Context No. 3242 of 4322 · Matthew

Matthew 13:34-43: in context

34Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them, 35that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.” 36Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.” 37He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. 39The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity, 42and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus spoke to the crowds only in parables, and then privately explained the parable of the weeds. The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, sown by the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Jesus explains that good and evil grow together in the world until the end; the wheat and the weeds are mixed, and the sorting belongs to God at the harvest, not to us now. This restrains our urge to root out all evil ourselves and calls us to patience, trusting God's final judgment. But the parable is honest about that judgment: at the end, all that causes sin will be gathered out and dealt with. And the promise for the faithful is radiant: then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The present mixture is not permanent; a harvest is coming, when evil is removed and the righteous shine.

Do I live patiently amid the mixture of good and evil, trusting God's final sorting, and set my hope on the day the righteous shine like the sun?

Sources

Matthew 13:43: "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father."
Matthew 13:39: "The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels."
Matthew 13:30: "Let both grow together until the harvest."