Matthew 13:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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?’

NIV: "The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

NASB: And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’

CSB: The landowner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

NLT: The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’

KJV: So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

NKJV: So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

Jesus is telling a story, a parable, about an attack on a farmer's field of wheat (Matthew 13:24–26). Later He will explain to His disciples exactly what each element in the story represents (Matthew 13:36–43).

Shortly after the farmer planted his crop, an enemy snuck into his field under the cover of darkness and planted weeds alongside his wheat. Bible scholars understand this weed to be "darnel," also known as "tares." This is a poisonous ryegrass that looks so similar to good grain that it is sometimes called "false wheat." The difference only becomes noticeable once the wheat plants begin to bear grain. By then, the root systems of the two plants would be intermixed in the soil. This kind of sabotage is a known tactic in agriculture, meant to devastate someone else's harvest.

The servants responsible for tending the fields eventually notice that these weeds are growing up alongside the otherwise healthy grain. They take their observation to their master, the farmer, along with pointed questions: How is this happening? Didn't you use good seed? If so, where did these weeds come from? The servants responsible for taking care of their master's field want to know where the process broke down. Despite what some interpreters claim, Scripture doesn't blame the field workers for letting this happen.

Matthew 13:24–30 contains the parable of the wheat and the weeds, also known as the parable of the wheat and the "tares." Christ will later explain this as a metaphor for God separating believers from non-believers in the final judgment (Matthew 13:36–43). He tells the crowd of a farmer who sowed good wheat seeds into a field. His enemy, though, sabotaged the field with weeds. This probably meant planting a worthless plant that looks deceptively like wheat. The farmer sensibly waits, allowing the wheat and weeds to grow together rather than risking damage to the wheat by uprooting the other plants. At the harvest, the farmer will tell his workers to gather up the weeds and bundle them to be burned.

Matthew 13 focuses mainly on a series of parables. Jesus first describes these to a large crowd along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Later, in a house, He explains to the disciples the meanings of the parables of the sower, the weeds, and the fish caught in the net. Jesus then travels to Nazareth, teaches in the synagogue, and is rejected by the people of His original hometown.

Matthew 13 follows Jesus from the overcrowded house at the end of the previous chapter to a crowded beach on the Sea of Galilee. He teaches a large crowd in a series of parables, which He doesn't fully explain. However, He reveals their meaning to His disciples inside a nearby house. Jesus pictures the kingdom of heaven as a sower, a sabotaged field of wheat, a mustard seed, and a pearl dealer, among other things. He then travels to His original hometown of Nazareth where He is rejected by the people He grew up with. This leads Matthew back to depictions of Jesus' miracles, after sadly recording John the Baptist's death.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.