Matthew 13:28 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’

NIV: 'An enemy did this,' he replied. 'The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

NASB: And he said to them, ‘ An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

CSB: " 'An enemy did this,' he told them." 'So, do you want us to go and pull them up? ' the servants asked him.

NLT: ‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. '‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.

KJV: He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

NKJV: He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’

This parable is sometimes called "the wheat and the tares." "Tare" is another name for a weed sometimes called "darnel," an inedible ryegrass that is sometimes called "false wheat." As a young plant, it looks almost exactly like wheat until both begin to bear; then the difference becomes obvious. By that point, though, the roots of the wheat and the weeds are likely entangled.

In the story, a farmer's servants have come to him to ask how it is possible that weeds have come up throughout the field along with the wheat. Did he use good seed? The farmer now assures them the seed was good. An enemy has attacked them, sowing the seeds of the weeds in among the good seeds of the wheat. This would not have been an unheard-of act in Jesus' era. Sabotaging another's field with hostile plants is an act seen in many places around the world.

The servants now ask the farmer if he wants them to go and pull up all the weeds. That's not an unreasonable question: darnel is mildly poisonous, so it can't be ignored, or the entire harvest will be ruined. In the following verse, the farmer will explain why that's a bad idea. The two plants will be separated, but not yet.

Jesus will soon explain to the disciples exactly what each element of this story is meant to represent (Matthew 13:36–43).

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.