04 · Jesus' Parable

The Weeds Among the Wheat

Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43

Läs på svenska
A wheat field where wheat and weeds grow closely together while workers look over the field and wait for the harvest.

The servants want to remove the weeds, but the master tells them to wait until the harvest.

Why may the servants not remove the weeds?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: What can go wrong when we decide who is “wheat” or “weeds”?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

A and C are closest to our understanding. A gives the master's explicit reason: the servants risk harming the wheat while removing the weeds. C captures Jesus' own explanation. The final harvest takes place at the end of the age and is carried out by angels. The final separation is therefore not placed in the servants' hands.

04 · Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43

Go deeper

Text & context

Full translation

24 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while the people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the crop sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The master's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did the weeds come from?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them?' 29 But he said, 'No, because while gathering the weeds you might uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the harvesters: First gather the weeds and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" 36 Then he left the crowds 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 sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world. The good seed is the children of the kingdom, but the weeds are the children of the evil one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom everything that causes stumbling and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let the one who has ears hear."

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
Jesus tells of a field where good seed has been sown. An enemy sows weeds among the wheat. The servants want to remove them, but the master refuses because the wheat could be uprooted as well. Both are to grow together until the harvest. Jesus later identifies several images explicitly: the sower is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Notice this

The servants want to begin removing the weeds themselves. But when Jesus explains the final harvest, the harvesters are angels. This strengthens the distinction between human eagerness to separate now and the final separation Jesus places at the end of the age. Jesus identifies the sower, field, good seed, weeds, enemy, harvest, and harvesters. This gives useful boundaries against assigning entirely different symbolic meanings to every detail. The master's stated reason for saying no is not that the weeds are actually good. He fears that the servants may uproot the wheat too. Concern for the wheat is therefore central. The parable does not say that separation never occurs. Harvest comes and separation takes place. What is postponed is the final removal. That does not automatically follow. The parable concerns the final separation. This is different from saying people may never evaluate actions, set boundaries, protect others, or respond to wrongdoing.

Language & translation

From the Greek

ζιζάνια -- zizania

weeds The word refers to harmful weeds among grain. It is often associated with a wheat-like weed, commonly identified as darnel (Lolium temulentum). That identification should be stated cautiously.

συναυξάνεσθαι -- synauxanesthai

grow together The expression emphasizes wheat and weeds continuing to grow side by side until harvest.

θερισμός -- therismos

harvest Jesus explicitly identifies the harvest with the end of the age in verse 39.

κόσμος -- kosmos

world Jesus' explanation states ὁ δὲ ἀγρός ἐστιν ὁ κόσμος -- "the field is the world." This matters because the parable is sometimes directly applied to the church. Such an application may be discussed, but Jesus' explicit identification here is the world.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

  • ζιζάνια -- zizania
  • συναυξάνεσθαι -- synauxanesthai
  • θερισμός -- therismos
  • κόσμος -- kosmos

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. Why do you think the servants are so eager to clear the field?
  2. What does the parable suggest about human ability to make final judgments about others?
  3. How can moral discernment be distinguished from judging a person's final belonging?
  4. Why is concern for the wheat important to the master's decision?
  5. What changes when Jesus says the field is the world?
  6. What can go wrong when people begin identifying particular people as "weeds"?
Parallel passages
  • Matthew 13:47–50
  • Mark 4:26–29
  • Matthew 25:31–46
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for zizanion, synauxanō, therismos, and kosmos