Matthew 13

Parable of the Tares

"The tares appeared not till the blade sprung up, and brought forth fruit, Mat_13:26. There is a great deal of secret wickedness in the hearts of men, which is long hid under the cloak of a plausible profession, but breaks out at last. As the good seed, so the tares, lie a great while under the clods, and at first springing up, it is hard to distinguish them; but when a trying time comes, when fruit is to be brought forth, when good is to be done that has difficulty and hazard attending it, then you will return and discern between the sincere and the hypocrite: then you may say, This is wheat, and that is tares." –Matthew Henry

I've been particularly intrigued by this parable this time around.  At first, I thought that the field was the world.  Then I thought the field was the Church.  Now I am not sure.  One interesting point is that an Enemy planted the tares.  As much as I like to minimize Satan (just in general don't like to dwell upon dark things and prefer to hem it all in with the thought that God is in ultimate control), this thought makes it clear that the enemy is at work in this field.  There is an Enemy and he is at work.  I'm not sure why this is such a hard thought for me, but the parables are good because they hold firm against the wishful thinking...  For me, it brings the same feeling that comes from being robbed.  I remember the first time something of mine was stolen, from a locker at school, at I recall how evil it felt to think that someone had been malicious and had evil intentions when I was unaware of it all.  The Enemy sowing tares brings that same feeling to mind.

I also wonder about the tares in general---are they just hypocrites?  Does this parable have a wider application to all of our work?

Another point is that the workers complained to the Master about the weeds?  Do we complain to Christ about the hypocrites in the church?  Are these hypocrites EXPECTED?  I think this parable alludes to that as well.  God is not caught off guard by those who bear his name but inwardly are far from him.  

[4.] The servants, when they were aware of it, complained to their master (Mat_13:27); Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?  How then does it have weeds? -

More explanation by Matthew Henry:


"This parable does not justify, as some mistakenly suppose, the toleration of ungodly people in a local Christian church. Remember that the field is the world, not the church. Local churches are explicitly commanded to put out of their fellowship all who are guilty of certain forms of wickedness (1Co_5:9-13). The parable simply teaches that in its mystery form, the kingdom of heaven will include the real and the imitation, the genuine and the counterfeit, and that this condition will continue until the end of the age. Then God's messengers will separate the false, who will be taken away in judgment, from the true, who will enjoy the glorious reign of Christ on earth."

I guess what confuses me in this parable is if the field is the WORLD or the CHURCH.  Henry definitely comes down on the field being the world and this keeps with Christ's interpretation as well:

"The field is the world."  -Matthew 13:38

So the distinction is between those who follow Christ and those who follow the Enemy.  This dissonance will not be resolved until the final judgement.

Mustard Seed 

"The seed represents the humble beginning of the kingdom. At first the kingdom was kept relatively small and pure as a result of persecution. But with the patronage and protection of the state, it suffered abnormal growth. Then the birds came and roosted in it. The same word for birds is used here as in verse 4; Jesus explained the birds as meaning the evil one (v. 19). The kingdom became a nesting place for Satan and his agents. Today the umbrella of Christendom covers such Christ-denying systems as Unitarianism, Christian Science, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Unification Church (moonies).

So here the Lord forewarned the disciples that during His absence the kingdom would experience a phenomenal growth. They should not be deceived nor equate growth with success. It would be unhealthy growth. Though the tiny seed would become an abnormal tree, its largeness would become “a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird” (Rev_18:2)." -Matthew Henry