The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

Matthew 13:24-30 and Matthew13:36-43

Introduction

Have you ever asked yourself: "Where did evil come from anyway?" and, "If what Jesus did for me on the cross is all I need for salvation, then why am I still here?" Maybe you have wondered why a good God would let the evil go on so long? Today's study will speak to these issues.

Hear the Word

Read Mt. 13:24-30 and 13:36-43

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	(Groups) Identify the following facts, using Jesus' explanation:

◦	The man–the Son of Man

◦	The field–the world

◦	The good seed–the sons of the kingdom

◦	The tares–the sons of the evil one

◦	The enemy–the devil

◦	The harvest–the end of the age

◦	The reapers–angels

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	What two possible places would we fit into this parable?

◦	The good seed or the tares

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	What did the man sow?

◦	Good seed

•	Where?

◦	In his field

•	What did his enemy sow?

◦	Tares

•	Where?

◦	Among the wheat

•	When did the man's servants/slaves first notice a problem?

◦	When the wheat sprouted and bore grain

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	Why did they only notice it when it sprouted?

◦	The man's enemy worked at night, so they did not realize that there was a problem at first.

◦	It took a while for both kinds of plants to finally mature enough to tell the difference.

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	What is the servants' reaction?

◦	They came to the landowner and asked him, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?"

•	What does the man say in response?

◦	An enemy has done this!"

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	So where does evil come from?

◦	From the enemy. (Many say that because God is all-powerful, He should just get rid of evil. But they do not realize that there is an enemy. God's universe is not as He created it; it has been infiltrated.)

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	How did the servants want to handle the problem?

◦	They asked their master if he wanted them to go pull the weeds up.

•	Who are these servants?

◦	The text doesn't say explicitly. They are probably not humans, because humans are identified as either the good seed or the tares. We also know that they serve the landowner, so they probably are angels (like the harvesters) or other unfallen created beings.

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	(Groups) What is the significance of the fact that heavenly beings are asking this question of God and wanting to root up the weeds?

◦	They are questioning God.

◦	They assume that God is ultimately responsible for what happens in His field.

◦	They see a difference between the good and the bad and wonder what is going on.

◦	They trust God to have an adequate answer.

◦	They are anxious to take care of the problem.

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	What reason did the master have for not affirming their plan?

◦	Their actions might uproot the wheat along with the tares.

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	What happens to a plant when it is uprooted?

◦	It dies.

•	In light of this, what did the heavenly beings want to do?

◦	Kill the evil people.

•	But who did God say would be uprooted with them?

◦	The good

-	(For emphasis) By whom?

▪	Heavenly beings, who might unwittingly cause the deaths of the good with the evil

•	Just on the physical level, why would good plants be uprooted along with the bad in this situation?

◦	They are growing next to the bad; perhaps their roots are intertwined.

-	(For emphasis) So what really puts the good in danger?

▪	The fact that they are close to the weeds; what happens to one affects the other.

Let's Illustrate!

Imagine Sally, a student who always talks in class. Her teacher gives her

warning after warning, but there is no change. Finally, Sally speaks one too many

times. Her teacher pulls out a 44 magnum revolver and shoots Sally. How well has the teacher solved the problem? Very well, and not so well. Sally will never talk in class again, nor will any others. But the remaining students will fear the teacher and will likely rebel at the first opportunity.

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	(Groups) In this illustration, the rest of the students would probably behave for a time out of fear, but they would not die like the good seed in the parable. Why does the Master say that the good would die from uprooting the evil? Why would an early destruction of the wicked cause their death? We have seen that it could cause fear and rebellion, but why death?

◦	It is impossible to serve God out of fear. To serve God out of fear is not to serve God at all but self–because your only reason to serve is to preserve self. Fear paralyzes. It keeps us from receiving anything, even love. This ends in death.

-	What is at the heart of the fear?

▪	Distrust of God. (Gen. 2:17) If God causes anyone to distrust Him, He has ultimately caused their death. (He would rather give people the right to not trust Him of their own accord than give any cause to not trust him.)

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	What did the Master say should happen instead?

◦	"Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	Now wait a minute! Didn't the Master just get through saying that if the bad are uprooted, the good might be uprooted too? What is different about separating the tares from the wheat now?

◦	It is harvest time.

•	What is different about harvest time?

◦	The wheat is mature/ripe.

•	(Groups) And how does the maturity of the wheat make it okay to gather it up?

◦	You can not kill it by uprooting it when it is ripe. The life is locked in the seed and ready to be stored or replanted.

-	(So, until God's people are rendered "indestructible," God will not destroy the evil ones around them. This indestructibility takes the form of unshakable trust. That is why sin will not ever come back. No one will want to sin–not because they cannot sin—but because they have unshakeable trust.)

•	By the way, what makes it harvest time?

◦	The maturity of the crop. (You mean it is not marked by the maturity of the weeds? How often have you heard people say, "Christ must be coming really soon because of how much evil there is in the world." The focus here is on the weeds. But, we are not waiting for the weeds to get bad enough.)

-	(For emphasis) We are waiting for what?

▪	The wheat to mature

•	So summarizing now, according to this parable, why does God let the evil continue to grow?

◦	He does not want any of the good to be lost. (Praise God! He was not willing for the controversy to be over too soon if it would mean that one of His children would be lost!)

Application–"Make it Personal!"

•	Who would like to praise God for being willing to risk misunderstanding in order to preserve trust, so that His kingdom is totally safe from sin–not by force but by choice.