Bible Verse Lookup
Matthew 13:24-43
Chapter 13
Parable of the Weeds
Jesus told them another parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left.
When the plants sprouted and produced grain, the weeds also grew.
Then the owner’s servants came and asked him, ‘Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’
He responded to them, ‘This is the work of an enemy.’ They asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’
He told them, ‘No, when you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with it.
Let them grow together until harvest; and, at harvest time, I will say to the workers: Pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles, and burn them; then gather the wheat into my barn.”
Parable of the Mustard Seed
Jesus shared another parable with them:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
It is smaller than all other seeds, but once it is fully grown, it is bigger than any garden plant; like a tree, the birds come and rest in its branches.”
Parable of the Yeast
He told them another parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until the whole batch of dough began to rise.”
Jesus taught these things to the crowds through parables; he didn’t speak to them without using a parable.
This fulfilled what the Prophet said:
I will speak in parables,
and I will reveal things kept secret
since the beginning of the world.
Explanation of the Parable of the Weeds
Then he sent the crowds away and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
Jesus answered them, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
The field represents the world; the good seed is the people of the kingdom; the weeds are those who follow the evil one.
The enemy who sows the weeds is the devil; the harvest is at the end of time, and the workers are the angels.
Just as weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of time.
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his kingdom all that is scandalous and everyone who does evil.
And these will be thrown into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears, then hear.
Commentaries
Parable of the Weeds.
The farmers listening on the shore of the lake did not need much explanation to identify the sowers of weeds, the enemies of the kingdom of God, as those Pharisees and temple leaders who opposed, for example, Jesus healing a sick person on the Sabbath (12:9-14); the same ones who marginalized the poor because of their ignorance of the laws and their inability to follow them. It is possible that those simple people, the first called to convert to the kingdom of God, also recognized the weeds within themselves, for Jesus’ action healed the whole person, body and heart (9:2).
Parable of the Mustard Seed.
The tiny mustard seed contains something incredibly great. God values the potential of the small, even when they are dismissed by the powerful and influential. Today, we can expand this image to represent a Church that is a welcoming home for all, where no one feels like a stranger, excluded, or second-class: not the poor because they are poor, not women because they are women, not laypeople. After all, they are laypeople, not dissenters, because they defend their own opinions; a Church where all charisms and services are appreciated.
Parable of the Yeast.
To be yeast that ferments the dough, the Church cannot live apart from the world; instead, it is immersed in social, political, economic, and cultural realities. Jesus confronts the religious mindset that expects an interventionist God who solves everything without human cooperation. Instead, he experienced God’s action silently, working with human response, at his own pace, but effectively.
Explanation of the Parable of the Weeds.
Jesus encourages his disciples to practice tolerance, since it is an ongoing risk to see oneself as “chosen” or “good grass” compared to others, who can easily be labeled as “weeds.” The emphasis is on the final judgment, when, at the end of time, the ultimate judge will separate the “citizens of the kingdom” from the weeds or “subjects of the Evil One” (38).