of the kingdom. If anyone makes it to heaven, it’s because Jesus did the sowing. Rest assured that Jesus is in full control of the final result of all those redeemed. Trying to sort out Christianity with its tens of thousands of denominations is a confusing muddle. How refreshing to know that behind everything good going on in the world there’s one Sower. It’s Jesus! Jesus is the preeminent worker in the world, His field, eclipsing all human effort. There’s no “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out workers” or “How can they hear without a preacher.” Yes, our King delights to employ many instruments—little ‘s’ sowers, if you will—but there is only one Sower.
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1Co 3:6-7 ESV). I’ve often envisioned this as us bearing the sole responsibility for planting (sowing) and God blessing what we do. Yet this is not Paul’s point. Paul elsewhere is clear that Jesus worked through him during the sowing. “For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed” (Rom 15:18 ESV). Jesus as the sower of good seed highlights Him as the originator of salvation.
Jesus’ answer to my pastoral question regarding this parable dawned on me in a powerful, reassuring way while I was celebrating Him in song at my local church. Everything that happens in a church gathering, for example, is the meta theme of Jesus sowing. All the instruments He uses—preacher, worship team, fellow Christians—are all bit players in His cosmic enterprise of sowing sons of the kingdom and building His church. This profound, behind the scenes reality that Jesus is the supreme Sower in all and through all greatly comforts me. He’s got the whole world in His hands!
As the parable comes to a close, the wheat imagery changes:
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Matthew 13:43 ESV
The beauty is that we’re gazing at what kind of seed Jesus was sowing all along: light! We’ll all shine like the sun in the kingdom. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus’ face shone like the sun. In the end, we will be like Him! The end time harvest is a harvest of light. What joy to dwell on these great thoughts Jesus has for the Church, His bride! Everything that Jesus has done, is doing, and will do for His bride in the world is sowing with this end in mind: glory!
Glory Unveiled: Discovering Jesus 